Page 39 of The Fake Dating Plan

She raised her eyebrows. “Sure. Why not.”

He took me to a charming seaside restaurant that looked like something out of a movie. The owner, a burly man with a big permanent smile on his face, greeted us as soon as we arrived. “Axel!” he said as came over to us and gave him what I could perceive as a bone-crushing hug. “What brings you here!”

“I was passing by.”

“Uh-huh.” The man turned to face me. “And who is this charming young lady?” He leaned in and whispered something to Ax. Ax slapped him in turn and said something else in Spanish. The man laughed. Ax drew me forward. “Diego, say hi to Emilia, a friend of mine. Emilia, Diego.”

“A friend of Axel,” Diego said, holding out his hand. I took it and he shook mine in a firm grip.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“A friend of Axel is a friend of mine,” he said. When he let go, he gave me an appraisal then his smile grew wider as if I had passed some unknown test and led us to a table.

“I only meant to pass by and check you out,” Axel protested.

“Nah! Not when you rarely ‘pass by’ as you say,” Diego said, drawing out a chair and waving for me to sit. “You will at least have a drink. We have a new cocktail.”

Axel shrugged as if to say he had no option and took a seat as well. Diego went and, in a few moments, came back with two glasses filled with a yellow and red drink. He gave me one last big smile and then went away.

“I’m not going to fall for it,” I said.

“Fall for what?”

“It’s going to take more than a boat ride and a date on the Spanish Riviera to convince me to be your fake girlfriend.”

“Who says that’s what I’m doing?”

I leaned back assessing his casual stature. He looked at home in this environment. Like a native and not a tourist. “Do you come here often?”

“Is that a change in subject or are we still on the same one?”

“Do you?”

He took a sip of his drink, his unnerving gaze on me the entire time. “I do in fact.”

“Thought as much.”

“Really? What gave me away.”

I waved about in his general direction. “All of you. The way you are with the locals, your impeccable Spanish, I could go on.”

“I like to vacation here whenever I want to get away from the bustle of New York.”

Without thinking, I crossed my arms. “Is that why you brought me here? Familiar territory? All the better to woo me.”

“Actually, it’s because it was the closest place I could think of. I mean the hotel is only an hour away from here.”

“If you say so.”

“Listen. I’m only doing this because of my mother.”

“Just?”

“And to apologize.”

“Really?”

“And to bridge the gap. You have to admit it’s needed if we’re going to work well together.” There was truth in his eyes. His statements sounded honest. Hate him as I did, taking his olive branch wouldn’t be a bad idea.

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