Page 11 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

“Funny,” he muttered and came into the library. He wandered over to the bar cart and poured himself a bourbon. As he carried his glass to the nearest chair, he asked, “When you were traveling, did you see our tequila and beer?”

“I did.” Why did he have to make drinking bourbon look so sexy? Could he not go five minutes without making her think dirty thoughts? “It was very popular in Asia, especially Japan. I saw the tequila in most of the bars I visited in Australia and Iceland. Not so much when I was traveling through Africa and the Middle East.”

“No, we’ve struggled with market penetration there.” He leaned his head back against the chair and sighed.

Desperate to turn their conversation away from all thoughts of penetration, market or otherwise, she said, “Enedina’s ranch water in the can was a big hit overseas. It was interesting to see how that rollout worked as I was traveling. I always made sure to snap photos of the displays and sent them to her.”

“Dina has a knack for that sort of thing.” He smiled warmly at the mention of his sister. “She uses Instagram and Pinterest to share all those recipes for spicy margaritas and smoked margaritas and whatever else she dreams up in her kitchen. Lola’s TikTok presence helps so much. I was so hesitant to make a lower priced line of tequila, but Dina was right about appealing to customers who are new to the taste. It’s our largest growth sector company wide.”

“Sounds like you should listen to everything Dina says.”

“Now you really sound like my mother,” he muttered before taking a long sip of bourbon. He set aside his glass and reached into the pocket of his jeans to retrieve his phone. “Speaking of my mother....”

Certain he would want privacy for his call, she picked up the tablet and her tea. “I’ll be upstairs in my room if you need anything.”

“You don’t have to go.”

She might have imagined it, but it sounded as if he wanted her to stay. As much as she wanted to, she knew nothing good would come from it. “I’m pretty beat. I think I’ll shower and turn in for the night.” She gestured with the tablet and said, “If Jasper wakes up, I’ll settle him back down.”

“I can try,” he offered.

“You’re welcome to if you hear him.” She wasn’t about to turn down help in the middle of the night. “Good night, Rafa.”

“Good night, Sky.” As she reached the doorway, he called out, “Did you hear from Maddie or Jaime yet?”

“No.” She gave a little shrug. “I just figured they got to their hotel and, well,you know.”

“Yeah,” he agreed with a slightly uncomfortable laugh. “I know.”

“Night.” She left the library and climbed the stairs to the second floor. She tiptoed into Jasper’s room and made sure he was secure in his crib. Rafael had done a nearly perfect job getting him into bed, but he hadn’t known about the nightlight or the noise machine. Once they were on, she backed out of the room and went to hers across the hall.

She read a chapter of the latest Freida McFadden book and finished her tea before taking a quick shower and changing into her pajamas. She turned off the lights and slipped between the covers, glancing at the baby monitor one last time before closing her eyes and thinking sleepy thoughts.

But her dreams were tormented by visions of Rafael. She dreamed of his hands on her body, his mouth pressed to hers. She dreamed of Beverly calling her a whore and Soila sobbing with embarrassment. She dreamed of Maddie throwing her outof the house and Jasper crying uncontrollably as she ran away into the night.

A loud and insistent knock woke her from those fitful dreams. She sat up in bed, her heart racing, and glanced at the clock. It was seven after two in the morning. Wondering if she had missed Jasper crying, she looked at the monitor, but he was still sleeping peacefully.

“Sky?” Rafael called softly from the other side of her door and rapped his knuckles against the wood a little harder. “Sky?”

“Hang on,” she said, her voice rough from sleep. She threw back the covers and hurried across her room to open the door. He loomed above her, his face contorted with fear and panic and something else she couldn’t quite pinpoint. He was dressed in only pajama bottoms and no shirt, but she wasn’t interested in the expanse of chiseled chest right now. She was only interested in his eyes, and the terrifying realization that he was on the verge of tears. “Rafa?”

“It’s Jaime and Maddie,” he croaked. “Their plane never made it to Miami.”

And just like that, her entire world turned upside down.

Chapter Four

Crushed under the weight of his grief and the responsibility he had to his family, Rafael lingered just outside the entrance of the grand parlor. Dozens of relatives and friends quietly moved around the expansive rooms of his family’s estate, murmuring among themselves and participating in the traditional funeral reception. The delicate strumming of guitars played over the sound system, piping the familiar strains of an acoustic version ofPaloma Negraacross the air.

As much as he wanted to hide someplace private to exorcise his grief, he couldn’t. His mother depended on him. She had lost her son and hadn’t stopped crying in eight days, not from the first painful phone call when he had informed her that Jaime’s plane was missing. All those hours on her knees in church, praying and lighting candles, had come to nothing.

The mangled remains of Jaime’s plane had been found not far off the Florida panhandle. He and Maddie had been strapped into their seats, both dying from the impact of the aircraft intothe water. The investigators didn’t have an exact cause of the crash yet, but all signs pointed to a microburst. As much as Rafael wanted to know why his brother had chosen to fly when a tropical storm was churning away in the Gulf of Mexico, there was no point in second-guessing those decisions now.

Jaime was gone. Maddie was gone.

And poor little Jasper was an orphan.

As Rafael entered the parlor, he immediately spotted Sky. Sitting between his mother and Father Obregon, the priest from the San Antonio parish who had come to speak at the funeral, Sky held Jasper as he slept peacefully, his head resting on her shoulder. She rubbed his back and smiled wanly at Sr. and Sra. Contreras as they offered their condolences. As his mother began to weep louder, Sky reached over to hug her. The sight of her gentle comfort proved yet again what a wonderfully kind person she was.

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