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“It’s in southern Spain but not too far from the sea. It has a fabulous history, but you didn’t call me for a geography lesson. What’s happening there?”
Libby bit her lip. If she told her sister the truth, Maggie and Rafael would rush home immediately, and she didn’t wa
nt to ruin their honeymoon. “Santos took me along for the photo shoot for the cologne ads, and I ended up in some of the pictures. I’m hoping they’ll use the ones of him alone.”
“Why? You photograph beautifully, and you’d have an international credit as a model.”
“Please. One shoot was enough. I just called to stay in touch.”
“What aren’t you telling me? Has anything else happened to Santos?”
“God forbid,” Libby replied, revealing absolutely nothing. “Tell Rafael hello. We’ll have to have a party when you come home.”
“Libby, please be careful with Santos. Don’t hope for anything more than a good time this summer.”
“I’m extraordinarily careful,” Libby promised and said good-bye. It had been comforting to hear her sister’s voice, but when it came to Santos, she’d thrown caution to the wind. She reminded him often of how soon she’d be leaving so she wouldn’t forget it herself. She wouldn’t want to leave him, but it would save her the horrible embarrassment of forcing him to tell her to go.
She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, and hours later, Santos knocked on her door. “Are you too tired to come downstairs for dinner?”
She shoved her hair out of her eyes. “What time is it?” She grabbed her travel clock and couldn’t believe her eyes. “I’m sorry, I just meant to rest only a minute.”
“Long naps are fine,” he said from her doorway. “We don’t have a time clock here.”
She loved his quirky smile and everything else about him she wouldn’t admit even to herself. His hair was still wet from the shower, and he’d changed his clothes. “I’m afraid I smell like the port. Give me a minute to take a shower.”
“Take as long as you need.”
He was so thoughtful, but she’d seen how implacable he could be with Ana Santillan. As he turned away, she called to him. “I should have asked you to tell me if I’m behaving like a squirrel-headed twit, if I ever do.”
“I doubt it’s possible, but it’s only fair.”
“We need to be fair, don’t we?”
“Libby, what’s wrong? I wish you hadn’t seen the latest drawing. Try and forget it.”
“That you have one or more murderous fans isn’t easy to forget.”
“Just because you can’t see flames shooting out of the top of my head doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
She rolled off the side of the bed and went to him. “We’ve got the makings for a complex thriller, but I wish we knew the ending.”
“Don’t thrillers always end the same way? The bad guys die a violent death, which is what they deserve.” He slid a fingertip along her cheek. “This sounds like my argument. Have you decided you want to go home?”
She reached up to kiss him. “Not before I have to, but there has to be something we’re not seeing.”
“We don’t have to know why someone wants to kill me to stop him. Maybe the police have already arrested Victoria and her boyfriend.”
“Wouldn’t they have called you if they had?”
“I don’t know. I’ll call them in the morning.” He kissed her forehead. “Come downstairs when you’re ready.”
“I will.” She closed her door and leaned against it, but her scattered thoughts swirled around her mind like tipsy butterflies.
She wore the lime-green outfit to dinner. Although the expansive dining room made everything feel so proper, she couldn’t forget the use they’d made of the long table. “I need to buy some new clothes. I can walk down the beach to the shop I like. Maybe the clerk has heard from Victoria. Should I have Manuel go with me? He could stay outside. I wouldn’t expect him to sit in the fitting room and comment on my choices.”
Santos took a sip of wine. “I’ll go with you tomorrow when I get back from the doctor. Manuel can drive us to the front entrance, and I’ll come in. If Victoria comes by the shop now and then, one of her friends will be sure to tell her I was there.”
“What a clever idea. We can laugh and talk about clothes and make it look as though a fire and gunshots don’t bother us at all.”
