AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Give him five minutes alone with her, he thought darkly, and he’d show her friendly.
CHAPTER FIVE
TWO HOURS LATER Jordan sat in the shade of a pergola in Maria and Benito Gonzalez’s quaint cottage garden, looking through the pile of photos that Maria had brought to the table with a tray of coffee and sweet treats to finish their meal.
The men had finished their coffee and disappeared fifteen minutes earlier. Benito had asked if he could look at the Aston Martin, having noticed the car through the shop window when they’d first driven into the village.
Xavier had gone one better and offered to take him for a short spin.
Jordan’s insides had melted a tiny bit. She’d almost wanted to hug him. For his kindness to the older man. For letting her do this. For keeping the scowl off his face and remembering to smile every now and again.
‘You all look so young,’ she said, studying an old wedding photo. ‘And you and Camila both look so beautiful, Maria.’
Sitting beside her at the table, Maria smiled. ‘Mila was beautiful and clever. She altered my mother’s wedding dress for me and made her own bridesmaid dress.’
Jordan nodded. ‘She made my high school graduation gown from a picture I took out of a magazine.’
The memory made her smile. She’d loved that gown. It was the prettiest thing she’d ever worn up until then. Her dad had got all choked up and said she was beautiful, and then she’d cried too, and so had Camila, and they’d all laughed at themselves for being so soppy.
‘She made another for my nursing graduation ball.’
Maria reached over suddenly and squeezed Jordan’s hand. ‘Ho sento molt. I am so sorry for your loss, filla el meu. And so very sorry that I will not see my friend again.’
Jordan’s throat drew tight. ‘Gràcies, Maria. I know that one of Camila’s greatest regrets was not having visited her homeland again.’
Maria shook her head. ‘No one expected her to come back. I am sad we lost touch, but I was happy for Mila when she left and made a new life for herself. She was never quite the same...after she gave up her child.’
Jordan gave a little start of surprise. Maria had talked about Camila over lunch, sharing light-hearted anecdotes from their childhood, but she’d made no reference to her friend’s teenage pregnancy—until now.
Seeing the older woman’s gentle expectant expression, Jordan said slowly, ‘You knew that I knew?’
‘Sí...’
Maria reached into her cardigan pocket and withdrew a photo she’d obviously kept back from the rest. She held it out and Jordan took it, and her heart started to thump against her ribs.
The young couple in the snapshot were sitting on a sandy beach. They both wore swimming costumes, had wet hair and wide smiles, and their arms were wrapped around each other.
‘Oh, my goodness...’ Jordan’s throat constricted. ‘Camila looks so happy...so...’ In love. ‘And he...’
She trailed off. The handsome, dark-haired young man who was staring with obvious affection at the girl sitting on his lap looked just like—Oh, God. She bit her lip.
‘He looks like your friend, sí?’
The resemblance was striking. It might almost have been Xavier in the photo.
Jordan couldn’t disguise her stricken expression. ‘Oh, Maria...’ she breathed. ‘Please don’t say anything to him.’
Maria gave her hand another firm squeeze, offering reassurance. Understanding. ‘I am an old woman who is very good at keeping secrets—and minding her own business,’ she added.
Jordan looked at the photo again. Camila had said so little about Xavier’s father, and Jordan had sensed the subject stirred great sadness in her stepmom so she hadn’t pressed.
‘Do you remember his name?’
‘Sí. Tomás.’
Jordan’s own dad’s name had been Tom. It was a funny little coincidence that meant nothing, but it made her smile. ‘Can you tell me what you know about him?’
Maria nodded. ‘Of course...’
