Luis (Royal Caleva #2)

CHAPTER 21

The next morning, Luis once again sat at the head warden’s desk at CárcelMax, waiting for Odette to be brought to him. Mikel had used the same methodology as the last time Luis had faced his ex-lover, so only the most trusted bodyguards knew of this visit.

Grace and Eve would follow an hour later in another nondescript vehicle, but Luis intended to threaten Odette into behaving herself when she met their daughter. However, he would let Grace try to persuade her birth mother to keep their connection a secret. If he were to ask Odette to keep it secret, she would broadcast the news to the world out of pure spite.

The door opened, and he stiffened as Odette was led into the office, the chains of her shackles clinking softly. She looked thinner, her skin even more pasty against the yellow prison clothes.

When she saw him, a cruel smile curved her lips. “Well, well, a second visit from the king. I am honored.” She dipped into a curtsy made awkward by the guards holding her arms. She straightened and examined him for a long moment. “You look hale and healthy. You’re feeling well these days?”

“Sit.” The anger at her insolence ignited inside him, but it burned cold today.

The guards released her as she sank onto the wooden chair in front of the desk. “Leave us,” Luis told them, waiting until the door was closed behind them.

He sat silent, searching for a resemblance between the woman in front of him and his daughter. The red hair, of course, although Odette’s lacked the healthy shine of Grace’s. He continued to examine the shape of her face, her ears, even her hands. With a surge of relief, he found nothing else to demonstrate they were related.

“Did you have something to say to me?” she prodded.

Luis smiled inwardly. Speaking first showed weakness.

“I found our daughter,” he said.

Interest flared in her eyes. “I assumed you would.”

“If you had bothered to talk with her, you would have learned she is a very impressive young woman,” Luis said.

“Have you acknowledged her as yours?”

“In private, yes.” Luis was not going to discuss that matter further with Odette. “She wishes to meet you.”

Odette’s head snapped back as though he had slapped her, but she recovered. “Of course she does. I am her mother.”

“No, you merely gave birth to her. The woman who raised Grace is her mother.” Luis let his control slip enough to show Odette his steel. “At least you chose well on that front.”

“You approve of…Eve, isn’t it? How does she feel about her adopted daughter suddenly acquiring a rather overwhelming father?”

Luis couldn’t stop the tiny curve at the corners of his lips as he thought of Eve’s initial reaction to his identity. “She is coming to terms with it.”

“What choice does she have?” Odette’s voice was pure acid. “Your wish is a command.”

“You have never understood what it means to be king,” Luis said. “Today, I am here as a father first.”

“Then tell me why Grace is so eager to meet me.” Odette lifted her cuffed hands. “I am a criminal, after all.”

“Perhaps she will tell you herself,” Luis said before he leaned forward and locked gazes with Odette. “But whatever she says, you will treat her with respect. You will not deliberately inflict any emotional pain on her. You will pretend to be a normal human being with some semblance of human decency. You fooled all of us for years, so you can fool your daughter for an hour.”

“Are you going to sit in on our heartfelt reunion and censor my every word?” Odette asked, but he saw a flicker of uncertainty in her face.

He wanted to be there in the room, ready to shield his daughter from the monster in front of him, but Grace needed to face Odette on her own. “Grace is a strong young woman. I trust her to deal with you.” He lowered his voice to a snarl. “But I will be watching every second of your meeting. If you say or do anything to traumatize her, I will end your encounter immediately and make your life here a living hell. If you damage Grace in any way, you will be on your knees, pleading for an end to your suffering.”

Panic flashed across her face before she pasted on a smile. “You used to be softer,” she said. “But you’ve been king a long time. And kings develop a ruthless streak because they wield the power to make and break people’s lives. You’ve broken me, querida. Are you happy now?”

Revulsion roiled through him at the endearment, but he didn’t let her see it. “You were broken long ago.” He pushed the button to call the guards.

As the door opened, Odette said, “Don’t you want me to swear I will be good?”

“Your promises are worth nothing.” Luis beckoned the guards forward. “I’m counting on your self-interest.”

Luis stood at the barred window in the warden’s office, his gaze on the nondescript brown car that had carried Eve and Grace to this grim, unhappy place. As he waited for Grace to be escorted through the layers of steel doors, he tried to think of a way to dissuade her from meeting with Odette. For all of his threats, he felt powerless to stop his former lover from hurting his daughter. Odette could spew too much poison before Luis would be able to stop her.

Luis did not like feeling powerless. Especially when he had promised Eve that he would be here to protect their daughter. If he failed, he would be failing the two most important women in his world right now.

The private door to the warden’s office swung open, and Mikel escorted Grace inside before leaving again. She had already shed the bulky coat and hat used to disguise her and was wearing a green blouse and tailored gray trousers. She looked pale but calm.

“Hija mía,” he said, going over to kiss her on both cheeks. “You can still change your mind about this meeting. I wish you would change your mind.”

“If I don’t face Odette, I will always have questions,” Grace said, her chin lifted and her eyes clear with resolve.

“I fear you will have yet more questions after you meet her,” Luis said, resignation in his voice.

“That will be her fault, not mine,” Grace said. “I will have done my best.”

“If only more people understood that concept,” Luis said, admiring her mature wisdom.

He led her to the warden’s large leather chair. “You will remain behind this desk at all times for your own protection.” He pointed to the red button bolted to the top of the desk. “This is the panic button. Do not hesitate to push it if you are at all concerned…about anything. Mikel and I will be in the next room.” He gestured to the door she had entered through. “We will come immediately.”

“Mikel said that Odette will be in shackles, so I don’t see how she could hurt me,” Grace said.

“There are many ways to hurt someone without physical contact,” Luis said, his heart twisting at the terrible potential. “We will also be watching and listening through the cameras in here. If I feel the conversation needs to be stopped, I will do so.”

She met his gaze straight on. “I know you and Mom believe that’s necessary, but it isn’t. Please do not interrupt us unless my life is in danger.”

She was strong, his daughter, but she had never dealt with someone like Odette. He would not hesitate to shut down the meeting if he judged it was going in a dangerous direction.

He held the chair while Grace seated herself. “Are you ready?”

Grace nodded without hesitation, but her knuckles were white where she held the chair arms.

He bent to kiss her. “Your courage will carry you through.”

That earned him a strained smile of gratitude. With reluctance, he left his daughter alone to face her monster of a birth mother.

In the adjoining room, Mikel had set up four monitors to display feeds from the four cameras in the warden’s office.

“We will be able to surveille Odette from multiple angles to ensure that she doesn’t have some hidden weapon or tool to unlock her restraints,” his security chief explained as Luis seated himself in front of the array of screens.

Mikel spoke into his cell phone. “Bring the prisoner into the warden’s office now.”

On the screens, Odette entered the room, looking slumped and hopeless as she shuffled between the two large guards.

Grace rose from her chair, watching as her birth mother sat and one guard fastened the chain to two clamps on the floor.

“Is that really necessary?” Grace asked, a note of distress in her voice.

“It is by order of el rey,” the guard said.

Luis blew out a breath of relief when Grace did not try to countermand his order.

Odette’s head had been bowed throughout the exchange, but when the guard refused to unchain her, she raised her gaze, and Luis saw the scorching anger in her eyes. Grace must have seen it, too, because she sat abruptly and pushed the chair back as though to put more distance between them.

The anger dissipated as swiftly as it appeared, and Odette surveyed Grace without concealing her examination. “So, Luis found you.”

“Yes,” Grace said, staring back at her birth mother with the same open curiosity.

“How do you like being a princess?” Odette asked. “Is it all you dreamed of?”

“I never dreamed of being a princess. I wanted to be a vet.”

“Ah, yes, helping our fellow creatures. A noble profession.” Odette’s voice held an undercurrent of mockery.

“Being a princess will allow me to help more of them,” Grace said.

“Even nobler.” Odette sat back in the chair with a rattle of chains.

Grace remained silent, refusing to engage. Luis admired his daughter’s toughness in the face of Odette’s derision. After a beat, his daughter said, “Why did you put me up for adoption?”

Luis heard the tension in Grace’s voice and braced himself for whatever twisted reason Odette would give.

Odette sighed. “I was young and stupid and angry with your father for rejecting me. In retrospect, I should have told him I was pregnant. I think he would have married me, and I would have been queen. Instead…” She lifted her chained hands with a shrug. Then the anger blazed again. “He didn’t deserve me. Or you.”

“Why didn’t you raise me yourself without telling Luis I was his?” Grace asked.

“I had plans, ambitious plans. A child would have gotten in the way of those. I wouldn’t have climbed to be CEO of Archambeau if I had been held back by worrying about you. Does that hurt your feelings?”

“You never knew me, so how could it hurt my feelings?” But Luis saw the pain in Grace’s stiff posture.

“Because you’ll always feel abandoned by your real mother,” Odette said, twisting the knife. “I’ve read the studies about adopted children.”

“I feel grateful that you gave me to my mother. She’s an amazing person,” Grace said. “And she has never ordered the kidnapping or mutilation of an innocent man.”

Luis wanted to stand and applaud his daughter’s refusal to be intimidated.

Odette, though, smiled at the attack. “You’re wondering if, deep down inside, you’re like me.”

“No, because I was raised by a woman of decency and honor. I also have a father who is a fine human being,” Grace said. “Nurture beats nature in my case.”

“You think Luis is a good person?” Odette gave a sneering laugh. “He’s a king. He has to be ruthless to make the necessary decisions on a daily basis. With every choice he makes, someone loses. He is unperturbed by that, believe me.”

Anger burned in Luis’s throat. Odette’s insinuation was persuasive because it held a kernel of truth.

“That doesn’t make him a psychopath.” The word hung in the air.

“That’s what they told you I am?” Fury blazed in Odette’s eyes again. “I’m perfectly sane. I have excellent reasons for everything I’ve done.”

And that made her a psychopath.

Grace looked sick to her stomach, but she didn’t push the panic button. “Why did you come to Iowa three years ago?” she asked.

“Curiosity. I wanted to see how you had turned out.”

“Why didn’t you talk to me?” Luis heard the hurt again and hoped Odette would not.

“Because once I saw you, I couldn’t. You have my hair, but those fucking Dragón genes wiped out everything else about me. You look just like him.” Odette practically spat the word before she calmed down and examined Grace again dispassionately. “You’re not beautiful, but you are striking. You look like Raul and Gabriel.”

Luis half rose in fury at the cruel insult to his daughter’s beauty. He wanted to smash the words back down Odette’s throat as Grace looked stricken.

“And then I heard you speak.” Odette shuddered. “You sound like an uneducated peasant.”

“I sound like I’m from Iowa.” Now Grace’s voice was rock steady.

Luis subsided back into his chair with a surge of satisfaction at his daughter’s courage.

“Exactly.”

“You gave me to people who lived in Iowa, so what did you expect?” Grace pointed out.

“I suppose I thought your breeding would overcome your environment.” Odette shrugged.

“You have no right to criticize my environment or my upbringing,” Grace said. “You lost that right when you put me up for adoption.”

“Ah, the young one has teeth. Perhaps you are my daughter.” Odette laughed. “Don’t look so horrified.”

“I’m only horrified that you would ever approve of anything I do.”

Odette suddenly looked bored. “Do you have any other questions? Because I am ready to go back to my cell.”

“Yes. I want your promise that you won’t tell the media that you’re my mother.” Grace’s voice held no plea, no desperation. “That is the least you can do for me.”

“I gave you to a good mother, didn’t I? That is where my obligation ends.”

“I think you have one more obligation to me. Since you refused to do the hard work of being my mother, you cannot now claim that I am your daughter. I want your promise that you will not do so.” Now his daughter put a touch of command in her tone.

Brava, hija mía!

“If I’m a psychopath, your logic won’t work on me, will it?” Odette bared her teeth in a grimace of a smile.

Grace just waited, her gaze never faltering.

Odette stared back at her. Finally, the older woman shrugged. “All right. I won’t claim you as my daughter. For now.”

“Is that a promise?”

“You can call it that, if it makes you happy,” Odette said.

Grace nodded, and Luis waited for the signal that she was ready to end the meeting.

It did not come, and he clenched his fists on the desk in front of him.

“That’s why you dragged me in here?” Odette asked after a moment’s silence. “Not to finally meet your real mother? I’m a little offended.”

“You’re not my real mother,” Grace said. “I did want to meet you, though. I needed to see if there was any of you in me. I’m relieved that there is not.” She said it with confidence.

“Time will tell, won’t it?” Odette said. “Now, let me go back to my cell where I don’t have to deal with needy children.”

“I don’t need you,” Grace said. “I have a mother and a father. Unlike you, I am loved.”

“Being loved is overrated.” Odette shifted to stare directly into the camera above Grace’s head for a long moment. Then she leaned forward to focus a malevolent glare on Grace. “Tell your father that I’m remaining silent about being your mother for your sake, not his.” Once again, she flicked a glance at the camera before she sat back. “Also, I plan to stick around to see how you manage as a princess.”

“With the support network I have, I’ll manage just fine,” Grace said as she pushed the button to indicate she was finished with the meeting.

Mikel sent in the two guards. After they unlocked Odette’s shackles from the floor clamps and Odette rose from her chair, Grace also stood.

“Will you come see me again?” Odette asked, her voice curious rather than pleading.

Grace thought a minute. “I don’t think so.”

Relief cascaded through Luis.

“In that case, farewell,” Odette said. “Maybe you’ll come to my funeral.”

Grace shook her head.

The moment the door closed behind Odette, Luis raced into the warden’s office. He examined Grace’s face, finding tears welling in her eyes. “Are you all right, hija mía?” he asked in a gentle voice.

She blinked a few times. “She says she won’t tell the media I’m her daughter ‘right now.’ It’s not worth much, but I think she meant it for the present.”

He touched her arm. “That was well done. But I am concerned with how you felt about meeting her.”

“She was brutally honest. She could have lied and pretended to regret her actions, but maybe this way is better for me. I felt no connection with her at all.” One tear tracked down her cheek.

“I’m so sorry.” He enveloped her in his arms, and she leaned into him with a little sob. He stroked his palm over her hair and murmured words of comfort in Spanish and English.

After a few moments, she pushed away. “I think I should go to Mom. She’ll want to know what happened.”

“Of course,” he said, releasing her with reluctance. He wanted to soothe away all the ugliness of her encounter, but he understood that she needed to see her real mother. The one who loved her and had cared for her all her life.

Eve sat in the back of a bland brown SUV parked in a small, concealed lot beside Caleva’s maximum security prison. The prison looked like a modern corporate headquarters except for the two perimeters of high, electrified fences surrounding it, with access via heavy steel gates staffed by uniformed guards with serious-looking guns. Cameras were everywhere as well. Mikel had told her that no one had ever escaped from CárcelMax, and she believed it. It had given her cold chills to watch Grace disappear into the place through a blank steel door, even though she’d been escorted by four large, scary-looking bodyguards.

Her chills turned icy at the thought of Grace facing her psychopath of a birth mother. Eve wanted to be there so badly, but Grace needed to do this on her own. If Eve had listened in, it would have changed the dynamic of the meeting. Grace had to be able to say what she wanted to without worrying about hurting Eve’s feelings.

Luis and Mikel were monitoring the encounter, so she would have to trust them to take care of her daughter.

But the waiting was killing her. Her fingers cramped, and she unknotted the tense tangle of her hands in her lap to stretch them. Glancing at her watch, she couldn’t believe that only fifteen minutes had passed.

Luis had limited Grace’s meeting with Odette to an hour, but so much damage could be done in that stretch of time. Grace was a strong person, but she had no experience with the kind of horror someone like Odette could inflict. Even worse, Grace would be wondering if she had inherited any of her birth mother’s insanity.

Eve buried her face in her hands with a moan of helplessness.

“Are you all right, se?ora?” her driver, Enrique, asked.

Eve lifted her head. “Do you have children?”

“Only nieces and nephews, but many of them,” he said.

“Imagine your favorite niece going into this terrible place to face a woman who committed a hideous crime. A woman your niece shares genes with.”

After a moment of silence, Enrique said, “How may I help you?”

“Tell me about your nieces and nephews. All of them.”

Eve lost count of Enrique’s relatives and began to wonder if he was making some of them up to keep her distracted. Then he went silent, and Eve realized he was listening to his earpiece.

Another glance at her watch told her that thirty more minutes had passed. After a moment, he said, “They’re on their way out.”

“Oh, thank God!” she said. “And bless you, Enrique, for keeping me sane.”

Eve locked her gaze on the steel door, restraining herself from jumping out of the car as it swung open. She could barely see Grace because she was surrounded by bodyguards. Enrique remained inside the car—guarding Eve, as he had explained earlier. It was strange to need guarding.

And then Grace’s guards were hustling her into the car before one climbed in beside Enrique, and the others piled into their escort car.

Grace pulled off the knitted cap that had concealed her hair and threw her arms around Eve. “I’m so glad Odette gave me to you,” she said, her voice muffled in Eve’s shoulder.

“Oh, sweetie, what happened?” Eve wanted to strangle Odette with her bare hands.

After a long moment, Grace slid out of Eve’s grasp. “Do you have any hand sanitizer?” she asked. “I need to get the feel of that place off me.”

“Of course.” Eve dug in her purse for the small bottle she always carried.

Grace poured a generous pool of the liquid into one palm, handed the bottle back to Eve, and rubbed her hands together long and hard. Then she took a deep breath.

“She looked horrible, slumped and sickly and sad. And she was in chains. They even locked the chains into brackets on the floor, as though this pathetic-looking creature was going to attack me. I felt sorry for her until she looked at me.” Grace gave a little shiver. “The anger in her eyes was terrifying, and then I was glad she was locked down.”

“She didn’t try to get to you, did she?” Eve took Grace’s hand because she needed to touch her daughter.

Grace shook her head. “She wasn’t physically violent.” She turned to look at Eve, and her face was pale. “I think she did me a favor. She could have manipulated me by saying she regretted putting me up for adoption, but she was brutally honest. She didn’t want a child. I would have gotten in the way of her career plans.” Grace’s voice was edged with pain.

Eve realized she was gripping Grace’s hand too tightly and loosened her hold. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so lucky she gave you to me.”

“I wanted to know the truth, and now I do. It’s a relief not having to feel regret that my biological mother is in prison for the rest of her life. She belongs there.”

Eve had no idea how to respond to that, so she made a sympathetic sound.

Grace looked down at where their hands were joined. “I thought I might feel something, since she gave birth to me, but there was no sense of recognition, no internal voice saying, ‘This is your mother.’ She was a complete stranger.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Eve offered.

“You’re the only mother I need or want,” Grace said, tears streaking down her cheeks.

“You’ll always have me, sweetheart.” Eve felt answering tears gather in her eyes. “And Luis.”

“Odette hates him,” Grace said. “Because he rejected her.”

“A long time ago,” Eve pointed out. “A normal person would have moved on.”

“I wonder what Luis was like back then,” Grace said. “I can’t imagine him young and reckless enough to have an affair with Odette. He’s so controlled.”

Eve couldn’t help thinking of Luis in bed. He was not controlled there.

“It was a tough time for him,” Eve said. “He had lost his father and his wife and was learning to be king. All that pressure needed an outlet.”

“I suppose I should be glad since I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t had the fling with Odette,” Grace said with a grimace. “The good news is that she promised not to claim me as her daughter, for the time being. I realize she could change her mind, but she believes she makes rational decisions, so maybe she’ll stick to it.”

Grace appeared to understand a fair amount about Odette, which was impressive.

“At least it will buy time for Luis to make the announcement about you and for Mikel to set up the false trail for the media,” Eve said. “Once those things are done, Odette will find it much harder to get the legitimate media to believe her.”

“She could still make an ugly stir, though,” Grace said.

“Did you speak with Luis after you saw Odette?” Eve asked.

“Yes.” Grace looked down again. “He was very sweet and kind, but I couldn’t deal with all the baggage between him and Odette. I wanted to talk to you.”

An unworthy flash of triumph zinged through Eve. Grace had chosen to share her feelings with Eve, not her father. Eve quashed the petty thought. “You don’t need to apologize for taking care of yourself in this situation, sweetheart. Your father won’t have a problem with that.”

Grace slumped back against the seat. “I’m so glad that’s over.”

“Are you sorry you met her?”

“No.” Two more tears traced down Grace’s cheeks. “I had to know if I was like her. But I’m not. I don’t even look like her, thank God!” Grace’s voice was fierce.

“Of course you’re not like her.” Eve used her thumb to gently wipe away the tears. “I told you that already. I would know if my daughter was a psychopath.”

“You’re biased,” Grace said with an exhausted smile.

“Not that biased.”

“I love you, Mom.”

“Right back at you, honey.” Eve leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Odette said being loved is overrated.”

“Only because she doesn’t know how to love someone, so she can’t feel loved in return. It’s a two-way street.”

“That’s how I know for sure I’m not like her. Because I always feel your love.”

Eve swallowed hard.

“I’m starting to love Luis too,” Grace said.

“That’s a good thing,” Eve said and meant it, but she felt the pain of her own separation from him.

“You know how you insisted that he tell me about the downside to being a princess?” Grace said. “I feel like I haven’t seen his downside. Odette said something about a king having to be ruthless.”

“Don’t let Odette poison your relationship with your father. That would play right into her hands,” Eve warned. “Luis has done nothing but draw you into the embrace of his family.” Eve let her mouth slant into a wry smile. “Perhaps a little high-handedly, but only because he was overjoyed to have found you.”

“He definitely pulled some major strings to get me to Caleva for the vet school meetings,” Grace admitted.

“Think of how Raul and Gabriel interact with him,” Eve said, considering the deep ties of affection she had seen among the three men. “There is no fear there. Respect, yes, but they clearly feel secure with Luis.”

Grace nodded before she looked at Eve. “And if he ever tries to steamroll me, I’ve got you on my side. Not even a king could stand up to you when you get riled up.”

Grace gave her far too much credit. Eve had let Luis distract her from her responsibilities to her daughter. “As long as he doesn’t throw me off the cliff.”

Grace’s laugh was shaky, but it was a laugh. Her daughter would be fine.

Two hours later, Luis paced across his office yet again. He had attempted to read a report, but he could think only about Grace and how she had come through her meeting with Odette. He knew Eve would support their daughter through whatever emotions were buffeting her, but he wanted to help Grace too.

When the door opened, he spun on his heel to see Bruno gesture Grace inside. A slash of disappointment cut through him as the door closed without also admitting Eve.

“Grace, hija mía!” In three strides, he was across the room and embracing her. His heart stuttered when she laid her head against his chest and hugged him in return. “Are you all right?”

She nodded against him and then slipped out of his arms to lift her head. “It’s behind me, and I’ll be fine. But thank you for worrying.”

He wanted to push her to tell him how she was feeling, but she would share if she wished to. He was impressed by her composure after such a gut-roiling encounter.

“Do you feel up to talking about what we need to do next?” he asked, watching her face for any sign of distress.

“That’s why I’m here,” she said. “I figured we should make the announcement as soon as possible.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to face the media spotlight?” he asked. “It will be quite a commotion at the outset.”

“It’s part of my job now,” she said with a ghost of a smile.

“Indeed, and you will have the support of the palace PR staff as well as my own and the family’s. They can coach you on what to say and what not to say.” Luis gestured toward the seating area. “Let’s sit and talk through the schedule.”

Grace seated herself in an armchair, her back straight, her legs crossed at the ankles. The PR people would not need to teach her proper posture.

“If you are prepared, I wish to call the senior palace staff together this afternoon to introduce you,” he said as he took the chair across from hers. “They should hear the news before the general public does, and they can be trusted not to leak it.”

Her face lost a little color, but she nodded.

“We will set up the public announcement for tomorrow afternoon,” he continued. “Select media representatives will be invited. If you wish, you may make a short, prepared speech, but there will be no questions.” He would not let the ravening wolves of the press loose on her. Once the frenzy died down a bit, the palace would orchestrate an interview or two.

“I can do that,” she said, squaring her shoulders.

“There will be legal documents to sign, securing your place in the royal family and in the succession to the throne. The lawyers are working on them as we speak,” Luis said. “We will also have a ceremony crowning you a princess of the realm, but that will take some time to plan, so you don’t have to deal with that right now.”

“Do I have an official name as princess?” she asked.

“As my second child, your title is la Princessa del Vaho, Princess of the Mist,” he said. “There are other lesser titles—some with landholdings—that become yours as well.”

“Who has them now?”

“They reverted to the crown, so they’re in my safekeeping.”

“Oh, good. I wouldn’t want to take anything away from another royal.” She took a deep breath. “You said there’s land with the titles. I assume you have managers for that?”

“Very good ones, although you will be free to fire them and hire new ones, if you choose.” Her expression of horror made him smile.

“Is there anything else I need to know right now?” she asked.

“Nothing pressing.” In truth, there was so much she would need to learn, but he did not doubt her capacity to handle it. It would just take time.

“Enough of the logistics.” He leaned forward. “It will be my great joy to tell the world you are my daughter.” He injected every ounce of the pride and love he felt into his voice.

A glint of tears shone in her eyes. “And I am honored to be claimed as your daughter.” She swallowed. “I’ve been thinking about what to call you. Would it be all right to call you Dad? I know it’s not Spanish or very formal, but I always wanted a dad.”

Luis thought his heart would explode out of his chest. “Nothing would make me happier. I will strive always to deserve the title.”

“No striving is necessary,” she said. “We just have to love each other.” She smiled shyly. “Dad.”