Her worst enemy is the one man she can't resist.
Maria Martinez thought it was a dream come true when Ritchie Perez - a sweet and sexy guy she met volunteering at a soup kitchen - took her delinquent little brother Joey under his wing. But her drea...
I like this man the minute I met him." Vivienne looked up from the chaos of wood, steel, and Plexiglas from which, Maria knew, an amazing work of art was about to be born.
"Did you listen to anything I said?"
"Hmmm. Everything." Vivienne turned back to her project. "I like a man who takes charge in bed."
"Well, Ritchie thinks he can take charge of my life. Everything is black and white with him. No blurred lines. Tito is a criminal, throw away the key. That's what Ritchie thinks."
"And for you, everything is all black and white as well."
"That's not true."
"Tito was railroaded, he was innocent, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Yes? Well? That's true."
Vivienne turned and looked at her.
"Have you ever asked him?"
"What?"
"In all these years, have you ever asked Tito what happened that night?"
"Of course not. Make my own brother think I question his innocence? Why would I do that?"
"Maybe you should ask yourself why you don't do that."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe you are afraid of what Tito might tell you. Sweetie, maybe you don't want to know."
"There's nothing to tell."
"Fine. Come have a cup of tea with me. I am tired of this piece for now."
"I'm restless."
"Then come. Take your tea and go paint for awhile."
"I thought you wanted me to start organizing your schedule for –"
"That can wait." Vivienne studied her shrewdly. "You have a different look about you today. An energy. You need to use it. Put it into your art."
"It's called frustration."
Vivienne shrugged. "Use it."
* * *
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
