Page 65 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

‘Don’t say that.’

‘I save it for particular types,’ he said, ‘and he is one.’

‘Yes.’ She wiped her nose on his exquisite shirt and thought of his laundry service. ‘Sorry...’

‘Go ahead.’

‘He gave me money to have an abortion...told me to “take care of it”.’

‘He knows you kept the baby?’

‘Yes, but he doesn’t want anything to do with her.’

‘Does he help financially?’

‘No. I could have insisted, but I didn’t want to break up his family.’

‘Why can’t you tell your parents the truth?’

‘I’m ashamed.’

‘You shouldn’t be.’

‘But I am,’ Anna admitted, and then she told him her biggest fear. ‘I don’t know what to tell Willow. I just tell her our relationship didn’t work out, but she’s starting to ask more and more about him. How do I tell her that he has another family and wants nothing to do with her?’

She liked it that he listened carefully and thought for a long while before answering—even if she was sure there was nothing he could say that she hadn’t thought of already.

‘Get rid of that shame before you tell her.’

Anna looked up, because that actually sounded like a plan. ‘Yes...’ She blew out a breath. ‘And I’ll tell her in stages, I guess.’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you know...?’ She looked out at the ocean, at the glorious day, and let herself think of the topic she’d fought so hard to avoid. ‘I just wish he’d ended things nicely.’

Sebastián found that he’d tensed, because he’d been ruthless at ending things too many times. He had cut people out if they dared to get too close.

‘Even if he didn’t want to be part of our future, I hate that it ended in a row.’ Anna gave herself a little shake and then concluded again. ‘I just wish it had ended nicely.’

She took a breath of salty sea air, as if she felt better for telling him.

‘I’m sorry for what happened to you,’ she told him.

‘We live and learn,’ he said, but then he halted, because it felt for a moment as though he’d learnt the wrong lesson from his brief engagement.

He’d learnt not to trust.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

‘HEY,YOU.’

Sebastián smiled as Anna came up on deck, her hair rumpled and her eyes blinking from sleep. He returned reluctantly to his online conversation as she poured coffee.

Anna wore one of his T-shirts, although someone on the crew had collected her things from the villa and they now hung in his immaculate wardrobe alongside the silver dress.

‘Do you want breakfast now?’ he offered. ‘Or I should only be another hour.’

Are you online...?she mouthed, indicating the screen.

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