The Playboy of Puerto Banus

by Carol Marinelli

  Raúl called a taxi, but even as he climbed in he knew she would not want him with her on the flight. Knew he would be simply delaying her in getting to where she needed to be. They passed De La Fuente Holdings and he looked up, trying to imagine it without his father and Angela, and with Luka working there. Trying to fathom a future that right now he could not see.

  Noticing a light on, he asked the driver to stop…

  ‘Raúl!’

  Angela tried not to raise her eyes as a very dishevelled Raúl appeared from the elevator.

  He was unshaven, his eyes bloodshot. His hair was a mess, and there was lipstick on his collar…

  It was the Raúl she knew well.

  ‘What are you doing here at this time, Raúl?’

  ‘I saw the light on,’ Raúl said. ‘Estelle’s niece is sick.’

  ‘I am sorry to hear that. Where is Estelle?’

  ‘Flying back to London.’

  ‘You should be with her, then.’ Angela refused to mince her words. He might not want to hear what she had to say to him—he could leave if that were the case.

  ‘She didn’t want me to go.’

  ‘So you hit the clubs and picked up a puta?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Don’t lie to me, Raúl,’ Angela said. ‘Your wife would never wear cheap perfume like that.’

  ‘I wouldn’t cheat on her. I couldn’t.’

  Angela paused. Really, the evidence was clear—and yet she knew Raúl better than most and he did not lie. Raúl never attempted to defend the inexcusable.

  ‘So what happened?’ Angela asked.

  He closed his eyes in shame.

  ‘You know, when you live as a mistress apparently you lose the right to an opinion on others—but of course you have them.’ Harsh was the look she gave Raúl. ‘Over and over I question your morals.’

  ‘Over and over I do too,’ Raúl admitted. ‘She got too close.’

  ‘That’s what couples do.’

  ‘I did not cheat. I wanted her to think that I had.’

  ‘So now she does.’ Angela looked at him. ‘So now she’s on her own, dealing with her family.’

  Angela watched his eyes fill with tears and she tried not to love him as a son, tried not to forgive when she should not. But when he told her what had happened, told her what he had done, the filthy place his head had been, she believed him.

  ‘You push away everyone who loves you. What are you scared of, Raúl?’

  ‘This,’ Raúl admitted. ‘Hurting another, being responsible for another…’

  ‘We are responsible for ourselves,’ Angela said. ‘I have made mistakes. Now I pay for them. Now I have till the morning to clear out my office. Now your aunt and uncle turn their backs on me. I would do it all again, though, for the love I had with your father. Some things I would do differently, of course, but I would do it all again.’

  ‘What would you do differently?’

  ‘I would have insisted you were told far sooner about your father and I. I would have told you about your brother,’ she said. ‘We were going to before you went to university, but your father decided not to at the last moment. I regret that. I should have stood up to him. I should have told you myself. I did not. And I have to live with that. What would you have done differently, Raúl?’

  ‘Not have gone to Sol’s.’ He gave a small smile. ‘And many, many other things. But that is the main one now.’

  ‘You need to go to her. You need to tell her what happened—why you did what you did.’

  ‘She doesn’t want to hear it,’ Raúl said. ‘There are more important things on her mind.’

  He could not bring himself to tell Angela that their marriage was a fake. If this was fake, then it hurt too much.

  And if it was not fake, then it was real.

  ‘If you are not there for her now, with her niece so ill, then it might be too late.’

  Raúl nodded. ‘She has my plane.’

  ‘I will book you on a commercial flight,’ Angela said. ‘You need to freshen up.’

  He headed to his office, stared in the mirror and picked up his razor. He called his thanks as she brought him in coffee and a fresh shirt.

  ‘This is the last time I do this for you.’

  ‘Maybe not,’ Raúl said. ‘Maybe your sons might have a say in that.’

  Angela’s eyes welled up for a moment as finally he acknowledged the place she had in his heart. But then she met his eyes and told him, ‘I meant this is the last time I help you cover up a mistake. Estelle deserves more.’

  ‘She will get it.’

  ‘Your father was so pleased to see how you two were together,’ Angela said. ‘He was the most peaceful I have ever seen him. He knew he had not allowed time for you and Luka to sort things out, but you are brothers and he believes that will happen. The morning he passed away we were watching you and Estelle walking in the hills. We saw you stop and kiss.’

  Raúl closed his eyes as he remembered that day, when for the first time in his life he had been on the edge of admitting love.

  ‘He knew you were happy. I am so glad that I told him about the baby.’

  Raúl froze.

  ‘Baby?’

  There was no mistaking his bewilderment.

  ‘She has not told you?’

  ‘No!’ Raúl could not take it in. ‘She told you?’

  ‘No,’ Angela said. ‘I just knew. She did not have any wine; she was sick in the morning…’

  Yes, Estelle was tough.

  Yes, she could do this without him.

  He did not want her to.

  ‘Book the flight.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  ‘RAÚL!’

  The only possible advantage to being in the midst of a family crisis was that no one noticed the snap to her voice or the tension on Estelle’s features when a clean-shaven, lipstick-free Raúl walked in.

  ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.’ He shook Andrew’s hand.

  ‘No, we’re grateful to you for getting Estelle here,’ Andrew said. ‘We’re very sorry about your father.’

  It was strange, but in a crisis it was Andrew who was the strong one. Amanda barely looked up.

  ‘Is she in surgery?’ Raúl sat down next to Estelle and put his arm around her. He felt her shoulders stiffen.

  ‘An hour ago.’ Her words were stilted. ‘It could be several hours yet.’

  The clock ticked on.

  Raúl read every poster on the wall and every pamphlet that was laid out. She could hear the turning of the pages and it only served to irritate her. Why on earth had he come? Why couldn’t she attempt to get over him with him still far away?

  ‘Why won’t they give us an update?’ asked Amanda’s mother. ‘It’s ridiculous that they don’t let us know what’s going on.’

  ‘They will soon,’ Andrew said, and Raúl watched as Andrew put his arm around his wife and comforted her, saw how she leant on him, how much she needed him.

  Despite everything.

  Because of everything, Raúl realised.

  ‘Why don’t you wait in the hotel?’ Estelle suggested when she could not stand him being in the room a moment longer. ‘I’ve got a room there.’

  ‘I want to wait with you.’

  He headed out to the vending machine and she followed him. ‘I need some change,’ he said. ‘I haven’t got any pounds.’

  ‘Why would you make this worse for me?’

  ‘I’m not trying to make it worse for you,’ Raúl said. ‘I know this is neither the time nor the place, but you need to know that nothing happened except my asking a woman to kiss my neck and spray me with her perfume.’ He looked her right in the eye. ‘I wanted you gone.’


  ‘Well, it worked.’

  ‘I made a mistake,’ Raúl said. ‘The most foolish of mistakes. I did not want to put you through what was to come.’

  ‘Shouldn’t that be my choice?’ She looked at him.

  ‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘As it should be mine.’

  Estelle didn’t understand his response, was in no mood for cryptic games, and she shook her head in frustration. She wanted him gone and yet she wanted him here—wanted to forgive, to believe.

  ‘I can’t do this now,’ Estelle said. ‘Right now I have to concentrate on my niece.’

  As much as Raúl longed to be there for her, that much he understood. ‘Do you want me to wait in the hotel or stay with you here?’

  ‘The hotel,’ Estelle said—because she could not think straight with him around, could not keep her thoughts where they needed to be with Raúl by her side. She wanted his arms around her, wanted the comfort only he could give, and yet she could not stand what he had done.

  ‘Could I get a coffee as well?’ Andrew wheeled himself over.

  ‘Of course,’ Raúl said as Estelle handed him some change.

  ‘Estelle, could you take Amanda for a walk?’ Andrew asked. ‘Just get her away from the waiting room. Her parents are driving her crazy, asking how much longer it will be.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Estelle’s eyes briefly met Raúl’s, warning him to be gone by the time she returned, and Raúl knew the fight he had on his hands. He watched as Estelle suggested a walk to Amanda and he saw a family in motion, supporting each other, a family that was there for each other. A family who helped, who fixed—or tried to.

  He looked to Andrew. ‘You have the best sister in the world.’

  ‘I know,’ Andrew said. ‘I’d do anything for her.’

  As would Estelle for him, Raúl thought. She’d sold her soul to the devil for her family, but now he understood why.

  ‘I am going to wait in the hotel,’ Raúl said. ‘I didn’t sleep at all last night.’

  ‘I know.’ Andrew nodded. ‘I’m sure Estelle will keep you up to date.’

  ‘What hotel is she staying at?’

  ‘Over the road,’ Andrew told him. ‘Good luck—I’m sure it’s not at all what you’re used to.’

  ‘It will be fine.’

  ‘You just wait.’ Andrew gave a pale smile. ‘I had to wait fifteen minutes just for them to find a ramp.’

  They chatted on for a while—Andrew trying to keep his mind out of the surgery, Raúl simply because Andrew wanted to talk.

  ‘I had my reservations about the two of you at first,’ Andrew admitted. ‘You’re so opposite.’

  And then Raúl found out from his wife’s brother just how much Estelle hated clubs and bars, found out exactly the lengths she had gone to for her family.

  There was one length she would not go to, though. Raúl was certain of that now.

  He walked alongside Andrew’s chair, down long corridors, past the operating theatres and Intensive Care, and back again a few times over—until he saw Estelle returning and knew it was better for her that he leave.

  * * *

  He paced the small hotel room, waiting for news—because surely it was taking too long. It was now nine p.m., and he was sick to his stomach for a baby he had never met and a family he wanted to be a part of.

  ‘She made it through surgery.’

  Raúl could hear both the relief and the strain in Estelle’s voice when the door opened.

  ‘When did she get out of Theatre?’

  ‘About six.’ She glanced over to him. ‘Was I supposed to ring and inform you?’

  He could hear the sarcasm in her voice. ‘I just thought it was taking too long. I thought…’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Estelle regretted her sarcastic response—she could see the concern on his face was genuine. ‘It was just a long wait till they let Andrew and Amanda in to see her. They’ve only just been allowed.’

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘Still here.’ Estelle peeled off her clothes. ‘I’ve lost my phone charger. I gave Andrew your number in case anything happens overnight.’

  It was, though she would never admit it, a relief to have him here, to know that if the phone rang in the night he would be the one to answer it. It was a relief, too, to sink into bed and close her eyes, but there was something that needed to be dealt with before the bliss of sleep.

  ‘I’m not going to tell them we’re over yet,’ Estelle said. ‘It would be too much for them to deal with now. But after we visit in the morning can you make your excuses and leave.’

  ‘I want to be here.’

  ‘I don’t want you here, though, and given what’s happened you don’t own me any more.’ She stared into the dark. ‘Exclusive, remember?’

  ‘I’ve told you—nothing happened,’ Raúl said. ‘Which means I do still own you.’

  ‘No,’ Estelle said, ‘you don’t. Because whatever went on I’ve decided that I don’t want your money. It costs too much.’

  ‘Then pay me back.’

  ‘I will…’ she attempted, but of course a considerable amount had already been spent. ‘I fully intend to pay you back. It just might take some time.’

  ‘Whatever you choose. But it changes nothing now, Estelle…’ He reached for her, wanted to speak with her, but she shrugged him off and turned to her side.

  ‘I’d like the night off.’

  ‘Granted.’

  She woke in his arms and wriggled away from them, and then rang her brother. Raúl watched as she went to climb out of bed, saw the extra heaviness to her breasts and the darkening pink of her areolae, and he loved her all the more for not telling him, for guarding their child from the contract that had once bound them. It was the only leverage he had.

  ‘You’ll leave after visiting?’ Estelle checked.

  ‘Why would I leave my wife at a time like this?’ Raúl asked. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Estelle.’

  ‘I don’t want you here.’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ Raúl said. ‘I believe you love me as much as I love you.’

  ‘Love you!’ Estelle said. ‘I’d be mad to love you.’ She shook her head. ‘You might have almost sent me crazy once, Raúl, but if I possibly did love you then it’s gone. My love has conditions too, and you didn’t adhere to them. I don’t care about technicalities, Raúl. Even if you didn’t sleep with someone else, what you did was wrong.’

  ‘Then we go back to the contract.’ He caught her wrist. ‘Which means I dictate the terms.’

  ‘Your father’s dead. Surely it’s over?’

  ‘We agreed on a suitable pause. You should read things more closely before you sign them, Estelle.’ He watched her shoulders rise and fall. ‘But I agree it has proved more complicated than either of us could have anticipated. For that reason, I will agree that the contract expires tomorrow.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’ Estelle asked. ‘Why not now?’

  ‘I just want one more night. And if I have to exercise the terms of the contract to speak with you—believe me, I shall.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ‘SHE'S PINK!’

  Estelle couldn’t believe the little pink fingers that wrapped around hers. Even Cecelia’s nails were pink—it was suddenly her favourite colour in the world.

  ‘That’s the first thing we said.’ Andrew was holding Cecelia’s other hand. ‘She’s been fighting so much since the day she was born.’ Andrew smiled down at his daughter.

  All were too entranced by the miracle that was Cecilia to notice how much Raúl was struggling.

  Raúl looked down at the infant, who resembled Estelle, and could hardly believe what he had almost turned his back on.

  ‘I have to go and do some work,’ Raúl said.
‘Do you want to get lunch later?’

  Estelle looked up, about to say no, but he was talking to Andrew.

  ‘Just at the canteen,’ he added.

  ‘That would be great.’ Andrew smiled. ‘Estelle, could you take Amanda for some breakfast? She wants one of us with Cecelia all the time but she needs to get out of the unit and get some fresh air.’

  ‘Sure.’ Estelle stood.

  ‘I thought we could go for dinner tonight.’

  This time Raúl was speaking to Estelle.

  ‘I’m here to be with my niece.’

  ‘Andrew and Amanda are with her. As long as she continues to improve I am sure they expect you to eat.’

  ‘Of course we do,’ Andrew said. ‘Go out tonight, Estelle. You need a break from the hospital too!’

  * * *

  It was a long day. The doctors were in and out with Cecelia, and talked about taking her breathing tube out if she continued to hold her own. Amanda’s parents went home, to return at the weekend, and after they had gone Estelle finally persuaded Amanda to have a sleep in one of the parents’ rooms.

  It was exhausting.

  As she closed the door and went to head back to Cecelia she wondered if she had, after all, grown far too used to Raúl’s lifestyle—she would have given anything to be back on his yacht, just drifting along, with nothing to think about other than what the next meal might be and how long it would be till they made love again.

  Being Raúl’s tart hadn’t all been bad, Estelle thought with a wry smile as she returned to Cecelia.

  It was being his wife that was hell.

  ‘Amanda’s asleep,’ Estelle said. ‘Well, for a little while.’

  ‘Thanks for being here for us,’ Andrew said. ‘Both of you. Raúl’s great. I admit I wasn’t sure at first, but you can see how much he cares for you.’

  She felt tears prick her eyes,

  ‘Did you ask him to offer me a job?’

  ‘A job?’

  She couldn’t lie easily to her brother, but instantly he knew that Estelle’s surprised response was real, that she’d had no idea.

  ‘Raúl said that when things are sorted with Cecelia there will be a job waiting for me. He wants me to check out his hotels, work on adjustments for the disabled. There will be a lot of travel, and it will be tough being away at first. But once Cecelia’s better he says we can broaden things so it’s not just about travelling with disabilities but with a young child as well.’