Seduced by the Spare Heir

Gabriel swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. With your permission, I’d like to ask Serafia to be my wife. I know that under the circumstances, the public role will not be an easy one for her, but I love her too much to let her out of my life. I don’t think I could choose a better woman to help me make Alma that great country it once was.”

Arturo nodded. “You are good for her, I know it. I’ve watched you two on the news together. She looks happier with you than she has been in years. You make sure she stays that way and you have my blessing.”

“Yes. Of course. I only want Serafia to be happy. Thank you, Señor Espina.”

Serafia’s father finally smiled for the first time since Gabriel had arrived, and he felt a weight lifted from his chest.

“Do you have a ring for her?” the older man asked.

Gabriel was embarrassed to admit that he didn’t. “I rushed here to see you without thinking all of it through. I don’t have anything for her yet.”

Arturo reached out and picked up the ruby ring from the table. “This is the wedding ring of Rafael the First’s mother, Queen Josefina. If you truly love my daughter and want her to be queen, this is the ring you should give her.”

Gabriel took the ring from the man who might soon be his father-in-law and shook his hand. “Thank you, sir. It’s perfect.”

* * *

“Good job,” Esperanza said as she took away Serafia’s mostly empty dinner plate.

Serafia chuckled. “Does this mean I get the tiramisu you promised me?”

“Of course.”

Esperanza disappeared inside, leaving her alone on her patio, watching the sun set. It seemed like only yesterday that she was doing the same with Gabriel, only overlooking the Atlantic instead of the Mediterranean. The moment had been romantic and full of promise.

And now here she was, alone. What a difference a few days could make.

But she wasn’t going to dwell on it. She’d had her moment to mope, and now it was time for her to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Being with Gabriel had helped her realize that she was hiding here in Barcelona. She got out, she worked, but she hadn’t really allowed herself to have the full life she deserved. That was over. She was determined that from this point forward, she was going to live her life to the fullest.

“Señorita?” Esperanza was at the door again.

“Yes?” Serafia said as she turned and froze in place. Standing tall behind her tiny housekeeper was Gabriel. He was looking incredibly handsome in a gray shirt and a black suit coat. Without a tie, of course.

She felt her heart skip a beat in her chest when she saw him. Every nerve awakened as her body realized he was so close. She tightened her hands around the arms of her chair to fight her unwanted reaction to him. He was a bastard. He said terrible things to her. She absolutely should not react to him like this. And yet she couldn’t help it. He might be a bastard, but she still loved him. She still hadn’t managed to convince her heart differently.

Taking a deep breath, she wished away her attraction and tried to focus on more important things, like what had brought him all the way to her doorstep.

Esperanza looked a little stunned. Serafia imagined that opening the door and finding a prince standing there was not exactly what the older woman had anticipated when the bell rang. “Prince Gabriel is here to see you. He would not wait outside.”

“I didn’t want to give you the chance to turn me away,” he said, with a sheepish smile that seemed to acknowledge he was the guilty party.

“Smart move,” Serafia noted in a sharp tone. He was the guilty party and she wanted to make sure he got his punishment. “Esperanza, could you please bring out a bottle of merlot and two glasses, please?” She wasn’t sure how this conversation was going to go, but drinking certainly wouldn’t hurt matters. At the very least it would help her relax. She was drawn tight as a drum.

Esperanza disappeared into the house and Gabriel joined Serafia outside. He took a seat in the chair beside her and looked out at the sea as she had been doing earlier.

“You have a beautiful home,” he said.

“Thank you.”

He turned back to look at her, his concerned gaze taking in every inch of her, but not in the hungry way she was used to. He seemed to be cataloguing her somehow. “How are you?” he asked.

Not once in the weeks they’d spent together had he asked her that question. Now she knew it was probably her parents’ doing. They’d started calling each day, never directly asking if she was eating, but hinting around the subject, not knowing Esperanza had already ratted them out. She frowned at him. “Did my family send you down here to check on me?”