Page 29 of Her Spanish Scandal

She shook her head and smiled. “Well, I am looking forward to meeting all of your relatives.”

Arcelia leaned forward. “Don’t sweat it about Elvira. She’s very good at playing games with men, but she tends to leave the women alone. She thinks the rest of us are below her.”

That wasn’t exactly reassuring. Kara knew she had to talk to Gui and find out exactly what was between him and the other woman. If she didn’t have that knowledge, Elvira was always going to be able to rattle her and Kara didn’t intend to give the older woman the ability to shake her up.

She was going to have to be at her best tonight. As lunch ended and she left Anika and Arcelia to head back to Gui’s home, she decided that she was pulling out all the stops. She’d be the sexy woman that Gui told her she was, confident and proud to be on his arm.

That part was fine, but what caused the knot in the pit of her stomach was the fact that she’d have to somehow convince him that he was proud to be on her arm. Proud to be her man.

What she really wanted was to somehow make him realize that he was happy with her.

Gui had been busy since they’d landed in Madrid. Between his family business interests, running Seconds and taking care of all his social obligations, he’d had little time for Kara. This was his life, he thought and, for the first time, regretted it. He wanted to have time to simply make love to his woman and hold her in his arms.

“Count, I have laid out your suit for this evening. Your father has asked that you come early so that he can speak to you and Alonzo.”

Gui nodded to Vincent as he took off the polo shirt he’d been wearing, tossing it toward the bed. “Inform my father I will be there. Will you let Kara know I’m home and if she has time I’d like to see her.”

“I certainly will, Count. Is there anything else you need?”

“Please have the Bugatti brought around for us to take tonight.”

“Very well, Count.”

Vincent left and Gui went in to take a quick shower. He had little hope that Kara would be waiting when he came out. She’d kept herself incredibly busy since they’d landed in Spain. He was beginning to think she might have second thoughts about marrying him.

There was a knock on the door that led to Kara’s dressing room. He wrapped a towel around his waist before going to open it. She stood on the other side, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other hanging by her side.

She had on more makeup than she normally wore and her dress was incredibly flattering. “You’re gorgeous tonight, bebe.”

She inclined her head. “Thank you, Gui. I’m glad you asked to speak to me. I need to talk to you, as well.”

Kara was all business and he wondered what was going through her head. “About what?”

She came into his dressing room, taking a seat on the padded bench in the middle of the area. She carefully arranged her skirts, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was going to want to talk about.

“I need to know what’s going on between you and Elvira and Juan. I know that you’ve said that it’s all in the past, but everyone keeps mentioning her to me like I know what happened.”

“It’s really nothing to do with you,” he said.

She blanched, and he wondered if she’d back down. He hoped she’d just let it go and that would be the end of it. He had absolutely no interest in rehashing the past.

She shook her head. “If I weren’t marrying you, I’d agree. But I am, and this is important to me, Gui. I can’t continue on without knowing more about her.”

“Why does it concern you?”

“Because she sent me a gift this afternoon, Gui.”

“What did she send?”

“Intimate apparel,” Kara said. There was an indefinable emotion on her face.

“I’m sorry. I have no idea why she would do that.”

“Don’t you? She said that the garment she sent was your favorite to see on the female form.”

“Kara—”

“She was also thoughtful enough to include an exercise DVD that would help me to look better in it.”