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she felt a burst of uncharacteristic anger towards Ruby. This was her fault. If she hadn’t abandoned her job …
Was Ruby experiencing a similar degree of chemistry with Dino Capelli? If so, then it was little wonder she’d vanished without caring about her job or her sister.
And anyway, how could she be angry with Ruby? It wasn’t really her sister’s fault, was it?
After her uncertain, disordered childhood and then the collapse of a disastrous relationship, it was easy to see how she’d been dazzled by the wealth and charisma of the Capelli brothers.
With a sigh, Lindsay got to her feet and wrapped herself in one of the huge soft towels that were left ready for her use.
It was time to pull herself together. What use would she be to Ruby if she was suffering from a bruised heart herself?
No, sex with Alessio Capelli would undoubtedly have been amazing, but it was too high a price to pay for the mess she’d be in afterwards.
She was glad she’d walked away. In fact she was proud of herself.
Lindsay dried her hair methodically and then slid into a sheer silk nightdress that was nothing like her normal choice of bed wear.
But as she slipped into the large canopied bed she felt suddenly more alone than she’d ever felt in her life.
Without doubt she was the only woman who had ever walked away from him.
Trying to dismiss images of a powerful arrogant Italian stretched out next to her, she pressed her face into the pillows and pulled the soft cover over her shoulders.
Instead of focusing on the nagging throb low in her body, she needed to think of his bad points. Of all the logical reasons why they shouldn’t be together.
And there were certainly plenty to choose from.
Tired after a sleepless night, Lindsay forced her trembling legs along the smooth stone path that led to the Beach Club.
Given the choice she would have eaten breakfast alone.
She would have locked the door and stayed indoors in the air-conditioned tranquillity of her luxurious villa, but that wasn’t an option. She was here to do a job and she was well aware that if she didn’t play the part, then Alessio might still fire Ruby.
At least now she was on her guard. She’d let herself become complacent. She’d totally underestimated the devastating effect he had on her.
But now she was prepared.
Having been awake for most of the night, she’d had more than enough time to select her outfit for the day, and this time she’d been less cavalier in her choice of dress.
She’d bypassed swimming costumes, shorts and sarongs and instead chosen a white skirt that drifted down to mid-thigh. She’d teamed it with a strap top in a pale shade of lilac, cut high enough on her chest to ensure that no cleavage was revealed. And it fitted perfectly. She was confident that there was no chance that it would gape or reveal anything if she leaned forward. In an impulse of femininity that she didn’t want to examine too closely, she’d slipped some delicate silver bangles onto her arm.
It was fine.
Everything was fine.
And everything remained fine until she walked onto the terrace and saw him.
He was seated at a table next to the beautiful swimming pool, a cup of coffee half drunk on the table in front of him.
Every part of his masculine physique emanating power and authority, he was talking to a man in a lightweight suit, but the moment he saw Lindsay his eyes narrowed and he said something that Lindsay couldn’t hear.
The other man melted swiftly into the background leaving Lindsay the entire focus of Alessio’s attention.
‘Buon giorno.’ He spoke in a low tone that was inaudible to all around, his eyes cool and assessing. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘Perfectly, thank you.’ She pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, ignoring his knowing smile. ‘Any sign of your client?’
Please say yes, she begged silently. A third person might dilute the tension that seemed to surround them.
‘There’s been a hurricane warning. He’s decided not to fly out until the weather improves.’
Startled, she looked at him. ‘A hurricane?’
‘Don’t worry. Kingfisher Cay hasn’t suffered a direct hit once in the past sixty years. It will pass us by.’
Lindsay glanced up at the blue sky, noticing a few wisps of cloud on the horizon. ‘Let’s hope you’re right.’
‘Are you afraid of storms?’
‘I love storms—’ without looking at him, she helped herself to slices of fresh pineapple and mango from a plate in the centre of the table ‘—so if you’re hoping that I’ll seek the shelter of your strong arms, you’re going to be disappointed.’
Alessio laughed. ‘So far I haven’t had to rely on the weather to entice a woman into my bed.’
‘I’m sure you haven’t.’ She made a point of examining the deep gold flesh of the mango. ‘Where there’s money, there will always be women.’
‘Ouch, Lindsay, that was cruel.’ He was still laughing at her, apparently totally unaffected by her dig.
‘No, really—I feel sorry for you—’ picking up a fork, she speared a piece of mango ‘—you must be incredibly lonely. Meaningless sex has to become boring after a while.’
‘Obviously you’ve never had really good sex,’ he said dryly and Lindsay concentrated on her plate, taking her time over selecting her next piece of tropical fruit.
‘For you it’s a sort of sport, isn’t it? A type of physical workout. You just don’t engage your emotions. Don’t you want more?’
‘“More” being marriage?’ He drained his coffee. ‘I think you know me better than that.’
‘I don’t know you at all.’
‘That’s your choice,’ he said silkily, his dark eyes glinting dangerously as he watched her. ‘Feel free to take a voyage of discovery at your convenience. You look tired, Lindsay. Did something keep you awake last night? Your thoughts, perhaps?’
‘I slept perfectly,’ she lied. ‘So if you have no client to see today, what are you going to do?’
‘I have another difficult case that needs my attention. I intend to go out on the yacht. A change of scene sometimes helps me focus.’
Weak with relief at the news that he wasn’t going to be around during the day, Lindsay finished the fruit on her plate and actually managed a smile. ‘Of course. Don’t worry about me. I quite understand that you need some time to yourself.’ Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all. She could curl up in her villa with a book. Once she was confident he was nowhere near the island, she might even change into one of those revealing swimming costumes and risk a swim in the sea. ‘I’ll be fine.’
‘I know you’ll be fine—’ he reached out a hand and helped himself to a piece of exotic fruit from the platter in front of him ‘—because you’ll be with me. You’re my assistant, remember? Where I go, you go.’
‘When you’re working, yes. But if you’re simply having a day off on your yacht—’
‘I don’t take days off. I’ll simply be working in a different venue.’ His strong fingers dissected the fruit with ruthless precision while Lindsay stared in dismay.
He expected her to go with him? ‘You’ll be working on a boat?’
‘A catamaran, to be precise. She’s moored over there on the jetty.’