Katherine Garbera - Seducing His Opposition / Secret Nights at Nine Oaks - Seducing His Opposition

But he was here to achieve two things: first, to have Tomas lift the injunction against Luna Azul and second, to get Selena to be that warm, seductive woman she’d been on the beach again.

He’d pulled back for her sake, had instinctively known that she wasn’t the kind of woman who could start an affair, even a short-term one, with a man she barely knew.

But tonight he’d change all of that. He slipped his arm through Selena’s free one and she hesitated and lost her footing, glancing up at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Just making sure everyone knows who invited me to the party.”

Enrique laughed. “No one’s going to doubt that, bro. This is Selena’s welcome-home party. Did you know she hasn’t been back here since my tenth birthday?”

Why not? “No, I didn’t know that. I’m honored to have been invited to this party then.”

“Don’t forget that,” Enrique said. He dropped Selena’s arm to open the front door of the house. The air-conditioned coolness rushed out and the sounds of the party filled the lanai.

“Enrique’s in the house,” Enrique yelled and there was a round of applause.

Selena took a deep breath. “I am not sure this was my best idea.”

“I am. I want to get to know your family.”

She paused there on the step so that they were almost eye level. “Why? So you can use it to your advantage?”

“No, so I can start to understand you.”

He put his hand on the small of her back and directed her into the living room. Everyone surrounded her and welcomed her home. But standing to the side, Justin realized that Selena hesitated to be a part of them. She held a part of herself back and he wanted to know why.

Selena was amazed to see Justin actually fitting in with her family. He was standing by the grill talking to the men about baseball of all things. But then she guessed he would know a little bit about the sport thanks to his brother, the former ball player.

“What’s the matter, tata? Aren’t you enjoying your party?”

Her grandmother sat down beside her and put her arm around Selena’s shoulders. For just a minute she felt like she was twelve again and a hug from this woman could solve all of her problems. She put her head on her grandmother’s shoulder and just sat there enjoying the scent of gardenia perfume and how safe she felt at this moment.

“No, I’m not. I feel like everyone is watching me,” Selena said.

“They are. We have missed you so much since you

left.”

“I don’t want everyone to remember what happened. I’m sorry, abuelita . Did I ever tell you how sorry I

was?”

Her grandmother tucked a strand of Selena’s hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “You did. Stop living in the past, that’s all done and we are better for it.”

“Better? If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be in this position with Justin Stern.”

“And you wouldn’t have met him. I’ve noticed you watching Mr. Stern.”

Selena blushed. “Given my track record with men, that should alarm you, abuelita , not make you smile.”

Her grandmother laughed. “The heart doesn’t care about the same things as the brain. My own sister Dona was in love with a gringo and our papa forbid her from seeing him and do you know what she did?”

“She ran away and married him and they lived happily ever after. Even reconciling with the family eventually,” Selena said. She’d heard this story many times but for the first time she understood what her grandmother had been trying to say to her. “Why would Aunt Dona do that? I mean living away from the family is hard.”

“She wasn’t on her own, tata , not like you in New York. That’s why I think everything has happened for a reason. A man drove you away from your family and this man,” she said, gesturing to Justin, “has brought you back to us regardless of his intention.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to see Justin as a white knight.”

“He is cute, though.”

“Abuelita , I’m not sure you should be noticing

that.”

“Why not? It’s not like I said he has a nice butt,” she added with a wink.

“But he does have one, doesn’t he?” Selena agreed and then blushed, remembering the way the rest of his body had felt pressed to hers.

“He sure does.”

“Abuelita , what would abuelito say if he heard you talking like that?”

“He knows where my heart lies,” she said. “Can I say something to you, tata? ”

“Of course.”

“You have never known where your heart lies,” she said. “You were always fixated on getting out of here and doing bigger and better things, but I don’t think you understood the true cost.”

There was truth there. Truth that Selena had never wanted to acknowledge before and she knew that it was time to. Maybe it was because she was thirty now and had made enough mistakes in her life to have really experienced the ups and downs in life. “I think you are right.”

“I know I am,” her grandmother said with a laugh. “Are you thirsty? I need another mojito.”

“Did I hear my lady ask for a mojito?” Tomas asked coming over to them.

Her grandmother stood up and kissed her grandfather. “Yes, you did.”

Selena watched them together and felt a pang in her heart. Her own parents had married young and filled their house with love and laughter and a few tears when it took so long for her mother to have a second child. She wanted what those couples had. That was her destiny. Though she loved her job and her apartment in Manhattan.

“Come and dance with your grandfather,” Tomas said, drawing her to her feet.

“Wouldn’t you rather dance with abuelita? ”

“I will dance with her later. Right now I want to dance with my beautiful granddaughter. I’m so happy you’ve come home, tata.”

Enrique was playing music with a strong Latin beat, mixing the contemporary artists with the old ones her grandfather and his brothers liked. The song playing was a samba and she danced with her grandfather, forgetting all of her troubles and her worries. Laughing with her cousins and aunts and uncles over missteps and bumping hips.

She closed her eyes and for a second allowed herself some self-forgiveness and enjoyed being back in the best home she’d ever found. She enjoyed the smile on her grandfather’s face and the way her little brother looked as he spun the music and watched their family.

Her family.

Her eyes met Justin’s and she felt a pulsing start in the very core of her body and move up and over her. She wanted that man. But she could never have Justin and have her family, too. Because no matter what he might say, his objective was always going to be money and hers had to be the heart of this family and the community they lived in.

She turned away from him. She wished she were the big-city woman she’d thought she was. Someone who could have a short-term affair that was about nothing but sex. But a big part of her wasn’t sure that she could. She was still the sheltered Latina she’d always been. And being back here she felt more that woman than ever before.

She wanted more from Justin Stern than just sex. And he could never give her that.

Justin liked Selena’s cousins, Paulo and Jorge. They made him laugh and he understood them because they were both successful businessmen who were used to doing what they had to to get the job done. If only Tomas were a little more like his grandsons, then Justin had the feeling he wouldn’t be facing an injunction.

“I’d love to have you on a committee I’m putting together to make sure that the renovation of the Cuban American marketplace is both profitable and a benefit to Little Havana.”