Authors: Caroline Mickelson
Ava opened her mouth to answer but Mateo cut her off. “Why don’t we head next door and let Ava say hello to everyone there before we start with the twenty questions.” His teasing voice softened his words.
As she followed Juan over to the Ortega’s property Ava was grateful for the feel of Mateo’s steadying hand on the small of her back. His touch reassured her that she wasn’t alone, that he was there with her. But she knew he’d stand by her side throughout the party and in the days ahead. As they wound their way through the groups of Mateo’s family and friends, Ava couldn’t help but wonder what Mateo’s answer to her ultimatum would have been if they hadn’t been interrupted. Doubtless they’d have a moment alone together later to discuss their plans but now it was time to see Mr. Ortega again after many years. Ava took a deep steadying breath, surprised at how nervous she felt about seeing Mateo’s grandfather all these years later.
She stood silently behind Mateo as he reached down to kiss his grandfather’s cheek. As soon as he straightened, Mateo held out his hand to her and Ava gratefully took it. She stepped forward and took her first look at Mr. Ortega in well over a decade.
Mateo’s grandfather was in a wheelchair, his back straight and his eyes sparkling, but he’d lost a great deal of weight since the last time she’d seen him. His hair then had been salt and pepper but now it was all silver. While these things were a natural part of aging, she knew the unhealthy pallor of his skin and the dark circles under his sunken eyes wasn’t. Cancer hadn’t spared Joaquin Ortega its cruelty. Tears pricked the back of Ava’s eyes.
He reached out a frail hand. “Ah, Ava, how lovely to see you.”
Ava didn’t hesitate. She reached out and took his hands between hers. “Hello, Mr. O. I am so very, very happy to see you.”
“Mr. O? No one has called me that for years.” A smile stretched across his features. “It’s nice to hear it again, Ava.” He looked up at his grandson. “I can see why this young lady has stolen your heart, Mateo.”
Ava looked up at Mateo as well, in part to see his reaction to the painfully untrue words and partially to not have to continue to meet the older man’s eyes. So far the guilt she thought she might feel at pretending to be Mateo’s fiancée had been theoretical but now she realized it would be a hundred times more difficult than she’d imagined. Judging by the look on Mateo’s face, she guessed he was quickly coming to the same realization.
Ava moved to slip an arm around Mateo’s waist. The gesture felt so intimate and possessive that she felt awkward. But wasn’t this how a loving fiancée would act at her engagement party? And if she was going to act the part, she might as well do it to the best of her abilities. She flashed a smile up at Mateo before turning to his grandfather. “I think it might technically be the other way around, Mr. O. Your grandson stole my heart.”
Mateo’s grandfather laughed, although it was a much quieter version of the hearty laugh she remembered from years ago. “I’m happier to hear that than you can imagine.” He coughed and then accepted a glass of water from his daughter. He leaned back and closed his eyes for a long moment but when he opened them again he focused his gaze directly on Ava. “But I can clearly see we have a problem, Ava.”
Ava’s heart began to race. She glanced at Mateo for reassurance. Had she said or done something wrong?
“What is it, Papa?” Joaquin’s daughter Sylvia asked. “Do you want to go back inside now?”
Joaquin Ortega shook his head and waved her away. He pointed to Ava’s left hand. “My grandson didn’t give you an engagement ring when he proposed?”
**
Mateo froze. The ring. Damn. He’d noticed earlier that Ava wasn’t wearing it but he’d forgotten to ask her about it. “I’m sorry Abuelo, I haven’t-” but Ava interrupted him.
“I have it here,” Ava said. She withdrew her arm from around his waist and reached into her pocket to pull out the small, velvet box he’d sent to her office.
He appreciated her helping him out of an awkward spot. He smiled down at her. Ava was a gem. He searched her face for a sign of how she was feeling, or more accurately, of how far she was willing to take this charade. When she handed him the box, he got his answer. She was in. He took the box, flipped open the top, and pulled his abuela’s ring out.
“May I?” Joaquin held out his hand.
Mateo didn’t hesitate. He placed the amethyst ring into his grandfather’s outstretched hand. He watched as his abuelo gently examined it. He glanced at Ava and saw that she, and a circle of aunts, uncles and cousins, stood quietly watching Joaquin’s movements.
“We were happy,” Joaquin’s voice was just above a whisper. His face creased into a smile that reminded Mateo of a much younger, healthier man. “I pray that you and Ava are blessed with the same happiness that we were.” He held the ring out to Mateo. “I believe this belongs to your lovely lady.”
“Thank you,” Mateo managed to say, despite the lump in his throat. It was still so hard to believe that his grandmother was really gone. Or that his grandfather was going to be gone soon too.
“Go ahead,” Joaquin motioned for him to take it. “When I gave it to your abuela I went down on one knee.” He raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”
“No, sir, I didn’t,” Mateo admitted. He refrained from sharing that he’d taken the coward’s way out and had the ring, sans note, messengered to Ava’s office. That information certainly wouldn’t impress a romantic soul like Joaquin Ortega.
His grandfather sat back in his wheelchair and folded his hands in his lap. “Well, then, mi hijo, now is the perfect opportunity.”
Mateo glanced from his abuelo, to his cousins, aunts and uncles who now stood gathered around them in a giant ring of family. They all wore identical expressions of affection and amusement. Finally he glanced at Ava to judge her reaction. She looked as caught off guard as he felt, but then he saw her nod her head imperceptibly, as if giving her permission for him to officially propose in front of his family.
He took Ava’s left hand in his and knelt down on one knee. His heart hammered in his chest. He looked up at Ava, the woman he’d known since they were children, the woman who was now helping him out in what felt like a situation spiraling out of control. She looked as nervous as he felt but her gaze was kind. “Ava,” he started to say, but his voice cracked and he had to clear his throat, much to the amusement of his cousins. “Ava…” but then his voice trailed off, he had no idea what to say next. He’d never proposed before, never truly been in love before, and he’d never felt his heart beat as wildly as it was now.
“Go on, Mateo,” his grandfather encouraged him in a low voice. “Speak from your heart.”
“Ava,” Mateo tried again after a long moment. “If you would do me the great honor of becoming my wife, I promise to be the best husband to you that I can be for all the days we will spend together.” He stood and reached for her other hand so they were now standing face to face. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
His proposal was greeted with silence. While he’d hardly expected Ava to throw herself into his arms or rush into a declaration of mad and passionate love for him, he still expected, wanted, needed, for her to say something. He tried to read the emotion in her expression but he couldn’t. “Ava? I’m asking you to marry me.”
It was as if his family held their collective breath. Mateo could feel it, he knew Ava must be able to as well. What could have happened to change her mind? It hadn’t been twenty minutes ago that they were sitting on her mother’s front porch talking about getting married. He looked around at the family gathered around them. In their collective expressions he saw the uncertainty that he was now feeling. “Ava?”
“Yes.”
It was a one word whisper but, faint as it was, it was enough for his heart to resume beating. He smiled. “Yes?”
She tilted her head and looked up at him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
A cheer went up from his family and, their faith restored, the buzz of conversation began again.
What exactly came over him, Mateo couldn’t say, but he lifted Ava’s hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across it. He lowered his head so that only she could hear him, “Thank you, Ava. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
A shy smile stretched across her face.
“The ring, Mateo,” he heard his grandfather above the din. “Slip it on your bride-to-be’s hand.”
“Right.” He lifted the ring and slipped it onto her finger. “It fits beautifully.”
He kept Ava’s hand in his as they both stared down at the ring. Despite the fact they were standing in the middle of a boisterous group of celebrating Ortegas, when he looked down into Ava’s eyes, Mateo felt as if they were alone in the world. Suddenly, despite his relief that they’d made it this far in their charade, Mateo realized a tiny part of him wished this newfound happiness wasn’t make-believe.
Chapter Seven
Ava headed into work early the next morning desperate to regain a sense of normality. As she flipped through the stack of mail waiting for her, she replayed the events of the night before in her mind’s eye. Her engagement party…the entire evening felt surreal but the amethyst ring on her finger reassured her it had been very real indeed. She dropped the mail back onto her desk and held her hand up to examine her ring. Engaged. She, Ava McKenna, was engaged to Mateo Ortega. She shook her head. What would her mother say to that?
She’d felt her mother’s presence last night at the party. Being back at her childhood home triggered a flood of memories. Mostly they were good ones. Ava remembered walking hand in hand with her mother through their yard to the Ortegas on many a hot summer night. The Ortegas had a swimming pool, the McKennas didn’t. But they’d generously offered to share and her mother had taught her to swim in their pool.
Generous was the perfect word to describe the Ortegas, then and now. The night before, after she’d accepted Mateo’s proposal, she and Mateo had been overwhelmed with congratulations, hugs, promises to help with the wedding, and more kind sentiments than she knew how to handle. She’d slipped away from the party well before it was over. She’d kept the top down on her convertible as she drove back to her condo because the cool spring breeze had helped dispel her feelings of being overwhelmed. But she should have at least said a proper goodbye to Mateo. This fiancée business was going to take some getting used to.
Meanwhile she had work to do. She forced herself to focus on the contracts she needed to draw up. Somehow she managed to make significant headway through the late afternoon. Deep in thought, she jumped when her cell phone rang. A quick glance at the caller id confirmed it was Mateo, which didn’t surprise her. She’d been expecting him to call. If she were honest with herself, she’d been hoping that he’d call.
“I’m calling to rescue you.”
“Mateo?”
He laughed. “How many other white knights do you have?”
“I’m not sure it’s even politically correct for women to have white knights rescue them these days.” Ava sat back in her chair, a slight smile on her face. “But just out of curiosity, what do I theoretically need rescuing from?”
“My sisters and cousins,” Mateo answered. “And if I don’t get you out of your office within the next hour, they’ll be arriving there en masse.”
Ava’s eyebrows rose. “Why?”
“Let’s just say if it was a reality show I’d call it ‘Extreme Wedding Planners’.”
Ava giggled, something she couldn’t remember doing in forever. “And you called to warn me so I could duck out early. Very noble, kind sir.”
“Thank you, milady.” Mateo cleared his throat. “Actually, Ava, I wanted to do a bit more than warn you.”
She stood and went to her window, gazing out at the half empty parking lot. Something in Mateo’s voice sounded suddenly more serious. “What is the bit more?”
“I know it is very last minute but can we meet in about a half an hour?”
Ava glanced at her watch and at the contracts on her desk. All of it could wait until tomorrow. Her evening schedule was clear. Yet a small part of her hesitated because the idea of seeing Mateo again made her pulse quicken. While this wasn’t a bad thing, it unnerved her. “Can we make it a bit later this afternoon?” she hedged.
“Look Ava, the thing is this…I wasn’t kidding about my female relatives descending on your office. They’re going to ambush you and whisk you away for a wedding planning intervention. The only way to stop them is for me to whisk you away to safety.”
“What kind of intervention?” Suddenly Ava realized that she’d never even considered the possibility that any of the Ortegas would be unhappy that she and Mateo were engaged. “Do they want to stop us?”
“The opposite,” Mateo said. “Every single female relative I have is in a state of bridal delirium. They’re all gung-ho on nailing down the details. Which needs to be done of course, but I didn’t know if you wanted to get swept away by their unbridled enthusiasm or if you wanted to sneak away and meet me so we could take a more rational approach.”
A rational approach? Hardly a romantic notion but then Mateo Ortega wasn’t a man in love with her, Ava reminded herself. He was a man who she’d made an agreement with. Nothing more. She needed to remember that. And as much as she appreciated Mateo’s family being supportive, the idea of them whisking her away to plan her wedding was overwhelming.
“Thirty minutes is fine. Where do you want to meet?” she asked.
Mateo suggested a coffee house that wasn’t far from her condo. Once they agreed on a time, she scrawled a hasty note to Marti and three other staff members who were all out on sales calls telling them she’d be working from home that evening. Which, she promised herself, she would do after a quick cup of coffee with Mateo. As she backed her convertible out of its parking space, Ava felt a rush of gratitude to her new fiancé for saving her from the wedding posse headed her way.
**
Mateo crossed the coffee shop with a steaming cup of black brew in each hand. He’d been surprised to learn that Ava also eschewed what he called fancy-schmancy coffee. She liked it strong and black just like he did. He wondered what else they had in common. When he reached the table he handed her a cup and sat across from her. He lifted his cup. “To rational wedding planning.”