Chapter Seventeen
“Is it almost our turn?” Alicia Rodríguez, a cute four-year-old with enough energy to light up the entire Wrigleyville neighborhood in an emergency blackout bounced on the tips of her toes as she asked the same question she’d asked Lilí barely thirty seconds ago.
Rather than be annoyed at the little dancer’s version of Are we there yet?, Lilí smiled down at the child and repeated, “Only two more songs, then it’ll be your number. Right after the second dance solo, okay?”
“Okay!” Alicia hop-skipped away to join another little girl wearing the same light pink tights, leotard, and ballet slippers. The two girls giggled at something, their excitement adding a flush to their pudgy cheeks.
The show was about three-quarters of the way through, and from Lilí’s vantage point as co-chaperone of the Tiny Tot group, the show seemed to be running smoothly. She had even managed to avoid Diego, thanks to keeping herself contained to the classroom they had turned into the Tiny Tot changing room.
She’d purposely stayed here during the first solo, assuring the mom co-chaperoning with her that she was fine covering so the woman could hear Diego play. Apparently many of the moms, especially the single ones, had been looking forward to his performance as much as their kids’ numbers.
For her part, she didn’t mind skipping it. If she was lucky, she’d only catch him playing the tail end of the second solo while lining up Alicia and the rest of the Tiny Tots in the hallway outside the gym doors.
Over the past two weeks he’d made no move to contact her. Nor had he sought her out at the center this week during the full show rehearsals when it’d been all hands on deck.
She could take a hint as well as the next girl.
He wasn’t interested. Or he was simply unable to accept that her intent hadn’t been to ignore his request that she stay out of his business, and more about doing her job. Despite the personal connection.
If she was honest, their personal connection had driven her to make the treatment center arrangements herself to ensure everything went smoothly for his sister. All the while, Lilí had anticipated, wrongfully, that Diego would appreciate her extra effort.
“Listen up, dancers.” Lilí clapped her hands to get the Tiny Tots’ attention. The six girls and one boy between the ages of three and five grew quiet. “Gracias, I appreciate you being such great listeners. Let’s go ahead and start forming your two lines so we can walk quietly to the gym.”
In no time the kids were lined up, some like Alicia bouncing on their toes with excitement. A few had that stage-frightened, wide-eyed nervous stare on their adorable faces. Lilí made sure to give those a friendly pat on the shoulder, stopping to offer them an encouraging smile.
“Everyone’s going to do great!” she said, trying to pump up those who needed it.
Moments later, the two lines compressed against the far right wall in the hallway in front of the gym, making room for a group of junior high dancers exiting. With the door open, Lilí heard Yaz introduce the high schooler who would perform a solo flamenco dance, with Diego playing accompaniment.
“He is so talented,” the mom chaperoning with her whispered, awe giving the woman’s words a breathy quality. “And easy on the eyes, isn’t he?”
Yes and most definitely yes.
Lilí kept the opinions to herself, choosing to respond with a noncommittal, “I suppose so.”
No need to link herself to his fan club.
The mom took the front of the line while Lilí rounded out the back to keep any kids from wandering off. Of course, had she known the lady planned on propping the right door open slightly, allowing Diego’s music to drift into the hallway, Lilí might have suggested swapping places to ensure the door stayed closed.
The moment Lilí heard his first chord, her breath hitched. She steeled herself against the urge to edge closer. Sneak a peek at where she knew from rehearsals he sat off to the right, allowing the dancer to take center stage.
She didn’t have to see Diego to picture him though. The image of him playing for her was emblazoned on her mind. His Spanish guitar nestled in his lap, his left hand caressing the guitar’s fretboard, the fingers on his right hand strumming and plucking the notes. The same way he’d expertly played for her throughout their night in her apartment. Coaxing a response she’d never felt before.
Annoyed with herself for thinking about their time together, when she’d promised herself she wouldn’t pine for him like some lovesick schoolgirl, Lilí forced her attention back to the kids. One girl had that pale, I-think-I’m-going-to-puke expression Lilí had seen from others when she’d volunteered in the past, moments before they changed their mind about performing.
She hunkered down beside the child so they were eye-level. “Hola, mamita, you holding up okay? I saw your abuela sitting out there. Super excited to see how beautiful you look in your ballerina clothes. Everyone knows how hard you’ve been practicing and they’re ready to cheer you on.”
Her dark brown eyes wide, the girl stared back, lower lip protruding in a pout that said she was not convinced.
“You know Ms. Yazmine’s my sister, right? Bueno, she told me what an amazing dancer you are.”
“She did?” The child’s tentative question had Lilí nodding in answer.
“Uh-huh, and believe me, she knows a good dancer when she sees one. You’re gonna be amazing!” Lilí winked at the little girl, pleased when the child smiled in response.
Seconds later, clapping sounded from inside the gym. The solo was finished. The Tiny Tots were up.
The mom pushed the door open, holding it with one hand. She gestured for the two lines to move inside, stopping at the edge of the basketball court like they’d rehearsed. Yazmine would introduce the group, then they’d gracefully, well, Tiny Tot gracefully anyway, move to their spots in the center of the court and wait for their music to start.
As she brought up the rear, Lilí heard the crowd rustling in the wooden bleachers. She looked up to see what the chatter might be about and noticed Yazmine and Diego talking near the court sideline at what would be considered front center stage.
Yaz frowned at whatever Diego said. Her gaze cut to Lilí, but before Lilí could decipher her sister’s expression, Yaz turned back to Diego.
It was the first time Lilí had seen him tonight and she drank him in as if she were a card-carrying member of the moms’ newly formed Diego Reyes fan club.
Dressed in black slacks and a form-fitting maroon button-down that stretched taut over his broad shoulders and muscular biceps, he looked absolutely delectable. Despite the shadows under his eyes, which left her wondering if he’d been working long hours or extra watches over the past two weeks, his chiseled jaw and angular features made her long to caress his tiredness away.
She strained to read his lips, but his rushed speech made it impossible. It wasn’t until he paused, took a deep breath that expanded his chest, straining the top buttons of his shirt, that Lilí made out his, “Please.”
Yaz’s rigid posture relaxed. She leaned closer, and whatever she said had him nodding quickly as he drew a quick cross over his heart with a finger. Then he was striding back onto their “stage” where he slid his chair and step stool to the center of the floor.
Yaz spun around to face the audience. She flicked the button to activate the cordless mic, then shot a quick glance at Lilí, her expression a mix of anxious anticipation that had Lilí clutching her stomach to calm the butterflies suddenly taking flight there.
“It seems we’re in for a treat this afternoon,” Yaz told the crowd. “A surprise you won’t find mentioned in our program. However, Diego Reyes has asked to play a special song for us. I hope everyone”—her gaze slid over to Lilí briefly—“will give him your consideration. So, without further ado, Diego, take it away.”
Grabbing the microphone stand, Yaz carried it out to him. She held the mic out with a stiff arm. Diego swallowed, almost uncomfortably, before taking it.
He cleared his throat, the sound scratchy over the speakers.
“Perdón,” he muttered, repeating the apology in English.
He wiped the back of a hand over his brow, his complexion a little pale. For someone with as much experience playing in front of small groups like this one, he acted strangely nervous to Lilí.
She wanted to leave before he started. Distance herself from the pull she felt whenever he played. Torn, she stepped closer to the mom, on the verge of excusing herself and letting the other woman know she’d meet them in the designated area in the stands where the kids would sit after their number so they could watch the rest of the show.
Then Diego started talking, his deep timbre and humility gluing her feet to their spot.
“I took my first guitar lesson in this youth center many years ago. I learned from a man whose patience and kindness infused me with a love of music that kept me off the streets. At first, I only played for my mami, who encouraged me, even when the chords I struggled with sounded more like cats screeching.”
The audience laughed. Diego flashed his smile, but she spotted his lingering unease.
“My mami asked me to learn one song. And once I did, she made me play it every day before I finished practicing. Without fail.”
Lilí sucked in a painful breath. No. She shook her head. No way was he going to play “Somos Novios.”
He knew what that song meant to her. To her familia. What it would forever mean to her now that they’d performed it together.
Her gaze sought Yazmine, only to find her sister’s hopeful expression. Yaz bent her elbows, palms up at her sides, as if to say it was out of her hands.
“Now there’s another special someone,” Diego continued. “Someone whose positivity, caring heart, and passionate nature have brought new meaning to the lyrics of this song for me. So I’d like to play it today for you, but especially for her, in the hopes that she’ll accept my apology.”
A palm pressed over her mouth to silence her shocked gasp, Lilí watched as Diego sank into the wooden chair. His left hand caressed the guitar’s neck while he flexed the fingers on his right. Her skin warmed as if he’d touched her, tiny pinpricks of awareness shimmering through her.
He took a deep breath. Blew it out with puffed cheeks. Then, eyes closed, he brought Mami and Papi’s wedding song to life.
Though he played it as an instrumental, she knew the words from memory. They were an homage to desire and commitment. Of lovers’ spats and stolen kisses. Pure emotion and profound love.
The rise and fall of the music’s swell called to her wounded soul. Diego occasionally ad-libbed, as if he felt the music so intensely it drove him to give more. Feel more.
Heart in her throat, Lilí couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. Admiring the way his fingers masterfully strummed and pressed the strings. Eyes closed, his face taut with emotion. A man and his music, one and the same.
When his voice joined in on the last chorus, smooth and rich, crooning about love and passion, finishing with the promise of siempre novios, a warm tear slipped down her cheek.
He wasn’t playing fair.
Diego knew his music would get to her like nothing else he might try. She wanted to be angry with him for using that weakness against her. And yet, the fact that he knew her well enough to understand how their mutual appreciation and love for the language of music might bond them, made her heart race with hope.
The last strains of the song faded away and the audience rose to their feet with thunderous applause. Overwhelmed with emotion, Lilí spun around and fled the gym.
Out in the hall she pivoted to the right, heading down the row of classrooms. With most of the routines completed and the dancers in the stands, only a few remaining dance groups milled about, waiting their turn. She ignored them, desperately searching for an empty place where she could hide and pull herself together.
“Lilí!”
Hearing Diego’s call, she ducked into a room nearby. Only one row of its fluorescent lights was on and she was relieved to find it free of the dance bags, makeup and hair products, and other items indicating it was being used as a changing space.
Footsteps pounded in the hall.
Leaving the rest of the lights off, Lilí sat down at a desk in the back corner.
Part of her wanted him to bypass the darkened space, expecting it to be empty, giving her time to wrap her head around his apology, decide what to make of his use of that particular song.
A larger part yearned for him to find her. For them to be able to work through this. And yet, after his horrible behavior the other weekend, the first move to make amends had to come from him.
“Lilí!” His voice echoed down the hall, his footsteps drawing nearer.
She held her breath, waiting. Wanting. Hoping.
“Hey.”
His soft greeting had her glancing up to find him hovering in the doorway. “Hi.”
“I’m glad I found you,” he said, the eager, yet tentative note in his husky voice raising goose bumps on her flesh.
He leaned a shoulder on the door frame, his figure partially shadowed thanks to the room’s dim fluorescent lighting and the hallway’s brightness, reaching around him to cast a long beam along the floor.
“Man, I didn’t think my rendition of the song was that bad,” he teased. His hesitant smile nearly coaxing one from her.
But the disillusion that had grown with each day that had come and gone without him seeking her out, wouldn’t allow her to forgive him that easily.
“I guess it could have been better,” she deadpanned.
His soft chuckle brushed up against her like a caress. He stepped into the room and her stomach clenched, anticipation building.
“I think it would have been better, perfect actually, as a duet,” he said.
Her heart skipped, then kicked into double-time. “That depends.”
Head angled to the side, he dug his hands in his pants pockets and peered at her intently. “On what?”
“On what else you have to say to me. Without your guitar. Because I’m pretty sure you know you’re practically irresistible when you play.”
“Irresistible, huh?”
She rolled her eyes at the flash of his white teeth in the play of shadows.
“May I?” he gestured toward the desk next to hers.
“It’s a free country.”
Diego sat down, swiveling in the seat to face her. Right arm crooked on the laminate desktop, his big body filled the space. The subtle scent of his musky cologne teased her senses.
“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” he asked.
“Not really, but I don’t think you expected me to. Did you?”
“No, I didn’t,” he answered truthfully. “Because you deserve more. Better.”
She’d left her hair loose today and now he gently tucked a little behind her left ear, his fingers lingering to softly brush the side of her neck. She yearned to lean into his touch. Instead, she remained firm in her resolve.
They had started something good together. She honestly believed that. Something beyond mere sexual attraction, rooted in their love of familia and commitment to making a difference for others.
Sure, the moms in the gym audience looked at Diego and saw a man who was simply too delicious for his own good. Yet Lilí knew from glorious personal experience the strength, the gentleness, the compassion that lay beneath his handsome surface. She wanted more of that, and so much more than one memorable night together.
“My sister says hello,” he said.
The unexpected change of subject took her by surprise, but it pulled her wandering thoughts back on track.
“I heard she’s doing well. I mean, I haven’t seen or spoken to her, but I’ve called to check on her progress. As a professional,” she qualified, holding up a hand to stall his concern that she might have overstepped. “I promise, I’ve kept my distance, respecting her privacy. And yours. Careful not to interfere or pry.”
Diego grasped her fingers, the warmth from his seeping up her arm. His thumb brushed the back of her hand, setting off gentle waves of desire lapping against her wall of reservations.
“It’s never interference when it comes from you,” Diego said. “Not in a negative way, and only with good intent. I realize that now.”
The earnestness in his dark eyes begged her to believe him.
“I probably did all along,” he continued. “But I was too wrapped up in my own issues to be objective. I’m sorry, Lilí.”
A pained look pinched his handsome face. The urge to comfort him was swift, instinctive. And yet, she needed more from him.
“Go on.”
“Those words sound so lame. I know that. My mami used to tell me ‘I’m sorry’ could be easily said, but it was the actions behind them that made the difference.”
“Smart woman,” Lilí murmured.
“Yeah, she was. A lot like you.”
A knot of emotion welled in Lilí’s throat. She ducked her head, swallowing around the tightness.
Ay, how she would have loved meeting Alma Reyes. The woman had raised an incredible son, and she would be relieved to know that the daughter she loved might finally be on the right path.
“I messed up, Lilí. In many ways.” Gently, with a finger crooked beneath her chin, Diego bade her to look at him. “I complained about Lourdes shutting me out, not giving me a chance to help her make things right. Then I went and did the same to you. I’ve been afraid of losing her for so long, hating being alone, and then you barged into my life.”
“Bueno, if I had to do any barging, it’s because you were doing your immovable oak impersonation on Melba’s front stoop.”
He laughed, his sexy smile finally tugging one from her.
His thumb traced the edge of her bottom lip, his gaze dropping to her mouth. Subconsciously she licked her lips. Desire flared in his eyes, fanning the flame she hadn’t been able to extinguish when it came to him.
“This immovable oak’s been moved by you, Lilí Fernandez.”
Ay, she liked the sound of that. “¿De veras?”
“Yes, really.” Softly he brushed her wispy bangs out of her eyes. “Here’s the thing: I’ve been keeping people an arm’s distance away for a long time now. But I don’t want to do that with you. I want to soak up your positivity, and do what I can to keep yours alive. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I belong. With you, with my sister, with your familia. Maybe it’s too soon, and I’m jumping the gun here, but I know where I’d like whatever we’ve started to be headed. And that’s in whatever direction you’re going.”
He rose, pulling her to stand.
Her legs wobbly, she leaned her thigh against the chair’s backrest, completely stunned by his admission.
“The past two weeks have felt empty, even my music hasn’t been as soothing to me. Something’s missing without you. So I’m asking, please forgive me. Give me a chance to make things right between us. Let’s see where our musical duo can go. Together.”
He stepped around the back of her chair, moving to the aisle with her, so nothing stood between them.
She gazed up at his handsome face, the tiny V between his brows telegraphing his anguish.
“What do you say? Will you forgive me?” Desperation hung on his request.
Overwhelmed by his honest sincerity, afraid if she tried to find the right words she’d end up a blubbering mess, Lilí did what she’d wanted to do from the moment she’d stepped into the gym and caught sight of him.
Cupping his face in her hands, she rose up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
She felt the tension ease from his body, then his arms came around her, pulling her closer. Holding her tightly in his embrace.
“Is that a yes?” he murmured against her lips. “Please tell me that’s a yes.”
She grinned. “Most definitely yes.”
It was all the answer he apparently needed as he covered her mouth with a deep, toe-curling kiss. She opened for him, savoring the sensual brush of his tongue along hers.
Desire whooshed through her, a wildfire of heat and passion he stoked with each caress of her back, hips, butt. His fingers found the hem of her sundress, the calluses from his guitar playing rough as he traced a sensual trail along her lower thighs, drawing shivers of heat that shot straight to her core.
She crooked a knee up on his hip, desperate to be closer.
Diego broke their kiss on a muffled groan. He dropped his head to her shoulder, burrowing his nose in the crook of her neck.
“Man, I’ve missed the smell of your lotion. Makes you even more . . . delicious.” The tip of his tongue laved her neck, and she moaned with pleasure.
He chuckled. Not exactly the response she expected and she drew back to peer up at him in the shadows. “What’s so funny?”
“I’ve been dreaming about getting a hot girl to come make out with me in one of these classrooms since I was a horny teen.”
His satisfied smirk had her throwing back her head with laughter.
“I’m happy to assist in checking that item off your bucket list,” she teased.
“More like starred with a red permanent marker.” He winked, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers.
She held on to the back of his neck, her fingers splaying at his nape.
“I’m all in, Lilí. I mean, I know I’ll make mistakes, but I want this to work. I want us. What do you say?”
Gazing up into his dark eyes, Lilí saw the truth, the hope, the desire he didn’t bother trying to hide.
Papi had been right. Like always. Her músico had been out there, waiting for her. Searching for her.
Now, she was certain she’d found him, and she didn’t plan on letting him go.
“I say, you had me at the first chords of ‘Somos Novios,’” she answered.
On that note, Diego swooped in to seal her words with a soul-searing kiss, a promise of the gloriously perfect music and melodies they were ready to create. Together.