Her hands shook so hard she clenched them in her lap before he saw. ‘Why are you so determined to think the worst of me, Gael?’
‘I’m merely going by the evidence before me.’
‘What evidence? My deplorable timing because I said yes right after you threw in your supposed sweetener?’
‘You signed the document,’ he sliced at her again.
‘Yes, I signed it. So what? Was it some sort of test that I failed? Is there no room for the benefit of the doubt in your world?’
‘That is up to you, Goldie.’
‘How?’
His gaze moved past her face, down her throat, to the two-button opening of her white sleeveless sundress. ‘Find a way.’
He left the dining room shortly after that.
On shaky feet she got up and went to the sideboard to replenish her cup with hot water. Her mother and Patience entered as she was heading back to her seat. Greetings were exchanged. And then she went back to avoiding her mother’s probing stares.
After eating a piece of toast and half a banana without incident, she begged off when her mother invited her to the local market to shop for the souvenirs Gloria wanted to take back to the US. Feeling bad, she promised a mother-daughter lunch before her mother and Patience were taken to the airport for their evening flight.
Escaping to her room, Goldie paced, her mind darting over her conversation with Gael. How could something so seemingly straightforward have become such a jumbled mess?
Was she naive not to have considered that Gael would want a wife in every sense of the word after he’d gone out of his way to avoid her after the first time they’d made love? He claimed he’d returned after disappearing into the bathroom for longer than was normal. But his note the next morning had left very little doubt as to his feelings.
And he’d tried to fob her off with money then too!
She paused mid-stride. It was clear that money was the issue. Gael Aguilar was used to dealing with gold-diggers and scheming women. By signing the prenuptial agreement as it stood, she’d all but drawn a bullseye on her back.
Crossing to the bed, she grabbed her purse and searched for the document. There were pages and pages of it, all wrapped up in legalese. But she eventually found the clause she was looking for. Her heart leapt as she read and re-read it. Grabbing her phone, she did a quick search for local attorneys—those who practised in English as well as Spanish.
After making an appointment, she jumped off the bed and went in search of her mother. She breathed in relief when she caught her and Patience as they headed out.
‘Is it too late to join you?’
Her mother turned around and smiled. ‘Of course not!’
Asking Teresa to let Gael know she’d gone out with her mother, she joined them in the SUV.
The Friday market in Villa de Gracia was bustling, with exquisite trinkets and to-die-for souvenirs at every turn. It was easy for Goldie to leave her mother happily browsing and keep her appointment with the attorney. It took a good few minutes to explain to the ageing lawyer just what she wanted, and he seemed genuinely puzzled by her request. But eventually he called in his son, who agreed to draw up the requisite documents.
Twenty-five minutes later Goldie emerged from the attorney’s office with a smile on her face.
‘Find a way,’ Gael had dared her.
She just had.
Gael was waiting on the front steps of the villa when they returned. The three women glanced at his face as the driver braked the SUV to a stop and the easy laughter in the vehicle died.
‘Well, looks like someone’s headed for the doghouse,’ Patience quipped under her breath. ‘Goldie, honey, what did you do to the poor man?’ the plump companion, originally from New Orleans, stage-whispered.
Goldie snorted. ‘Sometimes I just need to breathe the wrong way.’
Muffled laughter ensued, quickly cut off as Gael strode to the car and opened the door.
‘Everything okay, son?’ her mother asked sweetly.
Gael jerked out a nod. ‘Sí, everything’s fine, Gloria,’ he responded, without taking his eyes off Goldie. ‘Can I talk to you, cara?’