LITMIR.BIZ

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was glad to see the lawyer for more reasons than one. He was good at what he did, but even more importantly, today he was a buffer between Alex and her. The growing awareness she had of Alex’s masculinity would have to be stamped out.

      For two solid hours the three of them wrangled over language and legal points. Lunch was delivered from the hotel restaurant at noon. In forty-five minutes they were at it again. From the beginning, Maria had been awestruck by the historical importance of the documents they were drafting. Now, though she still recognized the critical nature of the work, being cooped up in a small room for hours on end meant she was more than ready to call it quits when Alex finally indicated they were done.

      “We can’t finish everything in a day or even this week. But we’ve made a dent in it.”

      Jean Claude nodded. “When will we show the Montoros a draft?”

      “Not until we have some assurance they plan to accept the offer from Alma,” Alex said. “If they turn us down, we’ll have to scrap everything and come up with plan B.”

      Maria groaned. “All this work for nothing? Please don’t even hint at it. It’s a dreadful thought.”

      Jean Claude capped his expensive pen and tucked papers into his sleek briefcase. He was in his midthirties, good-looking in a quiet, unflashy way and utterly trustworthy. Which was why he had been chosen for his current position. “I believe we must think positively. The Montoros are surely aware of their family’s deep history with the country of their origin. Despite their love of the United States, blood ties will win out.”

      Alex ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the thick dark strands. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

      As the door closed behind Jean Claude, silence fell heavy and awkward. Maria stood, her knee bumping the leg of the table. Wincing, she picked up her things and sidled toward the exit. “Same time in the morning?” she asked, trying for a clean getaway.

      Alex stopped her with nothing more than an upraised hand. “Tomorrow is Saturday. The entire delegation has been given instructions to enjoy some time off. We’ll reconvene on Monday.”

      Maria raised an eyebrow. “Can we afford the delay?”

      “Any deadlines we come up with are artificial at best. If we’re to convince the Montoros of our sincerity and our pragmatism, we can’t appear too desperate. It’s Miami, Maria. Sun, sand, shopping.”

      “It’s like I don’t even recognize you,” she teased.

      The twist of his lips was self-mocking. “I do understand how to have fun, you know.”

      “I’ll take your word for it.”

      Suddenly they were back to flirting again.

      Alex fiddled with a stack of papers, not looking at her. “Did I ever tell you I had a brother? A twin?”

      “No.” It wasn’t the kind of thing two business associates normally discussed. She wasn’t going to ignore the personal overture, though. “But I’d like to hear about him...”

      Alex’s face was cast in shadow, the sun coming through the window at his back. Suddenly the harsh lighting made him seem a tragic figure. She shivered as if a ghost had walked over her grave.

      “He died when we were ten years old,” Alex said. “Complications from the flu. My parents were completely crushed.”

      “And what about you?”

      He seemed surprised, as though no one had ever considered the grief of a sibling. “I lost a part of myself,” he said slowly. “As if I’d had a limb removed. It was agony.”

      Maria stood frozen, her belongings clutched to her chest. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

      Alex straightened, his gaze meeting hers without hesitation. “I want us to be friends, Maria...to understand each other. You think of me as a workaholic, don’t you?”

      She bit her lip, evaluating her answer. “I see you as a very conscientious man.”

      His brooding expression touched something deep in her heart. “I wasn’t always such a stickler for the rules. But after my brother died, I felt as if I had to make up for my brother’s loss by being perfect,” he said. “That narrow path has become who I am now.”

      “A difficult way to live.”

      “Yes. Yes, it is.” He stopped, and she saw the muscles in his throat work. “If I push too hard, call me on it. With you and Jean...with the delegation.”

      “It’s not my place.”

      “It is. Because that’s what I need from you.”

      They were separated by a space of several feet. Even so, she felt the pull of his magnetic personality. “Is that all you need?”

      The words left her mouth as if someone else had spoken them. She saw his eyelashes flicker in shock and was appalled at her impulsive gaffe. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

      “Do you not want to hear my answer?”

      Every cell in her body trembled with uncertainty. “I think perhaps I should say no.”

      “I never took you for a coward, Maria.”

      She shook her head instinctively. “We’re away from home...in an unusual environment. We’re not ourselves.”

      “Or maybe we’re more ourselves than we’re allowed to be in Alma.”

      His words left her breathless...literally. Until it occurred to her that she had for the moment forgotten how to breathe. Exhaling slowly, she weighed her response. Alex was an attractive, appealing man. Sharing his bed would be memorable. Of that she had no doubt.

      But in the end, the two of them came from different classes. The United States might pride itself on the ability of a person with nothing to rise to the top, but Maria knew her limitations. “My mother worked in an industrial laundry ten hours a day in order to put me through school in London. And I had two jobs on top of that.”

      “I’m familiar with your background.”

      “The Ramons are aristocracy...on a par with the Montoros as far as Alma is concerned. I don’t think it would be wise for you and I to do anything we might regret.”

      “You’re throwing up barriers where none exist. The delegation was handpicked. You’re here because of your skills and competence. No one looks down on you for not being a native.”

      “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

      “It’s the twenty-first century, Maria.”

      “Maybe so. But Alma values the past. Otherwise, none of us would be here trying to reinstate the monarchy. I am proud of who I am, but I’m a realist. You and I walk different paths. Let’s not forget that.”

      He stared at her long and hard as if he could imprint his will on her by mind control. “You asked me what I need from you.”

      “I shouldn’t have.” Her heart fluttered in her throat like a butterfly trapped.

      He smiled, a totally unfair act of war. “I’ll wait until you ask me again. But next time, I’ll answer, Maria.”

       Three

      She fled to her room after that, her legs spaghetti and her mouth dry. It was one thing to know she was attracted to Alex but another entirely to realize that he might be feeling the same pull.

      After changing into a set of comfy knit casual wear, she pulled out her phone and initiated a FaceTime call with her mother, who was getting ready for bed. The older woman’s image was clear and dear. “Hello, sweetheart. How are things

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