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Serena made an impatient sound. ‘You make it sound like a punishment,’ she said, flicking a non-existent thread of cotton from her trousers. ‘He is her grandfather, for heaven’s sake.’
‘Rena!’
Serena snorted. ‘Since when have you appointed yourself her champion?’ she demanded. ‘You’ve hardly said a word to either of us since we left London.’
‘I’ve been working.’ Dominic returned his attention to his papers. He shuffled several of them together and stowed them in the briefcase at his side. Then he looked at his aunt again. ‘Why don’t you call Lily and tell her we’ll be landing in about twenty minutes?’
Twenty minutes!
Cleo’s stomach took a dive.
It was all happening far too quickly for her. Despite the nine-hour journey from London, and this subsequent flight to San Clemente, it felt much too soon to be facing their arrival.
‘Why don’t you ring her?’ she heard Serena say, as Cleo struggled to come to terms with this new development. ‘She’s your mother.’
‘And your sister-in-law,’ murmured Dominic mildly, apparently not at all put-out by his aunt’s obvious frustration. ‘But, OK. If you want me to ring her, I will.’
‘No, I’ll do it.’
With a gesture of irritation, Serena sprang up from her seat and disappeared through another door which Cleo knew led into one of the bedrooms. There were phones in this cabin but evidently it was to be a private conversation.
Or a warning?
The pilot had given Cleo a brief tour of the aircraft when she’d first climbed on board. And, as well as this comfortable cabin where they were sitting, there were both double and single bedrooms on the plane. Together with a couple of bathrooms, one of which Cleo had been glad to take advantage of.
‘Don’t mind Serena,’ remarked Dominic now, continuing to gather his papers together. ‘Believe it or not, she’s a little nervous, too.’
Cleo reserved judgement on that, but evidently it wasn’t a problem he suffered from.
She didn’t make any comment, returning her attention to the view. She had to pinch herself at the thought that this was where she’d been born; this was where she actually came from. Was that the reason Henry and Lucille Novak had never shown any desire to come back?
She shivered, but now the distant shapes of several islands were appearing below them. And, as the plane banked to make its approach to the small airport on San Clemente, she saw the wakes of several boats moving purposefully across the sparkling water.
Her stomach hollowed again as the sea seemed to rush up to meet them, and she tried to concentrate on the sails of a large yacht that seemed to be making a run towards the island, too.
‘That looks like Michael Cordy’s yacht,’ observed Dominic suddenly, and she realised he’d come to stand beside her chair and was leaning rather unnervingly towards the window.
It seemed such a reckless thing to do in such a small plane that was already tilting far too much for Cleo’s liking. Her hands sought the leather arms of the chair, gripping so tightly her knuckles whitened, and, as if becoming aware of her anxiety, Dominic dropped down into the seat Serena had vacated.
‘It’s OK,’ he said reassuringly. ‘Rick’s a good pilot.’
‘I’m sure.’ Cleo licked her lips, her words tight and unconvincing. Then, forcing herself to relax, she glanced out of the window again. ‘Is—is that the island? Just there?’
She pointed and Dominic leaned forward again, forearms resting along his spread thighs, his posture unconsciously sensual. Cleo’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to the innocent bulge between his legs, and she had to force herself to look away.
Fortunately, he hadn’t appeared to notice.
‘Yeah, that’s San Clemente,’ he said, with evident pride. ‘It always looks smaller from the air.’
‘Do you think so?’ Cleo had been thinking it looked bigger than she’d expected. ‘Do you get many visitors?’
Dominic lounged back again, propping an ankle across his knee. ‘Tourists, you mean?’ And at her nod, ‘We get a few. We don’t have any high-rise hotels or casinos, stuff like that. But our visitors tend to like the beach life, and we do have some fantastic scuba-diving waters around the island.’
He was watching her again, and Cleo shifted a little nervously. ‘Do you go scuba-diving?’ she asked, and Dominic pulled a wry face.
‘When I have the time,’ he said. ‘But since the old man’s been ill, that isn’t very often.’
‘The old man?’ Cleo frowned.
‘Jacob Montoya. Our grandfather,’ he said flatly. ‘Remember?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Cleo bit her lip.
Dominic’s brows drew together then. ‘I should tell you,’ he said, ‘the Montoya Corporation is involved in a lot of different businesses. Leisure; casinos; oil. And recently we acquired a telecommunications network, that should keep the company solvent in the years to come.’
Cleo’s jaw had dropped. ‘I had no idea,’ she whispered, and Dominic expelled a weary sigh.
‘I know that,’ he said. ‘But don’t let it worry you. No one expects you to take it all in at once.’
And wasn’t that the truth? she thought unsteadily. She was having a hard time dealing with any of it. Even though the Montoyas had delayed their departure for a week to give her time to make her arrangements, it still hadn’t been enough.
Not that people hadn’t been understanding. Her head teacher, Mr Rodgers, had found her explanation quite fascinating, and he barely knew the half of it. Still, with his help, she had been able to persuade the local education authority that this was an emergency, and they’d given her a couple of weeks’ unpaid leave.
Norah had been helpful, too, offering to go shopping with her, encouraging her to see this journey as the opportunity it really was.
‘You don’t know how I envy you,’ she’d said, refusing Cleo’s offer to pay her share of their expenses while she was away. ‘You make the most of it, girl. You may never get a chance like this again.’
But, in spite of numerous good wishes, Cleo’s actual involvement felt no easier. She was out of her comfort zone, she thought. Not to mention—literally and figuratively—out of her depth.
Suddenly aware that the silence in the cabin had become deafening, Cleo rushed impulsively into speech.
‘Do—do you work for your grandfather?’
‘Our grandfather,’ Dominic amended drily. Then, with a lift of his shoulders, ‘I guess I do.’
‘What he means is, he runs the corporation,’ broke in another voice sardonically. ‘Don’t let him fool you, Cleo. Without Dominic, there’d be no Montoya Corporation at all.’
Dominic got abruptly to his feet. Returning to where he’d left his laptop, he began stuffing the rest of his belongings into his bag.
‘Did you speak to Mom?’ he asked, the coolness of his tone an indication that he wasn’t pleased with her, and Serena pulled a face at Cleo before answering him.
‘Uh—yes,’ she said, as if there was any doubt about the matter. ‘She says the old man can’t wait for Cleo to arrive.’
Dominic shook his head. Serena was bound and determined to make this as difficult for the girl as it was possible to be.
‘Lily also said she thinks she should make some other arrangement if this is going to be a long-term commitment.’ She gave Dominic a sly look. ‘She’s even talking of moving in with you.’ She paused. ‘Now, wouldn’t that be a happy development?’
Dominic scowled, and, although Cleo didn’t even know the woman yet, it seemed painfully obvious that Dominic’s mother had already taken a dislike to her.
‘Um—perhaps I could stay at a hotel,’ she ventured, just as the pilot’s voice came over the intercom, advising them to buckle up as they’d be landing shortly.
Dominic gave her an impatient look as he seated himself in his own chair and fastened his seat belt. ‘No,’ he said flatly. ‘You’ll be staying at Magnolia Hill.’ His lips twisted. ‘Believe me, your grandfather won’t have it any other way.’
Lily Montoya was standing on the veranda when Dominic, Serena and Cleo arrived at the house.
Cleo guessed she’d been waiting for them, evidently as curious to see her late husband’s illegitimate daughter as she was to greet her son.
Cleo was conscious of the older woman’s eyes assessing her as she stepped out of the back of the open-topped Rolls-Royce that had been sent to meet them. But then Lily flung herself into Dominic’s arms, hugging him and chiding him and accusing him of being away for far too long.
Dominic treated his mother’s exuberance with as much patience as affection, his eyes meeting Cleo’s over the woman’s shoulder filled with a rueful resignation.
Nevertheless, it was obvious his mother had missed him terribly. And, despite his efforts to introduce her to Cleo, she persisted in distracting him with news about some woman he had apparently been seeing.
What did she think? Cleo wondered. That her son might be as unreliable towards his responsibilities as her husband had been? Or that Cleo was some kind of femme fatale, sent to take revenge on her mother’s behalf?
Shaking her head, she looked about her, unwillingly aware that Magnolia Hill was even more beautiful than she had imagined. A huge antebellum-style mansion, its whitewashed facade was faced by a row of Doric columns that blended with the ornate pediment at the roofline.
Tall windows, some with iron-railed balconies on the upper floor, framed a porticoed doorway. Shallow steps stretched along the front of the building, leading up to a marble-paved veranda.
And, within the shadows of the veranda, a handful of cushioned iron chairs and a pair of bistro tables offered a relaxing place to escape the late-afternoon sun.
It was all quite overwhelming. The breathtaking views she’d seen on the short journey from the small airport had hardly prepared her for so much beauty and elegance. Magnolia Hill was quite simply the most beautiful house she’d ever seen.
The house’s name was appropriate, too, she decided. It stood on a rise overlooking the land that surrounded it. A cluster of outbuildings, including cabins and barns and an enormous garage were set back among trees, while across palm-strewn dunes she could see the pink-white sands of an exquisite coral beach.
But the shadows were drifting over the island as the sun sank lower in the west and Cleo hoped it wasn’t an omen. Despite her admiration for her surroundings, she hadn’t forgotten how she came to be here.
She steeled herself with the thought that, in a matter of days, it would all be over and she’d be going home…
‘Put the boy down, Lily.’
The gruff command enabled Dominic to free himself from his mother’s clinging embrace and stride up the shallow steps to greet the elderly man who had appeared in the porticoed doorway of the house.
‘Hey, Grandpa,’ he said, shaking the man’s hand and allowing him to place a frail, but possessive, arm about his shoulders. ‘How are you?’
‘Better now that you’re here,’ Jacob Montoya assured him roughly, affection thick in his voice. He looked beyond his grandson to where the three women stood together. His eyes flicked swiftly over his daughter and daughter-in-law before settling finally on Cleo. ‘You brought her, then?’
‘Did you think I wouldn’t?’ Dominic’s tone was wry. ‘I know an order when I hear one.’
‘It wasn’t an order,’ his grandfather protested fiercely. But then he let go of the younger man to move along the veranda. ‘Cleopatra?’ he said, his voice quavering a little. ‘You’re the image of your mother, do you know that?’
‘It’s Cleo,’ she murmured uncomfortably, aware that he’d said nothing to his daughter yet. ‘How—how do you do?’
Jacob shook his head. He still had a shock of grey hair and despite the fact that there was no blood connection, he looked not unlike his grandson. They possessed the same air of power and determination.
They were both big men, too. In his youth, Jacob must have been as tall as Dominic. But now age, and his illness, had rounded his shoulders and attenuated the muscled strength that his grandson had in spades.
Still, his eyes glittered with a sharp intelligence that no physical weakness could impair. And, although his stature was a little uncertain, the hand he held out to Cleo was as steady as a rock.
‘Come here…Cleo,’ he said, ignoring Serena when she hurried up the steps to take his arm.
‘Where’s your stick?’ she hissed, but Jacob only gave her an impatient look.
‘I’m not an invalid, Rena,’ he muttered. ‘Leave me be.’
Cleo went up the steps rather timidly, which annoyed her a little, but she couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t help being in timidated by this man who was, incredibly, her grandfather.
She was also aware that both Serena and Lily Montoya were watching her. Probably hoping she’d fall flat on her face, she thought bitterly. It was becoming more and more obvious that neither of them really wanted her here.
Jacob was still holding out his hand and, with a feeling of trepidation, Cleo put her hand into it and felt the dry brown fingers close about her moist skin.
‘My granddaughter,’ Jacob said, and she was almost sure there was a lump in his throat as he spoke the words. ‘My God, girl, you’re beautiful!’
Cleo didn’t know what to say. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dominic propped against one of the pillars. He’d taken off his jacket and folded his arms, watching their exchange with narrowed green eyes.
What was he thinking? she wondered. And why, at this most significant moment in her life, did she feel as if he was the only friend she had?
Which was ridiculous really. She hardly knew him, for heaven’s sake. Oh, sure, there’d been that moment in the cocktail lounge of the hotel back in England when she’d sensed he was attracted to her. But that had just been a brief aberration, brought on, no doubt, by the fact that he hadn’t seen his girlfriend for a week at least.
Nevertheless, almost unconsciously, she’d begun to depend on him, and it was only now that she realised she didn’t even know where he lived. She knew he didn’t live at Magnolia Hill. Serena had said as much. But was he going to leave her here at the mercy of his aunt and his mother?
‘This must all be very strange for you.’ Jacob was speaking again and Cleo had to concentrate hard to understand what he was saying. ‘I want you to know, I’ve anticipated this day with great excitement and emotion.’
Cleo didn’t know how to answer him. How did you speak to a man you’d never met before, but who was as closely related to you as any man alive?
‘I—I didn’t believe it,’ she offered at last, flashing Dominic a glance of pure desperation.
This had been such an incredibly long and nerve-racking day, and exhaustion was causing a tension headache to tighten all the skin at her temples.
‘But Dominic must have told you what happened?’ Jacob persisted, drawing her hand through his arm and turning towards the door into the house. ‘I’m sure he explained—’
‘Give her a break, old man.’
Dominic himself had stepped into their path, his jacket slung carelessly over one shoulder, and Cleo felt an immense sense of relief that he’d understood her panic.
‘What do you mean?’
Jacob’s tone was confrontational, but Dominic only exchanged a challenging look with Serena before saying smoothly, ‘Can’t you see she’s tired? This has been a long day for her and I dare say what she’d really appreciate is a little time to herself. Why don’t you let Serena show her to her room? Then she can have a shower and rest. She’ll feel far more like answering your questions when she’s not dropping on her feet.’
Jacob scowled, but he turned to Cleo with reluctant concern. ‘Is this true, my dear?’ he asked, and Cleo wet her lips before replying.
‘I would like a chance to freshen up,’ she agreed weakly. ‘If you don’t mind?’
‘If I don’t mind?’ Jacob snorted. ‘You must do whatever you feel like doing, my dear. I’m hoping you’ll consider Magnolia Hill your home; that you’ll regard Dominic, Serena and myself as your family.’ His lips tightened as he glanced back along the veranda. ‘And Lily, of course.’
Dominic’s mother looked as if the last thing she wanted to do was welcome her husband’s illegitimate daughter into the family. But it was obvious from the tight smile that touched her lips, and from the fact that she didn’t contradict him, that even she didn’t fly in the face of her father-in-law’s commands.
‘Good.’ Dominic sounded pleased. ‘Now that’s settled, perhaps Sam can fetch Cleo’s bags from the car?’
