Page 53 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

He let it go to voicemail, then dialled the number to listen to her message, but she hadn’t left one.

‘Sebastián?’

His PA came onto the terrace, no doubt wondering what time she might get home. Spanish work days were long ones, but it was nearing ten o’clock...

‘Go home.’ Sebastián gave her a thin smile. ‘Oh, and one more thing.’

She turned around. ‘Tomorrow you’re going to have to rework the schedule.’

‘I already have.’

‘I mean, again.’

‘Oh.’

‘I’m taking the rest of the week off.’

He really did have a brilliant PA. Because, to her credit, she didn’t blink. He just saw her jaw tighten and then she pushed out a smile.

‘Of course. I’ll tell people it is a family emergency.’

‘No,’ Sebastián said. ‘Just say that I am on vacation.’

The drive felt far shorter tonight than it had this morning—as if the road itself was hurrying him back to be with her. He just seemed to slice his way through time and space until he stepped out of the vehicle and heard the throb of music in the air and the palm leaves rustling overhead.

He knew he had made the right decision.

‘Hola,’he said as she opened the door wearing a robe, with her hair lighter than when he had left her that morning. The redness in her skin had calmed down too—or was it that she had make-up on?

‘Sebastián!’ Anna was startled. ‘I thought you were back in Jerez.’

‘Briefly,’ he said. ‘You look hot.’

‘No, the air-conditioning is on...’ She paused. ‘Oh, you mean...’ She swallowed at his directness. ‘Thank you. We got our hair and make-up done.’

‘Can I come in?’

She was about to pull open the door, but then remembered her sewing was out in the lounge.

‘Actually...’ She cringed again. ‘Can you just...?’

‘Wait?’

‘Yes.’

‘While you tidy up?’ he smiled.

‘Yes.’

Quickly she moved her sewing project into her case, and before she headed back to the door to let him in Anna allowed herself a moment to take a deep breath and exhale slowly to calm her racing heart.

She had been sitting alone in her villa, doing her sewing, verging on crying. Dressed in new clothes—a silver dress and gorgeous underwear—she’d felt like Cinderella without a ball to go to, and she had taken off the dress and hurled it at the floor.

She was in the sexiest port in the world, dressed up to the nines, and she was...sewing!

And then the sexiest man in the world had shown up at her door.

Slow down, she told her beating heart—because he was clearly here to find out about Carmen, and actually she did have something to tell him.

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