Chapter 3

Diego sat at one of the outside tables and waited, watching the sun set against a strikingly clear sky. It had been almost a week since the lottery and he felt that he was turning, for the better, Victoria's opinion of him. He presented himself in a new light to Victoria and he could tell that his behavior was starting to have an affect on her. He just hoped it was the affect he was trying so desperately to create.

He leaned back in his chair, allowing himself a rare opportunity to let his mind wander. He knew Victoria would be finished with her duties soon and would be arriving for their planned dinner at the hacienda. Perhaps he would take her on a late night walk afterwards. He wanted to find the right time to tell her of his secret life. A time when they would be alone and he could answer all her questions and quell all of her fears.

His heart beat rapidly as he thought of enveloping her in his arms and revealing the secret, that he hoped, would bring them closer together. He needed to remind himself not to rush, to take his time and try to win her affections on his own rather than playing the card that he was sure would win her heart.

So absorbed was he in thoughts of the fiery Señorita, he didn't notice when she stepped out of the tavern to re-fill his glass.

Victoria opened her mouth to speak but she it when she realized that while Diego's eyes were open, he was not staring at anything in particular.

She leaned against the doorframe and watched the smile spread across his lips. The mustache raised ever so slightly over his lips, reminded her of another and she cocked her head to watch him more closely.

Victoria wondered why she had not seen Zorro since the last issue of the Guardian had been published. It infuriated her at times to know that he held something over her. He could see her when he wanted but she could not seek him out. She would not even know where to begin.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Diego blink and she quickly moved to fill his glass, hoping he'd not noticed her staring at him.

"You were daydreaming." She observed with a small smile.

"Just thinking." He returned her steady gaze and it was Victoria who first looked away.

"Oh?" She glanced at the peasants in the plaza packing up for the evening, anything to keep from looking at the handsome caballero. How was it that he was making her uncomfortable all of a sudden?

Diego smiled at her curiosity. She appeared uncomfortable and he leapt to ease that discomfort a bit.

"DeSoto and Señora Rosales appear to be getting along marvelously."

Victoria smiled as she noticed the two walking toward his office together, arm in arm.

"Sí. They do." Victoria agreed.

"Maybe something good will come out of the lottery and he will marry her and loose interest in making the rest of the pueblo suffer for his appointment here." Diego commented with a dry chuckle.

"We could only hope." Victoria sighed and shook her head. "Why, all of a sudden, are you concerned with the marital status of the pueblo's caballeros, or señoritas, for that matter?"

"I just want what everyone in the pueblo does. A nice, peaceful life without problems from the government." Diego leaned back, trying to gauge the affect the statement had on the young women.

"And what problems could you possibly have with the government?" Victoria looked on this as a challenge , pulled out the bench and took a seat across the table from her childhood friend.

Diego laughed. "You would be surprised."

She chuckled and muttered." I doubt it."

She didn't miss hurt look in his eyes this time and she immediately regretted her words.

"That sounds like a challenge that I need to meet." He masked his momentary pain with a small smile and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

She chuckled. Diego was much more...playful, than she was used to and she suddenly decided to throw caution to the wind and see where its current took her.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

She stood and looked down her nose at the caballero.

A smile inched its way across Diego's lips and he stood, towering above her by almost a full foot.

A bubble of laughter escaped from her lips as he stood, bent over her hand and pressed the gentlest of kisses to the back of her hand.

"But now, I must satisfy my curiosity and find out how the alcalde is doing with Señora Rosales."

She slapped playfully at his arm as he walked toward the alcalde's office. " You are incorrigible!"

She watched him as he walked confidently toward the alcalde's office. She watched how he moved, how the snug fit of his pants rubbed against his legs. She shook her head, appalled that she would even think of such a thing. Diego was her friend! Besides, she had Zorro. And he was more masculine than all the men in the pueblo put together.

When Diego returned to the tavern to escort her to the hacienda for dinner, Victoria was just finishing in the kitchen.

He slipped through the curtains and helped her dry the last of the dishes.

"Hmm, maybe I should hire you to help in the kitchen when I'm busy." She teased, eyes dancing.

"Hmmm, I have no aversion to hard work." Diego smiled as he dried his hands.

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. "Something about the life of a rich caballero I don't know."

"You'll see." He turned around and resisted the urge to jump from the floor to the window just as he had done many times before as Zorro.

When he turned around to look at her she averted her eyes and removed her apron.

"So what did you find in the alcalde's office today?"

He noted her change of subject – she'd been doing that a lot more lately- and chuckled. "I walked in on a very uncomfortable situation."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No."

"Apparently, the Señora and DeSoto have hit it off quite well." He chuckled remembering that he had walked in on a very passionate kiss.

"You have my undivided attention." Victoria leaned forward, waiting for him to continue.

"Wonderful!" He choursed. "I'll wait for you outside!"

Victoria stared at his back, vowing to find some way to get him back for not telling her what she wanted to know. She was beginning to see that Diego de la Vega was a very stubborn man.

A few minutes later, Diego helped Victoria into the carriage and then joined her as they left for dinner at the de la Vega hacienda.

"My father has grown fond of Señora Resindez. " Diego offered a bit of small talk on the way home.

"Oh?" Victoria smiled. She was not going to fall for his bait again and would wait until he provided further explanation.

"He can't stop talking about her. They have spent most of their days and evenings since the lottery together." Diego took a deep breath. " I wouldn't be surprised if I have a new mother in the near future."

Victoria's eyes took in the remarkable sight of the handsome caballero in the waning light. "Would that upset you?"

Diego took a deep breath. The memory of his mother's death was still painful but his father deserved all the happiness in the world and if he was ready to move on then Diego would welcome the new addition to the household.

"Not at all." Diego's eyes shifted toward her and he smiled. " It would be nice to have a woman around the house again."

Victoria looked away and he noticed her discomfort. " I'm sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable."

"No. It's..." She shook her head and looked away from him toward an imaginary night creature.

Diego looked away. " I'm sorry." For the first time revealing to the lovely lady that there was something going on with him. Something she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Diego concentrated on the ride back and said nothing more on the subject.

Victoria risked a peak at him out of the corner of her eye and a small smile crept to her lips. The moonlight cast a glow against their bodies, silhouetting them against the darkness.

He really was a handsome man. She had just chosen to not admit that fact in his, or anyone else's, presence. She had, up until a few days ago, thought of him as being extremely dull and uninteresting. But he had opened up his life to her in the last week and that had opened her eyes to what a truly interesting – no fascinating – man he really was. She had learned more about her friend in these last few days than she had since he returned from Spain. She had also learned that he was a very different man in the privacy of his own home than he was in public places.

"Here we are." Diego released the reins and hopped off the carriage. When he turned around the assist Victoria down, he caught her eyes.

She blinked back the emotions that eyes so tender had awakened and smiled nervously. When his hands encircled her waist to help her from the carriage, the feeling of euphoria overwhelmed her and she stumbled.

She was caught in his strong arms and pulled her upright, but not before she struck his well muscled chest with a soft, surprised gasp.

He lifted her and set her on her feet, holding her against his chest for longer than he would have under normal circumstances.

She could feel his heart beat through his cotton shirt and jacket. It felt much like another when she was held in his arms.

She shook her head to shake the similarity of the related incidents and pulled away slowly, lingering just a little longer than was proper for their current situation.

"I'm sorry. I should have..."

"Shhh." Diego placed a finger on her lips. " I'm sorry, I should have pulled the carriage closer to the light."

She pulled herself together and they entered the hacienda together arm in arm.

"Dinner was absolutely marvelous, Alejandro." Señora Alvera Resindez smiled. Her eyelashes batted like a youngster in love at the elder de la Vega causing Diego and Victoria to look away uncomfortably.

"Father, why don't Victoria and I leave you two alone so that you can have some privacy." Diego stood quickly and before his father could respond, extended his hand to Victoria, who took it quickly, and followed him out the door to the garden.

Diego took a deep breath and stretched. "Such a beautiful, crisp night should not be spent indoors."

Victoria looked around the garden, its myriad of smells assailing her senses. She'd always loved this garden, even as a young child. This was where she had first kissed Zorro. As she looked at the young caballero admiring the night sky, she also remembered that this was also the place that Zorro had told her that she needed a husband. Someone like Diego.

She chuckled and then remembered the events of last week and how they had opened her eyes to a new side of her friend. Diego was not the man that she had come to know since his return from Spain. There were varying depths to his personality and portions of that personality, she realized, he never revealed to anyone.

"What are you thinking?"

Victoria blinked, realizing that she had been lost in thought as he stared at her.

"Oh nothing." She smiled and turned to sniff a climbing rose bush. "You have the most beautiful roses."

"They are very easy to take care of." Diego snapped one from the bush and carefully removed the thorns. The California climate allows them to grow virtually unattended. " I know how much you like them. You are more than welcome to take some back with you."

He caught his mistake too late and she stared questioningly at him. His hand shook as he fastened the rose into her hair. He turned away to hide his unease with the situation. He may have just set events into motion that he could not stop. Well, maybe he didn't want to stop them. Maybe tonight was the night.

Victoria stared at the caballero's back wondering at the familiarity of the situation. She was a smart woman. What was happening here? Was Diego trying to romance her? Their evenings together seemed more personal than what she had envisioned her participation in the pueblo lottery to be.

"What do you mean you know how much I like them?" Victoria snapped, a little more harshly than perhaps she intended. She couldn't tell if she was offended by his correct observation or if she was upset that he was treating her like a woman he would court. "How do you know that?"

She noticed him shake his head and turn to cast another quick glance at her face.

"Maybe it is time to tell you just how I know that – and many other things."

She placed a hand on her hips. " I think maybe you should! You have been very vague about a lot of things since the pueblo lottery and I think I have a right to know why."

He took a step closer to her and she gazed up at him. She hadn't realized that he was so tall. Shadows played across his face as the moonlight was obscured by a large jacaranda. He was as tall or maybe taller than...

"Knowing why would endanger your life. Would you like to take that risk?" He said steadily, his voice deeper than she'd ever heard it.

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "What could you possibly know that would endanger my life, Diego de la Vega?"

He plucked another rose and began to remove the thorns. Silence passed between them as she waited impatiently for his answer.

She stood in place as he walked around her and reached over her shoulders to extend the stem in the direction of her clenched palm.

He bent and she shivered as his hot breath caressed her ear. "The identity of your masked man."

His hands caught her shoulders as she attempted to whirl around at this shocking declaration.

Her mind couldn't keep up with his changing personality. The entire week had been one of sentences she didn't understand. Did he really know who Zorro was? How did he find out? Why would Zorro confide in Diego de la Vega and not her? She didn't understand and she was getting angry.

"No." She shook her head and attempted to pull out of his arms. "I don't believe you."

When he did not release her, she hissed. "Let me go!" She couldn't believe he was treating her with such disrespect. Well, she would teach him not to cross her again. The weak willed caballero was going to get a piece of her mind, as well as her fist!

He released her and she whirled on him, anger blazing in the large amber eyes. She raised her fist to slap him and he caught it before it even came close. He saw the other hand before she had raised it completely and he caught it and pressed it to her side.

"Stop!" He growled and her eyes widened. "Do you deny that something has happened over the last week. Something that neither of us can explain?"

She shook her head, struggling to keep her heart from thumping through her chest. Why was he having this effect on her? She didn't understand.

"I haven't masked my true self for you this week. Can you deny that I seem different to you?"

She shook her head. " Let me go. I don't want to discuss this with you."

"I want to discuss this with you, Victoria." His grip loosened on her arms and for the first time she was looking into the eyes of someone very much in love with her. "I need to tell you."

In the back of her mind she wondered what he needed to tell her. Warring with that question, she already knew the answer. She found herself unable to look away from his captivating crystal eyes, and she trembled when she saw in them the same love and compassion she had seen in Zorro's calm gaze when they had first kissed in this very garden.

"I don't want to hear it!" She denied the realization trying desperately to claw its way to the forefront of her mind. " No. No . No. I'm not blind. I would know."

"Would know what?" His voice was barley audible over the warm breeze ruffling the bushes and trees.

"Diego I want to go home. Let me go." She whispered, her voice cracking with newfound emotion.

"I need to show you something first." He released her arms and reached up to trail a long finger down the length of her cheek.

She stood motionless as he bent over and pressed his lips to hers. The young woman swayed with the explosion of emotions rushing through her body. His lips, so similar to those of the man that had kissed her in this very garden so many years ago, the kiss that seemed to set every nerve ending in her body aflame with desire.

Victoria sobbed into his mouth and he could taste the salty tears as they rolled down her cheeks. She tried to pull away but there was no real effort behind the action. There was no mistaking that this man and her masked love were one and the same. Her mind raced, unable to truly believe that her friend, the man she had confided in on so many occasions was the very man who had kept the most important secret of his life from her – a woman he supposedly loved.

She had to get away. She had to think; to make some sense out of the mess that her life had just become. He was holding her so tightly that she didn't know how she would break away.

She resisted the desires rising in her body…refused to allow this man to envelope her in his passionate embrace and hold her forever. She opened her lips and began to respond to his kiss. Before she knew it his hands had turned her around and long fingers wrapped themselves around her cheeks. She felt as if she were hanging weightless in the air as his lips expertly coaxed soft moans from her mouth. She couldn't feel the rest of her body. She couldn't move. She wasn't sure if she wanted to anymore.

With one, last desperate attempt, she found the strength to break out of his gentle embrace and stumbled out of the garden not caring over who or what she stumbled.