She thought briefly of riding in the front herself, but then she’d be the one to have to twist into a pretzel to make a point. She waited until they were on the freeway to speak. “Tell me why you want to hide things from Maggie and Rafael.”
In an unexpected tender gesture, he reached for her hand and laced his fingers in hers. “They’ll complicate things unnecessarily.”
“How?”
“The more people who know about Rigoberto and Victoria, the more difficult it will be to keep the search for her a secret.”
“You can’t believe they’d share your plans with the tabloids.”
He looked out the window at the minimal traffic passing by. “I doubt they would, but I want to concentrate on finding Victoria and the baby.”
“Cazares is looking and Detective Nuñez is too.”
“I trust Javier to be thorough, but not Nuñez.”
“Cazares hasn’t called with an update on Avila’s status?”
“I would have told you if he had.”
He appeared to be more interested in the passing scene than her. She’d really thought he’d crawl into her bed last night, but she hadn’t woken up until morning. She might have gone into his room if she had. She couldn’t resist using it to her own advantage. She snuggled close to whisper in his ear, “I missed you last night. If I’d been awake when you came up to your room, I would have gotten into your bed, even if you avoided mine.”
He studied her expression, his glance as befuddled as his thoughts. “I didn’t think I’d be welcome.”
“There will be other nights. Now I understand how frustrating the search for Victoria is. She might not have a coherent story once we locate her, but that’s no reason to forbid me to confide in my sister.”
“She’d tell Rafael. He’ll have his own take on things, and I don’t want to deal with him. Victoria was after me, remember, not anyone else.”
He’d zipped up his shell, but she wouldn’t back down. She took his hand in both of hers. “What am I, only possible collateral damage?”
“I didn’t mean that. I’d rather you kept quiet, but I don’t have the right to forbid you to talk to Maggie.”
He’d finally seen the obvious. “Then why are we having this conversation?”
He rested his head on the back of his seat. “I stayed up late, and I’m too tired to say more. Wake me when we get home.”
“For round two?” she asked, but he failed to answer. She caught Manuel’s glance in the rearview mirror, and he nodded and smiled. She wondered how many other decidedly cool arguments he’d overheard.
Maggie and Rafael arrived at the appointed time that night and swept into the beach house with their dancers’ graceful abandon. Rafael nodded at Santos and kissed Libby’s cheek. Maggie kissed them both. “Has Mom called you about Patricia?”
Libby sent Santos a frightened glance. “What’s happened to Patricia?”
“Nothing terrible, yet,” Maggie answered. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Santos urged them all into the den for drinks. “I thought this was trouble central for the summer,” he said.
“What else has happened to you?” Maggie asked.
“You first,” Santos insisted.
Maggie took one of the comfortable black chairs, and Rafael leaned against the back. “Mom called me a couple of times. Leaving me here in Spain with Rafael was difficult for her, and now Patricia is upsetting her. Patricia and Fox were nearly glued to each other the day of the wedding. Since then, they’ve been texting and Skyping, and she wants to transfer to a school in London next year to be near him.”
“They barely know each other,” Libby exclaimed.
“Try teaching in high school,” Maggie replied. “Teenagers feel everything deeply and fall madly in love in the wink of an eye. A week is a lifetime to them. Clearly something just clicked between them.”
“Love at first sight,” Rafael agreed. “It can happen to teenagers.”
“Is that supposed to be helpful?” Santos shot back at him. “Why didn’t your mother call me, Maggie? I’m Fox’s guardian.” He poured whiskey for Rafael and chilled white wine for the sisters.