Legacy of the Highlands (9 page)

Alex had no heart for shopping — as clear an
indicator of her mental state as any since shopping always had the
same therapeutic effect on her as meditation did for others. It
took just an hour in Saks to buy everything she’d need for an
indefinite stay. She had another two hours to kill before Miguel
would return for her, so she wandered into the mall.

As she passed a hair salon, she impulsively
decided to get her shoulder-length hair cut. One of the shop’s top
stylists had a cancellation and fifteen minutes later as she
fidgeted in his chair she declared, “cut it,” then covered her face
so she wouldn’t have to watch the dance of scissors and razor. An
hour later, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face when she saw
the result. “I love it. Thanks.” she said with relief, then headed
toward the mall’s exit to meet Diego’s driver.

“Are there more shops you would like to
visit?” Miguel inquired as he stowed her shopping bags in the
trunk.

“No, thanks, I’m exhausted.” She might fool
herself into thinking she was emerging from the cavernous pit of
grief, but the few hours at the mall made her feel like she’d run a
marathon. She needed a nap and was anxious to get back to the
villa.

“
Your hair, Señora! ¡Qué bonita!” Luisa said
approvingly as Alex pirouetted in front of her, delighted that a
change she’d feared had turned out so well.

“I’m happy you like it. I do too,” she said
as she bit into one of the gooey chocolate chip cookies the cook
had baked especially for her.

“It pleases me to see you smile,
Señora
,” Luisa said. “It makes me sad to see one so young
and so beautiful in such obvious pain.”

Alex didn’t want to wallow in sorrow so she
quickly changed the subject. The cookie’s sugar had already hit her
bloodstream and ramped up her energy. “I spoke to Diego! He called
on the car phone.”

“I’m glad that he found you. He called here
first and I told him Miguel had taken you shopping,” she said as
she poured a glass of milk to accompany Alex’s second cookie. “He’s
a dear man and he cares for you.”

“I know he has a good heart, but the
situation with us is a bit complicated.”

The older woman noticed the lightning fast
change in Alex’s expression. Something Diego had done clearly upset
her. “I respect your privacy,
Señora
, but if you ever want
to talk…I’ve known Diego since he was a boy and I remember your
husband from his many visits here during school vacations. If you
think I can help, I would be honored if you let me.”

“Thank you, Luisa. Diego and I have some
things to work out. I’m sure it’ll be all right.”

“I understand,” Luisa replied and gave Alex a
gentle hug as she left the room.

As days and then weeks passed, Alex gradually grew
stronger. She slept soundly, ate well, swam mindless laps, read,
watched movies in the villa’s theater and took long walks on the
beach. Her freckled skin finally tanned and the sun added glints of
gold and copper to her auburn hair. When she looked in the mirror,
instead of hollow-eyed pallor, she saw the glow of health. She
never wanted to leave this enchanted Shangri-la. She was afraid
that when she went home to Boston, she’d fall apart.

She still grieved…a lot. Will’s murder was
very real to her and there was no pretending that he was alive. But
as time passed she became aware that the shape of her grief had
changed. There was a gnawing emptiness at her core and she accepted
that this void was now a permanent part of her. She missed Will the
way she imagined an amputee must miss an arm or a leg. Most of all,
she mourned the future they’d never have, the memories they’d never
make. She’d have to learn to be content with those she already
had.

Alex was swimming laps in the pool when she heard
loud voices and a commotion coming from the normally tranquil
house. Adrenalin surged through her body like an electric current,
triggering her heart rate to soar well beyond the soothing,
exercise-induced thump-thump of a moment earlier. Fight or flight.
Her senses sent up a red alert and for a split second she wondered
how long she’d be able to hold her breath if Will’s murderer
crashed through the door and she had to play dead at the bottom of
the pool in order to survive.

Then she saw the reason for the ruckus —
Diego.

He emerged from the house and stood at the
side of the pool, arms crossed, grinning at her. A moment later he
impulsively tore off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, unzipped his
pants and dove into the water as cleanly as a sleek seal. He’d
stripped quickly, but not before Alex eyed his magnificent body and
the tiny black briefs that left nothing to the imagination.

He surfaced beside her and she began to weep
as he murmured soft, soothing words in unintelligible Spanish.
Would this man’s lifelong connection to Will always remind her of
what she’d lost and overwhelm her with sadness?

She’d made a decision while he’d been gone.
He would have to tell her why he and Will had stopped speaking. She
knew their affection for each other wouldn’t have allowed the rift
to be permanent and was determined not to waste another minute
being angry. It had been Will’s fight, not hers. She took a couple
of shaky breaths and tried to smile as he made a futile attempt to
dry her tears with his wet hands. He towed her to the shallow end
of the pool and sat next to her on the steps.

“What am I going to do without him
Diego?”

“You’re a survivor and you’ll be fine in
time,” he said softly and then his face hardened. “No! You’ll do
more than survive, Alex. Way more. Will would be miserable if you
never found happiness again...and you will, in time,
Preciosa
, in time. I promise.”

She almost believed him. His black eyes
blazed and he gripped her hands so tightly that she winced. He saw
her reaction and quickly raised her fingers to his lips. “I’m
sorry,” he said as he kissed one hand then the other. “Strong
emotions sometimes make me forget my own strength. Forgive me.”

She nodded and lowered her head to gaze at
the hands that his lips had just touched. Her delicate diamond and
emerald wedding band glinted in the sunlight. Diego tipped her chin
up with one finger and kept it there so that she couldn’t turn
away.

“Listen to me, Alex. The passion you and Will
shared...well, it was something rare. We both know that kind of
love doesn’t die. It will always be with you, even when you fall in
love again. My friend Will, the man we both loved, lives on in our
hearts and in our heads. He’ll always be with us,
amiga
mía
.”

“I know that, but it’s not the same,” she
whispered. It seemed natural to find herself in his arms and she
rested her head on his chest for a moment. Her bare skin felt like
satin and Diego’s lips itched to explore her neck, so he
reluctantly loosened his hold. Friendly affection was one thing.
That would be quite another. “Let’s dry off, ” he said as he
effortlessly pulled himself out of the pool before his body’s
response to her became too difficult to control.

“I’m going to ask Serge to make a couple of
mojitos for us. Is that all right?”

“Sure,” she replied. “And stop looking at me
that way,” she added when she noticed Diego checking her out
despite the modest competition Speedo she had on. Even so, his gaze
made her feel naked.

“I can’t help it. You look wonderful and I
didn’t know what condition I’d find you in. I was afraid…well…I was
afraid, that’s all.”

“I’m a little better than when you left. It’s
going to be a long road, but at least I’ve begun the journey.
Didn’t someone say the journey of a thousand miles begins with one
step?” she said as she toweled off her dripping hair.

“I think it was Lao Tzu if I remember my
Chinese philosophy correctly,” he said, fascinated by the way the
muscles in her arms flexed as she tried to make her hair’s wet
spikes behave. “Your hair is different. Shorter, yes?”

“Yeah. I had it cut the day after you left.
It’s too hot here for long hair. Do you like it?”

“It looks good on you, but I like long hair.
If you were my woman and cut your hair I’d be tempted to put you
over my knee,” he blurted out and had the grace to blush.

Alex stifled a giggle. She knew Diego would
never lay a hand on her or any other woman and she was enjoying his
obvious discomfort.

“So, Navarro, you’d spank me? And no doubt
enjoy it! You idiot,” she teased.

“That was really bad, wasn’t it? Come,” he
said, taking her hand. He was happy to see her smile even if the
joke was on him. “Serge will bring our drinks to the
courtyard.”

Alex hadn’t seen the mysterious Serge since
the night she’d arrived at the villa and she wondered what,
precisely, his job was. She doubted that the muscular gentleman’s
duties were confined to welcoming guests and serving drinks.

“Will there be anything else, sir?” Serge
asked deferentially after he delivered a tray of canapés along with
their drinks.

“No, but I need to see you in my office later
— perhaps in about an hour.”

“Very well, sir. “

Alex wouldn’t have been surprised to see
Serge click his heels before departing.

When he’d gone, she turned to Diego. “What’s
Serge’s real job? He’s definitely not a butler.”

“Your instincts are good.” Diego hesitated
before continuing. “Actually, Serge is my bodyguard. My parents
insist on it, the same way they equip all their homes with
elaborate alarm systems. It may appear excessive, but it makes them
feel safe. I’m a grown man, but they still worry that some
desperate group will kidnap me for ransom, so Serge travels with
me. Since our company has its own security team in Abu Dhabi, Serge
stayed here for some well-deserved down time. And if he was doing
his job right you weren’t aware of it, but I wanted him here to
protect you,” he added, shrugging his shoulders.

“Protect me? Why? I can’t believe you think I
need a bodyguard.”

“Until we know why Will was murdered and the
bastard who did it is caught and punished, I don’t know what to
think. But while you’re here, you’re under my protection and that
includes Serge.”

“It’s a little extreme, but I guess I
understand. It makes sense that your parents don’t want anything to
happen to you,” she said as she sipped her drink. The Navarros’
world was very different from the one she inhabited. Diego’s father
grew up poor, but had built a vast real estate fortune. And Latin
America had a history of being more volatile than Boston. “If the
Camerons had been a little more paranoid about Will’s safety he
might still be alive,” she added softly.

Diego nodded and drained his drink. “Maybe,
but if someone’s determined to get you, they usually will.”

“I guess,” she answered as she gazed into her
glass lost in thought. “Where’s Serge from?”

“He’s an interesting character. His full name
is Sergei Sidovsky. He says he spent his childhood in Russia, then
his family emigrated to Israel when he was eleven or twelve. I
guess that much is true, but in his world truth has many meanings.
He was an agent in Israel’s Mossad. My father always insists on the
best and there is no better intelligence and security operation
anywhere in the world. Now he works for us,” he concluded as if it
was the most natural thing in the world to have a former elite spy
on the family payroll.

“Oh! And I thought he looked so Aryan with
his blond hair and blue eyes. I was really wrong. Why the butler
charade?”

“I assume it’s the cover that my father and
he agreed upon. When one’s family employs so much staff, it would
be hard to know everything about everyone. That sounds horrible,
doesn’t it? Will always said I was spoiled rotten. He was probably
right.”

He lowered his head and sighed deeply. When
he looked up again, the cloud had passed from his face. He leaned
back and his muscles rippled as he stretched. The towel he’d
wrapped around his hips had shifted and barely covered his
thighs…or anything else. Alex knew she was in mourning, but she
wasn’t blind, and didn’t think there was anything wrong with
admiring the work of art sitting across the table from her. Diego
was extraordinarily handsome, but, unlike Will, he knew it and was
very aware of the effect his smoldering eyes, chiseled jaw and full
lips had on women. And the body, oh, the body. The man effortlessly
exuded charm, sex and a hint of danger, a lethal mix.

Diego was both flattered and disturbed when
he felt her eyes on him. He abruptly got to his feet. “I have
business to discuss with Serge. You’ll have to excuse me.”

“Wait! You can’t just dismiss me. We need to
talk, too. You and I are pretending that everything’s fine, but I
can’t forget that Will was furious with you and then you
disappeared from our lives for a year. I never believed his
explanation for the fight so I want to hear your version.”

The reminder that all wasn’t well between
them felt like a knife in his belly and Diego turned away so she
couldn’t see his pain. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,
but not now. Let me take you to dinner tonight. Luisa will want to
feed me, but it’s time you experienced a little Miami nightlife.
I’ll reserve a table for us at Norman’s. Shall we say eight
o’clock?”

“I’ll hold you to that promise, but dinner
out sounds good. That gives me enough time to soak in the tub and
take a nap. Later.”

Diego pulled on a T-shirt as he strode to his
father’s study in a remote corner of the villa. The office was
sparsely furnished with only a large mahogany desk, a couple of
leather chairs, two phones and a custom-made computer. The place
obviously existed for business and nothing else. Serge was already
waiting for him so he closed the heavy door that rendered the room
soundproof.