Page 5 of Naughty and Nice
Unimaginable relief flooded my circulation. He wasn’t forbidding it. “I think I’d like to teach.” I met Mia’s gaze. “Either at a posh private school or maybe at the apartments.”
Her lips curled upward.
Nick laughed. “Posh private school would pay better.”
“Sí,” I replied, “Money isn’t what I want. I want to help people learn, to want to learn.”
Viviana came down the stairs with a finger to her lips. “If any one of you wakes Jorge, you will be responsible for getting him back to sleep.”
Everyone scoffed softly.
This was the side of el Patrón that few witnessed, accepting of my dreams and scolded by his housekeeper. Mia told me once that Silas and Viviana were with el Patrón’s parents for years before moving to San Diego. I’d guess that meant that they knew Aléjandro long before he became el Patrón.
“I should get back to the apartments,” I said. “I left Izzy alone.” I picked up my purse and pulled out my phone. I had a text message from José. After reading I looked up. “José is running an errand for Renata.” I sighed. “I guess I need to wait.”
“I’m headed to that side of town,” Nick said. “I’ll give you a ride.”
“I can’t ask you?—”
“You didn’t,” he interrupted with a grin. “Unless you’re afraid to be alone with me.”
A smile came to my lips. “You’re not scary, Nick Ruiz.”
Chapter
Three
Nick
* * *
Em nudged me in the side as I offered to drive Liliana back to the apartments. Although heat filled my cheeks, I was relatively certain the jab wasn’t noticed by anyone else in the kitchen. Ever since Em had married, he’d been telling me it was time to do the same. Basically, I’ve told Em to shove his advice up his ass. Before Isabella walked into his life, marriage was off his radar. My plate was full with Roríguez cartel business. Wanderland was busier than ever. My father was stepping back from his duties. Or more accurately, Aléjandro was forcing him out. According to el Patrón, the old men had experience, but the world was moving faster than they could adapt. He saw the cartel’s future in people like Rei, Em, and me.
“Would you like a sandwich for the road?” Viviana asked.
“No, gracias,” I replied before looking at Liliana, now standing. “Unless…”
“No,” she replied. “I’ll eat at the apartments.” She turned to Viviana. “It won’t be as good as your cooking though.”
Viviana smiled and nodded. “Next time.”
“Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the ride,” Liliana said as we walked beyond the front door to my car.
There was something different about her that I couldn’t pinpoint. While she was still the same woman who’d moved into Uncle Andrés’s home after Uncle Gerardo was killed, she was different. It was as if a light had been turned off inside her that now, after a few years, was glowing.
I couldn’t remember Liliana before her marriage. She was best friends with my cousin Sofia, but back then, I thought of them as children. As I opened the car door for Liliana, a whiff of lilac filled my senses. Her slender ankles came into view as her dress shifted when she lifted her sandaled feet into the car. She wasn’t a child any longer.
“No problem,” I replied before closing the door.
Once inside the car and behind the steering wheel, I scanned Liliana’s profile—her delicate features, high cheekbones, and unbelievably long eyelashes. Her subtle beauty was on display.
Maybe it was all Em’s talk of marriage, but something inside me hummed in an unfamiliar way. Liliana was easily eight inches shorter than I and over a hundred pounds lighter; yet she had a strength about her, a resolve that only comes from surviving battles. I knew because I’d survived my share.
Hitting the button, I started my BMW M4. Unlike the flashy cars Aléjandro and Rei enjoyed, my classy sedan slipped in and out of Southern California traffic unnoticed. I waited for the guard to open the gate. “A teacher, huh?”
She turned, her smile radiating. “I can’t believe el Patrón didn’t bat an eye.”
“Why would he?” I pulled the car through the gate and onto the road.
