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  “Of course. I understand.” Natalia nodded and touched Chelo’s hand. “But she will be happy. He’s a good man, a kind man.”

  Kelly O’Keefe joined them wearing a bright green dress, which she said she had brought with her from Ireland. Natalia sipped her lemonade and looked across the courtyard past the dancing couples. She could feel the pull of Cruz’s dark eyes, and the desire in them was clearly evident. He was a demon, and she turned away from him to concentrate on her friend.

  Alberto watched as his friend stared at the eldest de la Rosa sister across the courtyard.

  “Oh no, Cruz, not that one,” he said, shaking his head and handing his friend a glass of agua fresca.

  Cruz took the offered glass but barely glanced at his friend. He was still remembering the taste of her lips in the stables and her sweet curves pressed against him. “Why not?”

  Alberto sipped his own drink. “When they first arrived here, all the men wanted her. She’s beautiful, no? And there are no sons, so the property will be distributed accordingly, and rumor has it that she is Don Paco’s favorite.”

  “You have told me many reasons why I should, not why I should not,” Cruz stated.

  “Well, that first year there must have been at least three offers for her hand, and they were all denied,” Alberto remembered.

  “What was the reason?” Cruz asked.

  “Well, that was the strangest part. Don Paco told each man that he would place their offer before Natalia, but it was her choice. Each time she said no.”

  Cruz grimaced. So she was right. Her father did allow her final say on any marriage proposal.

  “But it’s more than that. The youngest sister let it slip to Father Ybarra, who told the whole town that there was a man once.”

  “A man?” Cruz straightened.

  Alberto nodded.

  Of course there was a man, Cruz thought. He remembered those lush lips underneath his and her body pressed against him. She was soft and feminine and everything a woman should be. Of course there had been a man who had claimed her as his and taught her all the things a man could teach a woman.

  “What happened to this man?” Cruz asked nonchalantly.

  “They were engaged before they left Sonora. Apparently, the father wanted his daughters to come to Alta California first. After several months here, they received word the man had died in Sonora. All the women in town think she still grieves for her lost love, and the men want to replace him.”

  Interesting, thought Cruz.

  “So as I said. Not that one.” Alberto smiled.

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