Page 70 of His Innocent for One Spanish Night

‘Sure...’ As he picked up the swipe card and went to go, she halted him with a statement. ‘Alejandro, I don’t care if your family hate me.’

‘I do,’ he said. ‘My family don’t always play nice.’

He left her then.

Only Emily no longer felt as if she was being hidden.

She dug into her handbag and took out the amber seal. She held it between her fingers and up to the light, looking at the little trapped butterfly wing. She thought of Alejandro, chopping off his beautiful hair just to make a point to her. She thought of their row, and the way she’d voiced her fears and been listened to when she had.

Emily almost expected the amber resin to crack and the little wing to fly off.

She felt a little more free...

Seville really was incredible—she could easily see why Alejandro chose to spend a lot of time here. The architecture was stunning, and she visited the cathedral and then walked through a park. The scent of orange blossom was heavy in the air and it was, despite everything she’d heard, just a bit too sickly-sweet for her taste.

And then she found herself back at the hotel and in the hair salon, rather hoping she’d be told there were no appointments. But she was soon sitting in a seat with a black cape around her shoulders.

‘Just a little,’ she said, on constant repeat, but she was suitably ignored as layers were added to her hair.

She almost didn’t care. She just closed her eyes and told herself she could not be in love with a man who didn’t feel capable of being faithful to his wife.

Just enjoy the time you have, she kept telling herself.

And, despite feeling teary, shewasenjoying herself. Every second of their time was to be treasured, because even their row had been a revelation—she could say what she was thinking, fight her corner, state her case. She simply couldn’t imagine doing so with another man.

‘Señorita?’

She opened her eyes, surprised by her own reflection. Her hair was still the same length, yet now it fell in ringlets, and the cotton wool ends had gone.

The style brought out natural highlights and, even if it was fiercely expensive, apart from her camera she knew it was the best money she had ever spent.

She felt braver, somehow. And, given she’d hardly ever spent money on clothes, she walked into the boutique he’d recommended.

‘Señorita...’

She had a feeling Alejandro might have alerted them to expect her, because they were so ridiculously nice.

She was offered champagne, which she declined, and opinions and gentle suggestions, some of which she accepted.

There was a gorgeous red dress that felt like too much, and a pale lilac one that washed her out.

‘I don’t know what colours suit me,’ Emily admitted. ‘I tend to wear grey and black.’ She knew that made her sound boring. ‘And navy,’ she added.

‘What colour do you like best?’

‘Brown,’ she answered without thinking, just imagining Alejandro’s eyes. ‘But that’s not a colour. I suppose I need bright...’

‘No, no! Wear what you love!’

As it turned out, chocolate-brownwasa colour.

The dress was very simple, with a scoop neck and bias cut, and it fell to the knee and made her curves look curvy rather than... Well, rather than making her want to hide them.

Was this what love did? Emily wondered.

It was her first true acknowledgement that she’d been deluding herself.

She was crazy about Alejandro.

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