“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Not intentionally, but I see you with your husband. There is a part of you that if he called, you would go. I would die if that happened.”
Her body was still but her heart was about to leap out of her chest. He seemed to be saying he loved her. And he seemed to be very sure of how he felt. But for Elise, just last night she’d been hoping to have Kent’s baby.
“I am leaving in the morning.”
“No! You can’t—”
He squeezed her hand and smiled. “I will return in the spring and we will see what has changed.”
“You mean I’m to choose between you and my husband?”
“You must decide much more than that. Your life, your home. You have never been away from your parents. Your husband treats you as a child. He has secrets that...”
“That what?” When he was silent, she leaned back to look at him. “Diego was hinting at something and now you. What are you trying to tell me?”
He took a while before answering. “I am going to see that you know. When you have the facts, you will need to choose what you want to do.”
She could tell that he wanted her to know something but she couldn’t figure out what. “I’m not sure I have the strength to do what you want of me.”
He pulled her head back down to his chest. “You were very strong when you saw the truth of what could happen. You were right to stop it.”
“You mean when I ran away from you after we finished the garden?”
“Yes. You were stronger than I was. I was to the point where all I could think of was getting you in bed with me.”
“Really?” She sounded so enthusiastic that he laughed.
“It was after you ran away that I missed you.”
“Did you?” she asked.
“Every minute of every day, I longed for you. To hear you laugh, to talk with you, just to be near you.”
“I felt the same way,” she whispered.
“How could you feel anything other than cold in your tiny red swimsuit?”
“Can’t really swim in that thing. It tends to come off.”
Alejandro groaned. “You are wicked to tease me so. We need time to figure out all of this.”
She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t need to. She understood what he meant.
How could they blend their lives together? Elise needed to be absolutely sure of what to do about Kent. And what about her parents? Could she get a job somewhere? “Yes,” she managed to whisper. She didn’t know she was crying until she felt the wetness of his shirt.
“I will come for you in the spring. Then you can tell me what you’ve decided.”
“What about you?”
“I know what I want. I’ve always known. From the first time I saw you, I was lost.” His arms tightened on her. “I will pray. I will wish on stars. I will buy potions.” He paused. “I will hope. When I return and see you again, I will know what you have decided.”
He leaned away from her and put her hands on her lap. “I must go now or I’ll not be able to control myself.”
She put her hand on his cheek. “Alejandro, please stay. Just tonight. One night.” Holding her hand to his face, he kissed her palm, then released it. He stood up, stepped into the dark, and was gone.
Chapter Eleven
Elise looked at Olivia and Kathy. “That was months ago and I haven’t seen or heard from him since then.”
“Wow,” Kathy said. “I would have ripped off his clothes that night.”
“I wish I had,” Elise said. “Now I’ll never get a chance. By now he’s probably returned and been told that I was locked away because I tried to kill myself.”
“Since he’s Carmen’s brother, I imagine he knows more than that,” Olivia said. “Of course she’s what the men were trying to tell you about.”
“That my husband and their sister...” Elise took a breath. “Now I’m on the run from the law and I doubt if I’ll ever see him again. But it wouldn’t matter. I still don’t know how Alejandro and I would live.”
Olivia’s head came up. “Alejandro said he’d see that you found out. Do you think he had anything to do with Tara starting to investigate Kent?”
“I don’t know,” Elise said. “But it’s possible.”
“Alejandro did have Tara’s card,” Kathy said. “Maybe he sent her something.”
Elise closed her eyes for a moment. “That would mean that he chose me over his sister. He gave his loyalty as well as his love to me. But what did I do? Up until the night before I found out, I was still hoping that Kent and I could... I don’t know, start over? Alejandro was more loyal to me than I was to him. I wish I could change... Change it all!”
“Me too,” Olivia said.
“And so do I,” Kathy added.
It had begun to rain and the sound was nice in the house. The women got up, took bathroom breaks, straightened the kitchen, and pondered all that they’d heard.
Elise kept smiling, relieved to have at last been able to tell someone about her and Alejandro. When it was happening, she’d told herself that it wasn’t serious, but saying it all out loud had made her see that there was more there than she’d realized. What had Kathy said? That she was “heart and soul gone to him.”
Maybe she had been. Maybe she was.
“So who’s up for a game of Scrabble?” Kathy asked when they were back in the living room.
When they looked at her, it was as though they were holding a sign. You’re Next.
But Kathy was hesitant. “Olivia, your husband’s a diplomat, right? Have you traveled a lot?”
Elise started to say something, but then Kathy looked at Olivia, and there was something in her eyes. But what was it? That she felt sorry for Kathy? But why?
It took her a moment but she began to realize that Ray had told them something about her. But what in the world was it? When it came down to that, what did he really know about his wife? Their eyes seemed to want some information, but they were afraid of the answers.
In a lot of ways, Kathy was Bert Cormac’s daughter. She’d inherited her mother’s sensitivity, but there was enough of her father’s personality in her that Kathy could, well, survive the two men in her life. And one of the ways she’d done that was to keep her mouth shut. She never truly confided in anyone. She let others see one thing while she kept the truth to herself.
But these two women, these strangers, had confided in her. More than that, they’d entrusted her with some deep secrets. A call to the police could change Elise’s life forever. And Olivia...
“Maybe Scrabble would be good,” Olivia said. “Has anyone seen a board around here?” She opened a corner cabinet.
The truth was, just as Elise had, Kathy wanted to talk. She wanted to tell these women who’d been through so much about her life. She took a breath. This was going to be hard for her so she’d better start with something easy. “Did Ray tell you how we first got together as a couple?”
Both women stopped opening cabinet doors and smiled.
“His date spilled a drink on you and he said you handled it graciously,” Olivia said.
“With class,” Elise added. “He didn’t say so, but I think he fell in love with you at that moment.”
Kathy looked from one woman to the other, then let out a loud laugh. “How funny! Ray didn’t ‘fall in love’ with me then or at any other time.”
“He does love you!” Olivia was serious.
Kathy leaned back in her chair. “Yes, he does. He loves me very much. More than he knows, but that’s not why he married me.”
Olivia and Elise were staring at her but they didn’t seem shocked by her words. “I bet Ray told you that after the spilled drink he saw me crying.”
“Yes, he did,” Olivia said. “He said his date had hurt your feelings.”
“Ray is an idiot! Smart, brilliant even, but an idiot. The truth is that she and I set that whole thing up.”
“I want to hear this,” Elise said.
Olivia agreed. “This is a house of stories and you’re next. Elise, get the wine and the glasses. Are there any more of those chips?”
“Oh no,” Kathy said. “I gain weight even looking at food. You have any club soda?”
“Kathy,” Olivia said, “I don’t know who has messed with your mind but you look great.”