A Game of Hearts Read online

  “Tumba eso. Let it go, Rosa.”

  “Fine, whatever, but I know your momma is gonna be mad. You were just in here with Clinton like three weeks ago.”

  And this was why I couldn’t wait to move out of my mother’s house. She was always in my business, and had family and friends doing the same. Which meant Rosa would go running back the second she could, spilling the beans about how I had been in the restaurant with a man who wasn’t Clinton. Alma Lemes would be worried sick about her spinster daughter, who wasn’t married and at home pushing out little babies and making boliche or costillitas de puerco.

  My mother had wanted a ton of kids, but she’d ended up with me. I had a boatload of cousins, though, and they each had at least two to three kids. My parents had struggled, and I mean struggled, when I was a kid. They’d just bought their first home a few years ago, and not easily. Before that, we were in a crappy apartment, in a crappy neighborhood, surrounded by crappy people. The only memorable thing about the old neighborhood was Mateo, my best friend. He’d gotten the hell out of Dodge the moment he could, though. Now, he lived above the garage where he worked, and was happier than shit. Granted, he didn’t have his own car, nor did he make the kind of money one needed to survive, but still…he was happy.

  I wanted that, and a whole lot more. I wanted the happiness, the money, and the security of knowing that should the shit hit the fan, my man had my back financially as well as physically.

  “The guy she came in here with three weeks ago is now obsolete. Zori and I have things to do back at the office, may we please order?” Davis gritted out.

  “Right, may I take your order?” Rosa said in a snotty voice.

  “I’ll have the carne con papas, and Zori…what will you have?

  “Can I get an order of empanadas?”

  “Beef?”

  “Yes.”

  Rosa walked off, and Davis eyeballed her with a strange grimace on his face.

  “Did you come in here a lot with Clinton?”

  “We came a couple of times. I think he did it mostly to impress me. Plus, my mother would go on and on about this place, and Clinton wanted to get on her good side.”

  “That was a mistake.”

  “Yeah, you can say that again,” I snorted. I knew better than to bring a guy I was dating around my family, but we’d been dating for about three years, so I figured it was safe. It wasn’t. Because now Rosa, the nosy waitress, was going to go back and blab to her mother, who would then blab to my mother, and so on, and so on, and so on. Mi vida.

  After the food had been delivered, we ate in companionable silence. When Davis paid the bill, he placed his hand on my lower back as we left the restaurant. This is not good. So not good. I had no intention of giving Davis any idea that I was interested or available. I wasn’t about to fool around with Davis.

  “Zori, I want you to know that I’m here for you if you need someone to talk to. I may be your boss, but I’d also like to think we’re friends.”

  Friends?

  Since when?

  Sure, he was nice enough. I enjoyed working for him, but I wouldn’t say we were friends. Maybe I’d missed something, but the last time I checked, he only spoke to me when he needed something. Occasionally, we did lunch, but only in the office. Sometimes, we had dinner if there was a meeting I needed to attend. But, again, in the office. We never talked about anything not related to the workplace, and today was the first time we’d eaten outside of it together. Sure there were some non-committals like “how’s the family?” or “did your cousin have the baby?” But that was the gist of our outside-of-work conversations.

  “Davis,” I said in a hurry. I didn’t want this to go south. That would be awkward. And brutal. He had never expressed an interest in me before, and I needed to know where this was coming from. “I just need to be clear on a few things….”

  “All right, Zori, go ahead.” A grin tugged at his lips. A sly one. Like he knew what I was about to say.

  “You mean friends as in, friends, right? Not friends friends.”

  “Could you say that for me in an actual sentence?” he joked. But I went along with it anyway.

  “As in, Zori and Davis are friends who have lunch occasionally but nothing outside of a shared meal. With possible shopping sprees funded by Davis Carver. Or…is this Zori and Davis are friends with benefits? Although how they got to that point is beyond me.”

  His eyes went wide for a second with laughter before they warmed with heat. “Do you want there to be benefits?”

  In another life, another time, heck yeah. But Davis was my boss.

  Instead of allowing the conversation to sink further into the depths of the unknown, I tried to play it off.

  “Davis Carter, you’re funny. Thanks, I needed the laugh. I’ll take door number one: friends. The one where we share meals with the possibility of shopping sprees—funded by you, of course.” I winked and walked ahead of him quickly, hoping I hadn’t just messed things up. I wanted to ensure that we stayed in the friend zone.

  Chapter 2

  Zori

  When we arrived back at the office after lunch, Mateo was at my desk, holding his motorcycle helmet in his hand. Distressed jeans, boots, a soiled white shirt, and his leather jacket completed his outfit. He wore bad boy so well; he even had the tattoos. His hair stuck out from beneath his black beanie on the sides, and he sported a smile. Always a warm smile from this one.

  “Beautiful girl, I thought we were having lunch today,” he said, fingering the business cards on my desk.

  “I’m so sorry, Matty, I forgot. Mr. Carver and I went for lunch.”

  My boss nodded in Mateo’s direction before heading back into his office.

  “Yeah, you could have texted. Something. I left the shop early to come and spend some time with my best girl.”

  That was the thing about Mateo…he had a way of making my shitty days bright. Always. When I rounded my desk and woke up my computer screen, I smiled back his way.

  “You’re right.” I sighed. “I should have texted. I’m sorry. How about dinner at your place tonight?”

  “You mean that?” he asked, hopeful.

  You’d think we didn’t hang out, but we did. Like all the time. I saw him almost every other day, and we talked daily.

  “Yeah, I’ll bring the wine. And Paige. You supply the food.”

  At the mention of my other bestie, Paige, Mateo grunted and slid his hand to the back of his neck in frustration. I didn’t know why he wouldn’t give Paige a chance.

  “I’d rather it just be us.”

  “Matty, Paige and you would be good together,” I said. I had been trying to pair them up for months, but Mateo dodged her at every turn. Which was surprising because he wasn’t a serial dater. He was the type of guy who did long-term relationships. The problem was, all the girls he’d dated thus far were a total waste of space. Paige would be perfect for him. She was cute, smart, and funny. She would get his sense of humor, and I think she could even handle his moodiness. Probably not as well as I did, but she’d be pretty damn close.

  And a bonus for Paige…Mateo wasn’t bad on the eyes. He was hot, and that beautiful, bronzed skin and tattooed body would be a dream come true for any woman. He knew how to treat a lady, too. I was sure that had everything to do with his amazing parents, who were still happily married. They made me aspire to that, to be like them when I got older. The one true constant with Mateo and me was that our parents were phenomenal with us. Even when we’d lived in a crappy part of town, they always knew how to make us feel special. Honestly, we’d never even realized how poor we were until the kids at school started pointing it out to us. Mateo shrugged it off. Me, I had a harder time.

  I regarded my friend as he stared out the windows behind my desk to the world outside. I did have a killer view, but he still hadn’t answered my question. Okay, I guess he had, but he didn’t give me the answer I wanted.

  “Earth to Mateo?”

  “Yeah, yeah,
if she really needs to be there, you can bring her.” He winked at me before turning to leave. On his way out, he stopped and talked to Elise. Or rather, she halted him. Elise was one of those snake-in-the-grass females. You know…the smooth until they slither into your bed and just never freaking leave kind? That would be her. She’d been trying to get into Matty’s bed forever.

  * * *

  “Remind me why I’m here.” Paige complained. I had thought for sure she wanted to come. She’d told me on a number of occasions just how hot she thought Mateo was, but now, she acted as if she couldn’t be bothered, like she didn’t want to get with him.

  “Why are you acting brand new all of a sudden?”

  “Brand new? Me?” She shoved her hand into my shoulder playfully. “I’m not acting anything. Mateo tolerates me because he loves you.”

  “No, he doesn’t. Well, yeah he does. Love me. But he’s just shy,” I countered. He’s so not shy.

  “Right, which is why I saw him a couple of weeks ago sucking face with a brunette in Kroger.”

  “You did?”

  “Hmmm, girl, and let me tell you, it was all tongue action. Like he was mimicking what he could do had he been giving her the business.”

  “Gross! I don’t need to know that,” I said, laughing.

  “Sure you don’t.”

  “Honestly, Paige. I don’t.”

  “That boy is dying to give you the business. You should just hook up with your best boyfriend. Things would definitely be easier.”

  Mateo was hot, but thinking about him sucking face with anyone—let alone me—well, just no. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about. We had a rule. I didn’t bring my male friends around him, and he didn’t bring his girls around me. It had caused a crap-ton of problems in the past for both of us. Matty’s last serious girlfriend had broken it off because she was tired of being second. To which, I’d pointed out, she wasn’t. She was more like third, or possibly fourth.

  For Mateo, only a few things mattered. Family, me, and the shop he worked at. Ask anyone who knew him, and they’d tell you. He knew how to treat his women; that was never the problem. The issues arose in trying to gain his attention. I counted myself lucky, as I’d been holding his attention since the day I moved next door.

  We knocked, and when Mateo opened the door for us, the first thing that hit me was the smell of fresh veggies frying, and the aroma of arroz con gandules. Yum. And if he was cooking that, it meant we were having roast pork shoulder. He was a god in the kitchen, and he knew it. In high school, he cooked for every girl he went out with. Truth be told, I’d had a crush on him back then. A serious one. We’d been so close, and I’d watched him grow from scrawny kid to very masculine, very fit male. What high school girl wouldn’t swoon? But Matty had explained that we could only be friends. That he wasn’t ready for a girlfriend. Silly me, I had initially taken that to mean that when he was ready to be serious, I’d be that girl. It never happened.

  That’s life.

  Win some, and you lose some. In my case, I had gained a best friend out of the deal. He was always there for me, no matter what.

  “Glad to see you beautiful ladies.” Mateo’s deep voice filtered out into the air. He was always so calm, so cool. He was the epitome of a gentleman. I hardly ever saw anything upset him or make him sad. He was just so well put-together. He wasn’t a pushover. He was just nice.

  “Hey, Matty.” I was pulled into a warm embrace, and he gave the best hugs ever. Full body, full contact. Some would say he was too friendly. To me, it was just Mateo. He smelled like garlic and black pepper with hints of alcohol.

  “Paige.” Matty didn’t hug Paige as much, which was what had me thinking he was into her but didn’t want to seem too obvious. He pulled her into a one-arm hug. I smiled because I could see them together. They would make such a cute couple.

  “Hey, Mateo. It smells scrumptious in here,” Paige commented.

  “It’s Zori’s favorite.”

  “Oh, is it?” She had that tone in her voice, the one where she tried to get something out that should be obvious like, “oh, really.” Which made no sense. It wasn’t like I didn’t know he could cook. I ate at his house at least once a week because the food was so damn delicious.

  “You two play nice,” I scolded, walking into his living room and setting down my purse. “I brought the wine, Matty, I’m just gonna go and put this in the kitchen. You two stay out here and talk.”

  Both of my friends examined me as if I’d lost my mind. But I knew what I was doing. I was creating opportunity. The best kind.

  Chapter 3

  Mateo

  Talk about awkward. I stared at Paige. I could see why Zori thought we’d get along. She was cute enough. Just not what I was searching for. She wasn’t what I wanted either. What I craved was currently in the kitchen doing her best to try and give her friend and me some alone time, for what she hoped would be a hook-up. I couldn’t spend my time chasing yet another female. All women paled in comparison to Zoraida. But I didn’t know how to tell her. My biggest regret was not taking her up on the offer she’d given me back in high school, all those years ago. Six years was a long time to get your shit together. I was ready now; had been for a while. It was Zori who couldn’t get her head out of her ass.

  I tried to give her time. Hell, I tried to give myself time. Our parents had already called it when we were young. Mamma had said it best. “Those two are going to drive each other crazy to the point they end up married with a boatload of children.” And that’s what I wanted. Marriage. Children. The whole damn thing. But Zori didn’t want those things anymore. All she talked about now was security. And not in-home security either. Financial security. Something, up until recently, I hadn’t been able to offer her. Now it was a question of whether what I could offer was enough, and would she even be willing to give us a shot. A big part of me was bummed that she’d turned into such a shallow person. But her parents hadn’t been the best examples either.

  “I don’t know what she wants us to do.” Paige said, breaking into my thoughts.

  “Yeah, she wants us to get to know each other, but I gotta be honest with you, Paige…” I started to say.

  “I already know you’re in love with her, Mateo. Everyone can see it.”

  “Everyone can see it?” Shit. I’d thought I was playing it cool, biding my time. Time is running out. And that was the truth of it. Time was running out. She’d wanted that idiot Clinton to propose to her. Propose! As if he could give her what she needed. He didn’t know the first thing about Zori. Not like I did.

  “Well, if you already know, how come she doesn’t?”

  Paige shrugged her shoulders and smiled widely. Her eyes were blue orbs of mischief. She had some crazy idea, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be down.

  “Hey, I have an idea.”

  “Yeah, what?”

  “She’s got those tickets to that island. I’m gonna make sure the two of you end up there together.”

  “Tickets to an island? What island?” This was the first time I’d heard anything about an island.

  “Yea, Aragon Island and the resort is called Indulgences. Trust me, if you want her to see what everyone else already does, then you want to go on this trip with her.”

  “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

  “Excellent. And, Mateo....”

  “Yeah?”

  “Drop the nice guy routine.”

  What the hell did she mean by that?

  “Explain?” I said, standing taller. Sure, I was nice, but I wasn’t that nice.

  “Come off it. You’re always so polite and sweet around her. I know she crushed on you big time back in high school, but that guy wasn’t nice. That guy brooded, that guy knew what he wanted and went after it. That guy had a tongue war with some chick in Kroger a few weeks back like he wanted to prove to her what kind of night she was in for.”

  My eyes widened. She’d seen me at Kroger with Rosa? Oh, shit. That was not good. Rosa
was a family friend…and a mistake.

  “You’re still not making any sense, Paige.”

  Paige patted my shoulder as if I were some little kid who just didn’t get it. Okay, I didn’t get it, but still. I was almost six-four, and in no way, shape, or form little.

  “Honey, she needs a man-man. Not a nice boy-man.”

  With those parting words, she headed off into the kitchen where Zori was.

  * * *

  Zori

  I’d stolen several pieces of pork when Paige and Mateo walked in. Something had happened. I could tell because they shared a moment. Not necessarily one of intimacy, but it was definitely a look. Finally, they were starting to see things my way.

  “Hey.” I was so startled, I didn’t know how to react when Mateo moved me, his hands firmly on my waist as he scooted me out of his way. He knew I didn’t like being manhandled.

  “Stop picking off the food, Zori. Wait till dinner.”

  He wasn’t serious, and if he were, I wasn’t going to listen. The pork roast shoulder was to die for.

  “I just had a little taste. Made sure it didn’t need any more seasoning.”

  He didn’t take his hands off my hips, and when our eyes clashed, I had to remind myself that this was my best friend. His hands at my waist meant nothing, and if something were about to happen between him and Paige, he needed to stop being so friendly. This was so unlike him, though neither of them acted like what he was doing was the least bit out of the ordinary.

  “Dude, your hands.”

  His chin dipped and his eyes dropped to trace my lips before he examined where he held me, but he didn’t move. “My hands are fine.”

  “You know, Zori has those tickets to Indulgences, and she can’t go alone, Mateo. Why don’t you go with her? The two of you can soak up some sun, lay out on the beach, and just chill.”

  An intense heat burned through my chest the entire time Paige talked. What the hell was going on with these two?