Could Michael afford to lose the Cuban business? What a question and what a time to face it. He knew the answer was a resounding no. But could he give Ileana up? He’d sworn he wouldn’t start anything with her, but after last night...
Nothing had happened. And now nothing was going to happen. There was no choice really, not while his mom had cancer.
“You don’t have to worry, Mr. Calderon. I want the Cuban business.”
Esteban’s eyes had gone cold. “I am glad you are a reasonable man, Mr. Ziffkin.” He held out his hand. “I have your word on this?”
Michael felt like he was moving through setting concrete when he reached for Calderon’s hand. “Yes, you have my word.”
After Calderon left, Michael asked Nadine to hold his calls. Then he sank his head into his hands. He’d never had a chance with Ileana anyway. He didn’t want any kind of commitment. But his head filled with images of her—her cat-slanted eyes, her face dazed with passion, her quickness to help the detectives in major crimes, her incisive mind grappling with the mystery of the break-ins, her concern over his mother overflowing onto him when he needed it. She was a rare diamond—exquisitely beautiful and priceless, breakable, in need of protection, sharp enough to cut through the hardest surfaces, flawless, covetable.
And he had to throw her away.
Work would have to be his salvation. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to seek new customers just in case Calderon decided to keep Michael on a short leash or punish him. There was a reason he’d never mixed business with pleasure before. Perhaps a road trip down the coast was in order—a prospecting trip for new clients. He liked that idea. It put him out of Ileana’s and Rick’s reach and far from pre-wedding festivities. Even better.
Michael searched out all the tourist shops in Florida that weren’t his clients and began classifying them into types of prospects. Then he began making calls to set appointments with decision makers.
A few hours later, he answered the phone to find his mother on the line. “Hi, Mom.”
“Michael,” she sounded a little breathless. “Do you have something you want to tell me?”
“Mom, you called me.”
“Honey, why were you keeping Ileana a secret?”
Damn that blabbermouth Rick. “Mom, we had one date.”
“Your brother said you two could hardly keep your hands off one another. I’ve been so worried about you, especially after your brothers both found someone to love.”
Oh God. Michael would give her anything she needed, anything but this. “Mom, I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again.”
“Oh, Michael, what happened? Were the crimes too much for her? And Rick thought she was a strong woman.”
Ileana was. A spine of steel, a heart of gold. “I’m sorry you got your hopes up. Rick shouldn’t have said anything to you.”
“He was happy for you, Michael. So was I. Are you sure you can’t work something out? I was hoping to meet her at Charlie’s wedding.”
“Mom, I wouldn’t ask a woman I’d recently begun dating to a family wedding anyway.”
“Think she might get ideas, Michael?”
Well, yeah. “It’s a moot point now. But I’m glad you called. I have to go on a sales trip...”
“Oh, Michael, now?”
“It can’t wait. Unless you need me here.”
“Your brothers might need you. Charlie might get nervous and need to talk to his big brother.”
“I’ve never been married. I couldn’t give him any advice. Besides, he wants to marry Juliana.”
His mom sighed. “You’re running away. Did this Ileana hurt you? Is that why you’re making yourself scarce?”
His mom was closer to the truth than she knew. “My business needs this sales trip. The wedding festivities don’t require my presence. You’ll need me next week, so I have to go this week.”
“Fine, but you’ll be back for the rehearsal dinner, right?”
Michael made a quick decision. “I’m not in the wedding, so probably not. But I’ll be back by Saturday.”
“Michael!”
“You’ll call me on my cell phone if you need anything, right?”
“Of course.”
“This week won’t be too much of a strain on you if I’m away, will it?”
“I’d like your presence. So would your brothers.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I know. Go on your sales trip. You always had a mind of your own.”
“I’ll see you Saturday, Mom.”
Now that he had a goal, Michael notified his staff and security and Detective Washington. Then he finished setting appointments and went home to pack. Prior to the evening rush hour, he was on the road north. He was sleeping alone tonight and every mile he put between him and Miami made sure of it.
That night he called Jamal from his lonely hotel room.
“Hey, Michael, Desiree said you left on a trip.”
“Yeah. I had to get out of town.”
Jamal laughed. “You can’t escape the wedding hoopla forever.”
“It’s not that. Well not all of it. Jamal, I had to make a bargain with the devil today.”
“What kind of bargain?”
“You have to swear not to tell Desiree.”
“I don’t like to keep secrets from her.”
Michael stood and pulled the window curtain aside to look out at the parking lot. “This is important. I’m her boss. She can’t know this. Are you where she can’t hear you?”
“Is your company in trouble?”
“No. Maybe. You know I have a lot of Cuban clients.”
“Yeah.”
“One has a daughter. I’ve seen her a couple of times. We had a date.”
Jamal snorted. “You? A date?”
“Yeah.” Michael took a few deep breaths. “Her father found out. He threatened to pull his business if I didn’t stop seeing her.”
“My God, can he do that? It sounds so archaic.”
“Yeah, him and all his Cuban friends who are also clients.”
“Could your company survive that?”
“I don’t know. Times would be really lean for awhile. I’d pretty much have to start over again.”
“So is this woman worth it?”
Michael sighed. “I promised him I wouldn’t see her again. I shook hands on it.”
“Jesus. Your first date in years and you traded her for your business.”
That stung, but it was the truth. “Jamal, my mom’s cancer is back.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry to hear that. How’s she doing?”
“She has to have another mastectomy next Monday. But if she needs anything that I have the power to give her, my business can’t be in trouble. Her health might depend on it. I had to promise him.”
“Oh, Michael, that was rough. I’m sorry, man.”
Michael missed the water behind his condo. He closed the curtain. “Would you have done what I did?”
“I’m not you. My mom’s not sick.”
“If she was, would you have made the promise?”
“Given up Desiree?” Jamal inhaled. “No. But I’m in a committed relationship. You said you only had one date. Love and commitment make a difference. I wouldn’t give up Desiree for anything.”
So, since Michael wasn’t committed, he’d done the right thing. So why did it feel like the wrong thing?
Michael was avoiding her. Three days without a phone call made Ileana sure he’d been scared off. She knew he ran hot and cold, which she now attributed to a dichotomy between his mind and his emotions. When he felt too much, he withdrew to analyze and reorient. And they’d nearly blown the lust-o-meter the other night. He’d begun pulling back from her at her door. She should have seen the retreat coming. But she hadn’t and it hurt.
She felt completely alive for the first time since Roberto died and she wanted to revel in it...with Michael, the man who made her feel all sorts of things.
But he wouldn’t give her the chance.
She’d waited patiently for him to call. Then she’d given him time to brood. Now she was tired of waiting. She wanted to be with him again.
Ileana called his office. “I’d like to speak to Michael Ziffkin please.”
“Mr. Ziffkin’s out of town. If it’s important, you can leave a voice mail. He’s checking them. Or maybe his assistant, Desiree Carver, can help you?”
“He didn’t tell me he was going out of town.” Ileana had been so wrong. But why hadn’t he called from wherever he’d gone?
“A sales trip came up suddenly. He’ll be back in the office on Tuesday, next week.”
“This is Ileana Alvarez Calderon. May I have Michael’s cell phone number?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Calderon, but we don’t give out Mr. Ziffkin’s cell. Would you like to leave a voice mail?”
Ileana sighed with frustration. “Yes.” She asked him to call her, then hung up and stared at the phone. How strange.
There was a knock on her door and her father entered. “I need those sales projections I gave you yesterday.”
Ileana dug on her desk, pulled them out and handed them to her father. He’d looked much healthier the past few days.
“Oh, Caridad has invited the family to dinner. My grandson, Rafael, won a trophy at his swim meet today and your sister wants everyone to help celebrate. Are you available tonight?”
Ileana scanned her calendar. “Yes, I am.”
“Good. Seven o’clock then.” Her father looked terribly smug.
When he left, Ileana wondered about that look.
Hours later the phone rang. “Ileana Calderon?” a woman asked.
Ileana held the phone in the crook of her neck. “This is she. How can I help you?”
“My name is Jane Ziffkin. I’m Michael’s mother. He asked me to invite you to his brother’s wedding.”
Michael’s mother! Ileana nearly dropped the phone. “Why didn’t he ask me himself?”
“You might be nervous about accepting, it being a family occasion and this being your introduction to the family. I wanted to extend the invitation myself, let you know how welcome you’d be.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ziffkin. That does make me feel less nervous. I understand all about family occasions. I come from a large, extended family.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I heard about you.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you, too. I’ve been praying for you ever since Michael told me about your cancer.”
“Michael told you?”
Ileana smiled. “Yes. He loves you very much. I think you’re a brave woman.”
There was a poignant pause on the other end, then, “I can’t wait to meet you.”
• • •
Late Friday night Michael called his parents. “How are you, Mom?” He braced his cell to his ear.
“Tired. The rehearsal dinner was delicious. You should have been there. The Sanchezes are the most delightful family. Juliana’s half-brothers are precocious. They remind me of students I’ve had.”
Michael stretched out on the hotel bed trying to loosen too-tight muscles. “Mom, everybody reminds you of some student you taught.”
She chuckled. “When you’ve taught school as long as I have it’s inevitable. When will you be home?”
“Probably late tomorrow afternoon. I want to get in as much business as possible.”
“Michael, you’re going to be exhausted for the wedding.”
“I don’t have to show up until the rest of the guests.”
“You could show up earlier to be with your family.” Her voice was tart.
“I’d be in the way.”
“You sound tired.”
“I am. I’ve had to be at my sharpest for days. Had to prove myself and my company to skeptics. Had to coerce and cajole and then make it all happen.”
“You’re driving yourself too hard.”
“It’s my company, Mom. It’s going to rise or fall on my actions.”
“Who will you leave it to, Michael? Why are you working so hard if in the end you have no heir?”
Michael’s chest tightened painfully. He’d never felt as alone as he had these past few days. A thousand times a day he’d fought the urge to call Ileana, to hear her voice. He’d promised.
“There’s plenty of time for an heir, Mom.”
“It requires a special woman.”
“There’s time for that, too. Mom, I have some work to do before I go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure, honey.”
But when Michael hung up, all he could think about was the special woman barred from him.
• • •
Michael paced the narthex of St. Mary’s Church. He’d escaped his brothers’ almost painful attempts to draw him into their pre-wedding chatter. The harder they tried, the more trapped Michael had felt until he’d fled. He’d stopped himself from leaving the church altogether. His mother would never forgive him for that.
He watched the guests arrive and the ushers seat them, but he couldn’t sit still yet. Nothing was as it should be. He couldn’t feel comfortable with the brothers he’d known and loved for years. He couldn’t join in their banter. Rick and Charlie acted like they’d never been separated. But Michael felt differently. His brothers weren’t strangers...and yet they were. He’d lost what he used to share with them.
Damn it, he’d thought he’d accepted he would never have a day like this. Why, then, did he want it to be him in the sacristy joking with his best friends as he counted down the minutes until he was bound forever to the woman he loved?
His parents appeared from the dim corridor where Michael knew the bride and her attendants did last minute fussing. His mom and dad had aged well. They were a handsome couple. Michael’s heart swelled with love and pride.
His mother smiled at him. She was putting on a brave front today. No one would know what she faced less than forty-eight hours from now. She loved Charlie enough to keep him ignorant so he could have this day.
Michael wished he could have that ignorance today too. He turned away...
And found himself facing Ileana.
She was so beautiful. The sleeveless red dress made her look utterly feminine and very desirable. The full skirt showed off her long, tanned legs. She took Michael’s breath away, robbed every thought from his brain save one—he wanted her. Not just physically, although his body had come painfully alive when he saw her. He wanted her tucked protectively within the circle of his arm. He wanted to feel her palm smooth his cheek, wanted to lean his forehead against hers and stare into the depths of her warm brown eyes.
It had felt so long since he’d been with her, and yet had it been only four days?
“Ileana.” Her name slipped like a benediction from his lips.
She smiled warmly and crossed to him. He couldn’t move. Then she reached up on tiptoe and kissed him, and nothing else existed. The world melted away. How had he survived four days without her kiss? Why had he thought he should?