“What are you doing? Where are we going?” She watched as he gathered up their things.
“We’re going to check whether I have a bed. In case I’m not remembering clearly.”
“And why does it matter?”
“Because I’m not making love to you on the floor. For a start it’s an old building and the floors slope, and they also creak. Probably been walked on by too many smugglers. We need a bed. I’m pretty sure I have one. And it’s large.”
She caught her breath, dazzled by the look in his eyes. “But—”
“Can we stop talking about my bed?” He pulled her againsthim and kissed her and his mouth was warm and skilled and tasted of sunshine and salt water.
She melted into him, and her surroundings disappeared.
When she eventually eased away, her heart was pounding.
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“I wasn’t interested in having sex with a woman who had drunk three glasses of wine in quick succession and couldn’t stand up straight. This is different.”
His gaze was on her mouth, the sexual tension between them so vivid she felt that everyone else on the beach must surely be able to feel it, too.
“You definitely weren’t interested in a one-night stand.”
He gave a slow smile and cupped her face in his hands. “Who said anything about a one-night stand?”
23
Alexandra
Alexandra was eating breakfast on the balcony when there was a tap on the door and her daughter stepped into the room.
She put her coffee cup down. “Come on in. I’m enjoying the sun and the breeze. It’s a perfect combination.”
“You’re eating breakfast?” Abby stepped onto the balcony. “You never eat breakfast.”
That was true. Alexandra glanced at the few flakes of croissant left on the plate. She’d pulled off a corner intending to sample it and somehow ended up eating the whole thing.
“I could tell you that I’m sampling Chef ’s handiwork, but I’d be lying. I’m eating breakfast because I’m hungry and the rumours about Luca’s skills are all true. I was surprised to find him making breakfast.”
“We have an excellent breakfast chef, but Luca is in overall charge obviously and he believes it’s important to work withall members of the kitchen staff. And he has introduced a new breakfast menu. We’re offering brioche and granita for our more adventurous guests.”
“I approve.” Alexandra caught sight of the undisturbed bed and wished she’d had the foresight to rumple the sheets a little. “How was your evening?”
Abby flushed. “It was good. Thanks.”
The flush interested her. She remembered something Edward had mentioned the night before about the man whose family owned the pub. Tristan?
She’d never asked her daughter about her relationships before, instead accepting what she was told and never delving deeper. So why was she suddenly desperate to know more?
It wasn’t her business. Her daughter was allowed to have secrets.
But she wanted to share them. They’d shared so many other things since she’d arrived, why not this?
She stood there feeling clumsy and inept. She had no intention of betraying a confidence, which meant she needed to find another way to coax her daughter to tell her about it.
“I was thinking that maybe later we could—”
“Mom!” Abby blurted out the words. “I need to talk to you. About work.”
