Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

made!
    “I have a boyfriend,” she said, the lie escaping as a whisper.
    “What a shame.” Palms slid down her arms as Fernando brought his lips to her shoulder. “How do you think he’ll take the news?”
    Jess gasped, fighting her automatic feminine response. Nipples hardened beneath terrycloth, and she ached to turn toward him. Being made love to by a strong, confident man like Fernando was nothing short of heaven. The truth was that she and Allen had broken up weeks ago, and the physical relationship they’d shared hadn’t even come close. Still, the illusion of another man was good, maybe the best thing she had at the moment. Until her head cleared, Jess needed every ounce of ammunition against Fernando’s manly advances that she could muster.
    “He’ll be outraged,” she said, pulling her mound of clothing in tighter.
    “He must love you desperately.”
    Jess pursed her lips, fighting the fire in her eyes. The fact was, she didn’t know whether Allen had loved her or not. Just as with her past two boyfriends, he’d never broached the topic—and she’d never yearned to discuss it.
    “I don’t do love,” she said hoarsely, making an effort to step away.
    Fernando tightened his grip and spun her toward him. “Everybody does love,” he said with an earnest look. “Sooner or later.”
    Jess blinked back the moisture in her eyes. “Not this girl.”
    Fernando released her, his brow creasing. He’d never seen a woman at once so fragile and strong. There was a sorrow in her eyes that made him want to weep for, and with, her. He wondered how long she’d contained it, keeping that sadness to herself.
    “I’ll just be a minute,” she said, turning away.
    Fernando watched her leave, thinking this presented more of a challenge than he’d imagined. Then again, if ever there was a man who knew how to rise to the occasion, it was him.
    “Take all the time that you need,” he said as she exited the room.

    Jessica emerged fully dressed ten minutes later. “As soon as we return to Madrid,” she said, “we’re getting this thing annulled.” She was beautiful today, smartly polished in a short white dress. He’d be proud to introduce her, if only she’d trade that frown on her lips for one of those winning smiles.
    “Annulled?” Fernando questioned, glancing sideways as he straightened the collar of his polo shirt in the mirror. “Don’t you think that’s a little rash?”
    “No, Fernando. Rash is getting married to a business colleague after too much sangria. Rash is not doing the sensible thing the next morning.”
    Jess didn’t know how she’d let herself get talked into it, but she had. Right down to signing that statement of Proof of Freedom to Marry, endorsed by Father Domingo’s brother-in-law, the retired American Consul, whose powers of persuasion were still apparently in force.
    “But we weren’t married in Madrid,” he noted astutely.
    Jess considered this a moment, realizing he was right. The marriage had to be annulled right here. But first, she needed to learn precisely where that was. “Where are we?”
    “In La Esperanza del Corazón, remember? Place of my birth.”
    Yes, it all came stampeding back to her, like a trillion toros on the run. “Of course I recall.”
    “Everything…?” he asked, suggestively lifting an eyebrow.
    Jess shook her head in agitation. She was not going to let him do this, have her remembering all the wrong things. “I was tipsy…animated, okay? Foolishly and hopelessly in love with life!”
    He beheld her wistfully. “Yes, it was lovely.”
    Jess fought for the words. “It was reckless,” she countered. “That woman you were with last night wasn’t me.”
    “No? Who was it?”
    “Someone else.” She huffed, trying to imagine how she’d explain this to her mother. Jess had never gotten so much as a B on a report card. Now here she was, failing life. “My evil twin.”
    He laughed out loud. “You’re a Gemini?”
    “What?”
    “The zodiac sign.”
    She was puzzled by this turn in the conversation.
    “What do constellations have to do with anything?”
    “Perhaps we’re written in the stars,” he said, a sly smile on his lips.
    Jess pressed her palms to her temples, thinking hard. Before she told her mother, she’d call Evie; that was what she’d do. Evie would help her straighten things out. If Jess could fix things fast, maybe her mom wouldn’t even have to know.
    “I’m a Taurus, if it matters.”
    “I might