‘Why are you still awake? You should be asleep…resting after what happened.’
He was trying to sound stern, and now it was Annalisa’s turn to smile. ‘I was asleep until you called—’
‘Liar,’ he retorted softly.
She had never been struck by the intimacy of the telephone before, but the familiarity of his challenge launched a firebolt through her veins.
‘Don’t ever do that to me again,’ he said, in a voice barely above a whisper.
‘I’m really sorry about your clothes…’ She heard her own voice soften in response.
‘Damn the clothes. You—’
‘Are a pain in the backside. I know,’ she broke in awkwardly, trying to force a joke out of a situation that was rapidly spiralling into a danger zone.
‘No. I was going to say,’ Ramon corrected her firmly, ‘that you are unique.’
Telling herself not to read anything into it—after all, everyone was unique—she said solemnly, ‘I promise not to do anything so stupid again.’
He gave a soft laugh. ‘Does that mean you’re agreeing I’m right for once?’
‘About this, perhaps.’
‘This is not a laughing matter,’ he warned gently. ‘How could we hold our meetings if one of us is missing?’
‘I managed very well on my own for the past couple of meetings,’ she said, holding her breath to see how he would respond.
‘Very well?’
‘OK, so maybe they were a bit one-sided.’
His laugh ran through her like warm honey.
‘I have apologised for my absence already,’ he said cutting off her thoughts.
‘I know.’
‘Not sufficiently, perhaps,’ he argued pensively.
‘No?’
‘No. In fact, I will have to take you for dinner tomorrow evening to make up for the oversight.’
‘And what if I decline?’
‘You won’t.’
A thrill ran through her. So much for being a new woman! Remembering Margarita she voiced a caveat, ‘As long as I have a reasonably early night.’
‘I’m sure I can build that into my plans.’
‘I’ll look forward to it, then.’
‘So will I,’ Ramon said softly. ‘Goodnight, Annalisa… Sweet dreams.’
‘Goodnight, Ramon,’ she whispered, and then realised she was still nursing the receiver in her hands long after the line had gone dead.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANNALISA woke with a start. And then a second yodelling screech revealed why, after a fitful night, she had suddenly been returned to full consciousness.
‘Damn bird!’ she groaned, casting a look at the clock. It wasn’t even five o’clock yet, but the strutting general of the chicken run was rising earlier each morning—a sure sign that spring had arrived. Even with the pillow clamped firmly over her head, his shrill alarm continued to demand her attention.
Throwing the pillow aside, she yawned, stretched and sighed as she thought of the evening that lay ahead with Ramon. This time she wouldn’t mess up. No champagne, no troublesome outfits and definitely no midnight swims!
After feeding the animals and clearing up the house she planned to visit the new health spa that had just opened in Mahon and buy something to wear. It was a rare treat, but she had kept some money back to buck her up when the going got tough—and after what had happened last night this was definitely the right moment! And she wanted to look sophisticated—to throw Señor Perez off balance. She was quite determined that when Ramon next saw her he would be amazed by her new image.
By the time Annalisa made it to the yard the sun was already bathing the terracotta cobbles in a soft coral glow. At first she had been surprised to discover how quickly dawn could chase away the sultry Menorcan night. There was no lingering grey half-light as she was accustomed to in England. Each morning began early and at full tilt, and she found she liked it better that way.
‘You’d make delicious soup,’ she teased the cockerel, casting some seed on the ground for him. But he knew her better than that, and only crowed a little louder to join his voice to the neighbourhood chorus.
Drawn by the sweeter sound of the birds roosting in her orange groves, Annalisa walked away from him across the yard to a point where she could survey a wide sweep of her property. She still hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that everything she could see as far as the mist-shrouded hills in the distance belonged to her.
Putting down the basket of feed, she climbed the first few bars of the wooden gate that divided the agricultural land from the yard and rested her head on her arms. Fresh green leaves were beginning to show on the twisted black branches of the orange trees and a light breeze carried across the fields, bringing the delicate perfume of thyme and wild myrtle to overlay the last musky scents of the Mediterranean night.