Santiago fixed his blue striped tie and checked that his slightly curly hair was tamed down in the right places as he glanced in the rectangular mirror on the wall of the bathroom. The steam from his shower had long dissipated, but the room still had a hint of his cologne in the air.
Valentina walked over and adjusted his tie, then tugged on his jacket to smooth the shoulders. “Papa, you look nervous. What’s wrong?”
He refused to comment that he’d been thinking about his morning with Pilar and how this might be a date. It sure felt like one to him as his nerves were making his heart beat a little faster. He ignored that sensation. “I am worried about you.”
She stepped back with a smile. “I promised not to look for Anthony Morgan today and besides, Caro invited me to help double-check her wedding plans this morning.”
If he had more help ensuring Valentina stayed away from Anthony Morgan all the time, he’d sleep better. He picked up his wallet and cell phone from the counter and asked, “So you’ll stick with Caro and not venture out on your own?”
“I always keep my promises, Papa.” She backed out of the bathroom.
He followed her out to their one room with double beds that had a nice view of the ocean and rolled his shoulders as a way to let his fears go and be the best father he could, like he’d promised her mother before she’d died. “You always did.” He turned toward the door, but then stopped and asked, “How do I look?”
She winked at him. “Like a prince. I love that you ironed your shirt like it’s a date.”
No. Pilar hoped he was someone else, someone she loved. He’d be an imposter if he made one move. “It’s not a date, Valentina.”
“Sure.” She turned on the television in their living room suite. Music blasted from her streaming. “It’s okay if you like Pilar, no matter what the DNA results are, y’know. You’re single and I don’t like the idea of my father sad and alone.”
He crossed his arms as she’d gone too far. “That’s enough of that. You don’t need to feel sorry for me.”
“Get going.” She nudged him toward the door.
He took a hesitant step but turned one more time and stared into his daughter’s soulful brown eyes. “Promise me you’ll stay far away from Anthony Morgan.”
She lifted her chin and her lips thinned with annoyance. “I promise to stay with Caro as I said. If Anthony is looking for me, then he’ll find me wherever I am.”
This time the fast beat of his heart was a warning shot. He shook his head. “Be reasonable, Valentina.”
She breezed past him and opened the hotel door. “Likewise, and you’re making your date wait.”
Fair enough. Pilar deserved to be treated with good manners. He walked out as he said, “I’ll be back. Use the brain God gave you.”
“Good luck, Papa,” she called behind him.
He checked his watch as he neared the elevators. He had a few minutes. Where was the elevator? He looked at the time again. How would Pilar accept his being late for breakfast?
He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t want her to leave. He took the stairs.
His pulse was fast when he finally arrived outside the restaurant. He ignored the maître d’ and glanced around the restaurant until he saw Pilar sitting on the terrace.
He straightened his tie and headed outside. The tropical heat pushed against his skin, but he felt at home as Pilar glanced up at him.
As he neared her, she put her napkin in her lap and said, “I didn’t think you were coming.”
If he’d been any later, would she have stayed? He pulled out the chair next to her. “I’m two minutes late, and the elevators were tied up, but I am sorry.”
She relaxed the tension in her jaw and shrugged while she motioned for him to sit. “My Samuel never came home from work that night. I’m rather sensitive to the time after that.”
He slipped into his chair and immediately took her hand. “I’ll never be late to meet you again then.”
She didn’t say a word but pulled free and perused the menu. He did the same until the waiter arrived and took their orders and poured them coffee.
Once the waiter left, Santiago picked up his drink. “The coffee is black just as I prefer.”
Pilar added milk to her Americano. “Same as Samuel, except for a cafecita that he had daily on his way to work. Cuban coffee.”
That sounded interesting and he’d like to try a cafecita, but right now the more important thing was what happened between the two of them. He ignored the spark he felt near her and interlaced his fingers on the table while he stared at her. “Let’s talk about both sides of that comment.”
“What comment?”
“Samuel. I don’t know who he is, not really. He feels like a foreign person.”
She held up her hand for him to wait. He stilled, and the waiter brought them their breakfast order of eggs and toast. Santiago noticed Pilar’s long fingernails were painted pink and she wore a simple yellow wedding band as she picked up her knife to butter her bread. “I’m game.”
Right. The buzz in his chest wasn’t attraction—it couldn’t be. He checked his cufflinks and ignored her bright eyes. “If I somehow forgot my life with you and moved on, what do you want to do?”
Pilar put her knife down and kept her voice soft, like a gentle breeze on the beach. “That would depend on you.”
Electricity rampaged through him. “How?”
She let out a small sigh. “If you are staying in Italy with your daughter and want a divorce, I won’t fight you. I want a man to love me for me, not because I told him to stay.”
“You are a sweet woman, Pilar.” His pulse skipped.
Pilar sipped her coffee. “And the opposite question now. If you are not my Samuel as you claim, we don’t have to worry about any of that, but regardless, it’s been nice talking to you, Santiago. I’ve started to like you.”
Like was weak. This time he couldn’t ignore how he felt anymore. He stood, pushed his chair next to her and scooted it as close as he could, then sat. Pilar seemed breathless when he took her hand. “What are you doing?”
He brushed her cheek with his thumb and smiled at her. Pilar was one of the prettiest women he’d ever met and the only one that made him feel so passionately. He closed the space between their lips and her eyes fluttered closed. “What I wanted to do last night in the club.”
“Which is?” She didn’t look at him.
“This.” He framed her face and lowered his mouth to hers. Her kiss sent him out of orbit and he forgot everything for a moment. Her lips were like heaven itself. As he ended the kiss, she still didn’t move, and he caressed her cheek. “I like being with you too, Pilar. You’re very much the woman I’ve been dreaming about.”
“Wow.” She bit her lip like she was still an innocent teenager.
Then she scooted his chair away from her and straightened the top of her black sun dress. “Here comes Luke. Sit back in your chair.”
He followed her orders and adjusted his chair back to the center as he squeezed her knee, gently. “Ashamed of me?”
“Not at all.” She met his gaze fast.
He knew she was serious and his pulse relaxed until a man joined them and said, “Pilar, Santiago.”
“Does that mean he’s not Samuel?” Pilar stared at the younger man like he was her savior.
He couldn’t breathe. Part of him wanted to be hers. Part of him wanted to run. It took a second, but Santiago remembered the young man’s name was Luke, Caro’s doctor fiancé.
Luke handed him an envelope. “I honestly don’t know. I didn’t read the report. I brought it straight here as you requested.”
“Open it,” Pilar told Santiago and he blinked, uncertain.
His hands actually trembled and he prided himself on being cool under pressure. Perhaps this should have been in private?
Finally he ripped the envelope and stopped shaking when he read the report. Pilar’s big eyes made him freeze though and he was unable to speak as his mind processed the words. If Pilar was his, then he’d be thankful, but he didn’t want to trick her. “I don’t understand.”
He handed the paper back to Luke as Pilar asked, “What does it say?”
They had a history. He swallowed and said, “It says I am Samuel Soliz and that Caro and Rafe are my biological children.” Luke handed her the paper and she used her napkin to clean her face as she read. Tears rained down her face and Santiago reached out to hold her hand. “Don’t cry, Pilar.”
She wiped her eyes and then covered her untouched food with her napkin as she met his gaze. “Our children will want to know immediately.”
“I’m pretty sure Rafe won’t be happy.” Santiago wondered how in the world he’d ever respond if someone called him Samuel.
Pilar stood and offered her hand. “He’s just protective. Come, Samuel. Our son always wanted his father back.”
He gulped his coffee in one swift movement and then stood with her as he shook his head. “I don’t feel like a Samuel.”
Pilar motioned for Luke to join them as she linked her arm with his. “Then we’ll have to fill you in on who you were.”
There had to be a mistake. He stopped the moment they entered the lobby and turned to face her. “I’d never forget a woman like you, Pilar. How could I? Or walk away from my family.”
She placed her hands on his cheeks and another tear slowly escaped her soft brown eyes. “Mitch Morgan did that to you. He kidnapped you for seeing what he’d done to Isabelle. I always imagined you tried to defend her, even when I thought you were dead. So I don’t blame you for any of what happened.”
Right. He walked with her though he felt a furnace inside his body. As they made it halfway across the room, he stopped again and asked, “How?”
Pilar glanced at Luke who followed them and then met Santiago’s gaze directly. “I don’t know what he did, but the night Isabelle was kidnapped, you were working outside as a chauffeur. I left my shift as maid at seven to pick up the children from your mother’s house. We assume you saw what happened to her and must have said something.”
A chauffeur? He hated driving. In Italy, he worked as a chef and everyone complimented his dishes. He shook his head, unsure how any of this was possible. “I don’t remember.”
She shrugged like it was obvious. “You woke up near another Morgan estate and Mitch continued to taunt you for years, which is just like him.”
Italy felt safe and his young daughter needed him. “Valentina might not like this news.”
Pilar tugged to get him to move again as she directed them toward the conference room that must be where the wedding was to be held as she said, “Your daughter seems delightful and whatever else happens, I never blame children for the actions of their parents. Working for the House of Morgan has taught me that people can change and children don’t always take after their parents.”
Outside the door, Santiago pressed his hand on her shoulder and nodded. “You’re an angel, Pilar.”
“I want us all to go in and tell Caro and Rafe now.” She waved for the three of them to enter the conference room.
Santiago held back for a second to catch his breath. Somehow he had a family again and he was married to Pilar. His attraction to her continued to grow, but it was wrong to touch her if he didn’t remember. Somehow he needed to get himself under control and fast.
The best weapon he had was how he felt like an imposter near them. He was positive Rafe was going to object and Santiago didn’t blame him. Pilar was special.