‘I should have believed you, mi angel. Should have known that you could never betray me like that. I’ve been such a fool. Such a blind, stupid fool.’
‘But even I never suspected Catalina,’ Isabelle reassured him. ‘I was blind there too. And you saw the light in the end. You trusted me, valued me enough to find her.’
‘I would have walked barefoot to the end of the earth if it had meant that I could win you back,’ Luis vowed and the depth of his words, the intensity of his voice, left her in no doubt about the truth. ‘I couldn’t have gone on without you. My life would have been empty—nothing.’
Another kiss enchanted her, made her melt against him, her blonde head going back, emerald eyes locking with bronze, oblivious of everything else. It was a long, long time before either of them could speak, but then at last Luis sighed deeply and, fastening one arm around her slim waist, he fitted her tight against him.
‘I have a confession to make,’ he told her softly.
‘A confession?’ Isabelle’s momentary apprehension faded in the moment that she saw the warmth in his eyes, the glow that lit them from within.
‘I would have come to find you anyway,’ he told her huskily. ‘I already knew that I couldn’t stay away any longer. And when I got your letter it gave me just the push I needed. The fear that you might actually want a divorce—that I might lose you—was more than I could bear.’
He was pushing his hand into his pocket as he spoke, pulling out a large white envelope.
‘This is for you,’ he said gruffly, holding it out to her.
The look deep in his eyes told her how important the contents of that envelope were and her hands shook as she opened it, pulled out the papers it held.
‘Luis—what? Divorce papers! But why?’
‘If you hadn’t believed Catalina when she told you what she’d done. If you’d still thought that the only reason I wanted you back was so that I could one day be the Duke of Madrigalo…then I would never have held you to our marriage. I had the papers drawn up ready just in case they were needed.’
‘But that would have meant you… Oh, Luis!’
A choking sob caught in her throat at the thought of the sacrifice he had been prepared to make.
‘You would have given up your claim to the title—and all that it entails—for me?’
‘The dukedom and all its money, all the privilege, would be nothing without you in my life. Even if my position hadn’t meant that I couldn’t divorce, I would never even have thought of finding another wife. There could only ever be one woman for me and that is you…’
Once more his mouth took hers, making her moan softly with delight.
‘My love for you is a once-in-a-lifetime commitment. I could never, ever marry anyone else.’
‘And neither could I,’ Isabelle assured him. ‘You’re the man I gave my heart to the moment I met you—the only man I’ll ever love this way.’
But then a thought struck her and she caught hold of his hand, looking up into his handsome face in some concern.
‘Luis—the wedding—what are we going to do? What are we going to tell everyone?’
Luis didn’t hesitate even for the space of a heartbeat. This was what he had hoped for, what he had prayed might happen if he found Catalina and brought her here to tell the truth. It might prove a little awkward having to explain to his parents and their hundreds of guests, but, with Isabelle at his side, he knew that nothing else would matter.
‘We tell them the truth, querida. Nothing else will do.’
Lacing her fingers through his, he gave her hand a quick, warm squeeze and led her down the corridor, across the hall. Pausing outside the door of the huge ballroom, he looked down into her wide green eyes, smiling reassurance into her concerned face.
‘Ready?’ he asked softly. ‘We’ll do this as we’ll do everything else in our lives from now on—we’ll do it together.’
And that ‘together’ lifted her heart, sending a rush of confidence and courage through her. It straightened her back, brou
ght her head up high, put a light into her already brilliant eyes.
‘I’m ready,’ she assured him. ‘With you at my side—as my husband—how can I ever be anything else?’
As the door of Luis’s suite finally closed behind them, Isabelle gave a deep, heartfelt sigh.
It had been a long day. A long, perfect day. The sun had shone from dawn to dusk and there hadn’t been a single cloud in the sky. In fact, there hadn’t been a single thing to mar the day in the slightest way.