Katelin's POV
Manang, I have a job. I can't just up and leave town to hang out with you in Boston.
I know. But you're my maid of honor, I was hoping you could be here to hold my hand through this. Any chance you could get a job here?
A job, yes. A rent-controlled apartment, no. Anyway, you're already married, what are you nervous about.
It's going to be a massive event. I'm meeting all his relatives. And let's not forget Auntie Julie will be singing at the reception.
Look, if we can't get her off the stage, I'll unplug the sound system. I'll consider it one of my maid of honor duties.
I miss you. You used to come over and visit.
I don't think your husband will appreciate his sister-in-law hanging around the house every week.
My finger hovered over the screen of the phone just as I was about to text Maricar that Raul wouldn't mind, but then I remember we just had sex in the foyer of the house last night. I'm going to have to remember to keep stuff like that in the bedroom if we had guests.
Are you kidding me? Raul is more sociable than I am. Besides, you're family.
Didn't you marry him only so he could keep his job?
Yes. But he's still your brother-in-law.
Did he fall madly in love with you? Please tell me he fell madly in love with you.
Hilom diha! I just need to see you okay?
Did YOU tell him you're madly in love with him??? Tell me!
Not over text.
Fine. I'll see if I can pop by this weekend. Text you back.
I snort. Apparently, all it takes to bring my sister over is the promise of tea.
"Are we close, Henry?" I ask my driver as I tuck my phone inside my purse.
"Five minutes away, Ms. Berano," he says.
I see him smiling at me from his reflection in the rearview mirror. His cheerful demeanor is a sharp contrast with the silent woman beside him in a dark suit. Mary McGuire is my bodyguard, one of three. The other two are in a separate car following behind us.
It feels very weird having four people follow me around everywhere I go. But it's just me, apparently. Safira barely gave them a thought as we went to shop after shop earlier today. She's used to having a security detail. I don't know if I ever will.
Raul is outside waiting for me on the top of the entrance steps. I don't think I'll ever not catch my breath each time I see him. His eyes are dark and beautiful as they fix on my car pulling up the driveway, almost as though he's trying to see me through the heavily-tinted windows of the Bentley. He's in a different suit from what he wore to work and his hair is a bit damp. He must have showered and changed at work.
My heart beats even faster at the thought. What's going on? Is it some special occasion I don't know about? It's not his birthday or mine.
I don't have time to give it more thought because Mary is opening the car door and Raul is reaching for my hand.
His touch is warm and comforting as he holds my hand and helps me out of the car. I have the embarrassing urge to throw my arms around him. I manage not to. "Hi," I say, suddenly breathless.
He pulls me to him, his lips capturing mine in a kiss. It's light and quick, but it leaves my mouth tingling. "You're beautiful," he says.
"Thank you." I smile. "You look, uhm..." I swallow hard. "...very nice."
"Gracias, mi alma."
Once we were inside the restaurant, he helps me take off my coat.
"Is this a new dress?" he says, raking his gaze over my outfit.
I blush under his admiring gaze. "The saleswoman found me one no one has tried on," I explain. I know that if I showed up in the peach silk blouse and gray slacks I wore earlier today, he would still be happy to see me. But I wanted to wear a dress for him tonight, and I broke my rule against wearing new clothes before sending them to the cleaners first. The moment I put on this sugar pink, ankle-length bustier dress, my first thought was whether he'd like it.
I felt a little silly when I stepped out of the house earlier, but now I'm glad I wore it.
Raul's POV
Kate glows under the chandelier lights. I wondered if I was overdoing it by changing into a fresh suit before dinner, but now I'm glad I did.
I can't believe I never noticed how beautiful she is.
"What's the occasion?" she says, watching the server uncork the champagne. "Because your birthday isn't until December."
"I just thought it would be nice to celebrate our first month together," I say.
"Oh." She smiles. "Our monthsary?"
I chuckle. "If you want to call it that."
She makes a face. "Maybe not."
"First—" I raise my champagne flute. "— a toast. To us."
She raises her glass and we both take a sip.
"And I want to ask you something," I say, setting my glass on the white cloth-covered table.
"What is it?" Her eyebrows rise. "Does it have something to do with the wedding?"
"In a way." I rest my arms on the table and link my fingers. "Kate, do you want kids?"
She laughs. "Are you offering?"
"Yes."
Her smile fades when she realizes I'm serious. "But..." She glances around, as though worried someone might overhear us. Lowering her voice, she says, "We're getting a divorce in five years."
"We don't have to. Kate, when I asked you not to leave me, I meant it."
A flush colors her cheeks and she lowers her gaze. "Oh. You remember that."
"I remember everything."
"I thought it was just one of those things men say when... you know."
I'm sure I've said a lot of things I didn't mean during sex, but this wasn't one of them. They were all fleeting relationships, and the knowledge we'd all walk away in the morning was the point. Being with Kate last night was borne of a desperate need to keep her in my life. It was as though I couldn't take another breath if I knew what I had — what we had — would disappear one day.
"Did you mean it?" I search her face. "When you said you'd never leave me."
She doesn't meet my gaze. "I don't know."
"Hey." I reach across the table. She hesitates for a moment, but she takes my hand. "We can take it one day at a time, all right? I'll accept any decision you make."
"Why?" She finally looks into my eyes. "Is it to make you look good to the board?"
"Dios mio, no. How could you even think that of me?"
"Raul, you married a woman you didn't love just to keep the company you do love." Her smile is rueful. "Why would I assume you'd draw the line at having kids?"
I wince. "Do I really seem that cold-hearted to you?"
"No." She squeezes my hand. "I know you wouldn't have children if you didn't really want to. I know you'd do right by them. And me. But children need more than that." She bites her lower lip. "I want any child I have to know their parents — both their parents— love them."
"Mi amor, of course I would love them. I would love any child I bring into the world." I look down at our hands. I stroke her fingers with my thumb, more to reassure me than her. "And I would love any child of yours."
She's quiet for a long moment.
"It was selfish of me not to think of what you could be giving up by marrying me," I say. "If we hadn't, you might have ... met someone at some point in the next five years. Maybe you'd have a family. Kids."
"I made that choice, Raul." She raises her chin, looking magnificently defiant. "Nobody forced me to marry you."
Something catches in my throat and I swallow hard. "I know. Just like nobody is forcing me to have a child. Kate, I want this. But only if you do, too."
"I..." She blinks. "I don't know."
"You don't have to make a decision now, of course. That's not why we're here. Just... think about it and—"
"Yes."
"Yes?" I can hardly believe my ears. And not just because my heart was pounding so loudly it almost drowned out everything.
She smiles. "Let's have a baby."
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Don't forget to vote for this chapter! If you want to read a spoilery preview of Chapter 33 "Cherchez La Femme", go on over to my blog:
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Chapter 33 is dropping here on March 20 🎉.