Page 73 of Forbidden Fate
She leans forward, eyes bright. “So…”
“No.”
“It sounded like you and your not-girlfriend had a very good night.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
She lifts her eyebrows. “I said not-girlfriend.”
“You said it like that means something else.” I take a drink of coffee.
Strong and black. Perfect.
“She’s sleeping?”
“For now.”
“Good.”
I look back at her. “Thank you for the room.”
“Anytime, Cruzito. This is still your home too.” She tilts her head. “You look like her this morning. Like Esperanza.”
My mother’s name jolts me. It always does. “Thank you,” is all I say. My mother, after all, was beautiful.
Two women enter the kitchen a moment later.
One is tall and curvy, wrapped in a black lace robe with her hair piled on top of her head. She has sleepy eyes, dark skin, and the satisfied expression of a woman who has already survived the morning’s worst. The other is shorter, with coppery hair, freckles across her nose, and a green satin robe tied loosely at her waist.
Both stop when they see me.
The tall one lifts her brows.
The redhead’s mouth curves.
Señora Valentina gestures with her mug. “Mercedes. Esmeralda. This is Cruz Moreno.”
“Cruz,” Mercedes says. “Well. Good morning.”
Esmeralda leans one shoulder against the doorframe. “Very good morning, apparently.”
Señora V bursts out laughing.
I take another drink of coffee and wonder why the hell I didn’t stay upstairs with Robin.
“These are newer girls,” Señora V says to me. “After your time living here.”
“Living here?” Esmeralda asks.
I set the mug down. “A long time ago.”
“Cruz is the son of Esperanza Moreno,” Señora Valentina says. “One of the best. Best heart in this whole house. Best legs too, God rest her.”
I narrow my eyes. “Valentina.”
“What? It’s true. She knew it.”
Mercedes sits at the table and smiles at me. “So you were raised here?”
