Querida

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Shawn! We need to leave in twenty minutes if we’re going to miss traffic,” Maddy Terrell shouted as she walked through the house. “Shawn? Are you ready to go? I didn’t see your bag in the car.”

A door opened and closed upstairs, followed by the creaking of the floorboards as her son came down the hall. She was at the bottom with her purse slung over her shoulder when his carrot-top appeared, but the sight of his bare feet drew her brows together.

“Before you say anything…” Shawn stopped three steps up, palms up in his timeworn Don’t kill me, Mom pose. “It’s not my fault.”

“Oh, God…” Maddy pinched the sides of her nose. She hated conversations that began this way. “What’s not your fault, Shawn?”

“I can’t drive you to San Francisco for the wedding.”

Maddy’s lips thinned. “You’re telling me this…seventeen minutes before I need to get on the road? Shawn, of all the thoughtless stunts you pulled, this is right up there on the list.”

“It’s not my fault!”

His gray eyes beseeched her. The rest of his fine features were hers—the heart-shaped face, the red hair, the wide s***h of a mouth—but the eyes were all his father’s, who’d been dead for the past eight years. Maddy tamped down the slight edge of sympathy creeping into her frustration to focus on the fact that her twenty-two-year-old son was leaving her high and dry when all she needed was one simple thing he had promised to her months ago.

“Dr. Kauffman is having orientations all weekend for the entire department,” Shawn went on. “Kind of like mini-seminars. For everyone, including the grad students. I’m stuck. I don’t go, and he’ll find a way to f**k me over when it comes time for me to present next year. You know he will.”

It was on the tip of Maddy’s tongue to remind him of all the ways she could—and would—f**k him over for this, but now she only had fifteen minutes to figure something out.

“That’s great, Shawn. But you couldn’t have told me this morning? Or last night? Now what am I supposed to do? And do not suggest I just drive myself. You knew I didn’t want to go up there alone.”

“I didn’t tell you because I was trying to figure something else out. Relax, Mom. Everything’s in control.”

“Well, son of mine, what’s your brilliant idea?”

“I got you another ride. A friend of mine.” He smiled, a broad swathe that displayed the thousands she’d poured into his dental work to its best advantage. “It’s not so bad. Tonio said he’d do it. Remember him? He came over at Christmas when his parents took off for the holiday.”

Maddy remembered Tonio Herrera. He wasn’t the sort of young man a person could forget. Two years older than Shawn, with a charming smile and teasing eyes, he had done his best to drive her to distraction the entire time he stayed in their home. The only thing that kept her from responding to his flirtations was reminding herself that he was Shawn’s friend, and so entirely off-limits.

“Is he going to be here within the next ten minutes?”

“Any minute. I just got off the phone with him. See? I’m totally looking after you, Mom.”

It was the smile more than the words that broke her anger. The damned kid knew exactly how to push her buttons, and he always had. Maybe she spoiled him a little, but usually, when he wasn’t trapping her in cars with his gorgeous friends, he was a good son.

“You’re not out of the woods yet, Shawn. If he’s not here in—”

A horn honking loudly from her driveway cut her off. When she opened the front door, he was already out of the car and coming up the walk. Maddy knew she shouldn’t stare at the younger man, but she couldn’t help it. No matter how many times she reminded herself he was off-limits, he was still one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen.

Tonio Herrera was a lean six feet, with burnished skin stretched taut over his muscular arms. His jeans were designer distressed, almost indecent where the denim frayed across one thigh, and his red T-shirt moved like liquid fire over his torso. Black hair spiked so casually she couldn’t help but question if it was genuine bed head. Sunglasses hid the dark, snapping eyes she remembered, but the smile was firmly in place, a dimple dancing in his chiseled cheek.

“The gods are smiling this weekend,” he said as he paused on the porch. “I didn’t hit a single light on the way over.” He glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Shawn. We set?”

“I don’t know. Mom?”

“You’re on kitchen duty for the rest of the week,” Maddy said, finally pulling her gaze away from Tonio. “And I want this house sparkling when I get home.” She turned back to her new chauffeur. “My car is already packed, but we can take yours if you’d rather.”

He shrugged. “If you trust me driving yours, I’m easy.”

Maddy nodded. “We’ll do that then. Shawn, be good!”

Shawn’s reply drifted back to her as she shut the door. “I will!”

“So you’ve driven up to San Francisco before?” Maddy asked, pulling her keys out of her purse and holding them out to him.

His long fingers brushed over hers as he took the ring. She couldn’t not notice the contact. Had he done that on purpose?

“I’ve got family in Palo Alto. At least once every couple of months, I get sent up there with packages, gifts, that kind of thing.” When they reached the car, he opened the passenger side door and held it open for her. “My parents have this blind spot when it comes to the post office.”

Maddy chuckled, feeling a little better about the situation. He apparently got himself to and from the Bay Area all the time without any problems. That was at least a step in the right direction. Tonio shut her door, then went to his own car and pulled a duffel bag out of the trunk. His muscles flexed under the thin T-shirt, and her throat tightened. In the meantime, she could distract herself from the monotonous scenery by looking at him.

Maddy mentally shook herself. She could not watch him instead of the scenery. Maybe if he wasn’t young enough to be her son’s friend. Hell, things would be different if he wasn’t Shawn’s friend at all. She could have met him at the grocery store, or at work, or at the beach. Then, if he had flirted with her, she could have flirted back, completely ignorant of his real age. And most of all, she wouldn’t be at risk of upsetting her son. She and Shawn had a great relationship—even though he could be a brat at times—and Maddy would never want to do anything to hurt that.

“That’s good to know,” she said, once he tossed the bag in the backseat and settled behind the steering wheel. “I don’t know how much Shawn told you about this weekend. Tomorrow is my niece’s wedding, complete with a reception on a yacht in the Bay, so an all-day thing. I figured we’d drive home Sunday afternoon.” She paused before adding, “But I guess you can visit your family or something tomorrow.”

He didn’t respond immediately to that, pulling out of the drive with practiced ease. He handled the steering wheel with a light touch, and while she couldn’t see his eyes, she suddenly had no doubt that they were drinking everything in.

“Have you been up there before?” he asked instead, once they were in the steady stream of traffic. “It’s beautiful this time of year.”

“We’ve taken a few vacations up there to see my husband’s family. Usually around the holidays. But this is the first time I’ve been up there since he died.”

Tonio’s sensual lips pressed together, his smile fading. “Shawn doesn’t talk about his dad very often. I guess it’s been a while?”

“Eight years. I don’t think that’s been enough time for Shawn to fully…recover. Honestly, I think he made up an excuse to get out of going to the wedding. It’s hard for him to see that side of the family.”

“But not you?” He didn’t wait for a response. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”

“No, that’s okay. It isn’t easy for me either.” Which was the understatement of the century, but Tonio didn’t need all the family drama and history. “But Jane is my only niece, and she told me it would mean a lot to her if I attended the wedding. I know Bill would have wanted me to go.”

His teeth flashed as his smile returned. “If it gets too bad, it’s not like you’re stuck trying to find a taxi to escape. Just jump overboard and swim. I’ll stand on the shore and wave you in.”

Maddy snorted. “I hope that means you’ll be standing there with coffee and a blanket too. That water is cold.”

They coasted to a red light right before the highway exit. “Whatever it takes. This weekend, I’m here to serve you.”

“All weekend? I thought I was just getting a chauffeur out of this deal.”

“Chauffeur, lifeguard.” He shrugged, though the glance he shot her seemed to linger long enough for her to feel a slight flush. “Just so we’re straight, Shawn didn’t have to twist my arm to do this for you. I would’ve volunteered as soon as I found out he was having problems.”

Maddy remembered all the ways she had sidestepped him before, and a part of her knew she should start being evasive again. It wouldn’t do to encourage him. If she remembered correctly, it didn’t take much to encourage young men Tonio’s age. But curiosity prompted her to push a little further.

“And what’s in it for you to lose a whole weekend, with no notice, to drive somebody’s mom three hundred miles?”

“Six hours there, six hours back, alone in a car with one of the sexiest women I’ve ever met.” The light turned green, and Tonio turned his attention back to the road. “That’s the best trade I’ve ever made.”

Maddy knew it was silly to feel warm with pleasure, but she couldn’t help it. She was a forty-year-old woman, with a son practically the same age as Tonio, not some nervous teenager. But logic had nothing to do with the way her face heated. Clearly, her body couldn’t be swayed by anything as insignificant as logic. She would have made a poor Vulcan.

“So is any woman safe from your charms?”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

When he turned the wheel to pull out onto the highway, her gaze was drawn to the way the muscles in his forearms flexed. He had nice hands, she realized. Long fingers. A broad palm. Nails that looked like he didn’t bite them down to the quick. That said a lot about a man, regardless of how old he was. Of course, the fact that they were attached to very strong-looking arms, tanned and flawless, didn’t hurt, either.

Maddy was certain girls fawned all over Tonio, patiently waiting for him to pick up the phone or crook his little finger. She couldn’t even blame the faceless girls in her imagination. But she needed to hold on to that thought. Though she had already been married for several years when she was twenty-four, she still knew enough boys to know they liked to play the field and keep their options open. That wasn’t what she needed in her life.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

His mouth twitched. “No. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Nobody I see exclusively.”

“So I won’t have to worry about someone showing up at my door wanting to flatten me because I tried to seduce you this weekend?”

“Well, I do have a very protective son,” Maddy said lightly, deflecting the oddly serious question into a joke. “I wouldn’t put it past him to try to flatten you.”

“He could try. And then I’d remind him who bailed his ass out with those frat boys. He’d fold.”

Maddy decided she didn’t want to know. Besides, her boy’s exploits were a lot less interesting than Tonio’s calm statement of intent to seduce her. Even if she shouldn’t encourage said calm statement of intent. “Do you have an actual plan for seduction, or are you going to wing it?”

“Which answer is going to get me a kiss at the first gas stop?”

Maddy pretended to consider his question. Neither answer would get him a kiss at the first gas stop, because she was not going to kiss him. “A plan. I want to see some real effort.”

She was startled when he reached between the seats for his duffel, rooting around in the outside pocket. By the time she turned around to see what he was looking for, he was done, and a folded piece of paper landed in her lap.

“Shawn told me what hotel we’re booked at for the weekend,” Tonio said. “So I made a reservation for dinner.”

Slowly, Maddy opened up the paper. A panoramic view of the bay at night decorated the top, and her eyes widened as she recognized the graphics from the Mark Hopkins website. Top of the Mark, on the nineteenth floor of the hotel, was one of the more prestigious lounges in the city, with magnificent views and even better food.

“You’re serious?” At his nod, Maddy laughed—a shocked, uneven sound. She had no idea how he was able to get reservations on such short notice, though frankly, she would have been impressed if he’d merely made the effort to get a table.

“You have to eat, don’t you?”

“I don’t think I’ll have much of an appetite tonight. Not that I don’t want to have dinner with you,” she hastened to add. “The restaurant looks great. But I need my beauty sleep.”

“Do that and you’ll outshine the bride tomorrow. Though I think you’ll probably do that even without it.”

“I couldn’t outshine the bride if I slept for a month. One look at her and most red-blooded males forget how to breathe.”

“What if I promise to get you into bed at a decent hour?” He glanced at her, and for a moment she wished he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses. She wanted desperately to see if he looked as serious as he sounded. “The reservation is at nine. I can have you back in your room by ten thirty.”

She needed to give him a straight, unambiguous answer. No, thanks or yes, that sounds lovely, but she couldn’t continue to hedge and avoid his invitation. No, thanks was clearly the most reasonable answer, but she wasn’t sure it was the best. He did go to the effort to make a reservation, and he was sacrificing his entire weekend, regardless of his ulterior motives. The restaurant would be public and safe.

“If you promise to return me to my room at a decent hour, then I’ll be happy to join you for dinner.”

His smile was brilliant. “You won’t be disappointed. Have you ever been?”

That was the problem. Maddy suspected Tonio never left anybody disappointed. “No, I’ve never had the chance, unfortunately.”

“It’s beautiful. The best views of the city you’ll find. Though it’s a good thing I’ve seen it all before. I don’t think I’m going to be able to take my eyes off you.”

She quirked a single brow. “You’re not going to give up no matter how much I pretend not to hear you, are you?”

“Hear me tell you you’re beautiful, you mean?” He shrugged. “I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to believe. You must own a mirror.”

Maddy chuckled softly. “I don’t need reassurances about my looks, Tonio, though I appreciate receiving compliments. I’m not ignoring you because I’m insecure. I’m ignoring you because I don’t want to encourage you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re practically my son’s age. In other words, too young for me.”

Tonio changed lanes, gliding into faster traffic. “So if I was older, you’d say yes to me without arguing so much.”

“Sure. If you had another ten or fifteen years. But you don’t. I could be your mother.”

“But you’re not.”

“No, I’m not. I’m Shawn’s mother. And Shawn is your friend. You can see how this could get…complicated, right?”

“Not really, no.” Steering with his left hand, Tonio dropped his right between them, caressing her pinky with his. “If anything, it means Shawn knows me. He can trust me. He knows I would treat you with the respect you deserve.”

Or he would be intensely uncomfortable because his friend had seen his mother naked. God knew Shawn was squeamish enough at any indication that Maddy had a life outside of full-time motherhood.

“I’m not quite so optimistic about that. I think it would be best if we remain friends.”

Tonio sighed. “You’re making this a lot harder than it has to be, Maddy.” He paused. “I can call you Maddy, right? Because I stopped thinking of you as Mrs. Terrell a long time ago.”

Maddy looked at the spot where his pinky was still touching hers. He had such good hands. “You can call me Maddy. I don’t really think of myself as Mrs. Terrell either. It makes me feel…old.”

“So…let me get this straight.” He punctuated each of his points with a gentle tap against her finger. “You don’t feel old. I definitely don’t think you’re old. But you think you’re too old for me.” He hooked his pinky over hers, trapping it. “That doesn’t sound like a double standard to you?”

Maddy tensed, but she didn’t pull away from him. The contact made her skin feel pleasantly tight. “It’s not a double standard.” Her voice was less convincing than she wanted it to be. “I’m just trying to be realistic here.”

“You want realistic? Here it is. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. We’re both single. And I’d be an i***t not to try and show you just how good I think we could be together.”

“I think you might be right. Which is the perfect reason to tell you I can’t join you tonight, and make up an excuse about getting ready for the wedding, or visiting my family, or something.”

Tonio edged his hand closer, his touch warm where their fingers tangled. “But you’re not going to. You’re just as curious as I am about what it might be like. Whether we can sit down, face each other across a table. If we can look each other in the eye and not think about what the other one feels like, or tastes like.”

Now her skin wasn’t the only thing that felt tight. Her throat clenched. She knew exactly how Tonio would look at her. His eyes would be dark and arresting, his thoughts written plainly on his face. She was a sucker for men with dark eyes. She was especially susceptible to men with dark eyes who watched her like they wanted to eat her with a spoon.

“That almost sounds like a challenge to me.”

“It’s not.” His thumb caressed her palm. It almost tickled. Almost. “It’s an invitation.”

“Are you always this determined to get your way?”

“Only when it’s something I’m passionate about.”

“You’re passionate about me? You barely know me.”

“Which is why I want this time with you.” Tonio cast a soft smile in her direction as he took his hand back in order to navigate through heavier traffic. “The woman I met at Christmas intrigues me. I’d like to know if she’s real.”

Maddy dragged her attention from him and turned her head. They wouldn’t escape the traffic for at least another hour, and she was beginning to understand just how long the two of them would be trapped together. Instead of filling her with dread, it sent a thrill down her spine. “Tell me what you think about the woman you met at Christmas, and I’ll tell you if you’re right.”

His dimple danced in his cheek. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I’m right. And I think that’s what bothers you the most.”

Watching his proud profile, outlined by the sunshine streaming through his window, Maddy had a sinking feeling Tonio was absolutely correct.