5. Alejandro

Chapter 5

Alejandro

One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my father was the importance of restraint when it comes to my emotions…especially the negative ones. It's the only reason I'm holding Emily in my arms and not flying across the café to punch her idiotic ex in the face for causing her pain.

I intend to kiss her hard. To claim her in front of everyone. But when my lips touch hers, time stands still. Every inch of me softens. The noise vanishes. My anger fades away, until there's only me and my Emily. With a tenderness I didn't know I was capable of, my mouth caresses hers in a solemn vow. No one will ever hurt her again. Possessiveness surges through my body until it settles in my bones.

She is mine.

And I'm now forever hers.

She pulls back and looks up at me with sparkling eyes. My heart races as she tilts her head to study me. She feels it, too. I'm one hundred percent certain of that.

The soft, sweet scent of her perfume surrounds me in a cloud as I sink to one knee and remove the velvet box from inside my pocket.

"You are the woman I want at my side for an eternity. Trust me with your heart, and I will protect it for a lifetime. With you in my life, mi vida , the sun will always shine. Will you marry me?"

A gasp escapes her as I hold the ring up for her to see.

"It's beautiful." A tear rolls down her cheek. "Yes," she murmurs. "Yes, I will marry you."

As if this moment is actually mine, joy fills my body. I burst to my feet and crush my mouth to hers. This all started as a ruse, a way to get her to stay with me so I could learn more about her. However, in the span of a few short hours, my conviction has cemented. Without a shadow of a doubt, her sister, Janie, was right. Destiny has brought us together.

Finally, I understand the fathomless pain my father had experienced at the loss of my mother. If my Emily left me now, there would be a gaping wound in the center of my chest. And I would find it hard to let anything, or anyone, close to me again.

Nothing is going to stop me from making her mine.

Nothing.

The thunder of my heart echoes in my ears, melding with the booming applause, stomping feet, and cries of congratulations. I scoop her into my arms and twirl her in a circle until I find the only two people not clapping.

Joshua and Peaches.

Standing directly in Joshua's line of sight and grinning from ear to ear, I put Emily down, slide the ring on her finger, and tuck her into my side. "Would you marry me this Friday?"

"Yes." She beams.

"Perfect." I lock eyes with Joshua and give him a lethal alpha glare.

"How did you get a ring that was in my size?" Emily whispers. "And the stone, it's huge! If I didn't know any better, I would think it was real."

"It is, mi vida . Only the best for my bride."

"Wow. You really know how to put on one heck of a show, Mr. Alejandro Garcia. It felt so real that I actually cried." She holds out her hand. "Look at how the stone glitters. It's going to be hard to give it back."

Before I can tell her that I would never allow her to return it, Peaches rushes over with a very unhappy Joshua on her heels. She is a tall, stick-thin brunette with far too many Botox injections, enormous, fake breasts, and absolutely no hips. What Joshua sees in her compared to the dazzling creature at my side is a mystery.

"Oh, my God! Emily Taylor! I can't believe you're here at the same time we are! We are so happy for you. Aren't we, Tater Tot?"

I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Tater Tot? Emily wraps her arm around my waist, holding me tight. "Alejandro, meet Peaches and Joshua. My ex-fiancé and his new bride. They're the ones that stole my hotel room."

"Now wait a minute." Peaches pouts. "We didn't steal anything."

"Umm, you did." Emily's face breaks out in a smile. "But it's okay. We're staying in the penthouse now."

"You're not staying in the penthouse." Joshua scowls. "You don't have that kind of money."

"Yes, she does." I kiss the top of her head. "We share everything. Isn't that right, mi vida ?"

"Yes. Everything." Emily stretches onto her tip-toes to press a kiss to my cheek. "I think it's time for us to go upstairs, mi rey ."

I remain stoic, unsure if she is aware of what she just called me. I hope she does because her words make me stand a little taller and have my chest puffing out a few inches.

"Oh, brother. Aren't you laying it on a little thick, Em? Your king?" Joshua rolls his eyes.

"Says the man called Tater Tot." Emily giggles.

Joshua shoots Emily a glare that has me ready to shove his eyeballs straight into his feet. Feeling the weight of my stare, his gaze slowly shifts my way. He examines me for a few seconds before grabbing Peaches by the hand. "Come on, babe. Let's go dancing."

"Alright." Peaches waves as Joshua drags her off. "Congratulations!" she shouts.

"We'll send you an invitation to the wedding," I call out.

With Emily's arm around me and my arm around her, we stay put until they're gone. Ready for her to pull away, I'm pleasantly surprised when she doesn't let me go.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"For what, mi vida ?"

She shifts and looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "Even though I know none of this is real, you've given me the best night of my life."

Speechless and fighting tears of my own, I stroke the side of her face and fall head over heels in love.