Torn By Desire

‘What was that stuff anyway?’ she asked as she dabbed at his fingers with a piece of clean kitchen roll.

‘Aloe. Nature’s way of compensating. A natural balm for sunburn growing where it is needed. Isn’t life wonderful?’

He held her eyes with his. They were dark and smouldering and provoked another first for Kate: she could almost see what all the females in London saw in him. He had a certain jene sais quoi. But she wasn’t prone to falling for indefinable somethings.

She let go of his hand and smiled at him sweetly. ‘Yes, bloody amazing,’ she retorted, and left him to make the best of his injuries by himself.

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_55d004fd-17cc-5dee-8167-be39979f9386)

DINING at the villa that evening was going exactly the way Kate had thought it would—disappointingly. Not that she had been brimming with expectations, because, thanks to Guy Latham, the whole assignment wasn’t proving to be a privilege as she had anticipated but more a slow death by underprivilege. She felt thoroughly put down by Lorraine’s appearance, in flowing, silver-threaded chiffon with sparkly bits around the plunging neckline. In comparison Kate felt dowdy in her mink-coloured silk dress bought in last year’s sales.

She sat stiffly across from Lorraine at the long, polished Spanish oak table on the front terrace of the villa. The Hollywood-style pool glittered beyond the white stone balustrade, blue and inviting, promising to balm this awful throbbing thigh of hers if she dared to take a plunge in it, which she so longed to do. It would certainly liven up the evening if she did strip off and take a sprint for it!

Kate wondered where Lorraine and Guy had gone during the afternoon, because for sure Lorraine hadn’t been exposed to the sun. She was as pale as ever, perhaps a little more so than usual. On returning to the office after siesta Kate had found herself ensconced with Guy in their office and she hadn’t seen any sign of Lorraine, or Conrad, come to that, till now.

Conrad looked wonderful in a white evening jacket and narrow black trousers. Kate reluctantly conceded that Guy didn’t look bad in similar attire either. The brothers sat at either end of the long table and intimate conversation, because of the distance, was difficult.

Kate’s heart flipped as Conrad’s voice boomed over the buzz of cicadas in the heavy, hot night air.

‘Kate, I’m disappointed you didn’t join me for that swim as you promised. I was looking forward to it.’

Lorraine glowered at her as she forked prawns between her pink lips. Kate felt Guy glowering at her but she couldn’t look at him; to do that and converse with Conrad she would have had to turn her head this way and that as if she were at a tennis match.

‘Kate is still acclimatising to the change of temperature, Conrad,’ Guy answered for her. ‘If you spent more time in miserable, wet London you might be able to understand why.’

Conrad laughed and Kate squirmed, hoping she might be wrong in thinking that there was a barb under Guy’s remark. It obviously hadn’t registered with Conrad.

‘I’m sure Kate is quite able to answer for herself, Guy,’ Conrad offered drily, the laughter short-lived.

Oh, yes, it had registered!

Because of the aloe, and only because of the aloe, Kate spoke up. ‘Guy is right,’ she directed at Conrad. ‘I think my biorhythms are out of sync. I fell asleep this afternoon and didn’t wake up till…till it was time for work again.’ Her thigh stung as a reminder of exactly how she had woken up. She wasn’t about to mention it, though. Lorraine would love it—sunburn on her first day here.

‘You’re driving her too hard, Guy. Ease up a bit.’

‘If I eased up this business would grind to a halt.’ Guy said, and Kate wondered if anyone but her had heard.

‘And you, dear Lorraine. What kept you out of the pool today? How you girls have disappointed me.’

So, Conrad had invited Lorraine too. Kate felt a small frisson of disappointment.

‘Guy was kind enough to offer to drive me down to Puerto Banus, Conrad. My cousin is thinking of investing in a time-share apartment overlooking the marina and I wanted to check it out for him.’

‘Time-share never was a good business investment,’ Guy commented. ‘The market is saturated with unsold properties.’