The Spanish Love Deception

Chapter 102

“And you couldn’t be scared of dancing with the rest of the guys, right?” Another quick look allowed me to see the

word challenge written all over his face. I snickered. “Oh, maybe you are. I didn’t peg you for a chicken, but it kinda

looks good on you. Maybe I should call you pollito instead of osito.”

His head turned very slowly. My gaze remained on him as I helplessly forgot about Gabi.

“Did you just call me a chicken?” he said, the blue in his eyes flaring. “In two different languages?”

“Oh, you bet I did. I would be scared too. Our team is strong.” It wasn’t. “And just so you know, I make for a wonderful

central defender.” I didn’t. “But maybe you don’t know what that means. It’s okay. Just know that some used to call me

Ruthless Lina.” Not exactly true either.

Of all sports involving balls, soccer was probably the one I sucked at the least. Although if I had ever been called

ruthless, it wasn’t because I excelled at playing the game, but because I ruthlessly ate the floor.

“Central defender, huh?”

I nodded. He didn’t need to know the truth.

Aaron dipped his head, his voice dropping too. “Are you trying to impress me with sports lingo, Catalina?”

The way he had said my name was new. I couldn’t explain how, but it had been different from any other time he had

voiced those four syllables. And it sent a shiver dancing down my arms.

“It’s sexy, but don’t ever feel like you need to impress me. I already am.”

My lips parted. I thought my breath had hitched too. Sexy. Had he really said that out loud? My eyes searched his

face for any trace of sarcasm or evidence that it had been a joke. But before I could find anything, a commotion broke

behind us.

Turning, I discovered the newcomer responsible for it. The moment I got a glimpse of the head of dark blond hair I

knew—or had known—so well, a heavy weight dropped to the pit of my stomach.

My ex was here. Daniel. Or at least, an older version of the man I remembered. Back when we had dated, he could

have been mistaken for a guy my age. But that had changed. In the time we had not seen each other, the way he

looked had caught up with his age. And he had aged well. Time had treated him kindly. The Daniel who was striding in

my direction was an attractive forty-year-old man, one who moved with the confidence only someone who walked in

front of a class filled with college students every day would have.

Although he had always had that confidence, hadn’t he? Wasn’t that exactly what had led me to crush on my

professor in the first place? It was during that very first lecture I attended. He walked in, cleared his throat, and flashed

that dimple. It didn’t take more than that. I had been a goner.

A lame, pathetic goner, crushing on her Physics professor. Or so I had thought, but then, by some magical turn of

events, he had reciprocated my attention. He did more than that. And I had believed we had something real.

Something lasting, just how Gonzalo and Isabel did.

And then everything had blown up in my face. Not in our faces, no. Daniel had been spared the nightmare.

“Is that Daniel?” Aaron’s low and hushed question returned me back to the present.

I turned to him briefly, not finding my words so I just nodded.

My attention jumped back to where my ex—and the best man—was, and as I watched how he hugged and clapped

his brother’s back, I felt Aaron stepping closer to me. I didn’t move. I was rooted to the floor.

Aaron closed some more of the distance between us, positioning himself to my side, right behind me. And I was

shocked at the warmth that his body radiated on my back and how his side quashed some of the uneasiness. It

reassured me. He did. And I didn’t understand how or why, but I didn’t have the time to pick that apart. Not with Daniel

and everybody else there. So, I just held on to it.

I inhaled deeply and watched how the best man started the round of greeting everyone with kisses and hugs. Around

the group he went, and I swore there was something suspended in the air as he did. As if every single person around

me was holding their breath until the moment Daniel reached me.

Hating how the atmosphere seemed to thicken with every pair of eyes that turned to me, I reminded myself that I had

already been expecting that kind of reaction. Everybody knew what had happened between Daniel and me. How ugly

it got and how hard it was for me. And most had pitied me back then. I knew most of them did in this moment, and

some always would.

Daniel took that one last step in my direction, causing a churning sensation to twist my stomach in knots.

“Lina.”

It had been ages since I had heard my name from Daniel’s mouth. It brought everything right back, the good moments

we had shared—and there had been really amazing moments—all that joy that came hand in hand with a first love

you foolishly thought was going to last forever, but also all the pain at having that turned into an ocean of hurt.

Because, sure, Daniel had been the one to break my heart, but the real damage had been done by everybody else.

By everyone who had learned of our relationship and tarnished it with stupid and poisonous rumors that—

No. Not the time to think of that.

Daniel placed a hand on my upper arm and planted a kiss on my cheek. If it hadn’t been for Aaron’s warm palm, Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

which had somehow landed on the small of my back, I would have stumbled backward. That was how off guard that

friendly kiss had caught me.

My gaze roamed around the group, confirming that every person present had their eyeballs turned on us.

Daniel seemed oblivious to all the gawking, smiling at me like we were old friends being reunited after years of not

seeing each other. Which was the exact opposite of how I felt.

He looked me up and down. “Dios, Lina. Cuánto tiempo. Mírate. Estás—”

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