Page 55 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

Morales obviously didn’t believe him. “Get out.”

Steve resisted the urge to smile as he got out of the SUV and walked back toward the apartment building. Dina burst out of the double doors and rushed toward him. She threw her armsaround him and hugged him tightly. Her strength stunned him and made him think of things that really weren’t appropriate.

“Are you okay? They let you go?” Dina pulled back and searched his face. She brushed her fingers along his cheek. “What did they want?”

“I’ll fill you in on the drive back to the house.” Steve wanted to get off this street as quickly as possible. “We need to be more careful. No stops—and I’m driving.”

“Okay.” She agreed without argument which convinced him she was taking this seriously.

They hurried across the street to the parking garage. She tossed him the key fob, and he slid behind the wheel. She managed to keep her curiosity contained until they merged onto the street and started toward the estate. “Well?”

He quickly filled her in on all he’d learned from Morales. “I told him about Chavela.”

“What? Why?”

“To give him something useful to do,” Steve answered honestly. “We can’t chase all the leads. I don’t have any jurisdiction here, and we need someone to pick her up and keep her out of the way.”

“Why?”

Steve didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to point fingers and cause an argument. “Diego is trying to take out a hit on me. He thinks I’m your boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend?” she echoed in shock. “Why would he think that? How could he even know that we’ve—?”

Steve glanced away from the road to Dina’s beautiful face. Her expression contorted to one of pain and betrayal. “Someone inside the house is talking to Diego?”

Steve nodded—and waited for her to come to the same conclusion he had.

“Camila,” she breathed, her voice torn up with emotion.

With a resigned sigh, he confirmed, “Camila.”

Chapter Seventeen

“If she told him, it wasn’t to hurt us,” Dina insisted, her heart racing as fast as the car Steve was driving at breakneck speed.

“I know that,” Steve replied. “She probably said something to him because she’s mad and confused. She doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

“She doesn’t want you to get hurt either.” Dina couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe the worst of her daughter.

“I know that, too.”

“Do you?” Dina studied his tense profile. His rigid jaw, the flexing tendons in his neck, the stiff set of his shoulders.

“Of course, I do.” Steve looked away from the road to meet her imploring gaze. “Camila isn’t Diego. She’s all you, Dina. She’s the best parts of you and your family.”

His words soothed her raw nerves, but she wasn’t blameless. “She’s the worst parts of me, too.”

“Dina—.”

“No, Steve, it’s true. I’ve been so closed off, so aloof. I’ve been so afraid to trust and to love. I’ve been so focused on independence and success and proving myself and making up for all the stupid mistakes I made.” Her stomach twisted, and she gripped the seatbelt with both hands. “I spent so much time focusing on the wrong things. I taught my daughter all the wrong things. I wasn’t there for her the way she needed me to be.”

“You’re here for her now, Dina.” Steve reached across the center console and pried her hand from the seatbelt. He interlaced their fingers and squeezed. “You’re a good mother. You love Camila. You’ve dedicated your life to giving her security and happiness. Yeah, sure, you made some mistakes, but you know what? All parents do.”

Prickly heat irritated her eyes, and she tried so hard not to cry. She blinked rapidly, catching tears on her lashes that fell onto her cheeks. Her heart sang as Steve lifted her hand and tenderly kissed the back of it. “Do you have any idea how romantic you are?”

Steve laughed shortly. “Me? Romantic? Hardly, sweetheart.”

“Don’t argue with me, Steve. I’m always right.” She managed a weak smile for him, and he grinned back, that boyish lopsided smile causing her heart to pitter-patter in her chest.

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