AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘ANEXTRAPASSENGER,FOLKS.’
That was when Rose saw the tall figure, head bent, short hair blowing wildly in the blow back from the blades as he ran towards them. The door opened, bringing a rush of air, noise and the final passenger.
It closed and he was inside, the helicopter lifting off as he was belting in.
Rose sat there, a carefully neutral smile on her lips that gave no clue to the presence of her internal turmoil. Before she’d seen him she had been feeling positive, in control, and then he’d appeared and her little bubble of calm had burst into a million pieces.
‘Change of plan.’
Rose nodded, her attitude matching his casual delivery of the sparse information, and directed her gaze out of the window.
Zac’s car had actually arrived when he’d asked himself why.
Why was he reluctant to ask the question, let alone answer it? He had chosen to put distance between them because he wanted her. His response to the temptation she presented implied he didn’t trust himself and Zac would not admit to this sort of weakness even to himself. Such an acknowledgment would require a redrafting of...well, his life!
At that point he sent the car away and now he was sitting looking at Rose, attacked by a desire that made every inch of his skin tingle with sexual attraction...even his scalp got in the game... It was insane but it was real.
Rose had been afraid she had such high expectations that the reality would be a bit of a let-down. When she got her first glimpse of the Villa Aphrodite she knew that wasn’t going to happen.
The setting alone was worth several gasps of amazement. The sprawling terracotta-roofed building, low and built around a courtyard, had a central stone tower shaded by cypresses and pine trees. It nestled into the rock above a stretch of empty glittering sand and, beyond that, the dazzling blue ocean.
But it was as the helicopter came in to land that the scale and beauty of the building were revealed.
Part golden stone, part painted classic white, and windows facing the ocean or across lush, landscaped gardens with traditional blue frames.
It seemed to be an organic part of the landscape, not something grafted on, but blending in. She gave a series of yelps and gasps of excitement as she caught a glimpse of the pool that appeared to hang in mid-air surrounded by terraces of greenery.
‘There’s another one, look...’
She turned and saw Zac watching her. As if he didn’t know how many swimming pools or tennis courts he had...
He watched as her almost childlike enthusiasm and spontaneous pleasure shifted into self-conscious embarrassment.
‘Sorry, I...’
‘Do not be sorry. I got excited when I first stumbled on this place from the air too, a wreck then, of course, but there was something about it that...’ Without his being aware, his clenched hand went to his chest, pressing against the place where his heart beat as he shook his head.
The connection he obviously felt did not seem foolish to Rose. ‘And you saved it?’ she said, eyes sparkling. ‘What a marvellous thing to do. Why was it neglected?’ She could not imagine anyone not wanting to live in such a magical place.
Could there be a connection between her praise and the warm glow he was feeling? Zac dismissed the idea as absurd.
‘I believe there was a family falling out that passed down through the generations, two brothers inherited, one was desperate to sell, the other refused and the place stood empty.’
‘That’s sad.’
It was hard to tell if she was talking about the empty home or the family dispute, but her emotions seemed genuine. She turned and caught him staring and looked self-conscious for a moment, then smiled. Her smile was genuine...she was genuine... His promise to Marco seemed more and more like a fool’s errand.
‘But it had a happy ending—you brought it back to life and what a beautiful place for a child to grow up.’ Her smile grew tender as it was directed at the baby who had slept all the way through the transfer. ‘He really is so contented...’ Her lips twitched as she saw his reaction to her claim. ‘When he doesn’t have colic.’
She lost her fight and the laughter she had been holding in bubbled out.
Laughter at his expense had a novelty value. There had been instances he had been tempted to spout gibberish just to see how many people congratulated him on his brilliance.
The expressions flickering across her face made him think of a time-lapse film of an opening flower bud. It was just all there. She appeared to hide nothing. She possessed a rare spontaneity.
Or maybe he was seeing what he wanted to. Was he allowing his physical attraction to cloud his judgment?
He doubted that Marco would be impressed to hear him sounding more like a cheerleader than an objective observer.
