The Spanish Aristocrat's Woman by Katherine Garbera

a towel around his waist before going to open it. She stood on the other side, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other hanging by her side.
    She had on more makeup than she normally wore and her dress was incredibly flattering. “You’re gorgeous tonight, bebe. ”
    She inclined her head. “Thank you, Gui. I’m glad you asked to speak to me. I need to talk to you, as well.”
    Kara was all business and he wondered what was going through her head. “About what?”
    She came into his dressing room, taking a seat on the padded bench in the middle of the area. She carefully arranged her skirts, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was going to want to talk about.
    “I need to know what’s going on between you and Elvira and Juan. I know that you’ve said that it’s all in the past, but everyone keeps mentioning her to me like I know what happened.”
    “It’s really nothing to do with you,” he said.
    She blanched, and he wondered if she’d back down. He hoped she’d just let it go and that would be the end of it. He had absolutely no interest in rehashing the past.
    She shook her head. “If I weren’t marrying you, I’d agree. But I am, and this is important to me, Gui. I can’t continue on without knowing more about her.”
    “Why does it concern you?”
    “Because she sent me a gift this afternoon, Gui.”
    “What did she send?”
    “Intimate apparel,” Kara said. There was an indefinable emotion on her face.
    “I’m sorry. I have no idea why she would do that.”
    “Don’t you? She said that the garment she sent was your favorite to see on the female form.”
    “Kara—”
    “She was also thoughtful enough to include an exercise DVD that would help me to look better in it.”
    Gui cursed under his breath, crossing to Kara. “I hope you discarded both items.”
    “I did send them back,” Kara said. “But I really can’t continue to let this lie. I need to know the entire story.”
    “What do you want to know?” he asked her, reaching for his dress shirt. He drew it on and buttoned it quickly. He reached for the collar stays that Vincent left on his counter and put them into his shirt before drawing on his tie.
    “I guess I want to know everything. From the beginning. Katie said she was the love of your life and she broke your heart.”
    Gui hated talking about Elvira. It meant remembering that time in his life when he was a bit out of control. When he’d been young and impetuous and ruled by passion and not logic.
    It wasn’t that he was totally logical now, but he was in better control of his temper. And he’d never be as all-or-nothing now as he’d been back then.
    “Elvira and I met the summer after I finished at university. Tristan, Christos and I were taking a gap year.”
    “Isn’t that a bit late?”
    “Yes, but we’d decided that the normal rules didn’t apply to us. It was actually our second gap year. We did the traditional one between prep school and university as well.”
    “How did you meet her?”
    “I met her in Stockholm. We were there for three months, and she and I had a passionate affair. When it was time to move on, I went with my friends. Elvira followed me and two weeks later we moved to Madrid together. She had a villa that had been left to her by her grandfather. And I was on the outs with my father at the time, so we lived there.
    “We lived together for three months before I got restless and joined Tristan and Christos in Milan. Elvira married Juan after I left. That’s it. Not much of a story.”
    “What were you restless about?” Kara asked. And Gui realized that was the real treasure to Kara. That she seemed to always be able to look deep into the heart of a person. Not just listen to the surface story but dig beyond. No one had ever paid attention to what he said the way she did when it came to personal stuff.
    “I was thinking about marrying her, but I was young and had to be sure.”
    “Oh, Gui.”
    “Don’t pity me. I