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He’d had first aid training, but broken ankles required hospitals. Hospital trips meant he’d have to take her to the mainland, on his own bloody boat.
Not on Luca’s to do list because the stupid woman didn’t realize she should wear sensible shoes on a damn boat.
Heels. When she was sailing. Goddammit, was the woman an idiot?
Heaving out a breath, he tried to tamper down his irritation. It wasn’t her fault he was nervous. Nor was it his fault she was stupid, but regardless, the customer was always right.
Even if they were very, very wrong.
April Santino was his first paying guest. And, he knew, she could be the start of many… She worked for an agency that was basically an ‘Ask Jeeves’ for the super-rich.
Once his villa was on her books, any time some fancy pants A-List actor wanted a vacation in a remote place while still staying in the lap of luxury, April would recommend this place if he, Luca, impressed her and didn’t growl at her too much.
That shouldn’t have been too difficult, but people skills weren’t exactly high on Luca’s priorities of personality traits he should work on. He was a number cruncher. Give him integers and ratios any day of the freaking week over people.
Especially people who traveled from the US to Greece, then sailed deep into the Aegean Sea in goddamn six inch heels.
Heaven spare him.
“April Santino,” he said, his voice a rumble as he greeted her. “I’m Luca.”
She just blinked at him like she was seeing him for the first time. Though he knew she’d caught sight of him as she’d hopped off the boat, her attention had been aimed at the ocean the minute she’d been back on terra firma.
Who could blame her?
His island was a marvel.
For as far as the eye could see from her vantage point, there was nothing but ocean.
It was both grounding and surreal to be a part of such a sight.
The notion that there was nothing out there, nothing but water, could cause a sensation close to claustrophobia. Which was surreal considering there was nothing but open spaces out there.
He often likened it to how Robinson Crusoe felt.
Except, his guests knew Davos would be back at the end of their stay to take them back to the mainland. So, it was like being shipwrecked without the wreckage, and a lot of luxury in between.
Luca cleared his throat when she kept her back turned to him.
Stupid as well as rude it seemed, he thought, rolling his eyes.
“Ms. Santino,” he repeated gruffly, closer to her this time.
The scent of her filled his nostrils. It reminded him of a bouquet of flowers. Exotic and wild at the same time. The breeze gusted in from the ocean, almost drowning her in her perfume.
He wasn’t sure why, but her scent unsettled him. Made his voice soften, his irritation lessen as he murmured, “April?”
It was forward of him to drop the formalities, but it finally seemed to work… he had her attention.
She spun around wide-eyed. Then, as she looked at him, she reared back.
Only reflex had him reaching out for her, grabbing a firm hold of her shoulders as she toppled backward, her arms waving as she almost fell backward into the shore.
He growled under his breath as he settled her. “This is why high heels should only be worn in the bedroom.”
Her cheeks were flushed with a hectic color founded, he knew, in a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. His words deepened the red blossoming on her cheeks, however.
“Excuse me?”
