Page 6 of His Innocent for One Spanish Night

She didn’t know her own body, and she wanted to.

Yes, a holiday romance might just be on the agenda...

She sat for a few more moments and then made a call—only it wasn’t to Sophia. Finally, taking a breath, she headed into the living room.

‘I just called Gordon,’ she said in a shaky voice. ‘I’ve told him I’m moving overseas to take on a new job and I’ll be leaving in the morning.’

‘Yay!’ Anna squealed, and jumped forward to embrace her, but Emily shook her hand to stop the contact, not quite ready to celebrate yet.

‘He’s very upset...’ Actually he’d seemed more upset than he had been about the break-up! ‘He said I should have given him more notice...’

‘He gaveyouno notice,’ Anna snorted.

‘I’m going for it,’ Emily said, her voice coming clearer now that her decision was made. ‘I’ll call Sophia now and tell her I’m taking the role.’

Emily did so, injecting enthusiasm into her voice to mask the terror she felt. ‘I’ll sort out the flights tonight...’ She listened for a moment. ‘Oh, that’s fine. I’m hardly going to be there...’

They chatted for a few moments, and when Emily had concluded the call she filled Anna in.

‘Sophia’s hoping to meet me, but if not her husband will. Oh, and the apartment I was meant to be staying in has been booked by mistake—the flamenco festival is on—so I’m staying in the housekeeper’s apartment.’

‘With the housekeeper?’ Anna screwed up her nose.

‘I hope not!’ Emily’s head was spinning! ‘It’s all going too fast...’

‘If you think about it, you’ll never go.’

‘True,’ Emily admitted. ‘Anna...’ She looked up at her. ‘I never wanted to go on the ice—it wasn’t just because of my parents.’

‘I know.’ Anna smiled.

‘And I have nothing to wear...’

The age-old problem was, in Emily’s case, true. Her clothes consisted of stretch trousers and plain tops, all in muted greys and blacks. She wore the same all the time, as the trousers were good for crouching, as she had to for her photography. They were boring, practical.

‘I actually have nothing to wear.’

‘There are shops in Jerez! There are even hair salons,’ Anna said.

Emily tensed as her friend teasingly touched a raw nerve. ‘I’ve been looking it up while you read to Willow. It looks incredible, actually...’

It did.

Emily booked her flights, allowing for a couple of weeks’ free time at the end. And when she should have been at home, packing her case and gathering together her equipment for tomorrow’s flight, instead she looked at images of the stunning city that awaited her.

‘I’m going to say yes to everything,’ Emily vowed.

‘And that starts with being able to say no,’ Anna said. ‘Just be yourself, Emily. It doesn’t matter whether or not they like you, so long as they love your work.’

Anna was so bold, and Emily desperately wanted to be, so she nodded. ‘I’m just...’ She wanted to try new things, make up for the lost years. ‘I’m just going to go for it!’

CHAPTER TWO

ALEJANDROROMEROWOULDprefer this conversation, this day, this week, to be over.

Given it was late on a Sunday evening, it soon would be.

Not that Mariana would accept the end.

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