Page 8 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

But did he go to Casablanca? Or Dubai? India? China? Australia? New Zealand? Or any of the other dozens of places she had turned up during her worldwide trek? No. He stayed in Mexico, hiding from the truth. Like a coward. As if he were ashamed.

And maybe he was—a little.

He had no business being attracted to Sky back then. She had always been one of many faces in Lola’s photos on social media. Gangly. Freckled. Braces. Then, she had been Maddie’s sister. Less gangly. Still freckled. No braces. He hadn’t seen her as anything but what she was—a child.

Until Jaime and Maddie’s engagement party. He hadn’t even recognized her. The knockout blonde in the black dress caught his eye the second he spotted her walking into the hotel ballroom. When he had finally registered her familiar green eyes and mischievous smile, Rafael had been torn between shock, lust and discomfort. Technically, she had been an adult, but ethically? Ethically, it was a shit show.

He had fought those inappropriate feelings for the better part of a year. He had reminded himself again and again that she was too young, too inexperienced, too sweet, and good for a tired, grumpy man a decade her senior. But then she’d kissed him—and he’d lost control.

All these years later, he still hadn’t gotten over her. He had dated many women, but none of them had ever made his heart race like Sky did. He dutifully went on dates his mother arranged, but the spark never materialized. They were all lovely, accomplished, beautiful ladies, and if Sky Van Cleef hadn’t stolen his heart six years ago, he would have probably fallen in love with one of them.

But his heart still belonged to Sky, and he wasn’t sure how to get it back.

Or if he even wanted to...

Chapter Three

“Should he be eating those?”

Sky closed her eyes and clamped her mouth shut as Rafael yet again questioned her ability to care for Jasper. Glad she was facing away from him at the stove, she exhaled slowly and then brightly said, “Yep! It’s perfectly safe for him to eat sweet potatoes.”

“I meant the size,” he clarified, his voice tinged with worry. “Will he choke?”

No, but I’m about to choke you if you don’t get off my case!

“They’re steamed and squishy.” Sky turned away from the stove, smiling even though she wanted to scowl. “See. He’s already mashing them up with his hands.”

Looking both horrified and amused, Rafael watched Jasper destroy his dinner. “Does any of that even get into his mouth?”

“Some of it,” she said, carrying two plates to the table to join them. “Maddie plans out his meals with me, and we make sure he gets plenty of options throughout the day, plus his formulaor breast milk.” She placed Rafael’s dinner in front of him. “You said yourself that he’s grown a lot since you last saw him.”

“Right.” Rafael seemed abashed and turned his attention to his plate. “This looks delicious. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She sat beside Jasper’s highchair and redirected the spoon he was waving toward his mouth. When the sweet potatoes and peas he had been smashing made it into his mouth, she exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Yummy!”

Jasper smiled, baring his two little teeth and a mouthful of orange and green. “Mum-mum-mum-mum.”

“Yep! That’s right! Yummy!” She pretended to understand his babbling. As she returned to her own meal, she noticed Rafael watching her with a strange look. “What?”

“You’re a natural at this.”

He wasn’t the first to tell her that, but it still made her proud. “I didn’t think I would be,” she admitted, cutting into her seasoned chicken thigh. “I never even had a puppy or a kitten. I wasn’t sure I could handle a baby.” She shrugged. “But, once Maddie handed him over to me so she could shower, I realized how easy it was to snuggle and love him. The hard stuff is what Maddie and Jaime do. I get to hand him back at the end of the day, but they’re in this for at least eighteen years.”

“At least,” Rafael agreed. “It seems most kids stay with their parents even after college now.”

“Student loans, crazy high rental prices, inflation,” she listed off the most common gripes of her friends forced to move back home. “It’s wildly expensive to live right now, especially when you’re just starting and have nothing.”

“Jaime wants us to offer student loan forgiveness programs for our employees here.” Rafael reached for his beer. “We already have a reimbursement program for our employees in Mexico. I suppose it would make sense to do it here, but the cost?” He made a face. “It’s steep.”

“Jaime told me that your grandfather was the one who started paying off employee student debt.”

“There was a chemist who worked for us. Maria Elena Cruz Garcia,” he said, his tongue rolling over the syllables in a way she found fascinating. “Abuelo found her waiting tables on the weekends to pay off university debts. He was embarrassed and angry, and on Monday morning, he handed her a check to cover her school loans. After that, he made it a point to care for our people.”

“Your grandfather sounds like a wonderful man.”

“He was.” Rafael used his fork to push another cube of steamed sweet potato toward Jasper. “Eat yourpapas.”

Jasper babbled happily as he squished the sweet potato between his messy fingers and then smooshed it into his mouth.

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