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She groggily blinked at a massive onyx fireplace and then struggled to sit up, while Javier looked at her from where he was sitting on a low, concrete table in front of the sofa.

‘Tell me what just happened back there,’ he said in a low, concerned voice. ‘And don’t try sitting up. You’ll only feel dizzy. Lie down. I’ll fetch you some water in a minute, just as soon as I know you’re not going to faint again.’

‘I never faint. Did you carry me all the way here?’

‘I did and I’m no doctor, but I’m going to have to disagree with you on the fainting front. Look, is this schedule too hectic for you?’ He linked his fingers and leant towards her, with a frown. ‘If it is, then now’s the time to say so.’

‘I would have said something if I felt uncomfortable with your timetable. I do happen to have a mouth! I blanked out for a couple of seconds because of the heat, the glare and all the stuff I was carrying. There’s nothing more to it than that.’

‘I did offer to help but, as expected, you decided it would be a good idea to refuse.’

‘As expected?’

‘You can’t stop yourself from seeing me as the Big Bad Wolf in this scenario. You’d rather topple down a flight of stone steps than accept my help. In fact, if you’d been halfway up that flight of steps, you might be lying here in a far worse state than you are now. I’m going to get you some water and I don’t want you to even think about standing up. When I return, you’re going to remain lying right there on the sofa while I examine you for injuries.’

He vaulted upright and was gone before she could launch into a heated repudiation of what he’d just said.

Too proud to accept his help?

Too stubborn to stop seeing him as the Big Bad Wolf?

Hope wondered how he’d react if he knew that her confusion around him was because she was all too aware of him as a man. Because she was horrified and alarmed at the way she reacted whenever he was within two metres of her. The way her thoughts took flight, the way her eyes drifted and her mind conjured up forbidden images…

She watched as he walked back into the room, carrying a glass of water and a bottle of amber liquid.

‘Water? Or whisky?’

‘Water.’

‘Whisky would be better. It’ll numb the shock.’

He handed her a small glass of whisky, stood back with arms folded and watched impassively while she sipped.

She pulled back when he reached forward to feel her forehead. ‘I just want to see if you have a fever.’

‘Why would I have a fever?’

‘The heat and flu are two things that don’t go well together.’

‘I don’t have flu. I don’t even have a cold. I’m as fit as a fiddle. I didn’t see you as the kind of guy who fusses, Javier.’

‘I’m not. I’m also not the kind of guy who wants to end up with someone who’s ill on my watch because I’m expecting her to keep up with me.’

‘Ah, now I’m getting the picture. If I’m ill, I’ll slow things down and the quicker you can sort this business out, the faster you’ll be able to return to your high-powered life running an empire and being a billionaire.’

‘Read into it what you will.’

He knelt down, gently manoeuvred her legs over the side of the sofa and then slowly pushed the cuffs of her jeans up her calves as far as they would go, which was far enough for her skin to prickle with hot embarrassment.

This cannot be happening.

Hope gritted her teeth together, desperately wanting to shy away from his touch but instinctively knowing that doing so would risk his curiosity. The man wasn’t making a pass at her. He was making sure he didn’t have to put himself out by having to find a doctor to deal with a broken ankle. He’d pretty much said so himself.

Right now, he was probably seething with impatience. He might remind her of her timetable to be back well before Christmas Day, he might wryly talk about present shopping and the tedious business of having to do it at all, but she couldn’t forget that he would have a thousand other important things to do.

She wanted the ground to open and swallow her up and disgorge her somewhere a million miles away from here at the thought of being an unexpected nuisance he wished he hadn’t brought along and paid for.

‘Hurting?’ He raised his dark eyes to her in a question.