The-Spanish-Love-Deception-www.indianpdf

I forced myself to remember that I was here to pretend I was his date—of
sorts. That I had put on a little show at fighting that woman over him at the
auction. So, fake or not, to everybody else, I was supposed to be someone
who would welcome this kind of closeness and not someone who would
jump back, startled.
So, I settled my hands on his hard chest with a little more decision.
Unfortunately, the gesture only managed to turn that flutter in my stomach to
a full-on flapping and waving and whirling riot.
“What’s on your mind?” Aaron asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Being caught off guard by the question—and the interest—I blurted the
first thing that came to mind, “You said this had nothing to do with a
woman.” I shifted my palms across his chest. “But it looked to me like it had
everything to do with one.”
“I’ve never seen Mrs. Archibald so riled up,” he admitted.
I adjusted my hands on his chest again, trying not to get lost in how warm
his skin felt, even beneath all the layers of fabric. “So, you are familiar with
this Mrs. Archibald, huh?” I felt his head nod once, his jaw brushing my
temple. “Let me guess. Tonight was not her first time getting into a little
charitable quarrel over you.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Aaron Blackford, the cougar magnet.” I laughed lightly, the sound
coming out a little shaky.
A soft puff of air hit my ear, rousing a wave of shivers. “It wasn’t only
Mrs. Archibald enthusiastically bidding, if memory serves me well.”
“Smug,” I muttered.
But Aaron was right. There had been many other people—younger,
attractive—interested in him.
“Is this why you asked me to be here?” Aaron didn’t immediately answer,
so I continued, “I guess it all makes sense. What Angela said earlier and TJ
kind of confirmed.”
“And what’s that?”
“That Aaron Blackford is scared of a bunch of overly motivated wealthy
ladies who want to buy his company.”
His palms shifted on my back, spinning us into the changing rhythm of a
new song. “Are you teasing me?” he said right into my ear.
I was. But I would never admit to such a thing out loud. I felt myself
relax just the splinter of a hair in his arms. “Does it happen often?”