Page 19 of The Wrong Reciprocation

"Daaaamn."

"Mmhm." Twyla understood completely.

"Friend."

Peeling her eyes away from Arturo, she turned to Vanessa.

"Hmm?"

"I think God would understand."

Twyla was so caught off guard by that she hollered with laughter.

"Damn, I wanna laugh too," somebody murmured from behind her.

Twyla blushed and looked around the room. Her eyes clashed with Arturo's who was staring directly at her. The laughter died in her throat as Arturo left his suitcase near the door and walked toward the kitchen. He spoke to the people who greeted him, but it was clear that he had a destination in mind when he never stopped his stride. Twyla's eyes were as wide as saucers by the time Arturo made it to her. As soon as he stepped in front of her he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug and her eyelids fluttered closed as she took a moment to revel in the warmth and scent of his hard body.

"I missed you," he whispered into her ear in a low tone that was meant for only her.

She stiffened and pulled away.

Why would he say something like that to her, and here of all places? Granted, she hadn't given him an opportunity to say it before now, but the reality was that he shouldn't say it at all. Things weren't the same—would never be the same—and if she had to accept that hard truth, then so did he.

"Arturo…" She trailed off, not wanting to say too much—or anything—in front of so many people.

Thankfully, he let the moment go, releasing her to be greeted by a few others before going back to the front door to retrieve his suitcase. Nelson volunteered to show Arturo and his guest to a room and the three of them disappeared.

"Friend."

Twyla cut her eyes at Vanessa, wary of what was about to come out of the other woman's mouth. "Hmm?"

"I'm just saying. Hella family members were boning in the bible. God know what Arturo look like."

This time, Twyla kept her laugh low. "Vanessa, if you don't get your ass on with that mess!"

"Listen," Vanessa insisted just as everyone was instructed to form a line around the island. "Just pray on it."

Shaking her head, Twyla grabbed a plate off the counter. "I'll be damned—literally—if I ask God to lend me his ear for that type of shit."

Once their plates were piled high with brisket, sausage, macaroni and cheese, green beans, barbecue sauce and thick slices of white bread, they grabbed seats at the long rectangular table that looked like a slab of wood cut from the center of a massive tree in the dining room and dug in. Some of the family brought their food out onto the covered patio where they could watch the sun set as they ate. Arturo and the man who he introduced as his cousin Rafael returned and joined them at the table, taking seats directly across from them.

Twyla tried to talk with her cousins as she ate but was distracted by Arturo's unwavering stare. Unless he was speaking to someone, his eyes were on her. At one point she looked up at him and was snared by his intense gape. The look in his eyes was so similar to the one he'd worn just before he'd kissed her back at that restaurant that her heart twisted in her chest. She wished like hell that she hadn't fucked up that spell, or ritual, or whatever the fuck it was, because she needed it more than she had anticipated.

8

KISSING COUSINS

Pushing back from the table, Twyla mumbled to Vanessa that she was going to their room, and then carried her empty plate into the kitchen. She got to their room and immediately changed into a swimsuit and headed to the hot tub that had been calling her name since they'd arrived. The hot tub was set on a platform and had a wide wooden shelf built onto the back that was likely for holding drinks. Dutifully, Twyla sent her friend a text with her updated location, and then set her phone on the shelf and sank down into the water.

Her eyes fluttered closed as the warmth of the water and vibration from the bubbles engulfed her. Leaning her head back against the curved lip of the hot tub, she sighed. She didn't know what she had expected from Arturo, but it wasn't for him to show up and have eyes for only her. How was she supposed to survive the next ten days with him with they both probably knew that if her mama hadn't walked up on them that day they would more than likely have been on this trip as a couple?

Twyla sighed. If she continued on with that line of thinking all she would do was make herself sick. Opening her eyes, she observed her surroundings. The view from the back of the three-story cabin was so amazing. Straight ahead was the beginning of a trail that led through the forest and ended on the side of the house. To the left of that was a large, man-made lake with a short beach that went right up to the trees. The lake was large enough for jet skiing and paddleboats, and to the right of the trail was a veritable forest of tall local trees. Sitting in the hot tub while she took it all in was the best decision Twyla had made all day.

Vanessa came around the corner wearing a different bikini than the one she had interrupted Twyla's spell for. Not too far behind her was Rafael, Arturo's cousin. The two of them had talked and flirted during dinner and Twyla was happy for her friend. Rafael was fine. With toasted walnut skin, golden-brown eyes, and well-shaped, kinky coils that tapered into a crisp fade around his neck, he actually looked a lot like Arturo. It was clear that they were relatives, and Twyla began to wonder what the other people in his life looked like and if those features would be dominate in his future children.

Blinking rapidly, Twyla shook her head and put that thought out of her mind. It was the wrong line of thinking. Instead, she sat up and smiled at Vanessa and Rafael, spreading her arms to welcome them into the hot tub that could easily fit ten people comfortably.

It was when Arturo came trailing behind them, shirtless and wearing a pair of low-slung swim shorts that Twyla dropped her head back and groaned loudly. She should have known that he wouldn't be far behind once Rafael showed up. Foolishly, she'd thought that she might be able to keep her sanity and her distance but that was easier said than done when Arturo wasn't half naked with several inches of cinnamon-toned skin on display for her always-greedy eyes. She had a very real fear that she wouldn't be able to keep a tight rein on her still-present feelings for him, and if being outwardly annoyed made him go away then she'd lean heavily on it.