He’s been up the stairs, she noticed with a frisson of alarm. A clod of earth sat on the top step.
Telltale grains and blades of grass revealed that he’d been into her mom’s bedroom, and her old one, too. Of course he was far too arrogant to think about making a mess in someone else’s house. Used to people cleaning up after him.
But what on earth was he doing up there?
She chewed her knuckle for a moment, trying to make sense of it. Maybe he was trying to reassure himself that it was still his?
Or was he looking for something?
She was primped and zipped into a pale blue dress by the time Naldo’s shiny red Alfa Romeo sidled up to her decrepit van that evening.
His expression of grim determination made her stomach curl as she stood at the kitchen window watching him stride up to the front door.
“Hello.” She managed a bright smile as she opened it, ready to step outside. Naldo looked over her shoulder into the cottage.
“Been packing, I see.”
He looked frighteningly handsome in a pale linen shirt tucked into expensively hip jeans.
“Yes. I got some things boxed up this afternoon. I can’t seem to throw anything away. I had no idea my mom kept every issue of Better Homes and Gardens since 1997, with Post-it notes marking the recipes she liked. I even found an article where she got the idea for the embroidered curtains upstairs.”
She realized she was yammering out of nerves and held her tongue.
“Shall we go?” Naldo extended his hand. Not sure what else to do, she lifted hers. He took it, looked into her eyes for one blistering second, then pressed his lips to her fingers.
Heat flared through her like a struck match.
Gulp.
He dropped her hand and pushed out the door, leaving her blinking and flustered. She should be annoyed at his inappropriately bold behavior, especially after this morning’s brash and obnoxious kiss, but somehow…
He opened the passenger door for her and she lowered herself into the racing-style seat. As Naldo climbed into his seat and started the engine, she struggled into the seat belt that reminded her of the harness in a child’s car seat.
“I don’t think we’ll crash between here and the house.” Amusement tugged at his mouth. “I guess you’re more cautious than when we used to drag race Dad’s golf carts.”
“With wisdom comes caution.” She finally snapped the complicated latch closed over her chest. She felt like she was lying on her back in the low-slung car, a sensation that made her already queasy stomach tighten.
“You used to be up for pretty much anything in the old days.”
“I was young and stupid.”
“You were fun.” The engine growled to life. “We had a lot of good times together.” He shot her a black glance loaded with suggestion.
If only.
“Yes. I was one of the guys, wasn’t I? Always good for a pickup game or a fourth in tennis.” She didn’t like the bitterness in her voice.
He raised an eyebrow as he backed onto the drive. “You sound like you wanted more.”
I did.
“You once said you’d take me to my prom.” She regretted the words the instant they’d left her mouth. His casual comment had meant so much to her. How many hours had she lain in bed and dreamed of walking into the school gym with Naldo on her arm?
“I did?” Naldo looked at her in astonishment.
Her gut clenched. “Such a laughable idea?”
“I’m not laughing. I just don’t remember.”
She stared at his aristocratic profile as he drove through the orchards. He didn’t even remember something that had meant the world to her. What a childish delusion to think that the great Naldo De Leon would accompany her to the prom at the local public school, a place he had certainly never set foot in his life.
“Why would you remember? It doesn’t mean anything.” Again, the edge in her voice made her grit her teeth. Only twenty-six years old and already bitter. She hated that.
“I admit I didn’t really see you that way. You were a pal, a buddy, you know.”
“Yup. I know. And you’re right. We did have a lot of fun together.” She looked at him cautiously, and noticed a dimple appear under his cheekbone. She remembered that dimple from the times they’d laughed together. Those times had meant a lot to her, even if they hadn’t to him. Her and Naldo, together in Paradise. “In all honesty, those were the best years of my life.”
His head whipped around and his intense stare made her wish she could swallow her words. But what did it matter? Tomorrow she’d finish packing and be gone.
They drove to the main house in a silence thick with emotion and unspoken words.
“It’s all yours now,” she said, as the beautifully proportioned redbrick mansion with its thick white columns and wide verandas came into view. “It’s such a lovely house. Is it really four hundred years old?”
Naldo laughed. “No way. I don’t even know how many times my ancestors rebuilt, what with hurricanes and forest fires and you name it. This one’s been here since 1912. The exterior walls are two feet thick.”
“Why so massive?”
“Can’t be blown down, can’t burn down.” He shot her a dimpled grin. “Since the family has always been dead set against insurance, they like to make their investments indestructible.”
“It’s not insured?”
“Nope. The De Leons have always been too proud to take anyone else’s money, and we don’t give it away on the off chance of disaster, either. My dad always called it ‘betting against success.’”
“I guess the De Leons have always had so much money they can handle a setback without going under.”
“Exactly.” He pulled the car up in front of the house. “Let me help you with that.” He leaned over and unlatched the harness keeping her pinned in the severely reclined seat. His long, strong fingers brushed her breasts as he removed the straps, sparking shimmers of heat that she tried her best to ignore. She struggled out of the race car with as much dignity as she could muster. Her heels sank into the thick gravel as they walked toward the grand front entrance.
“You look beautiful.” A dark note of approval thickened Naldo’s voice.
“Thanks.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He took her arm as they walked up the wide stone steps to the doors. She had the eerie sensation of a dream coming true, but too late, and all wrong.
He’d been gorgeous as a boy, all lanky grace and teasing humor. Now taller, with the muscled build of a keen athlete and the languid poise of a man fully aware of his own power, he was breathtaking. His sharp cheekbones and strong jawline contrasted intriguingly with the easy charm of his dimpled smile and flashing black eyes.
Oh, Naldo. It was a good thing she’d been up in Boston for the last eight years, not down here pining over a man she could never have.
The double doors opened as if by magic.
“Thanks, Pilar.” He smiled at the housekeeper.
Anna mumbled “Hi,” feeling as if she were on the wrong side of the master/servant divide.
Naldo still held her arm in his, and she could feel the warmth of his skin through the fine linen of his shirt. Her body tingled with awareness of his masculine presence. A flashback to the lightning intensity of his kiss made her nipples sting. The sensation of arousal was undercut by a sharp pang of regret that he’d never hold her in his arms again.
Are you nuts? This man was arrogant enough to kiss you without permission and now you’re thinking about-
“It looks like dinner’s ready.” This time he guided her into the grand dining room where two places were set opposite each other at the end of the polished mahogany table.
“Your dad always liked to eat in here. Are you going to continue the tradition?” Or is this just set up to intimidate me?
Each place held three crystal glasses and at least twelve pieces of solid silver cutlery. Priceless porcelain plates
