Page 108 of Till Death Do Us Part

“We’ve met,” he said, his deep voice more of a purr.

I looked his direction, but honestly, my mind was too cluttered to decipher whatever secret discussion was occurring in my presence.

“I’m going to have a talk with your bodyguards,” Dante said as he walked toward the man stationed by the front door.

“This feels very weird,” Mireya said, taking my arm. “Do you know what’s happening?”

Camila’s lips parted as she stared in a trance, watching Dante walk away.

I wanted to tell her that he was too old for her, but instead, I responded to Mireya, “Only some of it.”

Viviana left us to help the Ruizes’ cook in the kitchen.

“We’ve been sitting out back,” Mireya said. “Sofia and Liliana are here.”

“Really?” I asked. “Gerardo brought them all the way here for a meeting?”

“Sofia said Aléjandro demanded they come.” She shrugged. “Like I said, it feels weird.”

Stepping out onto the back deck, I was enthralled by the kaleidoscope of colors: reds, purples, and pinks filling the sky above the distant mountains. As it was the last time I was here, the patio was lit like daytime in the twilight. The two young ladies were seated on a sofa that was situated around a firepit. Liliana looked up as we approached. Her expression was as lifeless as it had been during our visit to Sacramento.

“It’s nice to see you again,” I said. “I’ve been trying to reach you.” I took a seat on the other side of the flames.

“I must have missed your call.”

“It was a couple of calls. Your voicemail box is full.”

Her eyes went to Sofia and back to her lap.

Sofia sat back and pressed her lips together as Mireya and Camila joined us.

“It’s not a big deal,” I went on. “Aléjandro and I have our house decorated, and we’d like to invite you, Sofia, and Gerardo to a housewarming party.”

Liliana looked at Sofia.

Part of me wanted to walk over and shake Liliana. Another part of me wanted to wrap her in a hug. By the doe-in-the-headlights expression she was giving her stepdaughter-slash-friend, either of those actions could send her spiraling.

“Mi madretold me about the party,” Camila said, her smile growing. “Will your family be there?”

“Yes. I’m not sure about Dario and Catalina. That will depend on Ariadna Gia.”

For a few minutes the conversation went to the new baby. Camila had new pictures on her phone from Valentina. She handed me her phone. Ariadna was wrapped in a pink blanket and held by a different person in each picture. I came to a picture of Catalina. “Catalina looks amazing,” I said.

“Oh, I didn’t see her picture,” Liliana said.

“Here,” I handed her Camila’s phone.

As she reached for it, my breathing stopped, and my stomach twisted. It was the sight of the large ruby ring on her right hand. The nearly two-carat ruby on yellow-gold prongs had always been too small for me, but Liliana was more petite.

No, it couldn’t be my ring.

“What a lovely ring,” I said, reaching for her hand. “Where did you get it?”

“Gerardo. It’s my birthstone.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Aléjandro