Page 190 of Claimed At First Sight

“In what way?”

“She always said that people reveal far more than they intend to if you’re willing to watch closely and listen.”

My thoughts drift back to long afternoons on the terrace, Mamma somehow turning ordinary conversations into life lessons.

“She’d ask us why someone seemed distracted, or why a guest had become quiet halfway through dinner. She taught us to notice the little things. Body language. Tone of voice. The way people looked at each other.”

I smile to myself. “She believed most trouble announced itself before it arrived. You just had to recognize the signs.”

I peek up at him.

“Like you, Don Maximo. I knew you were trouble as soon as you stepped onto that lawn when we were playing badminton.”

A low chuckle rumbles through his chest beneath my cheek.

“Why did you think that?” he asks, sounding genuinely curious.

I smirk, because in hindsight I was proven right.

“You seemed to have an agenda that went far beyond leveling out the numbers in a game.”

“It’s true.” His fingers idly trace a slow path up and down my arm beneath the blanket. “I watched you for a while. There was something about you that drew my attention. Then Mateo told me who you were.”

His expression turns distant, as though he’s remembering the afternoon we met.

“From that moment, I knew you’d become my wife.” I huff at that, shaking my head. “And I always get what I want.”

I look at him, searching his face for a sign that he’s teasing, but there isn’t any. At least he’s not denying that he joined me on purpose.

“There’s that impossible confidence of yours again. I might not share your impressive track record when it comes to getting what I want…” In fact, it’s the opposite. “But with Father gone now, I’m determined to start it. And I don’t want to get married yet… especially not to you.”

“And yet you kissed me.”

Heat creeps into my cheeks as the Ferris wheel flashes through my mind despite my best efforts to stop it.

I’d like to argue that it was a mistake, that it shouldn’t have happened. The problem is, I’d enjoyed every second of it.

I master as much indignation as I can. “You started it.”

“I did. And you kissed me back. Quite passionately, I might add.”

My face is positively on fire now, and for the briefest second, I contemplate stepping outside onto the terrace despite the winter storm just to cool off.

When I turn back to him, his face is right there.

My eyes drop to his lips, and my traitorous mind reminds me what they felt like against mine.

I move away just enough so that our shoulders no longer touch, pretending to adjust the blanket when really I’m trying to put a little distance between us.

Maximo observes the maneuver with too much interest.

“You can put as much space between us as you like, little rebel.” His gaze drops to my lips. “It won’t change what happened.”

“Just because we kissed doesn’t mean we’re getting married,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Though it proved that we have chemistry.”

“Perhaps.” It’s all I’m willing to concede.