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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SONIA
There’sa small chapel on the Las Cruzes property. “It was already there when Tobias de la Cruz bought it,” Santos said when he gave me a tour of the old building. “He left it because he knew he’d need somewhere to confess his sins on a daily basis and didn’t want to drive too far.”
“You’re joking, right?” I asked.
“I wish I was. Believe it or not, we’ve gotten a lot of use out of it.”
Feigning shock, I said, “Really? That’s surprising.”
It may have been left to keep the weight of their sins from crushing them, but the little stone church provided the perfect backdrop for the ceremony that bound me to Santos before God. Again.
There weren’t many witnesses to our vows. The priest, a man named Toño who looked more like one of Santos’ssicariosthan a Godly man, his cousin Damian, and most of the men who live on the grounds.
It was as simple as the off-white silk slip dress I’m wearing and the single crimson rose I pinned over my ear.
“You look beautiful,” Damian whispered as he walked me down the aisle. “I can’t believe you’re marrying thatbato.” He nodded ahead of us to where Santos stood with a grin on his face. “Did you know he has a bird on his ass?”
“I’m already married to him, remember?”
“Oh yeah. I forget sometimes.” Something in the way he said that struck me as odd.
But the feeling vanished the moment I saw Santos waiting for me by the altar, dressed in his perfectly tailored black suit and matching cowboy hat. He was so sexy, so handsome it took my breath away.
Even now, as I sit beside him at one of the tables set up behind the house for the reception, I smile like a fool in love. Because I am.
“Are you happy?” he asks.
“Very.”
I turn back to watch the guests dancing on the wooden floor across from us. There are only about a hundred people, all residents of Las Cruzes or nearby areas. All people Santos trusts. They’ve been trickling in little by little since the ceremony ended, bringing with them handmade gifts—dishes, quilts, and baskets.
A band is playing music ranging from beautiful traditional Mexican songs to their interpretation of American classics. It really doesn’t matter, though, because everyone here is ready to move and won’t leave the dance floor, regardless of what’s being played.
“Would you like to dance,princesa?” Santos extends his hand to me and I gladly take it.
The moment we step onto the floor, the band begins a romantic song. Santos pulls me into him closely, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
I allow the music to envelop us, taking us to that place only he and I can go to. Where we’re alone and nothing and no one can ever break us apart.
But the melody soon changes as the band moves on to a different song. While it’s still slow and beautiful, it’s also haunting. It tells the story of a man who brings light to her life, only to take it away. A song of betrayal and pain and abandonment.
My chest starts to tighten and a tear rolls down my cheek. Stunned, I pull away slightly.
Santos frowns as he notices the tear and wipes it away. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s this song.” I give him a shaky smile as I breathe out through the knot that suddenly forms in my throat. “The day. The last month. It’s a lot.”
“Do you want to go in? I’ll make you feel better.” He gives me one of his most roguish grins.
Giggling because even when I’m somber, he does something to my insides, I say, “No. But I do want to go in and freshen up. I won’t be long.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After doing my business and reapplying my makeup, I make my way to the entrance. However, just as I reach the living room, I’m grabbed from behind, a hand slapped around my mouth, and dragged back to one of the halls.
I’m about to kick whoever it is in the shins when the sound of his smooth voice penetrates my crazed brain.
