Page 47 of His Innocent for One Spanish Night

Sullen? Alejandro would never have described her as such.

If she went missing and he was the last person to see her, he’d tell the police about her blue eyes and bright smile. How her untamed curls had a life of their own, and how she argued over storks in a nest, how she made him laugh and smile...

It almost killed Alejandro to hear her practising.

Last night, as he’d made his way up the stairs, he’d heard her. He’d stood there for a moment, trying not to picture her, tempted to knock, but instead he’d made his way through the gates to the safe silence of heavy brick walls.

Here he was, insisting she’d be better off without him, when it would seem that she neither wanted nor needed his care or concern.

He was coming around to the idea that maybe shecouldtake the part-time nature of his affection....

Emily fascinated him. She was gentle and she was shy, and yet there was a strength to her he admired immensely. She had no family—a concept he could barely grasp—and she made her own way...taking dance lessons in a foreign country, kissing him amongst the vines, fighting to be brave...

He tried to catch her eyes, but she was glancing at the time.

‘I’d better get back,’ she said. ‘If I’m to have any hope of making it tojaleotonight.’

‘Have fun,’ Alejandro said. ‘You should enjoy your time here.’

‘I intend to,’ Emily said, and with a brief wave and smile she headed back towards the bodega, wishing any brief conversation with Alejandro didn’t affect her so. And wishing that seeing the storks’ nest, or her dance class, or evenjaleotonight might prove to be the highlight of her day, rather than her few minutes alone with him.

Don’t worry, Alejandro, she thought to herself,I shall enjoy my time here.

She was determined to.

A littletoodetermined, perhaps.

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘OKAY!’ EVACLAPPEDher hands and forced the chattering to stop. ‘Tonight we are going to go over to the courtyard at Bodega Romero...’

‘Romero?’ Emily frowned. ‘But I work there.’

She had followed Eva’s instructions and indeed dressed up for tonight. She was wearing the pink practice skirt with violet flowers that she had bought at the thrift market, and had added the violet top that had come with it. She’d never intended to wear it—the low-cut top showed way too much cleavage—but she was really trying to give the classes her all. She was also wearing a borrowed pair of red flamenco shoes, and to top things off had tied a big silk rose in her hair.

Though she hadn’t gone out and bought the recommended red lipstick, Emily had thought she was well and truly ready for hellraising—but only in the safety of Eva’s studio!

‘I thought tonight wasjaleo?’

‘It is.’ Eva nodded. ‘The restaurant is closed on a Monday, so we can make noise there...’

Emily inwardly groaned. There was no way she was going to get up on stage in front of her colleagues—especially if one of them happened to be Alejandro.

‘Isjaleoalways held at Romero?’ Emily asked.

‘Pretty much.’ Eva nodded.

Bastard, Emily thought. He’d known all along. He could have at least warned her. Well, there was no way she was getting up on that stage.

Eva must have seen her gritting her jaw. ‘Just sit and watch if you are too timid to join in, Emily,’ she said. ‘Now, can you please carry the shawls? Stella, can you bring the castanets?’

Thankfully, having trooped through Plaza de Santiago and arrived at the bodega, she saw no sign of Alejandro, but even so there was no way she was joining in.

She sat at the courtyard bar as the rest of the class took to the stage. People were drinking, idly watching the assembled dancers. Emily simply didn’t know how to get up and just dance as the others did.

There was a lot of stamping of male feet as the dancers took to the stage, and Emily baulked at even the thought of the final hurdle. Or rather the stairs to the stage.

‘Maybe later,’ she mumbled to herself.

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