Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (27 page)

“But you’re dead.”

He chuckled as he caressed her hair out of her face and smiled.

“Armando lied, Elloisa. I’m alive, and so is your family.”

She swallowed hard then saw Gustavo’s image disappear.

* * * *

“I think she passed out,” Zach stated as he stood above Gustavo.

“We need an ambulance,” Gustavo told them.

“Already called it in,” Mathew yelled as he appeared behind them. He fell to the floor and looked at his sister.

“She was shot in the shoulder. It looks like a flesh wound,” Gustavo informed Mathew.

“She looks pretty beaten up to me. Thank God you got to her in time.”

“The raid is still going on. Let’s get her outside. We can leave this piece of crap right where he is,” Zach added as Gustavo and Mathew looked at a dead Armando Santorez.

It was Gustavo that picked up Elloisa and carried her out of the building.

Epilogue

It had been two weeks since Elloisa had been released from the hospital. Her shoulder was healing, and she no longer needed the arm sling. She absorbed the rays of the sun as she sat on a bench near the gardens outside her parents’ home. Guests continued to arrive for the family barbeque, and the aroma of food filled the air. Everyone appeared to be having a wonderful time. There was no more danger, and Elloisa was safe.

She inhaled the smell of roses as she thought about Gustavo for the umpteenth time in weeks. Once he ensured that she would recover from her injuries completely, he left the hospital and hadn’t returned.

Her brothers told her that John said that Gustavo was called into another mission. It hurt her inside to think that he could leave so easily and without saying good-bye. Had their time in Lake Luzerne meant nothing? Half the time she found herself cursing him out. The other half of the time she cried herself to sleep thinking about him and worrying that she would never see him again.

She smiled at the little kids running in the yard. The sounds of their laughter made her smile as she rubbed her small belly. In seven months, she would officially be a mom. The tears stung her eyes as she thought about Gustavo again. Would the baby look like him? Her fantasy of somehow having a family and a husband who loved her disintegrated with every day that passed without word from Gustavo. He obviously didn’t love her, or he would have said good-bye.

The sound of a Mexican love song filled the air as the small band entertained the guests.

“This song goes out to Señorita Elloisa from her soldado,” the band leader stated, and Elloisa immediately turned around, hoping to see Gustavo.

Her parents stood near the patio with numerous guests and her brothers. They smiled at her, and she gave a small smile back.

Did she imagine the dedication? Had she officially lost her mind?

“May I have this dance?”

Elloisa felt as if her heart dropped in her chest and hit her belly. She turned to find a handsome and very well-dressed Gustavo standing before her.

She had to fight the urge to jump into his arms. She played coy as she crossed her legs and then her arms in front of her chest.

“Do I know you?” she asked him as she eyed him from head to toe. Her insides quivered with desire as she absorbed his body. The white button-down shirt accentuated his muscular, tan chest. His big brown eyes shown with specks of green against his very tan complexion, indicating that he had spent some time in the sun.

Had he been with someone? A jealous feeling filled her gut.

“Sí, Señorita, you know me well. We have met before, or did you forget?” He smiled at her then placed his hands on his hips.

“Perhaps,” she replied as he reached his hand to her again.

“May I please have this dance?”

She took his hand and rose from the bench. The music played in the background as Gustavo pulled her close and inhaled against her hair.

“I’ve missed you, Elloisa.”

“Where did you go? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I had one last mission to go on.”

“What do you mean one last mission?” she asked, pulling back from him so she could see his eyes.

“I changed my position in the agency. Chose something a bit less dangerous.”

“Why? You love your work.”

“Things have changed, my Señorita. I want more.”

“Like what? I don’t understand.”

“Like you. I love you, Elloisa, and I want you to marry me.”

She felt the tears reach her eyes as she smiled at Gustavo.

“Are you proposing marriage to me?”

He seemed to read her mind as he slowly knelt down on the grass in front of her.

“Elloisa Givani, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”

“Yes,” she replied, and he lifted her up in the air as the guests around them cheered.

He held her to him and they kissed. When he finally released her lips, they smiled at one another.

“No more missions?” she asked.

“No more missions, Elloisa.”

“You will always be my Soldado Gus.”

“And you will always be my Princesa Española.”

He pulled her closer against him as they danced to the music.

She loved the feel of his strong arms around her. He would always be her love and her protector.

“How is the shoulder?” he asked with seriousness.

“Still a little sore but getting better.”

“How about the bruised ribs?” he asked as he gently caressed them with his strong hands.

She giggled as she felt him tickle her.

“What’s with all the questions?” she teased him.

“I just want to make sure you’re recovered from your injuries. We’ve got some things to work on.”

“Like what?”

“Like a family.”

She felt her cheeks warm at his statement.

“I love you, and I want to marry you, have a family, and live happily ever after like characters in some corny novel.”

“In that order?” she teased him.

“Well, I think we can start working on babies tonight,” he teased.

“I think we have that covered.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, not understanding what she meant.

Elloisa took Gustavo’s hand and placed it over her belly.

“One baby on the way and then one wedding to plan.”

“Really?” he asked as his smile lit up his entire face.

“Really,” she replied, and he kissed her before he lifted her up and twirled her around in a circle.

THE END

WWW.LAURAMARIEHENION.COM

www.BookStrand.com