Nacho Figueras Presents (15 page)

T
he house was full of family the next day: Alejandro and Georgia and little Tomás, Sebastian and Kat, and it looked like Hendy would be staying on as well.

Before breakfast, Noni, afraid the house might be too crowded, offered to take Max and find another place to stay.

Pilar just glared at her in response.

“You think my home cannot accommodate nine people? In 1932, this house once comfortably boarded all the members of the U.S. Senate and ten congressmen on top of that. My dining room table alone seats twenty-five and that is without the extra leaf. Now stop being ridiculous and go fetch Max before your
café con leche
gets cold.”

Max was racing around his room with four-year-old Tomás. They were sharing the room.

“Just like
Tío
Sebastian and
Papí
used to,” said Tomás, who was obviously quite enamored with the older boy. “It's like we are brothers, too!”

Antonia smiled nervously at that description. “Time to get dressed, Max,” she said. “Pilar has breakfast on the table.”

Max obediently went to the bureau and pulled out a T-shirt and shorts. He unself-consciously took off his pajamas and stood in his underwear for a moment. Noni felt a pang in her heart at the sight of his skinny little bare chest. He looked like a featherless baby bird.

“Noni,” he said, “Tomás calls Pilar
Abuela
. Should I call her that, too?”

“What? Oh no, that means ‘grandma.' Pilar isn't your grandma. Put your clothes on, honey.”

Max slowly pulled on his shirt and shorts. “Well, she kind of is, isn't she? I mean, she is the mom of your brothers, and you are kind of my mom, right? Since my real mom is dead.”

Noni took a deep breath. “Oh. Oh, buddy. It's a little more complicated than that.”

“I mean, there's also Mama Cecelia. She's kind of my mom, too.”

Noni froze. “Wait, who?”

Max struggled to zip up his shorts. “Mama Cecelia. Daddy and I lived with her for a long time.” He got the zipper up. “But we don't anymore.”

“Huh,” said Noni, but before she could pursue the conversation further, Sebastian swept in and grabbed both boys up into his arms. “
¡Desayuno!
Come on,
muchachos
!
Abuela
says breakfast is getting cold!”

They both yelled in glee, happily pounding Sebastian on the head and shoulders as he carried them out of the room.

Noni hesitated in the doorway for a moment.

“You too, Noni,” Seb called back to her. “
Mamá
baked
media lunas.
I can't remember the last time she made such a fuss.”

Noni smiled and went downstairs.

Enzo ate breakfast on the patio of a café in the village, content to sit with his book and coffee and bask in the perfect Hamptons weather. Mark had gone back to California for a business trip, and much to Enzo's chagrin, he had given the entire team the long weekend off while he was gone.

“What?” he'd said when Enzo had tried to suggest they could practice without him. “Practice without the patron? Come on, that's crazy talk!” He'd winked at Enzo. “Besides, they're all already so much better than me. Last thing I need is them improving even more while I'm gone.”

The waiter brought Enzo his goat cheese and spinach omelet and he put down his book. He watched the street as he ate. He thought he'd never get used to the sight of all the Ferraris and Porsches and Maseratis that inched by in the slow Hamptons traffic. The summer people were tanned, toned, and casually (if impeccably) dressed and all seemed to drive cars more suited to Kuwaiti princes (of which there were actually more than a few) than the laid-back villagers they liked to pretend to be.

Still, Enzo was comfortable here. Aside from the cars, it was actually less flashy than Wellington. He liked the little villages and their immaculate beaches. He liked the pretty shingled cottages and neat little dooryard gardens. He liked that he never had a bad meal, and he liked the sunset over the sound and the lively nightlife. And people knew horses here, of course. Which was always a good thing.

He finished his breakfast and looked at his watch. Only nine in the morning. He considered what he wanted to do with the rest of his day. He wasn't used to having this kind of free time on his hands.

Pilar had invited him to Noni's birthday party on Saturday and he was still deciding whether he'd go. Antonia had been strangely distant with him after Max's lesson the day before. He'd told her how well Max had done, and she had just smiled and nodded politely, then asked Max if he wanted to go into the village with her to get some ice cream, thanked Enzo, and left. It didn't even seem to occur to her to invite him along.

He wondered if this was how it would have to be with them from now on—always at arm's length.

Enzo paid his bill and decided that whether he was going to the party or not, he should buy Noni a gift. It was her thirtieth birthday, after all, and she was, if nothing else, still his friend.

At least, he thought with a little shiver, he hoped that to be true.

B
reakfast was loud and chaotic and messy and completely wonderful. Pilar, along with Liz, the chef from the yacht, had cooked up an elaborate meal of Argentine pastries and fresh fruit, eggs prepared to order, and succulent sausages from the farm down the road. The
maté
was poured and platter after platter of food passed around the table as Sebastian and Alejandro entertained everyone with stories of all the terrible players they had seen in London.

“Oh!” laughed Sebastian. “Jandro, tell him about that fat Scot who fell off his pony at the Ascot Park game. I thought he must have been a patron—no offense, Hendy—but no, he was a three goal player!”

“I think his
papá
bought him the team,” said Alejandro with a grin. He was dandling Tomás on one knee and trying to get him to eat a forkful of eggs.

“No,” said Georgia, who was seven months pregnant and still in her pajamas, “I asked around. It turns out he's very closely related to the queen. Did you know that he offered to fund the team in full if we would let him on?”

Sebastian looked at his brother, one eyebrow raised. “You failed to mention this to me,
hermano
.”

Alejandro shrugged. “If you truly want to hand the team over to a fat Scot who falls off his horse, I am more than willing to discuss it.”

Both of Noni's dogs were lying under the table. One growled at Pilar's dogs, which were sitting patiently by the kitchen door.

“
¡Basta!
” said Pilar firmly.

To Noni's astonishment, the dog stopped growling. Pilar reached down and scratched her ear. “They just need a firm hand,” she said casually.

“So, Kat,” said Hendy, “did you finish your script?”

Kat, Sebastian's wife, laughed. “Don't you know it's impolite to ask a writer if she's finished yet? You might as well ask me what I weigh.”

“Sixty-eight kilos,” said Sebastian, deadpan.

Kat shot him a deadly look and hit him with her napkin.

Noni sighed happily. It was everything she had always dreamed it would be. She'd had meals with her brothers and their families before, of course, but never in their home like this, and never with Pilar.

Noni realized that Pilar was the heart of everything. She joined in occasionally, but always with an eye to making sure that the food was kept warm and that there was a seemingly endless supply of it, that the table was set beautifully, that there were fresh flowers and linen napkins, that the coffee was served hot.

Max spilled his juice and Pilar had it wiped up so quickly that half the table didn't even notice it had happened.

Pilar was happy, thought Noni. She was happy in a way that Noni had never seen from her before. She beamed at her sons and their wives, she cooed over Tomás and Max, and every so often she would sneak her hand over to Hendy and gently squeeze his arm or rest her hand on his. When Noni told a little story about one of the ponies in the barn that seemed to have become emotionally attached to a billy goat, she was shocked to look across the table and see that Pilar was smiling rather fondly at her.

Granted, Pilar immediately followed up that smile by sharply saying that Noni should know better than to let prized ponies mix with an animal that had horns. But she had, at least for a moment, definitely smiled at Noni.

The only thing missing was Enzo. Noni could just imagine him at the table, fitting in so easily with everyone else. He would play with the children and tease her brothers and gallantly compliment Pilar's cooking. He would ask Alejandro about Valentina's budding dance career in California. He would ask after Hendy's knee, question Georgia about the health of the ponies, and make Kat tell all the latest Hollywood gossip. Noni imagined him turning to her and giving her that slow, devastating smile—the one that melted her from the inside out, the one that held so much promise for later, once he got her alone.

Antonia sighed to herself, longing for him.

Then her eyes rested on Max as he munched on a
media luna
pastry and happily gazed around the table, a smear of chocolate on his cheek.

Jacob needed to have a place at this table, she reminded herself. Not Enzo.

She sat for a moment, trying and momentarily failing to imagine how Jacob would fit in.

She shook her head. He would be fine, she reassured herself. Everyone always liked Jacob. He was a great father, a good man, and a brilliant artist. What was not to like?

After breakfast, Jandro and Georgia wanted to go see the ponies, and Sebastian, Kat, and Pilar offered to take the boys down to the beach. Noni decided she would go to the barn first and then join up with everyone at the beach.

“Oh, and tomorrow, Noni,” said Georgia before they all left, “Pilar has instructed Kat and me to get you out of the house. So we've booked a spa day.”

“Women only,” said Kat firmly as Sebastian opened his mouth and then shut it, a disappointed look on his face.

“Spa in the morning, and then we'll shop for something to wear for the party. Our treat,” said Georgia.

Noni shook her head. “Aw, come on. You guys don't have to do all that.”

“Yes, they do,” said Pilar. “I need you out of the house for preparations.”

“What about Max?” said Noni.

“He's going to help me,” said Pilar.

“Oh?” said Noni, lightly poking Max in the shoulder. “Did you know about this all along?”

Max giggled. “I'm very good at keeping secrets,” he said.

The group was just heading out the kitchen door when the front doorbell rang.

Pilar wrinkled her forehead. “Who could that be?”

The housekeeper slipped out to see who it was and the little boys followed.

In a moment they heard Max's joyful shout. “Dad!” he yelped. “Dad, you're back!”

Enzo had looked all over town, in and out of every little boutique and shop, trying to find the right gift for Noni, but nothing had seemed quite right.

It wasn't that there weren't beautiful things. This was the Hamptons—there were
nothing
but beautiful things all around him. Carefully cultivated, one-of-a-kind, immaculately arranged, beautiful things. With equally beautiful people offering them for sale.

It didn't help that he knew, as of tomorrow, Noni would be heir to hundreds of millions of dollars and could surely buy any little thing that caught her eye here or anywhere else.

Chocolates or flowers wouldn't be enough, a bottle of good Scotch was too impersonal, lingerie too painfully intimate…He supposed jewelry was the answer—a necklace or a bracelet, but he didn't see anything he could imagine her truly loving.

He wished he could take her for a vacation somewhere to celebrate. He imagined flying her to Paris, staying in a little flat with a view of the Seine. Or Venice, where they could get lost among the canals. Or even better, home to Argentina, where he could show her the country that he loved so well…

The common thing among all these daydreams was that he had her to himself. That it was just him and her—alone again. Nothing to distract them. Nothing to keep them apart. He felt that he would give all that he had for that possibility.

Hell, he thought, he would give all that he had for just five more minutes under the rainy boardwalk, for a moment or two in her arms again, anywhere.

He wandered into an antique shop, surprised to see how dusty and overstuffed the place was. Unlike the minimalist boutiques he'd been shopping in, this place felt as though, if he picked up even one thing, he might create a domino effect and knock over an entire store's worth of teetering goods.

The elderly salesclerk didn't even look up from the magazine she was thumbing through when he passed by.

He examined some ancient books, sneezing from the dust and wiping his now grimy hands off on his jeans when he was done handling them. He flipped through some old records, giving up when he realized that Noni wouldn't have a record player. He peered through a smeared display case of jewelry, hoping to find a literal diamond in the rough.

He almost gave up after being startled by a large orange cat that sprang out at him, hissing, when he lifted an old quilt off a sprung horsehair couch. He carefully sidestepped the angry feline and had just turned to go when he saw it, stacked in a corner among some old umbrellas and carved wooden canes…

The perfect present.

W
hen Jacob came into the kitchen with Max in his arms, Noni noticed a little twinge in her stomach that felt uncomfortably like disappointment.

He was wearing a black T-shirt under a somewhat wrinkled blue dress shirt. He looked tired and a bit wary, glancing nervously at her brothers, who flanked her on either side.

She took a deep breath and smiled, trying to push down her uneasy feelings. “Jacob!” she said. “You're back so early!”

He smiled at her, putting Max down with a little pat on his head. “I finished up early so I could be back for your birthday.”

Noni looked at Pilar, who shook her head. “I certainly did not tell him.”

“No, Benny mentioned it to me”—he winked at Noni—“but I'm sure I would have remembered the date, anyway.” He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “Actually, I was hoping to whisk you away for the weekend. I thought maybe—”

“No, no,” said Pilar loudly. “That will not do at all. Noni is having a party here.” She waited a very long beat before she reluctantly added, “Which I suppose you can come to if you wish.”

“Oh,” said Jacob, smiling, “well, of course. That's very kind of you to offer.”

Pilar shrugged. “I'm going to the beach. Who is coming?”

“Me!” yelled Tomás.

Max looked at his father. “Can we, Daddy?”

“I was hoping to talk to Noni a bit, Max, but maybe later we—”

“I will take him,” said Pilar. She looked at everyone else. “Don't you all have somewhere to be?”

“Um, thank you!” called out Jacob as Pilar herded everyone out the back door. Pilar, followed by all four dogs, slammed the door behind her without answering.

He looked at Noni. “Wow, Benny wasn't kidding about Pilar. She's a formidable old thing.”

Noni frowned. “My mom doesn't know Pilar at all. I don't know why she insists on acting like she does.”

“Anyway”—he caught her in a hug—“I can't believe we're finally alone.”

She stepped back gently. “Actually, we're not.” She looked over at the Liz, who gave her a smile and a wink as she was carrying in the breakfast dishes to the kitchen. “Why don't we go out to the gardens?”

It was a hot and muggy day. The air felt saturated, and the roses and lilies were looking sulky and wilted. Their scent hung heavy on the air.

As she led Jacob down the path, Noni chattered mindlessly, trying to cover up her uneasy feelings. “Max has been learning to ride,” she said, “and Enzo says he's actually really good.”

Jacob frowned. “Horseback riding? That seems awfully dangerous.”

“Oh no, we kept him on the safest ponies, and either Pilar or Enzo was always with him, plus he always wore a helmet.”

His frown deepened. “Pilar and Enzo? Where were you?”

“Well, I had to work. But don't worry, they both really liked Max and—”

He cut her off. “Listen.” He took her hand. “We can talk about Max later. Right now I just want to talk about us.”

She met his eyes and he smiled at her, lightly touching her face with his fingertips. “I missed you so much, Noni. Even just these few days away…it feels like a miracle that you're back in my life again.”

She nodded, thinking of Max.

“You don't really need to go to this party, do you?”

His hand was warm against her skin. “Pilar's party?”

“I have a much better idea. In fact, it's all planned out.” He took a large envelope out of his jacket and handed it to her. “Happy birthday.”

She stared at the envelope for a moment.

“Open it,” he encouraged her.

She did. In it was three airplane tickets.

He grinned. “We're going to Mexico. Just you, me, and Max. For a birthday celebration. It's all planned. We leave tonight.”

She gaped at him. “What?”

“There's a little seaside town called San Blas. You'll love it. Super romantic. I figured we can stay at least a week or two, maybe longer if we really like it—”

She thrust the tickets back at him. “No. I mean, I'm sorry, but I can't. I have a job, Jacob. I can't just up and leave with no notice. Besides, Pilar has already been planning, and my brothers and their families flew all the way back from London to be here for me. I'm not just going to take off at the last minute.”

He shook his head. “I don't want to ruin anyone's plans, but I just thought this would be good for us. Give us a chance to have some time together. A chance to get to know each other again. Let Max see what it's like to have a real family.”

She blinked, conflicted. “That sounds lovely. It really does. And I definitely want that. But can't we go after the party? Maybe a few weeks from now? I need to make sure that Jandro and Sebastian have someone to cover the stables. You see, Enzo quit and I've been picking up the slack while everyone was in London. I can't just leave them without warning.”

Jacob shook his head. “Listen to you. You sound like their slave. Why are you at the beck and call of your half brothers?”

She stepped back, stung. “I'm not. I work for them. They pay me. And like any other job, I can't just decide to go on vacation on a whim without checking in first. Plus, I'm not about to run out on a party that has already been planned for me. That would be awfully rude.”

She didn't want to tell him that it was the first time anyone had ever planned a birthday party for her. In fact, she remembered the year she had spent with him; he had missed her birthday altogether.

He looked away and seemed to collect himself and then turned back to her and gave her a dazzling smile. “Okay. I get it. I'm sorry. I was being selfish. I just…just wanted you to myself, you know? But hey, at the very least, have dinner with me tonight. I'm staying at a friend's place on Shelter Island while they're out of town.”

“Yes, okay,” she agreed, relieved that he'd stopped pressing. She took his hand. “I'm sorry that I sound so ungrateful. It's an amazing gift. Thank you. I'm sure we can change the tickets for later, right?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

She took a deep breath and then stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

He caught her face in his hand before she pulled away and bent eagerly to her mouth.

She kissed him back. She felt she had to. She thought of Max. She thought of the family they could have. The family they used to be.

She smelled the cloying scent of overwarmed flowers. She felt Jacob's tongue, rough in her mouth, his hand slowly sliding down her back…

He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes, smiled at her and stroked her cheek. “I missed you so much,” he whispered.

She closed her eyes.

She would not let herself think of Enzo.

Enzo had ended up at the stables anyway, exercising a couple of the horses he didn't know well enough yet. He was just putting the last one into its stall for the night when his phone rang. It was David.

“Enzo? Where are you?”

There was music and laughter in the background.

“I'm at the stables. Where are
you
?” said Enzo, amused.

“I knew it! I knew it! Raj, you owe me twenty bucks! He's at the barn! Man, Enzo, we're supposed to be on vacation! Come on, we're at this great bar on Shelter Island—it's right on the beach. Come join us.”

Enzo shook his head. “Are you even legal to drink, David?”

David laughed. “Come on, man, I'm twenty-four!”

Enzo smiled. “I thought you were younger.”

“Come oooon! Wait…here. Raj wants to talk to you.”

Enzo listened as the phone got shuffled around. Raj's deep, accented voice came on.

“Enzo, you must come. I need you. I think I am the oldest person in the place by a decade at least.”

Enzo laughed. “That's what you get for bar hopping with a bunch of kids.”

“Indeed. However, as captain of the team, I must remind you that a team is not made entirely on the field. There are other ways of bonding.”

“Like flaming tequila shooters!” yelled Lachlan in his thick Australian accent.

“That sounds like a nightmare,” said Enzo.

Raj laughed. “I promise you will not have to drink any tequila shooters. Come and join us. For the team.”

“For the team!” shouted Mark and Lachlan together in the background.

Enzo groaned. “Fine. Text me the address.”

He hung up the phone and did one last tuck check before he left for the night. Mark had more than enough staff who lived on site, so Enzo didn't have to close down the barn, but he liked to be sure that everything was under control.

It was still light out when he got into his truck. As he drove to the Shelter Island Ferry, he turned off his air-conditioning and rolled down his windows. The best thing about being near the beach was that even when the days turned hot and humid, the air always cooled down in the evening.

The line for the ferry was surprisingly short for a Friday night, but Shelter Island wasn't exactly the most popular spot for nightlife. The island was one of the quieter, less developed parts of the Hamptons. The gentle hills and forested swaths of land made it feel a step or two apart from some of the more crowded villages and towns. He wondered how his rambunctious teammates had ended up out there.

He parked his truck on the little ferry and then got out to stand at the front of the boat and enjoy the view. The sun was lower now, and the light danced across the water in glittering sparks. The sea air was cool against his face, and, not for the first time, Enzo reminded himself that he was a very lucky man.

He had a job he loved and he got to work with the kind of horseflesh that he'd only dreamed about growing up in Argentina. The ponies he trained were world class, and it was a pleasure to just be near them. He lived in beautiful places all over the world. He made more than enough money—a ridiculous amount, actually, now that Mark was paying his salary. And it was easy to live well, to make sure his mother was taken care of, and still put a good chunk aside every month.

He watched the dark forested shore loom ahead as the ferry skipped through the water, and frowned. What more could a man ask for? he challenged himself. What more could a man want?

Her onyx eyes swam up into his head like a vision. Her silky hair. Her creamy shoulders. Her soft lips…

He shook it off.

All at once, he was glad that he had agreed to come out and drink.