“Honey, what are you doing? Jace is pulling into the driveway.”

At the sound of exasperation in her mom’s raised voice, Sophie bit her lip for the thousandth time. Turning this way and that in front of the mirror, she inspected her reflection and ended up with a seriously wrinkled nose.

“I look like an old lady.”

Shaking her hands didn’t help dispel the anxious energy whipping through her system. Neither did yanking the belt on her dress tighter—as if a freakishly tiny waist was going to make things better.

Rushing to the bedroom door, she pulled it open, and yelled, “Mom. Get in here. I need you.”

A short laugh and some conversation by her parents followed. When her mom finally came through the door, Sophie was ready to explode.

“Look at this,” she grumbled. “It’s awful, Mom. I can’t wear this.”

She was almost wailing, so why her mother was grinning kind of pissed her off.

“Okay, Sophia. Relax. Take a big, deep breath and tell Mommy what isn’t working.”

Ashleigh Marquez’s trembling lips did very little to disguise the mocking giggle she was so obviously attempting to hold in.

“This isn’t funny, Mom! Jace said wear something special. This isn’t it.”

“No,” she calmly replied. “He said to wear something that makes you feel special. Big difference.”

“Oh. Really?” Sophie glanced back at the mirror. Did this fugly Vatican sanctioned cover-up qualify as special in any universe?

The belt came off first. “Unzip me please.”

Her mom chuckled but said nothing. A minute later, the dorky green dress was in a pile on the floor. Green was Meghan’s color, not hers.

She ignored the parental arched brow and knowing smirk when she revealed her lingerie. Did others have parents who were more than idly interested in the intimate status of their children’s relationships? Because hers all but asked for a scorecard after each date. They also seemed to know a bit too much, and she wasn’t sure if that was just because they had special insight or perhaps a crystal ball.

Her closet was a hot mess. She ripped things off hangers and discarded everything. Shit.

And then she saw it—tucked away in a crush of clothes. Reaching for the pretty floral dress, Sophie remembered buying it. She liked the soft colors and simple, feminine style. It was perfect for a beautiful autumn day in Sedona.

The sudden outfit change included a different pair of shoes. Her mom suggested a pair of kitten heels—it was if she knew Sophie got off on Jace’s increasing bulk and that the low heels would make her feel delicate next to his manliness.

Yeah, she knew that sounded loony, but so what?

The mirror inspection was fierce. Did she feel special? Whirling in a circle as the breezy skirt swirled with her movements, Sophie smiled. Special indeed.

“Change the earrings too and then easy does it with additional jewelry.” Her mom was already rifling through the big jewelry box on the dresser.

She and her mom stared into the mirror, shrewdly assessing her look. Quickly adjusting the skirt, she asked, “What do you think?”

Through their reflection, she saw the unmistakable sparkle of tears in her mother’s eyes. She turned to her beloved parent with concern.

“Mom, what?”

“You’re absolutely gorgeous, Sophia. Jace Delacroix is a lucky man. And a good one, too,” she hastily added.

Nobody needed to tell her that. She’d known from their first days together under the shining sunshine of the Greek Isles that he was an extraordinary human being. The physical metamorphosis from his time in Arizona—nothing short of mind-boggling—just added to his appeal.

Her heart thumped with joy. If she loved him any harder, they might need to get her checked out by a cardiologist.

“Did you see that crazy Zoom ’n Crawl Monster he got Teo?” She laughed. “I think he’s got VIP shopper status at Fisher-Price.”

“He’s a wonderful parent, Sophia. Teo adores him.”

She nodded. “It’s mutual.” A wry face punctuated her words. “Sometimes, I think he’s more interested in my kid than he is in me.”

Her mother found this amusing and barked with laughter. “Might explain why he was in the delivery room when Teo was born.”

“Mom. Shit. You were supposed to tell me I’m crazy. Not tease me.”

The firm grip on her wrist got Sophie’s attention.

“No one is crazy, Sophia. That man thinks you walk on air. Does he love Teo? Yes. But I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I point out that he loved you first. Jace’s devotion to you is powerful, my daughter.”

She squeezed her wrist and caught Sophie’s eyes in a fierce gaze. “It reminds me of Abuelita and Don Cristobal.”

“How so?”

“Every family has things that aren’t spoken about …”

Sophie grunted. “You mean like having a daughter with a psych hold in her past?”

“If you must put it that way, then yes. But I’m referring to family details that remain in the past—unless or until some moment in the present makes the telling relevant.”

“Ah, go for it, Mom.”

“Since Jace is waiting, we don’t have time for the entire screenplay, so I’ll just give you the synopsis. Lucia came from a wealthy family. She and Cristobal met during her betrothal to another man.”

She gasped and grabbed for her throat. “What?”

“Yes. I know how that sounds, so let me continue. She’s a ravishing beauty—you see her portrait and know what I mean—and as a young woman of wealth and standing, she was quite a catch. In those days, marriages were arranged. It was all well and good until Cristobal Alvaro Joaquin Valleja-Marquez entered the picture.”

“Oh, my god. I never knew.”

“Long story short, Cristobal was willing to take on the devil for Lucia. It got ugly. Her betrothed family had him banned from court, but he didn’t care. She was the only woman for him—period. In the end, his devotion won the day. Well”—she sniffed—“that plus the Valleja-Marquez name and a trunk full of money. They were hastily married in Barcelona and within weeks sailed for America.”

The story struck a chord deep inside. Cristobal and Lucia represented the epitome of marital bliss and devotion. Their legend loomed large.

“Dona Lucia helped define Spanish colonial life in Arizona, and before long, they were embraced once again by nobility. You resemble Lucia, and Jace’s unwavering devotion to you, and the son you’ve allowed him to share, reminds your papa of Don Cristobal.”

“Mom,” she croaked as emotion clawed at her throat. “Jace isn’t afraid of my demons.”

“Make sure he knows how much that matters, darling. How much it means to you as a flawed being.”

They shared a long embrace. Her parents were simply the best.

When they eventually made their way to the living room, they found her dad on the floor with Teo between his legs rolling a ball to Jace. Each one of the men in her life was smiling. She felt blessed.

Jace scrambled to his feet when she and her mom appeared.

“Ma’am,” he murmured with a brief nod to her mom.

And then he looked at her, and Sophie felt the rest of the world fall away. The expression on his face stole her breath.

“Sophia,” he drawled with just a hint of his barely perceptible accent. “You look amazing.”

Without knowing why, she curtsied. Like a serious, for real, court curtsy. Was she channeling Abuelita? God, she hoped so.

“Thank you.” Her blush was real. So was the furnace in her lady parts.

Teo giggled and cooed. “Gah! Gu-gah.”

“See?” Jace chuckled. “He agrees with me. Mommy is damn beautiful.” He quickly glanced at her dad. “Sorry, sir.”

Cristián Valleja-Marquez slowly rose and went to his wife. Slinging an arm around her shoulders, he and his wife smiled broadly.

“I can handle some well-placed dammits, Jace.” He sniggered.

“You’ve heard my son’s vulgar mouth,” her mom added. “Where do you think he learned it from?” She elbowed her grinning husband and pointed at him.

After an awkward pause, they were unceremoniously bum-rushed from the house by her parents. So fast, in fact, that she barely had time to kiss Teo on the head.

“That was weird, don’t you think?” she asked while buckling into Jace’s car.

He didn’t exactly answer and shrugged it off. And then he made a joke. “Babysitters get paid by the hour, right? I think they were just watching out for my wallet.”

She swallowed the retort on the tip of her tongue. Jace took the whole alpha-in-charge thing seriously. He had a hand in Teo’s care arrangements, and she had a hat to shit in if that arrangement bothered her.

It didn’t. In fact, his territorial wingspread over Teo was impressive and oddly sexy.

She asked where they were headed even though she knew he wouldn’t answer. Jace had something special planned.

They drove away from Sedona but not toward the Villa and left the main road, following a series of winding lanes until they arrived at a driveway flanked by a beautiful stone wall.

“Where are we?”

“The deed calls this place Cefiro.”

“West wind,” she murmured in translation.

“Yes,” he replied. “But it goes by Zephyr Springs.”

“It’s lovely. Do you know the owners?”

He looked at her with an enormous smile. “Yes. And they’re anxious to meet you.”

Jace was fairly certain he sounded normal even though he was balls out freaking inside his head. So much had gone into this that he didn’t want to fuck it up.

Going ever so slowly down the long driveway, he pointed out the landscaping until he heard himself. Realizing he sounded like a realtor, he shut the hell up.

“Oh, my.” Sophia gasped when the Spanish colonial house came into view.

It wasn’t grand or ostentatious. It also wasn’t new construction. But this beauty was real estate gold if vintage, old school, updated charm was on your wish list.

He pulled into the driveway courtyard that led to the huge, distinctive wood front doors and parked.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Sophia turned her expressive eyes on him. The warm, sexy chocolate brown he loved gazing at had sparkles of gold. Gold sparkles meant she was delighted.

Score!

She made a joke. Snarkasm, sometimes with a bite, was his lady’s superpower. One of them.

Putting a hand on his arm, she pithily responded with a meaningful smirk. “Monsieur Delacroix, for real. A terrible calamity will take you down, cowboy ass and all, if we get inside and this is a timeshare sales pitch.”

Jace shook his head and tsk’d. “Would I do that to you?”

Her smile grew. “If my siblings put you up to it, yes.”

She had a valid point, so he chuckled and gave it up with a half nod and shrug. “Guilty. However,” he informed her with a touch of gravitas, “this is a special occasion, Ms. Marquez. Suspension of doubt will make it fun, so please, cut a cowboy some slack, okay?”

“Do we have time for a kiss?”

Her voice was breathy and slightly unsure. She knew something was up, but it was her way to push back with uncertainty until she found her balance. Her qualms only made his love deeper. As she’d grown to trust him and gained the confidence to open up, she’d given him a glimpse into her heart by how she responded to his kiss. The quiet request was a tiny cry for support. Reassurance.

He gave it eagerly. Whatever she needed, Jace would make sure she got.

“Better?” he asked when their lips parted.

The story in her eyes held his gaze. He saw a flash of vulnerability and feathered his fingers across the soft skin of her cheek. “Ma belle chérie.”

Calling her his beautiful darling was heartfelt. Gorgeous did not do her ample justice. She surpassed beauty and was in every meaningful way his darling.

A soft, rosy glow lit her cheeks, and she smiled. She understood his native language.

“Jace.” She sighed.

He basked in the emotions radiating from her and grinned. “What? You love me? Is that what you’re trying not to say?”

She hauled back and punched him in the arm. “You do realize I assume that by making a comedy routine out of this, you’ve robbed me of saying it and having it mean something besides a punch line.”

Right now, this second, he felt blissfully happy.

“Hey,” he drawled, “I’m just trying to move things along. Our boy will be graduating from college, and you’ll still be dragging your wicked heels.” He snapped his fingers and motioned with his hand. “Using the ‘hurry it up’ approach.”

“Well then, hurry it the hell up!” She laughed. Clapping her hands the way Carmen did when she wanted everyone to get in line, Sophie barked, “Come on, come on.”

She didn’t know it yet, but with those teasing words, she opened door number two and took her first steps into the future.

When he got out and walked to her side, Jace quickly checked all his pockets. Finding everything in order, he took a deep breath, opened her car door, and extended his hand.

“M’lady,” he murmured.

She accepted his assistance and placed her small, delicate hand into his waiting grasp. Warmth spread in his chest. Her trust was a heady privilege and a serious responsibility.

Standing next to the car, she nervously smoothed her hands on her dress and fiddled with an earring.

“Do I look okay?” she asked.

Handed a perfect opportunity to ogle her, he gave her a full-body appraisal and grinned. “What are the little heels called? They’re sexy as fuck.”

Her glorious giggle filled the air. “Some asshole with too much time on their hands decided they’d be referred to as kitten heels.”

“Are you serious?”

“The fact that you’re attempting not to laugh or leer tells me that you see how damn sexist that is.”

“Of course, it’s sexist,” he chided as he took her hand and fed it through the crook in his arm. “That’s how these things go.”

“Man logic,” she muttered.

“It’s awesome! Isn’t it?” His grin was a thousand gigawatts of fun.

Feeling like lord of all he surveyed, Jace escorted his chérie to the distinctive doors, the ones that reminded him of the fabulous entrance to the Villa.

She was clutching his arm, and he felt a slight tremor move through her. If he was going to be honest, her tension was a turn-on. Like her brother, Sophie craved control. Or she thought she did. But Jace was discovering quite the opposite. She used the control to mask her insecurities and the things that made her vulnerable. The subtle power exchange when she gave it all over to him hit Jace like a speeding truck.

Soon, he reminded himself. Soon, she’d be his in every way, and then they’d explore other power exchanges. The kind that blew the doors off.

The old iron knocker was so perfect that it looked like it came from a movie prop warehouse. There was a doorbell, but for this occasion, he bypassed the modern security in favor of a dramatic flourish.

Bang, bang, bang. He smacked the knocker three times to announce their arrival.

Sophie searched his expression. He patted her hand on his arm.

The door swung open, and a stylishly dressed couple of gray-haired seniors greeted them with enthusiasm and a joyful welcome.

“Come in, come in,” the man cried with a wave to gesture them inside. “Bloody hot out there.”

Jace didn’t pause and launched straight into an introduction.

“Darling, I’d like you to meet Dan and Marie González. Mr. and Mrs. González,” he proudly declared as he drew Sophia forward, “allow me to introduce Miss Sophia Isabel Camiña Valleja-Marquez.”

Marie’s smile was brighter than the sun at midday. “Oh, Miss Marquez, my goodness. This is an honor. Welcome to Zephyr Springs.” She grabbed Sophie into an enthusiastic bear hug.

Dan chuckled and pried them apart. “Easy, Mama. Poor girl thinks you’re a loon.”

There was so much on the line that his mind was performing somersaults, but when his hand settled comfortably on the sweet curve of her back, everything fell into place.

“You better explain, Mr. González. Tell Sophia how you know her.”

“It’s simple, really,” he replied. “Your grandparents? They hired me when I was still a kid to help with the restoration of the Villa. Got to apprentice with a master iron craftsman. The experience changed my life. The ironwork at your family Villa inspired the ironwork throughout this house.”

“Yes,” Marie exclaimed, “and there’s more. I babysat your papa! Isn’t that funny?”

Sophie laughed. Jace smiled. He hadn’t known any of that when he first met Dan and Marie. Like so much else of his relationship with Sophie, their lives intersecting with this particular couple seemed fated.

“So you’re Sedona natives?” Sophie politely asked.

“I am,” Marie said with a beaming smile. “Dan is a refugee from Florida!”

“Let’s go into the kitchen. You can see the gardens from there.”

Sophie looked at him quizzically, but he gave nothing away.

The distinctive kitchen ran the length of an entire wing of the house. Lots of windows let in the sunlight, and a set of brightly painted French doors led to the outside.

In the middle of the tiled floor sat an island big enough to need a separate address. Columns and arches created an enormous great room that drew Jace in the first time he saw it in person. It was just the sort of space where he easily imagined a family and friends all gathered together, enjoying life.

They sat on padded benches set into a curving window nook around a pedestal table that looked quite old. Dan and Marie were congenial hosts. Their unusual foursome enjoyed a long coffee break. Sophie, ever curious about every little thing, dived into the photo albums Marie had handy.

“Look.” Marie chuckled. “Here’s our Sammy at Little League. And there’s your dad! He helped coach the peewee boys when he was a teenager.”

He and Dan exchanged looks.

Before long, the two women were the best of friends. For all of her sometimes prickly ways, Sophie had a huge heart. If you were her friend, she threw all in. When the recipe exchange started, he knew his plan was all but assured of success.

Marie graced him with a happy smile and a surreptitious wink. “Jace. Why don’t you take your lovely lady into the garden and show her where the magic is?”

“There’s magic?” Sophie squeaked. Her interest was piqued.

Dan laughed heartily. “Damn straight. I bought this parcel of land for a reason. Go on, you two,” he told them. “Go check it out.”

Sophie was already heading for the French doors. She turned and gave him an exasperated huff. “Hurry up! Magic awaits!”

The older couple put an arm around each other and smiled broadly as he scurried after his lady.

She pushed open the doors and stepped into a charming Spanish courtyard with a mature garden overgrown with all kinds of shrubs and trees. There was a fireplace with a tall chimney trimmed in beautiful tiles and a seating area with enough outdoor furniture to host a pretty big party.

“Jace,” Sophie gushed. “This is beautiful. It’s like a mini oasis. I love all the vines and flowers.”

Her excitement was palpable. He motioned to a path beneath a Spanish arch and offered her his hand.

“There’s more. Wait till you see.”

They walked hand in hand along the walkway. He’d never felt so certain of anything in his life.

After a short distance, they came through a stand of tall trees and the most astonishing sight awaited them. A small stream ran through the back of the property and pooled into a modest spring before cascading over rocks and stone and disappearing into the trees.

“Oh, my god!” Sophie exclaimed with undisguised glee. She kicked off her little heels, giggled, and ran toward the water. Watching her splash in the stream filled Jace’s soul with more emotion than any one man could handle. He thought he might cry when an overflow of feelings clogged his throat.

She rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck. “It’s magic!”

Her kiss was an explosion of happiness. Another gasp as they pulled apart made him smile.

“Is that a swing?”

He turned and looked at where she was pointing. Set back from the bank beneath the shade of an enormous tree in a small grassy meadow sat a large bench swing—rather like the one in the Villa’s courtyard; only this one was more rustic and had distinctive iron findings.

Oblivious to her bare feet, Sophie sped toward the swing. When she got there, she stopped short and stared at the words carved into the backrest. There was never going to be a better moment than this. He came up behind her, reached into his pocket, and went down on one knee.

“Jace,” she murmured. “Do you see what it says? Magic awaits.” She said the last words with wonder. When she turned to him and found that he was on his knee, holding a ring that had been passed through a few generations of the Delacroix family, she froze.

Before she could say anything, he spoke from his heart and did it quickly. She was spooked enough. No need to tempt fate any further.

“Sophia Isabel Camiña Valleja-Marquez, I love you. I love you more than I thought it possible to love another person. Mon coeur,” he murmured. “Pour tojours. My heart, forever.”

A beautiful tear, just one, leaked from her eye and ran down her cheek.

“Will you marry me? Be my wife, Sophie? I promise to love you till the stars burn out.”

She couldn’t speak, but her eyes told him what he needed to know. “And not to apply pressure or anything, but I think our boy would like it if we made things official.”

Her reaction to the mention of Teo was swift and decisive.

“You love Teo, don’t you?”

“He’s my son, Sophia. In every way that matters, Teo is mine.”

After a silent pause, he saw her swallow, and then she repeated the words he spoke in French. “Mon coeur, pour tojours.”

With the emotional weight of those who came before them and the hope of children yet unborn, he solemnly slid the redesigned diamond and ruby ring onto her finger and kissed it. He looked up into her eyes and felt the universe open up in all its infinite glory when she took his face between her hands, and said, “You are my first, my only, and my last love. Yes, Jean-Claude Delacroix. I will marry you.”

He stood slowly, gathered her into his arms, and started to lower his head for a kiss when he suddenly stopped, laughed, and said, “Oh, and by the way. Welcome home, my love. I bought this place for Teo and us. Everything comes with. Right down to the pots and pans if you want them.”

She gasped, and then he kissed her with all the love and promise he had in every crevice of his heart and soul.