Free The Sanctuary (Playa Luna Beach Romance) by Sarah Collins Page A

this?” Taylor said, her eyes full of questions.
    “I have absolutely no doubt he will, and I can’t quite explain why,” Cassie said as her heart warmed with the memory of his touch. His sincerity had moved her, and she utterly believed he would make this right.
    The door behind the dais opened, and the sound of electronic camera flashes became almost deafening. Taylor grabbed Cassie’s hand as they watched the Board of Directors walk in and take their seats on the platform, its purple velvet cloth in front stamping them with regality. Alejandro’s mother, comfortable in this arena, sat down coolly, turning her gaze directly to Cassie. She smiled slightly, nodding, and turned toward her son as he entered the room.
    They both leaned forward as Alejandro followed the group in a few steps behind. His Armani suit had “business” written all over it, and she had to look twice at him to remember his face as it was last night in the firelight. Searching, she tried to read his expression. Her heart sunk as she realized he wasn’t smiling.
    The group took their seats, and Alejandro walked to the podium, blinking as the photographers took picture after picture. “Ladies and gentleman, thank you for joining us today. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank those of you who sent messages regarding the vaquita sanctuary. All opinions were received and weighed before coming to a decision.”
    Alejandro spoke a bit about the resort again, and the ecosystem surrounding it, and Cassie couldn’t help but think he was stalling. His eyes remained steady on the door at the back of the room as he spoke, and she wondered when he would get to the point.
    He ended his overview of the issue, his face changing completely, a look of utter relief washing over him. He smiled, his joy obvious as his eyes flashed at what he had spotted.
    Turning to the back of the room, Cassie glimpsed Diego standing there, his hands in front of him holding his hat. He smiled at Alejandro, his expression guarded, as he moved a few steps closer. He was almost unrecognizable to her without his blue jeans, cotton shirt and fishing hat. The hat he held today was that of a Latin gentleman, and the expensive suit he wore made him look like an entirely different man. If she had run into him outside, she wouldn’t have known who he was.
    She looked back to the dais, where Alejandro’s mother was whispering with the woman on her right. She suddenly turned to Alejandro as the murmurs in the audience grew louder, capturing her attention. She had stopped listening when Alejandro began to speak of the vaquita, and now, she peered toward the back of the room, shielding her eyes against the bright stage lights the photographers had set up.
    “Before I announce the decision of the Board of Directors regarding the water and shore rights for the vaquita sanctuary, I’d like to introduce someone to you. Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor I present to you my uncle, Pablo Vasquez.”
    Cassie gasped as Senora Vasquez jumped to her feet and immediately crashed to the floor. Alejandro jumped to his left just in time to catch her before she hit the ground, laying her gently on the carpet. “Water, please,” he shouted, as he loosened the buttons around his mother’s neck. His uncle and his father arrived at the same time with water, their eyes meeting as they rushed to help the woman they both loved.

 
    Chapter Eighteen
     
    “Clear the room,” Alejandro commanded, gesturing to the assistants in the back. As they shepherded people out the back door with efficiency, an assistant motioned for Cassie and Taylor to exit with the others. “”They stay here,” Alejandro said, turning back to his mother’s side.
    Senora Vasquez’s eyes fluttered, opening wide as her brother bent over her. Her hand reached toward his face, her palm resting on his check. Tears spilled as she drank in his smile. “Pablo, I never thought I’d see you again. I’d