Page 65 of Jessica, Not Her Real Name

He got off the bed and knelt on the floor of the trailer at her feet. Said in a soft voice, “I’m asking you to marry me, baby.”

“Yes,” she said instantly.

He looked down at the ring in his palm. “It was myabuela’s, then mymamá’s.” He reached out, taking her hand and placing it on her finger. “And now it is yours.”

She looked up at him, tears forming in the backs of her eyes. “I love you.”

He placed a hand on the back of her head and kissed her so deeply, she felt the thrill down to her toes. Then, when it was over, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, “I love you, too.”

She placed a hand on his cheek. “That night. That I met you. Here, in this trailer. I thought it was the worst night of my life.” The tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “Turns out it was the best.”

SEVENTEEN

Eventually,they had to leave the safety of their cocoon and make a proper plan for the day. A plan that would involve Daniel driving them both to La Villita, where she would catch a taxi back to her house. She would pack a suitcase, then drive to the Joffrey Tower downtown and clean out her locker and her dressing room. She’d email her resignation to the ballet company when they got to Texas.

Daniel, meanwhile, would go to the restaurant and tell Sebastián their plan, before returning to the trailer and packing up his own stuff. They agreed to meet again at twilight at the secluded beach in Lake Forest, where they’d had their first kiss.

He gave her one now, in the middle of bustling West 26th, between street carts sellingelotesandaguas frescas. She was wearing last night’s dress. Its hem was bunched up in one hand, her bare feet showing.

“Hoy vamos a comenzar una nueva vida, cariño,” he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers. “Today we start a new life.”

She smiled, the kind of smile she couldn’t hold back if she tried. As she turned and jogged toward a waiting taxi, she had a feeling of floating. She was going to live in Texas with Daniel and Sebastián. They were going to get married and be a family. A family that had never existed before, one that they had made up only out of the separate parts of each other.

* * *

The taxi pulled up across from the house, and Julia hesitated before stepping out, her heels dangling from her fingers. The morning sun cut long shadows over the manicured lawn.

She held her breath as she opened the front door. The house was awake and busy, with cleaning staff moving through rooms, and workers on ladders taking down the floral arrangements. From the kitchen came the clinking of what must have been a hundred champagne glasses being washed.

Her mother was nowhere in sight.

In her bedroom, she stripped off the ruined dress and stepped into the shower, washing the lingering scent of Daniel from her skin. Dressed and made up, she dragged out her suitcase, throwing in what she’d need for Texas. No to knitwear, coats, and scarves. Yes to sundresses, tank tops, and jeans. She upended her jewelry box, tossed in a couple of designer clutch bags, and grabbed shoes she could sell online.

She shoved it all into the suitcase and turned for the door.

And stopped.

“Mom.”

She stood in the doorway, arms crossed, flawless as ever at eight in the morning.

Julia’s stomach clenched.

“Well,” her mother said coolly. “That was quite the stunt you pulled. Walking out on your sister’s wedding.”

Julia swallowed, her pulse hammering. “I?—”

“You could have at least waited until the cake was cut.”

Julia forced a breath. “Why? It’s not like I could have eaten any of it.”

For the briefest moment, something flickered across her mother’s face, but it was gone before Julia could name it. Her gaze dropped to the suitcase. “Where are you going?”

Julia’s fingers tightened around the handle. “I’m moving out.”

Her mom’s tone was incredulous. “Today?”

“I’m twenty-two, Mom. I think it’s time.”