The Playboy's Touch (Book 2)

Chapter 21

Enrique

Rosa and i were talking and whispering about our next night together when I saw Rachel headed my way.

My breath caught a bit seeing her so beautiful and walking right towards me with a determined look in her blue eyes. But the girl she was dragging behind her caught me off guard. When they reached me, Rosa eyed them curiously.

“Rosa this is Rachel Thompson, a friend from London. And Rachel, this is Rosa. A dear friend of mine.” I said gesturing at them.

Rachel gave Rosa a sweet but fake smile. I knew she knew exactly who Rosa was-it was her who told me we didn’t do a good job of hiding the fact that I had been with her minutes before she stepped out the house.

“Good evening, it’s nice to meet you.” Rachel said in a sweet voice I knew was laced with sarcasm. “I’d like to introduce you both to my new friend Cecilia. Cecilia..”

“Campos..” the girl finished for Rachel.

“Yes, Cecilia Campos.” Rachel repeated.

“It’s very nice to meet you Miss Campos.” I said bowing. She smiled sweetly at me and Rosa.

Rosa gave her a tight smile. “It was nice meeting you both, but you’ll have to excuse me. My fiancé is waiting.”

I closed my eyes- knowing she shouldn’t have said that in front of Rachel. I knew she’d yell at me for it. But she only nodded and smiled.

When Rosa left Rachel turned to me and grabbed Cecilia by the hand. “Cecilia, this is my friend Enrique Cortez.”

“The Viscount Cortez?” The young girl said with wide eyes.

Rachel nodded and Cecilia immediately bowed her head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you my lord.”

“Please, none of that. Call me Enrique.” I said.

She nodded and smiled at me. She was very pretty indeed. She had mid length chocolate brown hair, was petite and had light green eyes which stood out against her creamy skin and the emerald green dress she wore.

The bell rang announcing dinner was ready. I was about to offer to escort both Rachel and Cecilia to dinner but Rachel walked away.

“Oliver is waving me over, I’ll see you two after dinner!” She said as she walked off. I looked around but Oliver was no where to be seen. When I looked at Rachel she only gave me a thumbs up and a small smile.

I looked back at Cecilia who looked just as confused as I did. And then it hit me . Rachel was holding up her end of the deal. She had agreed to help me find a wife who wouldn’t mind marrying me without love and only for children and physical intimacy. I had never doubted her ability to find suitable choices but it still surprised me that she had been so quick.

I offered my arm to Cecilia and she took it. We walked to the dining room and sat next to eachother. I noticed father giving me a curious look when he saw Cecilia next to me. As dinner was brought and set out and as Cecilia and I chatted, I found her to be quite interesting. She had a passion for philosophy and had read many books that I had only read in university. She was good at keeping a conversation going and even made me laugh a couple of times. And as we chatted I remembered that I had actually heard her name before.

Friends had told me about Veronica Campos-the eager mother and recent widow who was pawning off her only child to any man who would listen to her. I had assumed that her daughter must be undesirable in some drastic way if she was desperately looking for someone to marry her to. But Cecilia was the opposite- she was pretty, funny and interesting to talk to.

“You’ve heard of me haven’t you?” She said as if reading my mind.

“Excuse me?”

“You have that look of terror on your face-I’ve seen it before on other men.” She sighed as she cut her meat. “I suppose I have my mother to thank for that.”

I smiled. “I’m just trying to figure out why she is so eager to marry you off.”

She chewed and then looked at me. Her green eyes tired but full of honesty. “My father left us in great debt, and it’s my second season out. She’s getting anxious. And to be honest, so am I.”

“You don’t think you’ll get a proposal?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe. But I think I would have gotten at least one of Mother didn’t keep scaring them off.” She looked at her plate for a moment before speaking up again. Her voice was quiet and a bit sad. “I just want to get it over with.”

We both sat in silence. I didn’t know what to say.

This was what I wanted right? A woman like Cecilia who wanted to marry, even if love wasn’t a part of it.

I heard a familiar laugh down the table and looked up to see Rachel laughing.

Vicente was next to her and he was leaning in telling her something. She covered her mouth to keep from spitting her food out but continued to laugh. People around them looked at them with curiosity and amusement. They seemed to appreciate the two of them together.

I felt my face get a bit hot and my muscles tense. I didn’t know why but I knew there was no reasonable explanation to feel this way. I had agreed to help Rachel find a nice man to have fun with while she was here. To help her gain confidence around men enough to flirt and possibly seduce them. The second part made my stomach hurt. Looking at her so happy and beautiful next to Vicente was harder than I thought.

Then I looked back at Cecilia next to me. She was so soft, pretty and lonely. In our short time together I grew to believe that any man would be lucky to marry her-but that didn’t mean any man should.

I wasn’t sure if she was the woman I was looking for-to be honest I didn’t know what I was looking for anymore. But if Rachel introduced her to me then it was for a reason.

I had helped Rachel and now she was helping me. That was what we agreed on.

So why not get to know Cecilia a little more?

“Cecilia?”

“Yes?” She responded, looking up at me from her plate where she was still struggling to cut her meat.

“Are you available tomorrow afternoon?”