Santa Fe Fortune & How to Marry a Matador

me.”
    Jess stepped away from the wrought-iron grate and sat in an outdoor chair. “Why don’t you grab that bottle of red wine and a couple of glasses,” she said. “Then come back out here. There’s something I’d like to talk through with you.”

    Two empty wineglasses sat on the table between them as the sky lightened with daybreak.
    “I wish I could say we’d solved all the world’s problems,” Eve offered apologetically.
    “There’s no easy answer, is there?”
    “Oh, Jess,” Eve answered truthfully, “I don’t think there are ever any easy answers.”
    “But Evie, can’t you see? You’ve always told me what to do.”
    “Not this time,” Eve said, crossing her arms firmly over her chest.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Jess, this isn’t some casual hookup you’re considering. You’re talking a decision that affects the rest of your life. Who better to make that than you?”
    “But you came all the way over here to stop me.”
    “No. I came all the way over here to see if you were still you. Someone had radically changed up my best friend, and it scared me silly.”
    “That someone being Fernando.”
    “Actually, I think that someone was you.”
    “Me?”
    Evie studied her sincerely. “Look, I’ve known you a long time. What’s it been?”
    “Fifteen years.”
    “There you have it. That’s longer than some marriages last!”
    “So?”
    “So, I’ve come to know you pretty well.” Evie studied Jess and thoughtfully stroked her chin. “Maybe I didn’t believe it in New York, but maybe that’s because I had to see it with my own eyes. I don’t know what precisely happened between you and Fernando, but it was obviously something that affected you both. Affected you, deeply. Christ! We wouldn’t have pulled an all-nighter on this balcony if that wasn’t the case. So now here you are, once again spilling your soul to me and asking me to put things right. Jess, I love you dearly. But, frankly, that’s way too much responsibility. I can’t even manage my hair most days.”
    Proving her point, she pulled the pencil from her hair, letting it spill in an unruly mass to her shoulders. They shared companionable laughter, after which Jess stated seriously, “Oh, Evie, what would I do without you?”
    “Live your life,” she answered. “A real grown-up life.”
    Jess picked up the empty wine bottle and traced its label, one very memorable vintage coming to mind. First, it was her mother, telling her what to do. Next, it was Evie, but mostly because Jess asked for it. Then there was Fernando, begging her to remain his bride. Had Jess wanted to stay merely because he’d asked her or because that was what she’d truly wanted to do?
    “A life where I make my own choices, you mean.”
    “Who better to make them than you?” Evie asked.

    “I don’t think it’s fair to ask me to pick which present to open first, Mamá . I wouldn’t want to appear to play favorites.”
    “But Fernando,” Ana María said lightly. “All of the gifts are from me.”
    “Not all of them,” Gustavo said, stepping onto the patio. Consuelo trailed him, carting a lovely homemade flan.
    Fernando grinned at the older woman. “Why, Consuelo, you’ve outdone yourself—again.”
    She giggled gratefully. “You’re favorite, señor, with hints of toasted almond.”
    “I have something for you too,” Gustavo said, as he pulled a wrapped bundle from behind his back.
    “You don’t mind?” Fernando asked his mother.
    “No, please…” she encouraged merrily.
    Fernando smiled, digging into the package.
    “Oh my…” he said, opening the broad folds of an elegant matador’s cape. “It’s terrific.”
    “Where did you get it?” Ana María asked, her face registering mild shock.
    “At the Plaza de Toros gift shop in Seville. It’s not quite as fine as the one your father used, but it’s a close replica.”
    Fernando stood to hug him soundly. “Thank you, Gustavo. I’ll have to take this out and give it a whirl.”
    “Not in the true sense, I hope,” Ana María said with a worried frown.

    “I think that’s it,” Jess said, latching her suitcase.
    “Good,” Eve said. “Our taxi will be here any minute.”
    Jess carefully perused the small luxury apartment, thinking there were many things she was going to miss about coming here. Easy access to the city park and just a short stroll to the Prado. Plus, the numerous restaurants and produce vendors.
    “Madrid’s been a good