So that, she thought numbly, was that.
One night with Alessio Capelli.
And now she had to play the game until she could escape from Kingfisher Cay and back to her old life.
A tap on the door made her heart rate double, but it was just Natalya, smiling an apology for having disturbed her.
‘Signor Capelli requests your presence for drinks at the Beach Club at seven.’
Lindsay’s heart performed a series of leaps, but she somehow managed to nod. Horrified by the sudden flash of excitement that came from the realisation that she was going to spend an evening in his company, Lindsay watched Natalya go and gave herself a sharp talking-to.
But despite her best efforts to rein it in, her mind was racing ahead.
He couldn’t be that anxious to remove her from his presence, could he? Not if he was inviting her to join him at the Beach Club for the evening?
The Beach Club at night was the most romantic setting. Built on stilts, the glass floor extended over the shallow water of the cove, allow
ing guests to feel as though they were walking on the clear, illuminated water. During the day, guests swam up to the bar for a drink; at night it was transformed by flickering candles, soft music, food designed to take the palate on a rollercoaster ride of gastronomic bliss. It was a lovers’ paradise.
And he wanted her to join him there.
She was going to have another night with him.
All right, so another night wasn’t a lifetime, but it was something and it was now.
Lindsay dried her hair and walked past the powder-blue dress on the bed. Heart thumping, she reached into the wardrobe and pulled out the sexy red silk dress that she’d fingered in awe on the first day.
The old Lindsay would never have worn that dress. But she wasn’t the old Lindsay anymore, was she?
She felt—different.
She felt like seizing the moment. Even if it was only one more night, she wanted to make the most of it.
Her hands shaking, she slid it over her scented skin, smoothed it over her hips and then looked at herself in the mirror.
Yes. Oh, yes.
The dress was desperately sexy. Feminine, confident—totally unlike anything she’d ever worn before.
And that was fine. Because she didn’t feel the way she’d ever felt before.
She was going to spend an evening at the Kingfisher Cay Beach Club with Alessio Capelli. It was right that she should look glamorous.
Lindsay applied her make-up, slid her feet into a pair of amazing red silk shoes and took a last look in the mirror.
She barely recognised herself.
On impulse she leaned forward and removed one of the scarlet flowers from the vase on the table. Snapping off the stem, she slid it into her hair and secured it with a pin.
Feeling confident, sexy and excited, she picked up her bag and walked along the path that wound its way towards the Beach Club, smiling as she anticipated Alessio’s reaction to her transformation.
Her excitement lasted right up until the moment she saw him.
He was leaning on the bar looking every inch the billionaire tycoon. Broad-shouldered and powerful, he was deep in conversation with a tall, handsome man who looked extremely familiar.
Lindsay’s heart lurched.
Oh, no—