Chapter 3

Roberto Valdez watched from a few yards away as the dark haired woman with his son took off at a run toward the pavilion where the band was playing. He kept his focus on her until she disappeared into the crowd, then turned his gaze back to his son.

He was arguing with the dark haired woman who'd kissed him. He figured the woman who'd run off was the same woman Diego had mentioned and the one he was arguing with now was an unexpected and unwelcomed obstacle.

Diego looked to be handling the situation with her well so Roberto made his way toward the pavilion. He pushed his way through the crowd to the line of tables along the opposite wall from the entrance. At the end of one of the tables, he spotted the dark haired woman who'd run off.

He approached her slowly and smiled when she glanced up at him. Recognition flared in her eyes before her expression turned to that of sadness and heartache once more. He pulled out the chair beside her, turned it to face her then sat down.

"You're Diego's father," Ronnie said, forcing a smile. She recognized the man immediately. With the exception of his hair going slightly gray at the temples, he was the spitting image of Diego, or rather Diego was the spitting image of his father.

"Yes, I am. You must be Veronica." He reached his hand out to her. "My name is Roberto Valdez."

"Nice to meet you, Señor Valdez." Ronnie shook his hand quickly.

"Please, Veronica, call me Roberto." He held her hand and smiled softly at her.

"Okay, Roberto. You can call me Ronnie."

"Can I ask why you are here and not out there with my son?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder toward the entrance.

"Because he's with someone else, Roberto. I'm not one to interfere with another woman's man."

Roberto rose to his feet and pulled Ronnie to hers. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

She resisted briefly when he pulled on her arm. Sighing heavily, she allowed him to lead her through the crowd of people and out of the pavilion. She couldn't possibly imagine what Roberto wanted to show her, but he seemed like a nice enough man and although her heart was breaking because of his son, she didn't want to disappoint him.

Roberto didn't speak as he led her toward the food booth she and Diego had been standing in line at earlier. Her eyes scanned the line and connected with Diego. He was clearly angry with the woman who'd kissed him. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but he was gesturing wildly with his arms and she could see a look of anger on his handsome face.

Sure, he's pissed because he got caught, the lying bastard. Ronnie pulled her hand from Roberto's, turned and headed toward the dock. She reached the end of the dock and cursed aloud when she realized Diego had the keys to the boat. She glanced around and saw several people near the boat house.

Turning, she made her way toward them. "Perdón," she said. She paused to think of what she wanted to say. Her Spanish was rusty. Taking a deep breath, she spoke again. "Yo me preguntaba si cualquiera tuvo un barco disponible para quitarme a Isla del Soledad?"

An older gentleman approached her with a warm smile. "I can take you there, Señorita. Allow me to get the keys." He turned and headed toward the boathouse. "My boat is the red one over there." He pointed to a small red boat docked beside the one she and Diego had come in.

Ronnie shifted nervously on from one foot to the other. She kept an eye out for either Roberto or Diego. She didn't want either of them to try and stop her. She'd decided it best to just leave and head back to Michigan. She could pick up the pieces of her life and her heart there.

Wiping away more tears, she smiled when the man approached with a set of keys in his hand. "So you are staying on Isla del Soledad?"

"Yes. My cousin owns a hut there, I've been on vacation."

She followed him toward the dock and his boat. He helped her into the boat then situated himself in the driver's seat. As they pulled away, she heard Diego and Roberto calling out to her. She told the man to just keep going when he asked if he should stop.

A short while later she was back at the hut. She packed her things quickly then called Marla and told her she was coming home. Marla asked why and Ronnie told her she'd explain when she got home. Marla didn't push, but said the plane would be waiting for her when she got back to San Juan. Ronnie rummaged through the drawers in the kitchen for a pen and paper. Finding what she was looking for, she sat down at the table, scrawled out a note then folded the paper neatly, wrote Diego's name across it and leaned it against the coffee maker.

She'd asked the man who brought her back to wait for her. She just hoped Diego wasn't waiting also. She didn't want him to tell her that the days they'd spent together were nothing more than a fling. Why aren't I giving him a chance to explain? she wondered as she made a final check of the hut to make sure she'd gathered all her personal belongings. Because I know what he'll say: it's been fun, but adios, amiga. Why did I have to fall in love with him?

Ronnie wiped more tears from her eyes as she lugged her suitcase toward the boat that would take her back to San Juan. The man took her suitcase from her then helped her into the boat. She situated herself on the rear bench seat and glanced out over the water as they pulled away from the dock. Her eyes scanned the horizon and she felt her heart rate increase when she saw Diego approaching. She instructed the man to give the other boat a wide berth and offered him five hundred dollars if he could get her to San Juan and on the plane before Diego could catch up with them.

Diego watched as the boat Ronnie was in sped away from his. It was moving quite fast and he knew he could never catch up. He navigated the boat he was driving toward the dock. Hopping out quickly, he tied off the boat and made his way toward the hut. He'd call Marla and ask her to try and delay Ronnie from leaving. He needed to explain things to her and tell her he loved her.

He thought back to the look on Ronnie's face when his ex-girlfriend had pushed her away and kissed him. Her timing was awful. Dianna was visiting San Juan with some friends and just happened to be at the Cinco de Mayo festival. He'd forgotten all about her until she showed up unexpectedly.

Once Ronnie had run off, Dianna had begged him to take her back. He pushed her away and told her there would never be a chance with her, he was in love with someone else. When she refused to take the hint, a shouting match broke out between the two of them. The only savior at that moment was his father. Roberto had stepped in and taken Dianna to task. He then led Diego toward the docks and they had just missed Ronnie leaving with the other man.

Diego dropped the keys to the boat in his pocket, picked up the phone and dialed Marla. "Where is she going?" he asked when Marla answered.

"Diego?"

"Yes. Where is Ronnie going? Is she going home?"

"Yeah, she is. What did you to do her?"

"I did not do anything, but she did not give me a chance to explain what she saw." Diego sighed and explained what had happened. "I need to find her, Marla."

"She's on her way to the airport, Diego. She's probably there by now, I'd guess."

"Then call and stop the plane from taking off!"

Marla sighed. "I can't do that, Diego."

"Why not?"

"Because Ronnie would never forgive me if I did."

"I demand you call and stop the plane!"

He clenched his freehand into a fist. He wanted to hit something or throw something. He was angry with himself for not stopping Ronnie from running off when Dianna had pushed her out of the way. He didn't handle the situation well at all and now he risked losing the one person in his life who meant everything to him.

"You demand it?" Marla asked. "Who works for whom, here, Diego? You have no right to demand anything from me."

"Fine. I quit. Now, call the damned plane!"

"Lose the attitude, Diego. I am not calling to stop the plane."

Diego pulled the phone from his ear and jabbed at the end button. He threw it across the room and watched as the back came off and the battery went flying. He turned to leave when the note Ronnie had left him caught his eye.

He grabbed the note and walked to the table. He sat down and carefully opened it, hoping against hope it would say she'd only gone back to San Juan to look for him.

Diego -

Ronnie

Diego crumbled the note in his fist and threw it across the room. He raced out the door to the boat. He quickly untied it, hopped in and took off toward San Juan. He was determined to stop Ronnie from walking out of his life.

Ronnie sat on the plane glancing out the window. She'd paid Pedro, the man who'd brought her back to San Juan, the money she'd promised him to get her here quickly. He'd handed it back to her before she'd boarded the plane, said his good-byes and headed back to his boat.

Her eyes scanned the water, looking for any signs of Diego. She felt an ache for him deep to her core. She knew she could simply tell the pilot she'd changed her mind and get off the plane, but she also knew if she did, she'd be setting herself up for more heartache.

Obviously, Diego was caught off-guard when his girlfriend had shown up at the festival. She'd mentally kicked herself for thinking he was different than Barry. Lesson learned, she thought. No more younger men—scratch that—no more men, period.