L0st & Found in Mexico

(A Romancing the Ruins novella)

Chapter 1

Four Years Ago

Being born at the tail end of December meant Sofia Sanchez always lost out on a real celebration. Her birthday was lumped in with one of the big Sanchez family holidays—Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, or Three Kings Day. Totally unfair. Especially since she was the type who loved the spotlight.

This year, however, she couldn’t have asked for better timing. Because her twenty-first birthday just happened to fall on the first night of a “wild girls’ weekend” in Las Vegas. No longer bound by the limits of her crappy fake ID, Sofia could drink, gamble, and party the night away. Three nights, to be precise, all funded by her friend Jazmin whose family was so wealthy they owned four houses, two yachts, and a stable of horses. Not only had they paid for the girls’ posh limo ride from San Diego to Vegas, they’d booked them in a deluxe Tower Suite at the Bellagio.

Now, sitting at the Lily Bar with her two besties, Sofia stirred her ridiculously expensive mojito and scanned the area for potential hookups.

“Just to refresh you both on the rules of this weekend’s challenge,” Jazmin said, waving a glitter-encrusted fingernail at them. “You have three nights. At least one of them should be spent in the arms of a gorgeous guy.”

Emma groaned. “Can’t we just enjoy each other’s company?”

Jazmin rolled her eyes. “Nope. We’ve spent way too many nights at the apartment watching Hallmark movies. This is our chance to let loose.”

“This weekend has to be memorable,” Sofia added. “Not just on Instagram, but in real life.” Unlike Emma, she was fully on board with Jazmin’s challenge. She loved taking risks and embracing adventure. Anything to avoid ending up like her boring older sister, Olivia, who spent most of her time holed up in the college library.

“The only rule is that you have to check in via text before you end up in someone’s bed,” Jazmin said. “That way we can make sure you’re safe.”

“Nothing about this is safe,” Emma muttered. “How about we go to Cirque du Soleil instead?”

Squinting across the lounge’s darkened interior, Sofia spotted a group of guys clustered around the bar. Four men about their age, casually dressed, looking like they were in Vegas for a little fun. “Check it out, ladies. Serious hotties dead ahead. You two with me?”

“I’ll pass,” Jazmin said. “They look like frat guys. I’d rather find an obscenely wealthy businessman. Someone tightly wound on the outside but a tiger in the sack.”

Emma looked down at her drink. “Sounds like a good way to get murdered. Or get an STI.”

Sofia patted her shiny gold wristlet. “That’s why I always bring condoms with me. Besides, the guys over there look harmless. If they act creepy, then I’ll move on. But you never know unless you try.”

One of her personal mantras. In her twenty-one years, she’d rarely turned down an opportunity. She’d tried skydiving, cliff jumping, paragliding, and surfing, and she’d once taken an impromptu road trip along the Extraterrestrial Highway through the Nevada desert because she’d been dating a guy who believed in UFOs. Not the wisest move in the middle of August, but definitely unforgettable.

As she stood, she wobbled a little, slightly unsteady from the combination of two mojitos, one round of birthday shots, and a pair of precariously high heels. But despite her petite stature—barely five feet one in stocking feet—she’d learned to hold her liquor. She smoothed out her sparkly gold minidress and adjusted the birthday tiara perched atop her dark brown curls. “I’m going in.”

“Yes,” Jazmin squealed. “Get it, girl.”

Taking a deep breath, Sofia left their table and approached the pack. Her plan was simple: engage them in some light conversation, flirt a little, score a free drink, and then decide if any of them were worth pursuing.

She slowed her pace as she got closer, only to freeze in her tracks. Her breath hitched. Though she wasn’t familiar with three of the faces, one of them was instantly recognizable.

Javier Castillo.

Only the hottest, most desirable bartender ever to work at El Marinero, her family’s Mexican restaurant in San Diego. She and Javier had spent last summer working together when she’d waited tables to earn money for college. During his first week there, she’d turned on the charm, hoping to lure him into bed, only to be soundly rebuffed. Though he admitted he found her attractive, he refused to sleep with her. Not only was she the boss’s daughter, but he couldn’t offer her anything long-term. After the summer ended, he’d be leaving for grad school.

To which she’d replied. “I’m fine with short-term.”

Given how prominently he’d featured in her sexual fantasies, she would have settled for a month of no-strings sex.

But instead, he’d offered friendship. To her surprise, she’d had a blast with him, hanging out after their shifts ended and exploring San Diego’s late-night scene. When he’d left in September to start grad school at the University of Chicago, she bid him farewell with a heavy heart, unsure of when she’d ever see him again. Since he didn’t do social media, she couldn’t even stalk him online.

But now he was here. In Vegas, of all places.

What were the odds?

She should have been playing roulette. With this kind of luck, she could have put all her money on red and come out a winner.

She took a moment to savor his mouthwatering appearance. He was the total package: dark, curly hair, firm jaw with a hint of stubble, broad shoulders, and light brown skin just a tinge darker than hers. Impressive biceps peeked out from under his short-sleeved button down. She wanted to run her fingers over those muscles. Or brush up against his ass, which looked nice and firm in a pair of jeans.

She inched closer. Though she meant to address him in a husky, come-hither manner, her voice came out as more of a squeak. “Javi?”

At first, she thought he hadn’t heard her above the din of the bar. But then he turned his head. His eyes widened. And he smiled. A slow, sensual smile that made her insides churn like a carnival ride.

“Sofia Sanchez? What are the odds?”

She let out a pent-up breath. “I know, right? That’s exactly what I thought.”

“I should try one of those slot machines. Put in a hundred bucks. Because clearly, luck is on my side tonight.”

Yes. He was just as pleased as she was. That boded well. “What are you doing here?”

“Bachelor party weekend.”

He was getting married?

Her disappointment must have been painfully obvious because he laughed. “Not me. My buddy Tyler. We go way back.” He pointed to the tall, blond guy to his left who was built like a quarterback. “What about you?”

“My friend organized a girls’ trip to celebrate New Year’s Eve. And my birthday.” She gestured to her tiara. “I just turned twenty-one.”

“Happy birthday. That means I need to buy you a drink, right?” He gave her a grin so devastating that her heart melted into a puddle of mush.

“Yes, please. I’ll have mojito.”

As he introduced her to his buddies, she beamed winningly, assuming he’d want her to stay and chat with the group. But once their drinks arrived, he hustled her off to a red velvet couch at the other end of the lounge.

Seated beside him, her bare thigh pressed against the rough denim of his jeans, she was so overcome by his physical presence she could barely breathe. She inhaled his scent—a mix of spicy soap and sandalwood—and tried to center herself. “What about your friends? I don’t want you to ignore them.”

“Trust me, they won’t mind. Tyler didn’t plan a bunch of activities. He just brought us here to have fun.” 

That sounded a lot like her weekend. Except Javier wasn’t like her. For someone who was only twenty-three, he was surprisingly mature. Back in San Diego, he’d told her he’d already mapped out the next ten years of his life.

But maybe tonight, he’d be willing to veer off course. After all, this was Vegas, where the usual rules didn’t apply.

Rather than suggest they jump into bed immediately, she decided to start on a more conversational note. She’d work up to the sex part. “How’s grad school? You just finished your first semester, right?”

“It’s great. Studying archaeology full-time, working with amazing professors—it’s exactly what I hoped for. But you know what the best part is? Meeting other grad students who are just as excited about Pre-Columbian archaeology as I am. Makes me feel like less of a nerd.”

She nudged him. “You’re not a nerd.”

“You called me one.”

“Only after you gave me a fifteen-minute lecture about the evils of Spanish colonialism when we visited the Junípero Serra Museum. It was a lot.”

“Fair enough. But you know what I mean, right? I feel like I’ve found my people.”

She should have been thrilled for him. Instead, his words chipped away at her self-confidence. Did that mean she wasn’t one of his people? Maybe he’d fallen in love with a brilliant archaeology student.

“Have you met anyone special? Like a girlfriend?” She cringed at how needy her voice sounded, but she wanted to get the question out there. No sense lusting after him if he was already taken.

“Nope. I’m trying to focus on my classes. No girlfriends, other than this one woman who keeps haunting my dreams. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get her off my mind.”

Sofia took a swig of her mojito, hoping the alcohol would lessen the ache pinching her heart. Even if Javier hadn’t connected with the woman of his dreams yet, he was already fantasizing about her. “Is she an archaeologist?”

He tapped her nose with his finger. A gentle boop, like the kind he’d done when he’d teased her at work. “She’s you, Sofia. Even after all this time, I’m still dreaming about you.”

“Me?” Her pulse raced. “But…you didn’t want me.”

His warm chuckle sent a rush of heat surging through her. “Oh, I wanted you. I just knew better than to act on it. On my first day of work, your dad took me aside and warned me not to mess with you. He was very intimidating.”

She almost choked on her drink. “You never told me that.”

“He asked me not to. But it wasn’t just him. I had a plan in place and couldn’t risk a big romantic entanglement, not with someone I cared about. But resisting you wasn’t easy.”

She licked her lips, tasting lime and mint.  “I wanted you so badly. It was fun being friends, but…”

But she’d wanted more. And in the two months they’d spent together, she’d fallen for him. Hard. Which wasn’t like her at all. She was used to instant gratification—intense flings that burned hot but fizzled out quickly. Something about the slow burn of Javier’s friendship had sparked a different, more intense set of feelings.

“I won’t lie—I had so many fantasies about you.” He placed his hand on her thigh.

The loud drumbeat of her heart threatened to drown out everything around her. As she clamped her hand over his, a spark rushed through her entire body, right down to her perfectly polished toes. “What kind of fantasies?”

He leaned in closer, his warm breath tickling her ear. “If I tell you, I won’t be able to take them back.”

She tried to block out the buzz of the crowd and focus on him. His full, sensual lips, turned up in a sly smile. His dark eyes, capturing hers with the promise of mischief. The feel of his hand, pressed against her bare skin.

“Tell me,” she whispered.

“In one of them, you were on your knees, naked, while I plundered that sweet little mouth of yours. In another, I had you on my bed, legs spread wide, tasting you until you screamed out my name. I had you in the shower. Up against the wall. I imagined you bent over the bar at the restaurant, moaning as I drove myself deep inside you.”

Holy. Shit.

Even the chilly air conditioning couldn’t douse the flames he’d ignited inside her. Setting down her cocktail glass, she rubbed her hands over her face, trying to clear her mind. Too late. The images were already flooding her brain. A throbbing ache built up between her legs. The urge to touch herself and relieve the pressure was all-consuming.

He pulled away. “Too much? Sorry. That was exceptionally crude.”

“Are you kidding? I’m so turned on right now.” She grabbed his hand. “What are we waiting for?”

“Those were just fantasies.”

“But they don’t have to be. Right? Do you have your own room?” Her heartbeat raced so furiously she thought she might explode if she couldn’t act on any of Javier’s suggestions.

“We’re staying in a suite, but I scored one of the private rooms.”

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

He swallowed, clearly uneasy. “This is probably a bad idea.”

“Why? You don’t work for my dad anymore.”

“I’m heading back to Chicago in three days. Right after I get there, I’m leaving for a dig in Mexico.”

“And I’m about to leave for a semester abroad in Spain. So I’m not looking for commitment. Just a little fun. Don’t you want this? Don’t you want me?” She couldn’t handle it if he rejected her again. All she was asking for was three nights. There was no way a tiny fling like this could derail his carefully thought-out plans.

For a moment, she swore she could hear her sister’s voice in her head, cautioning her against acting so rashly. You sure you can handle this, Sof?

Of course she could. Even if she’d fallen in love with Javier last summer, she’d known it was one-sided. She hadn’t expected him to share her feelings then, and she certainly didn’t expect it now. Instead, she could accept this gift for what it was—a weekend of smoking-hot sex with a guy she’d dreamed about for months. Sure, she might be heartbroken when he left, but the steamy memories would be worth it.

When he hesitated, she palmed his cheek, caressing the rough stubble. “Please, Javier. We’re in Vegas. And I’m here for three whole nights.”

He let out a ragged breath. “Me, too.”

“Then let’s enjoy all of them.” She gave him a sultry smile. “You want me on my knees? Spread out on your bed? Then take me to your room and we can act out all your desires. Except the fantasy where you’re banging me over the bar at El Marinero. Though, I agree, that would have been unbelievably hot.”

What did it matter if his feelings were driven by lust rather than love? The sex would still be incredible.

He tossed back his drink and flashed her a devilish grin. “Let’s do it.”

She brought out her phone. “Just gotta send a text.” She took a photo of them together and sent it to her friends: Going up to Javier’s room for a night of fun. Top that, bitches!

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