Maggie opened the door and closed it behind them. The sea breeze from the balcony cooled the air, but the haunting scent of her father’s cologne still lingered. “This is the largest bedroom. I had breakfast with him every morning on the balcony. He loved the sea, and I don’t believe he ever stopped loving you.”
Linda smoothed her hand over the four-poster bed’s dark green duvet. “That’s a sweet, sentimental thought but can’t be true. I don’t regret loving Miguel, and we had you, but more than a fiery attraction is needed for a good marriage. I’d hate to see you make the same mistake.”
Maggie came close to hug her. “Rafael is no mistake. He’s had a difficult life, but we’re meant to be together. Thank you so much for coming to Spain for our wedding.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it. This room is as beautifully furnished as the rest of the house, but we should probably stay in a hotel.”
“Not when there are so many empty rooms here,” Maggie insisted. “Come on to my room, I really do want to show you my dress.”
Linda gave her first husband’s room a last fond glance. “Did he die here?”
Maggie refused to think of that horrible day. “No, at the hospital, and I can still feel his spirit here.”
Her mother nodded. “I’m so glad you had a chance to know him, if only for a few days.”
Maggie had known her father, and what he was capable of, but those secrets died with him.
Rather than force his company on Linda, Santos ate dinner in his room. By the time Patricia fell asleep later that night, Libby thought he’d be asleep too. She pulled a jacket over her sleep shirt and stepped out into the hallway to check. Drawn by the light that shone under his door, she went to his room and rapped lightly.
“Come in,” he called.
She stepped in only far enough to close his door behind her. “We got through one evening peacefully, but I don’t expect Rafael to keep quiet for long. He’s definitely a man of honor, but once Father hears the word prison, he won’t think of him in those terms.”
Santos laid his book on the nightstand and patted the bed. “Come sit here beside me so we can talk without waking the others.”
She swallowed a laugh. “You expect me to fall for that?”
“Yes, I do. I’m too badly hurt to take advantage of you.”
No matter what he said, his teasing smile drew her close, and she responded with a flirt of her own. “You’re not afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”
He opened his arms. “Come try.
”
Several wonderfully erotic possibilities came to mind, and as long as she’d be in control, she could handle his enormous charm, or any other part of him. She tried not to laugh at her own joke and moved across the room to sit on the foot of his bed.
He patted the place beside him. He’d not combed his hair after pulling on a T-shirt, and it fell in his eyes. It made him look young and deceptively harmless. “Come closer.”
“This is close enough. Rafael entertained us at dinner with the whole history of Spain without revealing anything about himself. He’d glance at Maggie, and she’d smile, but there was a tense undercurrent passing between them. Father and Patricia didn’t catch it, but I think our mother did.”
“Maybe Rafael should speak to her first and get her on his side.”
“No, I heard my father mumble a few distracted comments about Miguel, so she’s on slippery ground herself.”
“I feel like we all are. Will you please go down to the kitchen and get me some ice cream? When you came in, I was debating whether it would be worth the effort to go after it myself.”
“Sure. Do you care what I bring?”
His smile grew wide. “Surprise me.”
He was hinting at more than ice cream, but Libby ignored it. She opened his door and found Patricia standing on the other side. “What are you guys doing?” Patricia asked. She had on a pink knit tank top and long knit pants with a tiny pink rose pattern. With her luscious curves, the sleep-rumpled outfit looked all too sexy.
“We’re about to have an ice-cream party. Come with me to the kitchen.” Libby started toward the back stairs and hoped Patricia would follow. She hadn’t meant to take things past kisses with Santos, but damn, having her little sister underfoot would make even a simple flirtation impossible.
Patricia came along right behind her. “I asked if you wanted Santos for yourself, and you should have said so.”
“He’s cute,” Libby admitted flippantly. “He’s also hobbling around on crutches, so all I’m doing is serving ice cream.” She pulled open the big Sub Zero freezer and found half a dozen containers of ice cream. “See something you like?”