Stand-In Bride's Seduction

Rina had overheard mutterings of the curse before but still no one had told her exactly what was involved.

“Too late?” she asked. “Tell me, why would it be too late?”

“They are running out of time. They refuse to believe it. Even Reynard.” The old man shook his head slowly before fixing her with a slightly manic stare. “But you can make it work. You can help break the curse. She will not wait forever.”

“Señor, you mustn’t worry the señorita so,” Javier interrupted before Aston could say anymore. “Thank you, Mees Woodville, you have made our vigil here so much more comfortable for two old men.”

“Pah, old men. Speak for yourself,” Aston said with a chuckle to his manservant.

Rina slowly rose to her feet. She wouldn’t hear any more from Abuelo about the curse today, and now with Benedict’s improvement and the promise he’d be out of intensive care in the next day or two, she knew they probably didn’t need her here quite as much as they had. She was happy for Benedict—happy for all the del Castillo family—but suddenly it made facing reality just that much harder.

After the doctor had left and everyone had agreed to head to their respective homes for a break before taking shifts to return in the evening, Rina went up to Rey and lightly touched him on the arm.

“I’ll go back to the cottage now. See you later, perhaps?”

“Let me drive you home,” Reynard said smoothly, coming forward to take her by the hand.

“No, that’s okay, I’m used to taking the taxi.”

“And you shouldn’t be. You’re my fiancée and I should have been taking better care of you instead of the other way around. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

“You’re welcome, Rey, but seriously, it’s what I do b—” She faltered before continuing. “It’s what I’d do for anyone in this situation. You needed to keep your focus on Benedict.”

For a minute she thought he’d press her on what she’d been about to say before she’d corrected herself, but thankfully he didn’t. Instead, they made their goodbyes to the family and Javier before Rey led her out into the corridor, his fingers still lightly clasping her hand.

The contact sent a steady buzz of warmth up her arm. She still couldn’t quite get used to this intensity of reaction every time he touched her. It wasn’t normal, she was sure. Even with Jacob, whom she’d loved—still loved, she reminded herself sharply—she hadn’t felt this tingling sense of attraction every single time their skin met.

The drive back to the cottage went swiftly. It was as if now that the pressure of worrying if Benedict would live or die had passed, Rey was in an all-fired hurry to resume his normal life. As they pulled up outside the cottage, Rina turned to him to thank him for the ride home but he was already getting out of the car and coming around to her door to open it for her.

“Thank you,” she said, as he held the door and offered his hand to help her.

As he did, she noticed his eyes narrow, and his thumb stroked along her ring finger, particularly across the slightly paler band of skin there.

“Where is your ring?” he asked. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Oh hell, she thought frantically. She hadn’t stopped to think about the envelope Sara had given her on the day she’d arrived, or its obscenely valuable contents.

“I…I, um, I took it off the other night when I came back. I didn’t want to get it dirty when I did the dishes and with everything that’s been going on, I forgot to put it back on.”

She fished in her bag and took out the key to the cottage, before swiftly inserting it in the ancient lock and pushing the door open. A few short steps took her to the table where she’d left Sara’s envelope. She cursed herself for her stupidity. Rey could have seen it at any time and wondered what it was there for, and who this “Rina Woodville” was that it had been addressed to. And what if he’d read Sara’s note?

She tipped the envelope and the ostentatious diamond solitaire fell into her hand. She slid the ring onto her finger, the cool metal a chilling brand against her skin and a reminder of the lie she’d agreed to perpetuate.