The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman by Katherine Garbera

sisters?”
    “Yes.”
    “Did you enjoy it?”
    “Yes.”
    He looked at her expectantly.
    “That was different. Your sisters are very nice and they wanted to like me.”
    “Kara.”
    “Hmm?”
    “What is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” he asked.
    She smiled. She really couldn’t help it. Each time he complimented her about her looks and body, she was filled with a rush of joy that she knew was unrealistic. “I’m not beautiful, Gui. That’s the problem. I’m not going to fit in with this crowd.”
    “Kara, mi dulce, I don’t want to hear anything else like that from your mouth. You are extremely good-looking and I will be the envy of every man in the room tonight.”
    She rolled her eyes and tried to think of something to say to convince Gui of what she meant. But he leaned forward and kissed her before she could think. It wasn’t just a brush of the lips but was filled with passion.
    She forgot everything. Her worries and fears, her doubts that she’d fit in at this function. Her fear that she wasn’t enough for Gui.
    Instead she put her hands around his shoulders and held on to him. Let the passion he called easily from her body overwhelm her. And she didn’t have any doubts about where she belonged or how she looked when his arms were around her.
    He pulled back. “Now you really do need to fix your lipstick.”
    “Gui?”
    “Si?”
    “Are you sure about marrying me? It’s not too late to change your mind,” she said, because for a long time those words had been in the back of her mind. Actually, she worried that she’d wake from this dream and find that she’d imagined everything. That she wasn’t really in Madrid with Count Guillermo, and she wasn’t going to be his wife.
    “Kara, look at me.”
    She raised her eyes and met his gaze. The quiet confidence she saw in his gave her strength. It was moments like this that made her believe that she was going to find love and happiness with Gui.
    “I’m not going to change my mind. We’ve made a commitment to each other and I intend to honor it.”
    She swallowed and blinked so the tears that burned the back of her eyes wouldn’t fall. “Good. I intend to do the same.”
    “Then we are agreed,” he said, then cursed under his breath.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “My father has come out of the house. He must have heard us pull up.”
    “Oh, no. Do you think he saw us kissing?”
    “Who cares?” Gui said.
    “I do. Your father has published several articles on decorum, and public displays of affection are—”
    “Perfectly acceptable between an engaged couple. My father would be surprised if we weren’t touching each other.”
    “But still.”
    “But nothing. Ready to get out and meet the family and all my friends?”
    She shook her head, but then he gave her one of his hot, sexy looks from under his eyebrows and she realized she was ready. With Guillermo by her side, she could do anything.

    Gui sat with his brother, Alonzo, on the balcony overlooking Madrid. Their father, who had asked to see them alone before dinner, was still inside taking a last-minute call. There were cigars and CuarentaY Tres, which his father loved. The traditional Spanish liqueur was made from forty-three different fruits and herbs. It was something he only drank with Lonzo and his father.
    Lonzo handed him a shot glass as the sun set. There was a peace and quietness between them. Unlike his friend Christos, who’d had a contentious relationship with his late older brother, Gui and Lonzo had always been two peas in a pod.
    Before settling down to marriage, Lonzo had been just as wild as Gui was. Often they’d partied and run together. But all of that had changed when Lonzo married at twenty-five.
    “I like your fiancée, Gui. How on earth did you find her?”
    “I’m not incapable of finding a smart, beautiful woman, Lonzo.”
    “I’m aware of that, but normally you are incapable of keeping her for very long.”
    “You’re just jealous