Chapter 10 #2
“Okay, Kara.”
She rang off with her friend and started out to the hallway, but heard another voice in the foyer. A feminine voice. Gui hadn’t come alone. And she had a sinking feeling that he’d brought Elvira with him.
Elvira had been crying since he’d come to her house.
The media had camped out on her doorstep, and her servants were dealing with them, but Gui knew she needed privacy to grieve.
He’d had a call from Montoyes informing him that his brother and sister-in-law were alive, and just a few minutes ago Alonzo had phoned.
He’d talked to his brother and felt deep relief that he was okay.
But now he had Elvira in his home and had no idea what he was going to say to Kara.
Vincent had a look in his eyes that Gui knew meant his secretary didn’t approve.
But the other man had been with Gui long enough to know better than to say anything.
“Where is Kara?”
“Upstairs, Count. Should I send one of the maids to find her and let her know you are here and that we have a guest?”
“That’s not necessary, Vincent. Please see that Countess de Perez is settled in the Green Room.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Guillermo, querido, you can’t leave me,” Elvira cried.
“Just for a few moments, Elvira. You’ll be fine. Your maid will be here soon. In the meantime Vincent will assign someone to draw you a bath.”
“Yes, Count.”
“Gui…I need you.”
“I know you do, Elvira. And I’ll be back to check on you in a few moments. I need to call my parents and make sure they are fine.”
“Why should you worry about them? They haven’t lost anyone…I’ve lost my Juan. How will I live without him?”
Elvira had been asking the same questions over and over again. And Gui had no answers. He felt bad for her. Had felt her pain as she’d cried over losing her husband. He could only guess there was more love between her and Juan than he’d assumed.
But he needed to talk to his mother. He knew that his mom would be upset about Juan and the near miss for everyone else. He nodded to Vincent and went up the stairs two at a time. He entered his den and immediately knew that Kara was there.
Her flowery perfume was a scent on the air. “Kara?”
“Sorry. I came upstairs to take a call from Katie,” she said from deep inside the room. He couldn’t make out even her outline.
“You’re welcome in my den. Why are the lights off?” he asked as he entered the room.
“I wasn’t sure what the news would be. Did you hear that Alonzo and the Enfanta are both okay?”
“Yes, I did,” he said. He turned on one of the lamps on the side table. She was standing near the desk. Seeing her didn’t offer any clues as to what was going on in her head.
“I’m sorry to hear about Juan.”
“Thank you. I’m going to call my mother now.”
She nodded. “I’ll leave you to it…”
“Was there something else?” he asked when she hesitated in the hallway.
“Did I hear someone with you downstairs?”
“Yes, you did. I invited Elvira to spend the night here. Her house was overrun with media and she had only servants at home.” He realized he was explaining himself, something that he never did.
“Didn’t you think to ask me first?”
“She’s grieving, Kara. And she’s an old friend. I couldn’t turn her away.”
“Of course not,” she said, walking toward the doorway.
“I don’t answer to you. Even after we are married.”
“I know that,” she said. Her big eyes were wide and she kept blinking. He had the feeling she was fighting back tears and he felt like a total jerk.
But this hadn’t been the easiest day for him. And he still had to talk to his parents. And then finish getting Elvira settled in.
“I’m sorry,” Kara said. “We can talk about this in the morning. But please remember what we talked about when I agreed to be your fiancée.”
“What was that?”
“That neither of us would hold the other to this marriage, or engagement, as the case may be, if the other found love.”
He wanted to curse. “I can’t deal with jealousy right now, Kara. My family has just had a bad scare and I need to make sure that they are okay. I’ll deal with you when I have more time.”
She took a deep breath and then walked back into the room, closing the door behind her. She didn’t stop until less than a foot separated them.
“First off, I’m not jealous. You told me there was nothing between you and Elvira and I believed you.”
“Very well. Then what is this about?”
“This? Gui, you called me over three hours ago and said you’d be home in a few minutes.
Your family has called looking for you, and I had to say I had no idea where you were.
Then I get the news from Katie that the husband of your old lover is dead, and you show up with her in tow. What do you think is wrong?”
He leaned back against his desk, crossed his arms over his chest. He’d been hoping for the peace that Kara always brought to him and instead tonight he was finding more chaos than he wanted to deal with right now.
“It sounds like jealousy.”
“Stop saying that. I’m not jealous. I was worried about you. I thought something might have happened to you, or perhaps you’d learned bad news about your brother and that you needed me, Gui. I was worried because I wanted to be by your side and help you through this.”
“I don’t need that.”
“You don’t? What do you need then? Because I’ve tried everything I can think of to be what you need, and I still can’t figure it out.”
“I need a woman who knows when to give me space. I need a woman who will realize that in the middle of a family crisis, I can’t deal with her and her petty jealousies.”
“Is that really what you need?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then I guess you don’t need me.”
She pivoted on her heel and walked to the door, and he let her go.