The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas (novels for students .TXT) 📕

that I knew all these tiny little pieces of his life.

The ones I had found out about the night of the fundraiser, sure. But also those I had dug up when I Googled him.

Yes, I had fallen prey to my curiosity. But just once. I had allowed myself to do that one single time.

And that level of self-restraint hadn’t been easy to accomplish. At least not considering how everything out of my little Google rendezvous had been stuck in the back of my head ever since I indulged. Demanding to be acknowledged more often than I was ready to admit.

My mind seemed eager on not letting go of the pictures of a younger version of Aaron—just as stoic, his shoulders as wide, and his jaw just as hard—dressed in a purple-and-golden uniform that made my heart rate grow a little quicker, only thinking about it. Or the headlines proclaiming that he had been a known name back in that day. But what I’d had more trouble forgetting were the articles—and there had been more than a couple dozen—praising his performance and foreshadowing the player he would become. But hadn’t.

So, why hadn’t he? Why did the press coverage of his football career go for a few years and then stop altogether?

That was something I hadn’t managed to find.

And it only fueled my itch to know more. To learn more about this man I had thought I had all pieced together but that I was learning I couldn’t have been any more wrong about.

As if on cue, Aaron looked back at me. His brows rose on his forehead. “Is something wrong?”

Caught a little off guard, I just shook my head.

“Then, come on. At this pace, we will never make it to Spain.”

“If only I were so lucky,” I mumbled. But then I shot forward, walking until catching up with him.

Once again, Aaron was right.

There were more pressing concerns to occupy my mind with.

Like the plane we would be boarding in less than a handful of hours.

Or the fact that once we did, there was no turning back.

Because we were doing this. We were really doing it, and we had to ace it.

By the time we landed in Spain, my family needed to believe that Aaron and I were happily—hearts bursting, birds chirping, and flowers blooming—in love. Or at the very least, that we could stand each other for more than ten minutes without causing an international war to erupt.

And as much as I had no clue how we would ever manage to do that, I was sure of something. We, Aaron and I, would figure it out.

We had to.

Chapter Fourteen

“And you said the desserts were nothing to write home about. Well, this chocolate cake tells a different story, pal,” I talked over my surprisingly amazing in-flight dessert. “Do you think I could ask for another serving?” I hummed in pleasure.

Heck, it was so good that I wasn’t even ashamed to do that.

Not even with Aaron occupying the lush first-class seat beside me. Oh yeah, because, apparently, I flew in first class now. I still hadn’t figured out exactly how I had let him ask—or rather demand—for an upgrade of my economy seat without even putting up a fight. But I knew it had included him throwing an arm over my shoulders and uttering the word girlfriend. Which, in hindsight, I knew it had blindsided me enough to somehow nod like a fool and place my passport on the check-in counter.

He lowered the newspaper he had been hiding behind and revealed a cocked eyebrow. “Pal?”

“Silence. I’m having a moment with my cake.”

He sighed and returned to his reading.

Holding my spoon in the air, I hesitated before taking it to my mouth. “You didn’t have to do that, you know? Paying for the upgrade of my tickets is too much.”

I heard a noncommittal grunt come from him.

“I’m serious, Aaron.”

“I thought you wanted to eat in silence.”

“I’ll give you back the money when we return from the trip. You are doing enough as it is.”

Aaron’s sigh followed my words almost immediately. “There’s no need. I’m a member of the airline’s Sky Club, and I have plenty of miles,” he explained as I finally took that last bite of chocolate heaven. “And as I told you, this is time we can use to prep.”

When I finally devoured what had just become the highlight of my day, I wiped my mouth with the napkin, placed it back on the tray in front of me, and turned to Aaron. “Which reminds me, break is over.”

He ignored me.

I poked the back of the newspaper with my index finger. “We have to get back to work. Come on.” Another poke. “Time to prep.”

“Do you have to do that?” Aaron pleaded from behind it.

“Yes.” I poked the newspaper a few times, making it impossible for him to keep reading. “I need your full attention. We have only gone through a few of my family members, and we are running out of time.” I tugged at one of the corners. “Do I have your attention?”

“You don’t need to do any of that.” He lowered the large black-and-white-colored pages with a brisk motion. “You always have my undivided attention, Catalina.”

That made my finger halt in the air.

“Ha.” I narrowed my eyes. “Cute of you to try to buy me with cheap tricks.” I leveled him with what I hoped was a serious look. “Don’t think you are going to get out of it, sweet-talking me into leaving you alone. The international relationships of the United States of America are not important right now.”

With a reluctant nod, Aaron folded it meticulously and set it on top of his tray. “All right,” he said, blue eyes focusing completely on me. “No distractions. I’m all yours.”

All yours.

My breath got stuck somewhere between my lungs and mouth. “Groom and bride?” I managed to get out.

“Gonzalo and Isabel.” He rolled his eyes, as if I could do better at testing him.

Challenging me.

“Trio of cousins, who you