By the end of today, Javier and his team would hopefully have proof. Then Duarte would quietly make sure Harold Hough never took advantage of Kate again. While that wouldn’t heal the hole in his heart over losing her, he couldn’t ignore the need to protect her. More than his own hurt at losing her, he felt her losses so damn much. He hated the idea that she’d lost her big payday and was right back in a difficult situation with her sister’s care.
“Well?” his father pressed.
Duarte dropped into a chair beside his father’s bed with four posters as large as tree trunks. “Sorry to disappoint you.” Best to come clean with the whole mess so his father wouldn’t keep pestering him to chase after Kate. “We were never really engaged in the first place.”
“And you think I didn’t know that?” His father eyed him over the rim of his bone china coffee cup.
“Then why did you let me bring her here?” Maybe he could have been saved the stabbing pain over losing Kate.
Except that would have meant giving up these past weeks with her, and he couldn’t bring himself to wish away their time together.
Enrique replaced his cup on the carved teak tray. “I was curious about the woman who enticed you to play such an elaborate charade.”
“Has your curiosity been satisfied?”
“Does it matter?” His father broke a cakey churros stick in half and dipped it in his coffee. “You’ve disappointed me by letting her leave.”
“I’m not five years old. I do not need your approval.” And he did not have to sit here and take this off his dad just because Enrique was sick. Duarte gripped the arms of the chair and started to rise.
“Since you are grieving, I will forgive your rudeness. I understand the pain of losing a loved one.”
Duarte reeled from his father’s direct jab. He’d had enough of the old man’s games. If he wanted a reconciliation, this was a weird way to go about it. “Strange thing about my grief, I don’t feel the least bit compelled to jump in bed with another woman right now.”
Flinching, Enrique nodded curtly. “Fair enough. I will give you that shot.” Then his eyes narrowed with a sharpness that no illness could dull. “Interesting though that you do not deny loving Kate Harper.”
Denying it wouldn’t serve any purpose. “She has made her choice. She believes I betrayed her and there’s no convincing her otherwise.”
“It does not appear to me that you tried very hard to change her mind.” Enrique fished in the pocket of his robe and pulled out his watch, chain jingling. “Pride can cost a man too much. I did not believe my advisers who told me my government would be overthrown, that I should take my family and leave. I was too proud. I considered myself, my rule, invincible and I waited too long.”
Enrique’s thumb swept over the glass faceplate on the antique timepiece, his eyes taking on a faraway look the deeper he waded into the past. “Your mother paid the price for my hubris. I may not have grieved for her in a manner that meets your approval, but never doubt for a minute that I loved her deeply.”
His father’s gaze cleared and he looked at Duarte, giving his son a rare peek inside the man he’d been, how much he’d lost.
“Mi hijo, my son,” his father continued, “I have spent a lot of years replaying those days in my mind, thinking how I could have done things differently. It is easy to torment yourself with how life could be by changing just one moment.” Gold chain between two fingers, he dangled the pocket watch. “But over time, I’ve come to realize our lives cannot be condensed into a single second. Rather we are the sum of all the choices we make along the way.”
The Dali slippery-watch artwork spoke to him from the walls in a way he’d never imagined. Lost time had haunted his father more than Duarte had ever guessed. During all those art lessons his father had overseen, Enrique had been trying to share things about himself he’d been too wounded to put into words.
“Your Kate made a mistake in believing you would betray her. Are you going to let your whole life boil down to this moment where you make the mistake of letting your pride keep you from going after her?”
He’d always considered himself a man of action, yet he’d stumbled here when it counted most with Kate. Whether he’d held back out of pride or some holdover pain from losing his mother, he didn’t know. But as he stared at the second hand tick, tick, ticking away on his watch, he did know he couldn’t let Kate slip out of his life without a fight.
And now that he’d jump-started his mind out of limbo, he knew just the way to take care of Harold Hough and let Kate know how much faith he had in her. But first, he had barely enough time to extend his father an olive branch that was long overdue.
“Thank you, mi padre.” He clenched the old man’s hand, grateful for the gift of a second chance.
January winds bitterly cold in Boston, Kate anchored her scarf, picking her way down the snowy sidewalk—toward the redbrick building that housed the Global Intruder. Not an overly large place, the Intruder head-quarters conducted most of its business online. She’d dreamed of a more auspicious retirement when the time came to hang up her media credentials.
But she didn’t doubt her decision for a minute.
If she spent the rest of her life taking family portraits for tourists, then so be it. She had found a day facility for Jennifer, but her sister would be living with her. Hesitating at the front steps, Kate rubbed the braided charm that now hung on her camera case, the anklet she’d worn for luck not so long ago.
At least she would have her integrity, if not Duarte. She squeezed her eyes closed against the dull throbbing pain that hadn’t eased one bit in spite of two nights spent soaking her pillow with tears.
A well-tuned car hummed in the distance, louder as it neared. She hopped farther onto the sidewalk to avoid a possible wave of sludge. How long had she stood on the curb of the one-way street?
She glanced over her shoulder just as a vintage Jaguar with tinted windows pulled alongside her. Her heart kicked up a notch as she wondered could it possibly be… A red vintage Jaguar, like the one Duarte had told her that he owned when they planned out their faux first date.
The driver’s side door swept open and Duarte stepped out into the swirl of snowflakes. Long-legged, lean and every bit as darkly handsome as she remembered, he studied her over the roof of the car. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but his shoulders were braced with a determination she recognized well.
While she didn’t know how to reconcile her heart to what he’d done with the photos, she couldn’t stifle the joy she felt over seeing him here. Without question, he’d come for her. She hoped her weak knees would man-up before she did something crazy like walk right back into his arms.
Securing her camera bag on her shoulder, she walked closer to the car, appreciating the barrier between them. “Why are you here?”
“Because this is where you are. Jennifer told me.”
“Not for much longer.” She clutched her bag, too weary to give him a hard time for calling her sister. Jennifer missed “Artie” no matter what a brave face she put on. “I’m quitting my job at the Intruder.”
“Why don’t you hold off on that for a few minutes and take a ride with me first?” He peered over his sunglasses. “You may not have noticed, but we’re starting to attract a crowd.”
Jolting, she looked around. Cars were slowing with rubberneckers, pedestrians who would normally hurry to get in out of the cold were staring curiously at the man who looked just like…
Heaven help her, they were celebrities.
Kate yanked open the passenger-side door. “Let’s go.”
Leaping into the low-slung vehicle, she clicked the seat belt into place, securing her into the pristinely restored Jag just as he slid the car into drive.
And didn’t Duarte have a way of dragging her into his world when she least expected it? Sweeping snow from her coat, she cursed her weak knees, but she couldn’t regret ditching the gathering throng. Funny how a red Jag drew attentio
n. A Medina man beside it didn’t hurt, either.
He dropped a large envelope onto her lap.
“What’s this?” She thumbed the edge of what appeared to be a stack of papers.
“Documents transferring ownership of the Global Intruder to you.”
Shock sparked through her, as blinding as the morning sun through the windshield.
“I don’t understand.” And she couldn’t accept it if he offered it out of some sense of guilt over what he’d done to her. She thrust the papers back toward him. “No, thank you. I can’t be bought.”
Not anymore.
“That’s not my intent at all.” He guided the sports car effortlessly over the ice along narrow historic roads. “You lost out on the payment for your end of the bargain for the wedding photos. You even left behind the other pictures you took that the public hasn’t seen. Why did you do that?”
“Why did you buy the Intruder for me?”
“You have a voice and honor I respect,” he answered without hesitation. “I know you’ll bring humanity to the stories you cover.”
“You want me to work for you?”
“You’re not listening.” Pausing at a stoplight, he turned to face her and pulled off his sunglasses. Dark shadows of sleeplessness marked beneath his eyes much like the weariness on her face. “The Intruder is yours regardless. But it is my hope that you’ll accept my apology for not clearing the air the minute you came into my room after the wedding.”
The magnetism of his deep onyx eyes drew her even when she guarded her heart. Much longer alone with him and she would cave to the wary hope spiraling through her like smoke from the chimneys.
“All right.” She hugged the papers to her chest like a protective shield, wondering how Duarte had managed this all so fast. But then he was a man of decisive action when he chose to be. “I accept the apology and the Intruder. You’re off the hook. You can leave with a clear conscience.”
He parked on the roadside within sight of Long Wharf and the Aquarium, the tinted windows shielding them from view.
Turning toward her, he pulled off his gloves and cupped her shoulders in a gentle grip. “I don’t want to leave. I want you. And not just today, but forever if you’ll have me.”
Just like that, he thought he could drive up and buy her off with a big—albeit amazing—gift? She looked away from his magnetic eyes. Think, she needed to think.
She stared at his key chain swaying in the ignition. She struggled to be reasonable, for Jennifer’s sake. Her sister had been so crushed over the breakup, Kate needed to be completely certain before she invited Duarte back into her life. Jennifer had braided that key chain for Duarte with such hope and love…
She tapped the swaying braid attached to Duarte’s keys. “You kept Jennifer’s present.”
Frowning, he hooked his arm on the steering wheel. “Of course I did. What of it?”
The way he hadn’t even considered hiding or tossing aside Jennifer’s gift opened Kate’s eyes in a way nothing else had. Like someone had taken off the lens cap, she saw him, really saw him for the first time. And in that flash she saw so many things clearly. “You didn’t distribute my photos,” she said, her voice soft. “You didn’t try to lash out at me for revenge.”
He stroked back her hair with lingering, delicious attention to her sensitive earlobe. “I did not betray you, but I understand how it could be difficult for you to trust me.”
What she’d realized—after seeing the key chain, hearing him say the words, witnessing the honesty in his eyes—felt so damn good. The love she’d only just found took root and began to flourish again. “Thank you for being the calm, reasonable one here. I don’t even know how to begin to apologize for assuming the worst of you.”
What it must have taken for a proud man like Duarte to overlook her accusation and come for her anyway. Regret burned right alongside the joy until she promised herself to make it up to him.
“Kate, I realize your father hasn’t given you much reason to have faith in men or trust a man will be there for you.” His palm sought the small of her back, drawing her closer. “I want the chance, I want the time to help you put that behind you. Most of all, I just want you.”
Gripping the lapels of his wool coat, she brushed her lips over his. “I have one question for you.”
The hard muscles along his chest tensed, bracing. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Can we spend a lot of that time making love?”
“Absolutely.” He slanted his mouth over hers, familiar, stirring, a man confident in the knowledge of exactly what turned his lover inside out.
Five breathless heartbeats later, Kate rested her fore head against his. “I can’t believe you bought the Intruder.”
“I had to figure out a way to fire Harold Hough.”
“You fired Harold?” Thinking of her boss’s threat to expose Jennifer to the harsh light of the media, Kate didn’t bother holding back the downright glee at hearing he’d gotten his just deserts.
“Inside that envelope you’ll also see some of the proof Javier put together showing how Hough is responsible for selling all those photos to other media outlets. He pocketed the money for himself. He accessed your computer through a virus he sent in an email. After a, uh, discussion with me, he decided it was prudent to step aside and avoid a lawsuit.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this the second we got in the car together?”
“It was nice having you decide to trust me on your own. Although if you hadn’t, I would have still pulled the plug on Harold for what he did to you and our family.”
Our family.
He’d said it without hesitation, and she couldn’t miss the significance.
“I want you to help me house hunt.”
Now that declaration surprised her. He spoke like a man ready to put down roots, a man coming to peace with his past.
“You’re really ready to give up the cushy hotel living?”
“I was thinking of something on the outskirts of Boston, large and on the water. Big enough for you to move in when you’re ready, Jennifer, too.” His accent thickened as it always did when emotion tugged at him.
“I love you, Kate. While I’m willing to give you all the time you need, I don’t need more time to be sure of that.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out her ruby-and-diamond engagement ring. “This is yours now. Even if you walk away, no other woman will wear it. It will always be waiting for you.”
The beauty of his words, his whole grand gesture in coming here and presenting her with the Intruder, offering to buy a house calmed any reservations. She peeled off her glove and offered her hand without a second thought. He slid the ring back in place and she knew this time, it would stay there.
Duarte closed his hand around hers and rested it over his heart. “Did you notice the car?”
“Your vintage Jaguar…” How far they’d come since that night she’d scaled the outside of his resort.
“I told you I would pick you up in it for our first date. Do you remember where we would go?”
“The Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.” How could she forget?
“And before you can protest, remember you own the Intruder so you can give yourself at least twenty-four hours off to regroup. If it’s okay with you, I would like Jennifer to meet us at the plane. And lastly, you can bring your cat. It’s my plane, after all. And—”
“No more details.” She covered his mouth with her hand playfully. “Yes, I trust you completely with my life, my sister, my heart.”
“Thank you.” His eyes closed for a moment, the sigh shuddering through him telling her just how much her rejection had wounded him. She vowed to show him how dear he’d become to her in such a short time, and could only imagine how much more he would mean to her in the coming years.
His eyes opened again and he pressed a tender kiss into her palm. “So what about that trip to Chicago? Are you ready to leave?”
She slipped he
r arms around his neck and her heart into her eyes. “Yes, I will go to Chicago with you and house hunt after we return. I will wear your ring, be your princess, your wife, your friend for the next thirty days, thirty years and beyond.”
Epilogue
Wind whipped in off the harbor, slapping the green bathrobe around Kate’s legs. Her cold toes curled inside her slippers as she stood on the balcony of Duarte’s Martha’s Vineyard resort.
The lighthouse swooped a dim beam through the cottony-thick fog, Klaxon wailing every twenty seconds and temporarily drowning out the sounds from an early Valentine’s party on the first floor.
A hand clamped around her wrist. A strong hand. A masculine hand.
Grinning, Kate turned slowly. His fingers seared her freezing skin just over her newest braided bracelet made by her sister. A good luck charm to celebrate her engagement. And Kate certainly hoped to get lucky in about five more minutes.
Nestled against the warm wall of her fiancé’s chest, she savored the crisp chest hair, defined muscles and musky perspiration. Oh, yeah, she was more than a little turned on. Kate stared her fill at the broad male torso an inch from her nose. A black martial arts jacket hung open, exposing darkly tanned skin and brown hair. Her fingers clenched in the silky fabric of his ninja workout clothes.
Kate looked up the strong column of her ninja’s neck, the tensed line of his square jaw in need of a shave, peering into the same coal-black eyes she’d photographed many times.
“You’re not a ninja,” she teased.
“And you are not much of an acrobat.” Prince Duarte Medina didn’t smile. But he winked.
The restrained strength of his calloused fingers sparked a welcomed shiver of awareness along her chilled skin.
“We should go back inside before you freeze out here.”
“The moonlight on the water is just so beautiful.” She leaned into the warmth of his chest, now plenty toasty thanks to the heat he generated with just a glance her way. “Let’s stay for just another minute.”
His Thirty-Day Fiancée Page 15