‘You’re under some pressure, I imagine,’ the girl said.
Seeing the glint of amusement in her eyes, he guessed she was enjoying this as much as his aunt must have done. He could imagine them getting on together. And of course the girl could afford to laugh, as her fifty per cent of the island was safe. All she had to do was wait him out, hope he didn’t produce an heir, and she would own the island outright. His trump card was the fact that she didn’t have any money to support herself, so nothing was certain. Not yet.
‘So you’re familiar with the terms of my aunt’s will?’ he confirmed as they stood facing each other, weighing each other up.
‘Yes,’ she said frankly. ‘Your aunt’s lawyer was difficult to begin with. He didn’t want to show me anything, but I insisted.’
I bet you did, he thought.
‘He couldn’t deny my request,’ she explained. ‘To be honest, I just wanted to see your aunt’s will with my own eyes to confirm that I really had inherited half of Isla Del Rey, but then...’ Biting down on her lip, she looked away.
‘Yes?’ he prompted, sensing serious thoughts beneath her calm exterior. The worst mistake he could make would be to take this woman lightly.
‘But then I read that bit about you,’ she said, refocusing her luminous stare on his face. ‘So I understand the pressure you’re under.’ She couldn’t resist a little smile as she added, ‘I always knew Doña Anna had a strange sense of humour, but I have to admit she excelled herself this time. Maybe if you hadn’t ignored her for so long—’
‘I stand reprimanded,’ he said curtly. He didn’t want to discuss his aunt with anyone, let alone this young woman.
‘The thing I find confusing,’ she said, ‘is this. I always thought Doña Anna believed in family. At least, that was the impression she gave me, but now it seems she was hell-bent on punishment.’ She screwed her eyes up as she thought about it.
And they were still beautiful.
‘Punishing me, not you,’ he said.
‘But still...’ She stared at him with interest for a good few moments. ‘You must have really rattled her cage. But you did, by staying away so long.’
She wasn’t frightened of speaking her mind. The more he saw of her, the more she intrigued him. His original intention had been to send her sailing away from the island on a raft made of money. He doubted now he’d met her that she’d stand for that. She was intelligent and defiant, and also extremely attractive.
That sort of interest could get in his way. He couldn’t allow distractions like this girl to knock him off course. She was right about the will throwing everything into chaos. Doña Anna, of all people, should have known his limitations. He could make money hand over fist, but he’d make a lousy parent. Why try to saddle some poor child with a father who was incapable of feeling?
‘We’d better go to the house,’ he said, turning to the main point of his visit.
‘What? No,’ she said.
‘I beg your pardon?’ He swung around to see her digging her little toes into the sand.
‘You should have contacted me in the usual way—to arrange a meeting that didn’t involve a confrontation on the beach at dawn,’ she explained, frowning at him.
He dipped his head to hide a smile. People had been known to try and bribe his PA to secure a few minutes of his time. Rosie Clifton, on the other hand, was only short of his aunt’s walking stick to wave in his face as she did her best to drive him away. But her time was up now. However appealing he might find her, he was a busy man.
‘I said, no!’
He gazed at her with incredulity as she took the few steps necessary to dodge in front of him and block his way. ‘It’s not convenient,’ she explained, holding her ground.
Not convenient for him to tour his house, his island? An astonishing number of doors might have opened in the recent past for orphaned Rosie Clifton, but no door had ever closed in his face. He would visit his house, and he would tour his island. And then he would decide what to do about the girl.
‘Perhaps another time?’ she tempered, reacting to his thunderous expression no doubt. ‘Some time soon?’ she offered with the hint of a smile.
Her charm was wasted on him. ‘Some time now,’ he insisted, moving past her.
CHAPTER TWO
HE SHOULD HAVE known she’d race after him. When she grabbed hold of his arm, he felt the power of those tiny fingers as clearly as if they were stroking his groin. The thought of those hands clutching him in the throes of passion was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Her touch was electrifying. And then there was her spirit. Rosie Clifton might not possess a fraction of his wealth or power, but she knew no fear. It was impossible for him not to admire her just a little.
‘You can come up to the house another time,’ she said, still hanging on to his arm as she stared up into his face. ‘We’ll make a proper appointment. I promise.’
‘Will we?’ he demanded with irony.
As he stared down her amethyst eyes darkened, confirming his growing suspicion that the attraction between them was mutual. And inconvenient, he reminded himself firmly. He wasn’t here for seduction. He had business with Rosie Clifton.
‘Neither of us is dressed for a formal meeting,’ she pointed out. ‘We won’t feel comfortable. And when there are such important things to discuss...’
He awarded her a point for a good, persuasive argument.
‘So...?’ Her beautifully drawn lips parted as she waited for his answer.
‘So I’ll come back,’ he agreed.
‘Thank you,’ she exclaimed with relief.
It was an error on his part. He had given her chance to prepare for the next time. His aunt must be laughing in her grave. Doña Anna couldn’t have planned this better, placing two people with the same aim—one an idealist, and the other a business mogul—in direct conflict with each other. Inwardly, he huffed a smile of admiration. He had to admit, this sort of mischief was right up her street.
‘Before you go...’ She nibbled on her lip.
‘Yes?’
‘I want you to know that I really loved your aunt.’
He shrugged. Should he care? Was she waiting for him to make some comment to echo this? He examined his feelings scrupulously and came up with nothing. The numbness inside him had been there since childhood, he supposed. He didn’t know how he felt about his aunt, though he might have known that nothing short of a dynasty would satisfy Doña Anna.
‘Your aunt brought you up, didn’t she?’ Rosie pressed.
‘Only because my parents preferred the fleshpots of Monte Carlo,’ he said with an impatient gesture that told her to leave the subject alone.
‘That must have hurt you,’ she said gently, as if she cared.
‘It was a long time ago.’ He frowned, hoping that would put her off.
It seemed to. She didn’t say anything more on the subject, but she looked at him with something close to pity, which annoyed him even more.
‘Your aunt said she threw you out when you were a teenager.’ She laughed, seeming to find this amusing. ‘She said it was the best thing she ever did for you—but then she was always teaching people lessons, including me.’
‘But not the type of lesson that would include holding your tongue,’ he murmured dryly.
She ignored him and continued. ‘Doña Anna said old money doesn’t last for ever, and that it’s up to each new generation to make its own luck in life. Which you’ve done in shedloads.’ Her eyes widened with admiration.
Only her innocence and complete lack of sophistication could allow for this, he thought as she went on to list his credentials. ‘First you made a fortune in the tech world, and then you made a second fortune building six-star hotels across the world with state-of-the-art golf courses attached.’ She frowned. ‘I imagine that’s why your aunt left me half the island—to stop you rampaging over here. Rumour says you’re a billionaire,’ she added with startling candour.
‘I don’t much care about
that.’
‘She told me that too,’ she called after him as he began to stroll away from her towards the sea.
‘Was there anything she didn’t tell you?’ he said, stopping in his tracks.
‘Oh, I’m sure there were lots of things she left out...’
He could only hope.
‘Did she speak about me often?’ he asked. He was suddenly filled with a need to know. He felt a pang of regret as he asked the question, which was a first for him.
‘She did talk about you—quite a lot,’ Rosie revealed brightly, and with no malice he could detect. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,’ she said as he turned away.
‘You haven’t upset me.’ Pausing beside one of the gargantuan rocks on the beach, he leaned back against its smooth surface. Like it or not, the girl had brought the past back into clear focus.
‘I should get back,’ she said.
‘Do you swim here every day?’ he said, turning to look at her. Suddenly, he wasn’t so keen for her to go.
‘Every morning—I have done ever since I arrived on the island. Such a luxury,’ she said. Rolling her head back, she closed her eyes as if she was reliving each and every moment she’d spent in the surf.
The island must have been a revelation to her after the orphanage. He couldn’t imagine being brought up in an institution with no personal interest lavished on a person at all. At least he’d had Doña Anna. He was almost glad now that fate had intervened for Rosie Clifton. He would have had to be a heartless monster not to.
A visit to the orphanage by the royal patron of one of the charities he sponsored had led to Rosie being singled out. The prince had told Xavier that this particular girl had caught his attention because of her calm and resilient manner. He wondered now if Rosie’s luminous appearance had attracted the prince’s attention. That, and her obvious innocence. When the prince had first mentioned Rosie, he had thought immediately of his aunt and the possibility that a young girl might succeed where so many older, professional carers had failed. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Rosie Clifton would be quite so successful. He searched now for guile beneath the frankness of her stare, and found none. ‘Do you swim on your own in the sea?’
‘Why not?’ she countered pertly. ‘You did.’
When she cocked her head to issue the challenge, she somehow managed to look more appealing than ever. It was time to rein in his feelings before they started to cloud his judgement. ‘Do you think that’s wise?’ he said, turning stern. ‘What if you got into trouble in the water?’
‘I can get into trouble on the land just as easily,’ she said.
As she masked her smile it was hard not to like her, which was everything he had vowed not to do. When she shrugged, drawing his attention to the womanly frame beneath the tightly bound towel, and to her slender shoulders with their sprinkling of freckles like gold dust on her skin, he knew he was in trouble.
‘One thing I learned as a child,’ she added frankly, ‘was how to keep my head above water.’
‘I have no doubt of that,’ he agreed as she tossed her hair back, sending the glistening waves cascading in a fiery cloud almost to her waist. ‘But you’re taking a big risk with your safety,’ he warned.
‘It’s not such a big deal if you know the seas around the island, is it, Don Xavier...?’
‘Touché,’ he murmured to himself. ‘You’re right,’ he admitted. ‘I swam here many times as a boy, but that doesn’t make it safe for you.’
‘Are you saying you’re a better swimmer than I am?’ There was both challenge and humour in her eyes now.
‘Enough!’ he insisted, knowing it was time to end this before she won him over completely. ‘Allow me to introduce myself formally. Don Xavier Del Rio, at your service...’
‘I doubt that somehow.’ She laughed. ‘And I don’t want you to be at my service. But I am pleased to formally meet you at last,’ she teased him. ‘Perhaps we can start over?’ She suggested this hopefully, extending a hand for him to shake. ‘Rosie Clifton,’ she declared, ‘at no one’s service.’
He laughed. ‘There’s never been the slightest doubt of that.’
As he brushed his lips against the back of her hand he felt her tremble. When he let her go, she quickly put her hands behind her back, as if to keep them out of mischief. She wasn’t so good at hiding her feelings, after all. He didn’t intimidate her. She didn’t feel particularly antagonistic towards him. She was naturally wary and inquisitive, but when he touched her, she was aroused. He wondered what new discoveries he would make about Rosie Clifton. Compliance must have been her best defence at the orphanage, and she would have had to be accommodating to keep her job with his aunt. She must have worked out by now that half an island was of no use to either of them, and he was curious as to where she thought they’d go from here. ‘What do you know about me, Rosie?’
‘Probably as much as you know about me,’ she said frankly. ‘I know you by reputation, of course. Who doesn’t? But as that’s only hearsay and I like to draw my own conclusions about people, I’m keeping an open mind right now.’
‘Should I thank you for that?’
‘Do as you like,’ she said easily. ‘I do know that everything you’ve achieved in life, you’ve done without anyone’s help. Doña Anna told me that too,’ she explained, unintentionally twisting the knife in the wound she’d inadvertently opened. He’d had enough of this. She was getting under his skin, making him feel too much. He couldn’t have that. ‘But that doesn’t tell me who you are, or if I can trust you—’
He sidestepped her and made for the house.
‘Hey!’ She chased after him as he headed for the cliff path. And, Dios, now she was standing in front of him.
‘Get out of my way, please,’ he instructed quietly.
‘No.’ Folding her arms, she said loud and clear, ‘You’re not going a step further. I told you already, it’s not convenient for you to visit the house.’
He could swing her over his shoulder and carry her there, but that would lead to nowhere good for Rosie Clifton, and maybe life had beat up on her enough. She was far too young and too innocent for him, with his sophisticated tastes in the bedroom. She featured nowhere on his agenda, other than to buy her off.
‘I said no,’ she warned again, when he went to move past her.
He stopped. She amused him. Her lips might be kissable, but they were currently set in such a firm, determined line. And now another question occurred to him: Was Rosie Clifton really as innocent as she looked? Had she been swept along by circumstances beyond her control, or was she a consummate actress who had managed to fool his aunt? Tricksters didn’t tend to have swindler tattooed on their brow. Either way, he would deal with Ms Clifton. If nothing more than good fortune and happy fate shone on Rosie Clifton, then a financial settlement to make her eyes water would soon get rid of her. If she was an idealist who believed she was saving the island from a ruthless playboy entrepreneur, namely him, then his cantankerous aunt had indeed met her match, and there would be trouble ahead—but not for him.
‘If you don’t get out of my way, I shall have to move you.’
Just the thought of taking that lithe, rebellious body in his arms was enough to whip his senses into an agony of lust, but she just laughed. ‘I’d like to see you try,’ she said.
He held up his hands, palms flat. He could wait. Except for the issue of the heir—he held all the cards and she held none. She couldn’t fight him through the courts. She lacked the money to do so. She was at his mercy. Even if he failed to produce an heir and his half reverted to her, she’d never have the money to continue to manage the island. Whichever way she turned, there was no future for Rosie Clifton on the island. The only fight she could put up was with words. They both knew the outcome was inevitable. He would own one hundred per cent of Isla Del Rey. It was just a matter of time. But there was no mileage in making her miserable.
‘Try to be reasonable,’ he suggested. ‘It’s important
that I see the house as soon as possible to make an initial assessment of the changes that need to be made.’
‘What changes?’ she retorted. ‘The hacienda is perfectly serviceable as it stands.’
Rosie doubted anything had been refurbished or rearranged since the man who was making her body yearn for things it could hardly imagine had lived there as a boy. She had always thought the old house perfect. It wore the patina of age and regular use with such comfortable ease, reflecting everything that was cosy and special about the home Doña Anna had made for them both. What right did he have to come storming in, talking about change?
‘The sooner the better,’ he repeated, in what she gathered was his best attempt at a pleasant tone. He failed to charm her.
‘I’m afraid that won’t be possible,’ she stated firmly.
He moved past her, but she caught up with him again. If it was possible for a man to grow taller and become more intimidating, he’d just done that.
‘You can’t keep me away for ever.’ His stern eyes heated every part of her, and, instead of resenting him, she found to her bemusement that she was excited. ‘Or had you forgotten I also own fifty per cent of this island?’ he demanded.
‘I haven’t forgotten anything,’ she said, especially the bizarre terms of Doña Anna’s will. No wonder he was so angry. Those terms had left her flailing for the necessary finance to remain living on the island, and him needing an heir. She might be at her wits’ end, but his buccaneering lifestyle had been cut off at the root. ‘All I’m suggesting is a rain check. When we’ve both calmed down and we’re properly dressed for the occasion, I’d be pleased to show you around.’
Reason had always worked best for Rosie when she had encountered difficult situations at the orphanage. If there was one thing that living in an institution had taught her, it was the basic rules of survival. The most important rule of all was to make no ripples, and if she did, to smooth them over fast.
A Diamond for Del Rio's Housekeeper Page 2