The Exiled Jeweler: a contemporary romance novel (The Rosa Legacy Book 2) (20 page)

She let herself out her back door and crossed the street, walking down to the ocean. It was a dark night with only a glimpse of the moon. The farther she walked, the more secluded the beach became. As she listened to the waves crashing against the shore, she let images of Alex flash through her mind.

Falling to the sand, tears flowed down her cheeks. She had resisted him at each turn, but the truth was she craved him. More than anything. How could she possibly explain that to him? Would he even listen?

Liv drove her to the airport the next morning. They briefly discussed a few business matters before lapsing into silence.

“I’m sorry to dump all of this on you. I just need to see him.”

“It’s fine. Your father has promised to oversee the move. Don’t worry about the company. You need to think about yourself and your future.”

Liv pulled up to departures and Emilia hugged her before climbing out of the car. She put her modest overnight bag over her shoulder and held on to her ticket and passport.

“Wish me luck.”

“I don’t think you will need it.”

Emilia smiled as she closed the car door and turned to walk into the terminal. She hoped Liv was right, but something told her she would need a ton of luck.

Emilia had been to Argentina with her grandfather years before. The bustling airport in Buenos Aires seemed familiar and she found her next flight to the Salta province.

She had pleaded with Alex’s secretary to give her the address of his secluded ranch in the Salta province in Argentina. Arriving at the small airport, she was tired and feeling less hopeful. She called the number of the private car service that his secretary had given her and the man switched from Spanish to English when he heard her voice.

The man met her at the airport and guided her to an older Land Rover. She understood from their stilted conversation that it would take less than an hour. Looking out the window, she understood why someone would visit. It was remote yet beautiful. She could see the mountains in the distance and knew that there were mines close by. Maybe that was what drew Alex here.

The driver pulled off onto a private road and after a few miles, a house came into view. It looked like a fortress. It was constructed with large beams and stone.

Stepping out of the Land Rover, she paid the driver in American currency, and he wished her a good night.

Walking up to the front door, she knocked lightly and waited. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder and smoothed down her jeans and straightened her blouse. She had been traveling for ten hours.

A housekeeper pulled open the large wooden door. The older woman seemed surprised to see someone.

“I’m here to see Alex Armati.”

The woman nodded and said, “Mr. Armati is not here. He is out riding.”

“Can I come in and wait?”

“Yes. Are you staying overnight?”

Emilia nodded her head. “I think so.”

“I’ll get a guest room ready. Come with me.” The woman guided her into a formal sitting room and said, “Wait here.”

Glancing around, Emilia realized it looked like a formal ranch house. The stone and woodwork was intricate and traditional. There was a massive fireplace on the far wall and the windows looked out toward the mountains. She sat down on a leather chair and tried to ignore the nervous feeling infiltrating her entire body.

The housekeeper returned with a tray of tea and small cakes.

“When you are finished, I’ll show you to your room so you can take a shower or rest. Dinner is not for several hours. Mr. Armati prefers a late meal.”

Instead of leaving her, the housekeeper watched as she finished a cup of tea, then brought her to a guest room.

“I’ll send someone when it is time for dinner.”

Emilia nodded and thanked her.

Stepping into the room, she noticed it was rather large with similar wood beams and stonework that she had noticed in the formal living room. A four-poster bed had elaborately carved flutes and headboard and looked inviting. Stepping into the bathroom, she turned on the water in the modern glass shower.

Trying to relax, she stretched her arms and tried to dispel the feeling that she was intruding. Alex had no idea that she was in his guest room about to take a shower.

Emilia stripped off her clothing and stepped into the hot shower. She soaped her body with a new bar of soap and found luxury shampoo and conditioner placed in the tiled shelf at the back of the large shower and washed her hair.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried her body and wrapped her hair in another towel. Putting on the white robe left in the bathroom, she dried her hair with the towel and then brushed it out.

Her mind tried to come up with the right words to say to Alex, but nothing seemed right. Opening the bathroom door, she caught sight of him and froze.

“This is a surprise,
cara
.”

She wanted to throw herself into his arms and beg him to give them a chance but held back. What if he didn’t want her? She had to give him the chance to refuse her.

He was dressed in riding boots and jeans. He looked so remote and forbidding with his hand resting on the carved wooden flute on the end of the bed. He didn’t smile and his expression was blank so she couldn’t tell if he was angry or pleased.

“I had to see you. I’ve missed you terribly.”

She felt her heart break a little as he gave almost no reaction except possibly disbelief.

“This isn’t productive for either one of us. There is a strong physical connection between us, but it isn’t enough.”

She stepped toward him. “How can you say that? You haven’t given a relationship between us a chance.”

“I’ve waited for you to come back to me for years. Finally when I showed you the pictures of us that night in my study, I revealed my heart to you, but you were too afraid to take a chance.”

She held his gaze. “You’re right. I was afraid.”

“I spent my entire life living with lies and secret pasts. I can’t build a future with someone who wants to hide from the truth. My grandfather had enormous gambling debts and fathered several children out of wedlock that are my age. But my parents covered up each indiscretion. I think that was probably worse than the mistakes. I won’t allow myself to be drawn into that type of pretense or deception.”

“I’m not asking you to lie or pretend.”

“You have refused to acknowledge the truth about our relationship from the beginning.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You refused to tell anyone it was me that you were with that night the photographs were taken. Since then you have wanted to keep our encounters private and not acknowledge that I mean anything to you.”

“I wanted to protect our privacy. I didn’t want to expose our relationship to ridicule or innuendo.”

She could see his hurt pride. It surprised her that he cared so deeply about what other’s thought of their relationship.

“You didn’t want to take the risk of exposing your feelings.”

“I thought it would better to allow our relationship to evolve and not scare you away with heartfelt sentiments too early.”

Her hands were shaking as she reached into her bag and pulled out her tablet. She hoped he had wireless Internet as she clicked on the browser and pulled up her design website. She double clicked on a video clip she filmed last night and had Liv place on her site this morning.

She turned the tablet toward Alex and waited. She could hear her recorded voice telling the world how much she loved him but that she was worried that she had left it until it was too late. For a brief moment, she could feel fear penetrating her skin as she tried to hold the screen steady.

His attention was focused on the screen as she told the world that she intended to travel to Argentina and declare her love and propose to him.

She looked at the visitor counter on the bottom on the screen and told him, “It’s had over half a million hits today. I bet a fair amount of those hits were my family and friends watching it over and over.”

Alex remained completely still as if he was in shock. Maybe she had made a terrible mistake. Maybe he didn’t love her. She could feel her heart breaking and reminded herself to hold her tears in.

“So do you intend to propose?”

Her limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. How was she going to survive this?

“I love you, Alex Armati. I’m hoping that you will marry me. Will you?” Her voice sounded as if it was far away.

He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms and said, “Yes, I want to marry you more than anything,
cara,
” as his lips found hers.

After several minutes, he pulled back and wiped her tears. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I’m so happy. I guess I was worried that you wouldn’t want me.”

He kissed her and then held her tightly as he said, “I love you,
cara
. I’ve wanted you from the moment I met you. It took you a long time to realize that I was madly in love with you and would have done anything to have you.”

He placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her again. She could taste the salt on her lips from kissing his neck a moment before. Fear left her body and was replaced by absolute happiness and joy. Holding onto him, she couldn’t believe that he was hers.

She began to undue the snaps on his leather vest.

He gently held her hands. “I need a shower. I’ve been riding the desolate fields all day trying to purge you from my thoughts.”

She couldn’t believe that he loved her. She had done everything wrong and had disappointed him many times. She couldn’t wait to start her life with him.

“Why didn’t you just come back to Los Angeles and tell me how you felt?”

“I thought you weren’t willing to let your guard down and admit that you might care for me.. I know you have had to contend with issues around abandonment and privacy.”

“Nothing was as difficult as you breaking my heart by walking away,” she said teasingly now that she knew he did care for her.

He scooped her up and placed her on the bed. “Give me two minutes,
cara
.”

She would give him far more than that. She intended to give him every minute of the rest of her life. She couldn’t believe she found happiness at last and that he wanted and needed her as much as she wanted and needed him.

He walked back into the bedroom naked and barely towel dried.

She watched him approach the bed and said to him, “You do know that we are going to have to film you accepting my proposal.”

“Later,
cara
. Maybe tomorrow. I’ve missed you.” He kissed her throat and she forgot about all the people waiting to hear how her story would end.

Epilogue

Emilia smiled as Isabel poured chilled champagne into three crystal flutes. It was a beautiful, clear day in Los Angeles and she and Alex were getting married at his mansion within the hour. Alex had made her stay upstairs as the caterer, florist and designers took over.

She had chosen a Hollywood inspired wedding dress with a strapless sweetheart neckline and an elaborate Celtic sheer print over top of the white silk fabric. Both of her cousins, Isabel and Lauren, were in different variations of a classic Marilyn Monroe dress in red.

She had presented each of them with a pendant necklace she designed and they now wore.

“I can’t believe I’m the only one not married or about to get married. I thought I would be the first one of us to marry. But life doesn’t always work out as we plan,” Lauren said.

Isabel hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry. I have a lovely marble necklace that I’ll send your way. It may just change your luck. Marc bought it for me in Italy and I sent it to Emilia when she returned to California.”

“I’m game. Now let’s offer a toast to the betrothed,” Lauren said.

Isabel handed each of them a flute.

Lauren raised her glass and said, “May you find happiness and produce the first grandchild within the year.”

Emilia laughed. “Why the rush?”

“It’ll take the pressure off of us,” Isabel said and then continued with, “To your happiness.”

Emilia took a long swallow. “I’m so glad you are both here with me.”

A short while later, each of her cousins slowly walked down the sweeping staircase in their stiletto heels. The guests were gathered in the main living room waiting for her entrance. Emilia walked down the staircase and joined her father. They waited a few moments for the guests to go outside into the garden.

Her father said, “I’m so pleased that you found the perfect match. It’s crazy to think that he was the man you fell in love with four years ago.”

“How did you know?”

“You were so heartbroken. It was much more than the unfortunate photographs.”

She smiled at her father. The past no longer held any shame or regret for her.

The traditional wedding march started playing and she kissed her father on the cheek before walking outside with him. An attendant opened the door for them and she stepped into the garden and followed a path of rose petals toward Alex.

He was standing alongside his best man waiting for her. She smiled at him and he bowed slightly.

Her father shook his hand and kissed her cheek before stepping back. Emilia handed her flowers to Isabel and placed both of her hands in his.

The officiate started the ceremony and a handful of invited paparazzi took photographs from an area marked off for them. Instead of trying to stay out of the spotlight, Emilia embraced her new life. She allowed a limited amount of coverage leading up to her wedding and used her newfound notoriety to keep pushing Berceto forward.

Smiling at Alex, she thought about his promise of a month-long surprise honeymoon. After much pestering, he finally told her it would begin on his yacht, which was anchored in the local marina.

After saying their vows and exchanging rings, Alex stepped forward and captured her lips. Her arms drew him closer and she held onto the moment when she became his wife for as long as she could.