Return to Hacienda Luz—the world of Pasko Na, My Love and Forevermore—as the beloved Moore family opens the gates once more for a dazzling Santacruzan Fiesta in the heart of Napa Valley.
For two vibrant days, the vineyard comes alive with music, food, pageantry, cultural traditions, and unforgettable moments beneath the spring sky. But amid the beauty and celebration, hearts are on the line.
Some will fall in love.Some will fall back in love.And some will risk it all for the love they’ve been waiting for.From acclaimed and bestselling Filipino American authors comes Love at the Fiesta, a joyful romance anthology filled with family, longing, second chances, and love.
Featuring stories by the Kwentitas:Cat SantosCeleste DadorElle CruzJune GrayKaye RockwellLiz DuranoMaan GabrielMaida MalbyMia HopkinsPreslaysa WilliamsTif Marcelo
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“Look at us,” she whispered. They were wet up to their thighs. Their clothes and shoes were a mess of sand and seawater. Ace’s wet T-shirt clung to his torso. Pinky longed to strip it off him, to run her hands all over his skin.
“Guess we didn’t see that coming,” he said, breathless.
Overthinking was her specialty, but right now she didn’t allow herself to think at all. Pinky reached forward and placed her hands on his chest. She looked up at his lips. The wind almost carried away her whisper.
“Can I?”
Ace nodded slowly.
Blood rushing, she kissed him. A gust of cold wind whipped at them, but Ace’s lips were as warm and soft as she’d hoped. She tasted salt and smelled his skin—woodsy and clean, with something delicious in the background. Tea with honey. A gingersnap? No—hot salabat. Spicy and sweet.
When Ace finally closed his eyes, Pinky embraced him, and her brain lit up like a chandelier. She felt everything—his hands on her waist, the soft moan in his throat as she lightly pressed the tip of her tongue against his. He held her tightly, quieting her nerves but setting a fire deep inside her. The wind cut through her wet skirt and bit at her bare skin. The waves crashed. In the distance, seagulls called to each other, back and forth.
After a long, long time, Pinky broke their kiss. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes, overwhelmed with pleasure. His arms were cold, but his chest through the T-shirt was hot, and his heart was beating fast. They both could feel that he was hard as a rock, but he didn’t push himself against her. Horny, but polite—a refreshing combination.
“Do you…” she trailed off.
“Do I what?”
She winced. “Please don’t judge me.”
He stroked her hair. “I won’t.”
“Do you…live nearby?”
—
Bring Back The Love – Tif Marcelo
Two days of pretending.
That was all Emmy Briones had to endure. That shouldn’t be hard, right? After all, she’d done harder things in life while on stage as a wedding singer, as a mother to actual grownups, and as a wife in a twenty-two-year marriage that was in a weird stage of limbo.
Granted, it was two days under the watchful eye of the legendary Lola Naty, her husband’s grandmother and matriarch of the famous Hacienda Luz.
No big deal.
Emmy employed the box breathing she’d learned in couples therapy—because yes, she and Aaron were at that stage—and crossed over the threshold of Hacienda Luz while dragging their carry-ons, where the glimmer of the marble floors and the sparkle of the chandelier above took her breath away.
Already decorated for the fiesta, a traditional Santacruzan, the lobby was filled with multicolored flowers. People milled about, talking in hushed voices, many of whom wore shirts that bore the familiar logo of Hacienda Luz.
A step behind Aaron, she swallowed against the enormity of it all. Living in the DC area hadn’t exposed them to this grandeur on the daily, unlike the rest of the Briones and Moore families living in and around the Bay Area. Though she and Aaron had been engaged here, Emmy only kept up with the property’s happenings through social media posts from Aaron’s family.
At the remembrance of their engagement, of Aaron getting down on one knee and pledging his life to her, her chest welled with sorrow.
“Em.” In front of her, Aaron offered his hand. His brown eyes had a message in them, though she couldn’t quite discern his intent.
They’d been in sync, in their thoughts, in their hearts, and in their voices, until they weren’t.
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