Page 72 of Fool Me Twice

As I’d expected, my announcement was met with a flabbergasted look. “What?” Rodrigo asked.

“You know exactly what.” I raised my chin.

Deep inside, I was quaking, ready for this conversation to be over and for Rodrigo to come clean with me and his son. Ready to be in his arms and making up for all the tension.

I had to stand my ground, though. I couldn’t and wouldn’t back down until I saw this through.

“Where is his mother?” I asked. “Did she die? Leave?” I threw my hands up and laughed humorlessly. “Heck, I don’t even know if you were married or not. And apparently Sebastián doesn’t either. Do you know how crazy that is, Rodrigo? Do you understand what that can do to a young person?”

The angel bubbled up in me, hot and overwhelming. I could have gone on, rambling and spilling my emotions all over the place until the sun rose, but I forced myself to stop speaking.

“Georgia.” Rodrigo came around his desk, and I thought he was coming straight to me, but instead he paced the length of the room.

“Yes?” I steadied my breathing.

“There are some things… that I cannot share.” He stared at the floor.

“That you can’t share?” I shook my head. “Or that you won’t?”

He ran his palm over his face, and I waited for my answer. My head raced, and my hands started shaking. I knew very well that this could be the beginning of the end. The dream that I’d only this week allowed myself to believe in could soon be disintegrating faster than a puff of smoke.

And, then, the phone on the desk rang.

Rodrigo glanced at it. “Security.”

I nodded, signaling that he should answer it.

Avoiding my gaze, he picked it up. “Hello? He…” His shoulders visibly tensed. “No. Now is not a good time.” Rodrigo glanced at me, but continued speaking into the phone. “You already let him in?” He sighed. “I see… No, that was the courier I was speaking about… It is fine. Thank you.”

He hung up. “Looks like I have a surprise guest. The guard thought my friend was the courier bringing a package for tonight.”

Great. So Rodrigo got a pass from this conversation.

Not that he looked happy about it—which was a surprise. A moment ago, he’d been doing everything he could to avoid my questions.

“Who is your friend?” I asked, already thinking that perhaps I should slip off to bed and try again tomorrow.

Except I didn’t want to wait until the next day. This was a real problem that was affecting Sebastián’s wellbeing, and I wanted it settled yesterday.

“Do you remember, uh…” He cleared his throat. “Lucas.”

Lucas.

It didn’t take long for my brain to scroll through its mental catalog. Yes, I remembered Lucas. Or, rather, I remembered the lack of him.

The front door rang.

“Excuse me.” Rodrigo stopped in the doorway and looked at me. “We can talk about this later… I’m sorry.”

There was so much depth to the apology, it made me wonder what, exactly, was he apologizing for.

I followed him to the foyer, where he opened the door to a man standing on the porch. I lingered back a bit, unsure about whether or not I was welcome.

Rodrigo’s pussyfooting in his office didn’t sit well with me. In fact, it changed a lot. How could I be with a man who didn’t face his problems head-on?

“Rodrigo.” Lucas embraced him. “It’s good to see you.”

“You, as well.” Rodrigo clapped him on the back.

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