Her Little Spanish Secret. Laura Iding
pale skin blanched even more, and his gut clenched when he noted the tears shimmering in her bright green eyes. They reminded him, too much, about the night they’d shared. An intense, intimate, magical night that had ended abruptly with his brother’s phone call about their father. She’d cried for him when he’d been unable to cry for himself.
“When can she be transported back to the United States?” she asked.
The instinctive protest at the thought of her leaving surprised him. What was wrong with him? He wrestled his emotions under control. “Not until I’m convinced her neurological status has truly stabilized,” he reluctantly admitted.
Katerina nodded, as if she’d expected that response. “Are you my sister’s doctor? Or just one of the doctors here who happen to speak English?” she asked. Her gaze avoided his, staying at the level of his chest.
“Yes, I’m your sister’s doctor. As you know, I’m a surgeon who does both general and trauma surgery cases.”
“Do any of the nurses speak English?”
Seville didn’t have the same tourist draw as Madrid or Barcelona, which meant not as many of the locals spoke English. Miguel had originally learned English from his American mother, who’d taught him before she’d died. He’d learned even more English during his time at the University of Madrid. In fact, he’d earned the opportunity to live and study medicine in the U.S. at Harvard University.
There he’d ultimately become a doctor. And met Katerina. He dragged his thoughts out of the past. “No, the nurses don’t speak much English, I’m afraid.”
She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, as if she had a pounding headache. Once again he found himself on the verge of offering comfort. But he didn’t dare, no matter how much he wanted to.
“I would appreciate periodic updates on my sister’s condition whenever you have time to spare from the rest of your patients,” she said finally.
The way she turned her back on him, as if to dismiss him, made him scowl. He wanted to demand she look at him, talk to him, but of course there wasn’t time. Glancing at his watch only confirmed he was already late for his scheduled surgery. “I’d be happy to give you an update later today, if you have time at, say, four o’clock?” He purposefully gave her the same time he normally ate a late lunch, right after siesta.
She spun around to face him. “But—” She stopped herself and then abruptly nodded. “Of course. Four o’clock would be fine.”
He understood she’d only agreed to see him so that she could get updates on her sister, but that didn’t stop him from being glad he’d gotten his way on this. “I look forward to seeing you later, then, Katerina,” he said softly.
He could barely hide the thrill of anticipation racing through him, knowing he’d see her again soon, as he hurried down to the operating room.
CHAPTER TWO
“SO WHAT do you think? Do I really need to tell Miguel about Tommy?” Kat asked, after she’d caught up with Diana and Tommy at the park located right across the street from their hotel. The park was next to a school and seeing all the kids in their navy blue and white uniforms playing on the playground wasn’t so different from the preschool Tommy attended back in the U.S.
“I don’t think you should do anything yet,” Diana advised. “I mean, what do we know about the custody laws in Spain? What if Miguel has the right to take Tommy away from you?”
The very thought made her feel sick to her stomach. “Tommy is a U.S. citizen,” she pointed out, striving for logic. “That has to count for something.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I don’t think you should say anything until we know what we’re dealing with. Miguel is a big important doctor at the largest hospital here. Maybe he has connections, friends in high places? I think you need to understand exactly what you’re dealing with if you tell him.”
Kat sighed, and rubbed her temples, trying to ease the ache. Lack of sleep, worry over Juliet and now seeing Miguel again had all combined into one giant, pounding headache. “And how are we going to find out the child custody laws here? Neither one of us can speak Spanish, so it’s not like we can just look up the information on the internet.”
“We could check with the American Embassy,” Diana said stubbornly.
“I suppose. Except that seems like a lot of work when I’m not even sure Miguel will bother to fight me for Tommy. During our night together he told me his dream was to join Doctors Without Borders. He made it clear he wanted the freedom to travel, not settling down in one place.”
“Except here he is in Seville four and a half years later,” Diana pointed out reasonably. “Maybe he’s changed his mind about his dream?”
“Maybe.” She couldn’t argue Diana’s point. She still found it hard to wrap her mind around the fact that Miguel was here, in Seville. She’d stayed with her sister for another hour or so after he’d left, slightly reassured that Juliet’s condition was indeed stable, before she’d come back to the hotel to unpack her things. Seeing Miguel had made her suddenly anxious to find her son.
Tommy was having a great time running around in the park, chasing butterflies. As she watched him, the physical similarities seemed even more acute. She realized the minute Miguel saw Tommy, he’d know the truth without even needing to be told.
Although Miguel wouldn’t have to see him, a tiny voice in the back of her mind reminded her. Tommy could stay here with Diana and in a couple of days hopefully Juliet would be stable enough to be sent back to the U.S. Miguel didn’t need to know anything about their son.
As soon as the thought formed, she felt a sense of shame. Keeping Tommy’s presence a secret would be taking the coward’s way out. Diana was worried about the Spanish custody laws, but Kat had other reasons for not wanting to tell Miguel about Tommy. Being intimate with Miguel had touched her in a way she hadn’t expected. When she’d discovered she was pregnant, she’d been torn between feeling worried at how she’d manage all alone to secretly thrilled to have a part of Miguel growing inside her.
She knew he hadn’t felt the same way about her. Men had sex with women all the time, and lust certainly wasn’t love. She knew better than to get emotionally involved. In her experience men didn’t remain faithful or stick around for the long haul. Especially when there was the responsibility of raising children. Her father and Juliet’s father had proven that fact.
She gave Miguel credit for being upfront and honest about his inability to stay. He hadn’t lied to her, hadn’t told her what he’d thought she’d wanted to hear. It was her fault for not doing a better job of protecting her heart.
Telling Miguel about Tommy opened up the possibility that she’d have to see Miguel on a regular basis. If they were raising a child together, there would be no way to avoid him. She would have to hide her true feelings every time they were together.
Unless Miguel still didn’t want the responsibility of a son? There was a part of her that really hoped so, because then he wouldn’t insist on joint custody.
Now she was getting way ahead of herself. Maybe she could tell Miguel about Tommy and reassure him that she didn’t need help, financially or otherwise, to raise her son. She and Tommy would be fine on their own. The way they had been for nearly four years.
“Don’t agonize over this, Kat. You don’t have to tell him this minute, we just got here. Give me a little time to do some research first, okay?”
“I guess,” she agreed doubtfully. Diana was clearly concerned, but she was confident that Tommy had rights as an American citizen. “I won’t do anything right away, although I really think I’m going to have to tell him eventually. I tried to call him when I discovered I was pregnant, even tried to find him on all the popular social media websites. Now that I know he’s here, I need to be honest with him.”
“Then