The Spanish Love Deception

How such a gentle con

tact could scorch my skin so effectively was something that I … couldn’t understand. My lips parted, a shaky breath leaving them.

Only then did Aaron’s eyes look up and meet mine.

My blood swirled, rising to my neck, my cheeks, my temples. Spreading out as I held his gaze, the blue in his eyes turning a little darker.

When Aaron looked away, just as he retrieved his thumb, I felt myself relax. But it was short-lived because as soon as my gaze fell down and found his hand as it hovered in the air, I discovered with horror that there was a smudge of chocolate on his thumb.

Both of which had been on my face less than a couple of seconds ago.

Oh Lord.

And yet, what almost knocked me off my seat and to the carpeted floor of the aircraft turned out to be something else entirely. Not the knowledge of learning I had been talking for a small eternity with cake hanging from my face. Nope. Or the knowledge I had done that in front of Aaron, who would probably use that against me in the future. No. What almost knocked me on my ass, if not for the seat belt, was Aaron leading his finger to his mouth, parting those lips that were so often pressed in an unamused line, and wiping the chocolate clean off his thumb.

Chocolate that he had just retrieved from the corner of my mouth.

A riot of emotions burst inside my belly as I watched his throat gulp it down, appreciation flashing through his face.

And I … holy shit. I just stared at him, completely … enraptured. Utterly shocked.

I should have been appalled. But I wasn’t. My brown eyes were now fixated on Aaron’s mouth, noticing how all the heat that I’d felt in my face traveled around my body to all kinds of interesting places, all the while keeping my eyes where they were. On his lips.

Out of my peripheral vision, I made out how Aaron cleaned his hand methodically on the napkin that rested on my tray.

“You were right; the cake was that good.” He cleared his throat, as if nothing had happened. “As I was saying, we should avoid your cousin Charo.”

When my gaze somehow managed to make it back to his eyes, I felt all kinds of hot, bothered, and weird.

“You stressed how important it is that Charo doesn’t suspect us. Our deal.”

Barely listening to what he was saying, I watched his hand lift in the air again. Then, his thumb was brushing the commissure of my lips one more time. This time, feeling twice as intensely. His touch twice as gentle. My eyes fluttered closed for an instant.

“I think you got all the chocolate.” My voice was so breathy that I barely recognized it. “Thanks.”

“Just wanted to be thorough,” he answered quietly as his gaze bounced from that goddamn spot close to the corner of my lips to my eyes. “Next question?”

“Best man?”

I squirmed in my seat, uneasiness replacing all the earlier tingly warmth. Perhaps because that was a topic that didn’t wake up the fuzziest of feelings in me. Or maybe because of how unsettled I was by what had just happened. I couldn’t be sure, but I held my breath as I waited for his answer.

“Daniel.” Aaron’s gaze held mine, a muscle in his jaw jumping. “He’s your ex and the groom’s brother.”

I nodded my head once, unable to do much more than that.

Aaron rearranged himself in the seat, dipping his head so we were at eye-level. “You haven’t said much else about him. Is there anything besides that, that I should know?”

He regarded me quietly, almost expectantly, and I could really tell I had all his undivided attention. Just how he had said earlier. Although this time, it wasn’t a trick. The need to open up to him and tell him everything manifested itself, making me doubt myself.

“No. That’s all.” I shifted in my seat, lowering my gaze to his hands, which were resting on his lap. “He’s my ex and Gonzalo’s older brother by a few years. Isabel and him met through us, when we started dating. And … that’s about it.”

If I were smarter, I’d tell Aaron the whole story.

But as of lately, I’d seemed to excel at making only stupid decisions. So, that was all I gave him.

In my defense, facing the catalyst of my current predicament was going to be hard enough. I did not want to spend my time talking about Daniel because that meant going back down memory lane, which had consisted of bad decisions and heartbreak.

So, no, it wasn’t something I was happy to casually chat about regardless of how crucial it was for the show we were about to put on. Even if a part of me refused to acknowledge just how small I would feel, showing Aaron that piece of myself, and even when I knew that I was lying to him. Lying again. It was a lie by omission, sure, but it had the potential to bite me in the ass later. Just like any lie would.