Page 4 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

Embarrassed and humiliated, Sky fled the garden. Gripped with panic, she ran to her guest room and locked the door. What if Beverly told Rafael’s mother what she had done? That she had seduced Rafael? What if Beverly had been recording all of it? What if she shared videos or photos of Rafael and her together like that?

What would people say? The age gap was nothing to Sky, but other people wouldn’t see it that way. It would be a scandal. It would be a gossipy, ugly story that would overshadow and ruin Maddie’s honeymoon and the beginning of her marriage.

Sky couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing her sister or Jaime’s family. She looked at the beautiful bracelet Soila had given her and felt like the scummiest person in the world. She had been welcomed into their family, and she had made a spectacle of herself.

I have to get out of here. Now.

She couldn’t face Rafael or his family again tonight.

Maybe not ever.

Chapter One

Six Years Later

***

“Oh my gosh, Jasper. I’m just gonna eat your little toes right up!” Sky nibbled her baby nephew’s chubby feet, and the baby squealed with delight. “Nom. Nom. Nom. Nom.”

“You’re going to get him all wound up, and he’ll never nap,” Maddie warned from the massive closet where she was getting dressed for her flight.

“Did you hear that? Mommy says I need to wind you up!” Sky tickled his belly through the soft onesie and nuzzled his cute nose. “Just like a little clock.Click. Click. Click.”

Jasper laughed, making that adorableyuck-yuck-yuck sound that made Sky completely gaga for her nephew. He was just the sweetest baby she had ever seen, and she thanked her lucky stars Jaime and Maddie trusted her to care for him every day.

Accepting the role of live-in nanny hadn’t been part of her plans, but after finishing her job as a tour guide in Iceland, she wanted to come home and establish roots. Maybe go back to college. Maybe finally get serious about publishing one of the many cozy mystery novels she had written and stashed in her Dropbox.

Maddie and Jaime had struggled to get and stay pregnant. There had been numerous miscarriages and months of negative pregnancy tests. Sky might have been half a world away in some far-flung location, working menial jobs as part of her adventure, but she had touched base with her sister every single day. There were so many nights when Jaime had been away on business that Sky had stayed awake with Maddie, listening to her cry and confess her deepest fears that she would never be a mother or that Jaime would lose interest or blame her for their being childless.

Which was ridiculous!

Jaime practically worshipped the ground Maddie walked on, and he had made it clear from the beginning that he was perfectly happy to stop the fertility treatments and move on to adoption or surrogacy. As far as Sky knew, that had been the plan before Maddie had gotten unexpectedly pregnant during their anniversary trip to Disneyland. It really was the most magical place on earth!

But with that miracle pregnancy came the worst morning sickness. Hyperemesis gravidarum. Sky had never even heard of such a thing. One call from Jaime, and she had been on the first flight back to San Antonio from Reykjavik. She had been here ever since.

“You’re sure you don’t mind staying here with Jasper?” Maddie asked for the eleventh time in as many hours. “It’s no trouble to change our reservations and bring the two of you with us.”

“Jaime planned this special getaway for the two of you to reconnect and do sexy married people things.” Sky wrestled a sock onto Jasper’s wiggly foot. “How many times have you told me that you need this? That you need a romantic getaway so you can be a wife and a woman and not just someone’s mom?”

“I know.” Maddie helped with the second sock and then swept her son up into her arms. “But it’s hard. I love this little guy so much, and I love Jaime so much. I want to be there for both of them.”

“I know you do. That’s because you’re a great mom and a wonderful wife.” Maddie’s marriage was Sky's ultimate goal. To find a partner who supported and loved her and thought she hung the moon and stars. “You deserve a break, Maddie. You spent almost the entire pregnancy in bed or the hospital. You’ve spent the last nine months of Jasper’s life up and down all night, pumping and nursing. Changing hundreds of diapers. Going to doctor’s appointments. Taking him to play groups and the park and the zoo. And you’ve opened a second boutique location!”

“Yes, well, you were here helping me with all that,” Maddie insisted. “You were up and down just as many nights, and you changed more diapers than Jaime ever has. You’ve been with me at many of those playgroups and outings, and I wouldn’t have ever been able to expand my business without your help caring for Jasper while I work.”

“Which is exactly why I’m going on vacation as soon as you two get back,” Sky reminded her. “Just me, a stack of beach reads, and gorgeous Greek sunsets for a week.”

“But you will come back, right?” Maddie looked worried as she snuggled Jasper. “You’re not going to disappear to Timbuktu again?”

Sky rolled her eyes. “First of all, I ran off to Casablanca. Timbuktu came after my stop in Marrakesh. Second, of courseI’m coming right back. I told you before—I’m done with adventure. I want roots. I want stability.”

“I know I've said it a million times, but I’m glad you came home.” Maddie nuzzled Jasper’s downy soft hair. “You belong here with us, and Jasper needs you in his life.” She frowned and bitterly muttered, “No matter what my mother says.”

As far as Sky could tell, Beverly had never revealed what happened the night of Maddie’s wedding. Sky lived in fear of Beverly telling the truth about what she had seen that night in the garden. Six years of keeping that secret wouldn’t go over well with Maddie, especially since she trusted Sky with so many fears and confidences of her own.

“Someday, I hope you’ll tell me why you ran off like that,” Maddie said, not for the first time. “I know you had your reasons, but I missed you.”

“I know you did.” Guilt twisted and ate at her stomach. “I can’t change the past, Maddie.” Sky tried not to think about all the mistakes she had made over the years. “I can only live in the now. I hope you can forgive me for running off like that and scaring everyone after the wedding. And for breaking my promise to Dad that I would go to college.”

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