Alejandro's Sexy Secret

by Amy Ruttan

  Kiri chuckled. “I assure you I’m quite real.”

  “Why are you marrying this ugly one?” Dante teased. “You’re picking the wrong brother.”

  Kiri laughed while Alejandro scowled.

  “I love him,” Kiri said, shrugging.

  “She’s delirious,” Dante said in an aside to his twin.

  Rafe nodded and then turned to Alejandro. “No, seriously, what is going on?”

  “I’m in love with her and we’re adopting a baby.”

  “A baby?” Dante and Rafe said in unison.

  “Sí, a baby.” Then Alejandro proceeded to tell the whole story, right from the first time he’d met Kiri to Gervaso’s heart transplant a couple of weeks ago.

  “So, you see, I needed two witnesses and I knew you two elders wouldn’t come down to City Hall because you would think that I was pulling your legs, so I told a little white lie.”

  “We’re happy for you,” Dante said.

  “It’s about time you grew a pair,” Rafe said. “Seriously, Alejandro, Mami and Pappi would be proud.”

  Kiri smiled as Alejandro hugged both his brothers tight.

  “We’re going to be late,” she piped up. “Our appointment is in ten minutes.”

  “Right, let’s go.” Alejandro took her hand and the elders followed them into the judge’s chambers.

  Alejandro handed the paperwork to the judge and stood in front of Kiri, holding her hand. He grinned down at her.

  “I love you, mi tesoro.”

  “And I you.”

  The ceremony was simple, then Kiri signed the certificate and so did Alejandro.

  They were married.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the judge said.

  Alejandro tipped her chin and pressed a kiss against her lips. “Thank you for bringing me back my family.”

  “Thank you for being my family,” she said. “Thank you for helping me find my way to the world of the living again. I was so lost.”

  “Me too,” Alejandro whispered, pulling her close. “Now let’s get these papers off to the adoption lawyer so we can make Gervaso a part of our family.”

  “Sí,” Kiri teased.

  Dante and Rafe welcomed her to the family and the four of them went to the next building to file their marriage certificate with their adoption papers. After that was done Kiri and Alejandro took Dante and Rafe to the neonatal intensive care unit at Buena Vista to meet the soon-to-be newest member of the Valentino family.

  “So should I call you Dr. Bhardwaj or Dr. Valentino?”

  “I think there’re enough Dr. Valentinos to last a life time,” Kiri teased.

  “Fair enough, but you know there are never enough Valentinos. Miracles do happen,” Alejandro said encouragingly.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  And she hoped that miracle would come true, but for now she had all she could ever want.

  EPILOGUE

  One year later

  KIRI WALKED ALONG the beach, watching as Alejandro jogged ahead, chasing after Gervaso, who was toddling at full speed through the sand and the surf. Against all the odds and his preemie start, their little fighter had mastered first walking then running around the time of his first birthday.

  He was thriving a year after his heart transplant, though Kiri knew he might have to go back on UNOS again one day. Just like Alejandro.

  Alejandro was good about going to his appointments and taking care of himself. He was on the list, but so far with close monitoring there had been no further heart failure.

  So Kiri just lived every day to the fullest, enjoying the time she had with her family.

  She couldn’t believe that she’d been married to Alejandro for a year already. Shortly after they’d married Kiri’s parents had descended from New York City to meet their new son-in-law. Her parents were thrilled that she’d gotten married but not that she’d gotten married at City Hall.

  So while they’d been in Miami Kiri had married Alejandro again for a second time in a traditional Hindu ceremony, which her parents had always wanted for her.

  And Alejandro had teased that there was no escaping him now.

  The newlyweds and Gervaso had taken the painful trip to New York City to visit the grave of the child they’d lost, which had allowed Alejandro to mourn and to mourn with her.

  And on the anniversary of his parents’ deaths she’d gone with him to the graveside to pay her respects to the people who’d raised four strong, proud men.

  She still missed her family and friends back in New York City, but after becoming a Valentino and adopting Gervaso she became part of an even larger family.

  It was what she’d always wanted.

  “Come back here,” Alejandro shouted, interrupting her thoughts as he playfully ran past her after Gervaso, who loved splashing through the little waves that broke on the shore. Kiri grinned as little footprints appeared on the sand before the waves washed them away.

  The little boy was laughing and screeched when Alejandro closed in on him then hefted him up and swung him around. Gervaso sported a crop of dark curls and had the bluest eyes that Kiri had ever seen. The scar from the heart transplant was barely visible over the top of his T-shirt, but that didn’t stop the precocious boy from running amok. It didn’t slow him down one bit.

  One of Gervaso’s first words had been spoken when he’d pointed to his scar and Alejandro’s scar and said, “Same.”

  “Mami!” Gervaso cried out through fits of giggles.

  “I’m coming,” Kiri called out, but they’d gotten so far ahead of her she had a hard time catching up.

  Unfortunately she was moving a bit slower than those two were.

  She looked down at her belly. She was seven months along and she was apparently carrying an elephant. Once she’d found out she was pregnant she’d had her cervix sewn up and had been put on a light workload up until last month, when she’d been told she should no longer work.

  Which was fine. It was harder to stand for long periods of time now. Not with what seemed like a gigantic child growing inside her.

  Her sister-in-law, Saoirse, had warned her that Valentino babies were large.

  “Big heads!” she’d teased.

  Kiri had laughed then, but now she believed it.

  “I have to sit down,” she shouted over the laughter. She grabbed one of the many beach chairs along South Beach and sank down into it. It was heavenly, though she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to get out of it again. Still, it was nice not to be walking around so much.

  They’d spent the day house hunting in South Beach, because Alejandro wanted to live near the ocean and they were outgrowing the one-bedroom condo that Kiri owned. They’d sold Alejandro’s condo to pay for Gervaso’s heart-transplant surgery, but not long after they’d paid the hospital bill Mr. Snyder had been booted off the board for giving a bad reputation to Buena Vista and the pro bono fund had been reinstated.

  It seemed the press had got wind that a surgeon had applied to adopt an abandoned baby to save the baby’s life when the hospital had threatened to turn him away.

  And since Alejandro was a renowned pediatric transplant surgeon the press had eaten it up. It had been a small victory, but worth it.

  Buena Vista was now the kind of hospital they could both be proud to work in.

  Kiri leaned back in the chair and put her feet up. The sun was setting over the ocean and the nightlife on South Beach was starting to kick up a notch.

  Alejandro came back with Gervaso on his shoulders. “You know, on second thought I think we should expand our search area.”

  Kiri cocked an eyebrow. “I thought you loved the ocean. And Gervaso clearly loves the ocean, he’s absolutely soaked.”

  “I know. Sorry about that,
but he loves the waves. For what it’s worth, there’s a huge wet spot on my back.”

  Kiri chuckled. “I have no sympathy for you. So why do you want to widen the house hunting? I though you loved South Beach.”

  “I do, but we can go outside Miami. We could go to an island even.”

  “No way, not an island. I’m not driving over a large bridge every day.”

  He shrugged. “You do it now.”

  “Yes, but at least South Beach and Miami Beach are hard pieces of land and not islands that could flood.” She shook her head. “No islands.”

  “How about a yacht?”

  “No yachts. Besides, all your stripper money is gone, yes?” she teased.

  He glared at her. “I could always go back to it.”

  “I don’t think so. You’re mine.”

  Alejandro bent over and kissed her. “So where were you thinking?”

  “There’re a lot of nice houses down by Vizcaya,” she suggested. “On the mainland.”

  Alejandro grinned. “A good school district too.”

  “Exactly.” She rubbed her belly again. “I’m really dreading having to trade in for a minivan soon.”

  He laughed. “You’ll look good driving a minivan.”

  “You’re driving it, buster.”

  “I don’t think so,” he teased. Then he set Gervaso down beside her. He curled up against her belly, rubbing his baby.

  “Baby,” Gervaso said. “Mine.”

  Alejandro placed a hand against her belly and the response was a strong kick. “Not long now. We’d better speed up our search. I want to be in the house before the baby comes.”

  “I agree.” Kiri laid her hand over Alejandro’s and the baby kicked up at them, as if knowing that they were talking about him or her. Kiri hadn’t found out the gender as she wanted to be surprised.

  It was a miracle she was pregnant, but she’d heard tell of women who spontaneously conceived after adopting and that’s exactly what had happened. Seven months ago when all the final paperwork had come through, announcing they were finally Gervaso’s parents, they’d celebrated in style that night.

  And now they were on the fast track to a family. If they could only find a house that would suit them both.

  “Did you ever think that you’d be here?” Kiri asked. “You were so adamant about not having kids.”

  He shook his head. “No, I never did, because I didn’t think I’d live to see this.”

  “You’re a transplant surgeon—people beat the odds all the time.”

  He grinned at her. “I knew I shouldn’t have walked up to you in that bar in Vegas.”

  “Well, you told me that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And look where we are,” she teased. “It certainly didn’t stay in Vegas.”

  “I’m glad of it, mi tesoro.”

  “Are you?”

  He gave that charming smile as he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. “Absolutely.”

  * * * * *

  If you missed the first story in the HOT LATIN DOCS quartet look out for SANTIAGO’S CONVENIENT FIANCÉE by Annie O’Neil

  And there are two more fabulous stories to come!

  If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Amy Ruttan

  UNWRAPPED BY THE DUKE

  TEMPTING NASHVILLE’S CELEBRITY DOC

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE DOCTOR’S DIAMOND PROPOSAL by Annie Claydon.

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  The Doctor’s Diamond Proposal

  by Annie Claydon

  CHAPTER ONE

  Ten years ago...

  THE PARTY HAD got off to a slow start, but by eleven o’clock the house was packed with people and Leo Cross was beginning to feel hot and uncomfortable in his costume.

  It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Orion Shift was less of a TV show to the six medical students who shared the sprawling house in West London and more of a Friday evening ritual. The one hour in the week that didn’t belong to study, girlfriends or the urgent need for sleep. So what better way to celebrate their third year exam results than decorate the living room with as much tinfoil as they could get their hands on and suspend inflatable planets from the ceiling?

  Dressing up as the crew of the interstellar spacecraft Orion Shift had been the next logical step. But a hot summer’s evening wasn’t really the time to be wearing a heavy jacket with a high collar, and Leo was beginning to wish that personal temperature regulation fields really had been invented.

  A girl in blue body paint and a leotard sidled up to him. ‘Captain Boone! You look particularly delicious tonight.’

  ‘Maddie. How are you doing?’

  ‘You want a Tellurian cocktail?’ Maddie draped her arms around Leo’s shoulders. Clearly she and Pete had been arguing again. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable reconciliation, but at the moment Pete was on the other side of the room taking a great deal of interest in a red-haired girl dressed as a Fractalian hydra and Maddie had clearly decided that she was going to give him a taste of his own medicine.

  Leo disentangled himself from Maddie’s grip. ‘No. Thanks, but...’ Just no. If Pete and Maddie wanted to play games that was fine, but Leo knew better than to get involved.

  ‘Leo...!’ Maddie stuck out her lower lip in a disappointed pout as he retreated quickly through the press of people.

  He pushed his way to the kitchen, avoiding the usual group around the beer keg, and slipped outside into the back garden, sighing with relief as the warm breeze brushed his face. The paved space at the back of the house was packed with people, drinking and talking, and Leo made good his escape, dodging across the grass and into the pool of darkness that lay beneath the trees at the end of the garden.

  He bumped into something soft and sweet-smelling and saw a flash of silvery-green luminescence. A shadow detached itself from the other shadows and stumbled into a pool of moonlight. It was Lieutenant Tara Xhu to a T.

  ‘Another fugitive?’ A smile played around her lips.

  ‘You could say that. So how did you manage to make it out of there?’

  Tara—or whatever her real name was—shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. I’ve only watched one episode, and that was to get the costume right, so I don’t really know what Tara’s strategy might be.’ Her mouth twitched suddenly into a flirtatious smile. ‘So you’re Captain Boone?’

  Leo’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and the more they did so, the more he liked what he saw. She was dressed all in black, thick leggings, boots and an off the shoulder top that followed her slim curves and displayed the green scales whic
h spread across Tara’s shoulder. A fair replica of an immobility gun was strapped to her thigh and twisted metallic strands ran round her fingers and across the back of her hands. Her dark hair was streaked with green and anchored in a spiky arrangement on the top of her head with Tara’s silver dagger pins.

  Leo had been in love at first sight before, but suddenly the other times didn’t seem anything like the real thing. She raised one jewelled eyebrow and Leo realised that his gaze had been following the path of the scales that ran down the side of her face and neck and disappeared beneath her top.

  ‘Um... Great costume. Your scales look...really lifelike.’ Captain Thomas Boone would undoubtedly have managed something a bit more urbane, but then he had more experience of the galaxy than Leo.

  ‘Thanks. Iridescent body paint. I felt a bit of an idiot on the bus, on my way here.’ She grinned at him and moved back towards the old picnic bench which stood under the trees. ‘So are you really escaping something, or do you just want some fresh air?’

  ‘A bit of both.’ Leo sat down next to her, stretching his legs out in front of him. This replica Tara had a lightness about her movements, a kind of joy about her, which broke through the warlike quality of the real Tara’s appearance. Even though she was sitting a good two feet away from him, Leo could almost feel her warmth.

  ‘You live here?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then you must be a medical student.’

  ‘That’s right. Starting year four in a couple of weeks, so this’ll probably be the last party we have for a while.’

  ‘I hear it’s a tough year. An interesting one, though...’

  That was exactly how Leo felt about it. He knew that his clinical attachment was going to be hard work, but he couldn’t wait to start putting all that he’d learned into practice. ‘What do you do?’

  She shrugged. ‘Nothing at the moment. I’m just back from a year in Australia.’

  ‘Yeah? What’s it like?’ All Leo wanted to do right now was sit here in the darkness and listen to her talk.