Luis (Royal Caleva #2)

CHAPTER 13

Eve pushed the button to bring the SUV’s luxurious leather seat back to an upright position. She had caught a short nap as they drove because last night she and Grace had stayed up late, talking about her daughter’s future.

Now they were headed to Luis’s private home, whose name meant House in the Clouds. Bridget was driving, and Ivan rode shotgun. Eve winced at the term since he undoubtedly really had a gun. She was pretty sure that the SUV they seemed to be following was part of their security. There was probably one behind them as well. Was all the security because of Grace or because they were going to a house known to be owned by the king? Or both?

The other students and vets had been swept off to their respective guest homes in SUVs, too, so nothing about Eve and Grace’s departure had seemed unusual. Their escort hadn’t joined them until they were out of sight of the palace.

This morning, their Iowa delegation had met with several architects who specialized in medical facilities. They had brought some preliminary drafts of a veterinary school layout. Eve smiled at how they all felt like kids in a candy shop, since the architects added every item on their personal wish lists to the plans. Her smile faded as she remembered that the school was nothing but an elaborate ruse. No wonder there could be space for every fancy piece of equipment they wanted. It was all a pie in the sky. Still, it had been fun.

Afterward, they had been given a tour of the region of Caleva originally settled by French pirates, starting in St. Christophe and ending on one of the stunning beaches where the white sand literally glittered in the sunlight. Eve had fallen asleep on her lounge chair while the kids frolicked in the surf.

Now Grace would get to meet her half brother, the prince. Eve sucked in and blew out a long breath, reminding herself that Luis had raised Raul, so his son should have a strong loyalty to family. Still, sibling rivalry was real, and Grace was something of an interloper.

“Oh my God, Mom, look at this view!” Grace was staring out the window on her side of the car.

Eve leaned across to see that they were driving uphill along the edge of a cliff beyond which lay the endless ocean, a deep turquoise close to the island that shaded darker and darker as it reached the horizon. Below them, the surf crashed against glistening black boulders, throwing up wild sprays of water to sparkle in the sunlight. Being from landlocked Iowa, she found the sight mesmerizing. A glance at Grace’s wide eyes and half-open mouth indicated that her daughter felt the same way.

Straightening, Eve looked out her window to see flat land covered with some sort of low-growing, pale green grass or moss dotted with pinpoint yellow flowers. An occasional small, wind-sculpted evergreen tree thrust up from what must be rocky soil. Far off in the distance, she could see the silhouette of Castillo Draconago rising from its own cliff above San Ignacio. A thrill ran through her because Luis was somewhere within those stone walls.

She needed to get a grip.

The SUV slowed and stopped. Peering through the windshield, Eve saw tall steel gates set in a high stone wall that extended away to either side of the road. A guard was speaking with the driver of the SUV in front of them, and the massive gates began to swing inward. Bridget opened her window to speak with the guard, and they were waved through.

They drove for another fifteen minutes before the SUVs swept through an archway into an enclosed courtyard, centered by an abstract bronze fountain and edged with beds of flowering trees and plants in a riot of colors.

Ivan leaped out of the car to open Eve’s door while Bridget did the same for Grace. “Welcome to the House in the Clouds,” Ivan said.

“Thank you,” Eve said, but she was looking at the house with astonishment. It was boldly contemporary, constructed of vast sheets of glass, steel girders, and smooth basalt blocks.

“This is not what I expected,” Grace said.

“Not a turret or gargoyle in sight,” Eve agreed.

The front door flew open, and a short woman wearing a black dress appeared with outflung arms. Glints of silver shone in her dark hair. “Bienvenido, se?ora, se?orita,” she cried. “Come in, come in! You must be exhausted from your day.”

Eve and Grace exchanged a glance before going up the three wide steps to the door.

“I am Annamaria, la mayordoma of Casa en las Nubes,” the woman said with obvious pride in her smile. “Anything that you need, I will provide for you. El rey and el principe will be arriving in an hour and a half, so I imagine you will want to freshen up. After that, I will be happy to take you on a tour of the house, if you wish.”

“Muchas gracias,” Grace said.

Annamaria beamed. “Usted habla espa?ol! You speak Spanish,” she translated with a glance at Eve.

“Un poco,” Grace said. “It’s good to practice.”

“Si, si! Muy bien!” Annamaria agreed. “First, I will show you the view and then your rooms.”

She led them through a double-height entrance with a large hanging red-and-black mobile that Eve guessed was by the American sculptor Alexander Calder. Beyond it lay a huge living space with multiple seating areas. That paled when compared with the vista outside the wall of glass. A stone terrace with an infinity pool extended from the sliding doors. The house was on the tip of a high peninsula, so the sea surrounded it on three sides. Right in the center of the view, a volcanic caldera erupted from the waves, its sloping sides covered with soft green vegetation. A break in the cone’s wall showed a circular pool of brilliantly blue water cradled within. Seabirds wheeled in the skies around it, and a few boats bobbed near the pool’s entrance.

“La Sorpresa de Los Piratas. The Pirates’ Surprise,” Annamaria said with a wave toward the island. “El rey will tell you the story of its name. It’s one of his favorites.” She said it with an affectionate familiarity that shifted Eve’s view of Luis. In the palace, everyone had treated him as the King with a capital K. Annamaria seemed to look on him with less deference and more fondness.

“It looks like you can go to the volcano by boat,” Grace said.

“Maybe we can work that into our trip,” Eve said, knowing that Luis would make it happen if Grace expressed an interest.

“It is a national park,” Annamaria said. “Only two hundred people are allowed there per day.”

That wouldn’t stop Luis.

The mayordoma shepherded them away from the spellbinding vista and through a bewildering array of rooms before entering a wide hallway. Stopping in front of a door, she beckoned Eve forward. “Put your thumb against this black pad, and it will know to open the door for you.” She gave a shrug. “Se?or Silva is security conscious even here.”

Eve pressed her thumb against the black square and heard the click of the door unlocking.

“Would you like me to show you around your suite?” Annamaria asked.

“I can explore it on my own, but thank you,” Eve said.

“If you need privacy from the outdoors, just say, ‘Shades on,’ and the glass will darken,” Annamaria said. “You can also speak to the shower by saying, ‘Shower on,’ ‘hotter,’ ‘colder,’ and so on.”

“The shower speaks English?” Eve joked.

“And ten other languages,” Annamaria said with a straight face. She waved down the hall. “Se?orita Howard’s room is the second door down from yours. I will return in an hour to escort you back to the sala. Feel free to explore the house on your own, too, if you wish.”

“Please call us Eve and Grace,” Eve said. “We’re Americans, so we prefer to be less formal.”

“Bien, Se?ora Eve.” Annamaria nodded.

Grace gave a muffled choke of laughter, but Eve just smiled. “Gracias.”

Pushing the door open, she found herself in a sitting room that included a desk and a gas fireplace along with a comfortable modern sofa and chairs in shades of taupe and blue. The outer wall offered the same view as the sala, except that the volcano was farther to the right.

Strolling through the open door to the bedroom, she found a king-size bed with multiple layers of exquisitely soft linens in soft creams and blues, another fireplace, and two armchairs set in front of the window wall. Exploring further, she discovered a palatial bathroom done entirely in gray-veined marble and a walk-in closet, where her clothing was already hung or folded into drawers.

She went back to the bedroom and stood, drinking in the incredible scene of sea, sky, and volcano. Then she remembered that Luis was coming…and Raul, of course. But the thrill of anticipation that zinged through her wasn’t for the prince.

The scent of vaho hibiscus teased her nostrils, and she glanced around to see a vase of the lavender blossoms on the dresser. Beside it sat a square package wrapped in gold paper with teal and red ribbons tied around it. A cream-colored envelope with her name handwritten on it was propped behind the box.

Figuring that it was the kind of welcome note high-end hotels often offered their guests, she picked it up and pulled out the folded notepaper. It was embossed with a gold crown under which was engraved Luis IV, King of Caleva. Her pulse jumped. She opened it to find bold, flowing handwriting.

Dear Eve,

You do not need the aid of this gift, but you asked if it worked. You may draw your own conclusions by trying it for yourself.

Warmest regards,

Luis

Like a silly teenager, she traced the slashing letters of his name, thinking of all the important documents he signed in the same way. This note was going in her box of special mementos, right alongside Grace’s baby bracelet and first report card.

Placing the note carefully on the dresser, she tugged on the ribbons of the box before it dawned on her that this must be the anti-aging cream. She peeled back the paper to see a logo of a stylized lily and the words Vin de Lys—Wine of the Lilies—the name the French cosmetics firm had given its exclusive cream made from the sap of the Calevan lilies. Opening the box, she pulled out a cut crystal jar with a rose-gold lid, studded with wine-red crystals.

“Fancy packaging,” she said, twisting off the top and removing the protective underlid to take a whiff. The white cream had barely any fragrance, probably for hypoallergenic reasons. She touched her fingertip to the surface and rubbed a tiny bit on her cheek, the cream like silk on her skin. A frisson of excitement ran through her. According to the hype, the lines on her face would disappear within a week.

Then she remembered the miracle cream was expensive. Curious, she turned the jar over to check the weight of its contents. Baccarat was etched in the crystal. “Of course,” she muttered, pulling out her phone to look up the price.

“Holy shit!” she gasped. “Five thousand dollars! I can’t accept this.” She quickly replaced both lids. “Oh my God, I touched it already.”

She stared at the jar in horror. Even if Luis got some kind of special discount, it still cost far too much. But she couldn’t give it back after sticking her finger in it. Although who would know?

She would, and being a medical worker, she was all too aware of sterility issues. “Shit!” she said again.

Welp, she would have to write Luis the world’s most spectacular thank-you note…and be careful what she mentioned being intrigued by in the future.

At least she could get rid of her lines until the cream ran out. After that, they would most likely return.

She returned the jar to its box, neatly folded the beautiful wrapping paper and ribbons, placed the note back in its envelope, and carried all of them to the closet to nest them in her empty carry-on bag.

Then she stripped off her rumpled clothing and had a long, luxurious session in the shower.

An hour later, she and Grace were wandering through the mansion, oohing and aahing at the art, the furnishings, and most especially the views. Eve had dried her hair into soft waves that flowed over the pink silk of her blouse and added Luis’s lily pendant in the open neckline. She had decided on gray trousers and flat black loafers since Luis had told them life at Casa en las Nubes was casual.

Grace had paired jeans with a dark green blouse that made her auburn hair glow. She wore her Calevan dragon necklace, but with an addition. Eve looked more closely to find that the gold wings she had given Grace were strung onto the chain with the dragon. Her heart did a little dance of joy. She hadn’t lost her daughter yet.

“I’m nervous about meeting Raul,” Grace admitted as they stood in front of a large Picasso painting. “I know Luis says he’s happy to have a new half sibling, but it must be weird.”

“It has to be weirder for you than for him,” Eve pointed out. “Your half brother is a prince.”

“Right.” Grace frowned. “I want him to like me. I also want to talk with him about his life. I hope he’s willing to be honest.” Grace was winding a lock of her hair tightly around her index finger, a gesture that showed Eve how anxious her daughter was.

She hooked her arm around Grace’s shoulders. “Sweetheart, you are a good judge of people. You’ll figure out how much Raul is willing to share with you. And there is no hurry to make a decision that will affect your whole life. You should take your time, just the way you do when you examine one of your patients.”

But Eve felt the subtle pressure from Luis, so Grace must notice it too.

“It’s different when it’s my own future,” Grace said. “I want to settle it.”

Eve hugged Grace against her side. Her daughter had always been one to make decisions fast and definitively. It was both a strength and a flaw. “This is not something to rush.”

She didn’t add that it would affect her own life as well. That was more burden than Grace needed. Eve couldn’t help wondering, though, if she could be happy living in Caleva, moving on the fringes of Grace’s royal life, if that’s what her daughter chose. She sighed inwardly and set the thought aside. All that mattered was making sure Grace had enough information to make a wise choice about the direction of her future.

“Buenas tardes,” Annamaria said, appearing from around the corner. “Do you like that painting? I am still trying to puzzle it out.”

“Honestly, I’m just impressed by the size and the signature,” Eve said.

The mayordoma laughed. “It came with the house when el rey purchased it. I have good news. El rey and el principe are almost here. I thought you would wish to meet them out on the terrace by the pool. El rey likes to go there first whenever he arrives. He says the sea air blows away all his worries.” Annamaria gave a skeptical grimace. “It may help, but el rey always wears the crown, even here.”

She bustled ahead of them, wending their way back to the sala and then through the doors onto the terrace. The late afternoon light turned the pool’s surface gold while the brisk breeze ruffled it into wavelets. At the Pirates’ Surprise, only one boat was still anchored at the entrance.

“May I offer you a beverage?” Annamaria asked, sweeping her hand toward an outdoor bar of stone and steel. “There are tapas on the table near the lip of the pool.”

“Red wine would be lovely,” Eve said.

Grace nodded in agreement.

“We have many varieties from many countries,” Annamaria said. “What is your preference?”

Of course they did. This was the king’s house.

“I trust you to choose,” Eve said with a smile.

Eve stood entranced by the play of light on the ocean, the constant dull roar of waves slamming against the cliffs below, and the scent of salt water, vaho hibiscus, and something delicious wafting from the tapas table.

Annamaria brought them crystal glasses of ruby wine and then vanished into the house.

“We’re not in Iowa anymore,” Grace said as she swirled the wine in her glass.

“That’s for sure,” Eve agreed as the wine’s full, rich flavor slid smoothly over her palate.

They stood a few minutes longer before Eve heard the quiet hiss of the big glass door sliding open. She turned to see Luis and his son framed in the opening, two tall, spectacularly handsome men in perfectly fitting dark suits, and her heart felt as though it would leap out of her chest.

Luis stopped in the doorway, his gaze locked on the two women bathed in sunlight, their red hair aflame and rippling in the breeze. He was overjoyed to see his daughter again, but his blood raced at the sight of Eve, a welcoming smile curving her sensuous mouth, her clothes molded to her body by the sea wind. The intensity of his reaction surprised him, but he let it flow through him with a certain pleasure. For a moment, his gaze met Eve’s, and he thought he saw an answering flicker of heat there.

But he had an important introduction to make. He stepped onto the terrace with Raul by his side.

“Good evening! It is wonderful to have you here in my home,” he said. “I’d like you to meet my son, Raul. Raul, this is Eve.”

Eve stepped forward with a smile, and Raul met her halfway to shake hands. “A pleasure to meet you, Eve,” his son said. “Pater says wonderful things about you.”

Eve’s smile shifted in some way that he couldn’t read as she said, “He says the same about you.”

“Raul, this is your half sister, Grace,” Luis said and stepped back so he could watch their first encounter.

Grace put her hand out. Raul took it in his. For a moment, they stood examining each other, undoubtedly seeing what he saw. How the shape of their faces mirrored each other with the subtle differences of gender. How their eyes were nearly the same color. How the angle at which they tilted their chins was identical.

Then Raul’s smile flashed, and he pulled his half sister into a hug. “Mi hermana, I am so happy to meet you at long last.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Grace said into his shoulder. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to give up being an only child.”

Relief washed through Luis as well. He had worried that Raul would not believe that Luis did not love his son any less because he also loved his daughter.

Raul laughed, and they released each other but didn’t move apart. Luis understood. Finding a new family member was an occasion to be cherished. Eve was watching the encounter with an expression that mixed hope with worry. Her posture was taut, as though she were poised to jump between her daughter and his son, if necessary.

A mama bear protecting her precious cub.

He admired that. And much more.

Annamaria appeared with two glasses of wine, one of which she offered to Luis with a small curtsy. “Gracias, but I think we should have champagne. This is a moment to celebrate,” he said, although he could not yet divulge why. He saw his mayordoma’s glance traveling back and forth between Raul and Grace. She would draw her own shrewd conclusions. “The vintage Dom Perignon, por favor.”

“Por supuesto, Se?or!” Annamaria bustled away.

Eve strolled over to his side, saying in a low voice, “Raul is being so nice. I know Grace has a thousand questions for him, and it looks like she’s bombarding him already.”

Luis watched the two young people, who were talking and gesticulating with great animation, before he let his gaze shift to Eve. “Raul is as delighted by his new sibling as I am. Although he considers his cousin Gabriel as a brother, he welcomes another young member of the family. It is sometimes lonely to be the heir to the throne.”

Eve gave him a searching look that said she understood he was speaking from experience. “Still, Raul has been the apple of his father’s eye for his entire life.” Her tone was light, but he heard the concern underlying it.

“He has not always appreciated that fact,” Luis said with a smiling grimace. “I am grateful, though, that he has a genuine passion for serving Caleva.”

Since his son had little choice.

“Do you think it comes with the genes?” Eve asked, slanting a glance up at him.

“The genes and the training from birth,” Luis said. “Who knows which is more powerful?”

“I’ve been studying Calevan history a bit,” she said. “Not every monarch was an enthusiastic ruler.”

“Luckily, we have ways to remove them when that becomes apparent,” Luis said. “Which no longer involves hurling them off a cliff. Although there was a certain satisfying simplicity to that.”

Eve’s brown eyes warmed with amusement.

“Perdon, Se?or.” Annamaria appeared at his elbow. “Shall I open the champagne, or would you wish to do so?”

“Ah, let me,” Luis said. “I enjoy the festive sound of a cork popping.”

The mayordoma offered him the bottle and a white towel, while Eve took his wineglass. The light brush of her fingers against his heightened the buzz in his blood. He twisted the cork until it gave a soft pop and he felt the pressure of the effervescence push it against his hand. Annamaria had returned with a silver tray of four champagne flutes, which she held while he poured the pale gold liquid into each one.

Eve had set down the wineglasses, so he handed a flute to her and kept one for himself, calling out, “Grace, Raul, let us drink a toast to this momentous day.”

They seized their champagne glasses from the tray and walked over to where he and Eve stood. Their resemblance when side by side was so striking that he felt his heart squeeze with pride and amazement…and love. Yes, he loved Grace already.

“Un brindis por la familia! A toast to family!” Luis lifted his glass in the center of the group. “The most important thing in life.”

The other three reached in to touch their flutes together in a chorus of soft, musical clinks. “Por la familia!” Everyone spoke in Spanish, which sent a ripple of satisfaction through him, followed by a powerful sense of completion, as though missing pieces had clicked into place. This was the family he had dreamed of having.

After they each took a sip, Raul said, “Since we’re a family, I think we should have a family toast like we did when Gabriel and I were younger. Do as I do. Arriba!” He lifted his glass high, and everyone followed. “Abajo!” Raul swung his glass down low. “Al centro!” He thrust the glass into the center and waited for all to clink against it. “Y pa’ dentroooooooo!” Raul drank down the rest of his champagne in one gulp.

Grace and Eve did the same, revealing the long, graceful lines of their necks, but Luis shook his head in mock horror. “You are a barbarian, hijo mío. This champagne is too fine to be chugged like cheap beer.”

Raul grinned as he picked up the bottle from the table and refilled the glasses before he turned to Grace. “A good celebration requires some craziness, yes?”

“Yes,” she agreed. “But this is really tasty champagne, so maybe we should chug the wine instead.”

“Ah, the always practical American,” Raul said. “But you’re not wrong. Let’s take the wine and grab some tapas.”

He swept the wine bottle off the bar, and he and Grace strolled to the seating area at the far end of the pool.

“Maybe we should let them get to know each other without the parents butting in,” Eve said, her gaze following them.

Luis heard the bittersweet longing in her voice and recognized the pain of not being able to shield your adult child from the world.

“Then we shall go to the beach,” he said, the exhilaration of having his children together bubbling through his veins along with the champagne. He wanted to shout, to dance, to release his elation in some physical way.

Eve’s face lit up, and then her gaze drifted over him in a way he could almost feel before she smiled. “You’re a little overdressed for beachcombing.”

“That is easily remedied.” He unknotted his tie and pulled it off, unbuttoning a couple of buttons on his shirt. Her eyes widened as she watched, and he slowed down his striptease to see how she would react. Shrugging out of his suit jacket, he tossed it on a chair before removing his cuff links and rolling his shirtsleeves up to just below his elbows, observing her with a sideways glance.

Yes, she was definitely breathing more quickly, and that was desire flickering across her face. An answering heat scorched through his body. He eased into a chair where she could watch as he untied his wingtips and removed his socks, relishing the warmth of the heated stone beneath his bare soles and the knowledge that Eve wanted him as he wanted her.

He stood and gestured to her loafers. “You won’t need those either.”

She nodded and toed off the shoes, revealing the painted toenails he had found so sexy the night before. “Oh my gosh, the terrace is warm!”

“Radiant geothermal heat,” he explained. “Provided by Mother Nature.”

She stared down at her toes, curling them against the stone in sensual appreciation. “Amazing.”

“Bring your glass,” he said. “We will savor what the young savages cannot.”