Page 148 of Bitter Secrets

“The hotel in Lisbon was nice, but it would be great if we could stay in a house or villa,” she said quickly. “Maybe a place here in Sintra and you could take a few days off?” When he frowned, she waved a hand. “You don’t have to come with me. I know you’re busy. Maybe I can—"

“You thought I wouldn’t remember?”

She stared at the couple at the next table as mortification engulfed her. She could have used anything. Why oh why had she used that fucking date? And it was just her luck that he forced her to tell him because someone else was packing for her. Her life freaking sucked. Using that date as a combination was clearly a sentimental gesture that she would have paid money to avoid him discovering. She felt as if she had lost valuable ground. He had her body, but she didn’t want him to know he had her heart. This was a clear indication that even when he wasn’t with her, he was on her mind.

“Why is Sarai packing my things? She’s your personal assistant, not a maid,” she griped.

The thought of Sarai gathering her dirty laundry on the floor outside the shower made her grimace. Why couldn’t some impersonal hotel staff do all this instead of Sarai?

“She does whatever’s necessary, and I wouldn’t trust anyone to handle your ring.” His thumb brushed over her bare finger. “Why did you take it off?”

She raised her brows. “You think I can hop on trams and go sightseeing around the city without getting mugged?”

“That’s why you have Mo and Johan.”

“I have security for my ring?”

“You have security because you’re my wife.” His thumb brushed over her naked finger. “One look at your ring and no one would dare touch you. Any man who spends that much money on a ring for his wife is a dangerous man.”

“I don’t understand.”

He regarded her silently as his thumb continued its distracting stroke over her fingers. She was dimly aware of the servers rushing around, the constant movement of patrons coming and going, and then a burst of laughter from the others at their table, but she couldn’t move her gaze from his. He was so close, she could see her silhouette reflected in his midnight eyes.

“A man who can afford to spend that much on a ring could invest that money in other things besides warning others off.”

He leaned forward and gave her a long, slow kiss.

“Don’t take off your ring,” he said before he sat back and picked up his wine.

She was staring at him when Aleixo pushed a dish in front of her.

“You have to taste this lemon ice cream. It’ll make your dreams come true.”

Even though she didn’t have room for dessert, she couldn’t resist. She was pleased to see Roth give in to Johnny’s pleas to try a chocolate mousse concoction on a wafer drizzled with condensed milk. They cleaned every plate. She was finishing off the last of the ice cream when Johnny let out an outraged screech.

“This wasmytreat!”

He glared down the table at Roth, who wasn’t fazed by his outburst.

“You picked up the tab for lunch,” Roth said mildly.

“We’re the hosts, we’re supposed to—"

“I’ll let you pick up the next one,” Roth said genially.

Lyle looked back and forth between the two of them, clearly confused as fuck. She bowed her head to hide her grin. Johnny and Roth were oil and water, two men on opposite ends of the spectrum. They shouldn’t live in the same universe, much less be friends, but Roth seemed to know how to defuse Johnny’s dramatic tendencies with an ease that neither she nor Aleixo could.

“Fine,” Johnny said petulantly as he crossed his arms. “I’ll get the next one.”

They took their last sips of wine before they rose. She was pleasantly drowsy as they made their way to the door. She stiffened when Lyle slipped an arm over her shoulders. When she tried to shrug him off, he tightened his hold. She kept her head down as they passed through the front doors. He led her away from everyone else and faced her under a yellow streetlight.

“I’m not going to lie. I don’t like this, and I don’t believe you one hundred percent, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. “You can’t fake that shit.” He shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day Roth made friends with Johnny Salazar. What’s the world coming to?”

He waited for a response, but when he didn’t get one, he sighed.

“I’m sorry.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I can take care of myself.”

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