Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Laura Marie Page A

gorgeous.
    “You’re alive. Oh, Mathew…”
    Mathew pulled his sister into an embrace. Salvatore and Jack hugged them both.
    Her mother Teressa wept as Elloisa’s father held her upright.
    “My Elloisa, my angel,” her mother’s words collided with her sniffles and tears.
    “Oh, Mamma.”
    Elloisa was relieved and so emotional she nearly fainted. Her brothers held her close to them, and the feel of their arms around her brought her joy.
    “Let’s head inside where you can sit down,” Mathew stated then assisted Elloisa into the house and everyone followed.

    * * * *

    Walking through the foyer, inhaling the familiar scent of cinnamon and apples brought more tears to Elloisa’s eyes. The large painting of a picturesque scene of gondolas in Italy above the entry table, the wrought iron coat rack, the marble umbrella holder all remained in the same places as before she left.
    Elloisa covered her mouth as she eyed the spiral, wooden staircase that led to the bedrooms upstairs. Was her bedroom still the same? The thoughts made her feel afraid. Did her family think that she was dead, too? Had they even tried to search for her or get to her in Mexico? So many thoughts went through her mind.
    It wasn’t until they all sat in the living room that Elloisa remembered Gustavo and the other agents. It had been an emotional reunion and an exhausting trip.
    Elloisa sat on the couch beside her mother. The moment she laid her head back to rest, she felt the dizziness and exhaustion. So she opted to sit up straight, her hands clasped on her lap. She was tense, definitely tense, and she was certain it stemmed from the apprehension of the questions her family would have, never mind the presence of the agents. But she also felt the welcoming feeling of being home. It was somewhat difficult. She had thought they were all dead. They had finally accepted that fact and also realized what kind of a man Armando was. Yet, here she was in her parents’ home, surrounded by her family.
    All eyes were upon her. Mathew sat across from her, Salvatore and Jack stood near the fireplace, and her parents, sat beside her on the couch.
    “Are you hungry, thirsty?” Teressa asked, placing her warm hand gently over Elloisa’s.
    Elloisa smiled then stared down at her mother’s hand upon hers. It was such a small action Elloisa had taken for granted years ago. The skin-to-skin contact of holding hands, an embrace, a hug or kiss on the cheek from family, she had missed out on so much. Now that she was with them so close, she craved their touch, their love and affection.
    “I’m good, Mamma,” she whispered as a tear escaped her eye. She felt it slowly roll down her cheek then land upon her lap. She was certain they all watched and that they all saw her emotion.
    She looked at each of them, absorbing how they had changed yet what had remained the same.
    “I can’t believe you’re all alive,” she stated, her voice cracking.
    “I…I thought that you all were dead…Mathew…” She swallowed hard, the tears flowed, and as she looked through clouded vision, she saw they all were crying.
    “It’s…” She couldn’t get out the words or what she felt inside. She wanted to tell them it was like being around ghosts or in a dream, a fantasy she could only have in sleep, not in real life. But they were real and they were sitting with her now.
    “Elloisa, I…I can’t believe you are here. This is a shock for us as well. We thought he had…we thought you were dead. How did you survive?” Teressa asked.
    Elloisa felt the anxiety, the fear, of having to tell her family what had happened.
    She pulled her hands away from her mother and bowed her head. She wiped a hand across her eyes to remove the tears best she could. Mathew handed her a tissue.
    She smiled then used it to wipe her eyes.
    “I…I did what I needed to. Everything seems like such a blur now. It’s so shocking to be here and to see all of you.”
    “Our prayers have been answered.