Page 3 of The Forbidden Cabrera Brother
‘I thought I’d personally escort you to the premises,’ Dante said.
‘Don’t you believe that I’m a legitimate guest?’
At that, Dante inspected her with leisurely thoroughness, his dark eyes roving from the tips of her toes, along her body and finally coming to rest on her scarlet face.
She had gone into attack mode from the second he had surprised her and she was still in it. If she was a guest, then she was a highly unlikely guest.
‘Are you? Because you don’t seem to be dressed for the part.’
At that, Caitlin reddened even more. Her parents had always made a point of telling her that she was beautiful, inside and out, but parents were notoriously partisan and she had always been sensitive about her looks. She’d stopped longing to be five inches taller and fifteen pounds lighter, a leggy brunette free from the curse of freckles and hair the most skilled hairdresser would have found impossible to tame, but right now...
With this impossibly sexy and perfect guy lounging in front of her and staring with just the hint of a condescending smile on his face...
‘I have clothes in here,’ she said coldly, indicating her holdall with a curt nod. ‘And in case you’re in any doubt that I actuallyhavebeen invited to this engagement party, I should tell you that I happen to be the...er... Alejandro’s fiancée.’ It wasn’t a declaration that rolled easily off the tongue. Downright lies seldom did.
Dante said nothing. He was too stunned to speak.
‘I’m running a bit late...ah...anyway...’
‘Alejandro’s fiancée?’ He found his voice. He was seldom thrown, but this time he was.
‘There’s no need to sound so incredulous.’ There was, actually, every need. Not even she, with her imagination going full pelt, found it easy to believe that she could possibly be Alejandro’s fiancée. They came from such different worlds. Whatever his back story and however close they had become over time, he was Spanish nobility and it was there in the way he held himself and his casual disregard for money. He could do as he pleased, even if he was funny and caring and considerate, which always left you with the illusion that he couldn’t buy the world, which he could. Somehow, you always expected the super rich to run roughshod over people and Alejandro completely disproved that theory. That, of course, was one of the reasons why she absolutely adored him.
They were also so different to look at. She was pale, with freckles and green eyes and copper-coloured hair. He was swarthy and dark-haired. They were both short, though, and plump and she felt wonderfully comfortable with him.
‘Miss Walsh?’
‘Caitlin. Look, I can’t hang around here chatting to you. I have to...’ She squinted at the imposing edifice of the house and tried to work out a possible side entrance through which she could sneak, although heaven only knew what she would do if and when she did enter the house if Alejandro was still missing in action. Fumble her way to the downstairs loo so that she could change into her finery? Hope that she didn’t trip over anyone in the process?
So poorly conceived all of this, a plan born on the spur of the moment without much thought being given to the technical detail. It was just as well that once this engagement party was over and done with, they would both return to London where life would carry on as normal.
She pulled her long, tumbling hair over her shoulder and fiddled with it while she tried to work out various house-entry options.
‘You were saying...’ Dante prompted.
Caitlin looked at Dante and shivered again. The guy had the strangest effect on her. Since when had she ever gone for the brooding Alpha-male type? She’d learned long ago to steer clear of those sorts.
Besides, men this good-looking were always far too fond of themselves for her liking. And as a postscript, she belatedly thought, she was engaged. Or at least, for all intents and purposes she was engaged. Which amounted to the same thing.
‘As you mentioned,’ she conceded, ‘I’m not exactly dressed the part and I can’t get hold of Alejandro. He’s terrible when it comes to his mobile phone. It never seems to be on him.’
‘I’m surprised he isn’t scouring the four corners in search of his errant bride-to-be,’ Dante murmured.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Shouldn’t he be out looking for you? If you haven’t been able to get hold of him to warn him of your late arrival?’
‘Oh, right. Yes. I see where you’re going with that,’ Caitlin mumbled. ‘He... We are quite relaxed with one another when it comes to stuff like that.’
‘What a novel approach to a serious relationship.’
‘I need to change into my glad rags.’ Something about the man’s tone of voice triggered a wave of unfocused apprehension in her. ‘And you never introduced yourself. You are...?’
She paused and stilled him with her hand. Her eyes met his questioningly.
For a couple of seconds, Dante’s cool, rational mind seemed to shut down, then he drew back and returned her wide-eyed gaze narrowly.
‘Do you know the layout of the house?’ He smoothly changed the conversation, while at the same time politely removing her hand and hustling her between the cars and past the uniformed valets standing to attention outside.
