20
Rafael
The ferry pulled close to the rocky shoreline, taxiing us to the mansion that gleamed in the Swedish sun. Isa had been silent for much of the trip to Sweden, and with every moment that brought us closer to the sprawling estate on the edge of the archipelago she tensed at my side. Her floral maxi dress wrapped around her body and disguised the beginning of the baby bump on her stomach, and part of me hated to know that she’d hidden it so effectively in the first outing where it was overtly visible.
The other part of me couldn’t help but think about the great sense of pride I would feel when it came time for the evening and she slipped into the gown Regina had chosen for her under my guidance.
When the boat pulled up alongside the dock, I stood first and placed my foot on the wooden walkway. Reaching a hand in for my wife, I lifted her out of the boat until she felt more sturdy on the steady surface.
Even after her time on the yacht, she was still far more comfortable on land than in the water. Part of that was my fault, since I’d severely neglected taking her into the water of the pool and down to the beach onEl Infierno. I’d remedy that when we returned home after the weekend away, reminding her that she was safe anywhere we went.
So long as she was safely tucked within my arms.
“It’s beautiful,” Isa said, though her voice betrayed her nerves as we walked up the planks toward the grassy lawn at the back of the estate. A cobblestone path led up to the white house with brick red and burnt orange rooftops, reflecting the fall foliage that would come shortly enough with the changing seasons. This far North, the fall came far sooner than it did in Spain. The beginning of September marked the shift, the air dropping just a bit cooler and losing the summer humidity.
“Rafael,” a male voice said, and I turned my attention away from Isa to focus on the man waiting at the top of the cobblestone path. “We were beginning to wonder if you would come,” Henrik said, extending his hand for me to shake.
“Henrik,” I greeted, smiling tentatively. We’d been rivals as children, understandably considering our fathers had been in opposition to one another. But as I’d shifted out from under my father’s thumb when I grew older and approached the day when I set him aflame, Henrik and I had begun to realize we had more in common than we’d initially believed. “How are your parents?”
“They’re wonderful, around here somewhere mingling. Who is this enchanting woman?” he asked, turning his attention to Isa. He held out a hand that she placed in his with an awkward smile.
“Isa,” she said, watching with wide eyes when he lifted the hand held within his up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back in greeting. It was innocent enough, a symptom of the aristocracy and old traditions that he’d been raised in.
That didn’t stop me from wanting to cut the lips from his body and feed them to the fish. I wrapped my fingers around Isa’s wrist, pulling her away from his grip and watching as confusion stole his features and I lowered our hands. My fingers shifted along hers, twining until I held her hand snuggly within mine. “Mywife,” I said.
Henrik slid his gaze from Isa to me, a sharp bark of laughter escaping him at the news of my marriage. While I’d never kept my wedding a secret, I also hadn’t broadcast it for the world to know. His breath caught when he realized I wasn’t kidding, a beaming smile transforming his face as he chuckled under his breath. “Is that true, Isa?” he asked. “El Diablohas finally taken a wife?”
“Yes,” Isa agreed with a smile that was closer to the beauty of herrealsmile. There was still that undercurrent of discomfort, but she leaned her body into the side of mine more fully and took comfort in my presence. There would come a time over the course of the weekend when she did not have me to lean on in the moments when she wasn’t certain what to do or what to say, butmi reinanever failed to rise above the uncertainty of her situation.
She wasalwaysenough.
“Yes. So you see, it may be wise to inform the others that I am not a fan of other men touching my wife,” I warned, communicating my meaning with the pin of a glare on his face.
“I meant nothing by it,” Henrik said, shaking his head with an appeasing smile. “I will do my best to spread the word that she is to be greeted from a safe distance.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Isa muttered, glaring up at me from my side. Henrik seemed to enjoy the challenge in her voice, giving a disbelieving chuckle as he watched me wrap my arm around her.
“Hej, Rafael,” Henrik’s mother, Sigrid, said as she stepped up behind her son. “Välkommen till vårt hem.”
“Tack så mycket,” I said, feeling Isa still with shock at my side. She’d been too isolated in our time together and she’d never been confronted with the reality of what it was to be a man who had allies all over the world.
I spoke the basics of several languages.
“Mamma,” Henrik said, turning an amused smile to face his mother. “This is Isa. Rafael’swife.”
She widened her eyes briefly, a bright smile transforming her luminously fair face as her bright blue eyes gleamed. “Congratulations,” she said, her accent strong but eloquent as she leaned forward and kissed each of Isa’s cheeks. “What magnificent news!”
“Thank you, Mrs. Tessin,” Isa said politely, having latched onto the one piece of information she knew about our hosts. It was foolish on my part that I hadn’t taken the time to educate her on them, but I’d also known that she would grow overwhelmed very quickly with the sheer number of people attending the summit.
“Please, call me Sigrid,” she said, taking Isa’s arm in hers. Staff members strolled by with our bags collected off the boat, and Sigrid pulled my wife away from me to guide her toward the gleaming house on top of the hill. “Let me show you two to your room. I’m certain you’re anxious to get ready for tonight.”
I watched as Isa murmured something in response with a polite smile on her face. Then I followed, because I’d followmi reinaanywhere.