Say You Love Me Page 2

  Cesar folded his arms, shadows falling across his face. “She can’t do that.”

  I squeezed Jake’s phone, sorely tempted to throw it down and stomp on it. “She said she will give him to someone else.”

  “Who else? There’s no one.” Cesar knelt beside me, taking my hands in his. “Besides, the judge isn’t going to listen to her.”

  The soothing baritone of his voice was almost enough to calm me down. Almost. I was so envious of his self-confidence. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was overreacting. But what if the judge did take the mother’s request into consideration, or what if she lied about me in court? What if she made up some story that I was neglectful or a druggie like her? I wouldn’t put it past Kim to sabotage her son’s safety out of spite.

  I worried my bottom lip, shifting my gaze back to Jake, who was still standing by the sauna. I needed to talk to him, but what was I going to say?

  “Maybe I should’ve paid for her lawyer.”

  “Savannah, look at me.” Cesar clutched my shoulders, searching my eyes with unwavering determination. “It will be fine. Do not give that woman a dime.”

  Emotion threatened to seal my throat. “I-I don’t want to lose him.”

  He ran his hands down my arms, squeezing. “You’re not going to lose him. Be strong.”

  I nodded, forcing the tears back as I stood. Cesar held my hand while we joined Jake. Cesar excused himself and went inside for another beer, giving us some space. I motioned to the padded lounge chairs at the other end of the pool, and Jake followed.

  “Hey, buddy.” I sat in the middle of a chair and patted the side. “You okay?”

  The music, barking dogs, and splashing flirts seemed to fade away as I focused on him. He had a mop of dark hair, golden brown skin, and luminous mahogany eyes. He’d always been on the skinny side, but after living with me he was developing a little belly. He was smarter than the average seven-year-old, too observant at times, having aged beyond his years thanks to his mother’s neglect. I was so glad he was with me now. I loved this kid so much that the thought of hurting him was like a sledgehammer pummeling my heart.

  He sat beside me, fisting his hands in his lap. “Why didn’t she want to talk to me?”

  I could tell by the way he scrunched his features, he was bottling up his emotions, doing his best to keep from crying in front of everyone.

  I gritted my teeth and forced myself to tell a white lie. “Jake, she was only allowed a few minutes.”

  Damn me for having to make excuses for Kim, and damn my sister for putting me in this position. She could have at least asked how he was doing and told him she missed him.

  Wariness flashed in his eyes. He wasn’t buying it. Having been exposed to too much of her indifference during his short life, I couldn’t blame him. “What did she want?”

  I squeezed my hands until my nails broke skin. “She wants me to hire her a lawyer.”

  He looked sideways at me. “Are you gonna?”

  I couldn’t tell by his look if he wanted me to help her or not.

  “No, Jake.” I straightened, tension enfolding my shoulders. “The state has provided her with a lawyer. She doesn’t like that one, but that’s too bad. I’m sorry, Jake, but your mom did a bad thing, and she needs to spend some time in jail and learn her lesson.”

  He vehemently shook his head. “I don’t want her to get out. I don’t want to go back to her. I want to stay with you.”

  It took all my willpower to keep from tearing up. “Jake, she’s not getting out for several years, and you are staying with me.”

  He looked up at me with a trembling lip. “Promise?”

  I swallowed back a sob. “Promise,” I rasped, pulling him against me.

  Savannah, what have you done?

  Jake squirmed free, seemingly unfazed by the evening’s drama. “Okay. I’m going to go play with my cousins now.”

  “All right.” I forced a smile and wiped a trail of crumbs off his chin. “I see you helped yourself to the cookies.”

  I’d been trying to implement a rule about sweets, namely Jake was limited to only one a day, and he had to ask before eating it. In his old life, he was left to fend for himself, which meant there’d been no limit to sugary foods, except when the cupboards were empty.

  His eyes widened, and he flashed a sheepish grin. “I only had one.”

  “That’s okay.” How could I be mad at this kid? “Just don’t eat too many.” I probably should have specified how many was too many. I was turning into a softie.

  He feverishly nodded. “I won’t.”

  He jumped off the chair and ran to the house, Nacho and Macy trotting at his heels. I sensed cookies were in their near future, too. Jake loved dogs, especially Nacho. He was becoming very attached to Cesar, too, which still made me nervous at times. Though I cared for Cesar more than I thought possible, we’d only been dating a short while. I hoped Cesar was committed to this relationship, not just for my sake but for Jake’s.

  Cesar sat beside me, handing me a glass of wine. “You look like you need this.”

  “Thanks,” I took the glass and reluctantly swallowed several mouthfuls. Since I was trying to be a good role model for Jake, I’d seriously curtailed my drinking. Not that I’d been much of a drinker in the first place. I hadn’t had a glass of wine since shortly after Jake moved in with me. I’d made an exception tonight, limiting myself to a few glasses, but after that phone call, I’d say I earned another. I ended up downing the entire glass before handing it back to him.

  He hitched a brow. “You want more, bella?”

  I shook my head. “What if I can’t keep my promise? What if they take him from me?”

  “They won’t, bella.” Cesar set the glass down, taking my hands in his. “You’re worrying over nothing.”

  Cesar seemed so sure of himself, the same way I’d acted when I promised Jake he would get to stay with me. Despite Cesar’s reassurances, I still wasn’t sure I’d get to keep my nephew.

  I swallowed a lump of fear, trying to summon a confidence I didn’t feel. “I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter Two

  Ariana left last night without Cesar’s flirty cousins. They moped around the house afterward, no doubt missing her. I’d always been slightly jealous of my best friend for having that effect on men. Even though Cesar and Andrés wanted us to stay up and play cards, Christina was exhausted after chasing James around all day, and I wasn’t in the mood for drinking games. I’d been feeling down ever since my sister’s phone call.

  After we woke the next morning, Cesar’s heartbroken cousins were nowhere to be found, and they didn’t answer Cesar’s texts. Last night they’d kept trying to corner me to ask questions about Ariana, so I was relieved they were gone. I only hoped they weren’t somewhere with Ariana. I could easily imagine her sending them a text with her apartment address.

  Andrés, Christina, and the boys packed into their truck early Sunday afternoon with the promise of coming back in two weeks. I hated to see them go, especially since I didn’t have a lot of friends, and I really liked Christina. Ariana was my only close friend, and she had already announced she’d be living in LA this summer, possibly permanently if she found acting work.

  As soon as we said our goodbyes, Jake hugging his “cousins” all the way out the door, I ran through the house, straightening it like a madwoman. Angus and Sara were coming by later this afternoon to see my new place. They’d been surrogate parents when I was a child, running the ranch and taking care of me after my mom died, and coming to my defense whenever my dad went on a rampage. I was grateful for the love they’d shown me over the years, and I valued their opinions, one reason I was so nervous. I not only wanted them to approve of my new home, I hoped they liked Cesar.

  They were bringing a housekeeper Sara had personally selected. I wasn’t so sure about that, but 5000 square feet of house was a lot to keep up. Luckily, there was a guesthouse out back, so Cesar and I could still enjoy our privacy in the evenings.


  I had no idea what time they were showing up. Sara had told me they’d be here in the afternoon, but that gave them at least a four-hour window. I checked my phone at least a dozen times. No texts from Sara and Angus, not that I was expecting one. They were still living in last century.

  Their wedding was almost a month away, and I couldn’t be happier for them. If any two people deserved marital bliss, it was Angus and Sara. Ariana was already calling her future stepdad Dad, and he referred to her as his daughter. Seeing the three of them together always gave me warm fuzzies.

  Cesar came back from throwing the trash out in the garage, smacking my ass as I washed the last of the dishes.

  “Why are you so worried about the house, bella?” he said, looking sexier than should be legal in low-rise jeans and a T-shirt that hugged his bulging biceps. He bit into a fresh apple. “You’re going to leave nothing for the housekeeper to do.”

  “I want everything to be perfect when they get here.” I looked over Cesar’s shoulder into the empty living room, surprised I didn’t see my nephew playing video games or rolling on the carpet with the dogs. “Where’s Jake?”

  “Cleaning up,” Cesar said, “like you told him.”

  I grabbed a dishtowel off the counter and dried my hands, surprised at how they shook. “He needs to set the timer before he brushes his teeth.”

  My nephew and I had this constant struggle, him wanting to rush through his personal hygiene and me pulling out my hair to get him to brush more than one tooth and clean all the gunk from under his fingernails.

  “Timer’s been set.” Cesar flashed a knowing grin as he stared at the towel I’d twisted around my fingers. “Relax.”

  I relented with a sigh when he tugged the towel out of my grip. How did he expect me to relax? He had no idea what Sara and Angus could be like. Though I loved them both, they were a little old-fashioned, which was probably why Ariana had bailed last night; she didn’t want to be lectured by her parents for not finding a husband and settling down. If they only knew half the shit she’d done. Hell, even I didn’t know most of what went on in Ariana’s private life. When I’d been her roommate, I’d accidentally walked in on one of her blindfolded boyfriends, hanging by his wrists from the ceiling while she beat his bare ass with a riding crop. I’d had no idea Ariana was into that kinky shit. I’d never been so shocked and embarrassed in all my life.

  I did my best to push that image out of my mind and picked up a broom. Going into the other room, I swept beneath the dining table. The dining room was one of my favorites in the house. I’d commissioned a local artist to make a table with seating for twelve out of distressed wood and polished marble. The result was beautiful. Even Christina had been impressed.

  I pounded the tile floor with my broom, perhaps a little too harshly, then gasped when Cesar came up behind me, snatching it from my hand. “You already swept there.”

  I tried to snatch it back. “But I might have missed something.”

  I didn’t want Sara to think we were slobs. She’d always kept a spotless house.

  Cesar backed up, holding the broom above his head. He went into the kitchen and set it in the pantry. Turning to me, he grasped my shoulders. “Savannah, stop this.”

  “I’m sorry.” Emotion tightened my chest. He was right. Why was I getting so worked up over their visit? Maybe because Cesar was my first boyfriend, the only guy I’d ever cared about, and I worried they wouldn’t like him. “Angus and Sara are like family to me.”

  “I know. Everything will be fine.”

  “You’re right.” I forced a smile. No use getting stressed over something that was out of my control. If they liked Cesar, great, and if they didn’t, I guess they’d have to deal with it. “I’m worrying over nothing.”

  Cesar bit his lip, a frown marring his brow. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this.”

  My heartbeat quickened. “Tell me what?”

  “Ariana’s car is in the garage.”

  My vision tunneled. Ariana’s car was here, but she wasn’t. Oh, her parents were going to freak. “Did she go with your brothers?”

  He shrugged, then averted his gaze. “I don’t see Santiago’s truck.”

  Oh, so not good. “I don’t understand.” I paced the floor, heart pounding wildly. “I saw her leave last night.”

  Cesar scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks turning pink. “She must have come back when we were sleeping.”

  Which meant only one thing. “And left with them?”

  Oh, good God. I could only imagine what my flirty, kinky friend was doing with two hot, single men.

  “I don’t know.” He spoke without conviction. He knew his brothers were guilty. I got the feeling Cesar wasn’t the only Cruz brother known for sleeping with lots of women.

  I seriously hoped only one brother was with Ariana, and no instruments of torture were involved. My knees weakened, and I sank onto a barstool, letting out a violent shudder and trying to push thoughts of Ariana whipping Cesar’s brothers out of my mind.

  But their sex-capades were the least of my problems. Angus and Sara were expecting me to take them on a tour of my new house. “Angus is going to want to see the garage. He’ll flip if he sees her car, and she’s not here.”

  “Call her.” Cesar pulled my phone off the charger and pushed it toward me. He slipped his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll try my brothers.”

  Why was I not surprised when my call went straight to voicemail? I fired off a text, telling my wayward friend to get her ass back to my house before her parents arrived. How could she have been so stupid? And how could she have been so selfish, leaving me to face her uptight parents alone?

  Cesar talked into his receiver. “Hey, bro. You need to bring Ariana back. Her parents are coming over.”

  My chest deflated when he ended the call. He‘d been speaking to voicemail. Damn! The call to his other brother also went to voicemail.

  “Those idiots!” I jumped from the stool, slamming my phone against the marble counter and wincing when I heard the distinct sound of the screen cracking. Oops. “Ariana knew her parents would be here.”

  Cesar picked up my phone and examined it. The screen was marred with a spider-web of cracks. “Calm down.”

  Rage threatened to split my skull in two. “You don’t know Angus.”

  Cesar raked his fingers through his hair. “The pool cover’s in the garage. I’ll throw it over the car and tell them it’s my project.”

  That might work, but I still hadn’t told Angus and Sara that Cesar was staying at the house. Though he’d kept his condo, he hadn’t slept there since I’d moved in last week, and I doubted he’d sleep there again. All of Cesar’s clothes were here now, and after an armed robber had broken into my old condo, I felt safer with Cesar and Nacho around.

  I twisted the hem of my shirt. “They don’t know you live here.”

  Cesar’s jaw dropped. “You didn’t tell them?”

  I couldn’t help but look away. “I was going to get around to it.”

  Even though Angus and Sara were living under the same roof and were engaged to be married, Ariana had told me they hadn’t slept together yet. Angus and Sara were very religious, as in they never missed church and were constantly praying or volunteering. I couldn’t imagine living with Cesar and being forced to keep my hands off him. I think I’d go insane.

  I jumped at a knock on the door. I looked at Cesar with wide eyes. “Oh, God. Go cover the car.”

  I ran to the door, stopping in the front foyer beneath a sparkling crystal chandelier, and let out a shaky breath. It was probably just Cesar’s brothers returning Ariana. At least I hoped so.

  My brain seized with panic when I looked through the peephole and saw Angus looking into the hole, his scowl elongated in the fisheye lens. Gah! Why had I given them my gate code? I should’ve made the security guard call me when they arrived. That would’ve given me at least another five minutes to prepare. I clenched the handle with whitened knuckles
and opened the door.

  Sara stood in front of Angus with her arms wide open. Middle-age had been kind to her. She only had a few wrinkles around her large, almond eyes and full lips, and her tanned skin had a natural glow. “Hello, niña!”

  I grunted when she pulled me against her generous bosom.

  I struggled out of the hug, forcing a smile though my face felt like it was made of plaster. “Hi. How did you get here so early?” It was barely past lunch.

  Sara squeezed my cheeks. “We went to early mass.”

  “Oh, wonderful,” I said with perhaps too much forced enthusiasm. “Come on in.” I ushered them inside, feeling as if I was leading the procession to my own funeral.

  Angus released two big suitcases and scooped me into his beefy arms, holding me so tight, I feared my spine would snap. “Hello, sweetheart.” He set me down, kissing me on the cheek. “How are you doing?” Angus was a foot taller than me, with a barrel chest and broad shoulders. He’d worked on my dad’s ranch his entire adult life, and it showed in the deep creases around his eyes and his ruddy skin.

  “Just great, thank you.” I was stiffer than steel, speaking through clenched teeth.

  “Savannah, this is Irma Gonzales, a dear friend from Bible study and an excellent housekeeper.” Sara motioned toward an elderly Hispanic woman, who was probably a good twenty years older than her. She had greying hair swept up in a bun and round, florid cheeks.

  I shook her calloused hand, amazed at her grip. “Irma, thank you for coming. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Sara had called me several times this week to tell me about Irma. She hadn’t even asked if I needed a housekeeper, just told me she’d found me someone to take care of the house.

  Irma flashed a wide smile, revealing a few chipped teeth. “And I about you.” She spun a slow circle, letting out a low whistle as she scanned the crown molding, modern crystal chandeliers, and sunken living room with distressed leather sofas and my new television the size of a small car. “Look at this house.” She clasped her hands together. “So beautiful!”