Page 25 of Rafa's Convenient Wife

I want her.

I want Sky to be my wife. I want her to have my name. I want her to by mine.

Mine to protect.

Mine to woo.

Mine to love.

Chapter Nine

I’m married.

To Rafael.

And he looks like he’s a condemned man.

She tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. She fiddled with the plain gold band marking her as his wife and watched him talking intently with the judge who had performed the ceremony. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Rafael looked so somber and serious.

“I’m sorry it’s not very festive,” Lola said as she approached with two flutes of champagne. “Here. You’ll like this one. I had them bring it out specifically for you. It’s a vintage Louis Roederer. Honeysuckle. Apples. A little citrus.”

“Thank you, Lola.” Sky gratefully accepted the flute of bubbly gold and gave it a tentative sip. The flavor popped atop her tongue, and she was stunned by how crisp and clean it tasted. “Okay.” She took another sip, this one slightly bigger. “This is actually the best champagne I’ve ever had.”

“We have a few cases in the cellar. I’ll have Marcos put your name on them.” Lola smiled. “It can be the start of the Mrs. Rafael Farias collection.”

Mortified by the very thought, Sky quickly demurred. “I couldn’t possibly. It wouldn’t be proper.”

“What wouldn’t be proper?” Beto asked as he joined them with his own flute of champagne in one hand and Jasper in the other. Their nephew gnawed on the pocket square he’d stolen from Beto’s blazer.

“Really, Beto?” Lola reached over and gently snatched the soggy silk square away from Jasper. She plucked the pacifier dangling from the clip, fastened to his shirt, and popped it into his mouth. “He could choke!”

“I was watching him. He was fine.” Beto shook his head at his little sister. “When you were his age, you were eating dirt in the fields and trying to chew on raw agave. You survived.”

“And it’s a miracle,” she muttered.

“She was our father’s favorite,” Beto explained. “He took her everywhere. She was out in the fields before she could even walk. It’s no wonder she’s the family’s plant goddess.”

Lola’s irritation at her brother softened. “I’m not a goddess.”

“I peeked in your hoop house. I saw the zinnias. Only a goddess could get those colors from nature.”

“Beto! You didn’t touch anything? Right? I’m trying to keep them from cross-pollinating!”

“I might have borrowed one flower.” He had the decency to look apologetic. “Or a dozen. I wanted to impress Valentina.”

“Beto!” She whacked him on the arm. “If you messed up my trial because you wanted free flowers for your date last night—.”

“Who had a date last night?” Rafael asked as he joined them.

“Our brother did, and he stole my zinnias,” Lola tattled.

“You went into her greenhouse?” Rafael looked taken aback.

“I was in and out in two minutes!” Beto frowned at his siblings. “I didn’t even take the prettiest flowers.”

“Oh, well, thanks.”

“It’s not even like you use them! You just let them die.”

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