“Ahhh, hermano,” Carlos sighed as he stretched his legs out in front of him and took a long drink of beer. “It’s good to see you so happy. Vanessa seems like a nice woman … How serious is it?”

Enrique looked out over the ocean, which seemed to stretch out farther than the sky, and grinned as he thought about his brown-haired beauty.

“I’ve never been this serious about a woman before,” he admitted to his brother, then he turned his head, worry evident on his face. “But there is a problem…”

“What’s that?” Carlos asked, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs.

“She doesn’t know why I’m really at the firm,” Enrique said as he peeled the label off of his bottle. “She doesn’t know I’m investigating, and I worry what her reaction will be when she finds out the truth.”

Carlos whistled through his teeth, shaking his head slightly before answering Enrique.

“You’ve got to come clean. No woman likes to be lied to, especially by the man they’re sleeping with.”

“I know, but it’s in the contract that I can’t say anything, that’s why I haven’t,” Enrique replied. “I’m meeting with Fine tomorrow to give him the evidence I’ve collected, so once I’m off the job, I’ll tell her the whole story. Still, I know she’s going to be pissed, and I’m not sure if there’s a way I can tell her that will make it easier to take.”

Carlos leaned back and looked out at the sea contemplatively. His brother was always a big thinker, a planner who’d gotten them out of a lot of scrapes as kids, so Enrique lost himself in his own thoughts, giving his brother the quiet he needed.

Finally, Carlos looked at him and shrugged.

“There’s no getting around her anger … She may even be hurt, and you’re going to have to man up and deal with the consequences. But you can soften the blow. Cook her a nice dinner, paired with a good bottle of wine, then tell her how you feel about her. That you’re more serious about her than you’ve ever been, just like you did with me … Let her feel how much she means to you, show her, then tell her about the job. She’s still going to be pissed, but hopefully the knowledge that your relationship is solid will help ease it a little bit.”

Enrique thought over his brother’s suggestions and gave him an easy grin.

“Thanks, hermano, that just might work.”

“Anytime, little brother, I’ve been saving your ass since you were born, it’s practically my job,” Carlos said with a laugh. “Now tell me what else you’ve got going on with your business. Things going good?”

“Better than I’d ever imagined,” he answered, feeling relieved now that he had a plan to put in motion. “Do you think Mom and Dad would believe it, if they saw the two of us now … both running our own businesses?”

“Oh, yeah, ‘Rique, they always said we’d be successful, no matter what we put our minds too,” his brother said with a melancholy smile. “And neither of us ever liked to be told what to do, so working for ourselves was a natural progression.”

Enrique laughed, but he felt a pang at the thought of the parents they’d lost a couple years ago. Their father had a heart attack and passed, and a few months later, their mother did too. Carlos had said it was because Mama couldn’t bear the thought of being on this earth without their father, and Enrique had to agree.

They’d had a wonderful childhood, filled with laughter and love, and neither of them had ever had any doubt of how their parents felt about each other, or about their sons. Enrique wanted that for himself one day, and he was beginning to think he’d already found the woman who’d hold his heart forever.

After another hour of catching up, Carlos said he was heading out to one of his friend’s nightclubs before going home. Although he asked if he wanted to join him, Enrique wanted to finish putting together his notes to turn in to Fine tomorrow, so he wished his brother a good night and said they needed to make this a weekly ritual.

“You got it, and let me know how everything goes with Vanessa,” Carlos said as he pulled his brother in for a quick hug and a hard pat on the back.

“Will do,” Enrique promised, then picked up the empty beer bottles and waved with full hands as Carlos rounded his condo. He threw them in the recycle bin, then headed up to the one luxury he allowed himself.

He’d been raised to be smart with his money, and he was, but he’d indulged when he rented his little condo on the beach. Enrique had a great love for the ocean, and had grown up always wishing he could live close to the beach. With the money he saved while being in the military, and the income that was now rolling in with his PI firm, Enrique could afford the rent and still live comfortably. He knew he wanted to upgrade to a house with a yard eventually, but for now, he enjoyed the perks of sleeping with his windows open every night.

He hadn’t invited Vanessa over yet, partially because they’d spent most of their time at her place or out, and partially because he didn’t want to have to hide the evidence of what he really did for a living.

It was time to remedy that.

My house for dinner tomorrow night? I’m cooking, he texted, looking at the clock to make sure it wasn’t too late.

When his phone pinged a second later, he knew it wasn’t.

Sounds perfect. What can I bring?

Just yourself. And maybe your scarves…

Enrique grinned at the memory of their first encounter, his body tightening as he remembered what it had felt like to be completely at her mercy.

Okay, she wrote back, and he could imagine her blushing at his request, then she added, see you in the morning.

Goodnight, Mi Cielo.

Goodnight, Enrique.

Tomorrow he’d turn in his report and tell Vanessa the truth about everything.

She’d understand, Enrique assured himself.

She had to…