Mad for you in Madrid (Building Love Book 3) Page 15

  “It got out of control before I could intervene. It didn’t help that you were willing to go along with Elias’s dumb idea.”

  “I agreed to be his date, not his fiancée.” Her head pounded. Twelve glasses of Madeira could not calm her down at this point. “I’m trying to open up to you. Why are you blaming me?”

  Daniel pressed his lips tightly together. “Do you think so little of me? That I would blame you?”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Then what are you saying?” Out of the corner of her eye, Lori saw the waiter approach the table with their second tapas platter. One look at their body language, however, and the man scurried back into the kitchen. She kept the volume of her voice whisper-soft to avoid creating a scene. Luckily, there was only one other group of diners, and their young child was loudly chattering away. Hopefully, no one in the gastro-pub understood English. Certain conversations were meant to be private.

  “I am giving you loving advice,” Daniel said. Despite the word loving, his tone was clipped. “You’re presenting me with a problem. I am trying to solve it for you.”

  “I’m not asking you to solve anything for me. I’m asking for your support while I solve it myself.”

  He visibly winced. “You don’t want my advice? People constantly ask me for my advice. I rarely take a break from my busy schedule to accommodate them. I have taken time away from my important project to be with you. Why are you rejecting everything I’m saying?”

  At least he got one thing right. I do need to be strong. And brave. “Because your advice doesn’t come across as loving at all.”

  “Are you saying I am not loving?” After being with me last night? As well as a few minutes ago? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  She felt her eyes well up. “Maybe our being personally involved isn’t such a good idea. We still need to work together. I don’t want to jeopardize your project. I certainly don’t want to fight.” She pushed her chair away from the table. “I think it’s best I leave now. We can reconvene professionally tomorrow.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “If you get up to leave, I will be very annoyed. We are in the middle of a discussion.”

  Her throat tightened, almost enough to cut off air. “Are you giving me an order? Weren’t you just telling me I shouldn’t tolerate being bossed around by anyone?”

  “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

  “You are telling me what to do. I already let your bother tell me what to do. My mother always tells me what I should do. You want me to stand up to her, but you didn’t stand up to your own mother.”

  “What are you talking about? Of course I stood up to my parents. I struck out on my own years ago.”

  “Then why didn’t you stop your family from last night’s charade?” Heart thumping in her chest, eyes welling up, she garnered her emotions to keep them in check. “I’m sorry, I think it’s best if I leave.”

  “I told you, do not walk away in the middle of a discussion.”

  “It’s not the middle. It’s the end.” Before he could answer, she got up and ran outside.

  When the gastro-pub’s door slammed shut behind her, so did her heart. Daniel wasn’t loving at all. She had fooled herself. She’d succumbed to the advances of a handsome man, one who was smooth, suave, and sexy. Yet despite the desirable exterior, Daniel was just like her mother. Saying he cared about her but then giving her directives she had to follow. Ones she couldn’t live up to.

  She navigated her way back to her hotel. The rain had stopped. Her clothes hung loosely around her, starting to dry. Lights from lampposts and cars’ headlights bounced off the wet asphalt. The sounds of vehicles and pedestrians faded into the background as she tuned out the world.

  Well, what did you expect, dummy? That this two-day affair with your mother’s client would last forever?

  Chapter 25

  Lori breathed a heavy sigh of relief the moment she stepped into her hotel. She shut the door to her room, tossed off her damp clothes, and took a hot shower. When she was done, a pink nylon nightgown enveloped her, making her feel falsely comfortable. Her world was truly in chaos. Thankfully, the job in Madrid was almost done. She had more than enough information to fly back home early. She even had a solid PR concept for her mother to use, if her mother wanted it.

  Her smartphone buzzed. She slid a fingertip over the screen. The message was from her mother. Someone in the office sent me this link. We need to talk. Now. Take the next flight home.

  Lori’s brow furrowed. Confusion whirled until she hit the link. And then she understood very well. She froze as she saw a picture of herself earlier this morning, standing next to Daniel. She was wearing his clothes, clearly having spent the night. Next to the photo was a separate formal picture of Elias. The headline read in English: Vega Family Turmoil! The caption underneath her photo read: Lori Cayne, of Cayne Corporate Communications, Inc., spends the night at Daniel Vega’s house, immediately after announcing engagement to Vega’s brother, Elias.

  Lori felt like she was suffocating and gasped for air. Her lungs ached from the constriction. The last thing she noticed before chucking the phone on the opposite side of the bed was the Internet article’s byline. She didn’t recognize the last name, but the reporter’s first name was familiar: Sophia.

  I must calm down. She forced her lungs to move air and scrambled across the bed to pick the phone back up. In a few moments, the return flight home was booked. She sent the confirmation information to her mother. Her text said, I’m sorry, and she was. She had tried to be independent. The end result made a mess out of everything.

  She shouldn’t have become involved with a client. She shouldn’t have exposed her mother to failure. Working was the core of her mother’s stability and confidence. Messing with it was unforgivable. Now both of them were in a fragile state. Lori would be begging for her forgiveness, not demanding independence.

  Daniel was wrong. About her. About her relationship with her mother. About pushing the parameters of her personality too far.

  She had been wrong about him too. He seemed quite ready for her to go back to America. Maybe he thought he was being nice, sending her back with a parting gift, some half-baked, ill-thought-out advice. Until he tried to falsely accuse her as being the one who was difficult.

  Her head ached, along with her heart. In the morning, she’d simply put one foot in front of the other. Board the plane. Resume her normal life. Forget about Spain. Daniel. Emotional independence. The price of screwing things up was servitude and penance. She would apologize to her mother.

  With luck, her mother’s competent public relations abilities would make any bad press against her company disappear along with any backlash against the Vega family. If only Lori could make the memories of this trip disappear too.

  ~ ~ ~

  Daniel sat alone at the gastro-pub, stunned. For a second time, his ego suffered a rare bruising from Lori walking away. The first ditching, at the Orland event, wasn’t on purpose. This second time she had meant it. Daniel’s teeth ground together hard enough for flakes of enamel to fly out.

  What was Lori’s problem, anyway? He had gone out of his way to help her. Giving her much-needed advice. Words of wisdom he wished someone had given him many years ago. That kind of brutal candor was hard for him. Yet he had made the effort for her. She threw his effort right back in his face.

  The waiter came over, proverbial tail tucked between his legs. “It’s all right,” Daniel said in Spanish. “The food is terrific. Unfortunately, the lady had to go.” He gestured to the other patrons. Give the rest of our meal to them,” he instructed, handing the waiter a large stack of euros.

  Daniel strode out. The pavement was slick although it was no longer raining. His feet automatically traveled to his hotel. If a truck had run over him, he wouldn’t have noticed. Working in this state
would create more harm than good. Too high of a risk for making bad decisions. The worst decision he made being Lori. He had forgiven her for ditching him the first time. Twice was unacceptable. A third time was not going to happen.

  The whole point of having one-night stands was the satisfying ego rush from all the attention. Gaining a feeling of control. Freedom to be with a woman, and then leave a woman, as he pleased. The sentiment was understandable considering how much his parents tried to put him under their thumb. Elias had to agree. His younger brother was an even bigger playboy.

  Daniel turned away from his hotel and hailed a cab. In short order, he was home. Seeing his brother standing by his front door was a surprise. The frown Elias wore let Daniel know the surprise was not going to be a good one. Can this night get any worse? Daniel cursed in Spanish, English, and then French.

  “What is it?” Daniel asked Elias without preamble. He keyed them in and directed his brother to the kitchen.

  “I think you’d better see this.” Elias handed him his smartphone.

  Daniel’s eyes widened when he read the headline. The picture of him and Lori made his gut clench.

  “That gossip columnist is a real bitch,” Elias said, pointing at the photos. “You slept with her, right?”

  “Which one?”

  Elias arched an eyebrow. “You tell me.”

  “Both,” Daniel admitted.

  “And people say I’m the playboy,” Elias answered tartly.

  “Lori’s different. I care about her.” Daniel coughed. “I meant to say cared. Past tense. We’re done.”

  “I’m guessing you didn’t break up because of this scandal. You didn’t know about it until now, right?”

  “Right. Although this crappy article on the Internet doesn’t help.” He sat on a kitchen counter stool next to Elias. “Do Mama and Papá know about this?”

  “Yup. They’re furious.” Elias let out a tight laugh. “Nothing new there.”

  Daniel raked a hand through his hair, almost wincing from the sharp pull. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t gone through with your crazy scheme. Your engagement lie never would have worked out anyway. You should have known that from the start.”

  “I’m a liar?” Elias demanded. “What about you? Did you inform the gossip hound she was going to be a one-night stand before you slept with her? Are lies by omission okay in your opinion?”

  “Really, Elias. There’s candor, and then there’s stupidity. Besides, I had no idea how things were going to turn out with Sophia when my evening with her started.”

  “Bullshit. If your conversation was all about getting her into bed, instead of getting into her brain, you had to know. Admit it, you’re no better than I am. We all have our flaws. Why do you keep picking on me?”

  “Because,” Daniel answered, arms folded across his chest, “you didn’t stand up to our parents. That’s what got us into this mess.”

  “What about your inability to speak up?” Elias accused.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh no? Let me ask you something. If I hadn’t asked Lori to go to the party with me, would you have asked her?”

  “Possibly. You didn’t give me the chance.”

  “Why should I wait for you to say something? She’s cute. You were slow to act. She was fair game in my book.”

  Daniel narrowed his eyes. “If you even had an inkling I might be interested in her, why did you persist?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were interested in her?” Elias countered.

  Daniel let out a hard breath of air, but didn’t answer.

  “I’m sure she could sense your indecision,” Elias said. “Your ambivalence is obvious.”

  “Damn it.” Daniel pounded his fist on the countertop. “I wasn’t sure myself.”

  Elias nodded his approval of Daniel’s admission. “Your gut instinct ultimately told you to let her go. So why are you mad?”

  Daniel’s lips crushed together. Elias had a point. Why was he mad? He and Lori were night and day. Drawn together by attraction. Destined to drift apart. Given that truism, why was his heart out of balance without her?

  “I gave Lori some heart-felt advice. She rejected it, and me. She viewed my comments as an attack. I was only trying to help her. Some people will never listen to what you have to say.”

  “Like Mama and Papá?” Elias asked quietly.

  “Yes. Exactly.”

  “Lori isn’t Mama and Papá. What exactly did you say to her?”

  “That she needed to be strong in order to be independent. Stand up to her mother when she went back to America. Confidence is not something I can give her. She has to get it from deep within herself.”

  Elias folded his hands together while silently contemplating this.

  “Well?” Daniel demanded after a few minutes’ wait.

  “One of the reasons I found Lori attractive was her good heart. She doesn’t seem the type of person to walk out on someone without justification. Is it possible she interpreted your advice as overly harsh criticism?”

  “I don’t see why.”

  “Okay, let’s try this from another angle. Do you think Mama and Papá are criticizing us on purpose? Or trying to give us the advice they think is best for us?”

  Daniel folded his arms tighter across his chest. “Criticize,” he said flatly.

  “Oh, come on, mi hermano. I’m supposed to be the immature brother, remember? Even I can admit they try to help. Most of the time, anyway. The truth is, we don’t want to hear what they have to say. We’re adults, and adults don’t like to be lectured. But Mama is right. I should settle down. Living life as a playboy is a bad idea. Although her forcing me into engagement isn’t right either.” Elias frowned.

  Daniel had never seen his younger brother be serious in his life. “You have a point. Lori does, too,” Daniel conceded. “I’ve been preaching to her about communication. Telling her to speak up for herself. Be comfortable interacting honestly with her mother. She told me I wasn’t following my own advice. She was right. No wonder my opinions pissed her off,” he added, voice soft.

  “I haven’t done any better,” Elias confessed. “The difference is, I care a lot less. You, however, have a relationship with a kind, beautiful woman to fight for. All I have are one-night stands. Maybe one day I’ll grow out of it. Do what is right. Make Mama and Papá proud.” Elias flashed a wicked grin. “Nah. I’m having too much fun doing things my way.”

  Daniel couldn’t stop the laughter bursting from his mouth. “You are the devil’s child.”

  “Do not insult Mama,” Elias said, laughing louder. “Besides, don’t dismiss devils. We can be quite crafty. I’ve got a few ideas how to straighten out the situation with Lori.”

  “Me too,” Daniel said. “How about we go right to the source of the scandal? It’s time Sophia gets her wish. I’m finally going to text her back.”

  Elias smiled like a Cheshire cat. “What are you going to say?”

  “Not much,” Daniel answered, an equally broad grin on his face.

  “Interesting strategy, big brother.”

  “Words aren’t necessary. If you are going to come work for me, you’ll need to learn that the most effective form of business communication is the saying the very least.” Daniel pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and scrolled. “Ah, here it is,” he said. He showed Elias the strings of texts from Sophia. “Like this photo?” Daniel asked, watching Elias’s eyes go round.

  “She sent you pictures of her ass?”

  “Yup. Since she loves posting on the Internet so much, I thought she’d love my posting this.”

  Elias’s eyes grew even rounder. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Of course not,” Daniel answered easily. “I woul
d never stoop to her level. All I’m going to do is answer her text. Remind her that she sent them. She’ll get the idea.”

  Elias laughed. “I have lots to learn from you, big brother. I might actually start to pay attention to my lessons.”

  “It’s never too late. We can both get smart and take control.” Daniel typed his response. Hello Sophia. Elias and I have seen the article you posted, and hope you will do us the courtesy of posting a retraction ASAP.

  The answer from Sophia came moments later. You are a piece of shit, Daniel Vega.

  He laughed. “I think Mama and Papá are right. Sometimes playing rough in the sandbox is the only way to win. The trick is to be judicious with the power.”

  “Like now,” Elias said, grinning broadly.

  “Exactly.”

  Daniel copied and resent the photo of her ass to his response. Posting inappropriate, intimate, pictures is hardly newsworthy. Don’t you agree?

  After a moment, her response blipped across his screen. You wouldn’t dare.

  “She really doesn’t know me very well,” Daniel marveled.

  “Is it good or bad that I do?” Elias quipped.

  Daniel waved his brother away. There is no point in our fighting. My lawyers can handle this argument quite effectively. Since I have Madrid’s best law firm on retainer, I love keeping them busy. My steady workload keeps them loyal to their number one client.

  Her text immediately followed. I have taken the article down. Retraction to come soon. Delete the photos of me. Don’t call your lawyers. Don’t call me either.

  Daniel laughed and showed the texts to Elias, who gave him an exaggerated bow as if he were a member of the royal court and Daniel the king. “I disagree wholeheartedly with her assessment of you,” Elias said. “Contrary to your being a piece of shit, you are a worth your weight in gold. You are the best, big brother. I bow down to you.”