8. Emily

Chapter 8

Emily

I'm sitting at the kitchen counter, savoring the best cup of coffee I've ever had when Alejandro walks in carrying a tray with two covered dishes.

"Good morning, mi vida ." He sets the tray down. "Did you sleep well?"

"Like a dream."

"Good." He kisses the top of my head. "I hope you are hungry."

"Ravenous." My stomach growls to prove my point.

"Would you like to go to La Malvarrosa Beach in Valencia today?"

"Yes! I would love that."

"Perfect. First, we eat."

He removes one of the covered dishes and sets it in front of me. I lift the lid, shocked at what's on the plate – pancakes shaped in a large A and E, decorated with crowns of powdered sugar and heart-shaped pads of butter. There's also a small scroll tied with a red ribbon sitting on the edge of the plate.

"Open it," he nudges.

I untie the ribbon, roll out the parchment, and can't believe my eyes. "This is a wedding invitation."

"It is. It is our wedding invitation." Alejandro sits down beside me and takes the lid off his dish. "Everyone in the hotel is being served this exact dish right now."

"Everyone?" My eyes pop.

"Everyone."

"Joshua and Peaches, too?"

"There's are much bigger." He grins.

I can't help smiling. "Isn't that cruel?"

"No, my Emily. It is karma."

"I really like you." I pick up my fork and cut a chunk from the E. "Now it's my turn to feed you."

Alejandro snatches the pancake off the fork with his mouth and growls. "Your wolf is grateful."

"My wolf is amazing." Startled by my own words, my face burns brighter than a hot coal.

"Do not be nervous around me, mi vida . I like it when you speak from your heart."

I swirl the pad of butter across the top of the pancake. "Everything with you is so easy. So natural. I feel like I've known you forever. I worry I'm going to wake up and realize that this was all some sort of crazy dream."

Alejandro reaches over and pinches my arm.

"Ow! That hurt!"

"Then you are not dreaming." He winks.

I glance down at my half-eaten pancake. "I don't know how you pulled this off, or how you even came up with this crazy idea. It's unbelievable. I love it. But at the same time, I'm worried that maybe we've taken this too far. Maybe the amazing fake proposal was enough."

"Do you wish for this to stop? Say the word, mi vida , and it is done. But before you decide, I would ask you to think of this: the man who was supposed to protect you, to guard you…did not. Instead of treating you as the jewel you are, he tossed you aside. He disregarded your feelings. But most of all, he neglected your heart, mi vida . He is not a man."

I watch with utter fascination the way Alejandro's brows furrow and his jaw clamps down tight. He is defending my honor, but I'm not innocent.

"To be honest, Alejandro, I own some of what happened, too."

His full lips thin into a straight line as he cocks his head to the side. "How?"

"I wasn't in love with Joshua. I said yes because, well, the truth is…I just didn't know how to say no."

"I see." His face softens. "He is still no man, mi vida . A true man never cheats. He never hides. And he does not steal. The hotel room he is staying in belonged to you."

"You're right." My gaze shifts to the floor. "This is going to sound crazy…"

"Nothing you say is crazy, mi vida ."

"I'm glad he cheated. I'm glad he left me. I'm grateful he stole my hotel room." I let out a long exhale, slowly lift my head, and stare my wolf in the eyes. "Because it all led me to you."

Alejandro yanks me off the stool and kisses me. A growl rumbles through his chest, sending my heart flying. His hand wraps around my jaw, stroking the sensitive spot behind my ear. My lips part and his tongue slips inside. Gliding. Teasing. When we finally came up for air, I'm grinning like a drunken fool.

"I've never been kissed like that before." I tip my head back. "Thank you."

"The pleasure is all mine, mi vida . I have more for you." He brushes his thumb across my mouth.

I lean in, ready for another, when his phone shimmies across the countertop. He snatches it up and then flashes me a wolfish grin. "But it will have to wait. Our ride is here."

"Our ride?"

" Sí. Remember, we are going to the beach."

"Can't we be late?" I bat my eyelashes. I want another one of those kisses.

His laugh is deep and rich. "We could cancel. However, I wish to give this day to you. Come. You will like this."

He threads his fingers through mine, dragging me to the elevator. "But I didn't pack a bag," I whine.

"I have one for you."

Of course, he does.

When we climb into the elevator, he takes out a card and swipes it through a slot.

"Wait. I think you did it wrong. We're going up, not down."

"I know." He kisses the tip of my nose.

The doors slide open and we step onto the roof.

"Oh, my. That's a helicopter," I mumble. "We're going to the beach in a helicopter?"

"We are." He squeezes my hand. "You shall see Madrid from the sky, too."

"I don't know what to say… This must be costing you a fortune."

"Money is for spending, mi vida ." Alejandro opens the helicopter door. "Up you go."

He buckles me into my seat, puts headphones over my ears, and then slides a pair of sunglasses onto my face.

"Have you ever taken a ride in a helicopter, mi vida ?"

"Never."

He slides on his headphones, followed by a pair of sunglasses that match mine. "Good. I give to you another first."

With his hand firmly wrapped around my knee, the engine roars to life. The whomp, whomp, whomp of the blades sends adrenaline rushing through my veins. Alejandro gives a thumbs-up to the pilot. My stomach does a big dip as we leave the ground.

And then…we are flying.

Floating through the air with an incredible view of the city below.

"This is a dream." I lean into his shoulder while we soar over the clouds. "Don't pinch me again. Because I don't ever want to wake up."