Page 19 of Sin and Seduction

“There’s no excuse for how he acts. He’s got a whole lifetime of apologizing to me, but I know he’s sorry. He has a heart, Gabriela. He just guards it. He keeps that wall up so that his guard will never be down. So that the ones he loves can always be safe and have a life worth living. Give him time. This is all so new to him, and another threat has him worrying for us all over again.”

She lets this sink in for a few minutes, wiping her eyes before getting up from the bed and walking toward her bathroom.

“I’m going to shower really quick. Tell him I’ll be down in ten minutes. We have an entire plane ride to talk,” she says, and I smile, leaving her and closing the door.

I walk to Ricky’s room to say goodbye. He’s probably asleep but shocks me as he opens the door and pulls me inside.

“I guess you’re on your way to the homeland?” he teases, and I smile, stopping suddenly when I see his suitcases stacked on his bed.

“You’re not leaving until I come back, I thought?” I question, worry stretching across my stomach.

“There’s no longer a threat for me, baby girl. I miss my mom and need to see her before we graduate and I head to New York.”

No, he can’t leave yet. I still need him.

“Ricky, I...I can’t be without you yet.” A lump forms in my throat, and I do my best to swallow it.

He gives me a small smile before pulling me into a fierce hug.

“You’re a wife now, Em, with an entire future ahead of you. One filled with dreams that I know will come true. You don’t need me, babe. You never did.” He pulls back and wipes the stray tear from my eyes, holding my hands in his as I will back the sudden onslaught of emotion.

“What am I going to do without you? We’ve been together since we were kids.” My voice cracks, and he laughs.

“You’re going to do everything you’ve worked so hard for. And so am I. No amount of miles can keep us apart, Emmie. We’ll still be together and grow old together; we’ll just have a longer ride to make when we see each other.” He pulls me in for another hug, and I sigh, breathing him in.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” I say, clinging to him like a child.

“I’ll miss you, too, baby girl. But you’re not getting rid of me yet. I still need a ride home.” He chuckles, and I laugh, holding him for another minute before we separate and grab his luggage.

Gabriela and Oscar are outside, as well as Dante and Oscar’s partners. Sergio loads Ricky’s luggage into the car, and everyone gets into their vehicles. Dante opens the door for me, but I stare back at the large mansion before us, taking in every detail and feature, remembering every beautiful and ugly moment that happened in this house.

“Forget something?” he asks, looking at me with questioning eyes.

I look over at him, smiling as my heart stretches with love. His amber eyes make me feel more at home than I’ve ever felt.

“No, I have everything I could ever need right here.” I kiss his lips, and he gives me a dazzling smile before we get into the car.

We buckle ourselves in, and he drives away, leaving the mansion and all of its memories behind us.

* * *

We’re halfway through our plane ride, and I just woke from a long nap. We’re crossing over the ocean, and all I can see beneath us are long stretches of blue waves. Dante says we’ll be there in another two hours. San Andreas is just beyond my reach, and even though I am nervous, I can’t wait to see the Caribbean for the first time.

We dropped Ricky off at the airport. Our goodbye was tearful and long, but it’s only a month until graduation when I’ll see him again. I watched him board a commercial flight with tears in my eyes, saying goodbye to my old life as my husband held my hand, pulling us in the direction of our private plane. He gave me champagne and held me as I cried, leaving me to nap as he went to talk with his sister. I told him to be gentle with her, reminding him of our own complicated love story in hopes it would give him some insight. This whole gentleness thing is completely new to him, but I know it’s possible for him. He’s shown me so much progression over the last month, and he can do it with his family, too.

I stretch my tired limbs and look out over the ocean. The time zone has changed, but it is still afternoon. The sun is as bright as can be, and even though we’re miles in the air right now, there’s not a cloud in the sky. I hear the partition open and look up, expecting to see Dante. Oscar is in the doorway and asks if he could take a seat. I nod, and he closes the partition, sitting quietly across from me. He almost looks...nervous somehow, which confuses me because he usually oozes intimidation.

“Dante is still with Gabriela,” he says, looking out of the window as he sips dark liquid from a glass.

“And how is that going?” I ask, wiping my sleep-encrusted eyes and sitting up straight.

“Better than I anticipated,” he says, scoffing slightly.

He’s silent for a while, staring at the tequila in his glass. I can smell it from over here, though I can tell he’s not drunk. He almost seems...sad in a way.

“You know, I never really thanked you,” he says, confusing the hell out of me.

“Thank me?” I say. “What for?”

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