‘I see that you’re not letting the accolade go to your head or anything.’
His lips twitched as he reached over to pour her a glass of water. But the gaze he sent her was anything but amused. ‘I demand perfection. You’re currently several degrees below par. You know this as well as I do. It’s time to change that. You can start by eating a decent meal.’
Before she could blink, her plate was heaped with pasta and a thick, creamy sauce. Freshly baked focaccia bread spread with garlic butter was presented on a platter, along with Parmesan cheese, which Javier held out with a pointed look.
He was testing her.
Her sto
mach growled.
With a purse of her lips, she gave in.
The first taste had her groaning. She would hate herself in the morning. Or congratulate herself for taking the first step in claiming her life back. Whatever. She was determined to enjoy this meal in its entirety. Which was just as well because she had no recollection of finishing her portion, only of Javier heaping another serving onto her plate and presenting her with the bread again.
She took it slower the second time, her gaze drawn repeatedly to his elegant hands as he swirled his wine.
‘I’m not used to having free time on my hands. I’ll go crazy sitting in one place for two weeks,’ she said, striving for something to dwell on beside his hands.
‘I figured as much. When we get to New York, depending on your recuperation progress, you can start familiarising yourself with the products you’ll be working with.’
She frowned. ‘Am I allowed to know what they are now? The contract didn’t specify.’
‘For confidentiality reasons.’ He shrugged. ‘I see no harm in telling you now. The first one will be the new line of JS1 speedboats. They’re set to launch in two months’ time, right before the summer.’
She broke a piece of bread and soaked up the sauce on her plate. ‘I know nothing about speedboats.’ But she could learn, especially if she had the time off from ice skating that she was planning. She glanced at him, debating whether this was the right time to tell him of her future plan.
‘It’s a good thing I have total belief in your superb acting skills, then,’ he replied.
The atmosphere changed, the air clogging with silent, deadly waves of recrimination. It effectively killed any attempt to inform him of her decision, the bite of bread turning sour so she struggled just to chew and swallow it.
‘We won’t be able to work well together if you insist on bringing up the past every time I say something you don’t like,’ she pointed out.
‘And that bothers you?’
She glanced up from her plate, bemused that he would ask so obvious a question. ‘Of course it does. We had a one-night stand that ended badly. I admit I was at fault—’
‘How magnanimous of you,’ he drawled with an edge that set her nerves jangling.
‘I didn’t really know what I was doing, okay?’ she blurted, exasperation and shame duelling within her. ‘I was younger and less wise than I am now. I was also rebelling against...’ She stopped and took a breath.
‘Against?’ he pressed.
‘I wanted to be a normal twenty-one-year-old. I wanted to experience life. My every experience before that night...before Miami had been punishingly regimented. The pressure was just piling on, and I wanted a little...reprieve.’
‘So you used me, then made sure I knew I’d been used and discarded?’ he condemned icily.
‘My reaction the next morning wasn’t great. I know that.’ She cringed in remembrance. ‘But I didn’t deliberately set out to sleep with you.’
His features froze in a granite mask. ‘Are you saying I somehow forced you into bed with me?’
‘No, of course not! But being with you was...an extremely intense experience, Javier. I was completely out of my depth,’ she confessed.
Silence descended on the table. It was a good thing she was full because Carla didn’t think she could take another bite without choking. Javier’s expression remained shuttered, his gaze downcast as he stared into his wine glass.
‘I came on strong because you gave me every indication that you wanted me just as badly as I wanted you. I don’t mind admitting that the greedy hunger in your eyes when you looked at me coupled with the ingénue air about you turned me on.’ He gave a low, self-deprecating laugh. ‘You had me so fooled, I nearly punched my own friend’s lights out, remember? Little did I know that I was playing directly into your hands.’
The shame that had been crawling along her skin thickened. She tried to block out the memory, but it raged full and large and unavoidable.