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Her eyes filled with liquid once more. “Thank you, Remi.”
“If you start crying again, the new tape I’m trying to put on you will get soaked,” he said, gently teasing her.
She bit her bottom lip. “I’ll be good.”
Remi blotted her eyelids with a tissue, then proceeded to affix the patch. “How does that feel?”
“You do excellent work, Doctor.”
A smile like none other broke the corner of his sensuous mouth. And for the first time, there was no darkness in it. When he looked like that, she could feel herself falling through space.
“You have magic in your touch. I bet your olive trees love you.”
To her chagrin his expression sobered.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” he murmured. “You just reminded me of something my father used to say when I was a boy.”
“What was that?” She wanted to know all there was to know about him.
“The trees are alive, Remigio. Be gentle with them.”
“I believe that.”
There was an electric current flowing between them, but all too soon he got up from the bed. The last thing she wanted was for him to walk away.
He checked his watch before staring down at her. “Right now I have a meeting with Diego that can’t be put off. Stay the night, Jillian. Tomorrow we’ll talk about an idea I have in mind that could be good for EuropaUltimate Tours and solve a problem for me at the time same.”
Joy arced through her body. Another night with him, this time under his roof…She knew she shouldn’t, but she was dying to know what was going on inside his head. In the end her curiosity won out over common sense. Since meeting him, she didn’t have any.
“If I’m going to stay, I’d better call the Prado Inn and cancel my reservation.”
Her capitulation seemed to please him. “The phone’s right there at your bedside. See you in the morning. Buenas noches.”
Once he’d left she phoned the Prado, then called her brother’s cell. He answered on the second ring.
“Hi, Dave. It’s moi.”
“It’s about time. I just called your hotel and they told me you hadn’t checked in yet. You should be in bed. What’s going on?”
“Actually I am in bed, just not in Madrid.”
“Where then?”
“I’m being waited on hand and foot at the Soleado Goyo. The Senor put me in the master bedroom.”
There was a long silence. “Jilly…honey…do you know what you’re doing?” he asked quietly. “Is he married?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You mean, you don’t know?”
“No, I don’t, and he hasn’t offered any information.”
“I don’t like it.”
She grinned. “First you tell me I need to start living again and now you think I’m living a life of debauchery. You can’t have it both ways, brother dear.”
“Come on, Jilly—”
“Dave, calm down. I’m in his parents’ old bedroom. He doesn’t even sleep in the main house.”
“What do you mean ‘main’ house?”
“Remi’s full name is Count Remigio Goyo.”
“Count—As in—”
“The Spanish aristrocracy. The Goyo estate is huge and so fabulous you can’t believe it. He has his own house besides the main one, and there’s a third house. I don’t know who lives there.”
He muttered something unintelligible, but she could read his mind.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Just remember he has the master key to the place. The ‘droit de Seigneur’ thing will always be alive.”
“Not in the 21st century! And don’t you know I’m a one-eye monstrosity wearing a patch? That’s how I know I’m safe.” That plus the fact that he was always the gentleman.
“How long are you going to stay there?” He still sounded unconvinced.
“We’re going to talk business in the morning, then someone will drive me back to Madrid.”
“How far away is it?”
She chuckled. “What is this? Twenty questions?”
“Look, Jilly, you just had an operation and can’t come home yet. Naturally I’m concerned.”
“I know,” she said, “and I love you for caring, but honestly I’m fine. If you want to know the truth, he makes me feel cherished.”
“Jilly? How are you? Honestly?”
“I’m much better than I expected to be.” Breaking down in his arms seemed to have accomplished something nothing else could. Three times now he’d kept her from going off the deep end.
“Okay then. Look after yourself. ’Night.”
“Love you and send my kisses to the children and Angela.”
After hanging up Jillian quickly prepared for bed. Being a tour guide had helped her learn to sleep anywhere with little trouble. However, sleeping in this room was a privilege. Her mind wouldn’t turn off.
After her conversation with her brother, she decided that first thing tomorrow she would ask Remi a few questions and not just for her brother’s sake. It wasn’t fair the Senor knew almost every intimate thing about her. She felt she could tell Remi her deepest secrets, her darkest fears—but she knew nothing about his personal life.
The next morning while Jillian was finishing the breakfast Soraya had brought in earlier, she heard a knock on the door. Just thinking it might be Remi turned her insides to jelly.
“Come in.”
Maria popped her head inside the door. “Buenos dias, Jillian.”
“Buenos dias, Maria.”
“The Senor wants you to come to the living room. I’ll show you where it is. A police lieutenant is here about the car accident.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten all about it.” After finishing the last bite of roll, she followed Maria down the hall to the foyer and opened the double doors.
Two men stood talking in the center of a room even more fantastic than the master bedroom. One man was in uniform, but Jillian never noticed him. She was too busy feasting her gaze on the devastatingly attractive male wearing thigh-molding jeans and a creamy shirt. He’d dominated her dreams all night.
CHAPTER FIVE
REMI’S PULSE RACED WHEN he saw a golden-haired figure enter the room. Some American women carried themselves with a certain confidence that made them stand out. She would have anyway, he mused to himself.
The short-sleeved khaki blouse gave definition to the slenderly rounded body he’d held close to him last night. Her imprint had left an indelible impression, causing him a restless night.
Up to now he’d only seen her in a dress or a skirt and blouse. This morning she’d put on matching khaki pants that outlined her long, shapely legs. Judging by the way the officer couldn’t take his eyes off her, he, too, was mesmerized by her femininity. There ought to be a law…
“Senora Gray?”
As she looked at him, her eye glowed green fire in a room of dark, heavy furniture. Gone were last night’s tears. Their presence had revealed unexpected vulnerabilities that squeezed his heart.
“This is Captain Perez. He wants to ask you a few questions about the accident.”
She turned her attention to the other man. “How do you, Captain.” They shook hands.
“It won’t take long, Senora. If you’d prefer to sit—”
“I’m fine.”
Remi watched him study her the way any man would when confronted by exceptional beauty. For a reason he didn’t wish to examine, it bothered him much more than it should have.
“I’m sorry your eye was injured, but I must confess I’m relieved to see you are looking so well.”
“Thank you. Senor Goyo is responsible for my quick recovery. My own family couldn’t have taken better care of me, had they been able to be here.”
The furrow deepened between Remi’s brows. Did Jillian know about her sister-in-law’s precarious condition?
“You are most fortunate, Senora. For the record, what I need from you is an account of how the accident happened.”
Remi listened as she told her version. It didn’t vary from his own except that she took full blame for it by explaining her bad judgment in trying to swerve her car.
The officer nodded and wrote a few words in his notebook. Then he lifted his head. “I understand you work for EuropaUltimate Tours. Why is it that you were alone in a rental car that day?”
“Between bus tours I do research to plan new tours for the company.”
“You were planning a tour here in Castile-La Mancha?”
“Yes.”
He smiled. “In this time of drought, tourism is good for our country.”
Jillian’s gaze flicked to Remi before she said, “In my opinion this part of Spain is one of the true wonders of the world.”
While Remi felt a rush of adrenaline infiltrate his system, the captain flashed a white smile. “I will pass your sentiment along, Senora. Thank you for your time.”
“I’d like to thank you and all the people who came to my rescue so fast.”
“Let us hope your eye heals completely.”
She nodded, not allowing her smile to fade even though Dr. Filartigua had indicated that such a miracle wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ll see you out, Captain.” Remi was anxious for the officer to leave before he said anything more damaging. Jillian didn’t need to dwell on the negative, and he wanted to get to the bottom of a certain comment she’d made a few moments ago.
She joined him in the foyer to see the officer out the door. When he’d gone, Remi turned to her. “You look like you slept well.”
“I did.” Her gaze took in the foyer’s accoutrements. “This is the lap of luxury for me. Breakfast brought in before I even asked for it. You’ve spoiled me.”
If he hadn’t been there when she’d broken down last evening, he could be forgiven for thinking she was invincible.
“But you still miss your brother,” he inserted. Not to mention her deceased husband, whom he tried hard not to think about at all.
“Naturally I’d love to see him, but he couldn’t come.”
“Is that what he told you?”
“Dave didn’t have to say anything. With Angela this close to her delivery date, he needs to be with her. If she weren’t expecting, he would have flown over with her and the children.” Her delicately arched brows formed a frown. “Why are you so concerned about that?”
Maybe she didn’t know about the toxemia. Relieved by her explanation he said, “Probably because I haven’t had a sister to worry about before.” Just keep thinking of her in those terms, Goyo.
“She’d be a lucky woman,” Jillian whispered.
While he digested that remark she asked, “What about brothers?”
He’d known this moment would come. “I have one,” he muttered.
She looked away. “I’m sorry if my question was off-limits.”
Remi inhaled sharply. “It was a perfectly normal question.”
“But you’d prefer not to talk about him.”
