Page 33 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“I thought he was—.” Camila shook her head. “He told me—.” She wailed. “Shetold me that you were all liars, and I believed them! I believed them, and I said terrible things to you!”

“Camila.” Dina dragged her daughter into a loving embrace. “It’s okay. It’s okay,mija. You didn’t know.”

“It’s not okay! It’s not!”

“Steve. Dina.” Beto spoke loud enough to be heard over Camila’s wailing. The scent of spices and grilled meat clung to him, and the red and white gingham smock he seemed to have borrowed from Jovita had smoky smears on the fabric. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what he had walked in on. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later,” Steve said, certain Beto hadn’t come in from grilling to deal with this. “What’s wrong?”

“The police are here.” Beto kept his gaze focused on his niece and sister. “They want to speak with you, Dina.”

“Me?” Dina seemed surprised. She glanced at her distraught daughter and then to Steve. “Beto, this isn’t a good time.”

“They have warrants. Miguel is here, too.”

“Miguel?” Steve repeated.

“Our family attorney,” Dina clarified before embracing Camila and whispering something supportive and soothing in her ear. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

“I’ll take care of her,” Beto promised.

“No,” Camila replied, shaking her head. “I want to talk to him.”

Steve hadn’t expected Camila to point at him.

“I want him to tell me the truth about my dad.”

Dina gulped, looking as if she might be sick at any moment. “Camila, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“He’s a police officer. He knows the truth. I want to hear all of it,” Camila insisted.

Steve didn’t know how to respond. No matter what he said or did, he was going to upset someone.

Dina stared at him for an unnerving long moment. She seemed to be trying to read his face, to gauge whether or not he could truly be trusted. Finally, she sighed and said, “Okay.”

“I can stay with them,” Beto offered.

Dina shook her head. “I trust Steve with her.”

The full weight of her trust hit him like a train. She was a very protective mother, and if she trusted him to tell her daughter the truth about her father, well, that was saying something wasn’t it?

Dina left with her brother, and Steve regarded Camila with uncertainty. “Do you want to talk somewhere more comfortable?”

“The library,” Camila said and bent to gather up the fallen papers and photos. She tucked them into the folder and carried it with her out of the laundry room. He trailed after the teenager, noticing at once how she walked with her mother’s regal grace.

When they entered the library, Camila walked to a leather sofa and sat down. She held the folder in front of her like a shield, and Steve decided to give her as much space as possible. He pulled an antique ladder chair from a reading table and placed it acrossfrom her. He waited a moment, wondering if she would speak first.

“You and my mom?” Camila’s dainty features distorted with disgust. “How long?”

“We aren’t,” he said, not wanting to delve into his personal life with Dina’s daughter.

“Uh, well, you sure looked like you were,” Camila snapped.

“It was a heat of the moment thing,” Steve said uncomfortably. “There’s a lot of stress, and sometimes kissing like that just happens.”

Camila looked less than impressed with his feeble explanation. “You know I’m not five, right? Like I know all about relationships and sex and stuff.”

“Uh-huh,” Steve replied, fairly certain she didn’t know anything at all. “Well, it’s best you talk with your mom about all of that.”

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