Page 35 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

‘Coffee would be nice though.’

He ordered coffee for Anna, and for himself his own brand of sherry. ‘Spot-check,’ he said.

‘To make sure they keep it in stock?’

‘More to make sure that it is our sherry in the bottle.’

‘That’s not very trusting,’ she said.

‘Because I’mnotvery trusting.’

It was Romero sherry, Sebastián confirmed when their drinks had been served and he had taken a sip.

‘Your mother is the dancer on the bottle’s label,’ Anna said. ‘I remember that from when Emily was doing the website.’

‘She’s on the labelfor now,’ Sebastián said darkly.

‘And your parents are back together?’

‘Yes,’ he nodded. ‘She has wheedled her way back in since my father became ill. The wedding was their first public outing, to show off their reconciliation.’

She could better see now why he had rushed to judgement that morning.

‘How is it?’ Anna asked. ‘Now that your mother is back?’

‘We call her Maria,’ he said.

‘So how is it now that Maria’s back?’

He gave her a brief smile, like a little reward for her persistence. ‘My preference would be to have nothing to do with her. But for now, for the sake of my father, I am courteous.’

‘For now?’

‘I’ll cut her loose when my father dies,’ Sebastián said. ‘I’ll completely erase her from the brand.’

The cold steel in his voice sent goosebumps up her arms and served as another reminder, as if she had needed it, that this man severed ties easily.

‘What about your brother and sister? Do they feel as strongly as you?’

He pondered the question for a moment. ‘No. Alejandro sees both sides. Carmen loathes her and refuses to hide it. I can’t blame her.’ He swirled his drink and then met her eyes. ‘I am concerned for Carmen.’

‘Why?’

‘Just am.’ He shrugged, as if realising he had once again been too open, and then changed the topic. ‘Enjoy the peace while it lasts,’ he suggested, then drained his drink. ‘The circus is coming to town.’

They wandered slowly back to their villas. The pink had gone from the sky and it was now a vivid navy expanse, with a strip of aqua where it met the horizon and stars were sparkling up high. Music was throbbing and Puerto Banús was far from sleepy, with lots of people milling about. He took her arm at one point, as a flashy car screeched down an impossibly narrow street.

Anna liked the feel of his hand on her arm and was suddenly confused.

She really had forgiven him.

The hurt she had been carrying had gone.

For months she’d looked at that incredible night through pained eyes, and yet now the sky might just as well still be pink, because she felt her rose-tinted glasses snap back on.

The time they had shared was not tainted now, although she forced herself to recall how he had hurt Emily in the past, as well his callously discarded fiancée, and how this man planned to cut off his mother without a backward glance.

‘Thank you for dinner,’ she said as they reached her villa.

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