Laura—
‘Ms Shephard? Is there a problem? Not bad news, I hope?’
Cristina flinched. Hell—where had he come from?
For so many years she had imagined speaking to Laura. But not like this. And not now. Not with Luis Osorio staring at her, his dark gaze picking at the loose threads of her composure. He had already written her off, and she wasn’t about to give him even more reason to despise and distrust her.
Forcing herself to meet his gaze, she shook her head. ‘Sorry to disappoint you. It was just my editor,’ she lied. ‘I had a few ideas that I wanted to run past her.’
‘Really? That’s strange. I just got off the phone with her myself.’
Cristina swallowed. Of all the lies she could have picked, why had it been that one? And why did he have to be the one to catch her out in the lie?
The air between them was suddenly vibrating with tension.
‘Actually, we got cut off,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ll call her back later.’
Luis stared at her in silence. She had just lied to his face, and now she was doing it again. If she’d been cut off she would have looked irritated, or annoyed. But when he’d caught sight of her, slumped against the wall, the expression on her face had been not frustration but fear.
His pulse twitched. In fact she had looked distraught. So distraught that for a moment he had forgotten that she was the enemy. Forgotten that she couldn’t be trusted. All he had wanted to do w
as reach out and—His brain paused. And what?
Hold her? Pull her close? Say something to wipe that look off her beautiful face?
He had been on the verge of doing it, but then she’d looked up at him and lied.
Just like that.
His anger simmered dangerously. How many times was she going to have to prove him right before he actually accepted the facts? That she had used him and that she was dangerous.
In two long strides he was in front of her, his arms on either side of her body, boxing her in against the wall.
‘Don’t take me for a fool, Ms Shephard. You might think that running with a pack of slobbering hyenas has made you tough. But you need to be very careful.’
His eyes locked with hers.
‘I’m watching you. And the next time you lie to me will be the last.’
With the barest turn of his head, he pushed away from the wall and spun round.
‘Pilar—let me take that tray.’
*
After lunch, Luis took a phone call of his own, and after he’d stepped out of the room Cristina felt her heartbeat return to normal again. It had been stupid to lie to him like that, for all she’d succeeded in doing was confirming his bad opinion of her.
But why did she care what Luis Osorio thought of her anyway? After this photo shoot she would never see him again. But for some reason she did care. Maybe it was because, just like her father, he found her wanting, and she so badly wanted to prove him wrong. Or maybe, after Laura’s phone call, her defences had been down.
Either way, this was not the time to crumple.
She looked up and felt her heart contract. Agusto looked tired, but Sofia seemed drained.
‘Señora Osorio, I was wondering…would it be possible to have a little look around the fortress? Just to get a feel of the place. I know how important it’s been to your family.’
‘Of course.’ Sofia glanced at her husband. ‘That would be fine—wouldn’t it, Agusto?’
He nodded. ‘Does that mean you don’t want to take any more photographs today? Only…’ his face softened as he looked at his wife ‘…I think Sofia and I could both do with a break.’