Page 6 of Now and Forever

“I’m not Mama’s daughter. Papá acts like it doesn’t matter, but I know Patron sees me differently than you, Camila, or Sofia.”

I turned my hand and squeezed hers. “You are a Ruiz. That’s all that matters.”

Mireya nodded.

“Besides, neither one of us ever imagined Prince Charming as the future capo in the Italian Mob.”

She forced a scoff. “Yeah, Disney did a shitty job of accurately depicting our future.” She tilted her head to me. “I don’t know what to say. Mama told me not to say anything until it’s announced, but ever since she told me, I’ve been dying to find out how you’re doing.”

“Would you do it?” I asked. “If Patron had chosen you to marry a stranger?”

Mireya looked down at her lap. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it.” She looked up. “I think I would fight it. Remember Ana?”

I nodded. Ana was my age and in my class at our high school. Her father worked for Uncle Nicolas. I remembered when she showed up at school after a break with a huge diamond ring. She was only sixteen. After graduation and her eighteenth birthday, she married a man in Mexico, a high-ranking cartel boss. “I’ve been thinking about her too.”

“She has two children. Papá said their home is almost as big as Jorge’s. He called it a fortress.”

“I don’t know if I can fight it. I’m not being married to someone in the cartel.” I stood and walked to the window overlooking the ocean and took in the beauty. “Kansas City.” I turned and faced my cousin. “I’ve never lived anywhere but here. Mexico would at least be warm. Doesn’t it snow in Kansas City?”

“We liked snow the time we went to Bear Mountain.”

“That was for a week of skiing, not a lifetime.”

“They have summer in Kansas, too,” Mireya assured me. She let out a long breath. “I want to think I’d fight, but I don’t know if I would. It seems unfair.”

“It is,” I admitted.

“Honestly, I thought we were in the clear. You know? Like we were too old for this. I mean, don’t those men want young virgin women?”

“Papá said Dario refused to marry a child. My virginity was never questioned.” I fought the prickle of tears coming to my eyes. Mireya knew everything about me as I did her. “I wish I wasn’t still a virgin. I wish I’d given it away to someone I wanted to share it with.”

“We may not be children,” Mireya said, “but we haven’t exactly been given free rein to pick up a guy in a bar or on the beach.”

No. We’d both been protected, attending an all-girls Catholic school and having bodyguards with us whenever our fathers or brothers weren’t present.

“And we’ve both heard how important it is to save ourselves.” My stomach twisted. “What if Dario doesn’t want me? What if he’s been told to marry me like I’ve been told to marry him?”

“Who wouldn’t want you, Cat?” She gestured toward me. “Look at you.”

“Mama and Papá dressed me for this. I feel like a cheap whore from one of the clubs.”

“You don’t look cheap. Will Dario be here?”

“Papá said this is for Patron. He hasn’t seen me since Camila’s quinceañera. Papá wants him to know I’ve grown up.”

“He’ll get the message.”

Soon, Lola came to my door and announced the guests were beginning to arrive. When Mireya and I passed Papá’s office, the grand doors were closed. We looked at one another. She reached for my hand as we both silently wondered if Patron was inside.

At the bottom of the staircase, I received congratulations from the growing number of guests. There were friends from high school, college, professors, teachers, colleagues of my father and their families. It was considered an honor to be invited to a top lieutenant’s home. It made me wonder about my wedding.

Thankfully, despite Mireya hearing about my upcoming marriage, no one else mentioned it, and I wasn’t going to bring it up.

Feeling claustrophobic from both the number of guests and my litany of thoughts, I slipped out onto the terrace. Goose bumps scattered over my arms and legs. The air had cooled with the setting of the sun. I reached for a tall glass from the tray of a passing waiter, stared down at the changing colorful lights within the pool, and sipped my champagne. I was deep in thought when Aléjandro Roríguez appeared at my side. He was tall and what some would consider handsome—no, make that whatheconsidered handsome. The scent of his cologne was washed away by the ocean breeze.

He leaned closer, his warm breath on my exposed skin. “Nice dress, Cat. I suppose congratulations are in order.”

I took a step back and waited for his eyes to find my face. “Thank you. I’m happy to have my degree.”

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