It was Raf's birthday, and after all the stress of the Jeffery Richard's trial and the Senate inquiry that followed, Raf only wanted to do something low-key to celebrate. He felt like he had been through the ringer for his part in it all. He had invited Alex and Henry to come along too, but both men sent their regrets. Alex was swamped with law school, while Henry was away in Ottawa with his friend Percy, looking at a new shelter location. Raf told them their presence would be missed, but Oscar and his new boyfriend Ethan had accepted the invite.
Oscar, Raf and Raf's newest love interest, Ethan, all met up outside the front of Ruin. Ruin was the hottest new, five-star restaurant in Denver, Colorado. Ethan had managed to secure the booking as a birthday surprise for his boyfriend, and the only way he managed to get the booking was because he went to school with the head chef. They had been seated and had ordered their drinks rather quickly. Not long after their drinks arrived, some commotion had erupted a couple of tables over from them and caught their attention. It was a male-female couple in their late twenties, possibly even thirties. At first, Raf muttered something about a married couple spat, but when the man grabbed the woman's arm forcefully and she yelped, yanking it back from him, Oscar had had enough.
He recognized her as soon as he got a look at the woman's face, and the protective streak in him flared up into full force. He pushed his chair back and stood up. Raf's boyfriend, Ethan, stood up too, as did Raf. Raf and Ethan ready to intervene and help Oscar, if need be. Oscar strode over to the table, the anger seething from him in waves, as he approached where the quarreling couple were seated, forcing himself between them with purpose.
Oscar seethed in a low hiss. His anger was palpable. He would always stand up for the little people and always had. It had been something that Ellen had liked about him when they had begun dating and something that Alex had inherited from him. He had no choice not to intervene, the woman was in trouble and making it doubly worse, that woman was the older sister of his son's boyfriend. "Beatrice, Cariña, are you okay?"
She looked up at him, relief in her eyes. She hadn't recognized him as Alex's dad, Oscar, when he had arrived at the table. It hadn't been until he had started speaking to her that she realised who he was. When she recognized him as Alex's father, she made a decision. She wouldn't put up with this any longer, she was done.
"Fuck off, old man," the guy she was with retorted. "She is with me, not you." Her boyfriend made another grabbing motion for her, but was swiftly stopped by Oscar who intercepted his arm and bent it back at an inhumane angle.
"I told you; I didn't want you to touch me," Bea shouted at him, trying to get her words to penetrate his pea-sized brain. "I am leaving you, we're over. Don't contact me again. I'm finished." Turning to Oscar, who was already moving to help her out of her chair and gather her belongings, she asked, "Can I ...?"
"Come on, Cariña. Come back to our table with me. You can join us, and I will make sure you're safe." Oscar threw the loser she had been with a smug, arrogant smirk, releasing his arm harshly. He took her by the hand, interlacing their fingers like a lover would a led her over to his table. Oscar noted that she hadn't told her date who he was to her, so he let the date assume, he was just another man she knew.
By the time they had returned from her table, Raf had already organized for another place setting and chair. Ethan arranged for the meal she had ordered at her date's table to be delivered to her at their table instead. Oscar quickly introduced Bea to the men at his table, before flagging down their waiter to organise Bea a fresh drink.
"Of course you are our Enrique's hermana," Raf said, in an entirely false tone. He had been over-exaggerating the flamboyance in his voice, taking her hand and putting it to his lips, as Oscar introduced the two of them. "Look at those cheekbones, those beautiful eyes and that hair. You're beautiful, just like our Enrique."
Ethan pleaded dramatically. "Please forgive my boyfriend, Beatrice." He knew Raf wasn't usually like this. Only when he was around Henry, as it seemed to annoy Alex. Finding out she was Henry's sister; it was like flipping a switch. He just rolled his eyes. He was sure that Raf had no designs on the woman, as he preferred men. "He and Henry really are just friends. Raf likes to tease Henry about his Greek godlike features to get a rise out of Alex. Henry usually just blushes at him and throws back a one-liner. It's all an act to torment Alex further."
"I mean no harm, darling," Raf said, this time smiling. "I promise, I am as gay as a maypole." Raf's declaration had broken the ice between Bea and the trio of men at the table. They had all agreed to call her Bea, at her insistence.
Oscar leaned over to her and dropped his voice. "I promise, you are safe with us. You don't have to stay with us though; I can take you back to your hotel. But you do need to eat. Where are your PPOs?" Bea explained that while she was technically supposed to have her PPOs with her since she was on tour with her band, she had the freedom to request they not accompany her on dates. She confided in them how she thought she knew him and was trusting him. It was only when she confessed that she had been sober for five years now and the whole argument had stemmed over the fact he wouldn't accept her refusal to drink the wine he had ordered that Oscar had let a slip of profanities leave his mouth.
"Thank you, Oscar, truly. I've actually had a great time with the three of you." Bea said softly. Ethan and Raf were engaged in some political debate while they waited for their food to arrive. Bea had barely been able to believe her luck. The one night that she had decided to trust him and demand the PPOs leave them alone, was the one night that she had needed them. Lucky for her, Oscar happened to be at the same restaurant at the same time. "Crap," she cursed. She and her boyfriend had been sharing the room. A room that her boyfriend had booked in his name.
Oscar asked softly, "Everything okay?" as she fumbled around in her bag, searching for her cell phone.
"Yeah, I just need to get my PPO to collect my stuff from our room and book another room." Bea cursed while she was bringing up the website to try and book herself another room. "We were staying in his room."
Oscar said, "I have a two-bedroom suite at the Four Seasons if you're interested in taking the spare room." He smiled. "Alex and Henry were supposed to be with us, but they had to pull out. Alex couldn't miss class and I believe Henry is away on shelter business."
"Thank you, that would be great. We were staying there too, and my PPO would not have to change hotels either." She smiled at him. She quickly sent Simon a text telling him to pack up her bags and hold onto her luggage that she would collect it when she returned and that under no circumstances was her now ex-boyfriend to go anywhere near her luggage. Simon had been amenable, before asking if she had another room sorted. She replied to the message with the affirmative and told him she would be taking Alex and Henry's room. Deliberately leaving off that Oscar was staying in that room too.
Bea had mixed feelings about staying with her latest boyfriend while she was in the U.S., but her therapist and her sponsor had both encouraged her and were enthusiastic about the new relationship. She'd had trouble forming relationships with new people in the wake of her father's death and spiraling addiction. She had closed that part of her life off and had been afraid of letting anyone else in.
She had already been on tour for three weeks, and before that, had spent a week in New York with Alex and Henry, at their brownstone. Seeing Henry and Alex, and spending time with them, had been the highlight of her trip so far. Then the tour had begun, and even with her boyfriend joining her, she had been happiest with Alex and Henry.
As Bea's tour progressed, her boyfriend became increasingly possessive and demanding of her time. He had grown heavier handed and was more willing than usual to indulge himself in alcohol, despite her sobriety. She knew she should have ended things with him three cities ago, but he had promised to change his ways, and she had believed him. Tonight, it had been the final straw.
When she realized that the man who had intervened on her behalf, swooping in to rescue her like a knight in shining armor, was none other than Oscar Diaz, Alex's dad, she had been instantly grateful. She and Oscar had met more than a few times, and she knew she would be safe with him. Henry loved and trusted Alex's father; she would be okay. He was always so nice and friendly with her, polite and respectful. She knew she could trust him to help her.
Dinner with Oscar and his friends had been wonderful. She had enjoyed their stories and was surprised to find out that Oscar's best friend was Alex's friend too. It had made her feel safe. These people were people she could trust. They knew she was Henry's sister and promised to take care of her. Raf had even launched into an animated story about when Alex was working with him on the campaign trail, and he swore Alex had a dartboard with Henry's face on it. Before conspiratorially confiding in Bea that was the moment when he knew that Alex fancied Henry. Two whole years before the two of them destroyed the wedding cake at the royal event, costing seventy-five thousand pounds.
The evening had been great, and by the end of it, she had three new lifelong friends, adding Oscar and Raf to her Facebook and following all three of them on Instagram, even if Oscar admitted he didn't use it very often. To commemorate the night, Raf asked the waiter to take their picture and insisted Bea sit beside him in the middle. She suspected this photo would be used to torment and tease her brother and torture Alex, but it was all in good humor.
She didn't even mind when Oscar and Raf would slip Spanish words into their conversations, and after having Alex in her life, she was used to it. Bea privately marveled to herself in a cab on the way to the hotel, the similarities between the two men. Alex was obviously younger, more toned and fit, as well as a little chaotic. While Oscar was more distinguished and refined. He was fit for his age, and he had darker eyes. Sure, though, they both were passionate about the things they cared about, both loved to cook, and were well-read.
When Oscar had called her Cariña, she'd had to fight to maintain control of her libido. Which had surprised her; she normally wasn't one for pet names, or foreign accents. But it had totally stuck with her. Now she understood how her brother felt when Alex called him pet names and how much Henry enjoyed hearing them.
"Cariña?" Oscar started, gaining her attention as he spoke, his voice soft and syrupy, not wanting to startle her. He'd had a rough start to the night. "We are here."
"Let me pay for the cab," Bea offered kindly. She felt like she owed Oscar for helping her out of the shitty situation with her now ex-boyfriend.
He whispered, "Already taken care of, let's go."
"Cariña?" Oscar started, gaining her attention from where she had zoned out, stuck in her thoughts. "We are here."
"Let me pay for the cab," Bea offered kindly. She felt like she owed Oscar for helping her out of the shitty situation with the now ex-boyfriend. "We are here."
"Already taken care of, let's go." He whispered, softly.
Oscar needed to get Beatrice upstairs and settled into his suite. He was beginning to have second thoughts about letting her stay in there with him. He had been watching her on the short drive over to the hotel, from the restaurant, where they had said good night to Raf and Ethan. Bea had been in her own world, staring out of the window at the passing scenery, on the cab ride to the hotel, and Oscar had taken care not to startle the young woman. The diminutive name of Cariña had slipped from his lips too many times this evening without conscious thought. It had felt natural to call her that.
It wasn't like she was the same age as June, or Alex. She was a whole four years older than June and five years older than Alex. He'd become a father to June at seventeen and less than a year later, they'd had Alex. The doctor had called it Irish twins. Mentally, Oscar calculated the age gap between himself and Bea, thirteen years. That wasn't too bad for a man of his age. He pulled back and mentally shook himself stupid. She was Henry's sister. Henry. The man who he knew was going to be his son-in-law one day.
Getting her belongings from Simon, her PPO was a painless task. He had recognized Oscar Diaz instantly, from the times when the two of them had been together at Henry and Alex's brownstone. He had a Secret Service PPO; his ex-wife was the U.S. president. His son was the boyfriend of Beatrice's brother. Simon had considered Oscar to be low risk and allowed Bea to go off unaccompanied with him. On the proviso that the PPO was given a key or that he was allowed access to the suite as well.
Oscar handed over the spare keycard to his suite. "See, easy fix," he grinned at Bea and waved as they headed off to his suite.
Oscar had swooped in and taken her bags and her guitar, before she could get to them, and he insisted on carrying them for her. It was a very gentlemanly thing to do, and she couldn't remember the last time someone who wasn't employed by her family had done that for her. With military-like precision, Oscar shuffled the bags on his shoulder, unlocked the suite door, and opened it. Bea had been impressed with his skill, as she entered and hit the lights, taking the time to close the door behind her. He led her through the sitting room, past the small kitchenette, and into the second bedroom. "Here you go, this is all yours," Oscar offered, as he lowered her bags gently to the floor. "The bathroom is through there. Sorry, it is a shared bathroom, but I promise I am neat. Like I said, this was supposed to be Alex and Henry's room on this trip."
She stepped closer to him. "It's ok." She said, her voice low and soft. Now they were standing closer than they had been all night, a foot between them. With her heels on, Bea was the same height as him. "Thank you."
Oscar said, pulling away first. "I'm right through there if you need anything. Good night."