Free The Wedding She Always Wanted by Stacy Connelly Page B

same.”
    After Todd’s betrayal, and even her parents’ and Connor’s lies of omission, Emily had certainly had her share of people deceiving her, but she didn’t think Javy was talking about her life. This was about him, about his past. “I guess there are no guarantees, but not every woman lies, Javy.”
    He fell silent again, this time in surprise, but he reboundedquickly. “Would a man who loves women as much as I do ever say such a thing?”
    He might not have said it, but Emily didn’t doubt for a second that a woman had lied. A long time ago, most likely, judging by his well-established trend of girl hopping.
    Who was it? she wondered but didn’t ask the question, knowing he wouldn’t answer. And feeling absurdly hurt by it.
    He knew what had happened with Todd. How her fiancé had cheated and gotten another woman pregnant. How Todd had asked her to marry him only to try and save face with his wealthy family.
    And he knew how her parents had paid Connor to stop seeing her. Her pathetic love life was as open as a tabloid magazine, and yet she knew nothing about Javy’s beyond the shallow relationships he juggled to keep anyone from looking deeper.
    Focusing on the right-hand heading, Emily reminded herself that she didn’t need to know Javier Delgado’s life story to be happy, and she’d just as soon he forget all about hers. Just like, had he known she’d witnessed it, he would want her to forget about the longing for approval she’d seen in his eyes when he talked to his mother.
    This is about having fun, not getting serious , she mentally instructed herself. Javy was a sexy, charming flirt with no interest in settling down. The reasons why didn’t matter. All that she cared about was that he was sexy and charming and flirting with her.
    “Of course you never said something like that,” she finally responded. “But I think it has more to do with fear of your mother than it does with your love of women. My guess is Maria wields one heck of a spatula.”
    “Ha! I can totally take on her spatula. It’s the cast-iron skillets and butcher knives that have me shaking in my shoes,”he said wryly. “As soon as the restaurant’s back in business, you’ve got to taste her enchiladas. They are to die for.”
    “I can’t wait,” Emily agreed, absurdly happy with the invitation.
    “I’m afraid you’ll have to. It’s gonna be a few weeks until the place is in working order again.”
    And maybe that was what made Emily happiest of all. That she would still be seeing Javy weeks from now…
    “I’ll be there,” she promised. “The very first night you reopen.”
    “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”
    “What isn’t?”
    “Having a grand reopening. We’ll turn it into a party so everyone will know the construction is over.”
    Excitement filled his voice. How much more excited would he be if the grand reopening included showcasing a new bar and patio area? But she would leave that argument for another time. For now she said, “That sounds perfect.”
    Javy talked for another minute about some of the specials they could offer, as well as advertising the event and booking entertainment. Turned out he had yet another cousin in a local cover band.
    “But don’t think that all of this has made me forget.”
    “Forget what?” she asked.
    “That something’s got you down.”
    “It’s nothing, really, and talking to you has already made me feel one hundred percent better.”
    “I’m flattered, but not distracted. Tell me what’s wrong. Is it because of what I told you?”
    Not bothering to lie, she admitted, “That is part of it. I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about what my parents did.”
    “What did they say?”
    “What?”
    “When you talked to them about it…You did talk to them, didn’t you, Emily?”
    “Well, no. I thought about it but—”
    “What would be the point?” he said, filling in the blanks.
    “Exactly,” she said, feeling defensive without completely