She was about to switch off the bedside lamp when the door suddenly opened and he walked in. Lauren’s eyes flew to his face, and then to the bouquet of red roses he was holding. Her heart skittered in her chest.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured, when he silently handed the flowers to her. She buried her face in the velvety blooms and inhaled their exquisite fragrance. ‘They’re beautiful.’
She wished he would stop looking at her with that curious, unfathomable expression in his eyes and say something. But when he did finally speak his words evoked a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
‘I need to discuss something with you.’
‘I see.’ She had hoped the roses were a peace offering, but maybe they were a prelude to him announcing that he was no longer prepared to try and make their marriage work.
He sat down on the bed, and her senses instantly flared when she breathed in the evocative scent of his cologne.
‘I’ve been to Bilbao.’
She frowned. ‘I thought you went to Madrid?’
‘I did. I flew up to Bilbao this afternoon, instead of coming straight home.’ Ramon suddenly smiled, the golden warmth of his sherry-brown eyes easing a little of Lauren’s tension. ‘I have some information that I think you’ll find interesting.’ He opened his briefcase and took out a booklet. ‘This is the prospectus for the university in Bilbao. As I understand it you studied a different system of law to the system we have in Spain?’
Lauren nodded, confused as to where their conversation was leading. ‘The UK follows the case law system, while Spain and most other European countries follow the continental system. The two are significantly different.’
‘But you could study for a Spanish law degree at the university—perhaps on a part-time basis while Mateo is a baby. Once you qualify and he starts school I thought you could join the legal department of Velaquez Conglomerates, or look for a position with a Spanish law firm—whatever you prefer,’ he said quietly, when Lauren stared at him in stunned silence.
‘I don’t understand. You were so against me going back to work,’ she said faintly, trying to suppress a little spurt of excitement as she flicked through the university brochure.
‘I want you to be happy,’ Ramon said simply. It had taken two miserable days and nights away from her to acknowledge that Lauren’s happiness was important to him.
Lauren bit her lip. ‘It’s a wonderful idea, and when Matty is a bit older I’ll certainly consider it. But even studying part-time would mean leaving him for two or three days a week, and although Cathy is a great nanny—
‘He won’t be with Cathy,’ Ramon interrupted her. ‘I will look after him on the days that you are at university. I’ve already arranged for chief executives to take over many of my responsibilities at Velaquez Conglomerates. I’ve decided to take a back seat role in the company while Mateo is young. I will need to continue with my duties in running the estate, but I can arrange my work around your studies.’
He paused, his brows drawing together when he saw the shimmer of tears in her eyes. ‘What’s the matter, querida? I thought a modern-thinking woman like you would welcome the idea of sharing the care of our child equally?’
‘I do,’ she assured him. ‘It’s just that you’ve taken me by surprise. I didn’t expect you to understand how I felt,’ she added huskily.
Her smile tugged on Ramon’s insides. ‘You should expect it,’ he said seriously. ‘You are my wife, and it is my duty to try and make you happy.’
Lauren’s heart sank a little at the word duty. She didn’t want to be another of his responsibilities. It would be so much nicer if he wanted to make her happy because she was important to him, she thought, unaware of the faintly wistful expression in her eyes.
Ramon began to undo his shirt buttons, revealing his muscular chest, the golden satiny skin covered with a mass of fine dark hairs that arrowed down over his flat abdomen. Lauren’s heart-rate quickened when he leaned close to her and slid his hand beneath her chin.
‘I want our marriage to work, querida.’ He paused for a heartbeat, and then added deeply, ‘Not only for Mateo’s sake. And to that end I am prepared to do whatever it takes.’
The first brush of his mouth over hers was nectar after two days without him, and she responded eagerly—like someone who had been lost in the desert and had suddenly discovered an oasis. She sighed with pleasure when he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth and exploring her with a sensual mastery that made her tremble.
He grinned as he stood up and removed the rest of his clothes with flattering speed. ‘Anyway, I rather like the prospect of being a house-husband.’
Lauren’s lips twitched at the idea of her macho husband transformed into a tamed pussy-cat. Her heart lifted. He might not love her, but he cared about her enough to want her to be happy, and that was more than she had ever dared hope for.
‘You know that housewives are meant to be domestic goddesses in the kitchen and temptresses in the bedroom?’ she murmured as she pulled him down on top of her. ‘How does that work for house-husbands?’
‘I’ve never been near a kitchen in my life,’ Ramon confessed shamelessly, drawing the straps of her nightgown down her arms until her breasts spilled into his hands. ‘But I’m a god in the bedroom, querida,’ he promised, and proceeded to live up to his claim.
Was it tempting fate to think that life couldn’t get more perfect? Lauren wondered a few weeks later, as she carried Matty up the steps of the swimming pool and wrapped a towel around his wet, wriggling body. Not that he needed a towel in the glorious Spanish sunshine that shone every day from a cloudless blue sky. But he did need sunscreen and a hat, she told him as she set him on his feet. He immediately toddled off across the grass, laughing gleefully when she gave chase.
The pool was set amid beautiful gardens, where the scent of jasmine and bougainvillaea filled the air. All around the castle stood the peaks of the Cantabrian Mountains, lush and green at their base, rising to silvery-grey bare rock towards the summits. Ramon was a keen hiker—yet another facet about him that Lauren had recently discovered—and with Matty secured in a baby carrier on his father’s shoulders they went walking in the picturesque countryside most weekends.
Lauren was making the most of the summer, and treasured spending every day with Matty, but she was looking forward to starting her studies for a Spanish law degree in September. Ramon had driven her to Bilbao for her interview at the university, and afterwards they had spent a magical afternoon at the Guggenheim, world-famous for its collection of contemporary art. Then he had taken her to an exclusive five-star hotel, where they had enjoyed an even more magical night.
It was becoming harder and harder to hide her feelings for Ramon, she mused as she carried Matty back into the castle for his afternoon nap. ‘At least I can tell you how much I love you,’ she murmured to the tired little boy. He gave her a cheeky grin that as ever stole her heart, and she dropped a kiss on his cheek before tiptoeing out of the nursery.
The sound of Ramon’s mobile phone greeted her when she walked into their bedroom. She frowned, realising that he must have left it behind, and after a moment’s hesitation answered it. She explained to his
