Page 18 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“I’m sorry, Dina. That must have been very hard for you.”

He wasn’t being patronizing or insincere. She finally worked up the courage to meet his gaze and saw how incredibly real he was. He wasn’t judging her. He didn’t pity her. He accepted all of her, ugly, messy history included.

“It was, but I’m not that girl anymore.” She lifted her chin. “I won’t let my daughter be that girl either.”

“She’ll come around.” Steve stroked Jasper’s hair. The sight of him holding her nephew and being so tender and loving made her heart sing. She’d long ago given up the idea of having another child, but God help her. Seeing Steve playing daddy to Jasper left her ovaries tingling and her soul yearning.

“She’s a confused kid, Dina. I see it all the time with kids raised by single moms. They have abandonment issues, and they build up these wild fantasies in their heads about the father who isn’t around. They’re vulnerable and easily manipulated, and shit bags like Diego know it. It’s easy to fill her head with stories about how everyone else did him wrong. She wants to believe that it’s someone else’s fault he isn’t present as a father. She doesn’t want to believe he chose crime over her.”

Dina marveled at his ability to so easily describe the situation with Camila. “How often do those kids see the light?”

Steve didn’t answer immediately. He patted Jasper’s bottom and swayed slowly. “Not often,” he finally admitted. “Mostly, they end up in prison.” He pinned her in place with a stare. “But those kids didn’t have you as a mother or this family of yours.”

“You think that will change things?” she asked, almost too afraid to hope.

“I know it will,” Steve assured her.

Praying he was right, she changed the subject to a lighter topic. “How was dinner?”

Steve dramatically groaned and patted his flat stomach. “I’m so stuffed I can barely breathe. Jovita is a hell of a cook.”

“You have to walk after dinner,” Dina advised. “A slow, easy walk in the gardens is the only way to survive her menus without gaining weight.”

“Your mother had Lola take me out to see the sunflowers and dahlias.”

Dina hated the spike of jealousy that flared at the thought of her younger, prettier and carefree sister walking anywhere private with Steve. Lola would be perfect for him. She was funny and sweet and hadn’t been married to an absolute psycho killer who had escaped prison.

“Your sister is a hoot,” Steve said, clearly unaware of how his compliment stung. “I think she’d fit right in at a tailgate.”

“I’m sure she would,” Dina said, feigning a smile. “You know our ranch water line is one of the biggest sellers during football season, especially in Texas.”

“Doesn’t surprise me. It’s delicious.”

“You drink it?”

“Not often,” Steven adjusted Jasper. “I’m not a big drinker, just a beer during a ball game or a drink at the bar every now and then.”

“I don’t drink often either,” Dina confessed. “None of us do.” She didn’t mention that Beto and Lola had both been a bit wild with alcohol during their very early twenties. “Our father and grandfather always preached against it.”

“Don’t get high on your own supply?” Steve repeated the famous line fromScarface.

“Basically,” she agreed with a little smile that died as a cramp twisted her lower belly.

“Are you okay?” Steve moved closer and reached out to touch her face. His warm palm cupped her cheek and jaw, and she quickly forgot all about the painful sensation gripping her uterus. “You look like you’re about to be sick.”

“Lady problems,” she admitted with some mortification.

“Oh.” He didn’t seem the least bit discomfited by her answer. If anything, he seemed more concerned. “Do you need some painkillers? Or a heating pad?”

Taken aback, she asked, “You know about those kinds of things?”

“Sister, remember?” His thumb brushed along her jaw, and she felt suddenly faint. “Between her and my mom, I’ve bought dozens of boxes of Kotex and bottles of Pamprin.”

She couldn’t even imagine asking Rafa or Beto get her a box of tampons. They’d both do it, but not without making a huge fuss about it. Not to mention, her mother would scold her for asking them to do something that was so personal.

“I’ll be fine once I get into bed,” Dina said, feeling all sorts of confused. On one hand, she was in pain. On the other, she was wildly aroused by Steve. His familiar touch had awakened feelings she had been suppressing since their hotel tryst. She hadn’t been able to look at another man without thinking of Steve.

“You know, there’s another way to relieve cramps,” Steve said in that slow Texas drawl of his. His voice had deepened, and she swallowed hard at the crazy way her heart flipped in her chest. “A way that’s more enjoyable than a heating pad and some ibuprofen.”

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