‘He can’t keep me here,’ Maxie said gently.
‘Don’t you want to stay?’
Lucia looked so crushed that Maxie gave her a hug. ‘Of course I do, but life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to. That doesn’t mean that you and I can’t be friends.’
Lucia’s warmth was something she couldn’t bear to think of losing, any more than she could bear to think about leaving the only man she would ever feel she belonged with and this wild and beautiful land Diego called home.
‘I think we should all do our best to change your mind,’ Lucia said stubbornly, making a signal to her brothers that it was time for them to come in and eat supper. ‘After all, you can work anywhere in the world, can’t you?’
‘Well, yes, as long as I’m free to travel. But—’
‘No buts,’ Lucia insisted. ‘Don’t you love Diego?’
Maxie paused. How could she possibly express her feelings for Diego? ‘If only life could be more straightforward,’ she said.
‘It can be if you want it to be,’ Lucia insisted. ‘You have to fight for what you want, Maxie.’
Everything was black and white for Lucia, Maxie realised as the men cantered past and she exchanged a quick glance with Diego. She only wished she could share Lucia’s innocent belief in the rightness of love and natural justice in life, but unlike her whimsical friend she was just too much the realist.
‘With you at the helm, Holly’s wedding is going to be a fabulous success,’ Lucia enthused as they walked back to the house. ‘I can’t tell you how much we’re all looking forward to it.’
‘With your family in attendance, how can it be anything but a success?’
‘Isla del Fuego is one of the most romantic places on earth,’ Lucia said thoughtfully, ‘but I would never get married anywhere but here on the estancia in Argentina.’ Squeezing Maxie’s arm again, she whispered in her ear, ‘So I hope you’re taking notes, my friend. Because I don’t want anyone but you to arrange my wedding.’
Maxie laughed, glad at the change of subject. ‘Do you have anyone in mind?’
‘No, of course not,’ Lucia protested.
But something in Lucia’s eyes said yes, so Maxie probed a little deeper. ‘Tell me about the opposing polo team …’
‘What do you want to know?’ Lucia said defensively. ‘Nero Caracas and his team are called The Assassins,’ Lucia explained, but then her eyes narrowed and she drifted off into her own thoughts.
‘Do you know the team well?’ Maxie asked innocently.
Lucia’s lips pressed down as she thought about it. ‘Nero’s gorgeous, of course, but he’s off the market. He only got married recently, and he has a beautiful wife called Bella, as well as the most adorable baby girl called Natalia—Tally for short. I only know the rest of the team through my brothers—’ Lucia stopped.
‘And?’ Maxie prompted, suspecting Lucia was holding something back.
‘And they’re all gorgeous, as well as the most amazing fun—except for one,’ Lucia said frowning.
‘And he is …?’
‘Luke Forster—he flew over especially from America to play for Nero’s Assassins. Don’t know why they’ve asked him when there are so many perfectly good homegrown players here in Argentina.’
‘Perhaps this Luke is better?’ Maxie suggested tactfully.
Lucia huffed. ‘He’s supposed to be the best there is outside Argentina.’
‘Well, there you are,’ Maxie said soothingly. ‘And I expect you’ll tolerate his company somehow?’
‘I suppose I’ll have to,’ Lucia agreed. ‘But right now I’m more interested in you and Diego. You’ve done so much for him, Maxie. You can’t walk out on him now.’
‘I’ve no intention of walking out on him. Your brother has done more for me than you’ll ever know.’ He had allowed her to shake off the past and look forward to the future with confidence, Maxie mused as she stared at Diego, who was checking his pony’s legs. Her heart rolled over when he glanced up. She had always known this affair must end, and that she and Diego led very different lives, but that didn’t make it any easier. So enjoy it while you can …
‘I can’t tell you what it means to Diego, having you here,’ Lucia said, giving Maxie’s arm a shake to bring her back from the daydream. ‘And what you’ve done for our charity—what you’ve achieved in so short a time—is incredible. Especially when you’ve been finishing up Holly’s wedding arrangements too.’ Lucia shook her head as she waved her arm around to encompass all the colourful stalls decorated with bunting and flags, as well as the various groups of entertainers Maxie had imported from Buenos Aires in readiness for the great day. ‘You’re a marvel, Maxie.’
‘As long as you and the family are happy with what I’ve arranged.’
‘Happy?’ Lucia squeezed Maxie’s arm. ‘I think you must know that’s an understatement.’
It was one of those golden moments when she should feel nothing but happiness, Maxie realised, but instead she found herself wondering if she had ever been more on the outside looking in. For this world of staunch family loyalties and unshakeable togetherness was one she could never truly be part of.
CHAPTER TWELVE
LIFE was a game of snakes and ladders, Diego reflected as he showered after training. Even in his blackest and most despairing mood he had clung to that. When the doctors had told him he might never regain full use of his leg he had dared to believe he would play again. Then fate had brought him Maxie Parrish—a girl he’d be tempted to share everything with had it not been for all her secrets. What about his?
He had never told anyone outside the family about Oresto. The shame he felt at having introduced his best friend to a low-life swindler had never left him. The consequences for Oresto had been catastrophic, and even now Diego realised, when he heard the three girls laughing uproariously in the kitchen, the shadow of Oresto’s death could still fill him with niggling unease.
‘Is everything ready for the match?’ Maxie asked him brightly when he walked into the kitchen, her eyes sparkling as she came up to him.
Ruffling his hair, he dragged her into his arms and kissed her. That was his answer. It was the only answer that made any sense to him.
His impulse garnered lovestruck glances from both Holly and his sister, who quickly looked away. He saw them exchange knowing glances when he and Maxie pulled apart.
Would he ever get enough of her? Probably not, he thought as two of his brothers barged noisily into the kitchen. Maxie flashed an intimate glance at him before going over to them to discuss the arrangements she’d made for accommodating the stable lads who were flying to London with ponies they were exchanging with another breeder. He watched as she chatted easily with men whom most found intimidating. There was no denying she fitted right in.
The Acostas were a strong team, who supported each other through thick and thin. The fighter in him said that whatever secrets Maxie was hiding they could sort them out together. He had grown to care about her, and all that mattered to him was Maxie’s happiness. She was unique. She was loyal. She got on with everyone. She made things run smoothly for the family. He could tell his brothers were as pleasantly surprised as he had been that on top of all her other responsibilities Maxie had managed to schedule the transportation of the ponies with the minimum of fuss and disruption on the day of the match.
‘You’re a fantastic organiser, Maxie,’ observed his brother Kruz, who wasn’t noted for giving out praise lightly.
‘The addition of women into our wolves’ den is a big plus, don’t you think?’ his brother Ruiz demanded, clapping Diego on the shoulder.
‘At least I have some support, now Holly and Maxie are on my team,’ Lucia put in.
‘And at least we don’t have to suffer Nacho’s cooking,’ Kruz added wryly.
‘You cook if you don’t like it,’ his sister Lucia taunted, tossing a pack of steaks at Kruz, which he caught with a grin before heading outdoors to start the barbecue.
&nbs
p; ‘What’s all this?’ Nacho growled, kicking his boots off at the door.
‘We were just saying how much we love your cooking,’ Lucia told him, with a wink in Maxie’s direction.
Diego was content to soak all this in. He didn’t know when he had ever seen the family so happy, or the dynamics of the group working so well. And a lot of that was due to Maxie, he realised as he pulled her into his arms. Maxie brought everyone together.
‘This woman is very special to me,’ he announced, never taking his gaze from Maxie’s face.
‘Like we don’t know that,’ Lucia exclaimed, hugging them both.
Did she dare to hope that this could last? Closing her eyes, Maxie wished she could stop time right here, right now. But time marched inexorably on.
The day of the match dawned bright and clear. The sense of excitement at the estancia was electric. Maxie had really pulled the stops out with the carnival, and the big house with its massive courtyard and formal gardens provided a perfect backdrop for the funfair in the field, the colourful stalls lined up in the home paddock, and the musicians warming up. The various bands were trying to outdo each other, but no one cared because this was fiesta, this was carnival. Everyone had made the effort to travel deep into the pampas—by jet, by helicopter, or by battered truck and motorbike. Some of the families arrived in horse-drawn carts piled high with their belongings for several nights’ stay, and Maxie had organised the best of facilities for all of them to ensure that nothing could go wrong today.