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She blinked in surprise, warmth filling her chest. “The horses? Really?”
“It’s an excellent marketing tool to draw in more guests.”
The cozy feeling disappeared. Of course Adrian would see the horses as nothing more than a means to an end.
“Sounds like a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time.”
“If you’re not up to the task, Miss Bradford, Cabrera Wine can provide you with a generous severance package and a recommendation that will land you any job you want.”
Panic flared, along with a healthy dose of anger—a common emotion around this infuriating man.
“No, Mr. Cabrera. I’m more than up to the task. I was merely going to point out that with my father stepping down after the sale you’re going to need someone to lead Fox. And not just lead, but take it through the major changes you’re suggesting.”
A cold smile spread across his face. “Ah... The real reason why you’re here on this plane.”
“What?”
“You didn’t come to ensure a smooth transition.” He leaned forward, his eyes hard. “You came because you want something from me. What happens if I say no?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, just continued on. “Will you actually do your job? Or will you try to make the sale fail?”
Everleigh stood, stalked to the back of the plane where she’d left her bag, and grabbed it. Each step she took back toward Adrian upped her wrath, until she almost trembled from not giving in and lashing out.
She pulled out her laptop, opened the document she’d been working on, and set her computer in front of Adrian. “Yes, I want you to consider me for the position of director of Fox. But I also spent two hours researching your brand and developing a campaign to announce the sale of Fox to Cabrera.” It took every ounce of control she had to keep her volume low and her voice steady. “I’m not going to sabotage the winery and all the people who work for it just because my family no longer has control over it.”
Adrian stood and the plane seemed to shrink. It was no longer spacious and welcoming, but too small as he filled the space. Today he was back in his customary outfit of black suit pants and a dress shirt buttoned neatly at the throat and wrists. A navy tie emphasized the blue of his eyes that she knew could turn from ice-cold shards to fiery seduction in the span of a heartbeat.
They blazed now with a fire that moved the heat of her anger lower into her belly, where it settled, traitorously, between her thighs, and sparked an altogether different kind of heat. She sucked in a shuddering breath. His eyes flickered down to her chest, and then her hips, before coming back up to her face.
Was he remembering their kiss in the cellar? The way they’d fit so perfectly against each other? The way his arms had tightened around her?
The feel of his strength and the evidence of his arousal had made images of them naked, his body pressed against hers as he slid inside her, light up her imagination...
“I’ve known women who would do just that.”
His blunt words brought her erotic thoughts to a screeching halt. In that moment she hated him. Hated that he would even entertain the thought that she could be like the women he’d known, hated the attraction raging like wildfire through her veins, hated how her world was once again being tossed into turmoil.
She leaned in, taking pleasure in the surprised look in his eyes. Adrian Cabrera wasn’t used to being challenged. “If you think I’m that petty, you can go to hell.”
With that parting remark she grabbed her computer and moved back behind the partition. The idea that she would purposely torpedo Fox violated not only her professional ethics but her personal sense of responsibility to all the people who worked for her family, who had helped give them the success and comfort she’d enjoyed all her life.
Not that her display of anger had helped her chances of getting the director position...
Doubt flickered in her mind. She hadn’t even lasted five minutes around Adrian without losing her temper. How could she possibly work under him, even if it meant staying at Fox?
But, really, did Adrian think she would be that conniving? How horrible to live in a world where you constantly suspected the people around you of having ulterior motives.
She put that disquieting thought, and any bit of sympathy and desire for him, out of her head and stared out the window of the plane.
CHAPTER EIGHT
TIMEFLEWBY,and before she knew it the shimmering turquoise waters of the Atlantic gave way to the white sandy beaches of Spain’s coast. Sailboats dotted the ocean, looking like little toys bobbing on the surface of the water. Beyond the water lay Motril, a modest-sized town perched on the edge of the sea.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her dad had planned on joining her and her mom in Paris for her graduation trip, and surprising her mom with a two-week tour of all the major wineries of France, followed by England, Spain, Switzerland, Italy...
All that had been dashed away with three words from a doctor in the hospital to her mom, the day after she’d collapsed, which had ripped Everleigh’s fairy-tale upbringing to shreds.
“You have cancer.”
The sight of the tears in her dad’s eyes yesterday when he’d finally told her the truth about the winery had thrust her back to the day of her mom’s funeral. It had been a sunny day, and the brightness had taunted them as they’d stood side by side, clutching each other’s hands as if they’d drown without each other.
