Inamorata Read Free Page B

she sighed and walked down the hall. She stopped when she saw Sean quietly walk out of another room ahead of her, and close the door.
    She snuck up behind her younger brother and poked her finger into his back. “Hands up! You better have a woman in there.” She stifled the laugh as Sean let out a shriek and whirled around. “Is five a.m. the witching hour?”
    Sean gaped at his older sister. “Shit, Mick, you scared the life out of me. Hey, have you seen your face? Hell, have you seen your neck?”
    Mick heard his incredulous laugh. She shook her head, touching her swollen cheek. “I am such a fuckhead,” she said seriously and Sean snorted, trying desperately not to laugh. Mick glared at him for a moment then grinned. “Go ahead and laugh. I must have looked like a prize asshole last night.”
    Sean tried not to let out a hearty laugh. “Sis, you did look ridiculous. It happened in slow-motion. God, if I wasn’t tanked I could’ve stopped you from falling backward. Man, she got you good. What the hell did you say to her?”
    Mick turned so red that Sean got a little worried. “I used that line the bartender said to use,” she explained helplessly.
    Sean’s eyes widened. “No wonder she slugged ya,” he said.
    Both chuckled like little kids and dashed down the hall arm in arm. 

Chapter 3
     
    Mick and Sean sat in the dining room waiting for Juan and Maria to join them for breakfast. Back up in her room, Mick had tried everything to hide the bruise. She’d never worn makeup so that was not an option. Ice was the only thing she had and she nearly got frostbite in the two hours she had before breakfast. Nothing worked, so she opted for wearing her sunglasses. Her brother watched her in sympathy as he drank his coffee. Even with the sunglasses on, you could still see the discoloration.
    “Can you tell?” Mick asked.
    Sean shook his head quickly. “Nah, they’ll never notice,” he assured her through his grin.
    “Good morning, my children,” Maria’s voice called out. As she walked up to the table, she stopped suddenly causing her husband to bump into her. “Mother of God, what happened to your face?” The old woman blinked as she looked at the bruise on Mick’s neck, but said nothing.
    Mick glared at her brother who shrugged sheepishly. Juan walked around his wife and his eyes widened in horror. “What has happened?” he asked firmly.
    Both siblings opened their mouths and the old Spaniard raised his hands. “None of your nonsense. The truth,” he said the magic word and there went all the angles Mick had conjured up in her Irish imagination. Nuts, she thought.
    Husband and wife sat down and watched. Sean cleared his throat, obviously taking charge, much to Mick’s relief.
    “Well, you see…” he started then stopped. Mick drank her juice, avoiding him completely. “Ya know how…?” he tried again. Mick picked up her fork and examined it. Sean laughed nervously. “Heh-heh, you’ll find this rather amusing…” he assured them.
    Mick glanced at Juan’s scowl.  Maria bit at her bottom lip and glanced at Mick, who felt the heat rise in her cheeks; she adjusted her sunglasses.
    “Okay. It’s like this…” Sean desperately tried once again.
    Mick put a hand on his arm. “You’re gonna hurt something,” she mumbled her thanks and winked. She then looked at Juan and Maria and explained…the truth, the whole truth.
    Maria’s eyes widened and she put a hand to her mouth. Mick couldn’t tell if she was shocked or trying not to laugh. She looked at Juan and she knew what he was thinking. She actually thought she saw steam coming out of the old man’s ears. Maria seemed to notice it as well and subtly reached under the table, gently but firmly to squeeze his bouncing knee. Juan breathed deeply through his nose, relieving some of the redness in the ruddy complexion. He ran his fingers through his snow-white hair and then rubbed his face.
    “Are you telling me you propositioned a