“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?”