Spanish Passions (Friends Forever Book 2)

by Elizabeth Lennox

  Javier turned around, their two year old daughter, Mina, in his arms as he surveyed her. “You look beautiful,” he replied and the heated way he said that told her that he wasn’t simply saying the words. “Relax.” He kissed her gently.

  Natalie laughed as Mina did exactly the same, unconcerned when their beautiful daughter messed up her hair slightly. Reaching out, Natalie took Mina so he could finish knotting his tie. “What time is your father expected?”

  Javier moved to the mirror as his fingers swiftly worked on the knot. “About twenty minutes.” He looked at her through the mirror. “You will not take any disrespect, correct?”

  Alejandro burst into their bedroom, his excitement palpable. Even at six years old, he was extraordinarily tall. Ms. Hathaway had excelled at her job as well. Alejandro was working on complicated math problems and had even started investing with Javier’s guidance. It looked as if Alejandro would truly match his father in many ways. It seemed as if Mina would also follow in her father’s footsteps, already showing signs of her intelligence. Alejandro regularly gave his sister toys that he knew would challenge her, stepping in and helping her whenever she stumbled.

  The doorbell rang and all four of them jumped. “He’s early,” Javier grumbled.

  Natalie sighed. “He’s trying,” she asserted, smoothing a hand over his elegant tie.

  Javier didn’t reply, simply took Alejandro’s hand and led his family downstairs. Their housekeeper had already opened the door and was leading Juan Pablo into the living room. When Natalie saw the older man, she gasped. The past three years had been…difficult for the man! His hair had gone completely white and the lines on his face had deepened dramatically. Natalie felt almost guilty for Javier’s stubborn stance, but she thought about all of the horrible letters she’d received that first year of marriage, letters in which he’d demanded that she end her ridiculous demands for him to treat her respectfully or that, if she was going to continue the “farce of a marriage” she should come back to Spain and take her rightful place as a Marquessa. Natalie interpreted that to mean he wanted her to do the lunch and dinner circuit, socialize with all of the “right” people, give up her job, and take on her title as her occupation.

  At first, she’d shown the letters to Javier, but he’d become too angry on her behalf, so she’d simply hidden them. Eventually, the tone of the letters had changed, becoming more placating. Six months ago, he’d shown up at her school and apologized. She’d been so amazed by his apology that she’d brought him to her classroom and introduced him to her students as the Duque d’Astrana. That introduction seemed to have done a great deal to soothe the man’s feelings. Well, that and the awe her students showed at being introduced to a genuine aristocrat. They’d spent the rest of the class period asking him questions and Juan Pablo demanded that they speak in Spanish, pushing all of her students to put in more effort so they could ask their questions.

  Surprisingly, Juan Pablo had been extraordinarily patient with their bumbling attempts at speaking the language. And in return, she’d invited him back. The next time, she’d gone to lunch with him, respectfully speaking only in Spanish. He asked her about her children, about Javier, letting her know that the man hadn’t seen or spoken with his son since their wedding.

  The next time, she’d brought pictures of Mina and Alejandro. She’d fought tears up when his fingers shook as he lifted the pictures. Not a single a harsh or derogatory word was spoken during those meetings.

  All of which had led to this moment. Alejandro and Mina were going to meet their grandfather for the first time.

  Natalie was tense, worried that Juan Pablo would try to intimidate her children. He was so full of his own self-importance that he might…No, she couldn’t start thinking that way. The elderly man was trying.

  As they entered the room, Juan Pablo turned, the epitome of an aristocrat. His shoulders were back, his body stiff, and his features showed no emotion. But as soon as he saw tiny, dark haired, beautiful Mina in Javier’s arms, his jaw went slack. Then his eyes moved lower, seeing Alejandro grinning up at him, the very image of himself at that age.

  The man dropped to his knee, coming down to Alejandro’s level and Natalie knew that everything was going to be okay. She sighed with relief and leaned into Javier’s side, feeling his strength and reassurance. Yes, her world was good, she thought, with a burst of happiness that almost overwhelmed her.

  Excerpt from The Russian’s Proposal

  Katia/Kate’s Story – Coming to you February 14, 2018

  Something was wrong.

  Not just in a “broken nail” way – but dangerously wrong.

  Katia had just sat down with her friends Hayden and Natalie, at one of the small tables near a window of her coffee shop, all of them needing a coffee break after a hectic morning. Hayden and Natalie had been out shopping with their husbands and Natalie’s son, Alejandro. The males had all headed off to do…well, whatever it was that men do when they are alone…while Natalie and Hayden had stopped by for a moment’s respite.

  But something felt…wrong.

  Scary.

  Katia looked around, trying to determine what was causing that sense of impending doom. Over the years, she’d learned to listen to that sensation.

  But as she scanned the area, nothing seemed out of place. The air in her cozy café shop still smelled like coffee and chocolate, possibly the best smell in the entire world. The sun’s bright light added warmth to the atmosphere, banishing the aching chill from outside. As she looked around, she didn’t see any shadows filled with skulking demons or…other bad things, something Katia always looked for.

  The bad things. Rationally she knew there weren’t any demons.

  At least, no demons of the supernatural form. Her childhood had proven that demons weren’t necessarily spiritual. They could arrive in human form as well.

  Continuing to look around, her eyes surveyed the peaceful streets outside of her tiny coffee shop where residents bustled along the sidewalks of the quaint, little town. But the streets of Lisdeer, Virginia were quiet as usual. There were no souped up cars coming down the street filled with bad guys toting machine guns. No dark, trench-coat covered, evil-looking men lurking around the corners of the average-looking buildings that lined the streets.

  Everything seemed…normal. But Katia couldn’t banish the sensation that her world was about to explode.

  Natalie and Hayden laughed suddenly about something Hayden said and Katia turned to look at them, confused that they could be laughing when something was obviously very wrong. Someone came out of the antique shop across the street and Katia’s eyes snapped over to the woman. It took all of her concentration to relax. Or at least, appear relaxed.

  “You okay, Kate?” Natalie asked, laying a hand on Katia’s arm. Her friends only knew her as Kate because it was safer if they didn’t know her true identity.

  She pulled her eyes back to her small group of friends, although she had no idea what Hayden had said that was so amusing. “Absolutely,” she replied, forcing her lips into a smile. But even she could feel how fake her expression was and her friends knew her well enough to know the difference. Blinking, she leaned forward, trying to appear “Why do you ask?”

  Hayden’s eyes gentled. “Because you look like you’re waiting for something horrible to happen,” she replied.

  Katia forced a laugh and shook her head. “I’m fine.” Inwardly, she cringed at how fake her laugh sounded.

  Natalie looked pointedly at Katia’s colorful cup filled with coffee that hadn’t been touched. “Kate, if you don’t loosen your grip on that mug, you’re going to break it.”

  Looking down, Katia realized that her fingers were white-knuckling the mug. With a sigh, she relaxed her fingers, releasing her grip from the ceramic mug. “Yeah. I guess I’m a bit tense.”

  “Anything we can do?” Hayden asked, rubbing her rounded tummy. She was five months pregnant and looking gloriously beautiful. Her husband made sure that she ate,
which was something Hayden forgot to do pretty often.

  “What are you worried about?” Hayden asked.

  Katia shrugged, trying to think of a good answer quickly. “My milk supplier hasn’t been delivering on time lately. I think I’m going to have to change.”

  That answer seemed to soothe the other three ladies and she relaxed, but that odd feeling, that sense of impending doom wouldn’t go away.

  Katia tried to brush off the strange feeling, to rationalize it away.

  Unfortunately, she’d learned the hard way to listen to her instincts. The small hairs on the back of her neck standing up told her that something was very, very wrong.

  But as she looked across the table at Natalie and Hayden, she knew that her two friends were happy – and they deserved that. For so long, they had struggled – Hayden to keep her business solvent and Natalie with raising a son as a single mother. Arianna, Hayden’s business manager, had improved the bottom line for Hayden’s garden nursery and Alejandro’s father had come back into Natalie’s life, easing the burden of raising a child alone.

  Happy and healthy and so madly in love that it actually made her stomach hurt, watching them. Katia tried to tamp down the jealousy she felt, trying to be happy for her friends. But…it was hard. The two of them looked like they walked on cloud nine most of the time.

  While Katia…she couldn’t seem to push away the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Something…sinister and scary!

  “Kate, are you sure you’re okay? Is there something more bothering you that just a delayed milk shipment?” Hayden asked.

  Katia forced a smile, once again trying to appear relaxed. Hayden was one of her best friends and was obviously concerned. Katia knew that, if she didn’t convince Hayden that she was okay, Natalie and Arianna, who had bowed out of the coffee meeting but was the fourth member of their close-knit friend group, wouldn’t believe her assurances either. The three of them would then demand to know what was going on and how they could fix whatever was wrong in Katia’s life.

  “I’m fine!” she replied, but even to her own ears, the assurance sounded false. “Have either of you spoken to Arianna? I tried calling her last night, but she didn’t answer her cell phone.” She rubbed her finger against the outside of her cup again, trying to distract her friends. They couldn’t know…they could never know! For their own safety, Katia knew she had to keep her precious friends in the dark about…whatever was out there.

  Hayden accepted the change of subject. “Some guy showed up at the garden center yesterday and Arianna got all huffy. There was a bit of a tense moment before the guy left, sort of bowing which was strange. Then she called in sick today. When I called her, she sounded all sniffly. I made her some soup, but I haven’t brought it over to her house yet.”

  “Who was the guy?” Natalie asked, both of them leaning closer as they discussed the mysterious stranger.

  “No idea. And when I asked her about it, Arianna said something about ‘men who thought they were…’” Hayden stopped, shaking her head. “I’m not exactly sure. She was muttering and irritated, but wouldn’t explain. Every time I asked, she started talking about business and sales and payroll issues so I stopped asking.”

  Katia sighed, rubbing her forehead. Maybe that was what she was feeling. If Arianna was sick…could that explain this sense of doom the seemed to be lingering over her? “Are you sure she was just sick? I saw her arguing with a guy in a dark suit about a month ago as well. It was strange, but when I asked her about it over coffee that day, Arianna changed the subject that time too,” Katia explained.

  Hayden gasped suddenly, sitting up straight as she gently laid a hand on her pregnant tummy. “You changed the subject!” she accused, pointing a finger in Katia’s direction. “Kate! What’s going on?”

  Natalie’s eyes narrowed on her friend. “Hayden’s right,” she said softly. “Something is definitely wrong.” Leaning forward, she placed a hand on Katia’s. “Tell us what’s going on. You know that we can help you.”

  Katia shivered, but curled her fingers into a fist. “I’m fine,” she whispered, trying to pretend as if she really was okay. These two ladies had befriended her when she’d been at her lowest. She’d been scared and terrified and she cherished their presence in her life. Even Arianna, the latest of their little group, was like a sweet, wonderful addition that they never knew they needed. And Arianna seemed like a kindred soul. There was something about Arianna that Katia understood. Almost as if Arianna was looking over her shoulder as well. Hearing that two men in dark suits had approached her made Katia wonder if Arianna was in the same situation.

  Another customer came in and Katia stood up, wiping her hands on her apron. “Duty calls,” she joked, but she was actually relieved to have a distraction. She loved Hayden, Arianna and Natalie, but she couldn’t involve them in her troubles. It would just put them in danger and that was something she refused to do. It was dangerous enough that she was friends with them. If there was one thing she’d learned over the years it was never to make friends. They’d either get hurt or she’d have to leave them without any word.

  Damn her father! Damn him and his pathetic, criminal, egomaniacal, rapacious, repugnant criminal businesses! She wished the police would figure out a way to get to him, to put her father in prison where he belonged, but so far, the man had escaped arrest. Not because he was smart, but because he got rid of anyone that might have evidence against him. He was a brutal man without a conscience.

  Pushing her father’s crimes out of her mind, as well as the sense that she was being watched or that something horrible was about to happen, she focused only her friends and the few customers that trickled in now that the heavy morning customer rush had ended.

  She served the latest customers, then sat back down with Natalie and Hayden, relieved that they were no longer focused on her, but talking about Alejandro’s new school and something having to do with snakes and snake venom. Yuck!

  They chatted for about a half hour until Natalie needed to head off to a meeting and Hayden went back to her garden center. For another hour, Katia focused on her own business, smiling to each of the customers as the lunch-time rush picked up and slowed down. “What can I get for you?” she asked the customer who had come in, but nothing could completely obliterate her concern for Arianna’s absence or the sense of something bad in the wind, something that would take her nice little world away.

  Usually, the four of them met early once a week at her shop for coffee or tea before heading off to work. As she handed the next customer her coffee and scone, Katia made a decision. Focusing on her concern for Arianna instead of that dread that she couldn’t define, she decided to head over to Arianna’s apartment, bring her some of the day’s muffins and make sure that she was okay. Then she’d call Nat and Hayden to give them the scoop.

  A little bit later, the rush was over and the remaining customers were settled by the windows with their lattes and pastries while she finished cleaning up. Looking around, Katia had a spurt of pride in the small, cozy café with the warm colors and mis-matched tables that added to the casual atmosphere. It was a good feeling to know that she’d created this, that she’d built all of this by herself and used the money she earned with this and a few other businesses she’d created over the years since she’d escaped from her father’s home to spite him. It was a small effort and the man probably knew nothing about what she was doing, but it still gave her a spark of happiness every time she thought about her machinations.

  If he ever found out though…Katia shivered, not wanting to think about his fury if he discovered what she’d been doing to him.

  Hayden waved to her from the street as she passed by, obviously having come back into town for some reason. A shot of jealousy hit her as she watched Hayden lift her head up for a kiss from her handsome husband. Viktor Chekno was tall and handsome and so incredibly sweet when he laid his hand on his wife’s swollen belly. It made her heart ache, knowing that she’d neve
r have that.

  Katia knew she should snap out of this…whatever it was. But the sense of doom still hovered over her. Stepping into the back for a small break, she looked in the mirror and sighed, trying to figure out if it was time to leave town again or just figure out what was going on. Her normal routine when she felt this odd sensation was to run. To find another small town where she could hide. Over the past several years, she’d lived in ten different cities, both big and small. But…Well, she’d made friends here. For the first time since sneaking out of Russia, she had a life! Besides, Katia was worried about Arianna. It wasn’t like her friend to call in sick. Arianna loved her job, loved working with Hayden and…well, she never missed their weekly coffee chats either.

  Turning away from the sight of her pale features in the mirror, she shook her head as she adjusted her dark hair in the band holding it on top of her head, out of the way. Dark hair and dark eyes…everything still the same. She’d lost weight, which is why her eyes might appear a bit larger than normal, but Katia didn’t always have time to eat and she preferred to save her money for other things…like survival.

  Katia was just about to step back out into the main area of her coffee shop when she spotted Hayden again and stopped. Taking several deep breaths, she tried to stop herself from bursting into tears. This jealousy was…it was wrong! She was happy that Natalie and Hayden had found their husbands, had found happiness. Just because she’d never have that family, that sense of security, she was still thrilled that her friends had found true love.

  But…Katia wanted that happiness. She wanted children and a husband, the love and the romance. She wanted to look into a man’s eyes and know that he loved her unconditionally.

  Darn it, she’d settle for just not having to look over her shoulder.

  Wiping her cheeks, she took several deep breaths, trying to pull herself together. She wasn’t under her father’s thumb any longer. She was done. Free.