Page 9 of The Forbidden Cabrera Brother
‘Because...?’ Dante prompted silkily. ‘I’m all ears.’
He had moved closer to her so that his shoulder was almost but not quite brushing hers and she could smell the warmth of his breath and whatever woody cologne he was wearing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Luisa had turned the full, glowing wattage of her undivided attention to the elderly man sitting next to her. There was lots of noise, people talking, laughing, getting merrier by the second as the alcohol continued to flow, served by the army of solicitous waiters. The lanterns swayed in the breeze, picking up the glitter of expensive jewellery, adding a layer of mystery to the wildly glamorous gathering.
Amidst all this, the low murmur of his voice in her ear somehow seemed to wrap them in a bubble of their own.
‘We haven’t talked about...er...concrete plans for anything.’ She tentatively tested the waters to see whether this evasive response would have the desired effect of shutting him up. The dress was beginning to feel uncomfortable, or maybe it only felt uncomfortable because she was beginning to perspire with a sense of rising panic.
Across the table, Alejandro was not helping matters. He was tugging at his collar and guzzling champagne as though his life depended on it. She would have to corner him, somehow, and steer him back on the straight and narrow, but she had no idea how she was going to do that because there was still a long way to go with the wonderful never-ending meal and then, presumably, speeches.
‘I confess I’m surprised.’
‘Why?’
‘I always thought that once rings were on fingers, the first thing a woman wanted to do was pin her man down to a time and a place.’
‘Has that been your experience?’
‘I’ve never been engaged. I’m surmising.’
‘I guess you and Luisa...must have discussed things of that nature?’
‘It won’t work.’
‘What won’t work?’
‘Trying to get me off-piste with this conversation. Don’t you want to set up house as soon as you can? Alejandro is no longer a boy in his twenties. I’m sure he’s keen to set the date so that he can start producing heirs to the throne.’
Caitlin contained a shudder of horror.
‘It may not have occurred to you,’ Caitlin said stiffly, ‘that in this day and age a woman might actually want to further her career before she starts having a family. I’m only twenty-five.’
‘No, if I’m being honest.’
‘Nowhat?’
‘No, it hasn’t occurred to me.’
‘I love what I do.’ She slanted her eyes sideways and instantly looked away because the lazy intensity in his gaze unsettled her. ‘I left Ireland to make my way in London and I managed to land a very enjoyable job freelancing at a magazine. Every day is different and I have a lot of opportunities to go somewhere with my career. I may not want to sacrifice all of that to have kids when I’m still young.’
‘Photographer for a magazine...’ He let that musing statement hang tantalisingly in the air between them for a few seconds. ‘Very interesting. Tell me, how did you and my brother meet? There’s quite a chasm between the world of business and the world of entertainment and I’m racking my brains but I’m pretty sure publication isn’t part of the family holdings.’
Caitlin had a moment of sheer panic. What, exactly, had Alejandro told everyone? She had been vague when questioned but the man sitting next to her wasn’t going to let her get away with vague.
‘No one spends all their time working,’ she said faintly. ‘Everyone has hobbies and Alejandro discovered that he enjoyed photography. It’s...relaxing...’
‘A straight answer, Caitlin. Is that asking too much? How did you meet?’
‘He dropped by.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I happened to be renting space in a workshop. I still do, as it happens. He dropped by and we got chatting.’
‘Why would he drop by a workshop?’
‘You should ask him.’
‘But you’re sitting next to me,’ he responded smoothly, ‘and so I’m askingyou.’
‘He dropped by—’ Caitlin glanced across to Alejandro, who was now looking the worse for wear ‘—and we just happened to click.’
‘But you didn’t start going out with one another. That happened later...’
