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  Rodriquez shot him a look of disgust. “Shut up, old man. You have your own problems to worry about.” He took a seat beside Rebecca and gathered her hands in his. “Don’t look so tragic, muñequita. We’re going to have a perfect life together. We will be a happily married couple and share this estate. I will stamp my own name on the history of the Huntingtons, improve on what your father began. You will fall madly in love with me and be the most beautiful bride anyone has ever seen.”

  She shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. “No. Never.”

  He ignored her, speaking with surprising tenderness. “Can’t you picture it, my sweet? We will start our own dynasty, one to rival all others in Maverick County. People will see how we live and envy us. Envy all that I have managed to acquire. Me, a poor nobody from the barrio, now the richest, most powerful man in the county.” His hand settled low on her stomach, splaying across her abdomen in a possessive gesture. “In time, you will grow heavy with the first of our many children. Children who will go to the finest schools and have friends among the most elite in Somerset.”

  Before she could tell him just what she thought of his insane dream, someone cleared his throat. Jerking free of Rodriquez’s hold, she saw Alex standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. Her heart leaped at the sight, while her stomach twisted into knots. She’d known by calling Kate that she risked Alex storming Huntington Manor, but she’d hoped he’d show more sense than to play into Rodriquez’s hands by simply walking right in.

  “Am I interrupting something?” he asked with seeming casualness.

  Rodriquez shot to his feet, his hand darting behind his back where she saw the butt of a sleek, black gun. “What the hell are you doing here, Montoya?” he demanded. His infuriated gaze switched from Alex to Rebecca. “I warned you not to call him. I warned you!”

  She looked him straight in the eye and spoke the God’s honest truth, praying he’d believe her. “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.”

  “You can believe her,” Alex said in a calm voice, drawing the other man’s attention. “I’m only here to deliver the rest of Rebecca’s belongings. We had a…I guess you could call it a falling-out last night. Bottom line is, she quit. Since Her Highness was taking her sweet time getting her backside out of my house, I thought I’d help move her along.”

  “She was leaving you?” A hint of uncertainty threaded through Rodriquez’s voice. “Why would she do that?”

  “Let’s just say she refused to fulfill all her duties as my housekeeper and I got fed up waiting for her to change her mind.”

  To Rebecca’s amazement, Rodriquez bought it, his expression one of sheer elation. “She wouldn’t sleep with you?”

  Alex shrugged, and a hint of irritation drifted across his face. “It happens.”

  “But the rumors around town…”

  “I have my pride, Paulo,” Alex snapped. “People thought what I wanted them to think.”

  “You son of a bitch!” Sebastian burst out. “How dare you ruin my daughter’s reputation?”

  “And how dare you tell everyone we were engaged,” Alex shot back.

  “Enough,” Rodriquez interrupted. His suspicious gaze darted from person to person before swinging back in Alex’s direction. “You’ve delivered Rebecca’s belongings. Feel free to leave, Montoya.”

  “No problem.” Then he hesitated. “Although…”

  “Although what?”

  A deep scowl blossomed on Alex’s face. “I’ve been thinking about what you said when you came to visit me the other day.”

  Rodriquez bristled. “You mean when you tried to take all of this away from me?”

  Alex gave a chagrined shrug. “Foolish, I know. I’ve never been able to beat you at anything. I don’t know why I even bother trying.”

  Clearly mollified, Rodriquez nodded. “It’s time you learned how pointless it is.”

  “You’re right. So, it’s only fair that I—” he grimaced as though the words left a bitter taste in his mouth “—congratulate you for a game well played.”

  Rodriquez smiled. “You never saw it coming, did you, amigo?”

  A hint of admiration gleamed in Alex’s eyes. “You must have had this planned a long time to pull it off so successfully.”

  To Rebecca’s horror, El Gato stiffened. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve planned nothing.”

  Alex crinkled his brow in bewilderment. “What? Oh, I don’t mean…” He gestured toward her father and the papers strewn across the desk. “Whatever you have going on there is none of my business. If I could have figured a way to fleece Huntington with no one being the wiser, I’d have done it myself. No, I’m talking about Rebecca.”

  “The woman?” Rodriquez glanced her way and wet his lips before jerking his attention back to Alex. “I have wanted her for a long time.”

  “I didn’t realize how much or I wouldn’t have interfered.” He advanced into the room, just a single pace, his hands at his sides, his shoulders slightly hunched in defeat. “But you couldn’t take her when she and I first started dating, could you?”

  Rodriquez shrugged. “Not so long as she was with you.” His chin lifted defiantly. “I stuck to the code. You can’t claim otherwise.”

  “True.” Alex’s mouth tightened. “You wouldn’t have taken her from me. But if you could trick us to part ways…”

  “That’s a different story, isn’t it?”

  “So you told everyone that I’d seduced her as part of a bet.”

  “You figured that one out, yes?” Rodriquez’s smile widened in delight. “One of my more clever ideas, I must admit.”

  “But you also knew she’d need a little incentive to fall into your arms. That’s when you hit on your investment scheme. As much as I hate to admit it, it was brilliant.” Alex’s scowl returned. “In fact, I wish I’d thought of it myself.”

  To Rebecca’s relief, aside from a low growl, her father remained silent. She shot him a warning look.

  “As I told you before,” Rodriquez said. “The greedy pig couldn’t get enough. “Even when the investments went under, he came back for more. It was so easy to set up.”

  “Serves him right,” Alex murmured.

  “Exactly! He deserves everything coming to him.” Rodriquez gestured around him. “Soon all his possessions will become mine, including his daughter.”

  “You were right, you know,” Alex admitted. “If I hadn’t been so preoccupied with having Rebecca again, I’d have been on board a lot sooner. Just think of it, Paulo. A pair of hermanos from the barrio owning two of the richest spreads in all of Maverick County. We’ll be members in the same club, rubbing elbows with people who years ago wouldn’t have given us the time of day.”

  “And the woman?” Rodriquez demanded through narrowed eyes. “What of her?”

  Alex grinned. “She’s all yours. You’ve earned her as your reward.”

  Triumph glowed in Rodriquez’s dark eyes. “Yes, I have, haven’t I?”

  “There’s just one thing I don’t get.” He gave a self-deprecating shrug. “I guess my mind just doesn’t work like yours.”

  “It never did.”

  “And never will,” Alex conceded.

  “Tell me what you don’t understand. I will explain it to you,” Rodriquez offered expansively.

  “I just don’t get the arson fires. Why the hell did Huntington have Gentry set them? Were they just a distraction, so all the club members would be at each other’s throats?”

  A flash of anger exploded across Rodriquez’s face and Rebecca went perfectly still, terror creeping up her spine. “You think that cabrón has the intelligence to plan something like that? You insult me!”

  Alex’s eyebrows shot upward in amazement. “You planned the arson fires? You had Gentry set them?” His anger rose to match Rodriquez’s. “You burned down my barn? What the hell for?”

  “To set Huntington up. To give me extra leverage when the time came to close my trap around him.” Paulo a
ttempted to placate his friend. “I apologize, amigo. I wouldn’t have done such a thing to you if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary.”

  Alex steamed for a few seconds before shrugging it off. “I suppose if you can let bygones be bygones, so can I,” he said grudgingly.

  “Agreed.” He wagged a finger in Alex’s direction. “I did not like being at odds with you. Don’t let it happen again.”

  “You’re right. My mistake.” He closed the distance between them and offered his hand. “What do you say we start over.”

  Paulo grinned and gripped Alex’s hand. “I’d like that.”

  The instant the two men connected, Alex’s left hand plowed into Rodriquez’s jaw, the movement so fast it was little more than a blur. El Gato’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped like a stone, out cold. Before Gentry could do more than jerk to attention, Sebastian snatched the burl wood lamp off his desk and smashed it over the top of his ex-foreman’s head. Then he turned to glare at Alex.

  “I hope to hell you’re wearing a wire, Montoya.”

  “That’s Mr. Montoya to you. And yes. I’m wearing a wire.”

  Sebastian’s jaw worked for a moment then to Rebecca’s shock, he nodded. “Mr. Montoya. I’m man enough to admit when I’ve made a mistake. I’ve been wrong about you and wrong in my treatment of you and your family.” He crossed the room and stuck out his hand. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

  Alex hesitated for a split second before taking Sebastian’s hand in a firm shake. Then he turned to Rebecca. For a long moment he simply looked at her. Then he opened his arms. With an inarticulate cry she exploded from the couch and threw herself against him. He held her in a grip that spoke of pain and love and relief, all wrapped up in one.

  “I’m also man enough to admit when I’ve made a mistake,” he whispered against her hair. “I’m sorry, dulzura. I was wrong the other night. About everything.”

  “And the bet? You never had a bet with Rodriguez?”

  “Never.” Tenderness filled his expression. “I could never do such a thing to you.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I should have known. Maybe if I hadn’t been so young and foolish, I would have.”

  Suddenly the room was crowded with people. “You do know you’re still being recorded, right?” Darius Franklin asked drily.

  Alex never took his gaze off Rebecca. “So long as you have Sebastian Huntington’s apology on tape and make me a half dozen copies, I don’t give a damn.”

  And then he lowered his head and kissed her. Kissed her world right. Kissed his way home. Kissed her with all the passion of a man who understood where his heart lay and with whom. When they finally pulled back, it was to discover the room deserted.

  He cupped her face, his thumbs sweeping away tears she hadn’t even realized she’d cried. “I love you, Becca. I have since the moment we first met.”

  “And I love you.” She hesitated, one final cloud casting a shadow on her happiness. “You realize your reputation will be linked with mine and my father’s?”

  “I was a fool,” he said simply. “And I’m more sorry than I can possibly express. I’d be honored to have my name linked with yours and be part of your family.”

  It was all she needed to hear. With a contented sigh, she surrendered to the inevitable…a life with Alex, filled with laughter, passion beyond imagining and a love that would last them for the rest of their lives. “Take me home, Alex.”

  He swept her into his arms, allowing love to wash away the bitterness of the past and provide a pathway toward their future. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Epilogue

  T he small mission church was crowded to capacity, the beautiful stone building decorated for the Christmas Eve wedding ceremony in fresh greenery and red and white roses that combined their perfume with the delicate scent of candle wax. A soft prelude echoed off the walls and rafters as Alicia and Justin’s bridal party made its way down the aisle.

  Cara, in her role as matron of honor, reached the altar just as the sweet herald of the Trumpet Voluntary sounded. And then Alicia appeared, glorious in a fitted ivory gown that swept into a long train. She clung to her brother’s arm, tears glistening from beneath the beautiful lace mantilla-style veil that framed her exquisite features. Beside her, Alex looked more handsome than Rebecca had ever seen him. While all eyes were riveted on his sister, his gaze never wavered from hers.

  Once he’d given away the bride in traditional fashion, he crossed to where Rebecca was seated in the front pew. As the clock edged from Christmas Eve toward Christmas Day, the ceremony proceeded at a stately pace.

  Through it all, Alex held her hand, their fingers interlaced. It couldn’t have been more perfect. While Justin and Alicia exchanged their vows, their love for one another unmistakable, the other couples who’d recently found a love just as deep and enduring exchanged looks of joy and passion. And then it was over. The newly married couple shared a lingering kiss while tears of happiness glistened in the eyes of those who watched.

  Trumpets began the recessional, the familiar strands of Ode to Joy accompanying the bridal party’s departure. While the guests began a general exodus of the church, Alex gathered Rebecca into his arms.

  “It’s been a long, hard road for us, hasn’t it, dulzura?”

  “At times,” she conceded.

  “Maybe because it’s been so hard, it makes this moment so much more meaningful.”

  She smiled and asked, “This moment? Why this moment?”

  “Listen.” Around them the bells tolled the midnight hour. “It’s the first minute of Christmas and my final responsibility to my family has been discharged.” He took her hand in his and slipped a ring onto her finger. “I can’t think of a better time to tell you that I love you more than life itself and to ask if you’ll marry me.”

  A gorgeous diamond solitaire captured the flickering candlelight and threw it outward in rainbow rays of hope. “Oh, Alex.” It took her a moment to gather her self-control enough to respond. “I’ve loved you since the minute I first saw you.”

  His gaze grew tender. “Is that a yes?”

  She answered him with a kiss, a kiss that held all the passion their life together would bring and echoed the love that had filled the church that evening. When she pulled back, the expression in her eyes was beyond anything he’d ever see before.

  “Yes, Alex. It’s definitely a yes.”

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Day Leclaire for her contribution to the Texas Cattleman’s Club: Maverick County Millionaires miniseries.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4458-4

  LONE STAR SEDUCTION

  Copyright © 2009 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Day Leclaire, Lone Star Seduction