‘Of course,’ she said, tipping her chin at a professional angle as she followed him.
‘I have a polo match next week.’
‘Next week?’ So soon? And the children were arriving when?
She could cope. She would cope.
‘Ignacio thought you would enjoy preparing the ponies with him.’
‘I would,’ Bella agreed, quickly burying her concerns. ‘That’s what I’m here for.’ She thrilled at the challenge.
‘I want the kids to get straight into it as soon as they arrive,’ Nero explained, ‘and this friendly match with a neighbouring estancia will be their first proper introduction to polo, so everything must go smoothly.’
‘And it will.’ She only had one concern left. Did Nero know the meaning of a friendly match? Somehow, Bella doubted it. ‘A week isn’t a lot of time to prepare the ponies.’
‘My ponies are always ready.’
She didn’t doubt it. Proud. Hard. Driven—didn’t even begin to describe this man. Competition was everything to Nero and, just as she had suspected, this would be anything but a friendly match—and those ponies had better be ready.
It wasn’t just the way Nero looked, it was the way he moved, Bella reflected, allowing him to walk ahead of her so she could assess him like prime breeding stock. She might be the Ice Maiden, happily set on her spinster ways, but that was no curb on admiring a perfect male physique. She was a professional, wasn’t she? Bella thought as Nero turned to flash a quick glance her way to make sure she was following. What else did she do all day at work if not stare thoughtfully at muscle and flesh to make sure the beast in question was in tiptop form and had the stamina to do what was required of it without injury? This beast was definitely at the peak of fitness, and Nero’s stamina had never been in question.
‘That was a heavy sigh,’ Nero commented, hanging back to keep pace with her. ‘Not tired already, I hope, Bella?’
‘Not tired at all. In fact, I can’t remember feeling quite so energised.’
‘Excellent.’ Nero’s lips pressed down with approval. ‘The pampas air is obviously good for you.’
Something was, Bella thought as her mouth formed the Ice Maiden line.
‘This is the hospital and recovery block,’ Nero explained as they approached a smart white building.
He held the door open and she walked in under his arm. Heat curled low inside her in a primitive response to Nero’s size and virility. The untamed pampas had loosed something elemental inside her. It was just as well the facilities inside the clinic were exceptional and she could quickly become absorbed in these.
‘We can carry out operations here if we have to,’ Nero explained. ‘Vets live on site. There is also a doctor and a nurse in residence to care for the two-legged members of the team. The distances are so vast here we can’t rely on help reaching us in time.’
Wasn’t that the truth? she thought.
‘Bella?’
‘Wonderful,’ she said, refocusing. ‘May I see the facilities for the children now?’
‘I can assure you they will be well catered for.’
Bella met and held Nero’s proud gaze. ‘I wouldn’t be doing my job if I left out one of the most crucial parts of it.’
‘As you wish.’
Even Nero’s back had something to say about her thoroughness. Nero was a fierce, passionate man to whom pride meant everything, and he didn’t take kindly to having his establishment judged by anyone, especially her. But pride was important to Bella too, at least where doing the best job possible was concerned.
‘I trust this meets with your approval?’ he said, opening the door to the first wooden chalet.
How prim and boring he must think her, Bella realised as she took a look around. If she were a child staying here she would be in seventh heaven—there was even a view of the ponies grazing in the paddocks through the windows. ‘It’s wonderful.’ She turned to find Nero with his arms braced either side of the doorway, displaying his formidable physique as he leaned into the room. ‘Did you plan the finishing touches while we were in Buenos Aires?’ she said, noticing the recent magazines and the latest teen films stacked by the TV.
‘I had nothing better to do.’
Nero’s tongue was firmly planted in his cheek, Bella suspected. ‘What?’ she demanded when he raised a brow. ‘I didn’t spend all my time in Buenos Aires learning to dance the tango…’
‘How very noble of you, Bella. And how reassuring for me to know our evening out wasn’t wasted.’