As Elise waited for the toast, she looked at the top of Alejandro’s head. Hard to believe, but he looked even better in the early morning light. In that moment, she was pretty sure she was the only woman on earth who’d ever wished she wasn’t faithful to her husband.
When the toast popped up, she got a plate, sat down across from them, and looked at Diego. “I wanted to ask about your brother. No! Don’t look at him. I don’t want him to know we’re talking about him. Is he okay? I’ve heard him talk on the phone to Carmen, but when I’m around he’s silent. Does he hate me?”
Diego gave a bit of a grin. “He thinks you’re pretty.”
“Does he?”
“Yeah. Real pretty.”
Elise tried to keep her face straight. “But he thinks I’m useless, right? That’s what Carmen says I am.”
Diego frowned. “You did a good job here.” He nodded at the house.
“I’m glad you like it. Where are we going today?”
Diego’s frown deepened. “We’re going to the Bellmont house, but you’re staying here.”
Elise took a moment before she spoke. “I know their daughter, Tiffany. I went to school with her. Poor thing. She’s not too bright, but she married well. But then, it’s hard to understand who men will like. The man I was to marry doesn’t like me, but he does like your—Oops! Sorry to bring up the bad.”
Alejandro lowered his head, but she saw his smile.
As for Diego, he was staring at her. He’d been married for years so he knew when a woman was after something. Elise was putting guilt on him for a reason. “You can’t go. The law is after you.”
“For running away from my own wedding? I don’t think that’s an offense that can be prosecuted.” She batted her lashes. “I’ll help with the work.”
Diego snorted.
“I can plant fluffy ruffle petunias.” When he looked blank, she said, “It’s from a movie. Cross Creek? It doesn’t matter. Diego, please. I’m scared here. What if Carmen rats me out? Kent would be here in a minute. Then what? We have a threesome fight? Think I could win against Carmen? Will she—?”
“Let her go,” Alejandro said in Spanish. “She can sit in the truck and listen to music. It’s just for a few days, then I’ll take her to the airport.”
Diego glared at his brother. “I heard about what you said at that fancy hotel. You’d like to take her away to Mexico, wouldn’t you? She’s not for you! She’ll marry some other rich guy, not some teacher of horny women.”
Elise ate her toast and worked not to enter into the conversation, but it was interesting to know who was on her side.
“I want her near me so I can protect her,” Alejandro said. “Those men looking for her had guns.”
“And who do you think they wanted to shoot? Her? She’s the bait her greedy parents used to attract some guy they can control. Do you think this girl’s father will give his daughter away to some Mexican gardener?”
For a moment Elise stopped eating. This was horrible, but on the other hand, it was nice to hear that she was valuable to her father.
When she spoke, she tried not to sound as though she was shocked by what she’d just heard. “Mrs. Bellmont likes really gaudy colors, and she’s so vain she expects people to read her mind. If you’re thinking of putting in pale flowers she’ll get angry. Remember that ghastly red mulch you put on my mother’s flower beds and she made you remove it?”
She didn’t wait for Diego to answer. “My guess is that made you think all the women in the area would hate that mulch. But Mrs. Bellmont would love it. The gaudier the better. I could tell you what to buy so she’ll be happy with your job and not fire you as she did her last three gardeners.” Elise finished her toast.
“What if she sees you?” Diego asked. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“No offense, Diego, but has Mrs. Bellmont ever looked at any of you?”
Alejandro looked at his brother in silence, but with an I Told You So expression.
Diego grimaced. “Get a hat out of the closet and cover your face.”
Elise tried to keep the triumph out of her smile.
* * *
That night Elise had never been so tired in her life. All day long, she’d hauled flats of plants, planted shrubs, small trees, and what seemed to be thousands of bedding plants.