Page 11 of A Wedding Negotiation with Her Boss

‘But you’re right,’ she murmured. ‘I love swimming and I was always very good at it. It would be brilliant to have a dip in the pool. I haven’t even seen what it’s like.’ She looked around her. ‘There must be a shop here somewhere that sells swimsuits.’

She glanced at him and felt a stab of triumph at the momentary flash of surprise on his face. Had he thought her so predictable that she would retreat from the horror of relaxing when she was here to work? Would allow him to gently tease her, safe in the knowledge that she would always scuttle away from facing him down when it came to anything of a personal nature?

‘Lots.’

‘I’ll have a wander around and find one.’

‘I’ll come with you. Like I said, I’m familiar with the area.’

‘No need, Gabriel. I’m not completely at sea when it comes to exploring somewhere new.’

He stood back, fidgeted hesitantly for a few seconds and raked his fingers through his dark hair.

‘I can find a shop, buy a swimsuit and make my way back all under my own steam.’

‘Of course...’

‘So I’ll see you in the morning? I don’t seem to have any jet lag at all.’

‘You’re very welcome to join me for dinner with Terry and his wife.’

‘No thank you, Gabriel. You’ve said that they’re long-standing friends of your parents whom you haven’t seen for years and I’m sure they’ll want to have you all to themselves.’

For a few seconds, their eyes tangled and she felt her breath hitch. He had amazing eyes—so dark, so piercing and so disturbing when they were pinned to her, as they were now. ‘Your hand may not be in great working order but I don’t think I need to come with you to cut up your food and feed you, do I?’

‘Since when do you do sarcasm?’

‘I’m sorry. Seldom.’ Helen lowered her eyes. She wasn’t sorry. She never, ever shared any personal opinions with him but something about being here, away from their usual surroundings, made her feel restless with the trajectory of her life, dissatisfied with her own predictability.

‘No need to apologise,’ Gabriel drawled softly, his voice sending shivers up and down her, reminding her that sometimes it felt safe to get close to the fire until you suddenly went up in flames. This? This felt a bit like getting close to a fire.

That said...she knew that she was far too controlled ever to get burnt. Buying a swimsuit, taking a dip in a pool, relaxing when she knew that her boss wasn’t going to be around anyway—why should any of that constitute grounds for panic?

She’d spent over three years working with this guy, and sure she could stand back and appreciate his crazy sexiness and his charismatic allure, but she wasn’t one of those blondes who swooned at his feet. She’d proven that. She was detached when it came to her boss. She would never in a million years go for someone like him which made her immune to everything about him that seemed to suck women in.

And, if he’d suddenly fired up something inside her that wantedchange, then that wasn’t a bad thing. Was it? Being careful was very different from never taking chances. What was life without taking the occasional risk? She gone down the uber-safe route with George but hadn’t that been a mistake? Climbing out of her work gear and lightening up with the man now watching her through narrowed eyes was hardly going to break the bank when it came to risk taking!

‘So, tomorrow...’ she threw into the lengthening silence between them. ‘Timings?’

‘No need to rush out of bed. It will be the same routine as today.’

‘Lovely.’ She stepped back and made a point of looking around her. ‘I’ll head off now, if that’s all right?’

‘No reason it shouldn’t be. But getting back to the hotel? Forget about taking a taxi. I’ll get my driver to collect you.’

Helen smiled, shrugged, dutifully put all the details of his driver into her phone and listened politely while he gave her various helpful hints about where she could go if she fancied something to eat or drink. She frowned and stifled a sigh when, eventually, he asked her whether she was absolutely sure she was going to be okay, left to her own devices.

‘I’ll manage,’ she said with a stiff smile. ‘And, if I find I can’t, I’ll make sure I get on the phone and call you immediately so that you can come and rescue me.’ She smiled sweetly and, wow, did it make her feel good when he shot her a disconcerted frown in response.

If there was one thing guaranteed to make her change gear, it was Gabriel de Luca treating her as someone who might be sharp as a tack in front of a computer but as clueless as the village idiot when it came to everything else...

CHAPTER THREE

ITWASAlong evening. Or rather, it felt like it. Gabriel had been distracted at the restaurant bar and then had caught himself glancing at his watch as he made small talk with Terry and Caro over lobster and champagne.

He would rearrange, make it up to them, wine and dine them another night. But he had to go...a thorny problem with a big deal...time was money...

And hewouldmake it up to them—in style. After all, he hadn’t seen them in a while, and he was extremely fond of them. In the preposterously lavish but uncertain world he had inhabited as a kid, they had been more of a constant than his own parents had been.

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