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‘Perhaps I can have a word with the cook so that she can prepare Michael something earlier than that?’ Brynne decided to take pity on Alejandro’s obvious frustration. ‘Michael is usually in bed by eight o’clock.’ Although that would no doubt be changed and adapted now that Michael was to take up a Mediterranean lifestyle …
But not tonight, she decided as she watched him swimming in the pool with the agility of a fish. He would be worn out by the early evening, and there had already been enough changes in his young life for one day. Michael needed some of his usual routine in order that everything shouldn’t spiral completely out of control.
‘That would be best, I think.’ Alejandro gave an abrupt inclination of his head as he turned to leave.
‘Tell me,’ Brynne murmured dryly as she looked up at him, ‘who was going to look after Michael if I hadn’t been here?’ she taunted.
Alejandro’s mouth tightened. ‘I had arranged for Maria’s daughter—Maria is the cook,’ he explained dismissively, ‘—to be with him.’
Brynne grimaced. ‘Yet another stranger.’
‘Brynne, you do not—’ Alejandro broke off, frowning down at her, his jaw once again tight, which emphasized the haughty planes of his face. ‘This is—new territory, for all of us,’ he finally said quietly. ‘I suggest that you give us all time to—adjust.’
‘By “us” you presumably mean you,’ she dismissed. ‘I have been taking care of Michael quite capably for the last two months.’
Alejandro drew in a ragged breath. ‘Do you intend arguing with me for the whole of your stay here?’
‘Probably,’ she replied; after all, Michael’s welfare was all she was interested in.
Although she had to say that Alejandro Santiago seemed less—alien, in these surroundings, his dark good looks more suited to this climate. In fact, she was the one, with her red hair and pale complexion, who was out of place. Which was one of the reasons she felt increasingly defensive.
One of them.
The other one was the memory of that brief moment of physical awareness a short time ago between herself and Alejandro …
Alejandro found himself relaxing slightly as he gave a rueful inclination of his head. ‘That is honest, anyway,’ he drawled dryly.
‘Oh, I believe you will invariably find me honest,’ Brynne assured him.
‘Good.’ He nodded, smiling slightly as her raised brows showed her surprise at his answer. ‘Honesty is something I can deal with. It is dishonesty that I find unacceptable.’ His mouth tightened grimly as he thought of all Francesca’s lies and deceit, and of their marriage that had taught him never to trust a woman ever again. ‘If you wish to telephone anyone to let them know of your safe arrival—’
‘Anyone?’ she echoed with a taunting smile.
‘Your parents, possibly,’ Alejandro answered slightly impatiently. ‘I am sure they would like to know that you and Miguel have arrived here safely.’
Brynne’s smile faded as she thought of her mother and father. Her mother had been ill with grief since Tom and Joanna had died so suddenly, and her father was having to deal with that as well as his own agony. The situation with Michael was completely beyond their comprehension at the moment.
A situation this man had created.
‘I’m sure they would,’ she acknowledged curtly.
Alejandro gave an abrupt nod of his head. ‘Please feel free to use the telephone in the villa. I have a separate line in my study for business purposes.’
Brynne roused herself from her melancholy thoughts, her expression once again challenging as she looked up at him. ‘Well, of course you do,’ she muttered under her breath.
Alejandro’s mouth tightened. ‘I sincerely hope that this verbal fencing will not continue at mealtimes!’
‘Oh, I think it probably will,’ she returned wryly.
So the angry frustration Alejandro felt in the company of this woman was now to be accompanied by indigestion after every meal, too!
He thought longingly of his well-ordered life of two months ago. Before he had discovered Miguel was his son. Before the maddeningly outspoken Brynne Sullivan had entered, and then refused to leave, his life.
He nodded abruptly. ‘As you wish.’
‘Oh, it’s not as I wish at all, Alejandro,’ she told him derisively. ‘You wouldn’t be here if wishes really did come true!’
No one had ever spoken to him before in the way that this woman did, Alejandro realized irritably. The honesty he had praised earlier was one thing, but Brynne seemed to have no qualms whatsoever in saying whatever came into her head!
Her beautiful head, he accepted with a frown.
‘Brynne—’
‘Aunty Bry!’ Michael greeted excitedly from the pool as he swam to the side to grin up at them, his dark hair slicked back from his face. ‘Are you coming in, Aunty Bry?’
‘Of course I am, darling.’ With one last mocking lift of her brows in Alejandro’s direction, Brynne moved gracefully to her feet, and reached up to pull the clip from her hair to let it fall loosely over her shoulders and down her spine.
Alejandro felt as if time stood still as he watched the wild tumble of titian locks. The sun caught their fiery silkiness, showing gold amongst the red, giving the effect of a living flame.
He knew Brynne was a schoolteacher, but she was unlike any schoolteacher he had ever known during his years of education!
‘I will see you both later,’ he snapped tersely before turning to stride forcefully back into the villa.
Work, he told himself firmly as he resisted the lure of staying by the swimming pool to watch Brynne and Miguel. He had been away for three days, and had numerous calls and messages waiting to be dealt with.
And that was before he even attempted to placate the other trouble-causing woman in his life—Antonia …!
‘Well, isn’t this cosy?’ Brynne said dryly as she looked down the length of the dinner table to where her host sat in remote solitude at the other end of the twelve-foot-long table.
He looked magnificent, of course, if a little overdressed for dining with someone he considered an unwelcome guest at best. The black evening suit and crisp snowy-white shirt gave his haughty good looks a rakish appeal she could well have done without.
Not having known whether or not she was supposed to dress for dinner, but having had a feeling that she probably was, Brynne was wearing what she considered her trusty little black dress, a light knee-length sheath of a dress with ribbon shoulder straps that complemented the light tan she had already managed to acquire during her hours beside the pool earlier today.
Michael, at least, was having a wonderful time in the novelty of his new home, and had fallen asleep within minutes of Brynne putting him to bed.
Her gaze narrowed on her host. ‘Did you go up and say goodnight to Michael?’
Alejandro gave an inward sigh; dinner really was to become as much a battleground as every other encounter with this woman!
‘He had already fallen asleep by the time I went upstairs,’ he said briskly, sure this was yet another black mark against him as far as Brynne Sullivan was concerned. The way her eyes flashed deeply blue told him he was right in his surmise.
‘Then perhaps you should have gone upstairs earlier than you did,’ she replied disapprovingly.
Critical as well as outspoken; it was not a comfortable combination in a woman!
‘Perhaps I should,’ he rasped. ‘But—’ He broke off in frustration as Maria arrived with their first course.
‘Thank you,’ Brynne said as she turned to smile at the tiny Majorcan woman. She had spent a pleasant hour in the kitchen with Maria earlier as Michael ate his tea, the two of them managing to converse a little in Brynne’s schoolgirl Spanish and the small smattering of English the middle-aged woman had acquired from the tourists that flocked to this beautiful island every year.
The language barrier certainly hadn’t been an obstacle to Maria’s obvious affection for children as she had chatted to and smiled at Michael at every opportunity.
Brynne’s smile faded as the tiny woman left the room and she turned to find Alejandro watching her with unreadable grey eyes. ‘I’m sure Michael would like to see some of the island while I’m here, so perhaps I could have the use of a car tomorrow?’ she suggested in a businesslike manner, having decided earlier that the novelty of the pool would wear off if that was all Michael had to do all day.
Besides, getting out and about on the island also meant getting away from the unnervingly handsome Alejandro Santiago!
‘I will put the limousine and driver at your disposal—’
‘That’s hardly the same as being able to drive myself about, now, is it?’ Brynne protested, having eaten some of her starter of melon and ham and found it delicious.
Alejandro’s gaze narrowed as he noted that her red hair was worn up again this evening, the flames tamed into muted fire with only a wispy fringe loose on her smooth brow. There was now a golden tan to her heart-shaped features, a peach gloss on the fullness of her lips, while the gentle arch of her neck was bare and the fragility of her slender body was emphasized by the fitted black dress.
‘I would … prefer it if you allowed my driver to take you wherever you wish to go,’ he said carefully.
Her blue eyes glittered with mockery. ‘Don’t you trust me not to disappear back to England with Michael?’ she taunted.
Alejandro’s mouth tightened. ‘I would find you if you did,’ he stated with certainty.
A frown creased her brow as she searched his face. ‘I’ll just bet that you would, too,’ she finally murmured disgustedly.
‘It is a bet you would win,’ Alejandro drawled.
She eyed him in frustration. ‘I would prefer to drive my own car so that the two of us are free to explore!’
‘I have told you Juan will be happy to take you wherever you wish to go,’ Alejandro assured firmly, having no intention of arguing any further with her on this point.
‘So Michael and I are to be virtual prisoners while we’re here, is that it?’ Brynne snapped as she put her knife and fork down on the plate and pushed it away from her, her appetite quickly disappearing.
Alejandro looked every inch the haughty Spaniard that he undoubtedly was as he gave her a quelling glance. ‘It is not a question of making the two of you prisoners—’
‘Then what is it a question of?’ Brynne demanded as she sat forward, twin spots of angry colour in her cheeks.
He gave a disgruntled snort. ‘You are a very difficult woman—’
‘Difficult I can live with,’ she assured him impatiently. ‘It’s being treated like a prisoner that I object to!’
Alejandro Santiago looked at her with obvious frustration for several seconds, his mouth in a thin disapproving line, his grey eyes glacial. ‘Very well,’ he finally said coldly. ‘You may take a car and drive wherever you wish, but I cannot allow you to take Miguel about the island unprotected!’
Brynne stared at him incredulously. What on earth—?
‘Miguel is my son, Brynne,’ Alejandro snapped impatiently.
She frowned. ‘Yes, but—’
‘I am sure that when we arrived here you noted the electric gates and high fences as we came onto the property …’
‘Well, yes … but—’
‘There are also several security guards patrolling the property. Do not be so naïve, Brynne!’ he bit out tautly as she continued to look puzzled. ‘There have been several high-profile kidnappings in Europe in recent years. And my fight for custody of Miguel was very well publicized,’ he reminded her quietly.
Brynne felt slightly sick as the full reality of what he was saying hit her. As he was the son of the super-wealthy Alejandro Santiago, there was a possibility that Michael could become a target for kidnappers!
She swallowed hard. ‘But—I—Michael has been living with me quite openly for the last two months!’
Alejandro gave an abrupt inclination of his head. ‘And he has been protected since I became aware of his existence,’ he assured her arrogantly. ‘Quietly. Unobtrusively. But, nevertheless, he has been protected.’
Brynne felt her cheeks pale. ‘When he was at school …’
‘Then too.’ Alejandro gave another terse nod.
It was unbelievable. All this time, all those weeks, and she hadn’t suspected a thing!
But that was the whole idea, wasn’t it? she acknowledged. What was the point of being unobtrusively protected if everyone knew about it?
‘That’s—’ She broke off, swallowing down her nausea. ‘I had no idea! Why didn’t you tell me?’ she attacked angrily as her initial shock began to wear off.
Alejandro had been waiting for that, knowing Brynne wouldn’t be virtually speechless for very long. ‘There was no need for you to know—’
‘Oh, and this is on a need-to-know basis, is it?’ she retorted furiously. ‘Michael could have been in danger any time during the last few weeks and you didn’t think I needed to know!’ She threw her napkin down on the table before standing up to walk down the length of the table to stand next to him. ‘You arrogant …!’
He shrugged without concern, his grey gaze coldly unyielding as he looked up at her. ‘I merely protect what is mine.’
Without telling her there was any need for that protection … How she despised this man!
CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_c67f4af5-d980-5851-a396-59fedc31fdc1)
‘WOULD you and Miguel like to come for a drive to Deya with me …?’
Brynne glanced up from the magazine she had been looking through while Michael once again frolicked about in the pool, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses as she looked up at Alejandro.
If uncovered they would definitely have told Alejandro that her anger towards him hadn’t abated in the least since she had stormed out of the dining-room the evening before!
It was an anger she wanted to cling to, finding it a much more comfortable emotion than her physical awareness of this man. Today he was casually dressed again in black trousers and a grey shirt that emphasized his dark colouring.
Her mouth twisted derisively. ‘And what’s in Deya?’
‘Nothing too exciting,’ he acknowledged dryly. ‘But while I attend a business meeting you and Miguel could have a look around the village, and then perhaps we could all meet up for lunch.’
‘What’s the catch?’ She eyed him suspiciously.
Alejandro was starting to regret making the invitation. ‘There is no catch,’ he snapped. ‘I was merely thinking of your request yesterday to see some of the island.’
‘And I suppose Michael and I are to be accompanied by armed guards wearing dark sunglasses and looking totally out of place?’ she queried sarcastically.
His mouth tightened. ‘They are not armed,’ he responded tautly.
‘But they will be wearing dark sunglasses and looking out of place!’ Brynne scorned as she swung her legs onto the tiled patio, and Alejandro noted she was wearing a black bikini today that suited the golden tan she was quickly acquiring.
Alejandro eyed her impatiently. ‘You are being extremely childish about this—’
