Page 2 of Expecting His Billion-Dollar Scandal
‘Your boat was just a speck in the distance being tossed around in the storm.’
‘At which point you...?’
‘Dad wasn’t around,’ she said bluntly. ‘And I’m as confident on the water as anyone else I know.’ She saw his eyebrows shoot up and her mouth thinned in a defensive line. She knew nothing about the stranger lying on the bed but she knew enough to realise that, given his staggering good looks and an air of confidence that couldn’t be concealed even wearing her father’s weathered clothes, he wouldn’t be short of female company. And the female company wouldn’t, she was thinking, be the sort capable of sailing the high seas in stormy weather.
‘Are you, now?’
‘Better, probably.’ She shrugged. ‘I got my captain’s licence when I was eighteen and I have every qualification needed to fish at sea. I know everything there is to know about sea survival, including what to do if there’s a fire at sea, and I have brilliant first-aid skills.’
‘So you rescued me because I was stupid enough to get behind the wheel of my boat without first checking the weather forecast. How did you manage to do that?’
‘I used the fastest and most robust boat from my father’s collection and headed out. It didn’t occur to me to ask anyone for help. I knew that if someone was on the boat and in trouble, then aid had to be immediate.’
‘I am remiss in not thanking you. I remember taking the boat out and I remember the storm rolling in but after that...’
‘You were out of it. I know. You were in the water clinging to the side of your boat when I got to you. Semi-conscious.’
‘And yet you managed to haul me into your own boat.’
Cordelia thought of all those dainty five-foot-nothings she had always longed to be. Fragile and delicate, demanding the adoring attention of boys who had always seemed genetically geared to leap into the protective mode the second they came near.
She’d never been one of those. She was five ten and sinewy. She could swim like a fish and sail with the best of them and it showed in the strong lines of her body.
‘You weren’t completely out of it,’ she muttered. ‘You easily helped yourself. Getting back in one piece was a far bigger problem with the storm kicking up a gear and the waves big enough to take us both under.’
‘But you never answered my question. Why are you here?’
Cordelia shot him a puzzled frown. ‘I told you. I work here. With my father. I help run his business. He owns eight boats. He fishes but also does a rental business to subsidise his income.’
‘A challenging life for a young girl.’ The green eyes were curious and assessing.
Nowshe knew what he was getting at. Why was she here? Was that what was going through his head? Instead of living it up in a city somewhere? With a boyfriend and a giddy round of parties and clubs? Doing all those things girls her age did? Nearly all of her friends had disappeared off to university somewhere and those who had returned had all, without exception, had a boyfriend in tow. They’d married and had their first child within the year. They’d had their fun and had chosen to return to the village to settle down because they loved it here.
That option had not been on the table for her and it was why that big world out there seemed so full of possibilities. Possibilities that would never be explored but which she yearned for anyway.
She chose to interpret his remark at face value because her life was none of his business and he certainly wasn’t to know that he’d struck a nerve.
‘The sea can be very challenging. But it can also be very rewarding.’
A brief and telling silence greeted this remark.
‘I should introduce myself,’ he said.
‘No need.’
‘How’s that?’
‘I know who you are.’
‘You know who I am...’
She noted the way he stiffened, the way his face became shuttered, his fabulous eyes veiled. She had no idea what was going through his head but to dispel the sudden tension, she smiled.
‘Luca. Luca Baresi. I’m sorry but when I brought you back here, and after you were examined by the doctor, I felt I should see if I could find some form of identification so that I could let your loved ones know where you were.’
‘You went through my stuff.’
‘There wasn’t much to go through,’ Cordelia told him quickly. ‘Trust me, it was the last thing I wanted to do but I don’t imagine you would have thanked me if you’d come to and found that no one could be bothered to try and discover who you were! Everything was unreadable because of the sea water but your identification card was plastic-coated and I managed to make out your name. If you’re up to it, I can bring you the telephone and you can call your...family. They must be worried sick about you. Where do you live?’
