How to Marry a Matador (Exclusive Sneak Preview) (5 page)

He leaned toward her with a husky whisper.
“Oh, but I think you do.”

He drew nearer, his mouth hovering over hers.
Jess cursed herself for so badly wanting his kiss. His kisses had
been so tantalizing last night, they’d made her lose all sense of
reason. And it wasn’t just the way he’d held her. When he’d looked
deep in her eyes and said that one thing, she’d inexplicably
believed him as she had no man before.

“Why did you?”

Fernando reached out and cupped her chin in
his hand. “Because,
querida,
when I saw you standing there
in that garden, with that beautiful smile on your lips, I knew with
a certainty that I’d have to claim them. That I wouldn’t rest until
I made you mine.”

“It was a simple sexual attraction.”

“There was nothing simple about it,” he said,
brushing his lips to hers.

Jess closed her eyes as her heart stilled.
She couldn’t let herself do this, but she couldn’t stop herself
either. His masculine scent washed over her as she felt his palm
press into the small of her back.

“Jessica,” he said, resting his forehead on
hers. “When I tell you the truth about this morning, I don’t want
you to believe that anything last night was a lie.” And then to
prove it, he kissed her deeply, with a skill and a passion that
made her lose grip of her wine, sending the contents of her cup
sloshing sideways.

“Your sister’s riding pants,” she said,
nearly breathless.

“They’ll wash,” he said, tenderly stroking
her thigh.

“Fernando,” Jess gasped, pulling back. “We
can’t.”

He studied her a thoughtful moment as she
gazed at him wide-eyed.

“Then we won’t,” he said with a quick peck on
her lips.

She shivered involuntarily in spite of
herself. This man had a way of completely undoing her.

“We’ll have a little something to eat first.”
He pulled several small bundles from his bag, along with a small
knife and a cutting board.

“While we talk?”

“Of course,” he said, handing her a napkin
for her slacks. “Then afterwards, I’ll let you decide.”

“Decide what?”

Fernando shot her a sexy grin as he refilled
her wine.

“Whether or not I’m the husband of your
dreams.”

****

“So, it’s not true,” Jess said with relief.
“We’re not really married?”

Fernando took a slow sip of his wine,
perusing her over the rim of his cup. “In the eyes of the church,
we are.”

“And in the eyes of the state?”

“That’s more problematic,” he bantered
back.

“More problematic how?”

“Jessica,” he said with a lingering look, “I
told you the paperwork takes time to process.”

“Seven to ten days,” she replied, restating
what he’d told her earlier.

“Best-case scenario.”

“Because everything’s been submitted to the
magistrate in Seville?”

“La Esperanza del Corazón is a small town,”
he said deferentially. “Anything here has to be sent to a higher
authority.”

“Fernando,” she said, meaning it absolutely.
“I need you to level with me. What’s in this pretense of a marriage
for you?”

He set down his cup, then took her own and
put it aside. “Everything is at stake for me. More than you
imagine.”

“Like?” she pressed.

Fernando heaved a sigh, surveying the
panorama around him.

“Like…” he said, with a weighty frown, “this
place here. The ranch. My mother’s sustenance.”

Jessica sat up a little straighter as north
winds rippled, stirring the branches above them.

“I don’t understand.”

“My grandfather was a proud man. Proud and
stubborn too. He decided long ago that he wished his legacy to
continue. His commitment to the bulls, his attachment to this
land…”

“And?”

“He wrote it all down,” Fernando said. “He
wasn’t about to take chances. Ernesto Garcia de la Vega wanted to
ensure that his legacy would continue.”

“In what way?”

“In a way that ensured a continuation of the
line.”

“You’re talking you, now?”

“I’m talking me and you. Don’t you understand
what this means? How huge this is?”

She shook her head, utterly confused by his
confession.

“Jessica,” he said, fiercely meeting her
gaze. “If I don’t find a bride and produce offspring by the time
I’m thirty-two, this whole thing is for naught. This estate, my
inheritance, any support meant to go to my mother…will all fall
through.”

“But how?” she asked, incredulous.

“It’s in the codicils of my grandfather’s
will,” he answered flatly. “Either I marry my match and we produce
an heir by my thirty-second birthday, or the entire estate goes to
the Catholic Church of La Esperanza del Corazón.”

“No,” she said, fascinated and compelled at
once.

“Please, tell me that you’ll help,” he said,
meeting her eyes. “My mother is a strong woman, it’s true, possibly
as fierce as they come. But this ranch is her home. She buried my
father here and longs to have her final resting place beside
him.”

Jess thought of her own mother and each of
the struggles she’d endured as a single mom. As harsh as Señora
Garcia de la Vega had come off during their lunch, Jess knew the
woman was simply being protective of her only son. Jess frankly
admired her for raising two children solo. She knew from her
mother’s experience that task wasn’t easy. She didn’t know about
Fernando’s sister, but the man himself had turned out decently
enough. Perhaps better, in many ways, than she’d initially
understood. While Fernando could be brash in business, there was a
softer side to him she hadn’t been privy to until late last night.
When he’d held her in his arms, he’d done so with a tenderness and
a passion that no woman in her right mind could ignore. Jess had
found it impossible to resist his advances, when—in truth—she ached
for him just as desperately as he wanted her. It wasn’t just about
sex; it was in the way he looked at her, in the way he promised
that one thing she’d longed her entire lifetime to hear… And now
there was another layer to him still, that of the caring and
devoted son. Jess couldn’t help but find his commitment to family
instantly appealing. Still, this notion was absurd. He couldn’t
actually believe she’d consider it.

“There has to be another way,” she said.
“Couldn’t you buy the ranch for your mother yourself? You make good
money in Madrid.”

“Not
that
good.”

“How good is that?”

He studied at her sincerely. “This piece of
land alone is worth over two billion dollars.”

“Billion?”

Fernando solemnly shook his head. “That’s a
lot to spend on holy water.”

“But our…marriage…was so incidental. Surely,
you didn’t plan on that.”

“No, it was an utter, and delightful,
surprise,” he said with a warming smile. “In fact, it was the best
birthday present I’ve ever had.”

“Yesterday was your birthday?” she asked,
intrigued.

“Early birthday present,” he said, correcting
himself. “My actual birthday’s still eight days away. I’ll be
thirty-one.”

Jess felt an instant flood of relief. “Well,
then, you’re still good for another year!”

He raised his brow at her. “Babies take nine
months.”

“Come on,” she said. “Since you didn’t bank
on marrying me, you must have had a backup plan. What’s wrong with
that?”

Everything was wrong with that, as far as
Fernando was concerned. He studied her a long while, her cheeks
flushed in the early evening breeze. Though he’d always found her
attractive, he’d never truly understood her beauty until now.
Jessica was unlike anyone he’d ever known. She wasn’t just some
pretty face. She was as smart as she was strong, he was betting
even as strong as his mother. To date, he’d not met any other woman
of that caliber, and it both fascinated and terrified him.

The fact was, Fernando did have a backup
plan—in the form of what most Americans called
the little black
book.
He’d known for some time now that if the right woman
didn’t come along on her own, he’d have to start taking serious
measures by the time he turned thirty-one. It caused a knot in the
pit of his stomach to think he’d likely have to settle. That was
why he’d put the idea off, more and more over time. While there
were plenty of eligible women who might fit the bill, Fernando
deplored the thought of marrying someone for sheer convenience.
Though he still held a fondness for some of his old girlfriends, it
was hard to imagine fanning those flames into full-blown passion.
Perhaps with effort and time, a deeper feeling might blossom over
the years. But this was tough to believe when Fernando wasn’t even
sure what type of emotion he was capable of. Up until last night,
he didn’t think he had sentimentality in him. But when Jessica had
turned those beautiful blue eyes toward his, he’d found a lump in
his throat and a pounding in his chest that were completely
unfamiliar. As tough as she was, she’d revealed a certain fragility
when she’d bared her soul and shared her secret burden. He couldn’t
help but hold her close and swear to her he’d make everything
right. And he’d meant it too. This morning’s sun and his new
sobriety hadn’t weakened his commitment.

“Jessica, I’d be lying to say I wasn’t
feeling the squeeze of the timeline closing in. I understood I was
under the gun with my birthday drawing near.”

She gasped at the harsh realization. “You
took advantage of me. I just happened to be in the right place at
the right time.”

“That’s not so!” he said with a firmness that
took her aback. She startled, notably shaken, making him feel an
outrageous fool.

“Forgive me,” he said, collecting himself.
“It’s just that what you said is so far from true.”

“Far from true, Fernando? You just admitted
to me yourself you were under pressure to find a bride.”

“Maybe that’s why I let myself go.”

“I don’t understand,” she said kindly.

Fernando stroked his chin, carefully
considering his next words. “You’ve seen how I am at work.”

“Tough as nails.”

“I’m tough when I need to be, yes. I’m also
used to being in charge. So are you,” he went on with a grin,
“which leads to some interesting…conversations.”

“Confrontations are more like it,” she said
with a lighthearted laugh.

He gave her a lingering look. “True,” he
said, “but neither of us has been mortally wounded yet.

“In any case,” he continued, “the pressure
was starting to build. It was like my whole life had been decided
for me, and I had no say in the matter. My birthday was coming up,
and I’d have to find someone—just anyone—to fit the bill. The last
thing in the world I wanted to do was think about it. I wanted to
be young and carefree like any other thirty-year-old man without
such weighty family responsibilities. And then the business
associates with whom you and I had intended to share dinner made
plans that fell through. Suddenly, it was just the two of us.”

“The two of us and a lot of sangria, as I
recall,” she said with a modest blush.

He reached across the blanket and took her
hand. “I wouldn’t take any of it back, Jessica. Nothing that
happened yesterday evening. I don’t know how to explain this to
you, but at the moment, marrying you not only seemed the right
thing to do, it was like the fates had left me no choice. First,
there you were—with those incredible eyes and that angelic
smile—and then there was Padre Domingo. It was like nothing in my
life had made sense up until that point, and then suddenly
everything did. Can you understand what I’m telling you?”

Jess felt the warmth in her cheeks. “That you
believe this was meant to happen?”

He nodded, then took her hand and gave the
back of it a light kiss.

“Yes,
querida
. I do.”

Jess cursed her inner voice for saying she
believed it too. This was the most outlandish situation she’d ever
found herself in. And yet why did her heart beat faster each time
his eyes lingered on hers? Why did part of her so want to believe
he’d been put in her path for a reason? A reason that would bring
her a better life of comfort and companionship. And, quite
possibly, the one thing that up until now she’d refused to believe
in? But, she couldn’t let herself believe it. Not here, not now,
not with this handsome matador, for crying out loud. She was in
Spain.
Spain!
Over three thousand miles from home. Jess had
a commitment to family too, and hers lay across the Atlantic. As
did her job, and very best friend on earth. She had to pull herself
out of this fantasy while she still had the strength to walk
away.

“I know you mean well,” she said softly. “And
all that you’ve shared, your motivation for helping your mother,
for saving your family’s ranch. Those are all things I understand;
really I do. And I admire you, Fernando. Admire you greatly for
putting your mother’s happiness above your own and wanting to do
right by her and your grandfather’s bequest. But I’m not the right
girl for this job. Surely, you’ll have lots of other takers.”

Fernando hung his head and turned away.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Dozens, maybe
hundreds.”

She reached out and lightly touched his arm.
He pulled away.

“The sun is sinking low,” he said. “I think
it’s time we pack up and head in. I told my mother we’d be back by
nightfall.”

“I’m sorry,” Jess said past the tenderness in
her throat.

He leveled her with a gaze devoid of emotion.
“Don’t be,” he said. “I’m not. Not sorry for anything.”

He helped her up on her horse, then mounted
his own.

Fernando righted himself in his saddle.

“The first thing on Tuesday,” he said without
looking at her, “I’ll take you to Seville. Just as you wish, we’ll
get this annulled.”