From Barcelona, with Love (36 page)

“Of course he is a man of honor. Not only that, he was thrilled, he had never in his life expected to be a father. I gave him permission to tell his partner, his true life love, William.” Bibi shrugged, looking anxiously at Sunny. “And so they both became long-distance fathers. Except Paloma never knew, and nor did anyone else.”

“The Russian dancer absconding from the Kirov…?” Sunny said.

“I had to say something,” Bibi explained.

“You bet you did,” Sunny said. “But what you told me is wonderful, Bibi. It's about true loving and caring and tenderness, and Paloma is the result not only of that night, but of all those long years Rodolfo looked after you, and cared about you.”

Bibi said, “What I'm asking you is, should I tell Paloma? She's gone through so much, I'm afraid for her.”

“How can you
not
tell her? Of course, you
should
.
Of course
she should know Rodolfo is her father. My God, all these years she must have wondered, and then to get stuck with a crazy killer like Peretti. You
owe
it to Paloma to tell her. And you'd better get on the phone right now, and tell Rodolfo you are stepping up to the plate. You are telling Paloma the truth.”

“What truth?”

Paloma stood in the doorway, two pizza boxes balanced in her hands. Pirate, drooling in anticipation—he loved pizza—stood on one side of her, and Tesoro, who had become her devoted slave, sat neatly on her other side, still on the new pink lead Paloma had bought her. Officially, Paloma now shared Tesoro with Sunny. That was their deal. And sometimes she was allowed to borrow the Chihuahua on weekends or, like when Sunny had gone off on her honeymoon, even for a couple of weeks.

Now Paloma said, “What secrets are you two talking about?”

Sunny walked over to her, took the pizza boxes from her, and carried them into the kitchen. “Your mom wants to talk to you,” she said, heading off Mac who was just closing the front door with his foot, also balancing a box, this one containing the Pimm's and the ginger ale, and a couple of extra champagnes.

He raised his brows as Sunny shoved him toward the kitchen. “What's up?”

“Secrets,” she said. “Or at least one secret. A very important one.”

Mac put the box on the kitchen counter and took the pizzas from her. He turned the oven on to four hundred and ten, took a baking sheet from the drawer, unpacked the pizzas and put them on it. He liked his pizza hot and crispy, never microwaved.

“I'll bet I know what it is.”

“Bet you don't,” she said, smugly.

“You mean about Rodolfo being Paloma's father?”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, making Mac frown. “But how did you know?”

“I guessed, that night in Barcelona when Bibi and Paloma were reunited. Something Rodolfo said, then I noticed the way he looked at Bibi, and the tenderness in his eyes when he saw Paloma. He took that little girl's hand like she was the fairy princess and led her into that house and to her mother.”

“Oh my God,” Sunny said again. “Ooops, sorry. I promise I'll never say that again.”

Mac was pouring champagne. “A celebration is called for,” he said, handing her a glass. “But anyhow, later, Rodolfo told me.”

“He
told
you!”

“He asked me to keep an eye on Paloma, make sure she wasn't harmed by all the terrible publicity, keep her away from it all. He said he would take her back to Spain with him but he knew Bibi couldn't bear another separation. I don't think he ever really believed she would tell Paloma, though. And now, I guess she has because Paloma has a right to know.”

Sunny glanced apprehensively out the window. She saw the lounger had stopped swinging. Then she saw Paloma get up. She saw Paloma take Bibi's hand and walk toward the open French doors.

Sunny stopped herself from saying “oh my God” just in time and instead said tersely, “Here they come.”

Paloma was first. “Guess what?” she said, her face filled with excitement. “Rodolfo is really my dad. He always has been, I just never knew. And guess what that means? Now I have two real dads, because William will be my daddy too. And we're going back to Spain to live in Mom's castle, as well as Barcelona, and I'll go to the same school Mom went to, in Las Ramblas, and you will come and visit any time you want.”

“We'll be a real family,” Bibi said, putting her arms round her daughter and hugging her. “Isn't that the best news of all?”

Sunny thought it was the best news since her honeymoon in Mauritius.

 

Epilogue

After Bruno Peretti
was arrested by the Guardia, he spent a couple of months in a tough Spanish jail before being extradited to the U.S., where he was taken to Rikers Island. The story of his arrest and Bibi's innocence was big, for a while, the way those notorious stories are, and the public came out in Bibi's favor, horrified by her long ordeal, and the enforced separation from her daughter.

The public and the media soon lost interest in Peretti while he languished, complaining, and arrogant as ever. It was his arrogance, not a judge and jury, that gave him a death sentence.

Peretti was stabbed to death with a tool made from a sharpened plastic toothbrush. No one confessed, no one knew who did it, no one mourned him.

*   *   *

Lorenza shocked everyone
by suddenly marrying an “old flame,” a man she had dated over the years. He is ten years younger, handsome, of course, sexy, of course—he'd have to be to keep up with Lorenza. And rich enough to keep her in comfort if she needed it, which, being the businesswoman she is, she certainly does not. The Marqués de Ravel wines are a global success, their price point making them perfect for the mass market. And they are good quality too. Lorenza sees to that. When she thinks of Mac, which of course she does every now and then, it is with regret. Does she regret her attempt to steal him back from Sunny? Not on your life, she doesn't. But if she couldn't have him, then Sunny Alvarez will make him a good wife. And she will keep her memories, and the thought of what might have been, that night with Mac at the bodega. If only …

*   *   *

And of course,
Mr. and Mrs. Reilly, Sunny and Mac, are now living in almost perfect harmony, in his little shack on Malibu beach, where he is almost coming to terms with the fact that she will say “oh my God” every time she is surprised or shocked; and she is coming to terms with the fact that the phone will always ring bringing more trouble, and that Mac will always answer it. The Chihuahua Tesoro, and Mac's dear scruffy mutt Pirate, will at best remain friendly enemies, but hey, nothing's perfect.

Or is it? Sunny asks herself, sitting with Mac on that deck overlooking the Pacific, with the sun going down and the dogs behaving themselves, and a glass of champagne in her hand. Maybe she's wrong, and life is perfect after all.

Also by Elizabeth Adler

It All Began in Monte Carlo

There's Something About St. Tropez

One of Those Malibu Nights

Meet Me in Venice

Sailing to Capri

The House in Amalfi

Invitation to Provence

The Hotel Riviera

Summer in Tuscany

The Last Time I Saw Paris

In a Heartbeat

Sooner or Later

All or Nothing

Now or Never

Fleeting Images

Indiscretions

The Heiresses

The Secret of Villa Mimosa

Legacy of Secrets

Fortune Is a Woman

The Property of a Lady

The Rich Shall Inherit

Peach

Léonie

 

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

FROM BARCELONA
,
WITH LOVE
. Copyright © 2011 by Elizabeth Adler. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING
-
IN
-
PUBLICATION DATA

Adler, Elizabeth (Elizabeth A.)

From Barcelona, with love / Elizabeth Adler. — 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-312-66835-8

  1.  Private investigators—Fiction.   2.  Missing persons—Fiction.   3.  Cold cases (Criminal investigation)—Fiction.   4.  Murder—Investigation—Fiction.   5.  Mothers and daughters—Fiction.   6.  Barcelona (Spain)—Fiction.   I.  Title.

PR6051.D56F76 2011

823'.914—dc22

2011005081

First Edition: June 2011

eISBN 978-1-4299-8709-7

First St. Martin's Press eBook Edition: June 2011