The-Spanish-Love-Deception-www.indianpdf

braced myself for a few tortuous minutes of small talk. “Wonderful, thank
you.”
He gave me a knowing nod, followed by a blatant smirk. I frowned.
“Big day tomorrow with Open Day, huh?” He leaned a hand on our table,
the buttons of his shirt struggling under the change in position.
Why did he have to stuff himself in clothing two sizes smaller? Someone
should tell him. He didn’t deserve the courtesy, but the world didn’t deserve
this kind of sight either.
“You have an outfit picked out and all? I know you girls take your time,
deciding.”
My teeth grated together with the sheer effort of not turning the table over
and flipping him off. “Yes,” I answered through my teeth. “Now, if you don’t
mind, we were having lu—”
“Did you have trouble putting everything together?” Gerald asked, not
caring about my brush-off.
I thought I’d heard Rosie mutter something that sounded a lot like jerk
under her breath.
Damn, she’s ragey today.
“A little. But it’s all sorted now,” I told him with a neutral expression.
“I bet you managed to find some help.”
That last word—help—the way he had said it, accompanied by a twitch
of his eyebrows, sounded as if it meant much more than it was supposed to.
I felt the blood rushing out of my face, a chilly sensation slowly
advancing in its place. “Yeah, I did.”
I hadn’t thought to hide that Aaron had helped me; there wasn’t a point,
but of course, that had happened before Spain. Now, there was something
between us. Something new and wonderful and so very fragile.
“Yes, I just bet,” Gerald commented casually. “I guess it’s as easy as
batting your eyelashes and asking nicely, right?”
Cold—glacial, icy cold—started seeping in all across my body. I
shuddered.
“Things are easy for girls who ask nicely.”
My spine stiffened. Nicely. “Excuse me?”
Gerald laughed, waving his hand. “Oh, I’m just chatting, honey.”
“Lina.” My voice was frosty, but how could it not be? The chill had
penetrated, made its way into my bones. Don’t let him get to you, I told
myself, begged of myself. “Not honey. My name is Lina.” I watched his eyes