Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

lifted Gwen’s soggy napkin from the table to dab it.
    “I need to get back to work,” he said, standing and helping Gwen with her chair. “Think you might stop by later to sign the papers? The gallery closes at eight. That would be a good time.”
    “Eight o’clock it is,” she said with a smile that knocked his socks off and held potential to knock other items of clothing off too.
    Dan said a polite good-bye, then hustled out of there like a rabbit being hunted by a pack of wild coyotes. He needed to get his head together and figure his way through these next few days. Not that this should be a problem for a take-charge guy like him who knew how and where to draw the line.
    Dan knew it was for the best, and really in Gwen’s interest, for him to back off from any sort of romantic notions now, while the backing was good. No matter what Santa Fean magazine said about Dan being the “Best Billionaire Bachelor Catch in the West,” privately he knew his shortcomings would give even the most understanding woman pause. Dan had been down that dusty trail once and was determined never to go there again. Didn’t matter what sort of attractive filly came out of the gate. The fact of the matter was Dan wasn’t riding.

Chapter Three

    Gwen left the restaurant by exiting onto the main plaza, an oasis of green in the earth-toned adobe town. Huge shade trees lined its crisscrossing sidewalks, dotted with wrought-iron benches and lampposts. Bordered by the nation’s oldest public building, the Palace of Governors, on one side and an array of upscale shops on the others, it was the city’s central gathering spot and playground, complete with a bandstand in which an impromptu flautist played. Gwen strode past a snow-cone vendor and a couple of quesadilla carts on her way to explore the smattering of handmade goods the locals had spread on the ground atop woven blankets. She surveyed the assorted silver jewelry, accented with turquoise, and small trinkets for sale with an appreciative eye, and made complimentary small talk with the Native American and Mexican peoples proudly showcasing their wares.
    A warm breeze blew as the sun angled high, bathing Santa Fe in its rosy glow, the impressive Sangre de Cristo Mountains just visible in the distance, their highest peaks capped with snow, even in summertime. Gwen made her way up a side street to visit Saint Francis Cathedral, a stunning Romanesque Revival structure challenging the surrounding adobe architecture with its sweeping arches and brightly hued stained-glass windows.
    Perspiration dampened her hairline as she climbed the steps to the building’s entrance. It was warmer in the sunlight, the scarcely filtered ultraviolet rays bearing down on her, causing her feet and hands to swell. At once, the thin gold band on her left ring finger felt too tight. She twisted it slightly as she continued her ascent toward the cathedral’s front door. Gwen hadn’t prayed for anything in a long time. In fact, she hadn’t been to church since Robert left. Maybe she should have. Thinking it over, she understood she had much to be thankful for. Not least among her blessings was her opportunity to come here.
    Gwen passed through the enormous wooden door, her senses immediately engulfed by burning incense. Though she wasn’t Catholic, she didn’t believe God would mind if she took a spot on a pew for a few moments to mull through her life. What an event it had been. There’d been so much to it she’d never seen coming. When she met Robert in college, he’d appeared so promising. He was ambitious and fun and seemed poised to carve out a good life for himself and any lady lucky enough to join him. When he’d asked Gwen to marry him just before graduation, she’d been over the moon. He had a good job offer in Wilmington, and they could settle in the nearby town where Gwen had grown up and her family still lived. It had all seemed so idyllic at first.
    Gwen glanced down at the completely ineffectual wedding ring as her hand rested in her lap. It hadn’t taken long for Robert to find someone he thought more intelligent and interesting than her. She bored him to tears with her tales of kids in school and had no real talents as far as he could gather. The people he worked with were insightful, intuitive, interesting… Maybe if Gwen looked more at the papers or followed the news, she’d be interesting too, though he kind of doubted it.
    Gwen heaved a sigh, knowing she couldn’t