Chapter 33 33. Gone For Him
"I'll be right back." Mama Cortez turned off the hairdryer and disappeared into her closet. I stared after her, wondering what she was up to this time.
She came back a minute later holding a folded dress and a small bottle. Her frail hands placed them on my lap like they were something precious.
"What's this?" I asked, touching the soft fabric.
"An old nightie I used to wear for Papa Cortez before he died." Her smile was wistful, faraway. "And that's a special body wash. Use it tonight and Lucien won't know what hit him."
My face went hot instantly. "Mama Cortez-stop, please."
She waved me off. "I'm serious, niña. You enjoy that man tonight, you hear?"
I nearly dropped the dress. What kind of grandmother talks about seduction with a straight face?
Mama sat behind me again, comb in hand, parting my hair down the middle with the pointed end of her comb. "Lucien looks like the type who likes surprises," she said casually.
"Mama Cortez," I groaned. "Please stop talking about him like that."
Her grin widened. "If I were your age and had a man like that-"
"Mama!"
She laughed, a low, throaty sound that filled the room. For a moment, it reminded me of home before everything went bad.
"You've got good hair," she murmured, starting a braid. "Soft. You must've gotten it from your mother."
My throat tightened. "Yeah. I think so."
"She must be beautiful. Same auburn color?"
Her words hit something tender. I thought of what my Clara's face used to be. There was a time I thought she was beautiful, but that was long ago, before the drinking, before the smoking, before she started taking her anger out on me. Beauty, I'd learned, could disappear long before wrinkles ever came.
"Yes," I said quietly.
"What does she do?"
"She's retired. Used to be a school administrator." The lie came out smooth, but my stomach twisted.
Mama made a pleased sound. "Ah, coincidence. I worked in education too. Which school? Maybe we worked at the same one. But I don't remember any auburn-haired woman in mine though."
My palms went cold. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
A low voice came from the doorway. "How would you have met her if you retired years ago?"
We both turned.
Lucien stood there, one hand in his pocket, a ball in the other. White shirt, loose shorts. Barefoot.
And his bare legs-
Long, tan, covered in a light dusting of dark hair. My eyes had drifted before I could stop myself. I'd never seen them before. A faint line of muscle under his skin that made my chest tighten. tighten. I looked away fast, pretending to fix the hem of my dress.
"Smart boy," Mama muttered, finishing my second braid.
I heard Lucien leave. Didn't turn to watch him go.
"There." She patted my shoulders. "Go show your boyfriend my work. And collect your two hundred dollar payment from him for my service."
"Two hundred dollars?"
"For making you so pretty. Now go. I'm going to read a book to my chickens."
I was speechless. Who reads books to chickens?
"Um... okay."
I left her room and wandered through the villa, dropping the nightie and body wash in the bedroom I'd woken up in. My feet carried me through the hallway, past the living room, toward the back of the house.
I knew what I was doing. Knew who I was looking for. I found him outside under the low afternoon sun, playing soccer with Javier. He moved with easy grace, laughing when Javier stole the ball, his whole body relaxed in a way I'd never seen before.
No tension in his shoulders. No cold calculation in his eyes. Just a man having fun.
So free... so hot....
A sheen of sweat caught the sun, highlighting the sharp line of his jaw as he grinned, a genuine, unguarded flash of heat.
Watching him move like this, a strange, tight feeling blossomed in my chest. Too much like panic, too much like want.
I exhaled slowly, the breath catching on a single, silent word:
"Damn."
I am utterly, completely gone for him.
This is bad.
I ran back inside with my racing heart. I found the pool I'd passed earlier. The air here was cooler. I sat on the edge, dipped my feet in, and watched the ripples spread.
This was so bad.
"Get a grip, Camila. You need to remember who he is."
Lucien is not one to blush over. He is dangerous. He traffics women and nearly made me one of his victims.
I have no business liking him.
Footsteps approached behind me.
'Please don't be him... please, God...'
But I knew it was him before he even sat down. Before he dipped his legs in the pool beside mine. I shifted subtly, creating space between us.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Why she has such a huge house with no staff and makes everything from scratch." I turned to him. "Do you know a mother hen chased me today? When I went to get eggs. She was vicious, Lucien. I thought I was going to die."
He laughed really hard, and it tugged something in me I didn't want to feel.
"I'm traumatized here! What if she makes me catch one of the chickens tonight and pluck all the feathers myself for chicken soup?" I threw my hands up. "I'll have nightmares for weeks."
"You'll survive."
"Easy for you to say. You just had to vacuum."
He was still grinning. "Can you swim?"
I'm talking about a serious matter here."
"So am I."
I tried to frown. "No. I can't swim."
"Perfect."
Before I could move, he pushed me straight into the pool...