Page 13 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

There was a collective gasp, and the room fell silent. Dina’s late husband was never mentioned, especially not in Camila’s presence, and if he was mentioned, it was never in the same breath as the word cartel.

Outraged that Beverly would talk about Dina that way, he stepped so close he could feel her foul breath on his neck. With a threatening hiss, he warned, “If you say one more word about my family, you’re going to find out just how far I’ll go to keep them all safe.”

Fear flickered in her blue eyes. “We’ll see about that! I’m going to the embassy!”

“I’ll arrange a car for you,” Rafa said and glanced at his assistant Amado, who was watching from a distance. “A car for the lady, please.”

“Por favor,” Father Obregon interrupted gently. He stood up, moving between Sky and Beverly. “I think we’re all getting aheadof ourselves. Jaime and Maddie made provisions for Jasper’s future. We discussed it at length before and after his baptism.”

“See?” Beverly said triumphantly. “I know my daughter, and she would never leave her son in the care of your family, Rafael.”

“Well, ma’am, maybe you didn’t know her as well as you think,” Father Obregon countered, his tone conciliatory and pastoral. “I was with them in San Antonio at their attorney’s office when they made their wills and set up very specific plans for what they wanted for their son should anything happen to them. They left everything in a trust for Jasper and made Sky his sole guardian.”

Rafael glanced at Sky, who stared up at them in wide-eyed panic. Did she know? Had she been keeping this a secret the entire time?

“Over my dead body!” Beverly screeched. “No grandson of mine is going to be raised by this little tramp!”

Before Rafael could react, Dina had grasped Beverly by the arm. “That’s it. You’re done here.”

“Let go of me!” Beverly protested, but Dina yanked hard and kept a tight hold, dragging her from the parlor. Her screams echoed off the tile floors and vaulted ceilings, and the chaotic sounds startled Jasper awake. He began to wail, and Sky hurriedly stood up and practically ran from the room with him.

The sight of her running away brought back memories of the way she fled after their ill-advised tryst in the garden. Would she run away again? Take Jasper far away from his family? From his mother who adored her grandchild and grieved the son and daughter-in-law she had lost?

Refusing to let that happen, he chased after Sky, leaving Beto and Lola to handle the fallout in the parlor. Sky heard his footsteps in the hall, and she glanced back with fear and trepidation. She made a beeline for the nearest door and fledacross the grand dining room where his family regularly hosted politicians, celebrities, and even occasionally royalty.

She was quick, even in those high heels, but he had longer legs and caught up with her just as she darted through another side door and into a servant’s hallway. He grabbed her hand and gave a little tug, forcing her to stop and face him. “Sky!”

“Rafael, please,” she pleaded, tears glistening in her green eyes. Jasper had stopped wailing but continued to fuss. She reached into the pocket of her elegant black trousers and produced a pacifier to quiet his cries. “I don’t have the mental or emotional bandwidth to fight with your whole family right now.”

“I’m not here to fight, Sky.” He hated that she assumed the worst of him. Of course, that made him a hypocrite, didn’t it? He had assumed the worst of her when she left the funeral reception. “Did you know?”

She winced at his accusatory tone but admitted, “Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me? You didn’t think I needed to know?” He regretted the harshness in his voice as soon as she spoke. “I’m sorry, Sky. I shouldn’t—.”

“I just lost my sister, Rafa! The only family I’ve ever had! She was the only one who ever loved me unconditionally. Not my father. Not my mother. No one else but Maddie loved me,” Sky sobbed. “She was everything to me. She was my home, and now she’s gone.”

Feeling like the lowest scum in the world, he realized that he had been so worried about his mother and siblings that he hadn’t shown Sky even a tenth of the care and concern she needed. She had been suffering this whole time without anyone to listen to or help her. Instead of showing her compassion, he had chased her through the house like a lunatic and cornered her in a dark hallway.

He stepped back and instantly wondered if that was the right move. She seemed to deflate even more, her shoulders droopingand her gaze lowering. Did she want him close? Did she want him to embrace her? To hold her while she wept?

Jasper reached up with his chubby little hand and played with the tears on Sky’s cheek. It was a heartbreaking moment. He was gutted by the innocent curiosity of his nephew against the horrific anguish Sky felt.

“I didn’t say anything because Beverly was already being so difficult about the funeral.” Sky wiped her face with her fingertips. “She kept screeching at you about not letting Maddie be buried here in Mexico in the family cemetery with Jaime. I knew if I let it out that Jaime and Maddie had left me as Jasper’s guardian Beverly would dig in her heels and do something terrible like take you to court to stop the funeral. I didn’t want your mother to go through that indignity.”

“Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say, and he was certain that wasn’t enough.

“I planned to tell you tonight after everyone had gone home. I wanted to speak with you privately to discuss what my guardianship of Jasper will look like. I wasn’t going to just run away with him.” He grimaced, and she scoffed. “I knew that’s what you were thinking!”

“Can you blame me? You did it before, so how was I to know you wouldn’t run again to avoid facing responsibility or rejection?”

“Rejection? Responsibility?” she repeated, her voice cold. “Is that what you think? You think I ran away after the wedding because I was embarrassed by the way you rejected me? Because I couldn’t handle the consequences of hooking up with you? You are unbelievable, Rafael!”

“Wait! Sky!” He called after her as she turned and strode down the hall, each step angrier than the last. “Where are you going? We’re not done talking!”

“I’m done talking with you!”

He trailed her down the hall and out to the foyer, where there was a smaller second staircase that the family used to reach the upper floors. “Sky! Where are you going?”

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