‘Okay, fine.’
Mimi’s voice pulled him back to the present and, tipping his head back, he met her gaze.
‘Okay fine, what?’ he asked softly.
‘I’m willing to call a truce if you are. But I don’t really see any point in us dragging this conversation out any longer.’
‘I disagree. We need to discuss you filming the wedding. She’s serious, you know?’ he added. ‘About wanting you to do it.’
She raised her chin, and he felt the shock of her forget-me-not-blue eyes zigzag through his body like a jolt of electricity.
‘I know she is, but whatever she said about it being your idea, I know it wasn’t, so you don’t need to worry. I’m not going to do it.’
She glanced away, and he felt his shoulders stiffen against the crisp white poplin of his shirt. Her desire to leave was so tangible it felt like a living, breathing thing on the table between them, and had this conversation been happening at any point up until a couple of days ago he would have been showing her the door. Hell, he would have been holding it open for her.
But that had been before he’d spoken to Alicia.
His jaw tightened. After his mother’s death, and the series of strokes that had left his father’s health permanently impaired, he had sworn to protect his sister and do everything in his power to make her happy. And he still felt the same way—perhaps even more so. It was, after all, partly his fault that their father was so fragile and that the business was only just now recovering its former strength.
Clearly he’d rather Mimi wasn’t within a hundred miles of the wedding, but Alicia’s happiness and his family’s reputation were all that mattered to him. Suggesting Mimi film the wedding had been the first thing to come to mind as he had tried to stem his sister’s tears and find an alternative to Mimi being maid of honour.
But now that he’d had time to think the idea of her filming the wedding was actually appealing on other levels too—for wouldn’t it be safer to have her fully occupied rather than just floating around unsupervised, as she had been at his sister’s twenty-first birthday party?
And who better to do the supervising than him? That way he could ensure her behaviour wouldn’t bring his family’s name into disrepute, and make her life as difficult and uncomfortable as she had made his.
‘It was my idea,’ he said softly.
She looked up at him, her blue eyes widening with scorn at what she obviously took to be a bare-faced lie.
‘Of course it was. I mean you love having me around. That was obvious after—’
She broke off, frowning.
‘After what?’ he asked slowly.
Inhaling a shaky breath, she shook her head. ‘So tell me, then, Basa, why exactly do you want me to film your sister’s wedding?’
He shrugged. ‘Why not?’
‘What do you mean, “why not”?’
‘I mean why wouldn’t you do it?’ he said patiently.
She stared at him suspiciously. ‘You do realise you said that out loud?’
He smiled. ‘I am aware of that, yes.’
She bit her lip and, watching her bite into the soft pink flesh, he felt his heart-rate double as his brain unhelpfully offered up an image of those same soft pink lips parting beneath his mouth.
Suddenly the need to have her commit to the project became as intense as the ache in his groin.
‘She’s your friend—your best friend—and I know she doesn’t ask much from you because she doesn’t ask much from anyone,’ he said bluntly, watching a flush of colour seep over her cheekbones. ‘But she has asked you to do this one thing.’
He could see by her expression that she was confused by his words, and then abruptly her face cleared.
‘Oh, I get it. This is you trying to persuade me so that you can tell your sister what a good brother you are.’ Her chin jutted. ‘Well, if that’s all you’re worried about you don’t need to pretend. I’ll tell her you tried and I wouldn’t listen.’
‘I’m not pretending. I think you’d do an excellent job. You’re a good filmmaker.’
‘Right...’
She shook her head, and the defensive expression on her face chafed at something inside him.
‘And you know that how, exactly?’
‘Alicia showed me some of the films you used to make at school.’ His eyes met hers. ‘They’re clearly amateur, but you really capture that teenage sense of waiting and wanting. There’s not a wasted breath,’ he said softly.
There was a beat of silence, and then his breathing stalled as she looked up at him with such sweet, desperate hope in her blue gaze that for a few half-seconds he forgot the past, and everything that had happened, and he was simply fighting against the insane urge to reach over and pull her closer, until her body fused with his just as it had two years ago.
Across the room, a champagne cork popped, and they both blinked at the same time.
Tuning out the heat pulsing over his skin, he regulated his breathing. ‘Like I said, you’re a good filmmaker, and this is your chance to be a good friend as well. So please say yes and make some happy memories for my sister.’
There was a beat of silence and then her shoulders slumped. He knew he’d won even before she began to nod her head.
‘Okay, I’ll do it.’
‘Good.’ Brushing aside the relief warming his skin, he glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll get your number from Alicia and then my PA can call you and talk flights—’
‘Flights?’ She cut across him, her eyes narrowing. ‘What flights? To where?’
‘Buenos Aires,’ he said calmly. ‘Don’t worry, I’m paying. First class ticket, and obviously you’ll stay at the house before we go to Patagonia.’
She began to shake her head. ‘No, no, no. I’m not doing that. I’m not going to Argentina.’
‘Really?’ He frowned. ‘So, have you got some kind of satellite camera on loan from NASA? Because London to Buenos Aires is one hell of a long shot.’
Ignoring her outraged expression, he pulled out his phone and swiped casually through his diary.
‘I can’t do anything for the next couple of days, but I can fly down from the States on Friday.’
Her eyes flashed. ‘I don’t care if you can fly to the moon and back. I’m not going to Buenos Aires on Friday. Or on any day you care to mention, in fact.’
‘Oh, but you are—and I’ll explain why. The wedding is in less than three months, and Alicia is flying out with my father in a few weeks to settle in. She’s going to have enough on her to-do list without you wandering in at the last minute with a hundred and one questions that could have already been answered in advance. By me.’
He was impressed by the plausibility of his words, and he could see they had taken the wind out of her sails.
‘It’s got nothing to do with you,’ she managed finally. ‘It’s not your wedding and you don’t know anything about film making.’
‘Oh, I think it’s got everything to do with me,’ he said mockingly. ‘Given that the whole event is going to be happening in my homes, and I have very specific and inflexible house rules.’
He saw her teeth clench.
‘You can’t expect me to make up my mind now. I’ll need time to think about it.’
‘I’m not selling you a car, Mimi.’ He let his gaze drift over her face, enjoying the mix of frustration and fear in her blue eyes. ‘Look, I’m a busy man, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to work around my schedule—and that means you coming to Buenos Aires this Friday.’
‘What about my schedule?’ she snapped.
‘I think Crema will probably be able to fill your shifts quite quickly, don’t you?’
He’d deliberately made his voice condescending, and it was a measure of her fury that she didn’t even register the fact that he knew where she worked.
&
nbsp; She glared across the table. ‘You are so unspeakably arrogant.’
‘No, I’m just honest—but I guess that’s a bit of an alien concept to you.’ Their eyes locked, hers furious, his taunting. ‘How are Charlie and Raymond, by the way? Still enjoying their stay at Her Majesty’s pleasure?’
She stared at him, a flush of pink spreading like a sunset over her incredible cheekbones. ‘You are a horrible man.’
‘And you are bad news.’ He held her gaze, ignoring the pull of her scornful pout, wishing she didn’t look quite so sexy when she was angry. ‘So, if we’re done trading insults, let me tell you how this is going to work. The last thing my family needs on my sister’s wedding day is a scandal.’
And it wasn’t going to happen on his watch. He’d learned his lesson two years ago, when his hasty, mismanaged, ego-led decision to employ Charlie and Raymond had so spectacularly backfired. He’d been responsible for that disaster, and the collateral damage it had caused, and it was his job—his duty—to prevent anything like that happening again.
He looked up, his eyes holding hers. ‘Particularly one involving you. So I need you to conduct yourself in a proper manner. That means following my rules, and it’ll be easier to explain those rules on-site. But if you don’t think you’re mature enough to handle one little fully paid trip to Buenos Aires, then call Alicia.’ He held out his phone. ‘And break her heart.’
She stared at him mutely. ‘You really are quite something. All that guff about moving forward was just for Alicia’s benefit.’
‘Don’t push it, Mimi. I’m not going to fall out with my sister over this, but if you think that means you get a free rein in my home then you really don’t know me at all.’
‘Thankfully, no,’ she spat. ‘But if you feel that strongly about me then why don’t I just stay in a hotel? Don’t worry. I’ll pay.’
Her skin was flawless, and the soft curl of her mouth was making him lose concentration. She was beautiful and angry and he badly wanted to kiss her.
And that was what gave him the strength to lean back in his chair.
‘Sadly, that wouldn’t work for me,’ he said softly. ‘You see, I prefer to keep my friends close but my enemies closer.’
CHAPTER THREE
LEANING FORWARD, MIMI gazed out through the limousine’s tinted window, a pulse of excitement scampering over her skin as the unfamiliar streets of Buenos Aires spun past her eyes.
Bautista Caine might be the most annoying, self-satisfied and judgmental man she had ever met, but right now she couldn’t help grudgingly feeling just the teensiest bit grateful to him—for had she been paying for this trip it would have been a far less comfortable experience.
Travelling first class, with the added bonus of being a ‘friend’ of the Caine family, had not only made the thirteen-hour flight pass with surprising speed, but there had been a few other surprises too—like a complimentary facial and this chauffeur-driven limo waiting for her at Ezeiza Airport!
Her mouth twisted. Once, that kind of luxury had been normal to her. Her stepfather’s job at Caine’s, the private bank founded by Basa’s great-grandfather, had given her family an enviable lifestyle. They’d moved to Chesham Place and she’d been sent to the same exclusive school as Alicia. There had been summer holidays in the Caribbean and skiing breaks in Aspen and Verbier.
But, really, enjoyable as it had been to have so much money, the best thing for her had been seeing her mother Nancy free of her habitual disappointment in being married to a man she didn’t like and certainly didn’t love.
And then, almost overnight, it had gone. Everything. The house. The holidays. Her mother’s happiness. And suddenly she had gone back to being one of the have-nots.
Charlie and Raymond had both been sent to prison, and she and her mother had wound up in a small terraced house in Bexley. Not that she’d minded much by then. She’d been desperate to escape the clumps of photographers lurking outside the house, and the neighbours who had gossiped about her behind their hands.
Only Alicia, the one person who had every right to reject and resent her, had stayed loyal. And that was why she was here—whatever her brother might choose to tell himself.
Her shoulders tensed against the smooth leather, the memory of their last meeting replaying inside her head. It was galling how easily he had got his own way—and, truthfully, that was what this trip was about. However Basa might choose to dress it up, he’d been throwing his weight around. Even now, two days after it had happened, it still made her go hot and cold.
The cold was understandable. On its own, his last remark had been enough to send icy shivers down anyone’s spine, but the heat...
Lip curling, she blanked out the memory of her body’s involuntary and mortifying response to his and sat up straighter in her seat.
It had not been the most satisfactory encounter, although it had certainly been an improvement on their previous one. At least she hadn’t ended up taking off all her clothes and making a complete fool of herself.
It was not exactly a high bar to set, though, was it? Staying clothed and not offering herself on a plate to a man who clearly despised her?
Her phone rang inside her handbag. Reaching in to find it, she frowned. It was probably her mum. She’d told her she’d call her when she landed, but she really couldn’t face talking to her just now.
She felt a nibble of guilt. She had yet to tell her mother what she was doing in Argentina. Nor had she told her about Alicia’s wedding—mainly because anything to do with the Caines was a no-go area. She knew from experience that hearing their name would start her mother on that downward spiral of ‘if only’, so when her mum had assumed she was in Argentina for work she hadn’t corrected her.
Glancing out of the window again, at the faded, elegant architecture, she felt her heart contract. She hated lying to her mother, and resented having to do so, but there was no point in blaming anyone but herself for this uncomfortable arrangement. If she hadn’t encouraged her mum to marry Charlie, none of this would be happening.
Pulling out her phone, she glanced down at the screen and exhaled in relief. It was Alicia. ‘Hi, Lissy. I was going to call you later, to thank you for the bikini.’
It was so typical of her friend, she thought, some of her panic fading as she remembered the beautiful black and white bikini she had received in the post, together with a note telling her to relax and enjoy the sun and the pool.
‘Oh, I just saw it and I thought...’ Alicia hesitated. ‘I can’t really talk for long. I’m on the way to meet Philip’s aunt—for real this time. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.’
‘How could I not be okay?’ Mimi said quickly. ‘I’ve got people falling over themselves to be nice to me.’
She managed to inject a teasing note into her voice, even though right now she felt as if she was about to spend the weekend in a lion’s den rather than some opulent mansion.
Basa might have insisted that she stay at the Caine family home, but his decision had nothing to do with wanting to be hospitable. He just wanted to make sure she did nothing to bring his family’s name into disrepute.
It didn’t matter that he’d treated her appallingly. To him she was Charlie Butler’s stepdaughter and Raymond Cavendish’s niece. She was, and would always be, tainted by association.
‘Good.’ Alicia said quickly. She sounded a little breathless, as if she was rushing somewhere. ‘I’m sorry about lunch. I should have told you Basa was going to be there. It wasn’t fair to drop you in at the deep end like that, so thanks for staying and thanks for making all this effort for me.’
‘Yeah, travelling first class and being chauffeured around is a hard ask,’ Mimi said lightly. ‘But, hey, someone’s gotta do it.’
‘I didn’t mean that. I meant...’ Alicia paused. ‘Look, we never really had a chance to speak after the party...you know...because...’
She hesitated again, and Mimi felt her stomach clench like a fist.
Because my stepfather and uncle had helped themselves to a bunch of pensioners’ savings, she finished silently.
‘Anyway, I just thought we should talk about it.’
‘About what?’
For a moment Alicia didn’t reply, and then she said quietly, ‘I know what happened with you and Basa, Mimi. At my twenty-first.’
For a moment her mind went completely blank. She felt numb. Her heart was beating with unnatural slowness, like a clock that needed winding, and she knew that her face was constricted into an expression of horror.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said slowly. ‘Nothing happened.’
‘Oh, Mimi, please don’t.’
The hurt in her friend’s voice made her stomach squeeze into a knot of misery. She swallowed. Her mouth felt dry. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe that after all this time Basa had told Alicia about that night.
Imagining the spin he’d have put on the story, she started to feel sick. ‘What did he say?’ she croaked.
‘Who? Basa? Nothing. I didn’t talk to him about it. I didn’t have to. I saw how the two of you were together at the restaurant.’
Mimi felt her skin squeeze her bones. She was starting to shiver with shock and panic. ‘We were fine,’ she said quickly.
‘I’m not stupid, Mimi.’
She heard Alicia take a breath.
‘I know you two had an argument, and that’s why you left the party without saying goodbye. Only you didn’t say anything to me because you thought it would upset me, so you said you felt ill.’
‘I did feel ill.’ Mimi swallowed past the ache in her throat. It wasn’t a complete lie. She had felt sick at the mess she’d made of everything. ‘And I just wanted to go home.’
‘But Basa thought you should stay and he had a go at you?’ Without waiting for confirmation, Alicia said quickly, ‘I’m sorry. He’s always been protective, but since Mummy died he just wants everything to be perfect for me.’
Craving His Forbidden Innocent Page 4