Tainted Love (Sweetest Taboo #2)

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Authors: Eva Márquez
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was. This was where I was meant to be. The world had a soft, hazy glow, which made the complications of our situation disappear. For the moment.
     
    ***
     
    I woke up an hour later, confused and groggy.
    “Wake up, sleepy head,” Tom murmured. “You fell asleep on the way home.”
    I looked around, confused, and realized that I was in fact still in the limo, pressed up against Tom’s side. My neck felt stiff, like I’d lain in the same position for the last hour, and my mouth was cottony and dry. We’d drawn to a stop in front of the bed and breakfast, and the lack of movement must have stirred me. I laughed at myself, realizing that the wine had gone to my head, as I struggled to sit up.
    “I don’t drink very often,” I explained ruefully. “I guess the wine must have made me sleepy.”
    Tom laughed. “I guess so! We missed the last winery – I told them that I didn’t want to get out and wake you, so we just kept driving. Never mind that, though. I thought we’d have some lunch, and then go do some shopping. After all, if we’re going to get a house, we’ll need to furnish it,” he said, his eyes dancing.
    I grinned back. I wasn’t sure how the whole ‘new house’ and living together arrangement would turn out, but I was always up for a shopping trip.
     
    ***
     
    An hour later we were in the downtown district, going through shop after shop, looking at furniture, interior decorations, rugs, sculptures, and even kitchenware. I’d seen a lot of things that I liked, but we were already finding things we disagreed on. Tom liked a simple country style of furnishings – simple wooden tables, whitewashed picture frames, light blue couches. I’d been raised in a Hispanic household, though, and liked to have more color in my home. Bright florals and prints, dark, glossy wood, and plenty of artwork. My parents were Catholic, and I’d been raised with crosses and Bibles. Tom, however, said that he didn’t like advertising religion, and shot me down anytime I picked up a decorative cross.
    This certainly wasn’t what I’d expected when we talked about shopping for furnishings for the house. Ordinarily we liked the same things, and agreed on everything. Looking back, though, I wondered if that perception came from the fact that I’d been young, and unsure of myself. Maybe I’d given in to him more often than not, unwilling to stand up for what I thought? Now, with a year of college under my belt, I knew what I liked and wasn’t afraid to share my thoughts and opinions on just about anything. That independence wasn’t meshing with Tom’s opinions of how this shopping trip should go. Still, we were enjoying ourselves as we planned a possible future together, and wondering how many rooms the house would have. Tom had bought me a bouquet of roses from a street vendor, and I was carrying them like a beauty queen, stopping every so often to smell them. We’d already decided that we were going to go to our new favorite restaurant for dinner, a lovely and picturesque Mexican spot. Though we’d been arguing about whether ash or mahogany was a better wood choice for a dining room table, I was euphoric. For the first time, I felt like Tom and I were two adults, discussing things on equal footing.
    Although we’d always been in love, this felt like a real relationship. The difference was obvious to me, and I wondered if Tom felt the same way.
    I turned toward him, looking up at him through my lashes and was about to ask when I spotted someone just steps away. The sight stopped me in my tracks, and I felt my mouth fill with the taste of adrenalin. What was he doing here? My brother Tony had come out of nowhere, from around the corner, and was walking straight toward us. He looked up and glanced in my direction, and I instinctually thrust myself behind Tom. From there, I darted into the nearest storefront doorway, my breath coming short. I peaked around the corner, praying with all my might – to every deity I

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