Page 15 of The Forbidden Cabrera Brother
‘I’m working my way up. It’s not something that happens overnight...’
‘So...what...? They’re going to quibble over giving you time off because the guy you plan on marrying is lying unconscious on a hospital bed in Spain? What kind of crackpot organisation are we talking about here?’
‘It’s a very reputable company!’
‘Good, then that’s all sorted. You’ll have to call them first thing in the morning.’
‘Yes, but...’ She’d been standing on fairly solid ground but now a roller coaster had whipped past, scooped her up and she was in mid-air and travelling at speed.
‘I’m not getting what the problem is here, Caitlin. Either you want to be with Alejandro or you don’t. Which is it?’
‘Of course, I would love to be around to make sure that he’s going to be okay!’
Dante frowned. ‘Good. Then let’s not put unnecessary obstacles in the way. Back, though, to what I was saying earlier. You seem to have travelled over here with next to nothing. You’ll need clothes. Do you want me to arrange to have some of yours brought over for you?’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ Caitlin muttered. The walls had well and truly closed in and there was no point trying to reconfigure the space. ‘I expect if you point me in the direction of the nearest town, I’ll be able to buy one or two things.’
Dante shrugged. ‘I’d look at a fortnight here.’
‘A fortnight...?’She tried not to sound appalled.
‘And naturally, you will have to stay here.’
‘Here?’
‘Where else?’ He raised his eyebrows and held her dismayed gaze. ‘Unless you’d rather stay with my parents? They’re not very handy for the hospital, but I’m sure they would not object to putting you up for however long you think you’ll need to stay...’
‘What? No!’
‘Didn’t think so. Not many brides-to-be would leap at the chance of staying with their in-laws, especially when they’ve only known their in-laws for a matter of a few hours.’
‘I wouldn’t want to impose,’ Caitlin objected faintly, and Dante took his time looking round the huge sitting room with its high ceilings and sprawling bay windows. His dark eyes were cool and amused when they finally rested on her face.
‘I wouldn’t worry about it. I don’t think we’ll be bumping into one another because I live in a shoebox. Fact is, I doubt my brother would appreciate me turning you away at the door, given the circumstances.’
Caitlin, in her head, begged to differ. Alejandro would understand completely if she headed for the airport, clutching her bag. They were friends, after all, and certainly not the couple Dante assumed they were.
That said, if she ended up staying in Spain, he would also have sympathised with her perfectly reasonable desire to hit the nearest B & B because sharing space with Dante would be like sharing space with a hungry tiger on the prowl.
Realistically, though, was there any way that she could turn down the man’s offer? He was already casting his net of suspicion far and wide.
‘If it makes you feel any better, I’m rarely around. Naturally the staff will be here so you won’t have to worry about anything at all. I know you’ll be worried sick about Alejandro...but, rest assured, he is in the best hands, which I’m sure you know because you’re certainly handling the shock better than I would have expected.’
He had vaulted to his feet and was heading for the door. She followed.
‘What did you expect?’ They were back in the body of the house and it was quiet. The army of staff who had scurried with their trays of champagne and caviar had had another role to fill and had removed all evidence of the party, so that now it was as though it had never been. A dream. Except...not.
‘Well...’ He spun round so suddenly that she almost crashed into him. She hastily stepped back and their eyes collided, startled green meeting cool, speculating midnight black. ‘Call me stupid, but I thought there might be some hysteria involved.’
‘Hysteria?’
‘Naturally, you were clearly upset and shaken, but...let’s just say I admire your self-control...’
‘I’m not that type.’ Caitlin licked her lips nervously.
‘So it would appear,’ Dante murmured lazily. ‘I like that. And yet that seems to contradict the firecracker who attacked me outside the house.’
Caitlin flushed. How on earth was she going to manage spending a fewhourshere, never mind a few days?
