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“Change of plans, pet, I mean Luisa.”
“Will you need to stay on longer?”
“Actually, I won’t be going at all. My dad and I got our wires crossed, as they say. The two are leaving town as we speak.”
I was about to ask where they were going, but thought better of it. My instincts told me it had something to do with Beau, and since as far as I knew, Daphne was still with him, I’d rather not know.
“I was thinking of coming back, unless you’re weary of my company.”
“Never.”
“See you soon, Luisa.”
When I came out the front door, I heard Ridge say, “You wanna know what I think?”
“I do,” my sister responded.
“I think it would be the perfect place for a wedding.”
“A wedding?”I shrieked.
“Noah proposed and I accepted,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.
My eyes filled with tears, and I hugged her. “I’m so happy for you.” I looked up at my future brother-in-law. “You too, Ridge. You’re a lucky man.”
Like Seraphina, he beamed.
A pang of envy shot through me. Would anyone ever love me the way Ridge loved my sister? I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time for self-pity.
“So, where would be a perfect place for a wedding?”
“Tryst’s ranch,” answered Ridge.
I clapped my hands. “That’s wonderful! When?”
My sister looked up at Ridge, who shrugged.
“What about Christmas?” I asked.
They both smiled and nodded. “Sounds perfect.”
II
9
PRESS
CHRISTMAS DAY
Alamos, Mexico
Ishifted slightly and peeked at the other side of the altar at Luisa. She was the most beautiful creature God had been so kind to grace the rest of us lowly beings with. We both stood, bearing witness to the union between her sister, Seraphina, and Noah Ridge, a man who was as much a brother to me as a friend. I wasn’t the best man—a position reserved for Ridge’s closest mate, Brix—but I was the first groomsman. Thus, allowing me to look at the maid of honor unnoticed.
Even after all she’d been through, instead of appearing as an injured party, she wore her bravery like a badge. I couldn’t be prouder of her.
In the days Luisa stayed with me at Seahorse, I’d witnessed her transformation from a victim to a survivor and, with it, had a front-row seat to the wonder of the woman. She was extraordinarily intelligent, her beauty had no equal even among the world’s most recognizable supermodels, and her heart, well, it was soft and kind, gentle and loving. The evil bastards who had taken her and transported her across the ocean didn’t break the spirit of the woman who stood behind her sister, tear-filled eyes smiling.
To say I loved Luisa would be unimaginable to some, yet I did with all my being. When she raised her head and gazed in my direction, my heart first leaped, then fell when she looked beyond me to my brother, who stood behind me. He was the man she was in love with rather than me, despite his cavalier and insensitive attitude when he’d paraded his longtime girlfriend in front of her.
