and buried before he stops trying to make a deal,” Paulo said.
Justin laughed and Selena smiled but he could tell that her cousin’s words disturbed her. A few minutes later the food was ready and the other men moved to prepare the platters for everyone to eat. He took Selena’s arm and drew her away from the crowd.
“Why does what Paulo said bother you?” he asked her.
“It just reaffirmed my fears that you are attracted to me because it might make dealing with my family easier,” she said.
That was blunt and honest and he shouldn’t have been surprised, since Selena wasn’t the kind of woman who was tentative about anything.
“I want you,” he said. “That’s it, end of story. If you said to me right now that you were going to keep that injunction in place against my company until we both died, it wouldn’t change a thing. I still want you naked and writhing against me.”
“Lust.”
“We discussed that.”
“I know. And I thought I’d found a solution.” “Vacation fling,” he said.
“It’s the only way to keep this in perspective,” she said.
He understood where she was coming from. He’d watched his own father love a woman who didn’t want him. Not the way he wanted her. It had always been Justin’s fear in relationships. He knew that if he ever fell in love it would dull his razor-sharp edge when it came to business. And he’d been careful to make lust his criterion for a relationship. Never really getting to know the family or friends of the women he slept with.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Selena. I will use whatever means necessary to make that marketplace successful, but that will not change how I feel about you. And I always go after what I want.”
“I bet you get it, too,” she said.
“Yes, I do. Today has been eye-opening for me.”
“Because of that dress I wore earlier?” she asked.
“Partly. I don’t think I’ve recovered full brain function since then.”
She laughed. “It’s nice to know I have a little power over you.”
“You have more than you know. Inviting me here was a very well-played move on your part. Talking to your cousins made me realize that we should be reaching out here more than we do. Luna Azul is successful in this location without community support. Imagine what we could do with support.”
“I have imagined it. That’s why it is important that my grandparents are in on the ground level.”
“I see that. I can’t wait to have the first committee meeting.”
“Me, too,” she said.
“Now about us,” he said after a few minutes of silence had fallen between them. “There isn’t any us.”
“Not yet,” he said. “But we both want it, so it’s silly to pretend that we don’t.” “Vacation fling, right?”
“I’m open to suggestions,” he said. “I don’t want to forget that you have a life in another part of the country and that you will be going back there.”
“That was a surprisingly honest thing for you to admit,” she said.
“There is no reason for me to pretend that you don’t have the potential to be a heartbreaker. I’ve never met another woman like you, Selena.”
He was a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and he wasn’t going to change at this late date. Especially where Selena was concerned. She needed to know that even though he was suggesting a vacation fling, he wanted it as badly as she did. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and until he did he had the feeling he was going to be operating on backup power instead of at full strength.
Everyone filled their plates and sat down to eat, and though he knew these people thought he was their enemy, he felt like he could be part of this family. He wanted to be here not as a business rival, but as Selena’s date.
After dinner was over, Selena mingled for the rest of the evening trying to stay as far from Justin as she could.
He’d waved at her earlier and said goodbye, but that was it. She tried not to be disappointed. After all that had been her one desire, right? She’d been tired of trying to avoid him and the attraction she felt for him. Now she could just be a granddaughter and a niece and a cousin and not have to answer uncomfortable questions about a man who was too good-looking and a point of conflict with her family.
“Why are you hiding out over here?” Enrique asked as he sat down next to her on the wrought-iron bench nestled between the hibiscus trees.
“I’m not hiding out,” she said. “I’m just taking a
break.”
“From the family?” he asked. “I guess when you aren’t used to it our kin can be a little overwhelming.”
She had to agree. It had been so long since she’d been to a family gathering that she found it tiring and loud. And she wasn’t sure she fit in here anymore.
“Are you used to it?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “It’s all I know.”
“Have you thought any more about coming to New York and living with me for a while? “
She wanted her baby brother to see more of the world than just this slice of it but so far he’d resisted her efforts to bring him up north to the city.
“I have, tata, but I don’t think I will do it. I like Miami and the family and everything. And I don’t want to move away from here.”
She nodded. She understood where Enrique was coming from. When she’d left home, she’d felt she had to and those first few years had been terrifying. She’d hated being away from everything familiar. That first October had felt so cold and she’d almost come back home; only shame had kept her in New York. Only slowly had she shed the girl she’d once been and become the woman she was today.
“It’s an open invitation.”
“I know it is, sis. How’d you like my music?”
“I loved it. You are a talented deejay.”
“I know,” he said with an arrogant grin. “I’m going to use Justin Stern to get a gig at Luna Azul.”
“How is that going to work? He’s not an easy man to use,” she said. She didn’t want her brother and Justin spending too much time together.
“He wants something from us and I will offer to help him get it if he helps me.”
Her brother was always working an angle. “Be careful. Justin isn’t the kind of guy who gives up things easily.”
“I can tell that. But I think with the right manipulation it
