The Argentinian's Solace

by Susan Stephens

  Her eyes slowly cleared. ‘You do, don’t you?’

  Maxie had taught him that love came at a cost, and that sometimes that cost was high. She had been right to defend her father. It was not right that Diego had allowed thoughts of revenge and rage to rampage through him for so many wasted years, or that he had allowed that fury onto the polo field, where it had nearly killed him and his horse, and had made him a danger to every other player in the game. He kissed her again to confirm in his own mind that all that was behind him now. She tasted so good, so sweet and fresh … so different, somehow.

  What was different?

  Some primal memory stirred inside him. ‘Why are you telling me this now?’ he repeated gently, moving his head on the pillow so she had to look at him.

  ‘Because it’s more important than ever that you and I don’t have any secrets between us,’ she said, holding his gaze trustingly.

  He looked at her, frowning slightly. ‘Why more important than ever?’

  ‘Because we’re going to have a baby, Diego.’ She stopped and bit down on her lip, as if she wasn’t sure if he’d be pleased.

  He shot up in bed. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m positive,’ she said quietly.

  He exclaimed with pleasure—anticipation—excitement—a world of emotion flashing behind his eyes. ‘Can we tell everyone?’ he exulted.

  ‘No, it’s too soon. And the timing could be better.’

  ‘How could it be better?’ he demanded. ‘The timing is perfect,’ he argued fiercely.

  ‘Beating the bride to getting pregnant isn’t so great—especially when you’re a wedding planner who is supposed to be so organised.’

  ‘Nonsense!’ he exclaimed. ‘You got it exactly right—for us.’ Dragging her into his arms, he gazed into Maxie’s eyes intently, as if he would see some change there too. ‘All right. I won’t tell anyone,’ he promised. ‘At least not today. You’re going to be a mother!’ he exclaimed softly in wonder.

  ‘And you’re going to be a father,’ Maxie agreed wryly. ‘How do you feel about that, Diego?’

  ‘How do I feel?’ he demanded incredulously. ‘As if the world and everything in it is mine.’

  ‘Diego,’ she murmured when they finally found the willpower to break apart, ‘we’ve got a wedding to go to.’

  Picking his watch up from the bedside table and glancing at it, he raised a brow.

  ‘You are impossible,’ she breathed as he pressed her down on the bed.

  ‘And you are the wholly irresistible mother of my child,’ he said, starting to unfasten the buttons on her blouse.

  He had made love to Maxie in the way he intended to live his life from now on, Diego reflected as he examined his unusually smooth, freshly shaved face just before the wedding. Taking her gently and with reverence, he had experienced a deep calm and certainty inside him as she sighed with pleasure in his arms. She was the mother of his child, and they had a lifetime ahead of them in which he intended to demonstrate his love for Maxie in so many ways—not all of them calm and with reverence, he amended, smiling to himself as he racked his brain for ways they hadn’t made love yet. ‘You look fantastic, Diego.’

  He turned to find her standing in the doorway. Tousled and sexily sated, she looked fantastic too, wearing nothing more than a sheet. ‘You’d better get a move on,’ he told her.

  ‘Don’t I know it?’ she agreed. ‘But it won’t take me long to shower and dress.’

  She looked him over again. Diego was Ruiz’s best man, and Holly had requested he wear a pale, lightweight linen suit with a white open-necked shirt and a vibrant orchid in his buttonhole to pick up the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses. Maxie adjusted his collar at the back, and then passed him some cologne which he slapped on reluctantly.

  ‘Are you sure you like this?’ he demanded, grimacing.

  Maxie grinned. ‘I like everything about you.’

  ‘Later,’ he murmured, teasing her as he comforted himself that they had all the time in the world now and that nothing could ever part them again. ‘You’d better get ready,’ he urged, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. ‘You’re the one person who can’t afford to be late today. And I don’t want Holly coming after me for distracting her wedding planner.’

  ‘She’d be jealous if she knew the reason,’ Maxie teased him.

  ‘Not after tonight, I’m guessing,’ Diego told her dryly, on his way out of the room.

  Maxie would be in the background today, making sure all her arrangements ran like clockwork. Her outfit would consist of a businesslike white shirt tucked into cream linen trousers, her only adornment the radio earpiece with attached microphone which she used to co-ordinate the various stages of the celebration.

  ‘Quick shower, and then I’ll see you downstairs,’ she shouted after him.

  ‘See you down there,’ he confirmed from the door. He was heading for Ruiz and patted his pocket to make sure he had the ring. ‘I love you,’ he murmured, holding Maxie’s gaze for one long, lingering moment.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  EVEN Maxie was blown away by the scene she had helped to design. The vast courtyard was dressed with a profusion of colourful blossom, while the wedding arbour where the couple would exchange their vows was a fragrant mass of lush white flowers and soft green foliage. Gilt chairs with the palest gold seat pads were lined up either side of the pastel primrose carpet down which the bride would glide.

  Having checked with her assistants that there was nothing more she could do for now, she ran up to the terrace at the top of the steps and watched the remaining guests taking their seats. The air of anticipation was electric. An orchestra was setting the scene with an elegant Bach concerto while people chatted easily to each other. This was the moment she always enjoyed. She had done everything possible to make a perfect day for the bride, and now it only remained for the main players to take the stage.

  A fanfare announced the arrival of Ruiz, accompanied by his equally striking brother Diego. A rustle of excitement swept the crowd as they walked down the bridal carpet, stopping from time to time to greet friends. It looked like a scene from a fairytale, she thought as Diego turned to look at her. She shared a brief look, and then got back on her radio to let everyone know the groom and best man were in position. It was only when she had finished the call that she spotted trouble brewing.

  All the guests were looking forward, towards the arbour where Ruiz and Diego were standing, but one elderly woman was staring back at Maxie. She didn’t look like the usual troublemaker—someone who might have had too much to drink—this was a small, inoffensive-looking woman with neat grey hair. But the man seated at her side did look like trouble, and as he turned to stare Maxie was shocked to see the look he gave her. She couldn’t imagine what she’d done to deserve it. It was obviously a case of mistaken identity. But the man was on his feet now, with the older woman hanging on to his wrist.

  ‘Hold the bride,’ Maxie rapped into her radio mike. ‘I need a good ten to fifteen minutes here.’

  A second call to the leader of the orchestra had them breaking into a jolly piece and playing much louder than they had before. The chattering guests were none the wiser, Maxie confirmed with relief. If words were to be exchanged this could be done discreetly now. She also warned Diego of a slight delay, taking care to make nothing of it. A last call to Lucia worked in her favour.

  ‘I’m not ready yet,’ Holly yelled in the background, and, seizing the receiver from Lucia, added, ‘Haven’t you heard of the bride’s right to keep the groom waiting?’

  ‘No, I never heard that before,’ Maxie said, forcing a wry note into her voice. Cutting the line, she hurried down the steps to what was looking more like trouble with every passing second.

  She spoke to the man first. ‘Can I help you?’ She backed away as he came after her, with the older woman, Maxie presumed his mother, hot on his heels.

  She wasn’t running away from either of them. She was drawing them out of earsho
t of the other guests. Leading them behind a screen that divided the wedding congregation from the linen-draped tables where the drinks for the champagne reception were sitting. She asked politely once again what was wrong.

  ‘You don’t know me,’ the man rapped with an ugly expression. ‘But I know you.’

  He came towards her, with his mother hanging on to his arm.

  ‘My name is Maxie Parrish,’ Maxie said evenly. ‘I’m Holly’s wedding planner. If I can help you in any way …?’ Her voice might sound calm, but her heart was thundering at the sight of so much barely contained anger.

  ‘My name is Alessandro Fernandez,’ the man snarled, as if this should mean something to her. ‘And this is my mother, Señora Fernandez.’

  ‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Señora Fernandez,’ Maxie said politely, extending her hand. Instead of shaking it, the old lady started to cry. ‘Your mother’s upset,’ she exclaimed, when Alessandro took another menacing step towards her. Walking between him and his mother, she ushered Señora Fernandez towards one of the chairs set out for the older guests—and gasped with fright when Alessandro tried to grapple it from her.

  ‘Alesssandro!’ Señora Fernandez exclaimed, equally shocked.

  Diego erupted round the screen, flinging himself between Maxie and Alessandro. It took all three of his brothers to hold him back. Flinging the chair aside with a roar of fury, Alessandro squared up to Diego, at which point Señora Fernandez entered the fray.

  Maxie’s first impulse was to shield the older woman. ‘Can’t you see you’re upsetting your mother?’

  ‘I’m upsetting her?’ Alessandro ground out. ‘I think you will find it is you, Señorita Parrish, who insults my mother with your very presence at this wedding!’

  ‘I’m the wedding planner,’ Maxie pointed out. ‘Why would I not be here? And how have I upset you?’ Something made her look at Diego for the answer.

  Before anyone had a chance to speak Alessandro’s mother stepped in. ‘This behaviour does you no credit, Alessandro. It will not bring your brother back.’ Turning to Maxie, she added, ‘Why is it only women who understand?’

  The older woman’s voice was tinged with such sadness that Maxie shot another look at Diego, but he was pinning Alessandro to the spot with a warning stare. She didn’t know anyone in Argentina, Maxie reasoned. What could she possibly have done to have caused such distress?

  ‘Alessandro.’ Diego’s voice was low and menacing. ‘Your mother is right. This does no good.’

  ‘And what do you know?’ Alessandro sneered. ‘You have no heart. You have no feelings. You’re not capable of feeling anything, Diego. Does this woman know that?’ he said, sparing a withering glance for Maxie.

  ‘Alessandro!’ Señora Fernandez exclaimed, her voice pure steel. ‘Have you forgotten yourself entirely? Apologise to Señorita Parrish this instant, and keep your rough house behaviour for the polo field where your aggression can be safely channelled.’

  If all these fierce-looking men were encouraged by their mothers to work off their aggression on the polo field no wonder they couldn’t be beaten, Maxie reflected as Diego stepped forward.

  ‘Señora,’ he said with a courteous bow to Alessandro’s mother, ‘may I offer you a refreshing drink before we return to our seats?’

  But Alessandro wasn’t finished yet. ‘How could you allow this woman to come here?’ he hissed, staring at Maxie as his mother graciously accepted Diego’s offer.

  ‘Not now, Alessandro,’ Diego warned, conscious of Maxie standing behind him in a state of bewilderment. Alessandro’s expression of fury was nothing to the hurt he could see on Maxie’s face, which seemed to say, What haven’t you told me?

  ‘Will everyone please take their places?’ she said in a calm voice. ‘Ruiz?’ she prompted, escorting the groom towards the screen behind which his guests sat waiting. ‘You wouldn’t want Holly to be upset by any further delay, would you?’

  Ruiz was instantly in the moment. ‘Of course not,’ he said, heading off.

  ‘Diego, Nacho, Kruz,’ she added firmly. ‘Please go with your brother.’

  ‘And leave you here?’ Diego demanded, as his brothers peeled away.

  Holly was issuing instructions over her radio, and it was Señora Fernandez who took the floor. ‘Please remember this is a public occasion,’ she told her son. ‘If you care anything about family pride, as you say you do, then this is your chance to prove it.’

  ‘Gracias, señora,’ Maxie said gratefully as the men finally left the two women together. ‘I don’t understand what provoked this, but perhaps you and I can talk after the wedding?’

  ‘I would like that,’ Señora Fernandez agreed.

  Having restarted the programme for the day, Maxie thanked Señora Fernandez again for her intervention.

  ‘You were doing very well on your own,’ Señora Fernandez insisted. ‘You seem to have a talent for handling hotheads,’ she added wryly.

  There was iron in that voice, but also sadness, Maxie thought as the older woman reached out to touch her face. ‘Let’s go,’ Señora Fernandez announced, heading for the screen. ‘We have a wedding to celebrate, don’t we, Maxie?’

  ‘Yes, we do,’ Maxie agreed, hoping she’d stop shaking soon as she gave the go-ahead to the bride.

  He had thought he’d lost everything after the accident, but that had been nothing compared to this, Diego realised. Getting through the wedding with good grace was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He hadn’t had a chance to explain what had happened to Maxie, and now he wondered if he was about to lose everything he cared about. He had tried to draw Maxie’s attention during the long day, but she was always busy and there had been no chance for a private word. But every second he left her bewildered about what had happened was too long, and he had his speech to make yet.

  Was it only she who was in the dark? The wedding ran as if on oiled wheels, but there was no chance to ask Diego about the heated exchange as Maxie would be on duty until the last guest went to bed.

  She insisted on staying until everything had been cleared away, and Diego came looking for her to remind her that she had a baby to think of now.

  ‘I wanted to speak to Señora Fernandez before I turned in.’ She snatched a glance at her watch and grimaced when she saw the time.

  ‘Señora Fernandez will be fast asleep by now,’ Diego confirmed. ‘You should be too.’

  ‘What was that about, Diego?’

  ‘I’ll answer questions tomorrow.’

  ‘No. Tonight,’ Maxie insisted as all the hurt and bewilderment welled up inside her. ‘We promised we’d share everything,’ she reminded him.

  ‘And I will.’

  ‘Now, Diego.’

  He took her to the stables, and they walked down the line of stalls where horses were breathing softly. ‘You never did tell me who won the polo match,’ she said.

  ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘You scored the winning goal.’

  ‘Lucia told you? All I could think of was getting back to you. I just wanted the match over with. The only irony was winning my place back on the team when I thought I’d lost everything.’

  ‘And today at the wedding?’ she prompted. ‘Why does Alessandro hate me so much, Diego? I don’t even know him.’

  Opening a door onto the hay barn, he took her inside. ‘This is where I come when I have something on my mind,’ he said. ‘The horses are good company.’

  ‘You mean they don’t answer back?’ Maxie suggested wryly.

  Diego huffed a laugh. Shrugging off his jacket, he tossed it on a bale of hay and brought her down with him. ‘Señora Fernandez and Alessandro are my best friend Oresto’s mother and brother. Many years ago Oresto met a man who promised him he could change his life. That man was your father …’

  Maxie drew in a sharp breath. ‘Diego …?’

  ‘I introduced them, and together we thought we could make lots of money. But sadly this story does not have a happy ending. I think you know ho
w it ends …’

  ‘The boy who killed himself?’ Maxie exclaimed softly.

  ‘Now it all makes sense. That lovely woman—Diego, I can’t bear it. No wonder Alessandro was so angry when he realised who I was.’

  ‘We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. I’ve laid my ghosts, Maxie. It’s time for you to do the same.’

  ‘I can’t believe you were so closely associated with my father all those years ago. It’s incredible to imagine it.’

  ‘Our lives were intertwined before we even knew it,’ he murmured, kissing her brow.

  ‘What a tragedy,’ she whispered, shifting restlessly in his arms. ‘I can understand why Alessandro hates me.’

  ‘Alessandro doesn’t hate you. He will see sense and calm down. He always does.’

  ‘But Señora Fernandez—’

  ‘—is a very special woman. She forgave me many years ago. She told me that no more young lives should be wasted because of money. And I think she likes you.’

  ‘I hope so,’ Maxie murmured, relaxing.

  ‘I repaid all the money Oresto lost—with interest.’

  ‘And my father?’

  Diego would never speak ill of the dead, let alone remind Maxie of a bad time in her life. ‘I learned a lot from your father,’ he said honestly.

  ‘About what not to do?’ she suggested.

  His answer was to kiss her, and when he released her he said, ‘I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe and prove that love can last, that it can become stronger with each passing year.’

  Reassured, she snuggled close—and was so exhausted she slept until dawn.

  ‘So, what shall we do now?’ he said, turning to look at her as she stirred sleepily.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Have you got any ideas?’

  ‘I’ve got a few,’ he said.

  It was three months later when Diego led Maxie through the doors of a prominent London store. They were staying with Ruiz and Holly in their London home, and making the most of all the wonderful shopping opportunities.