by Jennie Lucas
“I never cared about that!” I said fiercely. “All I care about is you. And Miguel...” I looked up at him with an intake of breath. “Your real name is Miguel.”
He gave me a wicked grin. “You can see why I didn’t mind our son’s name.”
My knees shook, because my world was spinning. “But after we were married—surely then you knew you could trust me?”
“You have such an honest heart.” He sobered. “I didn’t want you to have the burden.”
“Burden? Are you kidding?” I gave a laugh that was giddy, almost hysterical. “If you knew what I’d imagined...”
“It’s worse than you think.” His face had turned deadly serious. “My grandmother and I both broke laws with our lies. We could be charged with fraud and possibly sent to prison. For myself, I would have been willing to take the risk, to tell you the truth. But Maurine...” He looked down. “I was afraid to take the risk, for her sake. The idea of her in jail...”
A sudden noise down the quiet street, perhaps a cat knocking over a trash can in a nearby alley, caused us both to jump. I looked at him.
“You can trust me. No one will ever know.” I swallowed and whispered. “Did you really mean what you said in the tavern?”
“The song?”
“That you—” I blushed a little “—actually—love me?”
His eyes went wide. Then, with a low laugh, he pulled me in his arms.
“Oh, querida. I have loved you from almost the first moment we met. Your sweetness, your nobility, your honesty.”
“I was so afraid.... I believed all the wrong things....”
Alejandro wrapped his hands around mine. “And now you hold my heart, my life, in your hands,” he said quietly. “You have the power to take Miguel from me, to go back to Mexico, to walk away.” He lifted his dark gaze to mine in the moonlight. “You own me completely. What will you do?”
“What will I do?” I whispered, tears in my eyes. Putting my arms around him, I pulled him close and pressed my forehead against his heart. “I will love you, Alejandro. Forever.”
CHAPTER TEN
WE ROSE FOR a late breakfast the next morning, after a night in our hotel room with much giggling and even more lovemaking. As eager as I was to see our baby after a whole night away from him, I was also lingering, enjoying every last moment of this brief, perfect honeymoon.
No one would ever be able to part us again.
“I think,” Alejandro said thoughtfully as we left the hotel, “that was the best honeymoon I’ve ever had.”
“Best and only,” I said.
“No, surely not only. Our marriage will be nothing but one long honeymoon,” he said huskily, then to prove it, he kissed me. The kiss soon became so intense and deep that Alejandro muttered something about renting the room for another night, and started to pull me back toward the hotel.
“But we can’t!” I protested with a laugh. “Miguel...”
“All right,” he grumbled, then his eyes smoldered. “But I’m taking you back to our bedroom as fast as the car will go.”
But at my request, we returned to Rohares the long way. He took me to the spot where legend said Boabdil, the last sultan of Spain, took his very last look at Granada, after he was forced to cede it to Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.
“Oh, no. I left the guidebook at the hotel,” I said sadly, then brightened. “But I left my name in it. Hopefully they’ll find it and call.”
“A guidebook? Get another one!”
“It’s a souvenir,” I whispered, “of the happiest night of my life.”
He kissed me, then standing on the hill, we looked back at Granada. “They say Boabdil wept when he looked his last upon his city,” I said wistfully. “And his mother mocked his tears. She sneered that he was weeping like a woman for what he could not fight for as a man. Can you believe that?”
“People can say hurtful things to those they love,” Alejandro said quietly. “Especially when they’re backed into a corner and their own hearts are breaking.”
As we drove back home, I suddenly realized Alejandro was right. I thought of all my anguished years feeling lonely in London, wishing hopelessly for my grandmother, my uncle and Claudie to love me. But they could not, because they did not know how. Instead, they’d relentlessly pursued the wrong things, luxury and status and appearance. They’d never known that the only way to gain happiness was not only to follow your heart, but to give it away.
Leaning over, Alejandro took my hand. Bringing it to his lips, he fervently kissed it. My eyes blurred with tears as I smiled at him, thinking how lucky I was.
And that was the moment I forgave my family for not loving me. Sometimes, I thought, you have to make your own family.
Blushing, I said shyly, “So what do I call you now?”
He looked at me. “I’ve grown fond of Alejandro. I’ll let my son keep Miguel.” He turned away, facing the road. His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “After we get back, I’m going to talk to a lawyer. I’ll see if there’s any way to renounce the title without causing risk to Maurine.” He looked at me. “But it seems so much to ask of you.”
“What?”
“Would you be heartbroken to give up the title of duchess—and know Miguel would never be a duke?”
“Are you kidding?” I gave a low laugh. “I’m happy to give it up. Do you really think I’m duchess material?”
He looked at me seriously. “Yes, mi amor. Yes.”
“I’m happy as your wife,” I whispered. “However that may be.” And he squeezed my hand in his.
When we arrived at Rohares Castle, we hugged our baby and Maurine, who immediately started telling us every small detail of their extremely uneventful night, which mostly involved patty-cake and Miguel dozing as his great-grandmother read him Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra. “So Miguel felt part of the experience, too. It seemed appropriate....”
“Like his name,” I said. Smiling, I glanced back at Alejandro. “It turns out I named him after his father.”
With an intake of breath, Maurine looked between us. Then she gave a whoop of joy. “Took you long enough,” she cried, then hugged us, telling us we were silly to be so emotional as she wiped her own eyes. “So. I, too, have news. The best news of all.” Maurine looked between us, beaming. “While the two of you were on your honeymoon, I did something with your hairbrush....”
The house phone rang loudly from across the great room. Wondering if it might be the hotel calling about my guidebook, I said hurriedly, “Just a minute.” Rushing across the room, I answered breathlessly, “Hello?”
“Don’t say my name.”
Edward?! I gritted my teeth and rasped, “I’m hanging up now.”
“If you do, you’ll be sorry.”
Something about the cool confidence of his voice made me hesitate. “Why?”
“Because I know.”
“What?”
“Everything.”
A chill went down my spine. I tried to bluff. “Everything about what?”
“About your husband. And the lie he told twenty-three years ago.”
The chill turned to ice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He snorted, then said quietly, “I followed you to Granada. I was in the shadows on the street. When you came out alone from the restaurant, I was going to comfort you. Then your husband followed you out. And gave me all the ammunition I would ever need to destroy him. And that so-called grandmother of his.”
Turning, I stared wide-eyed at Alejandro and Maurine across the great hall, where they were laughing together. I gripped the phone. “What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted. You.”
“I don’t love you—”
“Yes. I know.
You love him. So if you want to protect him, this choice should be easy for you. I’m waiting in a car at the castle gate. Call the guard. Tell him to let me in.”
“If I tell Alejandro how you’re trying to blackmail me, he will kill you.”
“I’m sure you’re right. Which is why you won’t tell him.”
“You don’t understand! That’s not just an expression. He will literally kill you!”
“Let him try,” he said flatly. “Tell him, if that’s how you want this to go. I’m not afraid. I have nothing to lose.” He paused. “Do you?”
I shuddered, trembling, afraid that Alejandro would really kill him, and he’d end up in jail not just for fraud, but for murder. “What do you want me to do?”
His voice was smooth and slick. “Tell him you’ve changed your mind about your marriage. Tell him you only wanted him when you thought he was a real duke, but now...you’re in love with me.”
Horror filled my heart. “He’ll never believe it—”
“He will. That’s what frightens you.” He gave a low laugh. “Tell him you’re going to spend tonight with me, and your lawyers will be in touch about divorce—and custody. That bit about custody is just for you, by the way. I’ll let your baby live with us. Doesn’t that show how much I care?”
“You never cared about me,” I whispered. “If you did, you couldn’t do this.”
“I took care of you. I saved you. I earned you. Not him.”
“I’m a human soul—not some trophy to be won!”
“You should be mine,” he said coldly. “Let him watch you leave with me. Make him believe I’m the one you want. And I’ll forget what I know. Do it for his sake. And the old woman’s.”
“Edward, please...”
“Three minutes. Then I’m calling a press conference.”
“And he’ll kill you!”
“Then Navaro will be in jail for the rest of his life. And your kid will have no father. Or great-grandmother. Make your choice. You say you really love them? Prove it.”
The line clicked off.
My whole body shook as I hung up.
“Who was it?” Alejandro said behind me.
“N-nothing. I mean, no one.”
“Which is it? Is something wrong?” His eyes were sharp. Of course he knew something was wrong. He saw right through me. Saw my anguished heart.
So how could I break his—with a lie?
And yet—how could I not?
Wide-eyed, I looked across the great hall toward Maurine, who at her age would likely never come back from the shock of a scandal and trial for fraud, much less being sent to prison. I looked at my sweet baby in his baby swing, who would endure the experience I’d feared most—being surrounded by paparazzi—before he lost his father. And Alejandro. I looked at him, hardly able to breathe. If he really did attack Edward as I feared...
I remembered the look in his eyes in Granada when I’d told him that Edward had visited me. I remembered the cold menace in his face.
I will kill him.
“Lena?” Alejandro frowned, coming closer. “Who was on the phone?”
The phone suddenly rang again. I picked it up.
“Your Excellency?” It was the security guard at the gate. “There’s an Edward St. Cyr here. He has no appointment. Should I let him inside?”
I took a deep breath.
“Let him in,” I said faintly, then hung up the phone. I picked up my handbag. I walked slowly toward my family, feeling as if I was going to die.
But I would die for them. I looked at those three beloved faces, in this beautiful old castle I’d already come to love. My family. My home. Would I do it? To save them?
Yes.
“Where are you going?” Alejandro said.
“I’m sorry.” My teeth were chattering. My words were faint. “Our marriage is over. I’ll be back tomorrow. So we can discuss c-custody....”
I stopped at the door. Alejandro was staring at me with open-mouthed shock. I was trembling so hard it was all I could do not to black out.
But it was the only way to save him. To save all of them.
I was the one who’d allowed Edward into our lives. I was the one who should pay for that. Not them.
But as I looked into Alejandro’s face, I knew that he, too, would suffer. Squeezing my eyes shut, I turned away.
“Edward’s come for me,” I choked out. “I’m leaving with him now. We both know it never would have worked out with us, Alejandro. Not for long...”
“What are you saying?” he breathed, searching my gaze. “I don’t believe you!”
“I’ll be back with a lawyer—tomorrow....” My voice ended on a sob. Whirling around, I fled for the door. Outside, I saw Edward waiting in an expensive SUV. The windows were all rolled down, the engine still running. Sobbing, I climbed in beside him. He gave me a triumphant, cruel smile.
“Wise choice,” he said coldly. “Very smart.”
“I don’t feel smart,” I whispered, hating myself, hating this choice already, wanting to do nothing more than jump out of the vehicle. And suddenly, that’s just what I needed to do. “No. NO. I can’t do this—”
Reaching over me, Edward put on my seat belt. It felt like a restraint.
“You’ll soon be free of his influence,” he said softly, reaching toward me. “I promise you.”
I shuddered at his touch. “Don’t!”
With a low laugh, he put down his hand. “Have it your way. I am a patient man....”
But as he turned the steering wheel and started to drive down the circular courtyard, Alejandro was suddenly there, standing ahead of us, blocking the way to the road.
He wasn’t looking at Edward. He was looking only at me. I saw his lips form my name.
“Make him believe you love me,” Edward growled in a low voice. “Make him believe.”
I licked my lips. I looked at Alejandro’s stark face. The anguish in his dark eyes.
And I couldn’t go through with it.
“I can’t.” My voice trembled as I started fumbling with my seat belt. “I can’t do this. Let me out of here!”
“Too late,” Edward said grimly, holding on to the latch as I tried to fight him.
Alejandro saw us struggling through the front window. Hands clenched at his sides, he started walking toward the SUV, now staring at Edward with narrowed eyes, his powerful warrior’s body threatening his murder.
Edward’s mouth twisted as their eyes met. He glared back, the same expression of murder in his face.
They both intended to kill or be killed today.
Over me.
With a low, cruel growl, Edward stomped on the gas, increasing speed as he drove the SUV straight at Alejandro, who was unprotected and alone in the castle courtyard.
But my husband didn’t turn and run. He didn’t back down. Instead, he started running straight at the car—as if a man could play chicken against seven thousand pounds of steel!
I screamed. Grabbing the steering wheel, I twisted it hard to the left. Veering off balance, Edward’s SUV crashed into the stone fountain and twisted, then flew, high into the air.
As if in slow motion, I felt us fly up, up, up, at the same time we flipped in sickening circles, around and around. We hit the ground with a bone-jarring crunch and rolled down the long hill, all the way down. Then, with a shudder and metallic groan, the SUV was still.
I wasn’t dead. I was upside down, held into the passenger seat by the taut seat belt that had knocked the air out of me, leaving a streak of pain where it crossed my chest.
Panting, I looked over at the driver’s seat. It was empty. Edward was gone.
“Lena!” Alejandro cried. A moment later, my door was wrenched open, and suddenly he was there. He yanked open
the seat belt, and caught me in his strong arms as I fell.
Cradling me desperately, my husband sank to the ground, still holding me against his chest. He ran his hands over my body, found no life-ending injury and exhaled, holding me tight against him, rocking me in his lap. “Oh, my love,” he choked out. “You’re safe. You’re safe. For a moment I thought...” He looked at me fiercely. “Don’t ever do that to me again!”
“I’m sorry,” I wept, pressing my head against his chest. “He learned the truth and said if I didn’t come with him, he would ruin your life and Maurine’s and even Miguel’s. I couldn’t risk you going to jail for the rest of your life—”
“I’d rather be sent to jail for a million years,” he said hoarsely, “than lose you.” I felt his body trembling beneath me. Reaching up in amazement, I brushed away a single tear trailing down his tanned, hard-edged cheek.
Pressing my forehead to his, I whispered, “Thank you for not letting me go.”
He cupped my face, looked me straight in the eyes. “Never. We are forever....”
A low growl made us both turn.
“You’ll be sorry.” We turned to see Edward collapsed on the grass, where he’d been flung from the vehicle, across the hill. “Both of you,” he panted, “will be sorry.”
Alejandro’s hands tightened on me. I looked up at him in terror. “Don’t kill him. It’s not worth it. Remember you promised you’d never leave me....”
“Kill him?” He looked at me incredulously. “Why should I? Look at him....”
For the first time, I noticed the odd way Edward’s arms and legs were stretched out in unnatural directions on the grass. But even his body wasn’t as contorted as his face.
“I’ll tell the world,” Edward panted, “how you all committed fraud. I’ll ruin your lives—both of you—the old woman and that baby, too....”
Alejandro glared at Edward, parting his lips to answer. But someone else beat him to it.