Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, mean no copyright infringements, make no money and only write for fun, but the ideas are mine and I do not agree to anyone copying them or the story.

AN: Valentine's Day Challenge Story, complying with the following requirements (just to prove it possible):

1. Acceptable genres: Romance; Romance/Adventure; Romance/Humor; Romance/ Suspense.

2. Victoria cooks - and she's being sneaky about it!

3. Don Alejandro bumps his head – but it's not him to get hurt…

4. Felipe runs interference – because some people only think about their stomachs

5. The Alcalde has his plan thwarted – because Diego is smart…

6. Mendoza rides on Tornado – not by himself

7. Diego or Zorro is shirtless (at some point, not necessarily during the entire story… but… who would object to that, really?:P) – Yap…

8. Includes an unexpected spin on the already 'classic' kiss reveal – well, the 'classic kiss reveal' is when Victoria recognizes Diego is Zorro by kissing Diego. That's not exactly how this story goes but a kiss is involved.

9. Must be published in full by February 14th, 2021 – It's just 3 chapters; of course it will be published in time.

10. Max. 3 chapters. Word count doesn't matter – :D

11. Must have a happy ending. – I mean… it's romance/humor, so don't expect any tragedy!

A big 'Thank you!' to La Cuidadora for her corrections and input.

Enjoy and let me know if you do!

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It was spring and, as every year, Victoria Escalante was thoroughly cleaning the tavern. This particular year, however, she had also decided time had come for her to finally open and, at least partially empty the big trunk which still held her dead parents' earthly belongings. Many years had passed since her mother's death. Fewer since her father's, yet Victoria had, thus far, been unable to bring herself to actually go through their things or to give away anything of theirs. But, she knew, it was finally time to do so.

Taking a deep breath for courage, she stared a few seconds at the door to the pantry in which the trunk had remained for years, hidden under sacks of flower and beans, keeping his mysteries away from prying eyes.

"Good morning, Victoria!" She heard Diego's voice just as she was about to enter the pantry.

"Diego!" She exclaimed with a start. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just heading for The Guardian's office and was wondering if you had, by any chance, finished your column for the next edition." He replied innocently.

"Oh, no… To be fair, I was so busy with Spring cleaning that I have completely forgotten." She confessed. "But I promise to get to it this afternoon. I hope it's not too late."

"That's quite alright, Victoria. There are still a couple of days before I print it." Diego answered.

"Diego?" She asked, just as he was about to turn around and leave. "Would you… would you mind staying? I need to go through a certain trunk I haven't opened in many years… since Mother died and Father left Los Angeles. I could do with some company."

The caballero pretended to hesitate for a few seconds before answering. "Of course. If my company will keep you away from dark thoughts, I'd be honored to help."

The taverness smiled and, with the boost of confidence she felt at having Diego there, she opened the door to the pantry and headed straight for the trunk.

"Let me help you!" Diego offered as he took off his jacket and started moving away the sacks obstructing her way.

As he finished, Victoria offered him a grateful smile and took out the key fitting the big lock sealing the contents of the truck from the outside world. As she got it opened, Diego opened the lid to uncover a small treasure of objects which instantly reminded Victoria of happier times, when both her parents were alive and her brothers were still with her.

"My mother's wedding dress." Was the first thing she uttered as she took out an antiquated, yet still beautiful red dress. Just underneath it was her father's wedding suit and, under that, several small boxes filled with various objects, varying from combs and mother-of-pearl jewels to family portraits. "You painted this one!" She stated as she took out a family portrait made when she was about fourteen-years-old.

"Yes, I remember it." Diego confirmed, smiling at seeing it. "It was never my best work, I'm afraid."

"You're wrong!" She contradicted him. "I think it's the best portrait I have of them. And look how beautifully you've painted me! This should hang in the taproom, just above the bar! Will you help me with it?"

"Certainly!" The caballero agreed and, soon enough they were both admiring the family portrait as it hung from a nail Diego had just planted in Victoria's wall.

"Son!" Don Alejandro called from the doorway, just a few moments later. "Felipe and I need your help to unload the wagon. Unless you have something more important to do?"

"Oh… Father, I was actually just helping Victoria…" He answered.

"It's alright, Don Diego. You've already done more than enough. I can continue by myself. Go help Don Alejandro." The taverness encouraged him.

The tall caballero nodded and followed his father to the plaza.

"I haven't interrupted anything, have I?" Don Alejandro wondered somewhat hopeful.

"No, Father. Don't worry. For all Victoria knows, I'm nothing but her friend, and that is how I need to keep things until I no longer have a price on my head." He replied.

"You really should tell her soon, Diego. She does love you, Son, even if she has no idea it is you under that mask." The don encouraged him.

"I know, Father. It's not her love I doubt. My only concern is for her safety, as you very well know."

"My Son, you'll have to tell her one day, and the more you wait, the more chances there are for her temper to get the best of her when you will. Don't get me wrong! I'm sure she will forgive you for having deceived her, just as I have, because, like me, she too will understand that all you did was in order to protect us. But you've already wasted more than eight years, Son, eight years you could have spent with the woman you love. Leave the lancers to their job and finally live the life you were meant to live!" Don Alejandro told him.

"You are forgetting the Alcalde, Father. Ignacio did change a little after he shot Gilberto. Zorro is no longer needed as much as before… but I would hardly trust him to have made a radical turn." Diego replied as they reached the back of the church where Felipe was waiting for them with the wagon.

ZZZ

In the meantime, rummaging through the trunk, Victoria found a few things she had no memory of ever seeing before, including a cooking notebook filled with what seemed like one of her grandmother's recipes.

When Diego returned, later that afternoon, after having helped his father with a second transport of donated goods, she was immersed in the study of the notebook, having already forgotten her promise to get to the advice column.

"Do you need any help?" Diego wondered as she confessed to him that she still hadn't started writing.

Victoria eyed him teasingly and nodded, then headed for a box in her kitchen where she held the letters addressed to Dona Corazon.

"Let's see… There is one from a woman asking for advice on how to get the attention of a man she loves, but who doesn't even know she exists, and another from a man asking what to do to rekindle the romance with his wife. What do you think, Don Diego?"

"What I think…" he answered pensively, "is that, for many men, as they say, love goes through the stomach. So maybe that's what your first reader should do: cook a splendid meal for the man she loves, and I doubt he'll ever again forget that she exists. As for the second, I'm not an expert in marriages, but, from what I remember about my parents', Father used to bring Mother flowers and take her on romantic picnics every week. They had their little spot he refused to share with anyone else. He'd always leave with a book of poetry and they'd both wore a big smile upon their return, seemingly even more in love than they had been when they had left."

"That is actually very good advice!" Victoria agreed. "Diego, how come, after seeing how your parents were together and how much they loved each other, you still never considered getting married?"

"Who says I didn't?" He asked.

"You mean… that woman, Zafira?" She wondered.

"Yes. I did almost marry her in Madrid. For a brief period of time I had fancied myself in love with her." He replied. "But I am glad things turned out as they did. It was for the best."

"Why do you think so?"

"Well… what I felt for Zafira was not love, you see. I liked and admired her. I loved that she loved me and, back then, I believed that is what love feels like. Now I know I was wrong."

"You do? How?"

"Now I know what love truly is. I know the difference."

"But, Diego, you have never courted a woman since you came back. You told me you loved someone who loved another man, but… I do have to wonder, what do you think love is?"

"Love, Victoria, is when you are capable of always putting the other person first. For a man it is when the woman he loves is his first and last thought every day, as he wakes up in the morning and goes to sleep in the evening. It's when he's able to put her happiness before anything else, even his own desires. When he is willing to let her go, if that is what it takes for her to be happy, even if he knows he'd never be able to love or be happy with anyone else." Diego replied, and Victoria just stared at him.

"You truly are in love, aren't you?" She asked.

Diego just smiled and nodded, but the taverness didn't know how to feel about his confession. There was something both comforting and disturbing about the idea that her best friend felt that way about a woman, and the question about who that woman was started to truly bug her.

"Señorita," Mendoza interrupted them, "I was wondering if you had any food left after lunch. It would be a shame to waste it…"

"Now, if that reader of yours was trying to gain the attention of our friend here, I am quite certain my advice would be perfect for her." Diego told Victoria with a grin, somewhat relieved that the Sergeant had interrupted them.

Victoria chuckled and headed for the kitchen to prepare a plate for Mendoza. That was when, thinking about her friend's words, she remembered how he had glanced towards her before he told Zafira that there was someone else in his life. The next thing she knew, she was thinking about how he always seemed to be around, visiting the tavern almost every day, happy to give her a hand with whatever she needed. And in that moment, Victoria had an epiphany: Diego was in love with… her.

It all fit, if that was the case: his refusal to get married, his constant gravitation around her, the confession that the woman he loved was in love with another. It all made sense.

She smiled at first, as she finished plating Mendoza's food, but then started worrying about that discovery. What was she to do with such knowledge when her heart already belonged to another man? Or did it?

On one hand, Zorro was brave and dashing, romantic and heroic, amazing in every way as far as she was concerned. She had already agreed to marry him, but he was still a complete mystery to her, not even trusting her with his true identity.

Diego, on the other hand, was her oldest and dearest friend, dependable and always kind to everyone. He was not much of a fighter, but that had not stopped him from challenging a master swordsman to defend her. If he truly was, as she suspected, in love with her, and his idea of love was as he had described it for her, Victoria could very well imagine a happy life by his side.

As she realized that, she decided that she needed to find out for sure. Was Diego de la Vega, the most renowned bachelor in California, the man Dona Maria, the pueblo's matchmaker, had once declared hopeless and unromantic, really in love with her, or was her mind simply playing tricks?

"Diego!" She said as she exited with Mendoza's food, "I need to go to San Pedro tomorrow for some shopping. Do you think I might convince you or your father to accompany me?"

"I'd be happy to." He instinctively replied. "I… I also have a few supplies… for The Guardian, I need to buy there."

"Excellent! We'll be leaving at 7 in the morning." She informed him as she turned around, giggling on the inside and wondering if he would be in time.

"Isn't that a bit early for you, Don Diego?" Mendoza wondered as he sat down and started eating.

"Just a little bit, Sergeant. But, I already promised, so I guess I'll have to do an effort to wake up in time." He replied.

ZZZ

Diego arrived at 6:45 at the tavern, just as Victoria finished her morning tasks, had given the proper instructions to Pilar and was preparing for the day's journey.

"You're already here?" She asked somewhat baffled. Arriving early! Her mind silently whispered. Men in love are always eager to see their beloved.

"I thought I'd help you with the wagon." He replied with a grin.

"Thank you, Diego. It's in the stables, with my mare." She answered.

He nodded and, some five minutes later, the wagon, to which Diego had harnessed both Esperanza and Victoria's mare, was waiting in the plaza for the taverness.

"Do you need help with the containers?" The caballero asked as she came carrying a couple of baskets.

"Yes. Thank you, Diego. I need help with those barrels." She answered, indicating the two wooden monstrosities she was certain he'd ask for someone's help to lift. He surprised her by carrying them all by himself without any trouble.

Trying to impress me. Her mind continued. Men in love always try to impress the women they are courting. Is Diego courting me? She then asked herself.

"Señorita!" Diego bowed, offering her his hand to help her climb into the wagon.

Being chivalrous. How is it I never noticed before that he only behaves like this towards me? She wondered.

Diego and Victoria left the pueblo at 7 o'clock sharp, heading for the port of San Pedro.

"So…" she asked, "how have you and your father been coping with the entire Gilberto affair?" Why did I asked such a thing? She wondered as soon as the words left her lips.

"Well," he answered, "Father is more affected than I am, I must admit. He has lived his entire life wishing for another child, yet never knowing he already had one. Now he must come to terms not only with the revelation that a son of his was stolen at birth, but also with the fact that he had tried to kill us both, without ever questioning the lies that woman had told him."

Victoria remained pensive for a few moments, unsure of what to say. She was not off to a good start.

"Diego," she decided to take the bull by the horns "I was thinking about the conversation we had yesterday… about love and how to know one is in love…"

"You have?" He asked, glancing fugitively at her.

"Yes… Well… I was wondering why have you decided not to tell the woman you are in love with that you love her. What's stopping you?"

"Ah… I guess… Ah… I did say she was in love with another man, didn't I?" He replied.

"You did. But still, don't you think she has the right to know, so that she'd have the chance to make her own choice? Who knows? You might be surprised by her decision." She uttered, her words surprising even herself. What in the world am I doing? I've already promised Zorro to marry him!

"I don't think so. I have fierce competition for her heart. Not to mention, she is already engaged to be married." Diego replied, surprising Victoria.

I guess that settles it. She concluded. It's not me. I am engaged, but nobody knows that except for Zorro and me, which means Diego is talking about someone else. How foolish was I to think that he's in love with me! Why does the idea that he is not make me feel so sad? Was I hoping he was? Am I really that petty, to want him to love me even knowing I would never respond to his feelings? Or do I… Am I in love with… Diego? She glanced at him with a thoughtful stare. He caught her glance and smiled innocently, that silly smile he puts on every time he doesn't understand something. How could he? Look at him! He's completely clueless! I am to marry Zorro! I love Zorro! I can't be in love with two men at the same time! But Diego is so sweet! And he's always there for me! He even woke up early to come with me this morning. But Zorro is also always there for me, whenever I need a hero! He's my hero and Diego is my friend! That's all we are to each other! Friends! And one day we'll each be married to someone else and… I don't know… Eat together at the tavern. Victoria's face turned sour at imagining Diego trying his imaginary wife's food as she giggled and kissed him. Oh, how I despise her! Couldn't he have made a better wife choice? And why was Zorro just looking at her like that? Is Zorro going to leave me for Diego's wife? Are the two of us going to wind up sighing from the tavern's terrace at seeing Zorro stroll with that woman through the plaza? Victoria shook her head realizing her imagination was running rampant.

"What is she like?" Victoria decided to ask him. "The woman you are in love with…" She clarified, looking wide-eyed at the caballero next to her.

"What's she like? Ah… She's the most beautiful woman I've ever met." He replied, looking in front of him with a smile on his face. Victoria seemed saddened by that affirmation. He had met many women in all the countries he had seen. Certainly there were many more beautiful than her. Plus, judging by that Zafira woman, he probably liked blondes. Who was blonde and beautiful in Los Angeles? She wondered as her mind started going through the entire female population of the pueblo. What if she wasn't even from Los Angeles? She then asked herself. He travels almost weekly to San Diego, or so he says. What if he truly goes there or somewhere else just to see her? Oh, this is useless! "Both inside and out." He added, just as he finished the previous statement. "She's kind and stands up for what she believes in, " the caballero continued, "she's great with children, and her eyes are like two endless pools in which I feel lost every time I look at her. She's also…"

"So she's the perfect woman!" Victoria interrupted spitefully. Of course Diego de la Vega would only fall in love with someone perfect! She told herself.

"For me she is. I don't think I'd ever be able to love anyone as I love her." He replied with a kind smile, feeling he was seconds away from confessing the truth to Victoria.

Just then, as he turned his head to meet her eyes, a shot rang, and a bullet planted itself in the barrel behind them.

"Bandits!" He exclaimed as he saw two masked men riding towards them.

Diego steered the horses into a gallop, hoping to escape the attackers. Another shot rang and a second bullet injured the side of Victoria's wagon as the caballero abruptly stopped the horses, allowing for the two men to get near.

"What are you doing? We need to flee!" Victoria yelled at him.

"Give us all your valuables!" One of bandits said as they approached the wagon, pointing their pistols at them.

"Or what?" Diego asked as he stood tall, folding his arms across his chest.

The two men exchanged a puzzled look. "Or we shoot you!" One of them stated.

"With what? You just emptied your pistols!" Diego contradicted them.

Again the men looked at each other with a somewhat dumb expression on their faces as the caballero rapidly reached for a musket he had hidden behind the seat, pointing it at them as he patted his own back for having had the foresight to take it with him.

"Now, Señores, I suggest you put down your guns and ammunition, and I might be convinced to let you live." He replied.

"How do we even know that musket is loaded?" One of the thugs asked.

"I can show you it is, but I have no intention of wasting my bullets as you have, so do inform me who wants to get shot first?" Diego replied and Victoria looked at him with a mixture of pride, puzzlement and amusement.

"No… We believe you, Señor!" One of the thugs replied.

"Excellent. The guns, please!" The caballero insisted and, after exchanging another glance, the two men did as asked and let their guns fall to the ground, then added the gunpowder and the bullets they had on them to the pile. "Now be so kind as to tie each other up!"

About an hour after they had left the pueblo, Diego and Victoria returned, the two bandits tied up on their horses, which were walking behind the wagon as the taverness was keeping watch on them.

"De la Vega? What is this?" De Soto asked at exiting his office at hearing the commotion their return had stirred in the plaza.

"Well, Alcalde, these men attacked Victoria and me, as we were heading for San Pedro, but were stupid enough to empty their guns before they reached us. So I decided to turn the tables on them." He replied triumphantly.

"I had no idea you even knew how to handle a musket!" The Alcalde replied.

"I don't actually… I mean, I do know how to use one, but I confess my aim is dreadful. They, however, didn't know that, did they?" He replied, lying quite convincingly.

"Well, congratulations, you idiots! You got duped by the only man nobody is stupid enough to fear around here!" De Soto uttered with a chuckle and some newly found appreciation for Diego.

"Alcalde…" Mendoza intervened, "those are the men on the posters we just received from Santa Barbara. The ones who have killed that judge! They have a seven-thousand-pesos reward on their heads."

"What?" De Soto asked, almost unable to believe his ears, then checked the posters. "Sergeant, organize their transport to Santa Barbara for the trial. You were lucky, De la Vega! These two are blood-thirsty cutthroats!"

"I guess I am… quite lucky. Oh, dear… Victoria, would you mind if we go to San Pedro another time? I feel rather lightheaded!" Diego uttered.

"Of course, Don Diego! Come… I'll cook you some breakfast. You probably didn't get to eat this morning… which would explain a lot!" She decided. "We can go to San Pedro another day!"

De Soto chuckled at seeing the face his former schoolmate made at finding out how close he had come to being those men's victim, then the thought hit him that that useless caballero had just caught two bandits worth more in rewards than his nemesis. That spoiled his good mood.