“What?” He looked startled. “No. I came here on my own, but I made a stop in Madrid on the way. Your father mentioned they were concerned about you.”
“They usually are,” she said. “That’s why I opted to move to Barcelona and give myself some breathing room. They’re very overprotective of me.”
“They just want to make sure you’re happy and healthy. As do I.”
“Is that why you’ve come?” she snapped. “To make sure you didn’t break my heart too badly?”
“No,” he said with a grave seriousness in his voice. “I came to apologize.”
“It’s not necessary,” she said.
“Yes, it is. I lashed out at you and it wasn’t your fault. I let my own fears get the best of me, then used the most convenient excuse I could find to push you away. It was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, and that’s saying a lot after the antics I’ve gotten into the last few years. I’ve relived that moment in my head over and over, wishing I’d handled everything differently. I was a fool and it cost me the woman I love.”
Serafia gasped at his words, but before she could respond, Esperanza returned with the wine. The interruption allowed Serafia a minute to think about his words and consider what her response should be. He loved her. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, too, but she was wary of giving away too much. He’d hurt her, abused her trust. She wasn’t just going to take him back because he decided he was in love and that made everything better.
When Esperanza went back into the house, he picked up where he’d left off. “I never believed those stories about your family, and now that I know the truth, I’m going to see to it that those rumors are put to bed for good. The Espinas are heroes and I want everyone to know it.”
“Heroes?” Serafia frowned. What was he talking about?
“Your family protected the royal treasure from the Tantaberras. That’s why they left before the coup. Your father and I are going to work to have the treasure restored and put on display after the coronation. Without your family’s help, the Tantaberras would’ve used up and destroyed our country’s history.”
Serafia had never heard any of this before, but she didn’t doubt the truth of it. Her father had made more than a few mysterious trips to Switzerland over the years. At the same time, the truth didn’t make everything okay, either. “So now that you know I don’t come from a line of traitors, you’ve decided you can love me?”
“No. Stop jumping to these horrible conclusions. I’m happy I found out the truth, but no, that’s got nothing to do with why I’m here. I had one foot out the door to come see you when all this fell into my lap. But in the end, none of it has to do with us. That’s all in the past. What I’m interested in is you and me and the future.”
Serafia’s breath caught in her throat. She reached a shaky hand out for her wine, hoping it would steady her, but all she could do was hold the glass as he continued to speak.
“I love you, Serafia, with all my heart and all my soul. I am a fool and I don’t deserve your love in return, but if someday I could earn it back, I would be the happiest man in the world.” Gabriel reached out and took her hand and she was too stunned to pull away.
“I don’t just love you. I don’t just want you to come back to Alma. I went to Madrid because I wanted to ask your father for his blessing to marry you. I want you to be my queen.”
Gabriel slipped out of his chair and onto one knee. Serafia sat stunned as she watched him reach into his inner breast pocket. She saw a momentary flash of gold and realized he was wearing the pocket watch she gave him, but then he pulled out a small ring box and her thoughts completely disintegrated into incoherence.
“I don’t know if I’m the right man to be king. But fate has put the crown in my hands and because of you, I feel like I’m closer than I could ever be to the kind of man my people deserve. With you by my side as queen, all my doubts are gone. We can restore Alma to its former glory together. I don’t think Alma could ask for a better queen and I couldn’t ask for a smarter, more beautiful, graceful and caring bride. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Gabriel opened the box and stunned her with an amazing bloodred ruby with diamonds. It was unlike any ring she’d ever seen before. It was the kind of ring that was fit for royalty.
“This ring belonged to my great-great-grandmother, Queen Josefina. It was her wedding ring and part of the treasure entrusted to your family to protect. Your father returned it to me today. He told me that it belonged on your finger and I quite agree.”