Page 45 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

“Why?”

Dina shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she wanted to trap him and become part of the family. Maybe she wanted someone to love her unconditionally. Maybe her parents put her up to it.”

“That’s awful.” Steve grimaced at the idea of parents trying to convince their teenage daughter to get pregnant for access to money.

“People are awful when money is involved.”

“I bet they are,” Steve agreed sadly. “I bet you and your siblings have seen more than your fair share of that kind of ugliness.”

“We’ve been lucky. Lola only had one boyfriend who was a gold digger. Rafa and Jaime never did.”

“And you?”

She smiled grimly. “Just my ex-husband. I haven’t given any man a chance to try it since.”

“How so?”

“I don’t date.”

Steve seemed taken aback. “Never?”

“Nope.”

“So...us?” he asked carefully.

“What about us?” she asked, unable to meet his piercing gaze.

“Could there be an us?” Steve shifted into her line of sight, all but forcing her to look at his handsome face. Earnest. Honest. Trustworthy. He was all the things she craved. “After all this settles down and things go back to normal?”

“What if things never go back to normal?” She hadn’t admitted it to anyone yet but she was terrified Diego would never be caught. “What if Diego stays a fugitive? What if he’s always out there, hiding in the shadows? Threatening us?”

“All the more reason to keep me close,” Steve reasoned.

She exhaled in shock and confusion. “How do you always say the right thing?”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

“I’ll mess it up eventually,” Steve warned, taking a step toward her.

“I’ll probably forgive you,” Dina whispered, her heart pounding as Steve cupped her face in his strong hands. Her brain screamed for her to break away, to remind him that she could not get involved right now, but her body ached for him.

She closed her eyes as his lips met hers. He tasted bitter and sweet, like coffee and milk and sugar. He was so tender as he kissed her, just letting their lips linger for the longest, sweetest moment.

When he deepened the kiss, she grasped his powerful forearms, feeling the muscles ripple under her fingers. He groaned against her mouth, sending a frisson of heat straight between her legs. His fingers tangled in her loose hair, and he wound the strands around them, tugging lightly and setting her scalp alight.

She moaned and clutched at his shoulders, desperate to draw him closer. If she could have climbed him, she would have. Only the knowledge that anyone could walk by and see them kept her shoes planted on the floor.

“I want you, Dina.” Steve spoke raggedly between feverish kisses. “Not just for one night.”

“Steve,” she murmured, her heart torn between loving this man and doing what was best for her daughter.

“I know,” he soothingly reassured her. “I know.”

Did he? He must have some idea of the terrible battle she was fighting.

“I can wait,” he promised before kissing her so wickedly her knees wobbled.

---