Page 18 of The Forbidden Cabrera Brother
As they approached the hospital she finally allowed herself to think about the convoluted road she was now travelling down.
It had all seemed so straightforward not that long ago. She would pretend to be Alejandro’s fiancée, thereby buying him time from his parents, who were pushing for a solid relationship from their eldest son and the inevitable production line of much-wanted grandchildren.
He would pay her, he’d said.
Caitlin had adamantly refused. Not only could she not see the reason for such drama, but the thought of being paid for it was ridiculous.
But then circumstances had changed in a heartbeat for her, and Alejandro, who had not abandoned his plan despite her initial refusal to co-operate, had found a way past her defences.
She had no interest in his money for herself because she didn’t have a materialistic bone in her body, but when her parents had become involved, her love and loyalty to them had very quickly become the quicksand that had begun to drag her under.
‘I don’t believe it,’ she had poured her heart out to Alejandro one evening, several months earlier. ‘How could Dad have lost everything? There are news bulletins all the time about scammers, but he’s gone and lost everything, Alejandro! His savings, his pension. Gone.Pouf!They have the house, of course, but how on earth are they going to afford to support themselves as they get older?’
‘What about your mum?’
She’d known that Alejandro would be grappling with the concept of having nothing. The backdrop to his life was paved with gold and priceless gems. He, literally, would have no concept of just how agonising it would be for two pensioners to realise that their life savings had gone. But he had sympathised as she had talked to him about the situation, told him that, as the only child, it fell upon her shoulders to build up some kind of nest egg for them so that they wouldn’t be terrified of growing old in poverty.
And even then, it had been awful but within the realms of possibility until her lovely, kind and gentle mother had had a heart attack and they had all been told by the consultant that stress could prove to be a fatal enemy.
The conversation that had been left behind, Alejandro’s offer to pay her generously for helping him out, had begun to beckon.
When he’d raised the subject again, Caitlin’s defences had been in a different place.
She had listened.
It still went against the grain. She still didn’t get why he couldn’t just come right out and tell the world that he was gay.
But she had listened.
Just a couple of days, he had told her with bright and breezy confidence. A small bit of acting, a make-believe relationship, enough to convince his parents that they were involved.
No dates would be set for anything and they would return to London, where they would resume their lives and he would be granted a reprieve.
Once his brother had married, he had assured her, everything would change and the pressure would be off. And of course, he had told her earnestly, he would tell them all the truth. It would be easier then.
And the money...
He had named a sum that had made her eyes water. All her parents’ problems would go away. It would be like waving a wand. Caitlin had thought of her mother and the possible horrendous consequences of another heart attack brought on by ongoing stress... She’d thought of her father, who would never forgive himself for getting them into the mess that he had... She’d thought of two lives that would end in tatters...
And Alejandro’s proposal had suddenly seemed like manna from heaven. She had swept past her hesitation and doubt and she had agreed.
Except, she was here now, and nothing was straightforward any more...
Not when Dante was in the driving seat, which he was.
‘We’re here.’
Caitlin surfaced and stared at the sprawling glass building facing her, abuzz with activity, its harsh, clinical contours softened by thoughtful planting of trees and shrubbery in strategic places.
Like royalty, Dante dumped the car right outside the building and it was efficiently collected by someone she could only assume was his driver, who had been forewarned to meet them there.
He strode into the white brightly lit corridors of the hospital and crowds parted. He glanced neither left nor right. He led the way with certainty and she tripped along in his wake, profoundly relieved that he knew just where he was going and what he was doing.
She spoke absolutely no Spanish and she couldn’t think how difficult everything would have been had she come here on her own.
He spoke in rapid Spanish to a consultant who had been summoned, and then finally turned to her.
‘I appreciate that you must find all of this very confusing.’
