Spanish Surrender by Rachel Spangler

Author:Rachel Spangler [Spangler, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781612941509
Publisher: Brisk Press
Published: 2019-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

They pushed through the doors to the opulent lobby.

“For crying out loud, you weren’t kidding about the heat. Just a two-minute walk across the parking lot and I’m thinking of pressing my face to the cool tile steps. Or maybe I should hug one of the marble columns.” Simone gestured toward the pillars under the ornate Moorish archways leading off in every direction.

Loreto couldn’t blame her, but she knew of better ways to beat the heat. “Why not let me get us checked in, and then we’ll see what we can do.”

“You weren’t kidding about this hotel, either.”

“Lush, right?” Loreto asked as she approached the front desk.

“Even by my standards, you keep winning with lodging selections,” Simone admitted without the least bit of grudging in her voice. Loreto felt a twinge of pleasure at the easy compliment. Those seemed to come easier today, out of both of them. She’d like to consider their improved attitudes a reward for their frank conversation this morning or a by-product of the respect with which they handled the complexities last night had left them with, but she’d be an idiot if she didn’t realize great sex also went a long way toward improving a person’s mood.

Once they’d cleared the air and it had become clear neither one of them felt weird or possessive, the two-hour drive from Cordoba to Sevilla had been downright enjoyable. They hadn’t suddenly become Chatty Cathys, but they’d made easy conversation about the scenery or shared relaxed silences while Simone checked email or did research, occasionally questioning her about things like local infrastructure or taxes. Loreto still suspected she was sniffing around the wrong trails at times, but she felt less inclined to say so today. She’d spoken her piece yesterday, and whatever Simone did with the info she’d been given didn’t make any difference to her.

She collected their keys and led them both up a wide stairway lined with elaborately detailed tile mosaics.

“They don’t ever waste a space here, do they?” Simone asked, running her fingers along the image of two cherubs lounging in a grassy field.

“Why would they? You have to have stairways. They might as well be beautiful.”

Simone didn’t respond, but she pressed her lips together in the thin line Loreto had come to recognize as her thinking expression. She never responded until she knew her own mind, and she must have still been undecided, because she still hadn’t commented by the time they reached their rooms.

Handing Simone her key, she waited for her to open the door and watched with another pique of pleasure as those scrutinizing blue eyes surveyed her accommodations. Every touch, from the lush rugs to the large, upholstered headboard over the thick king mattress to the heavy drapes in maroon with gold sashes, screamed luxury.

“This invoice is going to set my boss’s secretary’s teeth on edge, isn’t it?” Simone finally asked.

Loreto laughed. “It may.”

“Good,” Simone said, stepping inside. “It’s what they get for sending me on this errand.”

The edge in her voice made it clear she still felt the task she’d been sent to do was beneath her.

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