Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

his, he’d found a lump in his throat and a pounding in his chest that were completely unfamiliar. As tough as she was, she’d revealed a certain fragility when she’d bared her soul and shared her secret burden. He couldn’t help but hold her close and swear to her he’d make everything right. And he’d meant it too. This morning’s sun and his new sobriety hadn’t weakened his commitment.
    “Jessica, I’d be lying to say I wasn’t feeling the squeeze of the timeline closing in. I understood I was under the gun with my birthday drawing near.”
    She gasped at the harsh realization. “You took advantage of me. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
    “That’s not so!” he said with a firmness that took her aback. She startled, notably shaken, making him feel an outrageous fool.
    “Forgive me,” he said, collecting himself. “It’s just that what you said is so far from true.”
    “Far from true, Fernando? You just admitted to me yourself you were under pressure to find a bride.”
    “Maybe that’s why I let myself go.”
    “I don’t understand,” she said kindly.
    Fernando stroked his chin, carefully considering his next words. “You’ve seen how I am at work.”
    “Tough as nails.”
    “I’m tough when I need to be, yes. I’m also used to being in charge. So are you,” he went on with a grin, “which leads to some interesting…conversations.”
    “Confrontations are more like it,” she said with a lighthearted laugh.
    He gave her a lingering look. “True,” he said, “but neither of us has been mortally wounded yet.
    “In any case,” he continued, “the pressure was starting to build. It was like my whole life had been decided for me, and I had no say in the matter. My birthday was coming up, and I’d have to find someone—just anyone—to fit the bill. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was think about it. I wanted to be young and carefree like any other thirty-year-old man without such weighty family responsibilities. And then the business associates with whom you and I had intended to share dinner made plans that fell through. Suddenly, it was just the two of us.”
    “The two of us and a lot of sangria, as I recall,” she said with a modest blush.
    He reached across the blanket and took her hand. “I wouldn’t take any of it back, Jessica. Nothing that happened yesterday evening. I don’t know how to explain this to you, but at the moment, marrying you not only seemed the right thing to do, it was like the fates had left me no choice. First, there you were—with those incredible eyes and that angelic smile—and then there was Padre Domingo. It was like nothing in my life had made sense up until that point, and then suddenly everything did. Can you understand what I’m telling you?”
    Jess felt the warmth in her cheeks. “That you believe this was meant to happen?”
    He nodded, then took her hand and gave the back of it a light kiss.
    “Yes, querida . I do.”
    Jess cursed her inner voice for saying she believed it too. This was the most outlandish situation she’d ever found herself in. And yet why did her heart beat faster each time his eyes lingered on hers? Why did part of her so want to believe he’d been put in her path for a reason? A reason that would bring her a better life of comfort and companionship. And, quite possibly, the one thing that up until now she’d refused to believe in? But, she couldn’t let herself believe it. Not here, not now, not with this handsome matador, for crying out loud. She was in Spain. Spain! Over three thousand miles from home. Jess had a commitment to family too, and hers lay across the Atlantic. As did her job, and very best friend on earth. She had to pull herself out of this fantasy while she still had the strength to walk away.
    “I know you mean well,” she said softly. “And all that you’ve shared, your motivation for helping your mother, for saving your family’s ranch. Those are all things I understand; really I do. And I admire you, Fernando. Admire you greatly for putting your mother’s happiness above your own and wanting to do right by her and your grandfather’s bequest. But I’m not the right girl for this job. Surely, you’ll have lots of other takers.”
    Fernando hung his head and turned away. “Yes,” he said quietly. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Dozens, maybe hundreds.”
    She reached out and lightly touched his arm. He pulled away.
    “The sun