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I saw him blinking suspiciously fast. He rose to his feet, helping me to rise, as well. He hugged his grandmother, then pulled me into the embrace. When we finally pulled away, I wiped my eyes, then glanced over at Edward, still unconscious.
“We should call an ambulance, do you think?”
“I can see him breathing,” Maurine said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He’s fine.” She sighed. “But I’ll call.” She glanced at Alejandro. “And I expect the policía will want to come, as well....”
She went toward the castle, and Alejandro looked at me.
“She’s right. We have only a few moments before the police arrive,” he said quietly. “A choice must be made.”
“So make it,” I said, trusting whatever he’d decide.
He clawed back his hair. “I am tired of secrets. Tired of lies.” He turned to me. “I never want another secret to shadow the light between us.”
I nodded, unable to speak over the lump in my throat.
“So.” He smiled at me, blinking fast, then gave a decisive nod. He walked over to Edward, who was still unconscious, his legs stretched out at a painful angle. He put his fingertips to the other man’s neck, then straightened.
“Is he—dead?” I said. Not hopefully. Really.
He shook his head. “His pulse is strong. He will recover.”
“Too bad,” I said.
Alejandro looked at me in amazement. Coming back, he wrapped his arms around me. “It’s not like you to be bloodthirsty, mi amor,” he murmured.
“I can be dangerous—” I reached up my hand to caress his cheek “—when it comes to protecting those I love.”
“Yes.” The corners of his sensual mouth quirked. Then his expression became serious. “But are you brave enough to face what lies ahead? There will be scandal. Or worse. Though perhaps I can protect Maurine....”
“How?”
“I will say that she was distraught over her family’s death, and that I tricked her into believing I was her grandson.”
“Oh, she won’t like that at all.”
“No,” he agreed. He looked at me, emotion in his dark eyes. “Can you bear it, Lena? The storm that might come? Miguel will lose his legacy....”
“You’re wrong.” I put my hand on his cheek. My eyes were watery. “His legacy is more than some title. It’s doing the right thing, even when it’s hard.”
“And love,” Alejandro whispered, pressing my hands together as he kissed them fervently. “Loving for all your life, with all your heart.”
“It’s family, always and forever.” Looking up at my husband, I smiled through my tears. “And whatever may come—our forever has already begun.”
* * *
There are all kinds of ways to make a family.
Some ways are big, such as the way Maurine took in an orphaned twelve-year-old boy and insisted on claiming him as her grandson.
Some ways are small, such as when I sent an invitation to my wedding reception to my cousin Claudie.
Autumn had arrived at Rohares Castle, and with it harvest season for our tenants. The summer heat had subsided, leaving a gorgeous swath of vivid colors, of morning mists and early twilight, full of excuses to sip oceans of hot tea with milk in the morning and go to bed early with my husband with a bottle of ruby-red wine. Every night, we lit a fire in the fireplace—and in our bed. And that fire, as months passed, seemed only to get bigger and brighter.
Just that morning, Maurine had caught us kissing in the breakfast room. She’d laughed. “I don’t think the honeymoon will really ever end for you two,” she said affectionately. Then the doorbell rang, and she’d hurried from the room with a desperate cry: “The florist! Finally!” And we were alone.
I’d given Alejandro a sensual smile.
“Could I interest you in a little more honeymoon?” I said, batting my eyes coyly, to which my husband whispered, “All day, every day,” before he kissed me senseless, then picked me up like a Neanderthal and carried me upstairs, back to bed.
Now, the crowded banqueting hall was lit up for evening, bedecked gloriously in autumn flowers in the most beautiful wedding reception I’d ever imagined. Across the crowds of our guests, I caught Alejandro’s eye. He smiled back at me hungrily, as if it had been a year since he’d last taken me to bed, instead of just a few hours. His hot glance almost made me forget we were surrounded by family and friends.
