Chapter One
Costa Daurada, Spain
Santos Aragon loved sailing at dawn when the Mediterranean Sea glowed blood red. The music of the fluttering sails and churning sea brought him a dreamlike peace and the temptation to sail on down the coast to Valencia. Unable to give in to it today, he returned early to the marina. Once the sleek nineteen-foot boat was secured at the dock, he jogged along the shoreline to the beach house.
After his father had died, his demon of a grandmother had been sent to a private mental hospital and his Aunt Cirilda had reconciled with her second husband, he’d been forced to move in rather than allow the magnificent home to sit empty. Designed by one of Antonio Gaudí’s protégés, it was an architectural wonder he felt obligated to keep beautifully maintained.
Maggie, his American half sister met him on the patio. “Am I late?” he asked.
“No, Libby’s plane doesn’t arrive until eleven. I’m sitting here trying not to think of everything I ought to tell my sister, but I should practice on her. It will give me a head start when the rest of my family arrives next week.”
He dropped into the chair beside hers. “It’s not too late to call off the wedding.”
Maggie shook her head, and her shoulder-length hair formed a sable frame for her delicate features. Both she and Santos resembled their late father and were easily recognized as siblings. She was simply the female version, while his features were thoroughly male. Her eyes were hazel, and his brown, but it was a slight difference between them.
“I’ve never been surer about anything,” she insisted. “All I ask is that you’ll be civil to Rafael. You don’t have to love him like a brother.”
“I don’t love either of my brothers,” he responded. “No, I take that back. I’m fond of Fox, even if we’re not related by blood.”
“Then there’s hope you might one day grow fond of Rafael.”
“No more than a sliver. The detective I hired to investigate the Gypsy’s background found nothing we didn’t already know, but prior to his murder conviction, there’s little evidence he even existed. He does have a birth certificate signed by a midwife, but there’s no father listed. He never went to school. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“What bothers me is that you’d hire a detective in the first place. My parents are already alarmed I’m marrying a matador I met this summer. Would you please keep quiet about his murder conviction?”
“Must I?”
Santos was a terrible tease, and the twinkle in his dark eyes made her laugh. “Yes, you must. While we have a moment, should I beg you not to seduce my sisters?”
Lean and fit, he stood and stretched to his full six feet two inches. “Our father may not have set the best example when it came to women, but relax, I’ve already exceeded my quota for the month.”
“That was no answer, Santos.”
“They’re such pretty blondes.” He started toward the house and called over his shoulder, “I may not be able to help myself.”
Rafael passed him as he left the house. “Should I ask?”
Maggie returned his kiss, and he took Santos’s chair beside hers. “My brother has a weakness for blondes, and Libby and Patricia will be tempting. They’re college girls and of age, but he’s definitely not Libby’s type. Patricia is another story altogether. With her blonde curls and big blue eyes, most guys think she’s adorable, and she’s been boy crazy since birth.”
He stretched out his legs. “I’d be more worried about your mother.”
“Rafael!”
He loved the way she stretched his name into three distinct syllables. He raked his inky black hair off his forehead with his fingers. “Santos must look a lot like your father did when he and your mother met.”
“True, but…”
He flashed a wicked grin. “I’ll keep an eye on him, if you’ll watch her.”
“Thank you so much for offering help with a problem I didn’t even realize I had.”
He reached for her hand and took care not to brush his fingers across the new pink scar on her wrist.
Libby Gunderson gave her carry-on bag a fierce yank and crossed into the passenger arrival lounge at Barcelona’s El Prat airport. Maggie was waiting for her with a chauffeur dressed in gray holding a sign with her name and a young man she assumed must be Maggie’s fiancé. Rafael was tall and handsome in a dark, dangerous way, but with any luck, she’d put an end to her sister’s absurd marriage plans before their parents and younger sister arrived.