A Spanish Vengeance

He felt his bones melt as her soft lips quivered, the deep blue pools of her eyes misting over. His voice was unsteady as he mentally begged her to believe in him implicitly. ‘And that same headstrong nature had her setting out in the early hours of this morning to find me, vowing she’d left Cesar, her big-shot lawyer husband, because he was having an affair with his newly appointed personal assistant.

‘Utter nonsense, of course.’ The ball of his thumb gently stroked away a glistening tear drop. ‘I calmed her down and phoned Cesar, who was worried witless. Apparently, a so-called friend of Isabella’s had told her that Cesar had been seen in one of Seville’s grandest restaurants with his dazzlingly lovely new assistant when he’d told her he was working late. Well, that was exactly what he was doing, having a working dinner with an important client. His assistant was there to take notes. Nothing else. Cesar adores Isabella. The idea of cheating on her would never cross his mind.’

‘That’s what I did all those years ago, didn’t I? Overreact. I spoiled what we had. I decided you were a penniless waiter, the sort who preys on well-heeled females for what you could get out of them,’ Lisa confessed mournfully after a long beat of silence, feeling really guilty for the bad names she’d called him inside her head and sick at heart at the thought of what she’d done.

She sniffed miserably. Five years ago this fantastic man had loved her, had chosen a ring to make their engagement official and she’d ruined everything, thought the very worst of him, not giving him

the opportunity to say a word, just opening her big mouth and sending him away.

‘Don’t cry.’ Diego got to his feet to reach for a tissue from the box on the night table. Wordlessly, he handed it to her and stood over her, watching as she dabbed her eyes then pulled the soggy tissue into tiny little pieces. She was the picture of misery. His heart kicked with compassion. He knew exactly what she was feeling. He, too, savagely regretted the misunderstandings of five years ago, the barren wasted years.

But the moment passed. Brooding over what couldn’t be changed was a fool’s game. Only the future mattered. As soon as Isabella was safely on her way back to Seville he would have all the time in the world to convince this adored, delicately lovely creature that he loved her more than life itself and ask her to be his wife—go down on his knees and beg if necessary! But until then… ‘Can you remember how Rosa asked you to leave?’ he enquired briskly of the silky crown of her drooping head. It was the one thing that was still puzzling him. His staff weren’t in the habit of telling his guests what to do.

Lisa’s thoughts were still on the way her awful behaviour had driven this fantastic man away. Not only that of five years ago but this morning too. He was proud and honourable; he wouldn’t relish the idea of being thought of, firstly, as some sort of gigolo and then as a cheating, sneaky husband. Last night she had really believed he cared for her, that they could put the past behind them and start over. Right now he would be despising her, or thinking she was completely insane. He would want to see the back of her as soon as possible.

‘You can’t remember?’ Diego asked with a decisive bite.

Lisa shivered. He was out of patience with her and she couldn’t blame him. ‘Oh, that.’ She recalled his question and mumbled, almost word for word, what Rosa had said, then gasped with surprise as his strong hands fastened around her waist and pulled her upright.

‘Rosa has some difficulties with the English language. I’d asked her to bring coffee and brandy and then make sure that Isabella and I were left alone, and to pass that message on to you with my apologies. I needed time to quieten her down and contact Cesar. She didn’t mean you were to leave the house.’

Lisa nodded, helplessly acknowledging that she was pretty damn good at getting her wires crossed. And driving a huge wedge between herself and the man she loved to distraction.

‘Right,’ Diego said flatly, for the first time in his life wishing his sister hadn’t followed the habit of a lifetime and come running to him whenever something happened to upset her. He wanted her out of the way, well out of it, to begin his campaign to get Lisa to agree to marry him. ‘Let’s get you looking less like a wet weekend, then go and keep Isabella company.’

Impersonal hands smoothed her hair off her face while he was telling her, ‘Cesar’s already on his way to collect her. He’s bringing one of his junior clerks to drive her car back. He refuses to let her get behind the wheel when she’s in a state, which,’ he admitted drily, ‘she mostly is. Either deliriously happy, high as a kite, or down in the rock-bottom dumps.’

His mouth tightened as he tucked the wandering hem of her top back into the waistband of her skirt. The touch of her skin scalded him. Dio! He didn’t know how he stopped himself from taking her in his arms and smothering her with burning kisses. He would make up for it later, when they were alone.

Lisa noted the compression of his beautiful mouth and the chilling fact that there was no reaction to the small intimacy. She bit down hard on her lower lip to stop herself from weeping. The magic they’d recaptured last night had clearly gone and was lost for ever, swept away by her not trusting him and thinking the sort of things about him that no man could be expected to ever forgive.

‘In the meantime we could all use some breakfast.’ He made a terse after-you gesture in the direction of the door and Lisa exited, trying not to look as down as she felt.

Watching the unconsciously sensual sway of her hips as she walked out of the room Diego smothered a groan. Part of him wanted to haul her back and open his heart to her, confess that he couldn’t rest until she’d given her word that she would spend the rest of her life with him.

But the more sensible part insisted that he would need more than a few rushed minutes to convince her that despite his sordid and shamefully dishonourable attempts at revenge he did truly love her.

A decision he would later deeply regret.

CHAPTER TEN

THEY found Isabella sprawled out on a padded sun-lounger on the terrace. As Diego’s shadow fell across her she half opened her dark sleepy eyes and murmured plaintively, ‘Tengo mucha hambre!’

‘Speak English, cara. We have a guest.’

There was no mistaking the affection in his tone, in stark contrast to the snippy way he’d been speaking to her, Lisa recognised wretchedly.

‘We are all hungry, breakfast has been delayed for too long,’ he chided gently as he took his sister’s slim hands and helped her to her feet. ‘Isabella, meet Lisa Pennington,’ he introduced smoothly, his smile for his sister.

Feeling like a spare part, Lisa met Isabella’s wide smile and returned it feebly. There was no sign now of that earlier hysterical anger, just a warm look of curiosity on that vivacious face.

‘Hola! Lo siento—I forgot—no Spanish! You are English, yes?’ She tucked her arm through Diego’s, her curvaceous body in flame-coloured linen pants topped by a white silk blouse gracefully relaxed as she gave Lisa a warm assessment. ‘You are the secret one, my brother, to hide your guest here away from prying eyes!’

Her sultry eyes, glinting with mischief, found Lisa’s. ‘So tell me, how did you do it? Diego’s so off women it’s painful. It’s lovely to see he can be as human as the rest of us—and wicked, too! Tell me, is my big brother truly wicked?’

‘Lisa’s father is a recently acquired business partner. She is part of the same enterprise,’ Diego cut in repressively. ‘You said you were hungry.’ He curtly dismissed the subject of Lisa’s status. ‘So why don’t we eat?’

Give Isabella the merest hint of a romance in the offing and she would be merciless, as he remembered only too well. The outrageous teasing and non-stop questions when he’d invited her to Marbella to meet his intended fiancée five years ago had tried his patience to the limits. He and Lisa had to sort things out for themselves. And they needed to be alone.