“I was too rough.”
I smile, shake my head, and touch his cheek. I want so badly for this to be real. For him to be real. I kiss him gently, and he looks confused when I draw back.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
“Just tired.” It’s a lie but also not. He swoops me up in his arms, and within moments, I’m lying in his bed, and he’s tucking me in, and it’s me who’s confused now.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?”
He kisses my forehead, stands to look down at me, buckling his belt and tucking his shirt back in. “I have to do some work.”’
“You’re always working.”
“Saturday night, we have a dinner at IVI. It’s a smaller affair than the last time.”
I climb up on my elbows, forehead furrowing. I still remember the gala. “Do I have to go?”
“It’s important we’re there together.” He pauses, and I sense hesitation. “For my sister’s sake.”
“Mercedes?” He hasn’t mentioned her in a long time. “Where is she? You never said. Did something happen?”
He sighs deeply and sits on the edge of the bed. “You know I will do anything to protect my family.”
I study him.
“That includes you, Ivy. But it also includes my sister. No matter what she’s done.”
“What did she do?”
He considers. “Well, strangely, I guess she was protecting her family.”
“Protecting you.”
He nods.
“From me?”
“She did something stupid, honestly. But it led to more dangerous things. She’s accepted the consequences with some grace, I must say, but there have been questions about her sudden disappearance at IVI and, well, she’s your family too now, and we need to protect her.”
“Protect her from whom?”
Again, there’s hesitation. Then finally, he speaks. And his words send a shudder down my spine. “The Tribunal.”
“What did she do, Santiago?” I push. “She was just gone, and you never said.”
His forehead is creased, and I swear I can see the pain in his eyes, and I hate it.
“Tell me.”
“I chose you. I chose you over her, Ivy. I chose our family.”
“What?”
“Will you go with me?”
I nod, although I’m reluctant. Because no matter what she’s done to me or anyone else, I don’t want to see her standing where I stood before The Tribunal.
11
Ivy
My conversation with Santiago leaves me more confused than ever. Why did he have to make a choice between his sister and me? What did she do?
But a part of me is warmed by what he said, too.
He chose me.
He chose our family.
On Saturday morning, a box arrives from a boutique in New York City, and later that evening, I am dressed in a floor-length satin gown in a deep emerald, and if I look down, I can just see the tiniest swell of my stomach. I am sure it will be unrecognizable to anyone who doesn’t know, but I see it. It’s the way the fabric drapes itself over every curve, and I’m sure when I look at Santiago’s face, when I see his eyes alight on exactly the same place, this is why he chose this particular dress.
He nods, his pride obvious, and wraps a hand around the back of my head to draw me in to hug me, kiss me. But when he pulls away, I see anxiety there, too, in the crease between his eyebrows.
“You look beautiful.”
“Wow, you really do,” Eva says. Walking out of the kitchen, she’s shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth from a giant tub under her arm. She’s also barefoot and wearing bright yellow pajamas, and I realize how comfortable she feels here. How at home.
Santiago checks his watch. “Didn’t you eat dinner?”
“That was an hour ago. This is called a snack.” She makes a point of saying the word snack slowly for him.
“Eva,” I say.
“Besides, it’s movie night,” she continues.
“Movie night?” I ask.
“Marco set up a TV in my room.”
“He did what?” It’s Santiago.
“And he gave me his Netflix log in.” She shrugs a shoulder and turns away. “You guys have fun at your boring dinner.”
“I’m going to need to talk to Marco. She shouldn’t have a television in her bedroom.”
“Why not? She’s a kid.”
“I’m not sure—”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Do you know my mom wasn’t feeding her breakfast so she wouldn’t put on weight?”
He looks at me like he’s confused. “She what? The girl is too skinny if anything.”
“I’m just saying she’s had a lot of restrictions placed on her already so let her be.”
“Fine. For now. But I’m still talking to Marco. Come on. We’re going to be late.”
“You do you,” I say and let him lead me out. We take the Aston Martin again, but I follow Santiago’s gaze to the rearview mirror to see two men follow us off the property.
“Additional security,” Santiago says. “Nothing to worry about.”
“What are you going to do to Abel if you find him?”
“When I find him.”