Sold on You (17 page)

Abuelita Coqui handed her a napkin and said, "Don't waste your tears over my grandson. He doesn't deserve them."

"I know," Gabriela said, hating herself for falling into his spell.

"I'm so furious at him, I don't want to see him! I'm calling Marisol to come get me today."

"No, you mustn't leave yet. Please let me explain." God, this was worse than going to confession. She drew on every shred of courage she had to continue. "By the time I'm finished, you're going to hate me."

"I could never hate you," Abuelita Coqui said in gentle reproach.

"You'll change your mind about that soon," Gabriela predicted grimly. "First of all, I want you to know that I'm very sorry. Any hurt I might cause you by admitting to my part in the scheme is unintentional."

Abuelita's eyebrows shot up. "What scheme?"

Gabriela drew in a steadying breath and exhaled it as she relayed how it began with the bachelorette auction. Abuelita leaned forward, hanging onto every word. By the time Gabriela was finished, the elderly woman looked apoplectic.

"How dare Marcos behave that way! For the first time in my life, I'm ashamed of him. I'd like to shake him!"

Gabriela smiled through her tears at the funny image of this firebrand shaking her grandson as if he were a little boy. "To be fair, he only did it because he loves you very much and wanted to appease you."

"Don't defend his motives. The only one he wanted to appease was himself, and with two women at that," she said, soft jowls shaking with indignation.

"I'm equally guilty. I went along with it because of his big donation to the Fresh Start center." She winced. "I might as well confess everything. When you decided to stay on, I made him fork out a thousand a day for the charity. He was already funding my new wardrobe to make me acceptable as his fiancée."

"Acceptable as his fiancée? What do you mean by that?" Abuelita said, appalled.

"Marcos said if I didn't look glamorous enough, you would never believe I was his girlfriend."

"How arrogant of him! Didn't you feel insulted?"

"Maybe a little. But on my tight budget, I would have been a fool to pass up the opportunity for a free designer wardrobe from Saks."

Abuelita Coqui tapped her chin pensively. "I can't say that I blame you for accepting such a tempting offer. In your position, I would have done the same. Marcos can be very persuasive."

"I'm not normally deceitful," Gabriela said, feeling like a ninny as she defended herself. "As I got to know you, I tried to pull out of the deal, but Marcos would have none of it. He was too worried about your health and how you'd cope if you found out we'd been lying."

"Hmmph, more like he was worried about his hide," Abuelita Coqui said scathingly. "Marcos should have known better than to fool his wise old grandmother
.
" Her eyes were wounded. "I'm very disappointed in him... and in you, dear."

Filled with anguish, Gabriela's heart sank even lower. "I feel terrible about it. I'm really sorry."

Abuelita sighed and patted Gabriela's hand. "I forgive you, but I'm not ready to let Marcos off the hook." Gabriela felt such a flood of relief, it made her dizzy.

She paused and gave an ironic shake of her head. "It's almost comical how Marcos's lies will eventually accomplish what he was trying to get out of."

"What do you mean by that?"

Abuelita Coqui took a sip of tea. "You'll see."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Gabriela said, unclasping the pearl necklace from her neck. "I never intended to keep this." She handed it to her. "It belongs to you."

Abuelita Coqui pushed the necklace away. "No. Keep it for now. You'll need to continue wearing it as I proceed to teach my grandson a much needed lesson in honesty."

"What are you planning?" Gabriela asked when she saw the steely resolve in the elderly woman's eyes.

"Before I tell you, you must be totally honest with me."

"Of course. It's the least I can do after my part in this. What do you want to know?"

"Do you love my grandson?" Abuelita Coqui asked bluntly.

Mortified, Gabriela's cheeks heated as she tried to avoid her scrutiny.

Abuelita Coqui bit into a lemon shortbread and ate it slowly, giving Gabriela time to answer.

After a weighty pause, Gabriela said, "I didn't want to, but after our trip to New York... I fell hard for him. I thought we—"

"You're as much in love with Marcos as he is with you," she concluded with a knowing smile.

Gabriela shook her head fervently. "He doesn't love me. He was just pretending."

"I don't believe it was all pretend. I can't explain why he was so cozy with that Nicole this afternoon, but we'll get some answers one way or the other. I can assure you that my grandson has fallen in love with you,
not
that other woman."

Gabriela didn't want to get her hopes up again. "He's a good actor," she said morosely.

"Nonsense! Marcos can't take his eyes off you when you enter a room and he wears a besotted smile when he talks about you. Why this very morning he said that of all the trips he's made to New York, this one was the most memorable because of you."

"No, please don't be deceived. It was all a show for your benefit."

Abuelita Coqui didn't appear convinced. "Marcos has never been good at hiding his emotions from me. From the beginning I had my doubts about the engagement. There were many clues that it wasn't real, but I chose to ignore them because I like you and I believe that you'll make an ideal wife for Marcos."

"But he doesn't want me. And he certainly doesn't want to get married. He said so himself."

"He doesn't want a marriage like his parents had, that's why he's so reluctant. He's also cynical because two of his closest friends went through ugly divorces. Marcos said you're different from any woman he's ever dated—that all the others seem dull in comparison. He admires your character and compassion, and he thinks you're very beautiful."

"I doubt that. I'm not at all his type," Gabriela said.

"And just what is his type?" Abuelita Coqui demanded, baffled by Gabriela's protests.

"Dr. Nicole Harrison. With her Grace Kelly beauty, she is the sort of woman he dates. From the beginning, he told me he'd only chosen me as his pretend fiancée because I was Latina and you would like that."

"How ridiculous!" Abuelita Coqui's eyes narrowed into conspiring slits. "As I said before, it's time to teach Marcos a good lesson."

Gabriela sucked in her breath at the devious smile on Abuelita's face. "What are you planning?"

Before Abuelita could respond, the phone rang, but Gabriela didn't get it. "I'll let the answering machine pick it up and then return the call later." They listened to her recorded message followed by a beep, and then to their surprise, Marcos's voice, smooth and seductive, came on the line.

"Gatica,"
he purred. "Where are you and where have you taken my dear old
abuelita?"

"I'm right here,
descarado!"
Abuelita Coqui snapped, scowling at the answering machine as she waved a tight fist.

Gabriela stifled a giggle. Marcos
was
a scoundrel as his grandmother had just called him. But she sobered instantly when she heard him continue in a husky tone. "I can't wait to see you tonight. Call me on my cell and we'll make plans. By the way, I called your cell a few times and there was no answer." He chuckled. "You'd better have a good excuse,
gatica."

At the dial tone, Gabriela checked her iPhone. "Oops, I forgot that I put it on silent at the hospital. Let me check if there are any other missed calls." There weren't, except for Marcos' two missed ones.

"Through this whole charade, I kept warning myself not to let him break my heart." Gabriela gave a short, bitter laugh. "To think the wonderful trip to New York made me believe he preferred me to Nicole. He has no conscience. Just like my father."

"Maybe we should have stayed to see how he reacted to Nicole's kiss. That she-devil was all over him."

Gabriela swallowed against the distasteful image. "We saw enough."

"Still," Abuelita Coqui demurred, "there are always two sides to a story."

"Perhaps, but right now, I'd rather not deal with Marcos. Now that you know the truth, there's no reason for me to stick around."

"I want you to stay. We can join forces and teach Marcos a lesson he'll never forget." Abuelita Coqui lifted her chin and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Marcos has a lot of explaining to do."

"I don't trust him."

"With a little clever plotting, Marcos will be so shaken up, he'll worry that he's lost you forever. It's not enough that he loves you, he must admit it to himself... and you," she mused. It was almost as if she wasn't listening to Gabriela as she pondered her plan.

"What's your plan?" Gabriela asked, wishing she didn't feel so vulnerable.

"Two can play this game. Marcos is so worried about my health that I'll use that to make him fall into our trap."

"How?" Gabriela said, uneasy.

"Marisol phoned again this morning. I heard Marcos tell her that he was on call most evenings this week."

"It's probably an excuse to see Nicole," Gabriela muttered.

"Whatever his plans, I'll pretend to have fainting spells so you can spend the evenings at his condo accompanying me. During that time we'll prepare the stew to cook him in, so to speak."

Gabriela nodded, admiring the firecracker in Abuelita. "I like the sound of that."

Abuelita Coqui smiled benevolently. "I want to see just how far Marcos will go before he admits to his hoax. In the meantime, you're going to put his Saks card to use again. But this time you won't be shopping for a glamorous wardrobe to impress me. Make sure to put a real dent in his wallet."

"I don't want to take any more money from him," Gabriela said.

"Marquitos has to pay for his crimes or he'll never learn that he can't have everything his way."

"No. Any shopping I do from now on will come from my wallet," Gabriela said firmly.

"Very well then. I'll let Marisol take you under her wing. She knows where to shop for sexy outfits that will make him green with jealousy." She giggled gleefully. "Wait till you see how a Calderon man responds when the woman he loves flirts with another man," she said, nodding emphatically.

"I don't have another man to flirt with," Gabriela said, growing alarmed at the devilish expression on Abuelita Coqui's face.

"Ay, no seas tonta."

"I am not being silly." Gabriela knew it sounded as if she was whining, but she couldn't help it. "There's nobody I can think of to flirt with and not complicate my life. Besides, most of the single men I know are colleagues at the hospital. I don't want to involve them in my private life."

"Don't worry about it for now. Marisol will put things in motion."

"Why Marisol?" Gabriela asked.

"Because she is a natural flirt, even though she'd never admit it. That's something that drives her husband, Clay, to distraction."

"Oh," Gabriela managed, intrigued, yet dismayed at the idea of flirting with other men just to make Marcos jealous.

"Chin up, dear and don't look so glum. We'll teach that wayward grandson of mine a lesson he'll never forget. I guarantee by the time we're finished, he'll have forgotten all about Nicole as he fights to reclaim you."

"He might not want to reclaim me. It sounds too easy."

"I never said it was easy, just possible," Abuelita Coqui said, her lips curving upwards into a scheming smile. "We begin tonight!"

"I'm not looking forward to seeing him."

"But you must. We have no time to lose," she said briskly. "He hasn't seen you in this beautiful dress yet. Make sure you take off the sweater tonight and show off your bosom."

"Abuelita!" Gabriela exclaimed, surprised by her suggestion.

"What?" Abuelita Coqui asked innocently. "In my day, we wore beautiful, low-cut evening gowns that showed off our décolletage to an advantage. There's nothing wrong with displaying what God has blessed you with."

Gabriela shook her head. "I think you're the one who Marisol resembles, not her mother."

"Perhaps," she replied, chuckling mischievously. "Could be..."

Chapter 10

That evening, Gabriela was amazed at the transformation in Abuelita Coqui. She was a woman on a mission as she put the finishing touches on Marcos's favorite childhood dish. Surprisingly, it was a simple one: spaghetti and meatballs.

Right after their talk, Abuelita Coqui had coerced Gabriela into going to the supermarket so they could buy all the ingredients and surprise Marcos. When Gabriela had been very vocal not wanting to cater to him, Abuelita had assured her that it was part of "the plan."

After rushing to Marcos's condo with the groceries, they let Carmen leave early and set about working diligently together. Gabriela mixed the ground sirloin and pork with egg, spices, parmesan cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs and Abuelita Coqui helped shape the meatballs. While Gabriela seasoned the spaghetti sauce, Abuelita Coqui fried the meatballs, then added them to the savory sauce. Side by side, they worked as a team, each immersed in their thoughts.