Chapter Sixteen
Jaime’s head was woozy but not from the mezcal. It was from Alma’s scent. He could still taste her on his lips, in his mouth, on his soul.
Fuck. He had cheesily told her that if he kissed her again, she would be the last woman he ever kissed.
What the fuck was wrong with him? Why on earth would he say something like that?
How could he make such a stupid fucking promise?
He hadn’t even meant to say it as a line—in that moment, he was caught up in his feelings and he believed every word he said.
But the kiss at that point was still a fantasy, not a reality.
Was this just some sick game to see if he could get her back? Enrique was right—Jaime needed a therapist. Badly. Unfortunately, it was too late for this mess he made. He hated himself.
At least his brothers would fly into San Francisco today. Ramón would set his ass straight and Enrique would help him clarify his actual feelings. Jaime should’ve never come here. He was trying to prove to himself that he didn’t need them. What a fucking joke.
Back when he and Alma were together, Jaime would regularly book a hotel room overlooking the plaza.
But tonight, there would be no romantic getaway.
There would be no more careless kisses. He would take Alma back home, meet up with his brothers at Santi’s house, and then spend the next week preparing for the festival.
He had already honored his commitment to Leti, and as a man of his word, he would participate and promote the Cinco de Mayo–palooza or whatever it was fucking called.
And learn all he could about tequila from the woman who was its mistress.
Cinco was such a stupid holiday—just an excuse for gringos to wear sombreros and get drunk on cheap tequila promoted by non-Mexican Hollywood douchebags.
Then, he would leave the Bay Area with no plans to return. But not because he didn’t want to. He literally would leave his heart in San Francisco. The longer he stayed here, the more he would hurt Alma.
And possibly even himself.
Alma’s dog was huffing and puffing under a bench. She was an odd-looking thing—wrinkly, pudgy, and comical. Pugs clearly were not meant to travel.
He didn’t want this day to end but he needed to create some distance between them since he wasn’t thinking clearly. “We should get back.”
“You’re right. We should.”
She rubbed his thigh and his cock jolted to attention. “Do you want to stop by my bar again? We did a tequila lesson but maybe we could work on some Spanish for your promos? And I can show you more about my favorite tequila brands.”
Yes, he wanted to. So desperately. Learning about liquor was the full reason he came here in the first fucking place.
But he had to start doing the right thing. Everything up until these dangerous kisses and that stupid-ass line had been questionable, but he hadn’t crossed any lines.
Just say no.
“I’d love to, but I can’t. My family is coming in tonight. We need to start figuring out what to do for the festival.”
She pulled on her hair. “Yeah, about that. Carlos will take care of everything. Don’t stress out. Just show up and we will be good.”
Jaime wished it would be that simple. “Well, I’ll see what he has planned.”
She planted a quick kiss on him. He was doomed. She was his kryptonite. He could not resist her.
A pit settled in his stomach. This could end badly. And it would be his fault.
Jaime drove back to Marin with his head spinning and it wasn’t from the one cocktail he’d had. Jaime cared enough about others and himself to never, ever drive drunk. He wasn’t even buzzed. Well, that wasn’t true. He was high on Alma.
She was smiling and laughing and singing to Becky G songs blaring on the radio that Jaime did not know the lyrics to.
It was just like old times. Except it wasn’t.
She wasn’t his girlfriend, and he wasn’t her boyfriend.
They were awkward exes with tension between them and debilitating desire.
The pressure built in his chest. This was an impossible situation.
He craved her, he still loved her, but he wasn’t ready for a serious relationship.
And he definitely wasn’t ready for forever. They couldn’t just have a fling.
Or maybe that is what they both wanted?
She had never said, not once, that she wanted to get back together. Quite the opposite in fact.
Maybe she just wanted to have a fling also? No, that wasn’t it at all. Jaime was clearly misinterpreting her actions. She was clearly still deeply hurt by their past, but they both had unresolved feelings.
They needed to have a mature adult conversation. But not now. He needed to be sure what he wanted first.
He pulled up in front of Alma’s bar.
Her hand caressed his cheek. “Are you sure you can’t stop in, just for a little bit?”
No, he wasn’t sure. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her into the place like a caveman and take her from behind while she was pressed up against the bar.
“I’d love to, babe. But I really do have to meet my brothers.
I begged them to come to the festival, and they dropped everything to fly up here. ”
“Okay. Totally. I understand. No worries. Come by the bar later and I can give you another lesson.”
Or maybe he would give her one.
“Sounds like a plan. See you later.”
Her pink fingernails lightly scratched his jaw, causing the hair on his arms to perk straight up. Their lips met yet again, but this kiss felt different. It was an old-school kiss, as if they hadn’t just lost three years between them.
But Jaime couldn’t listen to his lips or to his heart. He didn’t think he was ready for a relationship, and he didn’t want to lead her on.
The kisses weren’t a mistake, but a gift—one he hoped to repeat.
He would talk to her later and make sure they both wanted the same thing before it went any further. He refused to hurt her again.
Jaime arrived at Santi’s house. He walked in the front door.
The full clan was there. Ramón, his fiancée, Julieta, Enrique, his girlfriend, Carolina, and her sister Blanca, Julieta’s mom, Linda, and Julieta’s cousins, Tiburón and Rosa were all there waiting for him.
Thank God Santi had a huge house. At least Jaime’s mother wasn’t here.
That would be a supreme nightmare. He was dreading Ramón and Julieta’s wedding.
Not the actual ceremony and the reception of course.
Julieta was in full-on bridezilla mode, and it would be a blast. But the guest list gave him major anxiety.
Their dad and mom who barely communicated without a lawyer present, their mom’s pretentious friends who would no doubt try to marry off Jaime and Enrique, despite the fact Enrique had a girlfriend, Julieta’s mom and eccentric tías—there was no telling what kind of crazy town would ensue.
Take that back—it actually should be a blast.
Jaime smiled. “You guys made it.”
Ramón walked over to Jaime and gave him a strong hug. “We took an earlier flight so have been here for a while.” His voice lowered and he whispered in Jaime’s ear, “What the fuck are you doing here, man?”
Jaime stammered, “I don’t know. It’s a long story.”
Ramón shook his head. Gone were his days of buttoned-up suits and shiny shoes.
Ramón’s attire now consisted of polo shirts and long shorts.
He had completely changed since being with Julieta.
In a good way. Jaime was still anxious around his big brother and always wanted to please Ramón, but Julieta had definitely chilled him out.
Enrique was sitting on Santi’s bright-orange modern velvet sofa. “Sit down, bro. Tell us what’s going on. I’ll make some tea.”
Tea? Jaime needed tea-quila. Lots of it.
But there was no escaping this family talk.
Ramón sat next to Julieta. “Jaime, tell us everything.”
Julieta placed her hand on Ramón’s thigh.
“Jaime, what he means is, are you back with Alma? We didn’t mean to bombard you.
I consider you a brother already, and I just wanted to be there for you.
Ramón told me that this Alma woman is the only girl you’ve ever loved.
And she’s so badass. I can’t wait to meet her. ”
Great—next thing Jaime knew Julieta would be partnering with Alma for some tequila–taco bar collaboration.
“She’s pretty busy. She wasn’t too excited to see me, so I don’t know if she’ll want to hang out with my future sister-in-law’s family.”
Rosa let out a cackle. “Then I’ve got to meet this poor chingona. Two years ago, I would’ve been jealous. But now I’m just glad I’m not her.”
Fucking Rosa. Their friendship had started out flirty until Ramón had forbidden any hookups.
Rightfully so, because they were soon to be family and that would be messy.
Rosa was gorgeous like her cousin, though they had very different styles.
Rosa dressed like a chola with her tight sleeveless sweaters and loose Dickies pants that cinched at her waist. But Rosa and Jaime learned early on that they were too similar.
Both wild and carefree. Watching both of Ramón and Enrique’s relationships with their women, Jaime realized that it was better to have some sort of balance in place between partners.
“If you all really must know, I was asked to be a brand ambassador for Somos Tequilas. Tom Bluey’s latest endeavor.”
Julieta scowled. “That jackass has a tequila line? Who doesn’t have a tequila line these days?”
“I don’t. We don’t. We are Mexican. We have more rights than he does to profit off tequila. So, I came up with the idea to start one.”
Enrique shook his head. “You have a point, but I don’t like where this is going, bro. Alma has a tequila bar, so you came up here to ask her to help you?”
Carolina playfully smacked him. “Like you didn’t do the same thing with my farm.”
Enrique threw both his hands up. “You’re right, I did. But you weren’t my ex. You were just some beautiful girl I admired. Jaime and Alma have a lot of history together.”