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“Where are you now?” she asks.
“I’m at Antonio’s house in the valley. I made a decision to honor my father’s wishes and marry him.” It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would to say the words out loud. Maybe I’m already resigned to the idea. Or maybe, after being on the run, it no longer seems as dreadful as it once did.
She starts to sob quietly, and my heart breaks.
“Isabel. I’ve done everything I can to get back there. Marrying him is the best thing forallof us.”
“What have you told him?”
“Just that. That I’m going to marry him. Sometimes saying less is more.” This conversation is probably monitored. I hope she gets the hint. “You’ll have money to live, and if all goes well, we’ll have enough to send Valentina to college when she’s ready.”
“What did you give up for this?”
I hear the grief in her voice.
A lot less than I’ve given up in the past to hold on to secrets.
“I need you to remain calm. Stop fretting about me. I’m safe.” My safety is the one thing I’m sure about. Antonio’s not going to kill or maim me. But I’m not sure whether to tell Isabel about the guard, although I can’t see how it can hurt.
“You and Valentina are also safe. There’s a guard watching the house at all times. You don’t need to worry. It’s merely a safety precaution.”
“My English,” she says. “How am I going to raise Valentina alone in a strange country?”
“Listen to me, Isabel. We fight the battle one hill at a time. What I haven’t told you yet is that after the wedding, we’ll be coming to see you. I’m not sure how long I can stay—probably just a few days. Please don’t tell Valentina about the marriage until I get there. I’d like to tell her myself, and it might be easier if she meets Antonio first.”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to bring him here?” she asks with some trepidation. The Huntsmans will always be the enemy. She’ll never forgive them for what they did to my mother. Not even Antonio, who wasn’t there.
“I want to see you, and I don’t have a better idea about how to do that. I’m hoping after he gets to spend some time with both of you, he’ll want you to come back to Porto. Let’s see. I know it’s not fair to ask you to keep the secret from Valentina, but I’d like an opportunity to break the news to her.” I have no idea how Valentina’s going to react, but I’m convinced I can smooth things over better than Isabel can.
“When is the wedding?”
“One week from Saturday,” I say softly.
“Your mother,” she cries, “she wanted so much for you.”
“I have so much. Marrying him is a small trade-off for all of us to have the things we need. It’s our best chance to be together again.” I say the words, and to some extent I’ve come to accept marrying him, but it’s not a small trade-off, and we both know it.
She sighs.
“I love you, and I’ll call you often. I’m going to give you my new phone number, and we can talk every day.”
“Can we video-chat again? It was so good to see your beautiful face.”
I smile. It’s funny to hear Isabel talk about video-chatting. “We can. Antonio has agreed to allow it. A big hug to you, my friend. And give Valentina one from me too.”
58
Antonio
The driver pulls up to my mother’s London apartment.
Instead of getting some work done like I promised myself as I boarded the plane, I spent the entire trip indulging in my favorite new fantasy. The one that involves me fucking Daniela on a Port barrel in a dimly lit cave. Her eyes rolling back in her head as she comes all over my dick.
Christ.I’ll never get another damn thing done if I don’t stop thinking about how amazing her tight little pussy feels around my cock.
I refuse to beat myself up over whether or not I should have let things get that far after the day she had. Although I won’t deny that I’m an asshole. I am.
But the one thing I was absolutely right about is that passion burns hot inside that woman. She needs to be freed from the mindset that holds her back.AndI fully intend to be the man who frees her.
