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‘Yes, and that’s why I urged her to stay in Cornwall. What the two of you decide is your business, but she was too tired, too run-down to make any life-altering decisions right now. I hope you will respect that she needs time and space. Her parents married for an alliance, because it made political sense, and nothing she has ever told me has persuaded me that it was a good match. I want more for her than that.’
‘Understood.’ He did—and he admired the way Clem had her sister’s interests at heart. He’d thought Arrosa alone but how could she be with her sister on her side? He pushed his chair back. ‘It was nice meeting you, Clem. Thank you for entrusting me with your secret. I promise it’s safe with me. What are your plans for the next six weeks?’
She winced. ‘That’s a good question. I’d hoped to get to know Asturia. I’ve never been here before and I have always wanted to explore it. But we’re miles from anywhere, Rosy doesn’t own a car and the limousine isn’t exactly inconspicuous. I’m not really sure how to get out and about. I can’t just call a taxi when as far as anyone knows the person living here is Arrosa and never goes anywhere unaccompanied and without clearance. I’ll figure out a way, but it’s more complicated than I realised.’
He sympathised with her, but her predicament was none of his business. His life was complicated enough without embroiling himself in the affairs of the King’s illegitimate daughter. But there was something about the wistful look in Clem’s eyes and the way she tried to cover it with her cheery matter-of-fact tone that spoke to him. Itwasa shame that she couldn’t get to know the country her father ruled over and her sister would one day inherit.
‘I cleared my diary for the rest of the day so I could take you out this afternoon if you wanted,’ he said, surprising himself with the offer. ‘If you put your hair up and sunglasses on, the guards at the gate will assume you’re Arrosa—I’ve driven her to the city before and I trained with the secret service during my national service, which means clearance has never been an issue before. The guards will assume we’re working. And once we’re away from here you should be fine. You don’t look so like your sister that anyone would mistake you for her close up, especially if you don’t dress formally.’
Hope sparked in the hazel eyes but almost immediately dimmed. ‘That’s very kind but I can’t ask you to give up your afternoon for me.’
‘You didn’t ask, I offered. Your choice, Clem. A chance to explore or an afternoon staring at the lake. What will it be?’ Akil didn’t want to analyse why he really wanted her to say yes.
She laughed at that, the sound unexpectedly rich and melodic. ‘It’s not really a choice when you put it that way. Thank you, I really appreciate it and I would love to accept. Let’s explore. Just give me five minutes to get ready.’
‘Take as long as you need.’ Akil ignored the sense of anticipation creeping through him at the prospect of an afternoon spent with the English girl, the pleasure that she had accepted his offer. He was doing a favour for his friend’s sister. Nothing more, nothing less.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANTICIPATIONFIZZEDTHROUGHClem as she pulled on a pair of Arrosa’s oversized sunglasses and added one of her sister’s bright scarves and a large, low-brimmed hat. The perfect disguise as all three could be discarded as soon as she had safely left the estate grounds. She tipped her own sunglasses, phone and purse into one of Arrosa’s bags and practically ran back outside.
‘Ready!’
Akil was frowning at his phone but as he looked up a slow, approving smile curved his mouth and a jolt of attraction hit her low in her stomach, the heat spreading through her. ‘You really were just five minutes.’
‘I’m an actress, remember? Quick changes are my trade.’
‘When my sister says five minutes I usually know I need to settle in for half an hour at least.’
‘You have a sister?’
He nodded. ‘Elixane. She’s in New York at the moment, doing a surgical residency.’ A shadow, so fleeting she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it, crossed his face. ‘She plans to be Surgeon General here one day.’
‘A woman with ambition. I approve.’
Clem quickly sent a message to Marie and Henri to let them know her plans and then followed Akil round to the front of the villa. She let out a low whistle as she took in his car. A sporty two-seater, so far so playboy but the classy silvery blue colour he’d chosen suggested a car bought to drive and enjoy as opposed to a mere status symbol. ‘What a beauty! Can we have the top down?’
‘If you want.’
‘I do, although maybe when we’re away from here and I can shed the hat. It would be a bit inconvenient if it got blown off by the wind just as we got waved through!’
Akil unlocked the car and Clem slid in, luxuriating in the comfortable leather seats. The car might seem a cliché in a less skilled driver’s hands, but he handled her beautifully, the car purring under his guidance. Clem sneaked a look at Akil as he accelerated down the drive, sunglasses shading his eyes, his face intent on the road ahead, muscles taut on his bare arms, and her pulse accelerated. He really was a ridiculously attractive man.
His arrival at the villa could so easily have been a disaster but it was looking as if it was a blessing in disguise. Not only was she finally getting an opportunity to explore Asturia, but this was an unexpected opportunity to find out who Akil really was behind the hot body and the political career, her chance to make sure he was worthy of her sister, to find out what he really thought of Arrosa’s proposition.
She tensed up as they reached the gate and Akil gave her another of those slow smiles, her stomach flipping in response. ‘Relax,’ he said. ‘You’re doing fine.’ Sure enough, the soldiers saluted as they opened the gates and within seconds they were accelerating away, Clem discarding the hat and sunglasses, replacing Arrosa’s designer dark sunglasses with her own quirkier vintage ones and wriggling back in her seat.
‘Where are we going?’
‘I can tell you,’ Akil said. ‘Or it could be a surprise. Your call.’
Everywhere was new to her and she wanted to see it all. ‘I trust you. Surprise me. I’m sure anywhere you choose will be fine.’
Akil nodded as he pressed the button to lower the roof and the whistle of the wind combined with the purr of the engine. Clem stared around at the countryside, taking it all in with avid eyes. She’d seen so many pictures, read so many books, watched any programme or film set here and now she was actually here, breathing Asturian air.
Asturia was as beautiful as she had hoped, green and unspoilt with verges filled with wild flowers. Her very soul felt repleted as she inhaled the tartly fresh air as if something in her had always craved it. As if she were home. Asturia might be backward in many ways but that meant its countryside was relatively undeveloped and the country was now getting a reputation for biodiversity and attracting eco-conscious tourists. Rolling hills and fields gave way to mountains at the further end of the horizon, the sun beating down from a cloudless sky. She sighed in appreciation. ‘It’s so beautiful.’
‘It really is,’ Akil agreed. ‘There’s nowhere else like it.’
