The Royal’s Pretend Wife by Sophia Lynn Read Free Book Online

could put themselves into it, creating their own reactions and learning more about each other.
    “And now you are at home. Go.”
    For a moment, she thought that Apolo was frozen. It would be just her luck if he was a man who couldn't act worth a damn, but then he scowled, glaring at her. It was real enough that it sent a shiver of apprehension up her spine.
    “I see that you enjoyed yourself with Thompson tonight.”
    She blinked, looking up at him.
    “Thompson? Was that the man from the English embassy?”
    “You should know,” Apolo retorted. “You seemed as if you were hanging on his every word.”
    She pulled back, slightly stunned by the harsh tone in his words.
    “I was doing absolutely nothing of the sort,” she countered. “He came to speak with me about a gallery opening that he wanted to go to, one to which he wanted to bring his wife and daughter, I might add.”
    He stepped a little closer. She did her best not to shrink back. She was tall, but he still towered over her.
    “You sound so innocent,” he growled, and she felt an answering spark of temper.
    “And you sound so suspicious,” she retorted. “I was gone from your side for less than twenty minutes, and now you are accusing me of all sorts of nastiness.”
    Unexpectedly, there was a slight quirk to his lips, one that sent a shiver right through her body. It didn't lessen the tension, but it did change it.
    “Twenty minutes…” he said, letting his tongue caress those common words. “Twenty minutes can be more than enough time, if you use them correctly.”
    Trinity swallowed, and almost against her will, her mind produced everything that two determined people could do and do to each other with just twenty minutes.
    “When it comes to using twenty minutes efficiently, you are the only one who I feel like being that…efficient for,” she said softly. “Anyone else, and well…I just can't be bothered.”
    In the end, it wasn't her sharp words that moved him. Instead it was the melting tone and her almost shy smile. He hesitated for a moment, as if wondering where his temper had come from.
    “Are you sure?” he asked. His voice was still brash and even harsh, but there was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes that made her smile.
    She reached out with her hand to touch not his skin, but his sleeve, tugging at the fabric gently.
    “Absolutely,” she said. “If I have twenty minutes, I want them to be for you.”
    There was a slightly dazed look on Apolo's face. If Dr. Horne hadn't immediately clapped his hands, Trinity was honestly not sure what was going to happen.
    However, the doctor did, and they both stepped back. Trinity found herself blinking as if she had been woken from a dream. As always, there was an element of surprise when she came out of a scene. Real life seemed less real, and for a moment, she still lived in the fantasy world.
    This time was a little different though. Even as Trinity blinked the dream from her eyes, she wondered at why she still felt that tug. It was as if the version of her fighting with Apolo was the real one, and the one taking direction from an enthused therapist was false.
    “Very good, very good,” he applauded. “You both found solutions that worked for your insecurities, that is very good. You feel like a couple which is committed, but still might be finding its feet, very good. All right now, for this next exercise…”
    As Dr. Horne explained what they were to do next, Trinity sneaked a glance at Apolo. She had been able to tell from the moment that she met him that he was a private man, one who was often shuttered from the rest of the world. However, when they had been “fighting,” it felt as if something had opened in him. Suddenly, Trinity wondered if others felt the same about her. When they were pretending together, he was free to be who he truly was. He was free.
    Trinity knew that she was there for a paycheck, and one that was fairly sizable at that. She wouldn't be in Spain if