Page 46 of His Secret Wish

He grabbed his Dopp kit and headed into the bathroom for a shower. And a shave.

And shave that had absolutely nothing to do with the possibility of having sex with Izzy tonight. But, just in case, it was best to be prepared. No point in giving her razor burn.

Quickly, he showered and shaved, and then headed across the hall to get dressed. The idea of being late to the party, even if it was just a mess of people milling around, was incredibly unappealing. Just the thought of having all of Izzy’s family’s eyes on him was enough to give him hives.

He hurried downstairs and out into the backyard. Everyone had moved into the tent, although the speeches and dinner hadn’t started yet. Thank God.

Something latched onto his leg. He looked down to see a pair of dark brown eyes staring up at him.

“Hello there, peanut.” He went to ruffle her hair and then changed his mind. Her curls had been done is some kind of style, and he knew he’d get in major shit if he ruined them.

Marissa gave him one of her sweet, little smiles, and then lifted her arms toward him. “Up?”

Warmth vibrated in his chest. “Of course.” He picked her up, balancing her on his hip. She wore a very pretty pink dress with lace and stuff on it. He doubted very highly that Yolanda and Jorge had bought it for her, and there’d been no place at the strip mall they’d been to this afternoon that would have had something like this. Must be something that was here at the house already. Yaya was the type to never really throw anything out, not if she decided it had any sort of sentimental value.

He walked into the tent. Everything had turned out really nice. He was happy to see that Yaya’s party was going smoothly.

“There you are, mijo.”

Speak of the devil herself. He turned and smiled down at Yaya. “Hello, birthday girl.” He bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek. “You look beautiful.”

The smile she gave him lit up her face, making her look twenty years younger. She wore a beautiful full-length dress that was the same shade as the water in the Caribbean. Or, what he saw in pictures of the Caribbean. He’d never actually been. He and Izzy were supposed to go to Turks and Caicos for their honeymoon, but an emergency had come up at the ranch, so they’d had to cancel. And then, they’d just never gotten around to rescheduling. The dress Yaya wore was accented with colorful, embroidered flowers.

She smacked his arm and laughed. “You are far too kind to an old woman.” She looked at Marissa. “And hello to you, conejita. You look very pretty tonight. That dress used to be Isabella’s. She wore it to all the parties when she was little and came to visit.”

Marissa smiled and tucked her head against his shoulder, too shy to engage.

“Come, mi tesoro,” Yaya said, taking his free arm. “Apparently, I am to sit in the place of honor, so everyone can stare at me. You can take me there.”

“It would be my honor.” He led her through the crowd, having to go slow because everyone stopped them to talk to her. He glanced around, trying to be discreet, searching for Izzy. So far, he hadn’t found her.

Every time someone looked at Marissa, or spoke to her, she buried her face harder against his shoulder. The poor thing was probably shell-shocked from the sheer amount of people crammed into the tent. He could well understand that sentiment.

He gave her a little squeeze, and she tossed him one of her sweet, shy smiles. That same warmth bounced around inside his chest.

They finally made it to the back of the tent. A dais had been raised at this end, and a few chairs and benches had been placed around it. There was a very comfortable-looking chair smack dab in the center, facing out toward the crowd.

He helped Yaya up the small set of steps. It would have been easier if he’d had both hands, but when he’d tried to put Marissa down, she’d clung to him like he was a life preserver, and she was in the middle of the ocean. He led Yaya over to her makeshift throne and got her seated. She patted his hand and then tugged his arm so he had no choice but to bend down.

“Go and find my Isabella and tell her you love her, mi tesoro. It’s never too late to make things right. Take it from an old lady who may have a regret or two in her long life. Don’t be like me.”

He pulled back with a small jerk to stare at her. There was no way she knew. She couldn’t know that he and Izzy weren’t really together.

But the look on her face told a different story.

And, unlike what everyone was worried about, there was no disappointment or censure in her gaze. Just a sadness he didn’t understand, and a whole lot of hope and love. Clearly, Yaya had a story she wasn’t ready to tell.

“I’ll do my best, Yaya.” He gave her cheek another kiss. “But it might be too late. I really screwed things up.”

“Ah, mi tesoro, I can see how much you love her. And I know things between you haven’t been easy. But a love like yours is meant to be. You just need to be willing to open up and accept it.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

She laughed. “Yes, my sweet Isabella can be stubborn as a mula when she wants to be. But if you just have patience, she will see what is in front of her. She’s just blinded by the past right now.”

A pang of sadness, of disappointment, hit him in the chest, locking his lungs, making it hard to breathe. She wasn’t the only one who was stuck in the past. He’d spent so long being angry, at her, at his dad, at the world at large, too consumed by his own shit, too bullheaded to see the truth. Even though it was right in front of him, staring him in the face.

Yaya tugged on his sleeve and pointed into the crowd. He spun, and his need to breathe vanished.

Isabella stood in the crowd. She wore an orange dress, the kind that clung to her curves at the top and then flared out into a full skirt at the bottom. The skirt hit her at the knees leaving her calves bare. She had on a pair of strappy heels, the kind that would make her come up at least to his chin. Her long, dark hair was partially pinned up in the front, but was a cascade of curls in the back.

She was so beautiful. The rest of the world fell away, and it was only her, and only him. Her gaze met his, and she smiled. The word tilted off its axis.

Yaya’s words played over again in his mind. He had to do this. He had to win her back, get her to forgive him. The only problem was, time was rapidly running out. If he didn’t do it soon, he’d never have the chance again.