Legacy of the Highlands (26 page)

“Wow! I can’t believe he didn’t talk to you
about all of this. Did Will seem different those last months?”

“Not that I noticed, but what does that say
about our marriage? I guess it wasn’t as perfect as I thought.” She
brought the cup of tea to her lips and hesitated. “That’s not
all.”

“You mean there’s more? No wonder you’re a
wreck. Spill it.”

“I slept with Diego,” she whispered and
lowered her eyes.

“I knew it!” Francie crowed, a self-satisfied
grin lighting her face as she started to dance around the compact
kitchen. “The chemistry between the two of you is so damn obvious,
especially to someone who knows you the way I do. Did it happen in
Miami?”

“No,” Alex whispered. “Last night.”

“And…”

“And stop acting like this is a good thing. I
feel terrible.”

“Because…”

“Because I’m ashamed of myself. I cheated on
Will! But I needed…I needed…”

“Of course you did,” Francie said as she
wrapped her arms around Alex. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve
only proved that you’re human, that’s all. It’s okay.”

“Is it? Is it really okay for a woman to
sleep with her husband’s best friend? And now it’s even worse
because that friend is — what? — my brother-in-law! Oh, God, what
am I going to do?”

“Have a cookie,” said Francie as she shoved
the bag toward Alex. “I’ll even share my Oreos.”

“A cookie can’t solve everything.”

“Maybe it can’t, but the sugar rush to your
brain will help you to think,” Francie rationalized. “So was the
sex good? Details, I want details.”

“Of course it was good. You have Oreo crumbs
on your face,” Alex said with the first glimmer of a smile.

Francie brushed a hand across her mouth
without taking her eyes off Alex. “I’ve always wondered…Diego’s a
gorgeous man and we know he’s had a lot of experience, so I
wondered…well, sometimes a man who looks like him thinks that’s
enough, you know, and that he doesn’t have to try really hard...to
please a woman, I mean.”

“Stop it! You’re not getting a play by play
from me. But, so you won’t lose any sleep, I’ll assure you that
Diego’s looks pale in comparison to his talent as a lover.” Alex’s
lips curled into the smile of someone who has a delicious
secret.

“Alexandra,” said Francie accusingly. “If
you’re going to smile like that, you’re going to have to tell me
everything.”

“No, I’m not. What I need is your advice on
where I go from here. Diego’s been incredibly generous and kind and
patient with me. You know better than anyone how messed up I was
when I went to Florida. I began to heal there. Plus, he’s
determined to find Will’s killer and I’m sure he can do it.” Her
mood darkened and she began to pace. “Remember I told you that I
felt like I was caught in a tornado? Now it’s more like a
centrifuge and I can’t find the off switch. Too much is happening
too fast and I can’t process it. What am I supposed to do?”

“Hmmm, I’m not sure,” Francie said as she
tapped her scarlet fingernails on the table. Then she leaned
forward. “The only way to do this is to use logic. So which should
we tackle first? John Cameron, spy; Diego Navarro, Will’s brother;
or — and this is my favorite — Diego Navarro...lover!” A huge grin
spread across her face.

“You’re right. I need to think rationally.
Diego told me that he’d called Serge — you know, the former Mossad
spy, now bodyguard and ace investigator — this morning to fill him
in about John, but he didn’t have time to tell me if Serge had
found out anything since he’s been in Scotland.” Alex massaged her
brow in an attempt to soothe the dull throbbing that heralded the
start of a major headache. She helped herself to a couple of
aspirin from Francie’s kitchen cabinet.

“Did you and Diego talk about how this
changes things between you, you know…after?”

“Not really. We both fell asleep and then we
had an argument at breakfast.”

“About what?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, just which one of us
would take credit for being the seducer. Maybe it’s stupid, but I
didn’t want him to think that I had no part in what happened. I
wanted it as much as he did and you know Diego — he’s got this
macho thing going on…”

“And it can be annoying and appealing at the
same time, right?”

“Exactly! He can be exasperating and even a
little scary, but that same masculinity and confidence are a big
part of the attraction. And when you combine that with tenderness
and a good heart, well…it’s hard to resist. And I trust him.” This
was the first time Alex analyzed what it was about Diego that drew
her to him. “He doesn’t have that little boy charm and playfulness
that I loved so much about Will, but they definitely share that
manly man thing.” She suddenly had an “aha!” moment. “That’s it!
Diego is Will’s brother. Whatever chemical thing they share in
their genes…”

“Ah, so the similarity is in their jeans, is
it?” Francie taunted and began to laugh hysterically.

“Stop it! You’ve always had such a dirty
mind,” she scolded. “As I was saying—whatever chemical thing they
share in their g-e-n-e-s must be why I’m attracted to Diego. He
reminds me of Will. Will loved him and I loved Will, so Diego sort
of has Will’s approval. That makes so much sense.” Alex leaned back
to ponder this twisted logic and, as she did so, a smile slowly
spread across her face. Maybe in some strange way this meant she
hadn’t cheated on Will at all, since it was the part of him that
existed in Diego that appealed to her.

“You realize that Diego isn’t Will, don’t you
Alex?” Francie asked as she poured more tea.

“Of course. I haven’t gone all mental, but
maybe I feel a little less guilty.”

“Are you going to sleep with him again?”

Alex frowned then took a deep breath and
slowly blew it out as she considered the question. The fear that
she’d do precisely that was a big part of why she hadn’t gone to
Buenos Aires with him. Sex with Diego was great. She’d always had a
healthy libido and wasn’t going to act like some virgin for the
rest of her life. But sex muddied things up and it was way too soon
to deal with whatever complications might result from a physical
relationship. She couldn’t tolerate any more emotional turmoil.

“No, it won’t happen again. Now that we’ve
both gotten that curiosity or whatever it was out of the way, we
can go back to being great friends.”

“You’re deluding yourself, dear girl. It’s
obvious that you’re in lust with him and he looks at you like
you’re a big, juicy steak,” Francie said smugly, as she patted
Alex’s hand. “But you’ll have to decide what to do about it on your
own. If it were me…”

An hour after after he’d stormed out of David’s
office, Diego cleared security at Logan and sprinted to catch the
shuttle from Boston to JFK. As he restlessly waited to board, he
used his iPhone to snag the last first class seat on an overnight
flight from New York to Buenos Aires. He would have been happier
if, instead, he were on his way to Scotland with Alex.

His determination to find the killer had
escalated the instant he read the letter Will had left for him. “Am
I paranoid?” Will had written. “Maybe, but I can’t shake the
feeling that someone’s been following me for at least a month and
that my life might end violently. I pray that I’m overreacting. But
if anything happens to me, I trust you, my brother, to find the
bastard who did it and take care of him.” Diego’s gut twisted in
anger as he read the words again and he knew that payback would be
the only way to deal with it. The man who had bled to death, alone,
in a dark alley hadn’t been some casual acquaintance. That man was
his brother, and the blood they shared boiled with outrage.

It was ironic to be happy that Will had gone
ahead with the damn DNA test. He wanted the sons of bitches to come
after him next. Let them, he thought grimly. When he found whoever
had killed his brother, that person would wish that he’d never been
born.

Diego envied those passengers in the plane’s
darkened, first class cabin who were dozing in seats that reclined
into something resembling a bed. A sleeping pill would help, but he
never took drugs that would affect his mind or reflexes. He
irritably readjusted his pillow and curled onto his side, but he
couldn’t quiet his chaotic thoughts. He slowed his breathing and
shifted his focus to Alex and the surprising night they’d spent
together. Instead of relieving an itch, the erotic heat between
them had left him hungry for more. She’d never convince him that
she’d used him for sex and it meant nothing to her. He’d slept with
enough women to know — as he’d told her — the difference between
making love and fucking. What had occurred between them was
lovemaking and he was certain that they’d do it again. Ah,
Alessandra, this will be interesting, he thought as he hugged the
pillow tighter. Could it finally be happening to him? Could what he
felt for this woman be the first stirrings of love? He knew he
should be scared shitless, but instead of fear, the thought soothed
him and he drifted into a dreamless sleep until he was gently
nudged awake by a flight attendant.

“
Buenos días, Señor
Navarro. I’m sorry
to wake you, but we’ll be arriving in Buenos Aires in an hour.
Would you like coffee? Some breakfast?”

He stretched his long limbs, yawned and
rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Coffee would be fine, thanks, but not for
about five minutes. I’d like to wash first,” he said groggily, his
manners evident even when he wasn’t quite awake.

“Of course,” she purred. He slitted one eye
to watch her hips sway as she walked toward the forward galley on
impossibly high heels.

His eyes felt like they had sand in them, his
mouth was pasty and his neck was sore. He took the pouch of
toiletries provided by the airline and headed for the lavatory to
try to make himself human again. He must have succeeded because
another flight attendant — this one a shapely blonde — perched one
hip on the arm of his seat as he sipped his second cup of
coffee.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” she
said in a voice filled with the promise of sensual pleasure.
Normally Diego would have welcomed the implied invitation and
perhaps arranged to spend time with the extremely attractive woman
during her layover in Buenos Aires, but he had no interest in her.
When the other, equally beautiful stewardess had awakened him
earlier, he’d been dreaming about Alex and woke with a throbbing
erection. For the first time in his life, the thought of being
faithful to one woman held more appeal than terror.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat when the phone rang as
she got ready for bed. Late night calls had always scared her, even
when Will was alive. None of her friends would call near midnight.
And there had been a lot of wrong numbers lately with only “private
number” displayed on her caller ID. Maybe she’d get rid of this
land line and only use her cell.

“Hello?” she said tentatively, convinced that
it had to be a wrong number.

“Alessandra...”

Diego’s voice was low and husky and she could
almost feel his breath on her ear. She sighed and her tension
eased.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No. I was about to get into bed, but I’m
still up. Where are you?”

“In Buenos Aires, at my parents’ house.”

“Are you okay? You ran out of David’s office
so fast and I wanted to explain…”

“Don’t worry about it. I was wrong to expect
you to drop everything when I could see how Will’s letter had
affected you. It was selfish, but all I could think about was what
I wanted.“ And I wanted you, he thought.

“So, did you straighten everything out there?
You said your father was worried about a contract.”

“Yeah. It was a minor problem that I could
have taken care of from Boston, but my parents used it to
manipulate me into visiting them. I should be angry, but it’s good
to be with them. My mother always complains that she never sees me.
By the way, she sends love to her ‘dear Alessandra’. She was
disappointed that you didn’t come too.”

“Another time; I promise. Give her a kiss
from me. Your Dad, too.”

“What, none for me?

“That’s beneath you, but if it will make you
feel better, I’ll blow a kiss your way too.”

“Mmm, got it.” He shifted to a more
comfortable position as he remembered how Alex’s lips had felt
against his. “What are you wearing?”

“Diego!”

“Shall I assume we won’t be having phone sex?
And you’ll probably say no to letting me see you naked on Skype
too.”

“You’re depraved! No phone sex, no naked
pictures,
nada. Comprende
?” She’d never let him know that
she was enjoying the playful exchange.

“Just as well. I’d be more frustrated than I
am already,” he said and sighed. “I want my hands on you.”

As Alex visualized how his hands had looked
on her body and how they’d made her feel she began to doubt her
decision to keep their relationship platonic. Before she could
respond, Diego changed the subject.

“I had a lot of time to think on the flight
down and I realized something.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” She hoped he wasn’t
going to say something stupid like he was falling in love with her.
She didn’t know if she’d ever be ready to hear those words from
another man.

“I’m happy to have proof that Will was my
brother.”

“Good...that’s a really good thing.”

“Yeah. And now we better find whoever took
him from us. It’s a matter of family, of honor. I don’t want to put
off going to Scotland. Can you be ready in a couple of days?”

“I think so. The only thing on my calendar is
a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. We can leave any time after
that.”

“The doctor? Is something wrong? Are you
sick?” There was panic in his voice.