‘Our picnic?’ Lisa frowned. Didn’t billionaires carry chefs on their yachts these days?
When Tino walked straight past the gangway to the Stellamaris Odyssey, she halted at the foot of it.
‘What now?’ he grated, turning round.
‘But, I thought—’
‘Oh, dear—your bottom lip is trembling, Lisa.’
She probably did look like a child whose promised treat had just been snatched away—that was how she felt. ‘I didn’t want to go fishing in the first place,’ she pointed out, pretending not to care.
‘Does this look like a fishing boat?’ Tino gazed up the sides of his sleek white yacht.
‘No, of course not, but I thought—’
‘You thought?’
He made it sound like a breakthrough.
‘You insisted we must go out on your boat, Tino—’
‘No one in their right minds would call the Stellamaris Odyssey a boat, Lisa.’
‘Oh, well, excuse me! What am I supposed to know about billionaires’ toys?’
‘This is the woman who owns a jet talking?’
‘I don’t own a jet; my company owns a jet.’
‘Forgive me—I understood you owned Bond Steel?’
‘Most of it,’ she admitted tightly.
‘In my opinion a day out on a luxury yacht is nothing special. I use it for business, and for impressing clients. You don’t need to be impressed, do you, Lisa?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Excellent, because I’ve got something rather different planned for you.’
Now he was making her nervous…the sexual tension was still crackling. Craning her neck, Lisa tried to see past him. Whatever craft they would be using had to be here somewhere, she reasoned, but the last boat in line after the Stellamaris Odyssey was a modest blue and white fishing boat. ‘Do you mean that?’
‘What’s wrong with it? Or is my poor fishing vessel not good enough for you, Your Royal Highness?’ He gave her a mock bow.
Holding herself firmly in check, Lisa took one last longing look at the Stellamaris Odyssey.
Following her gaze, Tino smiled. ‘Oh, no, Lisa, that would be far too self-indulgent. I’m sure you agree that lean and mean is the best way to do business. You do still want to do business with me?’
‘Of course I do.’
‘In that case, come along—the galley on the fishing boat is rather primitive, and we don’t want our wine getting warm.’
It was fun. She hadn’t expected that. The day she’d moved in with her father, five-star luxury had become the norm—and even a five-star norm could become boring after a while. Not like this… This was special. The sun was warm on her face, and the breeze tasted salty and fresh…
While Tino took the helm, Lisa stored their provisions in the simple galley before joining him on deck.
‘I hope you found the ice. I had someone from the yacht bring it over in a bucket.’
‘Don’t worry—our wine is now in that bucket.’ She wasn’t going to let him run away with the idea that she was still disappointed. ‘Are you going to tell me where we’re heading, or is that still a secret?’