Page 13 of Spanish Marriage Solution

And there was joy. This little person was Emily’s and, by extension of blood, hers, too, and the emotion that filled her, a powerful love, made Sebastián’s ferocity about him suddenly understandable.

He felt this way about Diego too and so... How could she take Diego away from him? Yet also, how could she leave Diego herself?

The baby had settled against her and all her nerves had gone. Not that she knew any more about babies than she had a moment before, she was just even more certain that she couldn’t leave him. She wouldn’t. Three days, Sebastián had told her, but it wasn’t enough. Which meant she was left with two choices: either she initiated proceedings with her lawyers to get Diego home or...she stayed here in Spain until she and Sebastián could work out some kind of custody arrangement.

Slowly, still cradling the little boy in her arms, Alice turned towards the windows and walked towards them. Her nephew’s eyes were very wide, looking up into hers, and her heart contracted. She had a life back in New Zealand, but it wasn’t much of one, only her, rattling around in the house in Auckland she and Edward had bought. There was her investment company and that was far more successful, but it could keep. She could also work remotely.

What else could she do?

Diego was Emily’s and he had her eyes, and, even though Emily had wanted him to be brought back to New Zealand, Sebastián had a point. This couldn’t be about what Emily wanted, but what was right for Diego. Not when Emily was dead. Still, her sister was right about one thing: this little boy needed to be loved and while Sebastián was certainly possessive, could he give Diego the love that he needed? Perhaps he could. Perhaps Emily’s worries about him were unfounded and unfair. Regardless, Alice was also certain that her nephew needed a mother.

She looked down into his little face, seeing traces of Emily in his nose and in the delicacy of his mouth.

His own mother was gone now, but Alice was here. She could be that for him. She would always be that for him. Fathers could be difficult and sometimes harsh, and that needed to be balanced out with someone who could accept him no matter what.

Not that her own mother had been any more accepting of her, but at least she’d shown Alice what not to do. All a child really needed was to know that they were loved, and she had plenty of love to give. She would give it to Diego.

She spent a half-hour with the baby, just holding him and getting familiar with him, and when it was time for him to go down for a nap, she let the nanny take him.

As much as she wished she could, there was no point putting off the conversation she needed to have with Sebastián. He had to know immediately that she was intending to stay longer than three days. He wouldn’t like it—he’d already made his feelings about her presence here known—but that was too bad. He’d have to deal with it.

After a cursory look around the hacienda failed to locate him, she went down to the stables. But he wasn’t there either. Then, as she was coming back to the house, she heard the distinctive sound of helicopter rotors. There was a helipad not far from the house and, since any helicopter around was likely to be for him, she headed in that direction.

Sure enough, she arrived at the helipad in time to see him striding along the path from the house in the direction of the chopper. And despite herself, her breath caught.

He was in a suit today, perfectly tailored to highlight his height and muscled physique. It was of dark blue wool and he wore a black business shirt with it and a blue silk tie. Darkly handsome, phenomenally arrogant and every inch the Spanish duke, his golden eyes smouldering like distant fires, he almost stopped her in her tracks.

Stupid of her. She couldn’t let him get to her, especially with the well-being of her nephew at stake.

With an effort, Alice threw off the paralysing effect of his charisma, and called, ‘Sebastián! I need a moment.’

He came to a stop and glanced at her as she approached, his gaze raking her from head to toe. She could feel herself start to blush, which was infuriating. Compared to him, all dark beauty and athletic grace, she felt dowdy and frumpy, and she resented it. She wished she’d worn the red dress today, but Lucia had taken it to be washed, and so she’d flung on a baggy pair of denim shorts and a loose black T-shirt. Emily had always dressed herself to the nines because she’d said that Sebastián ‘liked it’. What he must think of her current outfit she had no idea and didn’t particularly want to know either.

‘What do you want?’ he asked coldly. ‘Be quick, please.’

Alice tried to calm her frantically beating heart. ‘We need to talk more about Diego.’

His expression darkened. ‘Do we? I thought we said everything we needed to last night.’

‘You might have,’ Alice snapped, needled by his tone. ‘But I didn’t.’

Sebastián glanced towards the helicopter then back at her. ‘Well, it will have to wait. I’m leaving on a business trip and I need to go now. You can call me when you get back to New Zealand.’

‘No, I won’t be calling you, because I’m not actually leaving,’ Alice informed him flatly. ‘Three days isn’t enough time, Sebastián. Diego needs a mother in his life and, since Emily is gone, I’ve decided to be that mother.’

His hard handsome features remained still, carved out of stone. Only his golden eyes burned. ‘That option is not available—’

‘I’m staying,’ she interrupted. ‘I’m not leaving him.’

A muscle leapt in his jaw. ‘If I find you still here when I return, I will have you arrested for trespassing.’

Alice’s temper began to slip through her fingers. ‘Do it, then,’ she shot back. ‘I’ll pitch a tent here on the lawn.’

The pilot of the helicopter appeared suddenly at Sebastián’s elbow and said something to him in a low voice. Sebastián nodded curtly then glanced back at Alice. ‘I haven’t got time to talk about this now. We will discuss it—’

He broke off as Alice turned from him and started furiously towards the helicopter. Because one thing was clear; he was only going to keep fobbing her off or walking away, and she was tired of it. She hadn’t come all the way here just to be told what to do by Sebastián Castellano. She had come for her nephew, and they were going to talk about him, business trip or not.

A discussion needed to be had, an agreement come to, and they would come to it even if she had to go with him on his stupid business trip herself.

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