Page 31 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

He nodded. ‘Drama, drama—as always. They want to fly up. I told them to wait. Maria will just...’ He paused. ‘I think Alejandro and Emily may need some time...just them.’

‘Yes.’

‘Alejandro asked if you are okay, and I said not to worry—that I would take you for dinner.’

‘I don’t want to go out.’

Certainly not with him, looking like that. He was polished...almost gleaming. He wore dark trousers and suede shoes. Gone was the crumpled shirt, replaced by white linen that illuminated his dark beauty.

‘I’m not even hungry.’

‘Of course—you must have eaten on the plane.’

A granola bar.

‘But that was hours ago,’ he added, just to make his point. ‘Well, I told him we would toast the baby and send a photo to cheer up Emily.’

‘That’s blackmail.’

‘Possibly. But I’m hungry, and I actually do think the baby should be celebrated. My father is begging them to fetch a priest, so some happy messages might be nice?’

‘I get it.’ Anna nodded.

She headed back into her bedroom and went through her case. She selected the dress that she’d hoped to wear on a night out with Emily. It was a dark red cotton, and loose-fitting, but it would have to do. Running a comb through her hair, she saw she looked pale in the mirror, so she put on a slick of lipstick and some blusher on her cheeks.

‘That’s better,’ he said as she came out.

‘You look nice,’ she suggested, rather sarcastically.

‘Thank you,’ he smiled.

Anna rolled her eyes. ‘I’ve got to call my daughter and say goodnight.’

‘Of course. Do you want me to wait outside?’

Anna shot him a cool look. ‘It’s my daughter, Sebastián, not my lover.’

It was just a quick call, and a nice goodnight, and then her mother came to the phone and updated her on how Willow had enjoyed the journey up to Scotland. And then she asked how she was.

Anna closed her eyes and chose to lie. ‘I’m good. It sounds as if you’re all having a brilliant time.’

She felt Sebastián’s acute interest as he noticed that she’d chosen not to tell her mother anything of the day’s events, but he didn’t say anything when she put her phone in her bag and said she was ready to go.

‘Card to get back in?’ he reminded her.

‘Oh, yes.’

Under normal circumstances this place would be paradise, Anna thought. Instead of eating in the hotel restaurant they walked towards the port, where there was music and beautiful people. Sebastián fitted right in, Anna thought, as she saw many heads turn when people noticed him.

‘Sebastián,’ the greeter said, smiling as they walked into a beautiful restaurant and were led up to the first floor, to a gorgeous table that overlooked the stunning yachts.

Chatting easily with the sommelier, who also knew him by name, Sebastián ordered champagne.

‘You’re well known here,’ she said.

‘I come here quite often.’

He might be familiar with the surroundings, but Anna had never felt more out of place in her life. She went through the menu as the champagne was poured and wished it had prices, or a few English translations...

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