Married for the Tycoon's Empire

She nodded. ‘I volunteered with them after an earthquake in South East Asia, and that’s when I became really committed. I persuaded my father to support the charity too.’

Ben cast her another quick look, a wry tilt to his mouth. ‘You weren’t planning on shopping this weekend, were you?’

Lia shook her head, her heart tripping at the thought that she was telling him this. ‘No, I had planned to go to a series of lectures at NYU.’

He said with a devilish grin, ‘I’d be lying if I said I was sorry for upsetting your plans.’

Lia felt breathless again as something hot moved through her. Then Ben made a small whistling sound.

‘Intelligent, noble and beautiful? If you’re trying to turn me off, it’s not working.’

Lia felt a rush of pride and berated herself for being so weak as to seek his regard. But still... The fact that he seemed to be so accepting of this more secret side to her meant something.

In a bid to deflect attention from her, she said, ‘The CEO of that charity appeared to know you?’

He nodded. ‘Believe it or not, I’m also interested in what it takes to make disaster areas stable again. I’ve taken equipment and some of my men into crisis zones to help them stabilise buildings, the infrastructure. The truth is I’m one of the patrons of that charity.’

His words sank in and Lia turned in her seat to face him, shocked. Instant humiliation washed over her, because she’d believed he’d pursued her there for no other reason than to get her to agree to date him. Because he’d wanted her so badly. Now she felt like an abject fool—because he would have been there anyway.

Had he simply seen her there and made the most of the opportunity? More humiliation flooded her when she thought of how she’d just been laying out her accomplishments, seeking his approval. Lord, she had it bad.

Fury strangled her words, but eventually she got out, ‘Stop the car—now.’

She had her hand on the door handle even before Ben pulled the car into a layby. As soon as it stopped she jumped out and faced him when he got out too and stood beside the bonnet. She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head and put her hands on her hips, not even sure why she was so angry...just that she was.

‘So everyone there must have known exactly who you were, and yet you let me make a complete fool of myself—standing on that podium with no clue as to who on earth you were—’

He came towards her, cutting her off. ‘My aim was never to make a fool of you, Lia. I hadn’t intended on hiding my identity for as long as I did.’

He muttered something that sounded like a curse and pushed his own sunglasses to his head. His eyes were intense on her, making her regret reacting so forcefully.

Ben went on. ‘The opportunity to talk to you without you knowing who I was was too tempting. Especially after that date. And the truth is that I didn’t want to see your reaction when you realised who you’d been talking to.’

Lia forced down the weak way she wanted to seize on that and folded her arms. ‘That doesn’t change the fact that you saw me and made the most of an opportunity. Were you bored? Was that it? You thought you’d have some fun at my expense?’

Ben frowned and shook his head. ‘No, it wasn’t like that at all. I had no plans to go to that particular function, Lia. I went because I found out that was where you’d be.’

The fire drained out of Lia’s anger like a stealthy traitor. She believed him. He looked almost angry, as if he hadn’t wanted to admit this to her. A muscle pulsed in his jaw.

Lia was embarrassed by the emotion she’d shown even as she began to feel mollified. She’d revealed far too much. So she just said, ‘Okay,’ and walked back to the car and got in.

Ben looked at her for a long moment as she buckled up, and then he got in too. For the remainder of their journey to Salvador they only spoke when Ben pointed out things of interest to Lia.

The fact that they did share a common interest in a cause very close to Lia’s heart was something that she’d never expected, and it wasn’t doing much to help her resolve to keep him at a distance.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘THIS IS ONE of the earliest squares in Salvador, laid out by the then governor. And that is the Catedral Basílica de São Salvador—one of the most ornately decorated baroque churches in Brazil.’

Lia had thought she couldn’t be more impressed than she already was, but as she followed Ben into the huge church off the beautiful square and saw how everything gleamed with gold—literally—her jaw dropped. She had to hand it to him for keeping this till last.

It was a fitting end to what she had to admit had been a very enjoyable day—after that skirmish by the side of the road.

Almost against her will Lia had found herself relaxing bit by bit as Ben showed her around the stunning city which had once been next in importance to Lisbon in the Portuguese colony. It was vibrantly colourful, with hilly cobbled streets and baroque architecture everywhere, and she’d been charmed from the start.

Everyone seemed to smile all the time, and the mix of cultures and nationalities—many of the population were descended from African slaves—added to the melting pot atmosphere. There was music everywhere, calling to a side of Lia that she didn’t indulge often.

Just as she’d relaxed when she’d sunk her feet into the sand outside Ben’s villa yesterday, something seemed to be unwinding inside her today. Everything about this place called on her to settle into a different rhythm. It was intoxicating. And Ben, surprisingly, was a brilliant guide. A natural storyteller.