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‘Then go with it. How do you propose to sell the items? An auction?’
‘A Dutch auction,’ Maxie explained, growing in enthusiasm. ‘I’ve run one before and it was a huge success. The donated goods are displayed and people put sealed bids on anything that takes their fancy. I think we could raise a lot of money—’
‘You’re full of good ideas,’ Diego interrupted, ‘but when are you going to fit this one in?’
‘I’ll get everything sorted out before we leave for the estancia. That’s what phones are for—and the internet,’ she mocked as she glanced at his desk.
Having made a point of telling her she could work from anywhere, he could hardly disagree. ‘Good to know you won’t be slacking while you’re here.’
‘Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be.’
‘I was joking, Maxie. There’s only one other person I know who’s as dedicated to their work as you.’ It was his turn to glance at the desk, where six monitor screens were winking.
‘We make a good pair—I mean …’
‘I know what you mean,’ he assured her as her cheeks fired up. ‘Well,’ he said, standing up and stretching, ‘I’m going to get ready.’
‘You haven’t said where we’re going yet.’
‘Just wear that dress from the market—it’s the prettiest, isn’t it?’
‘I’m surprised you noticed.’
‘I notice everything.’
Was he joking now? she wondered as Diego’s smile made more than her cheeks heat up.
She waited for him in the kitchen. This was just another research opportunity, right? Perhaps if she told herself that enough she would believe it …
Nope. That didn’t work. Her heart didn’t believe it and neither did her body. And when Diego walked into the kitchen her bedazzled eyes didn’t believe it either. Just for a change he looked amazing. Close-fitting jeans and a tight-fitting top with desert boots was all it took to do that. It was the way the clothes clung to Diego’s powerful frame, Maxie decided, that made him so sexy.
‘Are you ready?’ he prompted, dipping his head to stare into her eyes.
‘Absolutely,’ she confirmed, hoping she sounded more businesslike than she felt.
And then her phone rang.
‘England?’ Diego murmured as she covered the mouthpiece.
‘Work,’ she said. Of course it wasn’t work. She hated lying to Diego as much as she hated staring into her father’s heart-wrenchingly blank eyes, but no one was going to find Peter Parrish through her.
Her father was ranting again. Moving out of earshot, she tried to soothe him. ‘I’m sure it will be all right. Have you taken your medicine today?’ She was whispering and trying to act as if this was a business call. ‘I see,’ she said, practically swooning with relief when a nurse rescued the phone and was able to assure her that everything was in hand.
‘Are you ready to go now?’ Diego asked as she ended the call.
‘Yes.’
‘Come on, then.’
She glanced up to find Diego smiling faintly, but his eyes betrayed the calculation behind them. That shadow crossed her path again, and she had to reassure herself quickly that this evening was just research for work—and, anyway, what could she possibly do to upset Diego?
She heard the music first—or rather the drum beat. Rhythmical and deep, it was unashamedly primal and had drawn people from all quarters of the city. There was no point taking the car, Diego had explained, as most of the roads were blocked off for the carnival procession. Maxie didn’t mind at all. It was fun walking with the high-spirited portenos, as the city-dwellers were known, pretending she was one of them. Take that fantasy to the next level and she could imagine they were a couple—or she might have done had there not been a yawning gap of a couple of yards between herself and Diego.
‘Hey,’ he said, pulling her close when they were briefly separated by a group of people.
The fantasy was back on track, but it would have been better if Diego’s sexy vibes were heading her way, instead of him just having to grab hold of her to stop her getting lost in the crowd.
He enjoyed holding Maxie’s hand. But he wanted more than that. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to find out if those calm grey eyes would fire with passion as they had when she’d kissed him …
‘Carnival?’ she said, distracting him. ‘That’s the theme you want for the charity event?’
‘Hardly original,’ Diego agreed. ‘But there’s something for everyone and it works every time.’ He should be glad Maxie had pulled him back to business, but after that phone call—after all those mysterious phone calls—he wanted to drill everything out of her. Although if he pushed too hard he knew she would retreat back into her shell.
They were entering a large square where competing groups of musicians were trying to make as much noise as they could.
‘Carnival can be dangerously overheated,’ he yelled in her ear, ‘so stay close to me.’
Oh, no. She should be concentrating on how to adapt this city-sized carnival to something on a suitable scale for the Acosta event—not thinking about Diego’s minty breath on her ear.
‘What do you think so far, Maxie?’ he shouted above the noise.
‘Like I’ve only ever worked in monochrome before,’ she admitted, making a grateful return to business mode. ‘If I can capture all this—’ She gestured around.
‘You will,’ Diego yelled confidently, locking his strong arm even more tightly around her shoulders as they got jostled. ‘But no more business tonight—tonight is fiesta. Once a year we can forget about everything and just let go.’
That was what she was afraid of. There was danger behind Diego’s laughing eyes, and she had too many secrets to let herself go, as he suggested. In fact it was time to move away from the danger zone. The crowd was so dense now they were locked together like lovers. Diego glanced down. Their stares met and held and it was the most natural thing on earth when he kissed her.
There was nothing natural about it. Diego was her employer and she was here on business. Purely business, she told herself, slowly melting.
‘Have you seen enough?’ he murmured, nuzzling his mouth against her lips. ‘Is there some more research you feel you should do?’
‘No.’
‘Do you think we’ll make it back to the apartment?’ he murmured, smiling against her mouth. ‘We can only try.’
Locking his arm around her shoulders, Diego led her swiftly away.
CHAPTER TEN
THEY ran laughing into the apartment. Slamming the door behind them, Diego leaned back against it and dragged her into his arms. ‘I’ve wanted this since the first moment we met …’
‘Liar.’ Locking her hands behind Diego’s neck, she threw up a challenging stare. ‘I haven’t forgotten your face when you stood on the dock watching me berth that boat.’
‘Will I ever forget?’
‘Brute!’
‘Sloppy sailor.’
‘Savage.’
Diego stopped her talking with a kiss. ‘I should have done that a long time ago,’ he said, swinging her into his arms.
Carrying her into the bedroom, he kicked the door shut behind them and lowered her to the ground in front of him. She held her breath as he slowly slid the shoestring straps of her dress from her shoulders, never once taking his eyes from her. The sliver of silk fell to the floor, revealing the racy lingerie Diego had chosen for her in all its insubstantial glory.
‘Very nice,’ he murmured approvingly.
