"It doesn't have to be me."
He lowers his head to brush his lips over mine. "I want it to be you, Kate."
Raul Marin is in trouble.
The CEO of one of the biggest clothing companies in the country, he's about to lose his position because of his notori...
"You like it, yes?" Eléa the French hairdresser asks me when she's done. She fluffs the ends of my hair, looking pleased with the results of her work.
"It's, uh... wow," I say, blinking. Who is that woman staring back at me in the mirror?
"You look great," says a voice behind me. "That color brings out your eyes."
My throat feels dry suddenly. I swallow and look up to see Yandra in her reflection in the mirror. "Yandra," I say.
"Hello, Kate." She smiles. "Long time, no see."
"Yeah." I don't know what else to say. After all, what does one say to the woman who tried to seduce your husband?
"Safia invited me to join you for lunch." She hesitates. "I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not." Why did I say that? Why can't I shake off this impulse to always be polite to everyone? I sigh inwardly, reminding myself that no matter what she did, Yandra's life is still in danger. And I can't very well be rude to Raul's cousin's fiancée. "Do you know where we're going?"
"She made a reservation at Ximena." Her grin was playful. "I can't wait to see her face when she sees how good you look."
***
"I'm borrowing this dress," Maricris declares, holding a bronze bustier dress against her chest and spinning slowly in front of the mirror
I laugh. "You can keep it if you like," I say. "I think I bought too many clothes the other day."
"You sure?" She kept her gaze on the full-length mirror.
"Yeah, I think I have a similar one in black."
"Okay, thanks." When she finally turned to me, she whistled. "Wowza."
"You don't think it's too much?" I run my hand down the front of the purple Dior dress I put on for dinner. It hugged me at the waist and had a long slit in front. One shoulder strap hung below my shoulder.
"No, it's great." She tilts her head as she studies my outfit. "It's missing something, though."
I look down. "Pockets?"
"Well, yeah, all dresses should have pockets. But it's not that."
There's a knock on the door.
"Come in!" I say, my heart starting to race. It could only be Raul. This would be the first time he'll see me in my new hair.
The look in his eyes fills me with a familiar warmth. "Mi amor," he says, "you look beautiful."
Maricar clears her throat. "Yeah, I'm gonna go get ready," she says, hurrying to the door, the newly-acquired dress lovingly draped in her arms. "See you downstairs in a bit."
"Okay," I say, still holding my husband's eyes. "Do you like it?" I ask after the door shuts quietly.
"It's perfect." He closes the distance between us with a few strides of his long legs.
I melt into the pair of strong arms he wraps around me. The kiss is warm and sweet before we're both gripped by an urgency that makes him tighten his embrace and crush my mouth with a hunger that sends heat through my body. When we finally come up for air, he rests his forehead on mine.
"Querida..." he whispers, "I'm of half a mind to skip dinner and spend the rest of the night in bed with you."
I laugh. "We'll send my sister," I say. "She can worry about giving them a plausible excuse why we can't make it."
He groans. "I would really prefer her not to think of me as some kind of sex-starved maniac."
"I would too."
"Did you do something to your hair?" He sweeps a few stray locks behind my ear. "I have a strange impulse to run my fingers through it."
"I got a haircut. And color." I wrinkle my nose. "Highlights."
"Ah. I see you've been spending time with my cousin. I'm so glad you're getting along."
"She's great. Safia, too. They helped me pick out this dress."
With a wicked grin, he brushes his fingers over my low neckline. "Should I send them a gift basket?"
My breath hitched as he traced the curve of my cleavage. Desperately trying to suppress a moan, I whisper, "Maybe send them two."
"Agreed." He lowers his head to kiss my neck.
I gasp, tightening my grip on his upper arm. "Raul... we have to go..."
He brushes a kiss up my jawline and on my temple. "I'm sorry, mi amor," he murmurs against my hair. "I just can't get enough of you."
I bite my lower lip to keep it from trembling. Blinking to hold back the tears that were prickling my eyes, I lay my head on his chest. "Dinner was your idea," I say, trying to adopt a playful tone.
"No, it wasn't." He sighs. "I almost forgot I brought you something."
I look up. "What is it?"
"Turn around." He reaches into his pocket.
Heart racing, I turn away from him. A moment later, I feel something cool and heavy touch my collarbone. I look down to see five emeralds sparkling in a string of diamonds around my neck. "Oh, my god," I gasp.
"Do you like it?" Gently, he guides me toward the mirror.
I stare at my reflection with wide eyes. It's the most elegant, beautiful necklace I'd ever seen, much less worn. I swallow hard. "Raul, this is too much."
"It's nothing, just a small token of my affection." He drops a kiss on my bare shoulder. "Will you wear it tonight?"
I nod. The word affection seems dangerously close to the one word I'm desperate to hear him say to me. Somehow it seems too tame to express the passion I see in his eyes when he looks at me. Or am I just hoping for too much?
My heart is almost too full for me to speak, but I manage to find the words. "Thank you."
"Are you ready to go?"
"I just need to put on some lipstick and..." I look down. "Shoes."
"I'll wait for you downstairs."
I watch him walk toward the door. "Raul?" I said, a thought suddenly occurring to me.
He pauses with his hand on the doorknob and turns to me. "Yes?"
"Who are we having dinner with?" The text he sent me earlier implied we were dining with someone but he never mentioned who it was.
If you enjoyed this chapter, please show Raul and Kate some love by voting for it! If you want to read a spoilery preview of Chapter 35 "Por que la belleza sobra", go on over to my blog:
https://anselacorsino.com/spoilers
Come back next Monday April 10 for Chapter 35 🎉.
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