How to Marry a Matador (Exclusive Sneak Preview) (14 page)

She giggled gratefully. “You’re favorite,
señor, with hints of toasted almond.”

“I have something for you too,” Gustavo said,
as he pulled a wrapped bundle from behind his back.

“You don’t mind?” Fernando asked his
mother.

“No, please…” she encouraged merrily.

Fernando smiled, digging into the
package.

“Oh my…” he said, opening the broad folds of
an elegant matador’s cape. “It’s terrific.”

“Where did you get it?” Ana María asked, her
face registering mild shock.

“At the Plaza de Toros gift shop in Seville.
It’s not quite as fine as the one your father used, but it’s a
close replica.”

Fernando stood to hug him soundly. “Thank
you, Gustavo. I’ll have to take this out and give it a whirl.”

“Not in the true sense, I hope,” Ana María
said with a worried frown.

“I think that’s it,” Jess said, latching her
suitcase.

“Good,” Eve said. “Our taxi will be here any
minute.”

Jess carefully perused the small luxury
apartment, thinking there were many things she was going to miss
about coming here. Easy access to the city park and just a short
stroll to the Prado. Plus, the numerous restaurants and produce
vendors.

“Madrid’s been a good assignment,” she told
Eve as they stepped onto the sidewalk fanning the broad
boulevard.

“The next one may be even better. Who knows?
Maybe you’ll get sent to Venice or something.”

“I think I’ll steer clear of Venice in the
summer.”

“Some people!” Evie teased. “You’ve just
become a big jet-setter and already you’re complaining about the
perks.”

But the main perk on Jess’s mind stood about
six feet tall and had gorgeous green eyes. She’d never imagined
during her initially maddening interactions with the Spaniard that
she’d wind up falling in love with him. Wait one minute. Hold the
phone. Did she just think
love
?

“Ouch! Watch what you’re doing?”

“Huh?”

“Earth to Jessica Bloom,” Evie cried. “You
just dropped your whopping suitcase on my foot!”

“Oh my gosh, Evie!” Jess said, pulling it
off. “I don’t know what I was thinking!”

But clearly she did. She was thinking, mighty
hard, about the fact that her heart had just tumbled down about one
hundred thousand green grass hills. Over and over again.

“Evie,” she said, feeling her face flush.
“What day is it?”

“June tenth. Why?”

Jess glanced at the boarding pass in her
hand, then waved it manically in the air.

“June
tenth
? Are you serious?” she
asked as the cab pulled up.

“As serious as a heart attack, unless you’re
about to have one for me. Which you look like you might do at any
second.”

Maybe her heart had stopped. It was kind of
like getting hit upside the head, only being hit harder. The thing
was, while it might have halted for a moment, it was beating
briskly now. So rapidly she thought she’d faint from its
overexertion. Jess didn’t need her mother to tell her or Evie to
advise her or even Fernando to cajole her into something she
already wanted to do. All Jess had to do was listen to that
not-so-quiet inner voice that practically screamed at her not to
get into that cab.

The taxi driver reached for her bag, but she
pulled it back.

Evie raised her brow. “He just wants to put
it in the trunk for you.”

“I know,” Jess said quickly. “But I think
I’ll need it.” And she was going to need a lot more. Her whole
wardrobe, in fact. Plus, there were other things in Brooklyn.
Perhaps Evie could send them, or maybe she and Fernando could fly
back for the move. Move! Jess was moving to Spain!

She stared at Evie with urgency. “Do you
still have that express mail package?”

“You’ve got it. In the large duffle.
Remember?”

Yes, it was all coming back in a whirl. She’d
kept it completely intact, not bearing to break its seal. “Oh,
right.”

Jess unzipped her carry-on, telling the
cabbie they’d just be a minute. “Here,” she said, shoving the
merger paperwork at Evie. “Do be a dear and drop this off at my
office.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Evie asked,
stunned.

“I can’t. I’m still married…in the eyes of
the church.”

Fernando crossed himself devoutly, then stood
from where he’d knelt before his father’s portrait in the study. He
was fully dressed for battle for the first time in a decade, and he
thrilled at the rapidity of his pulse coursing through his veins.
To an outsider, this walk down memory lane may have seemed
frivolous, but to Fernando it was deadly important.

He had failed—and failed badly—at the first
real thing in his life, capturing the heart of the lady he loved.
That had made him feel more than inadequate; in many ways, it had
left him believing he was less than a man. The cape had been the
perfect gift. Gustavo knew him so well. While Fernando didn’t
intend to return to the corrida, he still needed to prove something
to himself. He needed to climb back in the ring and face the beast,
most especially the raging animal that scraped about angrily inside
of him.

Fernando had left bullfighting for the love
of a woman and now was forced to return for similar reasons. While
he’d forgone uncertain dangers in deference to his mother, he
needed to confront them now out of respect for himself. If he
didn’t, Jessica’s memory would crush him for eternity. Fernando
needed to prove himself stronger than that.

Fernando scooped up the cape and held it in
his broad hand, slicing it expertly through the air.

“Going out?” Gustavo asked, appearing in the
doorway.

“I thought I would.”

“Then, I’ll come and serve as your
second.”

A matador always needed a watchman,
especially in practice sessions as precarious as this one, where
there were no medical personnel on site and the nearest hospital
was more than ninety kilometers away.

“You’re a good friend, Gustavo,” Fernando
said.

“Your mother would disagree. She’s very put
out with me for planting the idea in your head.”

“You may have planted, amigo. But, the seeds
had already been sown. I would have been driven to this,
regardless.”

Gustavo didn’t argue because he knew it was
true. He stared down at Fernando’s empty hand. “Where’s your
sword?”

“This is a test of skill today, nothing
more,” he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “I’m not in it
for the kill.”

“You might not be,” Gustavo answered. “But
what about him?”

“They’ve gone, señora,” Consuelo said. “You
asked me to advise you.”

Ana María sat staring straight ahead and
sipping her sherry. She was on a bench in her rose garden, one of
the places she loved best. “Did Gustavo tell you which bull?”

“I’m not quite sure.” But by the way Consuelo
averted her eyes, Ana María guessed that she knew. It was
Alejandro, the most dangerous beast in the lot. They couldn’t even
let him around the horses. The ranch hands all rumored Alejandro to
be a little crazy. At one time, he’d been primed for the ring
before being deemed too unpredictable. Ana María knew she should
have sold Alejandro off long ago but had never quite had the heart.
He would be put down immediately anywhere else. At least here he
had some sort of life, as long as they kept him fairly well
segregated.

“Shall I serve a late dinner?” Consuelo
asked.

“No. Make it on time. I’m certain Fernando
won’t be gone long.”

But, deep in her heart, Ana María feared she
was losing him forever. Perhaps it was an irrational fear or—worse
yet—a mother’s intuition. She hadn’t dared to see Fernando off,
afraid of inviting bad luck. Best to sit here and enjoy her garden,
thinking only of happy things on this sunny afternoon.

“As you wish,” Consuelo said, taking her
leave.

“Consuelo?” Ana María said, stopping her.
“What did you think of the girl?”

Consuelo pursed her lips in thought. “She was
very beautiful.”

“I meant, what did you think of her for
Fernando?”

“It’s not my place, Doña Ana María.”

“It is if I’m asking you.”

Consuelo perused her frankly. “In that case,
I thought she was good for Fernando. And that he was good for her.
They were two very strong people, even stronger together, it
seemed.”

“Thank you, Consuelo. I value your
opinion.”

“It’s sad it no longer matters.”

“I’m sorry for Fernando that she’s gone too.
He’s taken this really hard. But he’ll bounce back. He’s a de la
Vega after all,” she said with a reserved smile.

****

Jess couldn’t have been any more excited had
it been her own birthday. The moment she’d made the connection
between Fernando and today’s date, she’d viewed it as more than
just a sign. Her leaving Iberia the day her new husband turned
thirty-one clearly wasn’t the way to behave. Apart from their
elopement and glorious wedding night, it was the first true
celebration the two of them would get to share. Jess had many gifts
in store for Fernando, not the least of which she hoped to deliver
in bed.

Her face heated at the memory of Fernando’s
flesh pressed to hers. There was a matrimonial union she could get
used to, and not just because Fernando was the most skilled lover
she’d ever had. He was also funny and kind, thought the world of
his family, and had promised utter devotion to her. Surely it
hadn’t been long enough since he’d sincerely said his vows that
Fernando had changed his mind.

“Casa Garcia de la Vega,” she told the driver
as she climbed into the cab at the small satellite airport. “And
hurry, please.”

Jess’s heart raced at the thought of seeing
him. Would he reject her at once, still scorned from her earlier
rebuke, or accept her with open arms, sweeping her off her feet and
carrying her up to his bed? No, he probably wouldn’t do that
straightaway, Jess realized. His mother most likely had a party
planned. There’d be gifts to open and cake. And, if Consuelo had
any say in it, a lavish birthday dinner besides. Jess checked her
cell for the time as the sun sank low.

It was a special smart phone Fernando had
given her in Seville during their first night there. Since her
other hadn’t worked in La Esperanza del Corazón, he’d presented her
with this high-tech replacement that received service in any
locale, even in the most remote regions of Africa. He’d programmed
in just one number, his, and had promised to transfer her address
book over once they’d returned to the ranch. But with Evie’s
unexpected arrival and Jess’s rushed departure from town, the data
transfer had never taken place.

Jess’s thumb hovered over the single entry in
her address book. Maybe she should call him now to say she was on
the way. That would be the polite thing to do, wouldn’t it? Give
him a bit of warning. Jess considered her alternatives, weighing
the fact that if she caught Fernando in an off mood, he just might
get on his horse and decide to go on an eternal ride. If he was
angry still and there was going to be some sort of showdown, best
to have it occur first thing. Get it done with, so their
happily
ever after
could begin. And it would start too. That was, if
Jess had anything to do with it, which she most certainly intended
to.

Jess surveyed the landscape of flowing
sunflower fields and twisted almond groves, grasping the fact that
this was her new home. It was a place she would grow to love,
because it was a place she had selected. All her life, Jess had
been told what to do, advised on the course which suited her best.
Now, she had decided for herself to take this brave, untraveled
path—and see where it led. She was over the moon at the thought of
sharing it with Fernando, the sexy Spaniard who’d vowed to love and
protect her, and to whom she wished to give her heart.

What this meant for her job, she wasn’t sure,
but she trusted Fernando would be supportive as she worked things
out. Perhaps she could make an arrangement with her existing
company, or maybe she’d be adventuresome and branch out, starting a
new endeavor of her own. Whatever she would do, Jess would ensure
the career choice was
hers
. Something that called to her and
to which she could contribute. Something that made her proud of her
efforts and tired with satisfaction at the end of each day.

They came to the turn in the drive to Casa
Garcia de la Vega, which loomed large in its splendor before them.
Jess realized with a smile that for most of her life she’d been
running away. Suddenly, here she was in Spain, galloping ahead. If
she could move any faster, she would. Oh, to see Fernando and tell
him all that was in her heart and head. Jess was bursting with the
moment as she leapt from the cab, nearly forgetting to pay the
driver. He thanked her with a tip of his cap and left her standing
on the large stone steps with her luggage.

Before this day ended, Jess’s new life would
begin.

Fernando stood in the ring, facing off, eye
to eye, with Alejandro. The animal stood five feet at the shoulder,
a mixture of muscle and menace. Fernando had never really known
what had provoked Alejandro’s ire, but he’d been ornery since the
day he was born. When he’d been rejected as a candidate for the
corrida, Ana María had next thought to place him in Pamplona. But
the officials there investigated Alejandro’s unsavory history with
horses and had deemed him a bad risk for marauding tourists hoping
to best the bulls during the July street fest. So he’d stayed on
the ranch, his temperament worsening with age. He was now in the
prime of his life, fiercely fit and unruly. Fernando lowered his
cape as the beast scraped the dirt with his hoof. Then with a
swish, he twirled the cape sideways as Alejandro tore by, barely
breezing past Fernando’s right side. Fernando turned on his heels,
once more beckoning the bull. Each
paso
was perfect, his
feet keeping rhythm with his body and expertly marking the tempo of
the fluttering red cape.