‘We?’ She frowned. ‘There’s nowe. Just me.’
His eyes held hers. Dark brown eyes that looked impenetrable and at the same time full of a knowledge she could barely guess at. She looked for sympathy. What she saw, or thought she saw, was wariness.
It made her push back in her chair.
He didn’twantto sympathise, she realised. For some reason he was determined to keep her at arm’s length.
‘You’ll be okay—’
‘Don’t let me keep you,’ she said, maintaining an even tone despite the whirlpool of despair and fear threatening to suck her under. ‘I’ve already taken up enough of your time.’ She paused, searching for something else to hurry him on his way. ‘You’re right. Of course I’ll be okay.’
Angelo looked her in the eye and tried to convince himself she was right. That she didn’t need his help.
Because she had to be faking this so-convenient amnesia. He understood she’d had some sort of accident but she could only have come here as part of a deliberate scheme. To win his sympathy so he’d take her back?
Surely even Alexa couldn’t believe that. Nothing on this earth would make him welcome her into his life. Logic told him she’d capitalised on circumstances to elicit his sympathy and let her stay. The storm had played into her hands. His island retreat was just that, a retreat. It wasn’t the sort of place she’d visit on her way somewhere else. Which meant she’d sought him out.
Yet, seeing the anxiety in her shadowed eyes, the frown pleating her forehead and the nervous way she chewed the corner of her mouth, Angelo felt a tendril of doubt. He tried to recall her doing that in the past and failed. It was a new thing. Maybe a deliberate tactic.
He knew her acting skills of old, which was why he couldn’t trust this woman. And yet...
Did he imagine that her face was slightly more rounded than he remembered? Shewasthe same woman, wasn’t she? Of course she was. Apart from her looks and voice, that eye colour was unique.
She looked away, fumbling to do up the top button of his shirt.
There it was again. Another reaction from her that didn’t fit expectations. The Alexa he’d known had been proud of her body and loved to flaunt it. She’d thrived on male adulation, even when she was supposed to be in a committed relationship.
Was it possible she wasn’t faking the amnesia?
It would take more than that to convince him.
‘Alexa... Ally.’ Angelo made his tone easy, gentle even. As if he had no suspicions about her motives. He’d treat her as what she ostensibly was, a chance met visitor. He’d give her sanctuary then send her on her way. ‘You’re safe here. The doctor expects you to begin regaining your memory soon. When that happens I’ll help you get back to where you belong.’
Which, thankfully, was far from here.
Angelo ignored the traitorous little jab of heat to his belly as she stirred, her shapely legs sliding against each other as she tucked them further under the chair. Ostensibly the move was decorous, hiding some of her bare skin. In reality it reminded him of the fact she was clearly naked beneath his shirt. A fact he refused to dwell on.
‘Thank you. I’m sure that will be a relief for you.’
‘And for you,’ he said easily. ‘I can’t imagine what it must be like, unable to remember anything.’
Her chin lifted in a movement that was suddenly completely familiar. Relief trickled through him. Occasionally, despite logic, Angelo found himself wondering if he was mistaken about his uninvited guest. But that movement was pure Alexa. Once upon a time he’d found it endearing. Later it had presaged obstinacy.
‘It’s unpleasant in the extreme.’ Then, just as abruptly, the fight left her and her shoulders slumped. ‘You know my name. Surely you can tell me more?’
‘I have no idea what you were doing here. I hadn’t seen you for a very long time and I never expected to see you again.’
That was the way Angelo preferred it.
He watched her head rear back as she digested the finality in his tone. Good. If she thought by staying here she might worm her way onto his good side, the sooner she realised her mistake the better.
‘But you know more, don’t you? Anything you can tell me will help.’
She wrapped her arms around her middle, leaning towards him as if hanging on anything he might contribute. As if she didn’t notice the way the gesture pulled his shirt across her breasts, revealing tight nipples and surprisingly lush curves.
Angelo breathed out slowly and told himself he was too canny to be taken in by the obvious ploy.
He’d play her game, for now. She was injured and there was nowhere for her to go on this privately held island. No hotels. Not even guesthouses. The locals, whether born and bred here over generations, or rich incomers who’d bought into the exclusive location as an escape from the rat race, valued privacy.