Chapter Ten
Jaime’s face contorted. “Why?”
“Yes, why? Why are you in Marin? Why did you show up at my bar?”
Jaime took a deep breath before speaking.
If he told her the truth, it could seem callous.
Was the possibility of starting a tequila company truly the only reason he had come to Marin?
She might not look too kindly on him admitting that he came up here because he was having a quarter-life crisis and wanted to ask her to teach him everything about tequila.
And now, after seeing her and witnessing her reaction to him, he believed that it was an asinine idea to expect that after their past together she would be willing to work with him and that he should’ve never entertained the thought.
But since he’d been here, he wondered if his subconscious was trying to tell him something.
That he had actually come up here to see her.
Jaime considered lying and telling her that he just wanted to see her. But he took a deep breath and decided to tell her the truth. “I’m not going to lie—I did want to see you again, but that is not why I came up.”
“Okay.” She rolled her eyes. “So again. Why are you here?”
“I was asked to be part of a tequila campaign for a celebrity brand. It gave me the idea of starting my tequila company. I looked you up and saw you had a tequila bar so I was hoping we could work out an arrangement between us. You teach me about tequila, and I fix your socials.”
Her jaw dropped open. “You’re serious. Instead of hiring someone or going to Mexico and doing the work, you thought bombarding your ex at her business and convincing her to help you was a better idea?”
Damn. When she put it like that, it sounded awful. “You’re right. It was stupid. Santi warned me but I wouldn’t listen.” Time to pivot. “I did also want to see you.”
“Well, you saw me. And stopping by that one night really fucked up my business. Thanks a lot.” She turned to leave.
What was she talking about?
“What do you mean by that? I was only there for a few minutes.”
“Well, a few minutes was enough to do damage. There was a critic there, and he saw me yelling at you. He didn’t even stay to try the tequila. He left and gave me a bad post.”
Damn. He bet it was that guy he saw in the suit.
“I had no idea. What’s his name?”
“Why does it matter what his name is? He left.”
“Because I might know him. I can fix this.”
Alma threw her hands in the air. “You’re unbelievable. Why do men always think they can fix everything? I don’t need your help.”
Jaime didn’t know about other men, but he could fix this. He would find out the critic’s name. He would make this right. It was the least he could do.
“Okay. I’m really sorry about that.”
She pursed her lips. “No. It’s not all your fault. I should’ve controlled my temper.”
She was so close, he felt like she was almost in his grasp.
Alma put Tequila down on the ground and poured some water from her bottle into a portable dish.
“Wait, Alma. I wanted to say I was sorry for ending our relationship so abruptly. I was dumb and stupid. We were so young, and I panicked. I can never make it up to you—I know that.” Everything he said was true. But that wasn’t why he showed up.
He wanted to use her. To learn about tequila. His lazy ass wanted to obtain the knowledge without putting in the effort. It wasn’t her job to educate him about her life’s passion. But at least he was honest with her about his intentions.
None of that mattered anymore. She was standing there in front of him. Their lips were inches away from touching. Maybe his stupid-ass idea was meant to bring him back here. Back to her.
Maybe he wanted a second-chance romance.
No. No. He definitely didn’t. He was just caught up in his emotions.
She exhaled and pulled a lock of her hair. “Apology accepted. But I hope you don’t have any crazy ideas about getting back together with me. You’re hot, but immature as fuck.”
Jaime’s nostrils flared. “How would you know? You haven’t spent any time with me recently. Maybe I’ve grown into a complete gentleman.”
Santi burst into laughter. Asshole. Jaime had forgotten his buddy was sitting in his sports car listening to this train wreck.
“Fine, maybe not. I’m young. I’m allowed to be a little immature. I’m only twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five is not young at all. Shit, my parents had two kids by the time they were twenty-two. You’re a grown-ass man.” She pointed at his shirt, which was tossed on the passenger seat. “Did you really think taking your shirt off would tempt me?”
Jaime raised his brow. “It worked, didn’t it? You’re at least talking to me.”
“I’m not talking to you because of your body.”
Her eyes raked him up and down, the heat in her gaze belying her words.
Well, at least she liked what she saw. “Then why, after all your protesting, did you finally talk to me?”
“Because I’m glad you are going to help this community.
I talked to the organizer, and he told me about all the amazing programs that will be funded as part of this festival.
They will be adding more community classes at the library, they will revamp the playgrounds, provide new equipment and better fields for the sports teams, and have more after-school care for residents.
It’s really exciting.” She paused. “So I want to thank you for participating and getting Ramón and Enrique to come…even if your motive was just to see me. Or to start a tequila company. It doesn’t matter why—your presence in Marin will be a blessing to the people of the Canal. ”
Satisfaction filled him. He was trying to make the world better.
He was going to the charity event with Santi, he was fundraising for the Canal—he was doing good, and if he got to start his own new business venture at the same time, that’d be a bonus.
“Don’t mention it. I’m happy to help.” He had to do something to extend this conversation.
Get her to agree to see him outside this festival. “Can I please take you to dinner?”
She shook her head. “Nope. No dinner. No dates.”
“Come on, babe.”
She cringed at his affectionate nickname. “Don’t call me that.”
Fuck. Babe? Why had he said that? Again? It just flew out of his mouth.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say it. It’s a habit.”
“I get it. Last time we were together, I was your babe. But I will never be your babe again.”
We’ll see about that.
No. He was crazy about her, but they were in agreement. They could never be together again.
Time to try another angle. “Fine. Then let’s have a business meeting. Over lunch.”
Her brow rose. “Business? What business do we have together?”
“Well, I’m only in town for a bit, but I’m realizing that I can do a lot of good here, even though I don’t live in Marin. So let’s see how I can help.”
“Are you serious? Is this about you wanting to do a tequila line?”
Yes, Jaime still wanted to learn about tequila.
And he wanted to spend whatever time he could with Alma.
“I’d love to still talk to you about tequila, but I won’t press it.
Though I do think I could help you with your socials, and possibly even that critic.
Clearly, I want to see you. I miss you. But you’ve made it crystal clear that we will never be romantically involved again.
I respect that. And I agree, because no matter how I feel about you, I am not looking for any serious relationship.
I’ll take what I can get. We can be friendly right? Friends, even.”
She pursed her lips. “That’s fine and all, Jaime, but I know you. You don’t just want to be my friend. What if I’m dating someone?”
Was she? Jaime clenched his fist. He had no right to ever have any opinion on who Alma dated. But the thought of another man kissing her, fucking her, made his head explode.
His voice lowered. “Are you?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but not at the moment, no.”
Thank God. “Look. You were such a huge part of my life. You were all I had at college. You were more than my girlfriend—you were my best friend. I miss you. Maybe we can find something in what’s left of us and start something new.”
“Honestly, I missed you too. Like a lot. But I don’t know, Jaime. You’re fire. And I can’t get too close to you.”
“Why?” He winked. “You won’t be able to resist me?”
“You cocky bastard. No, that’s not it. I can and I will resist you. It’s just—I was a different person when I was with you. I was fun, carefree, wild. I’ve changed so much. Even Zoila says so.”
Zoila? Zoila was her high school friend. She was super fun, but not at all responsible like Alma was. “Zoila? You still talk to her?”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?”
“Nothing. You two were just very different.”
“She’s loyal and has always been here for me. She’s a teacher, actually, at a school over here.”
Wow. Good for her. “Cool. Glad she’s doing well.”
“Anyway, I miss who I was when I was with you. I’m trying to figure out now if that was just because I was in college, or if you brought out a less serious side of me. I want to find that girl again.” She bit her lip.
“I’m your man.” He leaned in closer. He wanted to cup her face and kiss her, get lost in her and forget why he ever left her.
Her brown eyes drew him in like a magnet.
Ever since he left Alma, he had never felt this pull to any woman.
And honestly, he rarely worked hard for anything anymore, not in his dating life nor in his work life.
Everything was easy. One swipe and a new girl.
But he didn’t want a new girl. He wanted his old one.
What would he do if he got her? Break her heart again probably.
No. He could never destroy her again. Or himself.
She took a step back, and a breeze from the bay accentuated the distance between them.
“No. You aren’t. But I’m glad you came up here.”
She wanted something from him. To feel more alive. To feel freer. Jaime puffed out his chest.
“Well, I’ll extract the fun Alma. But can you do something for me?”
She squinted at him. “And what is that, exactly?”
“Teach me about tequila.”
Her face contorted. “Are you that serious about the tequila line?”
“Kind of. It bothers me that all these non-Mexican celebrities have one. And I know nothing about it. It’s your entire world.
” His voice dropped. “I want to discover why you’re so passionate about it.
I just want to entertain the possibility of starting a company.
It’s research. And in exchange, I’ll work on your socials and help you get attention from that critic. Or other influential critics.”
“What do you mean by that? Just running my accounts or advertising my bar? And how can you help me get more top industry reviews?”
“Whatever you want regarding socials. As for the critical acclaim, I know a bunch of restaurant and drink critics. And Ramón’s fiancée, Julieta, is an award-winning chef. She also knows many people. You’d like her.”
She glanced up at the sky and her face contorted. She considered his offer. After an uncomfortable pause, she spoke. “Fine. But I want to teach you something else, My Fair Senor.”
He laughed. “Is this some weird My Fair Lady obsession? You used to love that movie. I’ll have you know that I’m a perfect gentleman. I even went to Mr. Benjamin’s Cotillion class in sixth grade. It was a huge thing in La Jolla.”
“No, no, Jaime. You’re perfectly refined. And I did love that movie. But if you are going to represent my brand, you need to learn to speak Spanish, preferably without an accent, for my video ads.”
His Spanish really did suck. Learning to speak it well would give him some legitimacy in the tequila world. And he would love to have her as a teacher. “Okay. I’m game.”
“Seriously? I thought you would put up more of a fight.”
“Nah, I’m open to your proposal. I really want to learn more about tequila and speak Spanish, so I’m down for anything.”
“To be clear—just until you leave, you will help me work on my socials and get critics’ attention, and I will teach you about tequila and how to speak proper Spanish. And at the end of that, we will go our separate ways.”
That song by Journey played in his head. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Let’s shake on it.”
She daintily placed her hand in his. He fought the urge to kiss it, kiss her, and gave her a firm handshake.
“So, when can I see you again?” He wasn’t letting her leave until they locked in their next meeting.
“I work all week, but I’m off on Friday.”
Dammit, Friday. He was doing that charity event with Santi.
And he wouldn’t flake on him, not even for Alma.
“I’m sorry, Alma. But I can’t.” A wicked idea ran through his head. She’d said she wasn’t interested in him—but just how true was that? “I have a date.”