Page 187 of From Rivals to I Do

“Does she know about…?” Rafael trailed off, indicating him with a leaning of his head. Abel shook his head, and he breathed a little sigh of relief. “Well, thank goodness for that.”

“She’s going to put it together eventually, though,” said Abel.

“No, she won’t.”

“Raf—”

Chapter eight

Chapter Eight

Camilla was ready for this. She felt it in her bones.

Lulu had been the one to set her on this path, and after their first date, she’d started to realize how right she was. Sitting on the park bench, she could see a future that didn’t involve her working her life away. She liked sitting in the sun with Abel, his hands intertwined with hers. She liked that Charlie felt completely happy to see him and wanted to interact with him as much as possible. Never had Camilla felt so certain that there really was life after tragedy.

And it was going to begin with dancing. What she’d told Abel about her love of dancing was true. Before Carlos got sick, dancing was the way that they connected for date night. It made sense for them because it had been how they met. Carlos loved to dance, and so did Camilla. The night they met, she’d been out with her friends, and he’d asked her to dance with him. The rest, as they say, was history.

The dance club where she met Abel was as much of a club as it had been a small warehouse back in her youth. When Camilla was young, it was well known that the old warehouse was where her peers would go and party sometimes. She, of course, had been too young to have experienced it personally, but everyone in school knew it was the place to be on a Saturday night. Eventually, some developers got hip to that knowledge and turned it into a legitimate club.

All while she had been rebuilding her father’s business, she’d heard about the renovations, and a small part of her heart nagged relentlessly inside her. That small part of her wanted to go there, just to see if it was going to be as fun as the old clubs she and Carlos used to go to. However, work, her restaurant, and her grief held her back. Days turned to weeks turned to months, and before she knew it, she was barely thinking about dancing anymore. That trend was about to end, however.

A few hours after they closed the restaurant, she was riding in the back of an Uber. As the car cruised down the club’s street, she was amazed to see all the activity around it. The parking lot across the street was nearly full, and the street itself seemed to be busy with people making their way to the thumping music just beyond the large metal doors.

Camilla had chosen a flowy red dress with a halter top that exposed her graceful neck and rounded shoulders as well as pushed her cleavage up. Admittedly, she was feeling a little exposed, but at the same time, she felt really beautiful. She’d done up her hair in a million ringlets, and her makeup was strategically chosen to highlight the blue in her eyes. When she looked at herself in the mirror one last time before leaving her house, she imagined herself twirling on the dance floor the way she had so many years before.

Lulu had gleefully offered to sit with Charlie while she went out. When she saw her walking out in her dress, her eyes got as large as the broad smile on her face.

“Look at you,” she said. “He is going to flip!”

Camilla certainly hoped so.

An hour later, she got out of her Uber and stepped onto the sidewalk just as a group of young men walked past. They all caught sight of her at once, and three of them stumbled. The first one just gaped stupidly as his friends fell over themselves. Camilla watched them walk past and smiled involuntarily. So this is what it feels like to be the prettiest girl in the room.“Camilla.” She turned to see Abel jogging up to her. He was wearing a casual but nice-looking jacket with black slacks and shiny-looking shoes. His hair was neatly combed and gelled so that it had a tousled yet organized look around his gentle face. He stopped as soon as he got close to her, his eyes roaming her body. He snapped his fingers while shaking his hand like he’d just touched something hot.

“Ooh,” he said. He then took her by the hand, kissing it. “You look like a dream.”

“Thanks,” she responded. The flush in her face was moving down her neck now. She imagined she was as red as her dress. His dark eyes continued to look her over, visually devouring her.

“You ready to dance?” he asked her.

“I am,” she responded. “Think you can keep up?”

He laughed out loud. “You have no idea who you’re talking to. Back in the day, I could dance all night.”

“That was ten years ago,” she said smartly. “I’m pretty sure I can dance circles around you now.”

“I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” His smile was like sunshine, and she wanted to bathe in it. He put his arm out to her. “Shall we?”

She hooked her arm in his, and the two walked to the front door and into the club.

The sound of cumbia music surrounded her as they walked through the door. Lights bounced around the large dance floor as a small sea of bodies moved to the music. Abel and Camilla stood there for a moment, taking in the sights. For all of Camilla’s talk, she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed just looking at all the couples out on the dance floor. The bar was closest to them, right by the door, and the bartenders were moving like assembly line workers trying to get drinks out to the crowd surrounding them.

“Do you want something to drink?” Abel asked loudly, trying to get his voice to climb over the sound of the music.

Camilla shook her head. “I don’t drink.”

“Neither do I,” he said. “Maybe we should start?”

He was raising an eyebrow at her. He was just as nervous as she was. She squeezed his arm, feeling a little like they were standing on the edge of a diving board. “Maybe after.”

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