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Hope nodded. She had been very politely but very firmly shut down and she hated the way that hurt. She stood, slowly, and then looked at him.

‘Rock solid.’ She smiled thinly. ‘Shall I prove it by walking a straight line? Even with the whisky inside me?’

‘Up the stairs, back to your bedroom. I’ll follow behind you just in case you become the swooning Victorian maiden again. I’ll be right there to catch you if you fall.’

His voice was light but she stilled. Just like that, it hit her that that was something she had never had in her entire life. No one had ever been there to catch her if she fell. Even now, with her mother long past those youthful bouts of manic joy and optimism followed by crushing despair as relationships ebbed and waned, she remained a nagging source of worry for Hope.

There was always a part of her that felt as though she had to keep a watchful eye on Julie.

She had hoped, when she’d started going out with Jimmy two years ago, that he might be the person who could give her clarity and security. She had willed love to show her what that would feel like. What a life of sharing could be like. When their relationship had crashed and burned, she had accepted the cold hard truth that the only person you could ever trust was yourself.

Jimmy had been perfect on paper but the reality had been very different. If she had been bored by him, then it would always have been up to her to sort herself out. You couldn’t ever bank on what seemed to be perfect actually turning out that way.

Now, though…

This big, strong guy sitting right there, within touching distance of her…

She imagined that he would be the kind of man who would have his woman’s back.

There were so many questions she would have wanted to ask him. They filled her head, swarming like a hive of bees.

‘I’m not a swooning, Victorian maiden but yes, I’ll head up.’ She began walking away. ‘But I won’t be staying in my bedroom for the rest of the day pretending to be an invalid when I’m not. I’m going to grab my book and head back down to the cove. What about you? Will you be working today?’ she asked.

‘Possibly.’

‘I didn’t think you ever took too much time off work,’ she smiled.

‘Another confidence courtesy of my brother?’

‘I wouldn’t need anyone to tell me that,’ she said wryly. ‘I can see it for myself. It’s the pot calling the kettle black when you say that I’m getting predictable.’

‘Want me to surprise you?’

Hope was suddenly skewered to the spot by a slow, curling smile that left her breathless.

Surely, he wasn’t flirting with her?

It was an outrageous thought. She almost laughed at herself for even thinking it.

She wasn’t the sort of woman this man could ever be attracted to, although she had no idea what sort of women he was attracted to. She only knew that whoever these mysterious women were, they were never enough to make him want any of them to cook for him or play house.

She looked at him once they were at the top of the stairs.

His presence swamped her. He was so big. So powerful. So good-looking.

‘You could surprise me by not treating me as though I’m suddenly made of porcelain just because the heat got to me back there. I shall make my way back down to the cove, take some photos, read my book and relax. It’ll be nice not to rush off somewhere else to look for your brother until I’ve had a chance to get over the jet lag.’

‘I should have thought about that,’ Javier mused. ‘I tend to assume that people can keep up with me. A lot of the time they can’t.’

He looked away and she stared for a moment at his strong, averted profile.

‘I’m thinking that somehow you’re blowing your own trumpet when you say that,’ Hope said drily. He looked at her and their eyes met. Her breath became jagged and uneven and her heart began to race.

He chuckled.

‘Do you always say exactly what you’re thinking?’

‘Sometimes I have to dress it up a little,’ Hope admitted with a suddenly shy smile. ‘You have no idea how difficult it is to look at someone’s work and know, just know, that they’re never going to be the artist they think they can be.’