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And then she was off, like a dolphin, swimming effortlessly in her shorts and top. She could certainly swim. She might have grown up in the inner city, but she’d made up for it since coming to the island. Clambering out of the water, she stood dripping wet in front of him. Her outfit of choice was soaked through, the shorts so ragged, and the top so worn, he doubted even she knew what colour they had been originally. He thought he’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
This was really getting out of hand. ‘We should go,’ he said, bringing the high jinks to an abrupt end by turning his back on her.
He felt her disappointment follow him across the beach, and knew without doubt that he wanted her. Which was more than inconvenient. Lust was roaring through him, making nonsense of his agenda for the day.
Appointments could be postponed, he reasoned. He was under no pressure to leave the island right away. He could send for his people and have them come to him. It would be better for his team to see the island for themselves. He would set up his headquarters at the hacienda. It made perfect sense.
* * *
So much for keeping everything on a professional footing! Playing in the sea? Coming out of the water, looking like a contestant in a wet T-shirt contest with a see-through top clinging to her breasts? What was wrong with her? Was she crazy?
Xavier had kept his gaze confined to her face, but that smile playing around his sexy mouth said she believed he’d got the upper hand. She guessed he hadn’t dumped too many of his sophisticated girlfriends in the sea—not that she was a girlfriend, or even close. At best, she was an irritation. So maybe the island had infected them both with joie de vivre—something else she guessed he wasn’t used to.
When they got back to the house she had to admit he was right about the improvements. Paint was peeling on the front door, and the timber around the windows was rotten. She supposed she should thank him for opening her eyes before the entire house fell on her head.
‘After you,’ he said, holding the front door open for her.
‘Coffee?’ she asked on impulse. ‘Or are you in a hurry to get away?’
‘You still have the documents to read.’
Trust him to remember. But she would take a look. He’d started to open up and so had she. It was the least she could do.
‘But I’d love a coffee,’ he added with a smile that warmed her through.
Was it too much to hope this ease between them could continue, and that maybe they could find some common ground that would enable them to work together for the good of the island? When they brushed against each other as they walked into the kitchen, it was just the lightest touch, but it might as well have been a lightning bolt to her overly responsive body. It was a reminder of how it had felt when he closed his arms around her to steady her. She had liked that feeling. A lot.
She made the coffee, and picked up the documents. ‘I need to look at these alone,’ she explained. Life and fantasy were becoming dangerously entangled. She’d lived on hope for most of her life, and was determined to be realistic now she had responsibilities. ‘I’ll call you when I’m ready. Why don’t you take your coffee into the library?’ she suggested. ‘You’ll be more comfortable in there.’
Was he listening? Xavier was staring at the kitchen ceiling, no doubt chalking up how many cracks there were, before moving on to assess the damp in the corners.
‘Don’t take too long,’ he said, without sparing her a glance.
‘I’ll take as long as I need.’ She meant it. He might exert a magical power over her body, but when it came to her promise to Doña Anna, nothing, not even Don Xavier Del Rio, could swerve her from her course.
* * *
‘No,’ Rosie announced from the doorway to the library where he was sitting. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this.’
He swung around in the library chair to stare at her. He’d been waiting in the library for over an hour. From the look on Rosie’s face, they wouldn’t be having a pleasant chat over coffee any time soon regarding money transfers from his bank to hers.
‘I can’t sign this. I’m sorry.’ Walking deeper into the room, she put the documents on the library table in front of him.
‘Then, what will you sign?’ He stood to face her. He could understand her reluctance to accept so much money. She wouldn’t know what to do with it. But he had advisors who could help her with that. Unless... ‘If you don’t think my offer’s enough...’
‘Your offer is an insult to someone who loved your aunt,’ she argued quietly. ‘If you had offered Doña Anna a fraction of that amount, she could have put everything to rights and you’d have no complaints about the island.’
‘Are you asking for more?’ He hadn’t expected this, but Rosie had him over a barrel.
‘I hope you’re joking?’ she flared. ‘What you’re offering is a ridiculous amount. You could buy a country for that. You’ve obviously got far too much money—’
He cut across her with an angry gesture. ‘Then, what do you want?’
He hadn’t achieved his level of success without taking every element of a deal into account. He’d seen other people fail when emotion was involved, which was yet another reason for him to remain exactly as he was. He would accept that there was no way of accurately calculating nostalgia in a monetary sense, but he’d done his very best.
‘I want a say in the future of this island, and you’re asking me to sell my right to that.’
‘Correct,’ he agreed. ‘And my offer’s fair.’
