However, no matter how much he was embracing this new phase of life, he had no desire to invite a woman into it permanently. As far as the world knew, he was having too much too fun to settle down.
Let them think whatever they like.
Being a father to their child would enable him to step up and be a parent the way Javier had never been. But marriage...no one, not even his parents, had managed to maintain a true and loving relationship. His mother didn’t know it, but she was married to a lie.
He didn’t want to even tempt that kind of fate. Nor, that nasty little voice in his head whispered, did he want to risk the other possibility.
That he was more like his father than he wanted to admit. That one woman would never be enough.
“Before you dive in, you need to see the ship.” He glanced out the window and spied the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean on the horizon. “We’re close. Once we land, I’ve arranged for you to tourLa Reina.”
“Good idea. Who’s giving me the tour?” she asked.
He grinned. “Me.”
An hour later, he watched Calandra as she circled around the ballroom for what had to be the ninth time. Eyes flickering over every last detail, her face revealing nothing.
He glanced over the ballroom. Most of the floor had been done in white marble flecked with gray, with a light gray wood for the dance floor in the middle. White columns soared up to the ceiling. A custom, hand-blown glass chandelier dominated the room, casting a warm glow over the tables below.
The all white had not been his first choice. Adrian’s dining room in Paris was all white. Boring. Flat. Interesting to see how long that color scheme lasted once his and Everleigh’s child started running around.
But here...here it screamed elegance. Wealth. Power.
Even if the board voted against this endeavor and Javier yanked Cabrera Shipping away from him, he would makeLa Reinaa success. Everyone, including his father, thought he squandered his money. Few knew that ever since he’d taken over a year after college, he’d stashed away most of his profits in a Swiss bank account. He’d spend every last dime he had until the very end if he had to.
Well, almost every last dime, he amended as he glanced again at Calandra. Hiring her had solved two problems—knowing his event was in good hands and finding a way to get her to accept money. He’d had a private investigator look into her circumstances. He knew she and her sister were living in a tiny house in a little town on the coast. He knew the exact amount of her bank account. Her savings, while admirable, would barely cover her medical bills and living expenses through the end of the year.
Stubborn woman.
“It’s beautiful,” she said as she joined him.
Having her approval shouldn’t affect him. But it did.
“Gracias.”
“I have an appointment tomorrow with the caterer to confirm details. Then Thursday for final planning and evaluation—”
“And hopefully some time in there for us to spend together.”
Her brows drew together. “What?”
“We’re supposed to be getting to know each other. Not in the biblical sense, of course, since we already checked that box.”
“Twice,” she replied dryly with that so-sexy arched brow. But sadly, the flirtatious glint disappeared as quickly as it had unexpectedly appeared. “I have a lot of work to do, Alejandro.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
She held up a hand. “No. I work best alone.”
He frowned. Being told no was not something he was used to. Nor, he acknowledged as his jaw tightened, did he like it.
“Dinner, then. This week.”
The narrowing of her eyes indicated a protest was incoming.
“I insist.”
She chewed on her lower lip, a gesture of consternation but one that nonetheless conjured images of her naked, stretched across his bed and watching him not with an icy gaze but a hot stare that demanded he come over, strip off his clothes and join her.