Page 24 of His Innocent for One Spanish Night

She felt as if they might have had sex against the barrels. As if, without his control, they jolly well could have.

‘Discreción...’he warned, as if this was all new to him too.

‘Still here?’ Sophia said to Alejandro, and then she looked down and gave Emily a rather startled look.

Emily soon saw why—there was sawdust on her knees.

‘Emily just found Mariana’s earring...’ said Alejandro.

‘Oh!’ Sophia said and then laughed as if at her own private joke—becauseas ifthe very shy and awkward Emily would be on her knees with Alejandro! ‘Just as well. Mariana has just texted me, insisting that it be found.’

‘See that she gets it.’

He handed the earring to Sophia, who replied in Spanish with a smirk, ‘You have a very demanding fiancée, Alejandro.’

Unfortunately for Emily, she understood what had just been said.

Fiancée?

He wasengaged!

Emily was still reeling from their kiss, and was now appalled by this new revelation—not that Sophia noticed.

‘Breakfast?’ she suggested.

‘Of course,’ Emily said, unable to look at Alejandro, her lips pinching together as they walked out to a courtyard table.

Just before Alejandro headed off Sophia told him she would take Emily to the vineyards that afternoon.

‘I’ll take her,’ he said. ‘You’ve already done enough by coming in this morning. You really need to get those feet up.’

‘I know. They’re like balloons.’

They really were not, Emily thought as she and Sophia took a seat at the table. What on earth would Alejandro say if he saw her feet, still swollen from the flight yesterday?

And then she smarted. No, he would not be seeing hers.

The courtyard was the perfect place to take breakfast, scented with the Seville orange trees, which were ripe with lush fruit, but Emily was too upset by what she’d just heard to really appreciate the gorgeous surroundings.

Sophia ordered hot chocolate and churros, and Emily said she would like the same.

She was frantically trying to turn her mind to work as Sophia went through the new phone and laptop with her, and explained that all her work must take place on these devices. The images she took inside the bodega over the next six weeks all belonged to the Romeros—they were dealing with liquid gold after all.

‘Any new programs you need just speak with IT, but it’s better for now that it’s all on here.’

‘Sure.’

The chocolate was thick and sweet and felt almostnecessary—like hot sugary tea after a shock.

And Emilywasshocked.

Not just that Alejandro was engaged to another woman, more at her own reckless behaviour. This was the biggest career break of her life, and yet there she’d been wrapped around Alejandro.

Sure, she wanted fun and romance—but after her six-week tenure, not twelve hours after landing.

And yet even if it would never be repeated, and should never have taken place, she did not know how to regret it, for it felt as if she’d glimpsed bliss.

‘How is the accommodation?’ Sophia asked as more hot chocolate was served.

---