I dressed Sky in a cute onesie with yellow ducks on it and placed a headband bow on her head. She was so adorable. I made the band from some fabric I had bought from home. When I had searched through the accessories in her room, I had found no embellishments, which made me sad. Had her mom not had time to purchase them? Maybe she was sick while she was pregnant. Or maybe she and Beck didn’t know until Sky was born if the baby would be a boy or a girl. Sky was a gender-neutral name. And many of her clothes were unisex. I realized I knew nothing about this sweet baby in my arms. I wanted to respect her mother’s intentions on how to raise her, but since I knew nothing about Catherine, for now, I would keep this feminine bow in her daughter’s hair.

I heard the car pull up and my heart raced. Beck was home. It was one o’ clock, and if I left within the next ten minutes, I’d be able to make it to my sisters’ school by the time they were dismissed.

The door opened, and Beck’s blue eyes widened when he saw Sky.

He scooped her out of my arms and kissed her forehead. “Nice bow. I don’t remember seeing it before.”

“That’s because it hadn’t existed. I just made it myself. I brought over ribbons and threads. I hope you don’t mind.”

He turned to me and smiled. “It’s cute. Thank you. How was the first day?”

“Great. She’s an angel. You lucked out. How was work?”

“Incredible. There is never a bad day flying. I’ve been an Angel for a year, but every time I get in that plane, I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

A burning sensation filled my stomach. How cool was it that this man had this prestigious job? Clearly, he was whip-smart and a hard worker, but I was so envious of his accomplishments. Being around him was a blessing. He inspired me to let nothing stand in the way of my goals. I wouldn’t be a nanny forever. I would graduate from college and start my own restaurant. My dreams were finally within reach.

“Oh, that’s awesome. Glad you had a good day. Are you hungry? I made lunch. Just tortas—we really need to go shopping.”

He looked at the plate of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, which technically weren’t tortas because I didn’t have the right bread, but at least I had made a spicy aioli from scratch. I wondered how spicy Beck liked his food—normally I would pickle jalapeños, but I would slowly test his tolerance for heat.

“I can eat. You are off now if you want to leave.”

I needed to leave. But I wanted to stay and spend as much time with Beck as possible. “Yup. I’ll leave in a few minutes.” I handed him his sandwich, some chips, and a tall glass of water. There were beer bottles in the fridge, but I hoped that Beck didn’t drink during the day as my uncle did.

He gave Sky back to me, sat down at the table, and took a bite of his sandwich. After a moment, he gave me a thumbs-up. “This is a great sandwich. Seriously. I would pay ten dollars for this. You are a really talented cook.”

I beamed with pride. “Thanks.” Many people had complimented my cooking, but for some reason, Beck’s approval made me giddy.

“So Paloma, tell me what it’s like living in El Centro. It’s so hot now; I can’t imagine it in the summer.”

I closed my eyes and remembered the sweltering nights, sweating in my apartment with no air conditioning. I didn’t want to complain, but I wanted to be honest with him. “It’s brutal. Every day is over one hundred and seven degrees, so we don’t go outside much. That’s how I learned how to cook. I would stay inside most days. It’s really rough for the younger kids because they can’t go outside, and our place is so small there isn’t much room to play. That’s one of the reasons I can’t wait to move to San Diego.” San Diego. A place I had never even visited. I was so sheltered.

He winced. I didn’t know if he was pitying me, but I felt self-conscious just the same. “You should. There is a chance I’ll be stationed there next year.”

Oh my God, really? That would be amazing! We could fall in love and both move there, and I could have a hot fighter pilot boyfriend. God, I was so pathetic—he wasn’t even remotely interested in me. He had just asked me to leave his home, and I was sitting here ruining his lunch by hanging around. I had to play it cool. “Oh really?”

“Yup. I love San Diego. Perfect weather. Amazing beaches. I was going to try to get stationed there next, but Catherine wanted to go home to Virginia. Her folks live there. And that might be wise because when I deploy again, I will need a guardian for Sky.”

I nodded my head like I thought that was an excellent idea, which I supposed it was. There went my fantasy of having a future with Beck. “How long do you deploy for?”

“Depends. Nine months, maybe up to a year. Whatever the Navy needs. And I have no control over where I get stationed. I can request a certain place, but there is no guarantee. So who knows? I could still end up in San Diego.”

Oh. There was still a glimmer of hope. How amazing would that be if we met in El Centro and ended up both living in San Diego?

But no matter what, the deployment would suck for Sky. She would be without both of her parents. No day-to-day consistency in her life. “The deployment sounds tough. What about your parents? Can they watch her?”

“They live outside of San Francisco. They aren’t interested in raising a baby. They travel a lot, go to the opera, attend many social events. That’s not really an option.”

That didn’t surprise me at all. I could tell that Beck was very wealthy by the cars he had parked out front and the amount of money he was paying me for my job. I definitely wanted to be comfortable in life, but I had no desire to be that rich. “Well I don’t know much about Virginia, but I bet it’s really nice. I’ve never been to San Francisco either”—I paused, not wanting to open up to him too much. But then I just blurted out—“or San Diego for that matter.” Ugh. I sounded so pathetic.

Beck’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You live two hours by car from San Diego. I can fly there in forty-five minutes. You never even went there on a field trip?”

I wanted to laugh but didn’t want to be rude. “Field trip? No. Our school played a football game in La Jolla once, but my mom wouldn’t sign the permission slip. Ana María was a baby, so I had to stay home and take care of her. But I’ll be able to go after this job ends. I can’t wait to see the ocean. And for that matter, I’ve never been on a plane. What is it like?”

Beck’s eyes bulged. I wanted to know what he was thinking. Probably how pathetic I was. “It’s exhilarating. You are on top of the world. I love everything about it. The adrenaline rush, the excitement, the thrill. Tell you what, I’ll take you for a spin . . . in my plane.”

Oh my god. Was he flirting with me? “What? Are you serious? Is that even allowed?”

His mouth closed and widened into a grin. “Of course, it’s allowed. We have a passenger seat for a reason. The whole point of the Blue Angels is to do PR and recruitment for the Navy and the Marines. We take up news reporters, family members, friends . . . beautiful women.”

Whoa. Did he think I was beautiful? My heart beat rapidly in my chest. My eyes met his. I wanted him to know how much I craved him, even though I would never ever make the first move. “I’d love that.”

His knees touched mine under the table. “Then it’s a date. I have to head to San Diego for flyover change of command ceremony anyway next month. My friend’s wife can watch Sky. I’ll show you around the city. You will love it.”

Ay, Dios mío! I was so excited! I wanted to jump up and down and kiss him. But I still told myself he was probably just being nice. It would be like a pity flight. Even so, I wanted to believe he had ulterior motives. “I can’t wait.” I glanced down at my watch and noticed the time. Dammit. I had to leave now to get to my sisters. “Oh. I have to go. I’ll be back later.”

“I can take you. I don’t mind.”

“No, thank you. I’ll walk.” A ride would be so much easier. But no. I couldn’t risk him seeing my uncle’s place. He might think that giving me this job was a bad idea because they had to stay there. And he’d be right. It was a bad idea. But I needed this job as a way out.

“Okay. I’ll see you later. Thanks again for the sandwich, Loma.”

Loma? Was that his nickname for me? “You’re welcome.”

He took the last bite of his sandwich, finished his glass of water, and then stood up. He walked toward his room, and a few minutes later, I heard the water start. A chill ran through my body. Beck was naked in the same house as me. I couldn’t stop imagining what Beck looked like with water streaming down his chest. I wanted to jump into that shower with him. I wanted him to make me come so hard that I could forget the hell that was my life.

But my attraction to him wasn’t just physical. Ever since I’d first met him, his presence has awoken a hunger inside me that I didn’t know existed. I wanted to know everything about him. He was so worldly and cultured.

I wondered what it would be like to be loved by a man like him.