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Shame washed over Lola like a life-draining deluge. Here it was. The moment of truth. The end-of-life sequence where all of Lola’s sins were flashed one after the other.

“Mom—”

“Carmen, mi amor, get us some champagne, si?”

Lola felt Carmen grow rigid next to her. Felt her holding her breath in her own lungs. Felt her screamnowhen her lips didn’t move.

“Where’s Dad?” Carmen asked, ignoring her question.

“Oh, he’s around here somewhere,” she said casually, attention fixed on Lola.

Lola slipped out of Carmen’s grasp, signaling that it was okay for her to go. That she was ready to receive the woman’s verdict.

When Carmen didn’t leave, Carmen’s mother rested her hand on Lola’s bare shoulder and turned her toward a long buffet table adorned with hors d’oeuvres. She guided her away from Carmen. Away from the reassuring comfort of her presence, which seemed fitting since she was going to tell her she did not approve.

Steeling herself, Lola prepared for the worst.

“Forgive me for being direct, Lola—”

“I appreciate bluntness, Ana. It’s more honest than gloss.”

The woman chuckled unexpectedly. “That’s surprising given your show-business career, but I’m glad we’re on the same page about cutting to the chase.” She turned to look Lola in the eye, dropping the pretense that she cared about leading Lola to the deviled eggs. “Why are you interested in my daughter?”

“That is certainly direct,” Lola agreed. “I can’t imagine anyonenotbeing interested in Carmen,” she countered, a warmth spreading across her chest like melted sugar before it hardens. “You raised an extraordinary woman. Carmen is brilliant, talented, accomplished… but without ego. She cares fully and without pretense. She is the most selfless person I’ve ever met.” Lola’s voice grew thick with emotion, but she made no effort to hide it.

Ana’s expression remained impassive, but she inclined her head almost imperceptibly for Lola to go on. Lola did. She’d come too far to go back now.

“She makes me want to be better,” Lola continued, holding Ana’s piercing gaze. “Kinder. More open. She sees something in me I didn’t know was there. I know I’m not who you envisioned for her. But she makes me happier than I’ve ever been. I want to make her happy too. Support her dreams.” She held strong, despite Ana’s unreadable face. “I admire her. I respect her.” The true depth of her feelings for Carmen lodged in her throat. “I will never stop working to be the partner she deserves.”

Ana assessed her, dark eyes flashing. Then she smiled, small but genuine. “I believe you mean that,” she decided after some deliberation. “She deserves someone who appreciates her light. Carmen too often sells herself short.”

“I will never let her forget that she’s spectacular,” Lola promised.

“Tell me who you are,” Ana said, gaze focused.

The question was so broad. So open to interpretation. Lola could have given her the sanitized version. Could have pretended that she didn’t understand that Ana wanted to know who she was at her core.

“I’ve had to claw my way to every achievement.” She clenched the hands at her side to hide their tremble. “I don’t say that to brag. It’s not a point of pride to have to make your own food in order to eat. To learn to walk early because you’re hungry. To get perfect grades because it’s the only ticket out.”

Lola confessed that her mother had never been much of a mother, but it was more than her father had ever been. Admitted that she could be callous and stubborn. That she was prone to being too harsh. So driven that she could flatten people in her way without meaning to. That until Carmen, she approached every human interaction with her eye trained to look for ulterior motives. For the scam. The trick.

When Lola had given Ana every reason to disapprove, the woman nodded. “Honesty requires a great deal of courage and character,” she decided. “One of the things that makes my daughter an incredible litigator is her ability to read people. See who they really are and decipher the games they’re playing.” Ana paused. “She gets that skill from me,” she said, letting it sink in that she saw through to Lola’s very core. “I sincerely hope you don’t prove either of us wrong,” she said before turning to greet a man who’d been circling her like a vulture eyeing roadkill.

Carmen appeared the moment her mother moved on. “Well, that looked intense. Are you okay?” Her palm was cool where it met with Lola’s back.

“Yeah, I think so,” Lola said, blood flow returning to her body. “I think… she might have liked me.”

Laughing, Carmen slid her arm around her waist. “Of course she did. What’s there not to like?”

Lola could think of a thousand things, but right then she was still too stunned to process. Of all the ways she’d thought meeting Carmen’s mother would go, that was not one of them.

Everything around Lola moved in a blur until it was time to congregate outside. Carmen’s parents stood in front of a neon fountain surrounded by lush, flowering plants and colorfully lit palm trees. Carmen’s father, a tall handsome man with dark hair and a charming smile, let his wife do all the talking.

And Ana talked. She talked about legacy. About building better futures and imparting the next generation with a sense of compassion and duty to help each other. Each word urged Lola to action, making her want to do something with her life that someone else cared enough to carry on.

“Your mom should run for office,” Lola said when she and Carmen were strolling alone through one of the enchanted garden paths. “She almost made me want to have kids just so I could leave a legacy, too.”

Carmen stopped next to a tree that had a face projected on it. It slept while tiny sprites hovered around it like bees.