“¿Enserio, mi amor? Seriously, my love, do you have to ask? I’m here with you, my daughter over there is texting her boyfriend and we’re officially a family. There are no words to express how happy I am right now.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Diego. You promised to behave,” I plead, meeting his gaze.
“I don’t have any intentions of breaking my promise to you, but we’ve already polished off one bottle of red and your Danish billionaire has yet to be seen.”
“He’s in the restaurant, but he can’t find us. Give me a second,” I say, lifting my index finger. “I want to make sure he knows we’re in the private room.”
Where are you? I’m standing inside Nueve Reinas and I can’t see you. Am I at the correct restaurant?
-----
Yes, you are. Diego has reserved a private room in the back. Ask the hostess to show you where it is.
-----
Okay, I’ll see you in a minute.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve missed Nikolaj today and I can’t wait to see him again. I was extremely nervous inviting him to this family gathering, because I’d never invite a guy to meet my mom and dad in New York, but this day has completely shattered my definition of family, rules and conventions. Not to mention Diego is such a wild spirit, I know Nikolaj will fit right in. I threw all caution to the wild and decided to enjoy an enchanting evening with a wonderful man and my new dad.
I had stepped outside of Diego’s office to invite Nikolaj to come out with us and when we arrived at the restaurant, I excused myself to call him and give him a quick summary of the day. What transpired today is heavy for me to handle—I can’t possibly let him walk into this saga without a little warning and some background. I’d hate for him to unknowingly step on a landmine.
“There he is.” I jump up and wave at Nikolaj to join us.
Nikolaj’s lips curve into a slow, heart-stopping smile when he sees me. Damn, he’s mouthwatering.
He can pull off casual so well. He’s wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, which he’s paired with a light grey V-neck sweater topped with a plaid jacket in the right dominant shades to complete a stylish outfit. When he sees me, he waves and flashes me his signature grin. God. I’m instantly weak in the knees.
I feel an unfamiliar clench in my chest when he walks in. What’s going on? Crap. Get a grip. “Hey, Nikolaj. I hope it wasn’t too hard finding the place?” Why is my stomach fluttering like this? It’s not as if I didn’t see him this morning.
“Hey, I’m sorry it took me a bit of time to get here. Only in Barcelona can there be crazy traffic at this late hour of the day. It seems everyone in the city is heading to his or her favorite eatery.” He grabs my waist and kisses both my cheeks the way Europeans do.
“It’s the busiest time of the day. Lucky for me, while we were waiting for you, Diego has been keeping me very busy with stories of my ancestors,” I mock, rolling my eyes at him.
We both laugh.
“I can hear you, Ciara,” Diego says. “I’m sitting in the room.”
“I know you can, Diego,” I shout over my shoulder. “Come on, let me introduce you to my mom and Dr. Echevarria.” I pull at Nikolaj’s arm. “Nikolaj, this is my mother Julia and this is the man who lured me to Spain.”
“Dr. Echevarria and Mrs Herrera, what a pleasure to meet both of you. May I say the color of your dress is simply smashing against your skin and it brings out your brown eyes so well. I see where Ciara has inherited her ravishing beauty from.”
“Oh, my, Nikolaj, I’m so flattered. There’s no need to be so formal. Please call me Julia.” Is she blushing like a schoolgirl?
“Forgive me, Nikolaj, but your accent sounds more British than Danish,” Diego says.
“Dr. Echevarria…”
“Please, Nikolaj, we’re among friends here. Call me Diego.”
“Well, Diego, I spent my formative years in London and I only returned home when I was a young adult. I’m afraid I had been branded for life with Shakespeare’s eloquence by the time I returned to Copenhagen.”
“I see. Well, keep the accent, it drives women nuts.”
“I agree. An accent does give me some bargaining power with gorgeous beauties like Ciara.” Nikolaj caresses my thigh under the table.
Jesus, I missed losing myself in those blue eyes.
Diego coughs. “Dear God, where are my manners. Here you are without a drink. This is Spain, it’s unthinkable to celebrate such a monumental day without drinks.”
“Ciara tells me it was a big day for all of you and I couldn’t agree more, drinks are definitely in order.”
“Ciara, I already like this Danish guy with the British accent.”
Oh my God, can I curl up under this table and die? Did Diego actually speak his mind aloud?
“Diego, leave them alone.” My mother comes to my rescue, but it’s too late. I already know my cheeks are flushed and everyone in the private room can see me turn beet red.
So much for playing it cool and detached. I was hoping to hide how I felt about Nikolaj in front of my mom and Diego, but evidently it’s written all over my face now.
“Shall we start with a fine bottle of champagne?” Diego asks.
“Normally I’d agree with you, since nothing rivals a selection from the Champagne region, but in recent years, I’ve come to appreciate a nice bottle of chilled Segura Viudas Brut Vintage,” Nikolaj says. “I see it here featured on the wine menu and since it’s a local sparkling cava, it might be perfect to kick off the night.”
Diego studies Nikolaj like a matador sizes up an angry bull entering an arena before a fight.
Oh, crap. What happened? Things were going so well.
The silence is almost cruel and I’m afraid Nikolaj might have said something to offend Diego, but suddenly the man sitting by my mother’s side smiles like a chess champion who’s been cleverly played by a more formidable adversary. “Ciara, this man is a keeper.”
The next four hours are filled with so much warmth and positive energy, I’m certain we could have melted Iceland’s ice caves.
Nueve Reinas is a little Argentinian treasure in the heart of Barcelona. I know I’m in for a treat when I take a bite of our appetizers. These empanadas put everything else I’ve tasted so far in New York to shame. When I told Diego I was in the mood for a hearty Latin meal, I never imagined it would be this decadent.
We feast on the most succulent steak I’ve ever tasted in my life. Diego insists on us sampling as many meat selections as possible and I must admit, he was right—nothing surpasses a juicy steak prepared by an Argentinian chef. This meal is so spectacular, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if the chef can trace his roots back to the first Gauchos who used to herd cattle all year round in Argentina.
The sommelier’s recommendations for the wine selections are spot on and we all enjoy the type of full-bodied red wines critics rave about. The desserts leave all of us stumped. It’s impossible to limit it to only one sweet selection, so Diego cuts to the chase and orders every item on the menu. Although I only have one bite of each, I’m so full I could roll back to the hotel like a little barrel.
Diego and Nikolaj get along like long-lost friends and it’s so surprising to see them feed off of each other the way they do. Both men keep my mother and I in stitches all night long with their hilarious sense of humor.
Nothing is sexier in a man than his ability to make me laugh.
We’re enjoying a carefree evening of celebrations until the owner, an old friend of Diego’s, points out we are the last group of happy patrons in the restaurant and unless we want to help with the dishes, we need to find another place to continue our little late-night fiesta. We’re having so much fun I’m pretty sure we would have accepted his offer, but it’s getting late and it’s high time to put an end to the festivities.
We titter like teenagers all the way to the front of the restaurant where we say our goodbyes before Nikolaj and I hop in the back of our cab. As we’re getting ready to
ride back to the hotel, Diego knocks on the window, gesturing to roll it down so he can tell me something. To my surprise he looks right past me to the hunk sitting next to me.
“Nikolaj, I’m new at this with Ciara. A man doesn’t all of a sudden father a grown woman like her when he’s been on the sidelines for her entire life. I’m sure she must have explained what transpired today.”
“Yes, she did, Diego.”
“She’s my only daughter. I have three younger adult sons, but I prayed to never have another girl because I already had her and God listened.”
Where is he going with this? Isn’t it a little late for us to go over his family tree?
“Diego, let them go to bed. It’s late and we’ve all had too much to drink. You can share your thoughts with them tomorrow.” My mother is pulling at his sleeve, but he only ends up wrapping his arm around her shoulders, forcing her to peer with him into the cab. They’re looking at us like tourists admiring the tropical fish dancing inside the Marine Habitat aquarium at the Atlantis Paradise hotel in Bahamas.
“Let me continue what I was sharing before my sexy girlfriend here interrupted me.” Diego winks. “My daughter is an extraordinary woman and I hope you’re fully aware of how special she is to me.”
My God, Diego doesn’t believe in skirting any issues. He speaks his mind without hesitation and I now know who I get this boldness from. Emilio would never have dared to ask such a direct question to a guy even if I had been seeing him for two years. He simply wouldn’t go there.
Nikolaj grabs my hand and brings it to his lips. “Diego, I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m sure you can appreciate I’m a extraordinarily busy man and if she wasn’t worth it, I wouldn’t have dropped everything to fly across the planet in the middle of the night to be with her here in Barcelona.”
“I’m glad to know we see eye to eye on this important matter.” Diego nods in approval. “It’s getting late. You kids should go now and I need to take my supermodel girlfriend home and tuck her in bed.” Diego taps on the side of the cab to end the conversation and I turn around to peer out the back window as we head back to our hotel. The man I now know as my dad is embracing my mom and both of them are waving enthusiastically at me and blowing goodbye kisses.
BOOK 3—BROKEN
Chapter Four
“You people party like rock stars.” Nikolaj chuckles, closing the hotel door behind him.
“I’ve always known I can party hard, but usually my mom tends to go to bed early. As for Diego, the man has boundless energy and I’m pretty sure he would have helped the staff clean up the entire restaurant while dancing to the rhythm of the latest salsa hit.” I throw my handbag on the couch, peel out of my leather jacket and remove my biker boots.
“You were on my mind since you left this morning, love,” Nikolaj confesses, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me closer to his warm body.
“Really? You were thinking of me or you were wondering if I had strangled Diego?”
“A little bit of both.”
“I’ll never be able to forget this day. I didn’t know what to expect. I’ll be honest, I went in there ready to butt heads with the man and I was determined to refuse to accept any of his claims, but when I saw how he couldn’t take his eyes off of my mom, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. It took me only a few minutes to understand he made her happier than my dad Emilio ever did.”
“It must be confusing for you.”
“It is. I still don’t know what to call Diego. Mom kept reassuring me I don’t have to rush into anything and Diego reiterated the same message. I guess they know this is a lot to handle and they don’t want these sudden changes to overwhelm me.”
“I’ve never met Emilio, but you’re Diego’s spitting image. It’s unsettling how your mannerisms are alike.”
“Yeah. I know,” I say, resting my forehead against Nikolaj’s chest. “I couldn’t keep lying to myself.”
“You got a lot of clarity and I believe it’s important for you in terms of helping you move forward.”
“It was hard to read the name of my real father on my birth certificate and still think they were trying to dupe me. Not to mention their love story is textbook fairytale romance.”
“I have to agree with you, if you were to do a Google search for lovebirds their photo would pop up at the top of the results. At one moment during the evening it was as if they had forgotten we were sitting across from them, they were so into each other.”
“They were the same way throughout our discussion at Diego’s office.”
“I think it’s quite endearing he never stopped loving her even though your mom refused to leave your other dad—it couldn’t have been easy for her. I admire her for being willing to put duty before love.”
“I hear you. She’s never seemed happier in her life than she did today and I think it’s because she’s finally able to be with the man she’s always loved.” It’s still weird to know I’m the product of a torrid love affair between two people who never thought they’d get caught.
“Thank you, Ciara,” Nikolaj says warmly.
“Thank you for what?”
“For allowing me to share this incredible evening with you.”
“I had no choice.” I roll my eyes, feigning that I don’t care. “Diego forced me to call you and invite you. He claimed it would have been quite impolite to let you have dinner alone and ‘in Spain, we don’t treat guests in such callous fashion.’” We both laugh. “Diego loves pulling his infamous ‘in Spain’ line when it suits him.”
“Perhaps, but you could have come up with a number of excuses to convince him it would have been a bad idea to have me there, but you didn’t.”
“My mom was also pushing me to call you.” I’m trying to wiggle out of admitting how much I wanted him there tonight.
“First Diego and now your mom. So you didn’t want me there at all. They twisted your arm until you had no other choice but to call me. Did I get it right? Poor Ciara, your parents sound like horrible people.”
Is he being sarcastic? “They are. They can be so demanding. I’m sure they’ve broken at least a dozen parenting laws in their conduct.”
“So you didn’t want me there? You didn’t miss me half as much as I missed you?”
Oh, I missed you all right. I’m just not ready to admit it. “It was an emotional day for me today, Nikolaj, and I was so preoccupied by my family drama. I’m sure you found a way to occupy your thoughts which didn’t involve me.” I ignore his questions.
He sizes me up with a heavy stare. “Very well. I see where this is going.” His mood has turned somber and his electric-blue eyes have turned grey. He pulls himself away from me, turns on his heel and heads for the door.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I’m running down to the lobby to see if they have an additional room I can have for the night. I’ll have the staff come up and fetch my things in a few minutes.”
“Why do you need another one? What’s wrong with this one?” I ask at a higher pitch than normal.
“There’s nothing wrong with this room and we both know it.” He flashes me a look before shaking his head. “Ciara, you’re not willing to let me in and I thought tonight might have been a turning point for us.”
Did I hurt him? “I don’t know what you mean,” I lie in an effort to buy myself some time to figure out how to smooth things out.
He approaches me slowly with his hands tucked inside his pockets like a man assessing his options. The silence is deafening.
There’ve been too many revelations already today. I don’t know if I can handle more.
“I didn’t come all the way here just to fuck you. I didn’t need to travel this far to get laid, you know. A man doesn’t drop everything in his life for a pussy—I don’t care how sweet it is.”
Does he have to be so crude?
“You do realize since you left Toronto, I haven’t been able to sleep with another woman. Heck, it’s as if
all other women on the planet have disappeared—there’s only you, love. I pride myself on being a notorious bachelor, but the second I saw you walk into the Four Seasons bar, everything changed. You had me the minute you tossed back your cascade of beautiful hair and crossed those long legs of yours. It was like watching a commercial. My jaw dropped and I knew I was going to do whatever it took to get to know you before you got off the stool you were sitting on.”
“Oh… I… It’s…”
Shit, I can’t believe what he said. How do I respond to such a confession?
“Love, are you speechless again?” he asks with a calculated grin.
Fuck, he keeps pushing me and I don’t know if I can allow myself go there with him. I like him a lot, but I don’t want things to mess me up.
“Nikolaj, what do you want from me?” I finally blurt out. My heart is beating like a jackhammer on a construction site and I can hardly hear myself think.
“I came here because you’re like no other woman I’ve ever met. After you left so abruptly, I spent so many hours on the phone lamenting to my best friend Martin how much I was dying to see you again. I was calling him at all hours of the day, which annoyed the heck out of him since I was in Japan and he was back home in Copenhagen. After a number of ridiculously early-morning calls, he gave me an ultimatum. He asked me to shut up about the sexy American siren I had fallen for or fuel up my expensive jet and go tell her in person.”
I open my mouth, ready to respond with a smart remark, but nothing comes out.
What did he say?
“I’ll grab my stuff and go since you don’t have anything more to add.”
Fuck, he’s really going to walk out the door. “Please don’t go, Nikolaj.”
“What’s his name?” Nikolaj asks without turning around to face me.
“What do you mean?”
“Who’s the guy who made it impossible for you to believe not all men are jerks?”
His question slaps me across the face. “It’s complicated, Nikolaj.” I’m so pissed off by his question.
Broken Page 4
