~ ZARA ~
My head spun so badly and my breathing was so shallow, I felt like I might faint. But as Emory smiled into her cup and the other two murmured their interest and comparisons with other nations, I realized… Emory had saved me. She'd saved me from being shown up. And she'd given me a strategy for dealing with this if I hit the problem again.
I was so grateful, I wanted to cry.
And so suddenly aware just how easy it would be for me to reveal to anyone how little I knew of this place, or these nations. Just one unexpected question or, God forbid, a conversation with someone who'd actually visited the island, and I would be outed.
My ignorance of others could be taken for lack of intelligence. But if they asked about my own home and I couldn't answer?
They were going to think I was a spy.
David would think I was a spy.
Which was when it struck me just how much I was hiding from him… and we were talking about getting married.