music and instruments they need. And you could tie it to the bands that play at Luna Azul…have them stop in there for a release party or a little concert.”
“I like that idea,” Justin said. But discussing business while Selena was standing so close that she was pressed against his arm wasn’t conducive. He could barely think since all of the blood in his body was racing to his groin and not his brain.
“Did you invite them to be on the community committee?”
“I did,” he said.
“Good, so you are done talking business?”
“No,” Justin said.
“He’s like us, tata, he’ll be dead and buried before he stops trying to make a deal,” Paulo said.
Justin laughed and Selena smiled but he could tell that her cousin’s words disturbed her. A few minutes later the food was ready and the other men moved to prepare the platters for everyone to eat. He took Selena’s arm and drew her away from the crowd.
“Why does what Paulo said bother you?” he asked her.
“It just reaffirmed my fears that you are attracted to me because it might make dealing with my family easier,” she said.
That was blunt and honest and he shouldn’t have beensurprised, since Selena wasn’t the kind of woman who was tentative about anything.
“I want you,” he said. “That’s it, end of story. If you said to me right now that you were going to keep that injunction in place against my company until we both died, it wouldn’t change a thing. I still want you naked and writhing against me.”
“Lust.”
“We discussed that.”
“I know. And I thought I’d found a solution.”
“Vacation fling,” he said.
“It’s the only way to keep this in perspective,” she said.
He understood where she was coming from. He’d watched his own father love a woman who didn’t want him. Not the way he wanted her. It had always been Justin’s fear in relationships. He knew that if he ever fell in love it would dull his razor-sharp edge when it came to business. And he’d been careful to make lust his criterion for a relationship. Never really getting to know the family or friends of the women he slept with.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Selena. I will use whatever means necessary to make that marketplace successful, but that will not change how I feel about you. And I always go after what I want.”
“I bet you get it, too,” she said.
“Yes, I do. Today has been eye-opening for me.”
“Because of that dress I wore earlier?” she asked.
“Partly. I don’t think I’ve recovered full brain function since then.”
She laughed. “It’s nice to know I have a little power over you.”
“You have more than you know. Inviting me here wasa very well-played move on your part. Talking to your cousins made me realize that we should be reaching out here more than we do. Luna Azul is successful in this location without community support. Imagine what we could do with support.”
“I have imagined it. That’s why it is important that my grandparents are in on the ground level.”
“I see that. I can’t wait to have the first committee meeting.”
“Me, too,” she said.
“Now about us,” he said after a few minutes of silence had fallen between them.
“There isn’t any us. ”
“Not yet,” he said. “But we both want it, so it’s silly to pretend that we don’t.”
“Vacation fling, right?”
“I’m open to suggestions,” he said. “I don’t want to forget that you have a life in another part of the country and that you will be going back there.”
“That was a surprisingly honest thing for you to admit,” she said.
“There is no reason for me to pretend that you don’t have the potential to be a heartbreaker. I’ve never met another woman like you, Selena.”
He was a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and he wasn’t going to change at this late date. Especially where Selena was concerned. She needed to know that even though he was suggesting a vacation fling, he wanted it as badly as
“I like that idea,” Justin said. But discussing business while Selena was standing so close that she was pressed against his arm wasn’t conducive. He could barely think since all of the blood in his body was racing to his groin and not his brain.
“Did you invite them to be on the community committee?”
“I did,” he said.
“Good, so you are done talking business?”
“No,” Justin said.
“He’s like us, tata, he’ll be dead and buried before he stops trying to make a deal,” Paulo said.
Justin laughed and Selena smiled but he could tell that her cousin’s words disturbed her. A few minutes later the food was ready and the other men moved to prepare the platters for everyone to eat. He took Selena’s arm and drew her away from the crowd.
“Why does what Paulo said bother you?” he asked her.
“It just reaffirmed my fears that you are attracted to me because it might make dealing with my family easier,” she said.
That was blunt and honest and he shouldn’t have beensurprised, since Selena wasn’t the kind of woman who was tentative about anything.
“I want you,” he said. “That’s it, end of story. If you said to me right now that you were going to keep that injunction in place against my company until we both died, it wouldn’t change a thing. I still want you naked and writhing against me.”
“Lust.”
“We discussed that.”
“I know. And I thought I’d found a solution.”
“Vacation fling,” he said.
“It’s the only way to keep this in perspective,” she said.
He understood where she was coming from. He’d watched his own father love a woman who didn’t want him. Not the way he wanted her. It had always been Justin’s fear in relationships. He knew that if he ever fell in love it would dull his razor-sharp edge when it came to business. And he’d been careful to make lust his criterion for a relationship. Never really getting to know the family or friends of the women he slept with.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Selena. I will use whatever means necessary to make that marketplace successful, but that will not change how I feel about you. And I always go after what I want.”
“I bet you get it, too,” she said.
“Yes, I do. Today has been eye-opening for me.”
“Because of that dress I wore earlier?” she asked.
“Partly. I don’t think I’ve recovered full brain function since then.”
She laughed. “It’s nice to know I have a little power over you.”
“You have more than you know. Inviting me here wasa very well-played move on your part. Talking to your cousins made me realize that we should be reaching out here more than we do. Luna Azul is successful in this location without community support. Imagine what we could do with support.”
“I have imagined it. That’s why it is important that my grandparents are in on the ground level.”
“I see that. I can’t wait to have the first committee meeting.”
“Me, too,” she said.
“Now about us,” he said after a few minutes of silence had fallen between them.
“There isn’t any us. ”
“Not yet,” he said. “But we both want it, so it’s silly to pretend that we don’t.”
“Vacation fling, right?”
“I’m open to suggestions,” he said. “I don’t want to forget that you have a life in another part of the country and that you will be going back there.”
“That was a surprisingly honest thing for you to admit,” she said.
“There is no reason for me to pretend that you don’t have the potential to be a heartbreaker. I’ve never met another woman like you, Selena.”
He was a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy and he wasn’t going to change at this late date. Especially where Selena was concerned. She needed to know that even though he was suggesting a vacation fling, he wanted it as badly as
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