Page 206 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 5-8

Tiger talking to the driver of the boat in Italian was distracting enough but when that was combined with the way his hair was being blown in the wind and the glint in his eyes, it was a moment before she realised that the city was fading into the distance.

Her heart thudded against her ribs. ‘What’s happening? Is there a problem?’

Dropping back down onto the seat beside her, he shook his head. ‘No problem.’

‘But surely the hotel is that way.’

‘What hotel?’

She blinked. ‘The hotel we’re staying at.’

‘We’re not staying in a hotel. I don’t like the crowds and, besides, I have a villa here.’ His mouth did that curving thing again and she felt it thump through her in time to her heart as he corrected himself. ‘Not here in the city. It’s on one of the other islands in the lagoon.’

Sydney stared at him, her head spinning. She had assumed, wrongly it turned out, that they would be staying in a hotel surrounded by staff and other guests. But that wasn’t the case because he had a villa.

Of course he did.

And there was not much point in worrying about it now, she thought as the speedboat accelerated. Finally, the driver shouted something over his shoulder and the boat slowed to a crawl. Her heart gave a thump as Tiger turned towards her and said softly, ‘Just remember, you’re my girlfriend and you’re madly in love with me.’

There was no right response to that statement, or none that she could think of, but she didn’t need to, because they were pulling up alongside a wooden jetty that lit up as they got closer. A young man wearing smart shorts and a black polo shirt stepped forward to pick up their cases.

‘Bentornato,Signor McIntyre, ebenvenuti,Signorina Truitt.I hope you had a pleasant journey.’

Tiger took her hand again to help her off the boat and this time he didn’t let go, but she was expecting that. It was incredibly quiet after the thump of the boat, but it was quieter even than that. Almost as if this were a desert island, not a playground for wealthy tourists.

They were walking so swiftly that she had only the briefest glimpse of the villa—large, three storeys, with lots of arched windows—and then they were inside and a middle-aged woman with sleek dark hair stepped forward to greet them.

‘This is Silvana. She doesn’t speak much English. Most of the staff don’t. It means I have to practise my Italian.’

‘What about the other tourists? Are they just Italian?’

‘There are no other tourists. This is my island.’

Of course it was.

He was walking as he talked and she let him lead her upstairs. ‘You can have the guided tour tomorrow, but this is our room,’ he added, so casually that it took a moment for the implication of his words to hit home.

And then everything lurched inside her.

Sydney’s eyes narrowed and Tiger felt the air sharpen between them.

‘Our room?’ She frowned.

‘Yes, darling. Our room,’ he repeated. Yet another thing he had never had to do before. He sensed rather than saw Silvana turn. Moments later he heard the door click shut.

‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at?’ Sydney snapped, her soft mouth curving into a snarl that revealed small white even teeth. She tugged her hand free, her body rigid with fury and outrage.

‘I could ask you the same thing,’ he said mildly, and with what was an admirable amount of restraint given that they were alone and he knew exactly what it felt like to feel her body against his.

‘Meaning?’ Her hands curled into fists by her sides.

‘You’re supposed to be my girlfriend, remember?’

‘Only in public.’ She waved her hand wildly to encompass all four corners of the room. ‘We’re not in public here.’

‘You and I have a deal,’ he said, adopting a soothing tone that was designed to do the opposite of soothe. Because, frankly, why was he having to explain himself? Again? ‘I gave you a choice and the choice you made was obviously going to include us sharing a room. Surely you understood that?’

Her hands clenched and unclenched by her sides.

---