5
Mateo Hernandez had always been handsome. It was a fact of life. The sky was blue. Coconut trees were green. Mateo’s face belonged in magazines. Abigail hadn’t forgotten, but for some reason she couldn’t look away.
As she greeted Santi, she peeked past his torso to spy on the man coming down the stairs. From this distance, she could see the breadth of his shoulders and the determined way he walked, as if the world owed him for the favor of his presence.
It was a confidence that was different from Paul’s. Mateo was self-assured, needing nothing and no one to validate his strength and worth as a man. He strode closer, his head high and his lips downturned as if he’d just had an upsetting conversation.
Santi hugged her and she hugged him back, taking the opportunity to observe Mateo’s f
