Oh. So Stephen was that kind of guy. Most of all, what Cynthia hated was being pretty. That came out stupidly, but it was true. Looks (to her!) were a distraction from all things important in life. And then there were the men who liked her. She wouldn't even start about them.
"Thank you," she said. In English. The Spanish had been a mistake, and he seemed to be mixing it up with Italian. Stephen probably thought she was a regular old klutz now. However much she hated men like him, she didn't want that reputation. And he is good-looking, she thought. But not my type. Why did she let him save her?