I fell asleep to his soft chuckle.
When we returned to the docks, people were waiting to take our large haul in ancient wheelbarrows so that they could be weighed and filleted. First, Sinclair ordered a picture of me with my huge marlin, strung up beside me from a pole where it dwarfed me twice over. A small smile played over his handsome features as I grinned into the camera and laughed with some tourists who peppered me with questions. Thanks to Antonio and Sinclair’s sage advice, I was actually able to answer most of them and when I returned to his side, Sinclair kissed my hair and I knew he was pleased I had enjoyed fishing so much.
We stayed to watch them fillet the fish and I frowned when a large silver fish, a Wahoo I thought, was heaved onto the bloody slab. It was huge, fat and long, and with growing dread, I realized that it might be bigger than mine. I twisted my head to look up at Sinclair and gasped when he stared down at me with sparkling eyes.
“You lied to me!” I accused, pointing a finger into his strong chest. “You said I caught the biggest fish.”
“No.” He shook his head slowly. “I said you would have what you want tonight.” He leaned close into my outraged face. “And you will enjoy the things I am going to do to you, very much.”
I harrumphed and fisted my hands on my hips, but a smile cracked through when Sinclair barked with laughter. His head tipped back, exposing his brown neck to my hungry gaze. He was so beautiful it made something in my chest ache.
We thanked Antonio and gave him most of our spoils but I was happy when Sinclair held back some marlin to cook up back at the resort. I dozed on his shoulder in the car, exhausted from the combination of sun and fishing, while Sinclair murmured in Spanish into his phone. He woke me up with a gentle shake when we reached the hotel.
“Hi.” I smiled up at him, blinking the drowsiness from my eyes.
He looked down at me with an almost unnerving intensity that caused my heart to pound. “Hi.”
We stared at each other for a long minute until I became discombobulated by the brilliant azure of his irises.
“I have business that needs taking care of tonight.” His features hardly moved as he spoke and I clung to the passion in his eyes as nerves started to set in. “I won’t be back until late.”
I waited for him to suggest a late night rendezvous and when he didn’t I nodded, swallowing my disappointment. “Right. Well, I could use a good night’s rest anyway.”
He nodded, carefully studying my reaction. When I remained expressionless, he turned away from me. “Good. I’ll contact you tomorrow then.”
I shivered at the coldness of his words. We had just spent a fantastic day together and when I thought about the night before, I was instantly alight with desire. Why was he doing this? Had I done something wrong?
Through my confusion, I tightened my expression, taking a page from his book, and deliberately cooled my words before saying, “I had a very pleasant day, thank you for allowing me to join.”
I made to get out of the car but I looked over my shoulder to see his reaction. My heart shuddered painfully when he only nodded curtly without looking at me and turned back to his phone.
The moment I had walked around to the entrance, the car took off. I watched it swerve onto the palm tree lined drive until it disappeared through the gates. I hadn’t felt so alone since I was nineteen and my twin siblings had left the house one after another without a word. Tears pricked the backs of my eyes and it took me a moment to realize that I held the parcel of marlin that Sinclair had saved for us. I sucked in a deep breath. I hadn’t come to Mexico to moon over a man, however handsome and devastating he may have been. I came to relax, to steel myself for the tumult of returning to my family. I didn’t care if I saw Sinclair again, I assured myself. And buoyed by my lies, I entered the lobby with my chin tipped into the air like a princess.
“I’d like the kitchen to cook this up for me,” I said to the concierge. “I’ll eat at Arrecifes at 8pm.”
“Excellent, Mrs. Buchanan, will anyone be joining you?” he asked with a pleasantly bland smile that did nothing to help my mood.
Someone coming in from the beach caught my eye and I turned to a brief-clad Stefan with a broad smile.
“Stefan,” I called, my confidence revived by his appreciative smile. “How would you like to join me for dinner?”
Chapter Ten.
The fish was fantastic. They had served it with three sauces but the rich, spicy mole was my favorite. It was easy to focus on the delicious meal because each time I tuned into Stefan’s Greek accented voice I found myself thinking about another accent, another man. I wondered, as I pushed a flaky piece of marlin across my plate, what the business was that he had to conduct so very late at night.
“I know I opened with the dullness of sport,” Stefan spoke louder, trying to draw my attention. “But I switched to the art world just for you, Giselle, and still your eyes pass through me. If I was a less beautiful man, I might be insulted.”
I smiled at him, grateful for his easy charm. “I’m sorry, Stefan, I had a tiring day. It wasn’t considerate of me to invite you to a meal where I can hardly stay awake.”
His brown fingers drummed against the tablecloth as he studied me. “No, I don’t think it is sleep you want. Might it have something to do with the man down by the pool yesterday afternoon?”
I stared at my empty wine glass as if it was fascinating.
He chuckled as a server came to refill our glasses and take our plates. I hadn’t finished my meal but my stomach was in knots from thinking over what I could have possibly done to send Sinclair away.
“You are here alone, Giselle.” Stefan reached forward to take m
y cold hand in his and squeezed it warmly. “I mean only to be a friend, if you have need of one.”