The Sanctuary (Playa Luna Beach Romance) (3 page)

“I don’t think I remember ever feeling that way when a man touched me.”

“Well, that’s nice, but I was referring to your leg,” Taylor said with a laugh. “Sounds like he’s fixed it right up for you.”

Cassie’s face flushed, her stomach tingling.
“I thought you meant—“

“Never mind.
Let’s get you into the bathtub for that soak he wanted you to take,” Taylor said as she guided Cassie into the marble bathroom. “You love this bathtub, anyway, and we can get you all spiffed up for tonight.”

Cassie allowed herself to daydream as the warm bubbles in the bath worked on her throbbing leg.
The beautiful blue and white marble soothed her, and it wasn’t long before she felt much better.

Chapter Six

“I’ve got to find something decent to wear,” Cassie said, eyeing herself in the mirror.
“Last time he saw me, I looked like a drowned rat. Hoping to do better than that for tonight.”

Taylor had brought something special, knowing she had a date, and Cassie made sure to rub it in that she hadn’t brought much with her besides bathing suits, cover-ups and shorts. Fortunately, Taylor hadn’t been able to decide which dress to bring for her date, and had brought three. Cassie chose to borrow a white one that drifted over her swollen leg.
Swiping some gloss over her lips, she caught herself in the mirror.
Not too bad,
she thought.

“That’s a lot of dressing up for you, Cass.”
Taylor threw a pair of pink sandals at her friend. “Finishing touch.”

They arrived at Rancho Del Sol right on time, and Alejandro was outside the restaurant waiting for them. Both girls let out a little gasp when they spotted him, outside under the
palapa dressed in a cotton shirt and khaki pants. He was every bit the handsome Latin gentleman, down to the embroidery on his shirt. She was amazed he was waiting there for her.

“Wow, he’s easy on the eyes,” Taylor managed to say, with a wink to her friend. “You’re going to have fun tonight, I hope. Keep the margaritas to a minimum.”

“You should talk. Just stay away from those big shell drinks,” Cassie said, and they both laughed at the memory. “Are you meeting your date in the restaurant?”

Taylor stayed in the driver’s seat as Alejandro came around to open the door for Cassie. “No, I’m meeting him over by the
palapas in the bar on the beach, so I’ll just drive down there. Can Alejandro take you home?” she asked, Alejandro within earshot.

“I certainly can. It would be an honor,” he said, nodding at Taylor while holding his hand out for Cassie.
His eyes widened in surprise as he saw her. “You look lovely.”

Cassie
smiled and tried not to wince as she eased her injured leg out of the Jeep. She wasn’t successful, and Alejandro’s arm shot behind her waist to help her. She felt comfortable, almost familiar with him and was grateful to him for looking out for her. He helped her over to the door, and she turned and waved at Taylor as she drove off toward the beach bar.

“Looks as if you’re still a little unsteady.
Does it hurt much?” he asked as he held her arm and pulled out her chair. She sat down and marveled at the beautiful view out the tall glass windows from the best table in the restaurant, one she knew was for reservations only.

“Only when I breathe,” Cassie said with a wry smile.
“Gets better all the time, though. I really appreciate you looking after me. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t seen me flailing.” Her stomach fluttered with embarrassment all over again, and she felt her cheeks flushing. Again.

“I couldn’t take my eyes off of you from the moment I saw you, so it was easy,” he said with
a comfortable grin.

“Is this something you do frequently?”

“Have dinner with beautiful women?” His eyes darkened and he looked away. “I do not have time for such things, and should probably not be doing it now.”

Cassie wanted to know more about why such a handsome and skilled man wouldn’t, but his frown discouraged further questions along those lines. She wanted to change his mood, and said, “No, saving people from drowning is what I meant.”

He started, as if coming back to the present. “Oh, I misunderstood. No, I don’t do that much either.”

“It’s not something that happens much for you in the Navy?”

He gazed at his plate, picking up his fork, absently moving his food from side to side. “I am no longer in the Navy. It was a brief period of time for me, something required before I entered the family business.”

He grew quiet, and the twinge in her belly told Cassie she should step back. She hoped there would be time for her to delve deeper into this subject later, but for now, she decided to keep it light. “So, when was the last time you had the famous Sea of Cortez blue shrimp?”

Alejandro smiled, seeming relieved at the change of subject. “Ah, my favorite. May I order for us both?” he asked, checking first to make sure she wasn’t allergic to any particular foods, and to gauge her heat tolerance. Food in Mexico could be very hot, with jalapeno peppers almost a revered national vegetable.

“I can handle it as hot as they can make it,” she laughed, and she knew she had made the right decision when she was greeted again with his warm, wide smile.

They worked their way through shrimp cocktail, Mexican style, with avocados, tomatoes, jalapenos and lime and moved on to locally caught fish with tortillas, rice and beans. Alejandro wanted to know all about Cassie’s experiences here in the Baja, and they spent hours talking about their mutual love of sand and sea. She told him about the vaquita and her mission to save them.

Involved in her story, Cassie didn’t notice as the napkin Alejandro was holding turned into smaller and smaller pieces on the table. He grew quiet as she touched on her concern for the
vaquita and their imminent extinction. Somewhere during the evening, he reached for her hand with compassion as she gave a heartfelt description of the ravages of the fishing nets and seeing their carnage on the beach. Again, the feel of his warm skin on hers was exhilarating and she didn’t want to pull away.

“Your concern for the
vaquita is quite touching.” Alejandro sat back in his chair and piled the napkin shreds. “Have you considered how it is necessary that Mexican people must earn a living? The desert is harsh and fishing is the only way to feed their families.”

Cassie’s eyes flashed as she leaned forward, her cheeks flushed.
“Feeding a family, and keeping only that, is entirely different than commercial fishing, Alejandro. These are not people feeding their families who are killing the vaquita.”

Her tears sparkled in the candlelight. As she took his hand again, she said, “Let me show you what I’m talking about. Come out on a
panga with me tomorrow. I have an extra day before I meet with the developers.”

He stared at her for a moment, his face blank.
He nodded slowly. “I have everything ready for work the day after. I would love to see the water through your beautiful eyes,” he said, reaching for her hand.

She lowered her eyes, an odd sensation enveloping her.
She felt almost shy, something she wasn’t accustomed to feeling. “Great. Meet me on the beach at 9:00. I’ll pack a lunch.”

“I’ve been jabbering forever about all this, Alejandro.”
The bottle of wine they shared had long been empty, and their coffee was now cold. “Tell me why you’re here. Vacation?”

Alejandro looked down into his coffee, his eyes lowered.
He picked up his spoon, stirred his coffee and looked up at her, his eyes clouded. “It’s very complicated, Cassie. I am here to work, to do a job for my family company. It’s not one I’m happy about doing.”

Cassie had been looking out the window toward the sea.
She gasped, and he turned to see what had gotten her attention. The moon, orange and shimmering, rose majestically from the water. He grabbed her hand, easing her out of her chair and they laughed as they walked out into the cool air toward the beach. His arm slipped around her waist, spreading warmth with his touch. She still hobbled, and her thigh throbbed with every step, but he helped guide her down to the water, lowering her onto the sand.

“I never get used to this sight.
It’s breathtaking,” Cassie said, as the round moon beamed down. She took off her shoes and wriggled her toes, relishing in the luscious feeling of the warm sand. She reached for her hair as it blew in the breeze, and his hand met hers as she pulled it to the nape of her neck. Alejandro sat down beside her, throwing his shoes behind them as well.

“I love how the reflection of the full moon looks like a walkway, right up to it.
When I was a little girl, I thought I could walk all the way up and then I would be able to see everything. All the vaquita, all the Baja. Then I could make things right.”

He turned toward her and took her hand. “Cassie, there are things you need to know about me.
More than I’ve told you.”

Her heart thumped in her chest.
She wanted to hear what he had to say, but she wanted more than that. The warmth he had brought to her numb core spread through her as she drank in the beautiful evening. The glow of the moon in his amber eyes made her feel almost drunk. Her breath came more quickly, and she reached up to touch the waves of his hair. She didn’t want to hear any more right now. She knew all she needed to.

Alejandro reached for her wrist, and pulled her hand to his lips.
Kissing her palm, he leaned toward her. Her screech pierced the night as his hand came to rest on her thigh. He jumped up in horror as she doubled over, the pain shooting through her leg like lightning. She tried to catch her breath, and all she could see was the stars swirling inside her head.

“I’m so sorry.
I’m so sorry, I forgot,” He rammed his hands into the pockets of his khakis. “I hurt you.”

“Is everything all right here,” A male voice reached through her pain.

“Yes, sir, she hurt her leg earlier today and I accidentally touched it.”

“Young lady? You okay?” said the man, his brows furrowing as he glared at Alejandro.

“Yes, thank you.
I’m okay. It was just an accident,” Cassie said, trying her best to smile at the man through her embarrassment.

Cassie laid back and looked up at the sky, catching her breath as the internal flashes of light subsided.
As the pain left her, she suddenly heard her own laughter peeling through the night. Here she was with the most handsome, interesting man she’d met in a long while, and she couldn’t even do anything about it.
This must be some kind of cosmic joke
, she thought.

Alejandro stopped pacing and sat back down beside her.
Her laughter rippling through the night had captured him as well, and they both laughed together at the absurdity of it all.

“I’d better take you home, senorita.
I don’t think you can handle much more of this.” His voice was serious, but the twinkle in his eye made Cassie braver than she might otherwise have been.

“Thank you, kind sir.
That’s not exactly what I had in mind, but I think it may be all I’m up to. Could you help me up?”

Without hesitation, Alejandro swooped down, picking Cassie up and turning toward the restaurant, avoiding the bandage on her thigh.
“I can do better than that.”

Cassie noticed all eyes on her as they passed the restaurant toward the car.
This is like a bad movie
. With that fleeting thought, though, she realized that now, this moment, she felt the most safe and secure she had in a very long time. She sunk into his embrace and allowed him to get her safely home.

Chapter Seven

She hadn’t slept well, her leg still throbbing.
Thoughts of how disappointed she was at the end of her evening with Alejandro intruded in the darkness. She remembered his kiss, her pain, her screech…none of which had contributed to the magical evening she hoped for. She laughed to herself as she limped to the refrigerator to make a picnic lunch for what she hoped would be a better chance for them to get to know each other.

She watched the small boats leaving for their day of fishing as she packed her ice chest with food. The sheer number of
pangas made her nauseous with the thought of how many vaquita might be caught in the nets meant for commercial fish. The Mexican government had its protective laws, sure, but there wasn’t much monitoring here in the northern Baja waters. It was rare to spot an official vessel of any kind, and most fishermen, local or not, didn’t even bother with the required fishing license.

As she packed the last sandwich, Taylor floated into the kitchen, waving goodbye to a very handsome man in a red Hummer. Cassie couldn’t help but smile at the idiotic, blissful look on her friend’s face. “Good night, huh?” she said, as Taylor leaned up against the kitchen counter and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Amazing,” was all Taylor could get out, her hands gripping her mug as she stared off into space.

Cassie shook her head as her friend had trouble forming words. Taylor always had a guy around of some kind, but Cassie had never seen her like this.
“Earth to Taylor. Details, girlfriend. Anything has to be better than my story of last night.”

Taylor snapped back to the present with a sheepish smile. “I certainly didn’t think any of this would happen,” she said, taking small sips of her hot coffee. “His name is Raul, and he’s from Mexico City. He’s never been here before, so I got to give him a tour of our little slice of heaven.”

“Sounds like a tour of more than one slice of heaven,” Cassie said with a laugh.

“Very funny.
It was a beautiful evening and nothing you say can ruin it,” Taylor said, her eyes bright. “You look like you’re on your way out. What’s up?”

Cassie put some chips, salsa and beer in her ice chest along with the sandwiches. “We’re going out on a
panga this morning to see if we can find any vaquita. He’s curious about them, and I’m hoping we get to see some today.”

“Oh, I’m shocked. What else would you be doing?” Taylor had been listening to Cassie talk about the
vaquita for more years than she could count.

Cassie laughed as she told her friend about her night, and how it had ended. “I’m hoping for better opportunity today,” she said, pulling her cotton cover-up over her bikini.

“Well, I hope you have better luck today. I’m meeting Raul for lunch at Rancho Del Sol. He’s involved in the resort somehow, and I get the idea it’s big. Really big.”

Cassie dropped the glass she was holding, relieved it was plastic. “Do you think he would be someone I could talk to about the sanctuary? The ground-breaking ceremony is tomorrow and--”

“I don’t know, Cassie. He was a bit close-mouthed about his job and I don’t want to ruin it. I’ll see what I can find out.”