The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman (free sample)

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COPYRIGHT
The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman by Katherine Garbera. Copyright 2008 by Katherine Garbera.
All Rights Reserved. Sharing not permitted.

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THE SPANISH ARISTOCRAT'S WOMAN

Katherine Garbera

This book is dedicated to the friends who have helped me through the last year. I didn't realize until my world was crumbling how stalwart your friendship was. So big thanks and much love to Rob, Eve, Beverly, Janet, Lenora, Denise and Franny.


ONE

It was being billed as the wedding of the year--the union of Manhattan's most romantic couple. And as far as Kara deMontaine could see, the media was right on the money with this one. She stood in the back of the packed Saint Patrick's Cathedral surrounded by society's elite. This was her world, her circle. And yet, she felt totally alone as she waited to be escorted down the aisle to her seat.

The unexpected wedding of publishing magnate Tristan Sabina had turned into the event of the spring season. She wished she could look at it as just another party, but she was almost thirty and still single. So every wedding she attended was turning into a trial, a kind of endurance event that made her realize she was probably never going to be a bride. She tried to shake off the melancholy that seemed to wrap around her like an Hermès silk scarf. But she couldn't.

It had nothing to do with Sheri Donnelly, the bride. Kara knew little about her, but she had heard that Sheri was very sweet. She'd also heard a firsthand account from her older sister, Rina, that Sheri's dress was one-of-a-kind exquisite.

Kara felt a longing that she'd been unable to shake lately. That longing to wear a white dress. To see her groom, standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her. To walk through a church filled with onlookers all envious of her, because on this one day she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

She felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she remembered lying in bed with her mother on lazy Sunday mornings and talking about her dream wedding. Rina always curled up on the right side and Kara on the left in her parents' king-sized bed. Back then she hadn't realized that she wasn't a fairy-tale princess. Hadn't realized that being almost six feet tall and big boned would make most men a little hesitant around her.

She closed her eyes and heard the sweet, soft voice of her mother as nothing more than a dream. Alisha deMontaine had died when Kara was sixteen, just before she was to make her rounds as a debutante. Rina had made her debut a year earlier.

Rina and Kara were as opposite as two women could be. Where Rina was petite, thin and revered for her beauty, Kara was tall, a bit on the solid side and known for her charitable work.

Kara sniffed and blinked rapidly, knowing that, while it was okay to cry when the bride appeared, sobbing before the event started would be a major faux pas.

A hand fell on her shoulder and a snowy white handkerchief appeared in front of her eyes. The hand holding it was tanned, masculine and very large.

"A wedding day is a day of joy," the man said in a deep, strong voice with a thick Spanish accent.

She glanced up into hazel eyes. He was stunningly handsome and staring at her with concentration. He was also taller than her, which made him about six-two or six-three. She cleared her throat and quickly wiped her eyes. "Tears of joy."

He quirked one eyebrow at her. And there was something arrogant in the way he did it. "I know women."

No doubt. He exuded a blatant sexuality that probably drew more women to his side than he wanted. Then again, he looked as though he was more than able to handle any situation, even a flock of women descending on him. Okay, she was getting a little hysterical. She took a deep breath. Poise was something she was known for. It was time to find it. Time to get control.

"You might know women," she said, "but you don't know me."

He nodded. "Let's change that. I am Count Guillermo de Cuaron y Bautista de la Cruz. And you are?"

She knew who he was. He was in the tabloids all the time for his escapades around the world. And Rina traveled on the outskirts of his circle of friends.