“The Australia deal?” Guy asked, guiding Addie to the same seat she’d occupied the night before, on the sofa opposite Santiago. She sat and crossed her legs neatly, tilting her head towards Guy by accident and then wishing she hadn’t, when the heat from his eyes almost burned through her.
Santiago made a grunt of acknowledgement and then gaze shifted, to some of the staff who were bringing trays of food and bottles of wine.
The low-set table between them was overtaken with platters of delicious morsels, all finger-food size, and beautifully fragranced. Addie’s tummy, so silent all day, gave a little kick of interest now.
“Have something,” Guy murmured, his hand creeping to her knee and curving around it. Warmth spread through her body. She knew he was playing a part, but God, she loved it when he touched her. When he used that gentle, coaxing tone with her, the voice that she’d taken for granted when they’d been dating before.
“Yes, yes,” Luciana took the seat beside Santiago, and gestured a manicured hand over the platters. “There are many local delicacies here. The calamari is particularly good.”
“You always loved the calamari,” Santiago said with a laugh.
Luciana shrugged, her shoulders slim, her tan golden. She was very beautiful, and she was also very … expensive looking. There was an indefinable quality to the woman, but it all added up to create the image of someone who spent a lot of time and money on beautification. Her hair was immaculately cut and styled, falling in long dark waves down her back. Her lashes were long and surely synthetic? Her nails, the same. Her lips appeared slightly cosmetically enhanced – though very tastefully done – her breasts likewise. Even her feet were works of art, perfectly painted toes that showed off slim, tanned feet and ankles that were crossed.
“It’s too slippery for me,” Carlos said, taking the only armchair available, his back to the view.
“Oh, you should sit here,” Addie said instantly, standing to gesture to her seat. “You won’t see the sunset.”
“I’ve seen many sunsets from this balcony,” Carlos assured Addie, at the same time Guy said,
“You are sitting here, querida.”
Querida. Dear. He’d called her that all the time back then, and the word had feathered through her soul, lifting her up and making her fly. To be someone’s dear was a beautiful thing. It spoke of being adored and cossetted, loved and cherished.
And she had been.
At least, she’d felt like it. Guy had found her heart, a heart that had been turning colder and colder in the wake of The Accident, and he’d brought it back to life. It was the worst possible time, but emotion throbbed in her gut, making tears tang the back of her throat with their saltiness.
She swallowed, and leaned forward, her own hair forming a curtain that disguised the rich emotions in her face as she lifted a little ball that looked deep-fried.
“It is a crab croquetas,” Guy said softly, leaning closer.
“Croquettes?” Addie took a bite from one end, and couldn’t help the low moan that escaped. Her eyes clung to Guy’s. “It’s so good,” she said as soon as she’d swallowed, lifting the salty morsel back to her mouth for another bite.
“I’m glad you approve,” he grinned, such warmth flowing to her from the simple gesture that her stomach flipped.
“Your mother was just explaining the logistics,” Santiago said with a mock-impatient tone, earning a light slap from Luciana.
“You would rather turn eighty five and have no fanfare?”
“Fanfare is fine; fanfare I have no problem with, but you are hosting something akin to an Olympic opening ceremony.”
“Nonsense. Just a few hundred people!”
Addie almost choked on her tapas. “A few hundred people?” She repeated, trying to think if she even knew that many people.
“Who could I exclude?” She directed the question to Santiago but from the way Carlos and Guy were looking at her, Addie gathered this was a long-running behavior for the Spanish beauty. “My family? My sisters and cousins? Their children?”
“Perhaps their next-door-neighbours, though,” Guy said with indulgent amusement.
“Oh, hush, I’m not so bad.” She turned to Addie. “You, surely, can understand my predicament. Santiago has so many friends and admirers. It was impossible to plan his birthday without inviting…”
“Half of Spain,” Santiago cut in with a throaty laugh. “I’m only teasing, Luciana. Do not make Ava defend you, for I know she feels as I do.”
“Oh, I do, do I?” Addie asked with a grin, leaning forward and reaching for another croquetas.
“Si, for you do not like fuss either.”
“How do you know that?” Addie asked.
“I can tell,” Santiago lifted his champagne glass and almost instantly a man appeared, topping it up to the rim. He did the rounds then, re-filling any that were low.
The comment refocused attention on Addie. She felt all of their gazes lock to her, except Guy’s, who was doing the perfect imitation of an attentive lover, just as he’d promised he would.
“So,” Luciana’s smile was somewhat tight on her beautiful face. “I have many questions for you.”
Did she imagine the way Guy stiffened beside her? It was almost imperceptible, but not quite, and Addie was attuned to his every tiny movement.
“Such as, mother?” Guy drawled, but he seemed relaxed enough, so Addie took a breath and calmed her fluttering nerves.
“Well, this is all very new, and yet I understand you’re serious about one another?”
“Luciana,” Carlos laughed good-naturedly. He lifted his eyes heavenward as he addressed Addie. “You’ll have to forgive my wife, Ava. It’s been a long time since our son has shown any interest in a woman for more than a month.”
A month? The harmless throwaway explanation brought a frown to her face. They’d dated for a month, and to Addie, it had been a life-changing collection of days and nights. But was that his usual degree of interest? Might he have bored of her soon enough, even without the discovery of her ruse?
He’d been so hung up on her dishonesty and yet, what did she know of him? What did she know of his dating past? She certainly knew she’d been replaced quickly enough – he’d thrown that little tidbit in her face himself.
Shame at the way she’d fallen apart at his touch filled her now. He’d looked at her and her insides had slicked with heat and lust – fueled by the foolish love that clung to her soul – had made her responsive, when she should have been cool. Cautious, at least.
“It’s only natural that I should be curious,” Luciana’s response was defensive. She didn’t realise, obviously, that Addie’s own hackles had been raised by Carlos’s throwaway comment.
“Of course,” Addie murmured, distracted.
Beside her, Guy reached for her hand, lifting it to his lips. His kiss shot fireworks under her skin, all the way through her body, but she resented that quick response.
Would it always be like this for them? That instant, soul-searing responsiveness?
Only for another week, her inner-voice remonstrated. A week. No, not even. Her heart thumped wearily against her chest. She’d been so confident that she could win Guy back, but now? She wasn’t so sure. And the idea of leaving him again made her feel like she was suffocating.
“How did you meet?”
Addie swallowed. That part was easy. “At a party.”
“Surrounded by singers and film stars and Ava outshone each and every one of them,” Guy drawled, only Addie could detect the feint hint of disparagement beneath the apparent praise.
“I was there with my cousin,” Addie murmured. “I definitely wasn’t looking to meet anyone,” her eyes flicked to Guy’s, and she wondered if he could hear the conviction of her words, if he could understand the truth in what she was saying.
“But dressed like you were, it was inevitable,” he said simply. Desire spun around them like a web they were both powerless to cut through.
“A
nd you were definitely impossible to resist.”
He arched a brow, his smile perhaps only visibly mocking to Addie, who knew his sarcastic side so well now. “I’m so glad you think so.”
“I did try, you know,” Addie murmured, almost forgetting for a moment that they were surrounded by his family, who were watching the byplay with undisguised interest.
“I don’t remember that,” he said.
“You have a selective memory.”
“Perhaps,” he shrugged his shoulders and then, out of nowhere, pressed a kiss to her forehead. His smile was the last word in devotion. “In any event, it is all water under a very happy bridge now, no?”
Her throat was thick. She nodded jerkily, her own smile heavy on her face.
“And what business are you in, Ava?” Carlos asked.
Santiago spoke before Addie could. “She’s an actress.” Was Addie imagining the pride that tinged his words? The admiration?
She cringed inwardly. It was a lie. A lie she had told Guy when she’d been pretending to be who she really wanted. Turning down the scholarship position at the Bristol Old Vic had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. But what choice did she have? She couldn’t leave her mother on her own. Besides, with a credit rating as bad as hers, she’d never have been able to rent an apartment, much less open a small credit card to help with her expenses.
She’d made her peace with that decision over the years, but immersing herself in the role of Ava Peters, theatre actress, madly in love with Guillem Rodriguez was like dousing an open wound with a bucketful of salt.
She was aching all over. She so desperately wanted this – all of it – to be true.
“How glamorous!” Luciana clasped her hands together.
“She works in the theatre,” Santiago continued. “And likes modern playwrights.”
Addie cocked a brow at the older man, her lips tingling with a repressed smile.
“Have you seen her perform?” Luciana asked, reaching for a stuffed olive and holding it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Oh, yes,” Guy murmured softly. “Many times. She’s very skilled.”
“Thrilling,” Luciana declared, biting into the olive, her eyes meeting Carlos’s with a knowing smile.
“What was it that drew you to acting?” Carlos asked, apparently as fascinated by this news as his wife.
Addie felt the past chasm in her mind, pain lashing her. The dream she’d cherished from girlhood, that simply wasn’t to be. “I was always theatrical,” she said softly, remembering the plays she’d performed as a child, the way her father had drawn her into his love of drama and the stage.
“Do you study to become an actress?” Luciana asked, her head tilted slightly, in a manner that reminded Addie so strongly of Guy.
“Yes,” the word was slightly croaked, the lie hurting her to offer, for how close it had been to becoming the truth. She cleared throat.
“In America, I suppose?” Carlos asked now.
“Not for stage, necessarily,” Addie said with a small shake of her head. “I was fortunate enough to gain a position at the Bristol Old Vic.”
“I have not heard of it,” Luciana said with a lift of her slender shoulders.
“It’s a top drama school.” Addie smiled to cover the wistful tone in her voice. “This food is beautiful,” she changed the subject willingly, glad to avoid any further fibs to Guy’s family.
He’d said he wanted Santiago to be reassured, to stop worrying about Guy’s lack of commitment to a woman. To be content that marriage and an heir were in the foreseeable future. But Addie couldn’t detect anything but admiration and love between the grandfather and grandson. She found it hard to imagine Santiago ever pressuring Guy to do anything, least of all settle down.
Hell, she found it hard to imagine anyone pressuring Guy to do anything he didn’t want.
But particularly not this man, with whom he shared such a bond.
And as for his parents? They seemed completely lovely. Lovely. The same word she’d used the night before to describe Santiago. But it was true! At least in Santiago she could see a hint of the same ruthless determination that fired Guy’s blood through his veins, but Luciana and Carlos were soft, somehow. Gentle.
“Ava?” Guy prompted, and she startled out of her reverie, colour suffusing her cheeks.
“Sorry,” a mumbled apology as she sat up straighter. “I was miles away.”
Carlos leaned closer. “I was asking if Guillem has told you about the caves?”
“No,” she shook her head, intrigued.
“Oh,” Luciana said with exasperation. “You are impossible, Guy. Don’t tell me you are still protecting their secrets, like the seven year old you used to be?”
His laugh was something Addie had desperately been missing. The gentle sound had her jerking her head around, staring up at him. But he was so close that her lips almost buzzed his jaw. Her heartbeat ratcheted up a notch, slamming hard inside her chest. “Are you holding out on me, Guy?” She asked, the words softly teasing.
His eyes met hers, and heat zapped between them. “Oh, you’d better believe it.”
“They’re pirate caves,” Luciana said after a moment, and Addie had to drag her attention away from Guy, to break the magnetic connection holding them glued together. “Hundreds of years old. Corsairs used to store their loot in them, hiding it from authorities until it was safe to retrieve.”
“Seriously?” Addie’s eyes were huge in her face.
“Their bodies too,” Guy said, his voice teasingly ominous. “And those of their victims.”
“Don’t scare her,” Santiago said with a shake of his head.
“I’m not scared,” Addie assured the older man. “I’m fascinated. How many caves? How old are they? What kind of loot?”
“I’ll show you them tomorrow.” His eyes roamed her face, his lips twisted in amusement. “Answer any questions you might have.”
It wasn’t hard to smile at Guy, especially when he was being so charming. “I’d like that.”
“And we shall expect a full report at dinner tomorrow night,” Carlos said with a satisfied nod.
“Not tomorrow night,” Luciana said with a shake of her head. “Remember? We are taking Santiago to the mainland for the show.”
Santiago pulled a face and Addie had to stifle her smile behind a napkin. The older man clearly didn’t relish the idea of the night out Luciana had planned.
Guy apparently picked up on the same silent grimace for help Addie had seen. “Are you so sure it’s necessary to drag Santiago all over the country?”
“It’s a one hour flight, by helicopter,” Luciana corrected, her lips pursed. “Hardly a form of elder abuse.”
Addie’s smile threatened to give way to a laugh at the clearly well-established dynamics between the various members of the Rodriguez family. She settled back into the armchair, her eyes lifting to the sky. It was a vibrant mauve colour, and stars littered it like frantic bursts of diamond dust. The sun was almost gone, just a fierce red ball on the edge of the ocean.
“Elder abuse,” Santiago said with a shake of his head. “I’m eighty five.”
“Not yet. Not until Saturday.”
“Even better – I’m eighty four. I do not think I qualify for ‘elder’ abuse, do you?”
“Oh, stop arguing, old man,” Luciana said, tapping his knee lightly. “You’d do anything to get out of having to wear a tuxedo and smile at other people for a few hours, but everyone wants to see the billionaire recluse, as you’re coming to be known. So you’ll dress up, put a smile on, and what’s more you’ll enjoy yourself.”
“Fine,” Santiago said with a shake of his head. “You two will join us?”
“No,” Guy’s rebuttal was swift. Too swift. For a moment, the veneer of their performance cracked through. “I have to catch up on some work.”
“Work?” Luciana said with a shake of her head. “Darling, I hope you’re not neglecting Ava.”
It w
as a misstep. Guy had let his performance drop and Addie could already see speculation in Luciana’s eyes. Did she think Addie wasn’t holding Guy’s interest? Did she believe Addie would soon fall by the wayside? Of course, that was true, but Guy had brought her to the island to convince his family this was the ‘real deal’. She needed to do something.
“I work beside him,” Addie said with a reassuring smile, moving closer to Guy, placing a hand on his knee in what she hoped passed as a gesture of affection. “I have scripts to read. We like to work side by side. Don’t we, querido?”
She felt him stiffen, and her stomach flipped over. The sense that they were so far from what they used to be made her ache. But her smile didn’t falter for a moment.
“You are very lucky she is so understanding of your one-eyed work ethic. I do not think there are many women who would put up with being ignored for a stack of boring documents,” Luciana commented with a shake of her head.
“Believe me, mother, I do not ignore Ava.”
8
ONLY HE DID IGNORE her. He ignored her in the golf cart, on the way back to the boat. He ignored her when it pulled up on the sand near the jetty, and when the suited driver opened the door to let them out. He ignored her as they walked, side by side, neither touching the other, up the ramp to the boat, and he ignored her once they were finally alone.
Addie looked at him from beneath shuttered eyes, confusion making her quiet when she was full of questions. Questions about his mother and father, about their relationship with Santiago, about Guy’s closeness to them. Questions about the island and its caves, and his time here as a child. About the games he’d played and the exploring he’d done, about all the things she’d never known about him.
Curiosity was a beast within her, begging for release, thrashing its way through her nervous system. But anxiety caged it.
Claiming his Secret Baby & Blackmailed by the Spaniard (Clare Connelly Pairs Book 4) Page 27