The Acostas Box Set. Susan Stephens

      Ruiz laughed. ‘Then do the best you can.’

      ‘Well, I blame you if I can’t get them to move together.’ But, experimenting, she discovered her knees still worked. She found the small horse remarkably biddable too, and with Ruiz at her side, patiently advising her, she also discovered confidence flooding in. ‘I like it,’ she exclaimed with surprise, urging the kind pony to pick up his stride.

      ‘Do you like him?’ Ruiz asked when she had successfully completed a couple of circuits of the ring.

      ‘I love him,’ Holly admitted, stroking the pricked, velvety ears as she rested her cheek against Dulce’s firm, warm neck.

      ‘He’s yours.’

      ‘What?’ She sat up. ‘You can’t do that.’

      ‘Who said I can’t? Happy Christmas, Holly.’

      ‘But when will I be able to ride him?’

      ‘Whenever you come to Argentina with me.’

      ‘Are you serious? Who will ride him in the meantime?’

      ‘The grooms will ride him. What will it take to convince you?’ Ruiz demanded, riding alongside. ‘Shall I call my brothers over and ask them to convince you that I never joke where horses are concerned?’

      ‘Don’t do that,’ she said, flashing a glance at the posse of impossibly tough-looking bad boys busy training fresh young ponies in the next paddock. ‘I’ve got more than enough trouble on my hands as it is. So,’ she said, narrowing her eyes as she stared at Ruiz. ‘If you never joke about horses, how about women?’

      ‘There are no women.’ Ruiz gave her a long, intense stare. ‘There’s only you.’

      ‘Good, because I tweeted our news resulting in a mega uplift in hits to the site.’

      ‘Oh, I’m delighted,’ Ruiz said dryly.

      ‘A love story contained in one hundred and forty characters isn’t bad editing.’

      ‘Not bad at all,’ Ruiz agreed. ‘You should think about taking up writing as a career …’ He dodged out of the way as she aimed a swipe at him.

      ‘So if we’re going to be together do you think I should kill the column?’ she said.

      ‘Of course not,’ Ruiz argued.

      ‘You don’t think the readers will grow bored now they know the outcome?’ Holly said, frowning.

      ‘I’m disappointed in you, Holly. What has happened to that imagination of yours? There should be at least three spin-offs from this piece of news.’

      Would that be the engagement, the wedding, followed swiftly by the first baby? Holly wondered.

      Ruiz swiftly disillusioned her. ‘Cleaning his tack, ironing his shirts, and cooking the playboy’s meals should do it.’

      ‘You mentioned dancing?’ she said as he helped her to dismount.

      ‘Yes. We’re having a party at the estancia this evening.’

      Holly hummed. ‘I’d watch your toes if I were you.’

      * * *

      The Christmas Eve celebration was being held in the main courtyard and, dressed in jeans with her hair piled up high, Holly had pitched in with the staff to help them dress the walls and balustrades with garlands of flowers to augment the colourful blossom in the garden. The cobbled area was lit by candlelight and torches held in high brackets on the walls, and there was a full moon that cast a spotlight on the glittering fountains. The band was already playing sexy South American music and there were professional dancers on hand to demonstrate the various styles of dance to the guests, as well as enough food and wine to feed an army. The banquet had been set out on trestle tables dressed with crisp white linen, boasting silver cutlery and twinkling crystal. Holly was just about to go and get changed when the biggest surprise of the night waylaid her. Lucia had arrived under cover of darkness to surprise her brothers. The two girls had been in touch by e-mail in order to spring a few more surprises before the night was out.

      ‘It’s just like the old days at school,’ Lucia commented, handing over Holly’s Christmas present. ‘All this subterfuge, with the added amazingness of you and my brother falling in love—’ Lucia broke off to give Holly the biggest hug ever. ‘Come on, sister-to-be, let’s go and get changed. You can hardly arrive at the party wearing jeans.’

      The outfit Lucia had chosen for Holly was spectacular. The slinky dress in vivid red had a low vee neck and the highest of high hemlines. Lucia had also chosen a pair of silver sandals with stratospheric heels to wear with it.

      ‘You look fabulous,’ Lucia exclaimed when they had sneaked into Holly’s bedroom and locked the door securely behind them. ‘Now get those sandals on,’ she prompted. ‘If Ruiz loved you before, his tongue will be sweeping the floor when he sees you wearing this …’

      ‘I’d rather Ruiz kept his tongue in his mouth,’ Holly remarked dryly, turning her head to examine her back view in the full-length mirror.

      ‘The answer is no,’ Lucia assured her. ‘It doesn’t look big. It looks perfect. You look perfect.’

      ‘And you shouldn’t be spending so much money on me.’

      ‘And you weren’t supposed to pay me any rent,’ Lucia countered. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw the amount you put into my bank account.’

      ‘The column is going well.’

      ‘That doesn’t matter. Whoever gave you my bank details is so dead!’

      ‘Take the money. I can afford to pay you the going rate,’ Holly reminded her best friend. And didn’t that feel good. ‘You look pretty fabulous for a change,’ she added wryly, staring with renewed interest at her beautiful friend. ‘What’s the special occasion, Lucia?’

      ‘Only pretty fabulous?’ Lucia said worriedly, examining her back view in the same mirror.

      ‘You know you look as gorgeous as you always do,’ Holly volunteered. ‘But you still haven’t told me what the special occasion is …’

      ‘Why does it have to be special? It’s just a family party.’

      ‘And you are making a very special effort,’ Holly noted as Lucia checked her make-up in the mirror.

      ‘Okay, so I hear Nero Caracas is bringing his polo team as well as his new wife and baby tonight,’ Lucia explained off-handedly. ‘Which means Luke Forster, that American polo player, will be at the party. Don’t look like that, Holly. Luke’s far too stern and serious for me. And he’s about ten feet tall.’

      ‘Poor man,’ Holly murmured, remembering she had seen the good-looking American commanding the field of play quite a few times during the game.

      ‘But I might enjoy teasing him,’ Lucia added thoughtfully as she arranged her ample breasts in the low-cut dress.

      ‘Excellent news for Luke,’ Holly agreed tongue in cheek. ‘So are you ready to spring our surprise?’

      * * *

      Ruiz, meanwhile, was pacing up and down his bedroom with the phone gripped so tightly in his hand it was threatening to break apart. ‘What do you mean you couldn’t arrange it? I told you well in advance what I wanted. Plus there’s an agreement between our two countries so there shouldn’t have been a problem. What has happened to the vet? How can he have left on another flight when I booked him? I booked the jet, damn it!’ Ruiz thundered. ‘Who the hell countermanded my order?’ Ruiz whirled around as one of his brothers poked his head round the door. He waved him away. Business was all-important, and when it was business concerning Holly nothing came before that.

      ‘Are you coming to the party, Ruiz?’ his brother Diego asked him, refusing to be so