He had to get his mind together. Esmeralda Montero did not want him. She never did. She was a liar. But she hadn’t lied about one thing. His fatherwasa bastard, which stood as a reminder that Ignacio’s mission was more important than old feelings.
Frowning, he stood to his full height.
Esmeralda’s gaze fell to his bare torso and her lips parted ever so slightly.
“Like what you see?” he teased.
She scoffed. “I was only trying to figure out why one of your pecs seems so much larger than the other.”
His eyes fell to his chest.
“Now,” she said as she began scooping up the remainder of Estefan’s fallen feathers. “Let’s figure out how we can stick these onto you.”
Chapter 17
Esmeralda
She had the appearance of a beautiful dove. Ignacio, on the other hand, looked more like a pigeon that had been run over by a buggy. Estefan’s stinky feathers stuck out at random angles from his sweat-slicked shoulders. He wore a black strip of cloth across his eyes. A rudimentary mask, but it was the best she could do given the circumstances.
But now Ignacio was pouting.
“Stop acting like a baby,” she said.
“You tore my only jacket,” he huffed.
“I needed something to make a mask. Someone might recognize you.”
He offered no retort. His muscular arms were crossed, and he was scowling at the quickly changing landscape. A hundred or so rickety shacks stood around the outer edge of the city. Children ran about the parade begging for food and water. They wore tattered clothing. Some had on no shoes. These sorts of settlements had been growing larger as the war continued.
With so many adults lost in battle, who would be there to take care of the little ones left behind? Certainly not the king or his cronies. Queen Hermosa was rumored to be the only person pressuring the king to offer them shelter. But the big-city elite fought her at every turn. They preferred the nobodies be left somewhere out of their line of sight. Esmeralda tugged off the clip-on earrings Camila had given her and tossed them to a tiny boy who stood alone, sniffling. The costume jewelery probably wasn’t worth much, but it was all she had to offer. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t see these poor souls as the procession went on. Because she knew how it felt to be left behind. Because she understood what it felt like to be counted as a nobody.
She caught Ignacio staring at the little boy as if he might be sick.
“Don’t like what you see?” she asked. “Don’t like what your father and his king have done to Costa Mayor?”
Ignacio met her with a hard glare. “I don’t.”
The small wheels that carried the birdcage hit a divot. Esmeralda lost her balance. Ignacio’s hand shot out. He clutched her arm, holding her protectively in place. Her sightline was in perfect alignment with his torso. Her cheeks went flush. His pecs were so symmetrical, they were truly a work of wonder.
“Eyes up here, Dovie,” he said.
Angry heat flared within her. “Don’t be so arrogant.”
“Hmph. Now…” He lifted her up and plopped her onto Estefan’s swing.
Lifted her up like she was nothing!
“What are you doing?” she asked, taking hold of the swing ropes to balance herself.
Ignacio rested both hands on either side of her hips. “I’m making sure you can’t get away or distract me. It’s time for you to keep your end of the deal. Time to answer some more of my questions.”
A seedling of worry sprouted inside her. Why did he have that menacing look upon his face? And why did his lifting her up like that have to be so cursedly hot?
“Why did you join Carnival Fantástico?” he asked.
“My personal life is off-limits.”
“I have feathers stuck to my skin. I helped you steal this cage. I think you owe me this in the very least.”
