Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

thought of Gwen leaving and not coming back. Even if she came back, he wasn’t sure how he’d endure her absence in the interim. All Dan knew was that he needed to be with her, now and possibly long after that. The sun sank over the mountains, streaking the sky with a grenadine hue. It was a beautiful summer evening and would be a crystal-clear night. There would be over a billion stars around. Dan was going to make good on his promise to Gwen that she’d see them.
    Dan turned off the main road and onto a gravel drive. He pulled up to a wooden gate and put the SUV in park.
    “We’re here?” she asked, fine color gracing her cheeks and temples. She was beautiful this evening, more lovely than he’d ever seen her.
    “Welcome to Paradise Ranch,” he said with a smile.
    Dan rolled down his driver-side window and punched numbers into a keypad.
    The enormous wooden frame of the gate swung open on giant hinges.
    Gwen grinned as they passed under the stenciled wooden sign identifying Dan’s private sanctuary. While he’d had occasional women since his big breakup with Elena, he’d never brought any of them here.
    “I love it!” Gwen’s face shone with delight as the winding gravel drive shaded by trees opened into the wide expanse of hills. High atop the highest one sat the rustic expanse of the main house. Other outbuildings dotted the surrounding area, including the camp dormitory, mess hall and barn, complete with a full-scale riding ring. At the edge of the pasture beyond, sat a low-roofed stable. “You can’t possibly keep all this up by yourself? Even when camp is out.”
    “I’ve got some good hands around to help me,” he said with a wink. “Trustworthy folks who look after the horses and such but don’t sell my stories to the media.”
    “Are any here tonight?”
    “Some will be around. But they heard we were coming. They’ll keep their distance from the main house.”
    Gwen blushed wildly like the blossoming red yucca hedging the drive. She was one hell of a good-looking woman, and she was looking better all the time.
    Grocery sacks rustled in back as they climbed the steep hill to their destination.
    “So what’s for dinner?” she asked sweetly.
    “It’s a surprise.” Dan hoped that Gwen liked surprises and that she really liked spicy food as much as she claimed. He had a real treat in store, fresh from the land.
    “I adore surprises,” she said with a big, lovely smile. “The hotter, the better!”
    “I’m not going to ask how you did that,” he said, unnerved by her uncanny mental telepathy.
    “I saw you eyeing those jalapeño plants,” she said with a laugh.
    He repressed a grin, charmed by her. Dan hadn’t even realized he’d glanced at the side garden, mentally calculating how many peppers to bring in.
    “You’re one smart woman, Ms. Gwendolyn Marsh.”
    She squared her small shoulders and tilted up her lovely chin.
    “Thanks! I appreciate you saying so.”

    Dan led her in through the great room, a rustic common area with an ample stone hearth, hardwood floors, and exposed beams in the vaulted ceiling. Three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views of the surrounding mountains were afforded through enormous windows. Gwen caught her breath at the panorama’s beauty, as the grenadine sky faded to purple dusk.
    Gwen shifted the purse on her shoulder. “It’s incredible!”
    “Thanks. I like it.”
    He carried her small overnight bag ahead of her, leading her past an open kitchen with a central island. Gwen was impressed to see a good arrangement of hanging pots and pans, and baskets brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables on the gleaming marble countertops.
    “Who does your shopping?”
    “I called ahead and made some arrangements.”
    She stopped walking and set a hand on her curvy hip. “So you were quite certain I’d come, were you?”
    “I spent the better part of my drive back from Albuquerque hoping,” he said with a grin.
    Dan pushed back the door to a magnificent bedroom with views even more majestic than the ones from the great room. Gwen’s purse slid from her shoulder and hit the floor with a thud. “Wow.”
    “The bathroom’s through there,” he said, indicating the far end of the room. “I’ve only got three bedrooms, but they’re good-sized.”
    Three bedrooms were all you needed to start a family, Gwen thought, immediately startled that the idea had raced through her mind. She could imagine what an amazing place this would be to raise