She scooped a generous helping of brie and pine nuts onto a baguette slice and held it out. “Try this.”
He leaned forward and, before she could snatch her hand away, bit into the bread. Her eyes widened as she sucked in a breath. Her hand trembled. He reached out and caught her wrist before she dropped the baguette. Beneath his fingertips, her pulse pounded so furiously it echoed in his head.
“Delicious.”
Her cheeks flamed pink. No, not immune to him at all.
Food first. Then, perhaps later, he could offer her a private tour of the master suite. Optimism and lust had directed his instructions to the staff to make the king-size bed up with black silk sheets and a red rose on the pillow just in case the tide really turned in his favor.
Suzie distracted him from his lascivious thoughts with the next course. Over the next hour she kept up a steady delivery of culinary treasures. In between bites, Alejandro peppered Calandra with questions about her life back in Kitty Hawk, her time in college, the internship that had led her to Cabrera Wines. She, in turn, surprised him by asking not about business, but his movie marathons with his mother, his years at university and his time as a deckhand. His story of nearly getting swept overboard during a nasty storm on the Atlantic elicited more reaction than the luxury surrounding her.
“I don’t think most heads of corporations would do that.”
“It was fun. I actually enjoyed it. I earned the respect of my crew. When I presented everything I wanted to change to the board, they liked what I had to say.”
“And your father?”
The relaxation that had settled in vanished at the mention of his sire.
“My father pointed out Adrian’s sales of Cabrera Wines and told me once I hit that level of profit, then he would congratulate me.”
She stabbed her fork into the salmon sitting atop a pile of creamy risotto. “I may not approve of all aspects of your lifestyle, but that’s just cruel to do to your son, let alone someone who accomplished so much in such a short time.”
Her defense of him was surprisingly touching. When had anyone paid attention to him? Just him?
He couldn’t really recall.
After the last course was served, Suzie’s students replaced the table and chairs with the lounge chaises that normally occupied that spot. Calandra sat down and stretched out, her face content as the sun sank behind the waves of the Mediterranean, leaving behind fingers of pink and orange clinging to the sky as stars started to twinkle, little pinwheels of light against the darkening sky.
“You were right.”
She glanced up at him. “Oh?”
“Some of the best food I’ve ever had.”
Another smile that kicked him hard. “I’m glad you liked it. If the board wasn’t already planning to vote yes, they’ll have to after a meal like that.”
Her belief in his plan touched him in a way he didn’t care to examine too closely. At least not now. He shrugged. “Hopefully.”
Her eyes latched onto him, gray and pensive and searching. “I’ve noticed when you shrug, it means you care about something.”
“Come again?”
“When you shrug, others see a casual, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, spoiled billionaire. Nothing fazes you.” She tilted her head. “I think it’s how you hide.”
“Hide?” he echoed as he sat down on the lounge next to her.
“You’re more than just a playboy, Alejandro.” Her unexpected words made him pause. Was her view of him changing? “If your board knows anything about business, they’ll know that voting yes onLa Reinais the best thing to do. You have a solid business plan, and more importantly, you believe in it.” Her eyes stayed trained on his, and, God help him, he couldn’t look away. “You’re more than most people think you are. I have no idea why you act otherwise.”
Because I don’t know any other way.
Suddenly, the possibility of altering her perceptions, of showing her the man he was just coming to know himself, made him extremely uncomfortable. The few times he’d opened that door with Javier, the rejections had cut deeper and deeper until he’d locked the door and thrown away the key.
“Perhaps it’s not an act.”
He sensed her disappointment with his answer but steeled himself against saying anything else. His campaign to woo Calandra had been based on wowing her with his wealth and showing her that he didn’t spend every waking hour drinking and smoking cigars. He hadn’t anticipated this deep dive into emotions that were better left untouched.
“How long until we’re back in port?” she asked.