Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

explained the whole thing to you this morning.”
    “Perhaps,” his mother said with a tilt of her chin. “But I’d like to hear the story from the young lady herself.”
    That would be great, if only Jess could recall the tale she was supposed to tell. She had no clue what Fernando had said to his mother earlier. All she knew was that Fernando had asked her to “play along with things at lunch.” He promised her an Internet connection later, along with a cell signal in range so she could call Evie. Boy, would Evie have a field day with this. She was forever on Jess’s case for being too stringent and unerring. Eve was the carefree one who made mistakes. Now, here Jess sat in the middle of some matador’s ranch—and the global communications magnate didn’t even have Wi-Fi! Things were positively prehistoric in La Esperanza del Corazón, and Jess had the feeling she was dining with a carnivore.
    Mrs. Garcia de la Vega’s deep brown eyes settled on hers as she carefully spooned cold gazpacho soup to her lips. Fernando’s mother had to be in her late fifties but was beautiful still, fine wisps of gray just making themselves visible in her coiled-up hair.
    Fernando reached across the table and squeezed Jess’s hand, lending encouragement. “Just tell her how we met, querida. All the business deals and such.” He lifted her hand to give the back of it a firm kiss, and Jess’s resolve wilted. She was not seriously interested in Fernando in the least. They had chemistry—nothing more. And she resented the trappings of this little charade confusing her.
    Jess withdrew her hand from his grip and massaged it with the one in her lap. “Yes, that’s right,” she politely told Mrs. Garcia de la Vega. “It was business. All business. Strictly business from the start.” She shot Fernando a stern look to remind him their business here was nearly done.
    “And your business is…?” the older woman prompted.
    “Telecommunications, just like mine,” Fernando interjected.
    “The young woman speaks just fine for herself,” his mother quipped, annoyed.
    Jess uncrossed her legs under the table and sat up a little straighter in her chair.
    “The name of my firm is Global Financial Telecom. We’re headquartered in New York, and I’m in charge of international acquisitions.”
    “Like my son, for example,” Señora Garcia de la Vega said flatly.
    A breeze ruffled across the tabletop, sending the fresh-flower centerpiece fluttering. While Jess normally loved dining outdoors, the chill hovering above them on this balmy afternoon was unmistakable.
    “I came here on an acquisitions merger, it’s true. Involving your son’s company , Señora Garcia de la Vega. Fernando knew about… What I mean is, this was all arranged in advance. There were no surprises.”
    “Except for one,” Fernando added with a wink.
    A tension in her gut told her she was about to get broadsided. “Which one was that?”
    “Why, you know, my love. That little unexpected package.”
    Jess felt the blood drain from her face. “Package?”
    “Special delivery, mi amor. Our bundle of joy.” Fernando scooted his chair against hers so he could drape his arm around her shoulder. “Mamá,” he said, addressing his mother sincerely. “Jessica and I have known each other for months now. I’ve come to respect her not just as a business colleague but as a woman as well. A beautiful, sensuous woman that any man would be proud to call his—”
    “Is there a restroom downstairs?” Jess asked, abruptly pushing back from the table and breaking Fernando’s embrace. She stood unsteadily, glancing helplessly about the patio. Oddly, she felt more trapped in this beautifully arranged open space than in any cage.
    “Past the kitchen,” Mrs. Garcia de la Vega stated, her quizzical gaze on her son.
    Fernando shrugged at his mom as Jess stood from her chair. “It’s the baby.”
    “ Baby? ” The joint chorus was so loud neither Jess nor Mrs. Garcia de la Vega could be sure whose shriek registered the loudest.
    Jess stared at Fernando and blinked hard, her wobbling knees forcing her back in her chair. “ That’s too high a telecommunications price tag, ” she hissed under her breath.
    “Consuelo!” Señora Garcia de la Vega cried desperately toward the house. “More water, please!”

    Jess didn’t know what game Fernando was playing, but she refused to be party to it. “Excuse me,” she said, gathering her strength and standing