As the vehicle drew closer, she recognized Reynard’s Ferrari. He slowed down and wheeled to a halt in the dirt road. Rina waited a moment for the dust to settle before getting closer.
His window rolled down and he leaned one arm along the open frame.
“What on earth are you doing?” he asked.
Rina bristled. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out, surely.
“I’m riding a bike. I need some supplies.”
“Since when did you ride a bike to get them?” he commented as he thrust open his door and unfolded his length from the car.
Her eyes drank in the sight of him. He was dressed in pale gray trousers, teamed with a long-sleeved, lightweight white knit sweater, with the sleeves pushed up to expose tanned muscled forearms with a light sprinkling of dark hair. His hazel eyes were obscured by a dark pair of designer sunglasses and his hair was swept off his forehead by the light breeze. Altogether he was a mouthwatering sight.
Realizing he was standing there waiting for an answer, she scoured her memory for what he’d just said and grabbed at the first thought that sprang to mind.
“I’m running out of a few things.”
“So why didn’t you just do as you always do and leave a list for the cleaner?”
Rina stifled a groan and mentally shook a fist at her sister for neatly landing her in it. She felt as if she had to walk on eggshells from here on in.
“I needed the exercise,” she explained with a shrug. “Besides, it’s a lovely morning and I wasn’t expecting you for a while yet. How’s Benedict today?”
“The doctors are talking about bringing him out of the induced coma today. Abuelo and Javier are at the hospital now so I thought I’d come and collect you early.”
“Right, well, you’d better follow me, then,” Rina suggested as she turned the bike around and hopped up on the worn saddle.
“Or we could just leave the bike here, and collect it when we come back,” Rey said with one eyebrow quirked as if all his humor at the sight on her on the bike was hidden behind those dark lenses of his.
“No, I couldn’t do that. It might get stolen. What would the owners say?”
“Sara, stop pulling my leg. I am the owner—of the cottage and everything in it. Or at least my family is, anyway. You know that.”
Rina suddenly put it all together. The beautiful golden castillo she’d seen through the kitchen window by the cliff tops only a mile or two away. Reynard’s surname. That whole sense of entitlement and privilege that she’d sensed about him and his brother from the minute she’d laid eyes on them. That also explained why Sara was staying at the Governess’s Cottage. It was a family property; where else would one’s fiancée stay if they weren’t actually staying with you?
“Well, I’d still rather put it away. Don’t want to get on the wrong side of you or anything,” she half joked.
The tiny pull at the corner of his lips sent a zing straight to her chest. Serious faced, he was handsome as sin, but with that quirky little half smile he was devastating. She began to pedal, hoping that she wouldn’t do anything stupid like wobble right off the road and into a ditch. She heard the slow purr of his car’s engine as he cruised along behind at a snail’s pace.
Every time her feet depressed the pedals she was conscious of how her backside must look to him. Of how the cotton pants she wore stretched tight across her buttocks and thighs. By the time she reached the cottage she was hot and flustered. Noticing that she’d smeared some chain grease on her pants leg, despite her efforts to the contrary, she excused herself to change before they left for the hospital.
Eschewing her own suitcase, she thrust open the doors to Sara’s wardrobe and grabbed the first thing she found on a hanger. The fact it was a light floral dress with a background of mint green and a designer label on it that shrieked a budget far higher than Rina usually allowed herself for clothing was merely a side benefit, she decided as she yanked off her shirt and trousers and then shimmied into the dress. Sara always did prefer to spend her money rather than sock it away for a rainy day, and for once, Rina wholeheartedly approved.