Evenings at the Argentine Club (18 page)

Victoria swallowed her tears. She had thought about how her father’s plans would affect her, yes. And she had been worried about what would happen if he failed. But her mother was asking about more than this one instance. “Probably not enough.”

“You have no idea what it’s like to be me. To love your husband and your children so much and watch everyone go on with their lives. To be nothing more than the next meal or a closet of clean laundry.”

“Oh, Mom,” she said, and took a seat beside her. “You know you’re everything to us. And I don’t want you to worry. I won’t let you lose this house. I’ll make sure you have the money to keep it.”

“It’s not just that. I can’t be this pitiful person anymore, Victoria.” She shook her head. “Living my life around the rest of you. Depending on you all to feel fulfilled.”

Victoria gazed into her mother’s bright eyes full of tears.

“Carmen called and told me she’s not coming home this summer at all. Not even for a week or two.”

“I didn’t know,” Victoria said immediately so she wouldn’t be blamed for yet another thing.

Jaqueline almost smiled. “I know. She told me you had nothing to do with her decision, but that she wanted to spend more time researching her courses for next quarter.” Jaqueline grew quiet for a moment. “She’s doing wonderful. And you. You should go back and help your father with the business. It’s going to be yours, Victoria, and you should do what you can to learn it and make it successful. Don’t ever rely on a man. Understand me?”

Victoria nodded.

“I think I’m going to go to Argentina,” Jaqueline said.

Victoria’s heart skipped a beat.

“I need to see my family. I need to remember who I was before I gave up my life to be Victor’s wife.”

“For how long? I mean, you can’t go alone. Mami, you—”

“It’s my country. Of course I can go alone.” She reached across and placed her hand on the side of Victoria’s face. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“It’s okay, Mami.” She reached forward and drew her mother in for a hug. She held her close.

Victor walked in. They pulled back from each other and gazed at him. Without a word he walked to the bedroom.

Victor packed his suitcase in the quiet buzz of the bedroom. He couldn’t believe he was leaving his home. She had no right to throw him out of his own place. He’d worked hard all his life to pay for this home. And now he was risking it all for them. To give Jaqueline something even better and grander and to make their lives what they’d always dreamed. He tossed a dozen or so pairs of underwear into his suitcase. Well, maybe what
he’ d
always dreamed. Jaqueline claimed to never have wanted any of it. His heart clenched when he remembered her exact words.
All I wanted was you
.

His arms fell to his sides and his throat constricted. What the hell was he trying to prove to himself?

Victoria stepped into his bedroom and zeroed in on his suitcase. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, reaching for a pair of pants so she wouldn’t see the pain in his eyes. “But I have to leave for a while.”

“How is that going to help? Do you know that she says she’s going to go to Argentina?”

He snapped his attention away from packing. “What?”

“You should have done this differently. You should have spoken to her.”

“She wouldn’t have agreed. It’s a risk, and she doesn’t deal well with risks. But it will pay off for all of us. We’ll never have to worry about money again.” He prayed he was right. That all this was for something.

“Dad, we don’t worry about money now—”

“You don’t, but I do.”

“I could have helped out. You guys just never let me—”

“No!” Victor shouted. He loved his daughter, but how could she possibly understand that a man didn’t want his children taking care of him? “This will all work out, and you will never have to work again in your life.”

“But I
want
to work. That’s what you don’t seem to get. I want to be a productive member of this family. You treat me like I’m incapable of contributing anything.”

Victor didn’t want to listen to any of this now. He’d already decided his daughter was a grown woman and she could do what she wanted. Except think she was ever going to give him a dime. “We’ve already established that you’re free to do what you like, haven’t we? Now go do it.”

His daughter’s stubborn chin lifted, and he knew he was going to have another fight on his hands. She could be so much like her mother sometimes.

“That’s right, Victoria. Go lead your own life. That’s what you want, go do it.”

“You think I can’t, don’t you? You’re waiting for me to fail. To come crawling back so you can say I told you so.”

That wasn’t at all what he wanted. He might not understand

his wife much, but he understood the desire Victoria felt to have something of her own. So he decided to give her the extra push out the door. “You want to show me you’re so goddamn independent? You think it’s easy to go out there and make something of yourself on your own? Then maybe you should be packing your bags, too. When I left Argentina, sweetheart, I left. No one held my hand.”

Tears filled Victoria’s large expressive eyes, but she nodded. “Fine.”

“Fine,” he said, and turned back to his packing. Then, as an afterthought, he remembered Jaqueline. If he was leaving, and Victoria was leaving, who the hell was going to take care of Jaqueline? “Wait,” he said, before Victoria could walk out of the bedroom. “Your mother. You can’t leave yet.”

“You’re the one who’s married to her and the one who needs to stay,” she said in a voice that sounded tired and sad and that almost did him in.

“But she threw me out.”

“Then sleep in the garage. It’s your job to take care of this family, remember?” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

He thought about this for a second. “You’re right. The garage. Good idea.”

She wiped her tears and turned away.

“Victoria,” he said, unable to let her go through with this. “Damn it, you can pursue your dreams without leaving home. I… didn’t mean that.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “I’ll start looking for a place tomorrow.”

His jaw tightened. This was never what he wanted. Hell, he wanted to make things better, and instead his life was falling apart.

Victoria left him alone in the room he’d shared with his wife since before she was born. How had things gone so wrong? How had he managed to mess up so badly? And he wasn’t thinking of just what he’d decided to do with the restaurant. No, it was the first time Jaqueline had needed him and he’d been too busy. It was the first time he’d felt justified in finding comfort in the bed of another woman because his wife was too tired taking care of little girls to satisfy him. Truth was, even in Argentina, he knew he didn’t deserve a girl like Jaqueline. Hell, she’d always been too good for him. And here they were years later, and he’d let her down over and over again.

He pulled his suitcase off the bed and headed to the garage.

V
ictoria spent half of the next day choosing lighting for Eric’s house. He gave her a budget that was pretty tight, and after
flooring, cabinets, and appliances she had little left to splurge on fancy lights. But she drove to the city of Ontario, where
she’d located a warehouse that sold most of their discontinued items direct to the public. She was able to purchase a ceiling
fan and a great chandelier for the dining room, as well as couple of nice lamps. She would have to pay retail for the rest
of the items, like the canned lighting and the bathroom lights, but she was sure she had enough to cover that now.

She took her finds to Eric’s place and stored them in his garage, which now had a new roof and a new door. Then she went into
the house to look for him. His car sat in the driveway, but she didn’t see him in the house. In fact, no one was working,
which was bizarre, since he kept everyone jumping and on target.

She called him and got no response. Frowning, she peeked out of the sliding glass door and made a mental note to ask him if
he wanted to replace it with a French door. It would look much nicer. She noticed him swimming laps in the pool.

Stepping outside, she called, “Must be nice.”

He lifted his head and swam to the edge of the pool. “Hey! Didn’t know you were stopping by today.” The water began to settle,
winking at her here and there as the sun touched it. His dark hair was slicked back. He wiped away drops from his smiling
face.

“I purchased most of our lighting and wanted to drop it off. Where is everyone?”

“Roofers finished work in the garage this morning. I didn’t schedule anyone else today. Wanna join me?”

“In the pool? Ah, no.”

“Come on,” he coaxed with a huge, inviting grin.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit. I’m working.”

He angled his head and offered a wicked sneer. “You don’t need a swimsuit.”

Victoria smiled and joked. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”

“I think you’re a sexy woman, not a girl at all. But I wasn’t suggesting what you think. You can borrow a pair of my shorts,
and use your bra. Instant swimsuit.”

“I hate to admit this, but I don’t think I can fit into your shorts. Besides, I’m going to spend the rest of the afternoon
going through the paper to look for a place to live. I’m moving out of my parents’ place.”

He pulled himself out of the pool with strong, tanned arms that were kept in shape by hard work, not by a gym. He took a seat
on one of the fold-up aluminum chairs with plastic straps that he’d placed on the deck. “Sit down.”

She did.

“What happened? How’s your mom?”

“Pissed. I’ve never seen her this upset. She’s serious about my dad moving out.”

“I’m sorry.”

Victoria’s heart ticked a little louder. He was so easy to talk to. “My dad asked me to move out, too.”

“What? Why?”

“He was angry; he didn’t mean it. But I decided it’s time. My only concern is leaving my mom alone.”

He nodded. “What are you going to do?”

“My dad is going to move into the garage. And I’m going to check in on her every day for a while.” She drew a breath. “God,
Eric, I’m worried about them both.”

He placed a hand on Victoria’s shoulder. His skin was almost dry, it was so hot outside. But his hair was still wet, and he
looked gorgeous. “Everything will work out.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Now, about that swim.” He offered a smile.

She shook her head. “I told you, I’ve got to look for an apartment.”

“You can do that tomorrow. Come on.”

Victoria gazed into his eyes and thought,
Why the hell not?
She nodded and followed him inside, where he offered her a pair of his swimming trunks.

“I’ll take a T-shirt, too. I’m not going in there with a bra.”

“Why not?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Because I’m not.”

He grumbled but offered her a sleeveless white T-shirt that he’d probably be able to see right through.

“You’re kidding.”

He chuckled and headed for the door. “I’ll wait in the pool.”

She put on the shorts and the T-shirt over her bra, then met him outside. She climbed into the cold water, shivering slightly
at the temperature difference. He swam over and watched the water soak into the T-shirt.

“You kept your bra on.”

“Of course. What did you expect?”

He smiled at her question. And she had to smile, too.

“Sure you don’t want to pull the T-shirt off, then? It’ll be easier to swim.”

“I’m fine. Race you to the other side.”

“Okay.” He splashed her and performed a perfect backstroke. Effortlessly, he made it to the opposite end of the pool. They
swam up and down the length of the pool about a dozen times. He paused, stood up, and leaned back against the edge of the
pool. “So Victoria, I’d really like you to take one of the rooms in this house. Seems kind of foolish for you to go rent an
apartment when I’ve got this big empty house available.”

Victoria tried to control her breath as she stopped beside him. Would she ever get in shape? She hadn’t had any sugar for
over a month, and she’d cut all her portion sizes. For all her effort, she’d lost very little weight—maybe ten pounds. “Thanks,
but I’ll need to get an apartment eventually, anyway.”

“So take your time looking for one, and in the meantime move in here. We’re about a month away from completion. Then we’ve
got to sell it, and that’s when I’m really going to need your help with staging. You might as well move in.”

She turned around in the pool and rested her arms on the edge. She lay the side of her face on her arms as she watched him.
He was beyond sexy. “Why didn’t you ever get married, Eric?”

A corner of his lips hitched up. “Never met the right girl.”

“How many have you lived with?”

“Zero.”

She continued to look at him, blinking away drops of water that fell on her lashes. They shared a special relationship. One
that never got a chance to blossom past friendship. And she wondered if maybe life… fate… was giving them a new opportunity.
“Come here,” she said.