‘I’m sure I’m not. Is it all libraries and lectures?’
‘Mostly,’ she admitted. ‘There’s a huge pressure to publish papers as well as teach.’
‘And do you?’
‘Papers, books. A book,’ she amended, trying not to think about the mess that was book number two.
‘An author? How impressive. Would I have read your book?’
‘Only if you’re interested in a rehabilitation of Joanna the Mad from a feminist standpoint, looking at how difficult it was for intelligent women to thrive in a male-dominated world.’
‘I definitely missed that one. Joanna the Mad? Is she the one who carted her dead husband’s body all over Spain?’
‘That’s one of the myths my book works to dispel.’
‘Pity, I’ve always felt that if I got married I’d want my wife to love me enough to keep my corpse by her side at all times.’ Anna shot him a quick glance. Joanna’s husband had been famously known as Philip the Handsome, but surely even he would have paled into plainness next to the rugged good looks of Leo di Marquez. She caught his eye and felt her cheeks heat up yet again. What on earth was wrong with her? She’d never been a blusher before. If she carried on at this rate they could save money on an electrician and use her face as a lamp.
To Anna’s relief they finally reached the villa. Leo looked at the ornate, white building, more like a Moorish palace than a hotel reception and office, and whistled. ‘Nice.’
Despite herself Anna felt the old ripples of pride. As a child she had always felt so special, so chosen, to be part of the island’s heritage, to spend her summers in her little turret room surveying the island like some kind of medieval queen. ‘It’s not as old as it looks. It’s a turn-of-the-last-century reproduction built by my great-grandfather as a wedding gift for his bride,’ she explained. ‘This was their own private island, but when my grandfather inherited, he couldn’t afford to keep it as a second home. He and my grandmother turned the island into a resort. At one time, back in the fifties, this was one of the most exclusive resorts in the Mediterranean.’ Anna looked up at the veranda’s cobweb-infested ceiling and tried not to sigh. It was hard to imagine the island in its glamorous heyday right now.
‘And now?’
‘It’s been a while since I visited,’ Anna admitted. ‘Things are a little less glamorous than they used to be.’
The problem was the island was expensive to run. Her grandfather had often bemoaned the price of labour and food, all of which needed shipping out; the mainland might be just a few hundred metres away, but the island was still only accessible by boat. Maybe they needed to think differently, turn the island into an event destination rather than a hotel, for weddings and other special occasions?
They? She pursed her lips. There was no way her mother would be capable of running that kind of business, and it was unlikely Rosa would want to stay in one place and help. Maybe, much as the idea broke Anna’s heart, her mother should sell the island to someone who could look after it.
She’d broach the subject after the wedding. There was no point getting embroiled in a family drama before.
She led Leo through the grand hallway, now a hotel reception area, a board behind the huge desk holding the big iron keys that still unlocked the bungalow doors—no flimsy key cards here—and along the wooden panelled hallway until they reached the vast kitchen where her mother was still sorting crockery.
‘Mama?’
Piles of brightly painted terracotta plates, bowls and cups covered every surface and most of the floor. In the middle of the chaos Sancia stood swaying, her hair falling out of its customary loose bun, her eyes closed as she sang along to the ear-piercingly loud music blaring from the radio. Anna winced, unable to even glance in Leo’s direction.
The scene was all too reminiscent, a flashback to her teenage years. She’d soon stopped bringing friends home, no idea what would greet them once they walked through the front door into the untidy hallway. Sancia was usually at home, but she would be preoccupied with her current fad; dancing, painting, sculpting, cooking. Whatever it was tended to take over the whole house, a chaotic tangle of colour and mess. It was all about the creative journey, Sancia would say, whenever Anna or her father suggested she keep her artistic endeavours confined to one room. Which was a good thing as usually the end result was good for nothing at all. Anna preferred to spend her after-school time at her friends’ houses instead, in ordered, peaceful homes where everything had its place and routines ruled.
‘Mama!’ she said again, this time loudly and sharply, and Sancia’s eyes flew open, fastening onto her daughter reproachfully.
‘Querida, there is no need to shout.’ She switched her gaze over to Leo and her dark eyes widened, her still-full mouth curving into a smile. ‘Hola.’
Anna’s heart sank; she recognised that particular flirtatious smile. It was her mother’s default smile for any reasonably attractive man and Anna had seen it used, always to great effect, on friends of her father’s, and on her own friends’ fathers. No girl should have to grow up seeing grown men reduced to red-faced boys by her own mother. Anna knew it wasn’t conscious, that warm smile of appreciation, it wasn’t meant with malice or intent or even deliberate flirtatiousness, but it was all the more devastating for that.
Leo didn’t seem to be immune, his own smile wide as he bent over Sancia’s outstretched hand. ‘Hola,’ he answered, his voice so low it was a cross between a purr and a growl, a deep rumble Anna suspected was used as often as her mother’s smile and with a similar effect—only she was pretty sure Leo di Marquez knew exactly what he was doing.
Sancia preened. ‘Who is your charming amigo, Anna?’
Anna made a concerted effort not to grind her teeth. ‘Mama, this is Señor di Marquez, he is Valentina’s brother and he’s come to check the island is suitable for his sister’s wedding.’
Sancia turned her smile up another watt. ‘What a lucky girl to have such an involved brother.’ She gazed up at Leo as if he were edible and Anna tried not to follow her mother’s gaze, especially as she seemed fixated on Leo’s half-bared chest.
‘Your resort is beautiful, señora,’ Leo said, a smile still playing around his beautifully sculpted mouth.
‘Gracias, and please, call me Sancia. Señora always makes me feel so old. I trust you’re happy with everything? We are so looking forward to welcoming Valentina and her fiancé in a month’s time.’
Anna stared at her mother in disbelief. Did she really think anyone would be happy with the state of the island? After all, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know what a huge task she had in front of her—she had called both her daughters to beg them to drop everything to come and help. Maybe now Anna was here Sancia considered her own job done. She had always relied on Anna to look after the dreary practicalities in the past. ‘That’s my sensible, organised girl,’ she would say, as if sensible and organised were things to be tolerated, to be pitied, not to emulate.
By the way Leo’s mouth quirked he was evidently amused by Sancia’s blind optimism. ‘Obviously you are not quite ready for the season,’ he said. Why was he being so diplomatic with Sancia when he hadn’t minced one of his words with Anna? ‘As you know Valentina needs everything to be perfect and so I have promised to help you prepare the island for her wedding. I trust this is acceptable?’
If Sancia’s eyes grew any wider they would fall right out of her head. As it was she was currently resembling a cartoon character more than a real human being. ‘That is so kind of you.’
Anna couldn’t stop her toe tapping impatiently on the tiled floor. Was her mother going to look at this practically in any way? Check that Leo was who he said he was, that Valentina wanted his input and, most importantly, that his presence here for a month wouldn’t result in any reduction of the lavish payment Valentina had offered in return for a week’s exclusivity? She took her mother’s arm
and steered her through the piles of bowls and plates to the open back door, lowering her voice and doing her best to ignore Leo’s sardonic glance. ‘Mama, don’t you think you should check with your client first, and make sure this doesn’t mean there will be any renegotiation on the price? That Leo is who he says he is.’ But she knew she was wasting her breath.
‘Querida, the fates have brought you a handsome young man and you want to check his references? Live a little, Anna. You’re getting hunched, all that time over a keyboard, and you look positively sallow. A few weeks in the sunshine with some agreeable company is exactly what you need.’
‘I’m not here for my health, Mama. I’m here to help you...’
‘And thanks to Señor di Marquez your job will be a lot easier. After all, Anna, you’re not the most practical of people, are you?’ And while the gobsmacked Anna was still trying to formulate an articulate response her mother stepped away, turning back to Leo. ‘We have plenty of space here in the villa, Señor di Marquez. I would be very happy to accommodate you.’
‘Señor di Marquez has his own accommodation,’ Anna interjected quickly.
Her mother’s smile barely wavered. ‘But we will feed you, I insist, it’s the least I can do. Lunch will be served in just a couple of hours so shall we meet back here at two? I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.’
Uh-oh. Anna knew exactly what that meant. At least four courses, wine and two hours of the day wasted. Then, no doubt, her mother would suggest a siesta and before Anna had had a chance to make even one list the day would be over. ‘There’s no need for a formal lunch. There’s far too much to do. We can easily just grab a roll and some cheese and work through. It’s only early May. It’s not as if the sun will be too unbearable,’ she finished a little doubtfully as she glanced out of the window at the perfectly blue, cloudless sky.
‘Oh, Anna...’ Her mother couldn’t have sounded more reproachful if Anna had suggested drowning kittens, but her sorrowful protestation was drowned out by Leo, who leaned against the huge scrubbed table, arms folded and a sardonic gleam in his eyes.
‘Skip lunch? Absolutely not. I’m looking forward to it, señora—I mean, Sancia. What’s life without time out for good food and good conversation?’
Narrowing her eyes, Anna stared over at the insouciant Spaniard. ‘I thought you wanted everything to be perfect for your sister’s wedding?’
‘I do, it will be, but there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun while we’re working, now, is there?’
CHAPTER THREE
LEO TOOK A small sip of his coffee and grinned over at Anna. She had become increasingly, obviously impatient as lunch had meandered from course to course: fish soup followed by an excellent soufflé, chicken with garlic-roasted potatoes, and a cheese course, all washed down with a rather good rioja. Sancia Garcia might not know how to run a hotel, but she did know how to employ a good cook and right now, sitting on a sheltered patio with a view of white beaches and an azure-blue sea, Leo felt a stir of that elusive contentment for the first time in months.
Sure, there was an entire island to be renovated and made fit for Valentina’s arrival in just under a month, but the sense of urgency was lessened by the rich dark coffee, the richer wine and the last sliver of cheese temptingly within reach. Lessened by the knowledge he could make a phone call and an army of labourers would be despatched forth to take care of every detail. But mostly lessened by Dr Anna Gray’s palatable disapproval. She had only eaten soup and a little cheese, had refused wine and was very obviously making copious lists proving just how busy she really was.
It was quite adorable. Not that Leo looked for adorable in women. He didn’t really look for anything beyond the very, very superficial. What was the point when he had no intention of getting into anything deeper than casual? He chose carefully, ensuring the women he dated were as uninterested in his inner life as he was in theirs. He needed to be sure that they wouldn’t be looking too closely at him. Too closely into him. That all they were interested in was his blue blood and deep pockets.
Of course here, out of the public eye, the usual rules didn’t apply. It would be an interesting challenge to see just what it took to make Dr Anna Gray put down her pen and notepad, wipe those frown lines off her forehead and smile. Interesting, but all too risky. He’d known Anna for less than three hours and he already knew that she was the type who would always dig deeper—and that made her dangerous. Besides, he was pretty sure she didn’t understand the ‘good time’ rule and that made her absolutely off-limits.
‘Hit me.’ He pushed his coffee cup to one side, propping his elbows on the table as he turned towards Anna. ‘What’s first?’
Anna brushed a lock of dark hair away from her forehead and Leo froze, awareness of her every movement shivering through him. For one endless second she was imprinted on him, her long graceful neck, her sweep of long, wavy hair, the shrewd expression in her clear blue eyes, and the vulnerability he saw behind them, a vulnerability he sensed was usually kept well hidden.
‘First?’
Leo nodded at the notebook Anna carried like a talisman. ‘On your list.’
‘Oh.’ Her hand lay over the page protectively. ‘I’ve put together a list of supplies we need before we can really get started so I think I need to take a trip over to the mainland today. There really isn’t any time to waste.’ She glared meaningfully at his plate. ‘Mama, I’ll need to take your dinghy. Is that okay? Is the car still kept in the same place?’
‘No need to borrow your mother’s boat. I’ll sail you over.’ Leo sat back in his chair and watched Anna try and come up with an excuse to avoid his company.
Anna blinked. ‘There’s no point taking your boat such a short distance.’
‘No, but my dinghy is at your dock.’
Sancia glanced from Leo to Anna, her expression amused. ‘The car is parked in the harbour lot as always, querida. There’s a big store on the outskirts of town, about five kilometres from the harbour. You can’t miss it.’
‘Right.’ Anna pushed her chair back and stood up. ‘Let’s go.’
Leo didn’t move.
She tapped her foot, her eyes gleaming dangerously. ‘In your own time, señor.’
Sancia sighed, shaking her head at her daughter. ‘Querida, you are in Spain now. The store will be closed for siesta. There’s no point in going now.’
‘A siesta sounds like an excellent suggestion.’ Leo winked at Anna. ‘I’ll see you at the jetty in two hours, Dr Gray. Bring your lists.’ And he stood up. ‘Thank you, Sancia, that was delicious.’ He bowed over Sancia’s hand and tossed another wink in Anna’s direction before sauntering away, fully aware that Anna was glaring at him. His back prickled with awareness; he could almost feel the burn as her eyes bored into him.
Funny to think he had had no agenda this morning beyond popping over to what he had assumed to be a perfectly run luxury resort in order to reassure his sister. Now he had a month’s work ahead of him and a hostile colleague. He couldn’t wait to get started.
* * *
Anna stared down at the bucket of tepid, dirty water resentfully. She’d decided not to waste the two hours her mother and Leo were choosing to spend sleeping and instead had got started scrubbing down the outside of a couple of bungalows. Not that she had got very far. Right now getting the island into any kind of order seemed like a Sisyphean task—especially if long lunches and longer siestas were going to be the order of the day.
Still, at least she had made a start. She would get the groundskeeper and chambermaid to continue while she was on the mainland; but she really needed to talk to her mother and find out when the seasonal staff were due to start, and how many they were expecting. Without adequate staffing they would never get the island ready in time. Luckily the interiors of the bungalows were in a better state than she’d expected. They needed some cosmetic work, a good
clean, taps and showers fixing, a quick paint, but the furniture was still good, simple, but well-crafted. A few luxurious touches, new cushions, rugs and accessories should bring them up to date. After all, if Valentina wanted marble and gilt she would have booked a hotel. She was after an authentic Spanish touch and that, at least, La Isla Marina could provide.
Picking up the bucket, Anna tipped the water down the drain. She’d worked her way through several buckets of water, lugging them to the desired spot, sloshing water down her legs as she did so. Her hands were red, two nails already broken. She made a mental note to add gloves to her list.
Had it really only been half an hour of work? It felt like eternity and she had barely started. This morning she’d been full of a sense of purpose, if a little daunted. Now she just felt like Cinderella, toiling away while the rest of the household slumbered, and just because she had volunteered for domestic drudgery didn’t mean she couldn’t help feeling resentful. She wouldn’t mind so much if Rosa weren’t swanking about somewhere, carefree, on the other side of the world, if her mother didn’t look at her as if she were being fussy, if Leo di Marquez hadn’t shown up...
Anna pushed her hair off her forehead, grimacing as she realised just how sweaty she was. What was Leo’s deal anyway? What kind of man just decided to put a month aside for his sister’s wedding with no planning, no notice? Placing the bucket on the floor, Anna tried to stop her mind dwelling on the planes of Leo’s chest, the strong, sensual mouth, his mocking eyes. He knew how attractive he was all right—and there was nothing Anna distrusted more than a man convinced of his own worth, his own desirability. After all, she’d been taken in before, been badly burnt before.
She’d mishandled him from the first, allowing him to put her on the back foot even though he was the trespasser. It wouldn’t—couldn’t—happen again. She needed weapons, she needed armour, she needed control, she needed facts.
Baby Surprise for the Spanish Billionaire Page 3
