Page 115 of The Wildest Ride

“To the Closed Circuit.”

She lifted her glass to clink it against his. “The Closed Circuit?”

“Without it, we wouldn’t have met and you’d still be a virgin.”

Lil made a choking noise in her throat, quickly looking around the room and AJ kept his face carefully neutral.

When she could breathe again, she said, “Don’t say things like that in public.”

He looked around the room innocently. “Oh, I hadn’t noticed there were so many people around...” When she made another pinched sound, he gestured to her glass. “Here, have some water.”

They had to ask for more time when the waiter returned for their food order. When he came back, Lil ordered a flank steak, AJ a T-bone.

“You’re a Texas stereotype, you know,” she said.

He sat back in his chair and took a sip of his tequila. “I’d better be. My people’ve been in Texas longer than it’s been in the US.”

“You talk about your dad’s side a lot,” she observed. “Where’s your mom’s family?”

He shrugged. “She was an only child and her parents were estranged from the rest of her family. We know who they are, but aren’t connected.”

“That’s too bad. Must be hard for her, not having anybody outside of you.”

He shook his head. “Not too hard. She’s got my dad’s family.”

Lil raised an eyebrow and he continued. “I’d be lying if I said my grandmother didn’t care about a paper marriage, but to her, once you bring a Garza into the world, you’re a Garza for life.”

Lil smiled. “She sounds fierce.”

AJ nodded. “She is. Kicked my dad’s ass with a spoon when he left my mom. For the whole first year after the divorce she wouldn’t invite him to holidays—just my mom and me.”

“She liked your mom?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not at first. When my dad introduced my mom to her, the first words out of her mouth were,You couldn’t find a woman who speaks Spanish?”

Lil frowned. “I thought your momtaughtSpanish.”

“She did! And my grandma knew it, too. She only warmed up to my mom after I was born.”

Lil’s eyebrows lifted. “Clearly—if she picked your mom’s side after the divorce.”

Still smiling, AJ shook his head. “She picked family. Nothing is more important to her, certainly not her third son’s midlife crisis.”

“So you’re mom’s not alone?”

He shook his head. “Nope. She lives alone in Houston, but we spend Christmas in Oaxaca every year with my cousins, and Thanksgiving at my grandma’s.”

Lil’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

“Oaxaca?” AJ leaned toward her without meaning to.

She nodded. “I’ve wanted to go ever since high school. I bet Christmastime is wonderful.”

“It is.” The combination of the tequila and the company lent additional warmth to the memories, softening the edges of images in his mind enough that he realized he missed it. That a part of him missed it all—his home and family—more than he ever let himself acknowledge. Not when there’d always been another shiny buckle on the horizon. “When I’m not traveling,” he added, “we go for Día de los Muertos,as well. It’s just not quite the same anywhere else.”

“I bet!” Lil’s eyes were bright. Her head was tilted to the side, a wide, dreamy smile on her face as she pictured it, and he knew she’d hate how revealing of her heart the gesture and expression were.

“Do you like to travel?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

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