Page 80 of His Innocent for One Spanish Night

‘Emily, Sebastián just called...’ He knew she’d hear the more serious edge to his voice. ‘I have to go to New York.’

‘When?’

‘This morning. Now. He wants to see our father for himself. All these discussions about a hospice have unsettled him, so I’m going to take over the talks there.’

‘I see.’

She nodded, and he told himself that this shouldn’t come as a surprise. From the start she’d known that the brothers were often away.

‘How long will you be gone?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘Emily...’ He was rarely hesitant, but he wanted to ask her to stay on, knowing he had no real right to do so.

As they stood there, staring out of the window, Emily watched one of the adult storks leave the nest and soar and knew she somehow had to leave just as gracefully.

Leaving Jerez was never going to be easy—Emily had known that for some time. But leaving Alejandro was an entirely separate agony she’d refused to address. Somehow she’d convinced herself that she’d know how to deal with it when it happened...that it was a future problem that she shouldn’t dwell on.

But now the future had unexpectedly arrived.

She took a deep breath and the heady scent of orange blossom wafted in on the breeze and filled her nostrils, tickling the back of her throat. Emily licked her lips, a little wave of dread washing over her at all she would soon leave behind.

No, not dread.

She felt nauseous.

Again!

It had happened a couple of times in recent days, Emily thought, running a worried hand over her chin and feeling a fresh crop of pimples... She’d blamed them on his scratchy jaw, or the water...or...

‘I’ll know more once I’m there.’

Alejandro carried on talking, and thankfully her back was still to him, so he wouldn’t see the look of panic that flitted across her features.

It was that paella from the market making her nauseous, surely. Only it had been as fresh as the breeze, and she knew it.

Perhaps she was simply lovesick, Emily thought as she stood there, battling the wave of nausea and frantically trying to recall when her last period had been.

She was on the pill, for goodness’ sake.

Only she had been a little lazy in the times she took it, given she was only on it for the convenience of regular periods rather than protection or pregnancy prevention.

Oh, God, she’d been the one to refuse a condom that first time. She’d been more careful since, but that first night...

He’d wanted to be careful...whereas she’d simply wantedhim.

Please, please, may she not have made things complicated.

Breaking up didn’t have to be complicated. Alejandro had said that from the very start.

‘You don’t have to rush off...’ Alejandro said, and though her back was to him he watched her shoulders stiffen and the way she gripped the window ledge.

He assumed it was to do with the conversation taking place—that his hinting that she stay on a little longer fell outside the boundaries they had so carefully put in place.

‘I mean, the website is close to completion, and it’s good that offers are starting to come in for you, but you can surely have a break between...’ He halted, because for a brief second he could almost hear his father arguing with his mother.

‘You don’t need to go on tour so quickly, surely?’

Or,‘I know it’s a good offer, but it’s not as if we need the money...’

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