Page 63 of Fool Me Twice

“No. He got involved with them after his wife died.” Rodrigo ran his palm down his face. “So I suppose you could call that one year a history.”

Emotion bubbled up my chest and throat. “I’m so sorry.”

I knew I’d already said that, but I didn’t know what else to say. Since I didn’t have siblings, I couldn’t understand exactly what Rodrigo was going through. To lose one of my parents, or even one of my cousins, would be awful, though.

“Thank you.” He smiled at me, but he couldn’t hide the pain in his heart.

“Did Sebastián know them?” I asked.

Rodrigo turned away, so that I couldn’t see his face. “No.”

I looked down at where our hands were laced together. Another layer of Rodrigo peeled back. Judging by what he still didn’t want to say regarding Sebastián’s mother, there were a lot more painful layers under the one that had just been revealed.

“Thank you for telling me this,” I said. “I know it’s not easy.”

The fact that he’d told me at all took me by surprise. As obvious as it seemed now, it really hadn’t occurred to me that he might not be telling me some things about his past because they were simply too painful.

He needed time to open up. Acceptance. A safe space. All the same things that everyone else needed.

I pressed my hand on top of his, and he turned back to me.

“What you’ve been through isn’t easy,” I whispered. “Losing your brother… raising Sebastián on your own.”

“I had Melba.”

I shook my head. “Okay, you had help. More resources than most people. Has that taken away the pain?”

He dropped his head. I knew he wanted to be strong in front of me, and he probably felt like he was showing his weakest side right now. What I saw, though, was a man brave enough to let down his guard and expose his heart. Not everyone did that.

“No,” he admitted.

I chewed on my bottom lip. “You’re strong, though. One of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”

Stepping forward, I wrapped my arms around him. He sank into the hug, pressing his hands to my back and lowering his chin to my shoulder.

“I have to be strong,” he said. “There is no other choice.”

“You don’t have to be strong alone.” I pulled back to look him in the eye.

His expression softened, his gaze sweeping across my face. This close, I could see even the most subtle changes in his expression. The way he softened, the way he studied me.

Pressed close to him, all my reasoning for not giving into my desires fell away. This felt so, so right.

And we weren’t the kids we’d been eleven years ago. We had changed. Grown. Rodrigo had shown me this in multiple ways, from apologizing and coming clean to sharing his brother’s death.

We both had a long way to go when it came to growth, but I couldn’t wait for him to be perfect. No one was perfect.

That day, though, I saw that he was good enough. No. More than good enough. He was right for me.

“I think,” I breathed, then my voice caught and I couldn’t go on.

He searched my eyes. “You think what?” he whispered.

“I think I made a mistake.”

His thumb ran little circles on my back. He knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Georgia, you don’t need to say that. I understand.”

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