Page 5 of Midnight Surrender to the Spaniard

She knew that Alejandro had a residence in the bodega, and had assumed Sebastián must too, but he said nothing to further enlighten her.

‘I’ll call you when we get to the church and then you’ll walk the bride over...’

‘Walk her over?’ Anna checked. ‘In brand-new shoes I’ve never even seen, let alone tried on?’

‘You can blame your friend for that. Emily wanted a very quick wedding.’ He stared pointedly ahead. ‘I wonder why that is?’

His words dripped sarcasm but Anna said nothing. She knew he was testing her reaction and refused to give him one.

Instead she carried on gazing out of the window as they drove through Jerez. Emily had not overstated its beauty and Anna was enjoying the view.

Sebastián wasn’t much of a tourist guide, though he did comment when they passed the esteemed equestrian school where the famous dancing horses performed.

‘My sister Carmen practically lives there.’

Apart from that he left it to Anna to take in the Moorish buildings on her own. The stunning Alcázar with its ancient baths looked incredible, and there were beautiful plazas with fountains and tiny streets she would have loved to explore.

‘It’s a shame I’m only here for two days.’

He gave a slight mirthless laugh. ‘I’m sure you’ll be back to visit your friend.’

He didn’t sayyour newly rich friend, but she knew she was meant to infer that.

As he pulled the car to a halt, Anna realised they were outside the bridal boutique. She decided his words merited a response.

‘Oh, I shall certainly be back, Sebastián.’ Her eyes met his, and now that the car had stopped he fully met her gaze. ‘Emily is more than a friend. I consider her to be my sister, so I’ll definitely be visiting in the future.’

Anna had been determined to remain smiling and polite throughout the proceedings, but had nevertheless felt every barb about Emily. Now that she’d realised something of what her friend was up against, she decided she would speak up.

‘You’re not the only one who has concerns about the suddenness of this wedding.’

He gave the slightest of sardonic smiles, clearly not believing her for a moment, so Anna let him know that she’d done her research on the man who would marry her friend.

‘Your brother doesn’t exactly come with the best references, and as for—’

She stopped herself then, but knew there was a flush spreading across her neck and cheeks. Because taking the groom’sbrotherto task for his sexual history was not part of a bridesmaid’s or a best friend’s job description. Though it had gone unsaid, Anna rather guessed she’d revealed that she’d done her homework on him...

Oh, indeed, she had.

And if she’d thought Alejandro was bad... Sebastián was wicked.

It wasn’t just stories of the wild parties aboard his yacht that had shocked Anna and kept her reading late into the night, but the stream of tearful women who had tried to love him.

Theendlessstream!

There was even a devastated ex-fiancée, whom he’d allegedly broken up with a couple of weeks after she’d lost their baby. All the scurrilous gossip sites managed to get the wordallegedlyin, presumably for legal reasons, and yet he’d done nothing that Anna could see to dispel the widespread rumours.

Even though she hadn’t voiced any of this to Sebastián, Anna wondered if she’d gone too far.

Not that it seemed to bother him. He barely blinked—just coolly held her gaze.

Flustered suddenly, she looked down a little, but only got as far as his mouth.

It wassuchan exquisite mouth. His lips were full and the cupid’s bow so defined that not even an hour with a lip liner brush could have made it better.

‘Finished?’ he checked, and Anna realised her eyes were still on his full mouth.

So, no, she had not finished looking. His white front teeth had met his bottom lip as he’d pronounced theFand then his teeth had pressed together on theD, and then his lips had stayed slightly parted...

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