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‘But El Duque has insisted.’ Maria said this with a shrug as if that closed the matter.
‘Maybe just for tonight,’ Sadie conceded, ‘if that’s what he wants. I won’t be staying long,’ she added as Alejandro’s dangerously brooding expression flashed across her mind.
‘We love having visitors,’ Maria assured her, ‘and surely you won’t want to miss the party?’
‘The party?’ Sadie queried.
‘The big, annual party.’
‘I’d better be quick, and get down to the kitchen,’ Sadie said, already thinking that with a party looming and the catering involved, there was no time to lose when it came to investigating what she had to work with in the kitchen.
Worryingly, Maria frowned. ‘El Duque orders in. He has never hired a chef before. The kitchens here are long-neglected. He flies in caterers whenever he needs them, and they bring their own equipment on the helicopter.’
As fast as Sadie tried to absorb this, her mind filled with other questions. ‘So, how does he manage to eat when he’s on his own?’
‘I bring food from the village and he uses an ancient microwave to heat it up.’
‘A microwave?’ Sadie’s expression was one of pure shock. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive.’ Maria’s mouth pressed down, as if she shared Sadie’s concern. ‘I took delivery of the contraption myself when I first started working here. As for the rest of the equipment in the kitchen...’ She frowned. ‘I’m not sure if any of it works, as most of it hasn’t been used for years.’
Oh, boy, thought Sadie, but Annalisa had begged her to come, and Chef Sorollo wanted those recipes, and she had no intention of letting either of them down.
‘These are your rooms,’ Maria explained as she turned a shining brass handle on a heavy oak door. ‘I hope you’ll be comfortable.’
‘I’m sure I will. Thank you so much.’
‘Don’t thank me, thank El Duque.’
She would, but only with a good supper, Sadie thought.
* * *
Sadie, here...under his roof, just a few yards away. It seemed incredible, and was enough to throw him completely, hence his short temper. He hadn’t experienced a reaction like this to a woman for as long as he could remember, maybe ever. What was it about Sadie Montgomery, when she plagued him with challenges every chance she got?
Normally so calm in the mountains, all his gypsy passion had come to the fore, turning him into a raging bull, so impatient to introduce Sadie to this other, very different part of his life that he couldn’t curb his feelings or the urge to see her again. But first, his sister had some explaining to do.
Annalisa answered his call on the first ring. ‘Did she get there safely? Oh, yes...look, I got a text from Sadie saying she’s there.’
‘What are you playing at, Annalisa?’ he demanded.
His sister hurried on, ignoring his question. ‘I’ve been so worried. The lift I arranged for Sadie didn’t materialise for some reason.’
‘Well, she’s here now,’ he said gruffly. ‘What I want to know is why.’
‘Why? To redesign the kitchen, of course, and to help you with the catering for the party... It makes perfect sense.’
‘Does it?’ Images of Sadie swinging from a tree sprang uninvited into his mind. ‘She’s out of her depth here.’
‘I doubt Sadie’s out of her depth anywhere,’ Annalisa argued.
He grunted at this. ‘And when a quiet, reserved woman like Sadie Montgomery is introduced to the raw passion of flamenco, what then? Maybe I should send her home,’ he added, thinking out loud.
‘Because?’ Annalisa queried.
‘Never mind.’ Because flamenco in the mountains was an untamed, visceral force that threw people together, as it had thrown his parents together. Care for the people on his land had prompted his father to visit the flamenco camp, but it was Alejandro’s mother who had kept him there. There was magic in the mountains, his mother had told Alejandro when he was just a little boy. Things happened here that happened nowhere else. He’d felt that force, and he wasn’t ready to have his life turned upside down by a young female chef. His duties wouldn’t allow for the disturbance. Even this brief stay was an indulgence.
Annalisa was silent, which was a first for her. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked. The Prince, he thought, grinding his jaw.
‘Butt out of my life, Alejandro,’ Annalisa flashed as if reading his mind. ‘Get it into your head that I’m a grown woman and quite capable of making my own plans without submitting each of them for your approval. I love you very much, but, honestly, sometimes you take your responsibilities too far.’
Was that even possible? he wondered.
‘Just be good to Sadie.’
He stared at the receiver in his hand as the connection was cut. Shaking his head, he huffed an ironic laugh at the thought that he was besieged equally by beauty and by confrontation.
Is that so bad a deal?
He was about to pull away from the window when he spotted Sadie crossing the courtyard beneath him. She glanced up as if sensing his interest. He held her stare and dipped his chin briefly in acknowledgement. Was she smiling? He couldn’t tell.
CHAPTER FIVE
ON HER WAY downstairs to investigate what she had been told was the ‘long-neglected’ kitchen, Sadie was shocked to find ‘long-neglected’ an understatement. Compared to the rest of the monastery, which had been renovated to the nth degree, this was a forgotten land. The staircase leading into the bowels of the building lacked any hint of glamour. It was like going back in time, Sadie thought as she ran her hand along the cold iron bannister. Rough-hewn stone steps had remained uncarpeted, and her footsteps rattled unnervingly as she descended into the shadows.
Gothic overload, she thought as she opened a creaking door. The dank, uninviting space couldn’t have differed more from the sparkling, vibrant kitchen at El Gato Feroz. Outdated was putting it mildly.
But even this unpromising start didn’t daunt her. Nothing was beyond repair. Her investigations uncovered a small elevator with ropes and pulleys to transport food safely to the upper floors, and a useful, if ancient, range. She could easily make do. Everything was well cared for, thanks to Maria, and there was no better way to find out exactly what was needed during the refurbishment than to get to work on the master’s supper right now. No senna pods in the cupboards, unfortunately, but Maria had provided an excellent selection of fresh food.
‘Not up to your exacting standards, I presume?’
And breathe. Streaks of shock, excitement and wariness dashed through her in turn as she turned to face the doorway. Looking exactly like a dark angel in some Gothic story, with his thick, unruly mop of black hair catching on his ‘I don’t care to shave much’ stubble, Alejandro, still damp and glowing from a shower or a swim, was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt that sculpted his incredible physique.
With his hip propped against the door, he watched her with a brooding expression on his face. ‘How long have you been standing there?’ she challenged as her heart beat a crazy tattoo.
‘Long enough.’ He straightened up, and as he prowled a little closer, he frowned. ‘I believe I set a deadline.’
‘You did,’ she agreed. ‘It might have to be something cold. I haven’t tested the range yet, but I’m guessing you’re hungry.’
‘Always.’
Why did every word he said appear to carry multiple meanings? Was her imagination guilty of running riot, or was animal instinct to blame? Whichever it was, quivers of awareness were running up and down her spine. Acting unconcerned, she began to prepare the food. There was nothing Gothic about the cleanliness of the kitchen. Everything was spotless, and the refrigerator was full of delicious cold cuts.
‘Make a list of anything you need,’ Alejandro said as she foraged for ingredients. ‘If you want hot food, th
e microwave is new, and seems to be working just fine.’
‘I can’t remember the last time I used a microwave.’
‘This is a private home, not El Gato Feroz,’ Alejandro informed her in a clipped voice. He didn’t take criticism well, she thought as they exchanged determined stares.
‘Am I going to eat tonight or not?’ he demanded.
‘Of course you are. The quality, however, will depend on how often you interfere.’
There was a tense and incredulous silence. Risking a glance, she saw that his expression had switched in an instant from impatient to hard, but there was no way of avoiding him as he made himself comfortable on a chair at the small kitchen table.
It took longer than usual to dish up an acceptable plate of food. She was still finding her way around the kitchen, while trying to avoid Alejandro! There was no answer to finding her way around his testosterone, unfortunately. He was such a potent force that his animal vitality washed over her whether she liked it or not. The kitchen was her territory, where she had always felt at home, but not this evening. She felt like a trapped animal and was bumbling around like a novice.
There was only one answer to that. Take control.
‘Honey and lemon,’ she said after a few minutes, pressing a steaming mug into his hand, to give those big hands something to do. ‘To soothe your throat,’ she explained briskly.
‘My throat’s healed, Doctor, but thank you very much,’ he said.
