A Scandalous Midnight In Madrid
Susan Stephens
Her body awakened… By Madrid’s most eligible bachelor Chef Sadie Montgomery’s life is changed forever by an intense moonlit encounter in Madrid with infamous Alejandro de Alegon. The sizzling anticipation he sparks tempts virgin Sadie all the way to his Spanish castle…and into his bed! She’s never known anything like the wild passion Alejandro unleashes. But their night of illicit pleasure soon turns Sadie into Spain’s most scandalous headline: Pregnant with Alejandro’s baby!
Her body awakened...
By Madrid’s most eligible bachelor
Chef Sadie Montgomery’s life is changed forever by an intense moonlit encounter in Madrid with infamous Alejandro de Alegon. The sizzling anticipation he sparks tempts virgin Sadie all the way to his Spanish castle...and into his bed! She’s never known anything like the wild passion Alejandro unleashes. But their night of illicit pleasure soon turns Sadie into Spain’s most scandalous headline: Pregnant with Alejandro’s Baby!
Feel the heat in this sizzling Spanish romance—with a secret baby twist!
SUSAN STEPHENS was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Mills & Boon style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday, and married three months later. Susan enjoys entertaining, travel and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks and plays the piano, and when she’s had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.
Also by Susan Stephens (#ua235d89c-8fd2-5a26-9306-264494a6a5d4)
A Diamond for Del Rio’s Housekeeper
The Sicilian’s Defiant Virgin
The Secret Kept from the Greek
The Sheikh’s Shock Child
Pregnant by the Desert King
Hot Brazilian Nights! miniseries
In the Brazilian’s Debt
At the Brazilian’s Command
Brazilian’s Nine Months’ Notice
Back in the Brazilian’s Bed
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
A Scandalous Midnight in Madrid
Susan Stephens
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08785-8
A SCANDALOUS MIDNIGHT IN MADRID
© 2019 Susan Stephens
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Cover (#ucf0dd915-7002-58e2-834c-dccc62564cfd)
Back Cover Text (#u1be6520e-7cac-5c3a-9970-ecdaf8bb6d92)
About the Author (#u825622f1-76cc-5ea3-98c1-8493f5a3808e)
Booklist (#ua1cbc5ea-14d7-5e01-a647-0763fb5d888f)
Title Page (#ub27bcd4e-1018-5a8b-adf2-288916d1bd39)
Copyright (#uad4cde46-55c0-5a31-8ff4-1fa24f27463b)
Dedication (#ud8ecf6c3-e679-58f8-b087-f6767317eb5b)
CHAPTER ONE (#u8d600eb1-eae8-5427-a9f1-9c0c46b1f9ea)
CHAPTER TWO (#ufc054ad6-c435-5717-b96e-5b08d7b911f1)
CHAPTER THREE (#u5293cd4c-f7bf-5bfa-a8bd-4181e903b47a)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ue5b9308a-a19e-554b-883a-cb5e1f3e0e76)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ua235d89c-8fd2-5a26-9306-264494a6a5d4)
THE SKY WAS as deep and smooth as black velvet over the heart of old Madrid, as Don Alejandro, Duque de Alegon unfolded his powerful frame from a vehicle he’d casually abandoned outside the hottest club in town. City clocks chimed midnight as a valet rushed to park the top-of-the-range muscle car. Nightlife in Spain’s capital was fast and furious...and late.
Pressing a generous tip into the attendant’s hand, Alejandro switched his attention to a flash of flame on the opposite side of the street, where, framed in harsh light, a woman was flambéing a dish alongside the world-renowned Chef Sorollo in the kitchens of El Gato Feroz. The young woman was voluptuous beneath severe chef’s whites, her mouth was firm and her brow was furrowed with concentration. Her attention didn’t waver from the task as her small, capable hands worked swiftly to some internal rhythm.
As if sensing she was being observed, she glanced up. Distance stole the details, but her glance was sharp and bright with intelligence, and he guessed there’d be a sprinkling of freckles across her short, straight nose, as a few baby curls of copper-bright hair had escaped the cap she wore for work. Fiery hair was reputed to mean a fiery demeanour, which led to thoughts of fire in his bed. He could vouch for the food she was preparing being exceptional, as he had dined at El Gato Feroz many times. That was the reason he’d chosen the restaurant to host his sister’s engagement party tomorrow night, and why he was here, outside the club where his sister was holding a pre-engagement party for her female friends. Her last night of freedom, as Annalisa had worryingly told him.
‘Alejandro!’ his sister yelled now.
He held up a restraining hand, impatient to see more of the woman in the kitchen. What was it about the young chef that gripped his interest, when beauties and sophisticates of every type were waiting inside the indigo womb of Club Magia? Something about her confident demeanour chimed with his approach to life, Alejandro decided. Here in Madrid, he was Don Alejandro de Alegon, a Spanish grandee of impeccable lineage with responsibilities and duties that embraced an international business, as well as vast land holdings and a wayward sister, but when he left the city he was a different man. It was the poise of the woman that suggested she could adapt as easily as he could that made him curious to know if there was some other side of the young chef with the serious demeanour.
‘Alejandro!’ Annalisa repeated with frustration. ‘My friends are waiting to meet you.’
All the more reason for delay. ‘I’ll be there in a few minutes,’ he promised as he turned to cross the street.
Annalisa’s friends were in no danger from him. His taste ran to older women who knew the score. No long-term entanglements. No complications on either side. Duty left him with little time for a personal life. The only freedom he permitted himself was when he visited his mountain retreat, where both he and Annalisa could switch off from the demands of the city and rediscover the rich heritage of their flamenco gypsy roots. In the mountains he was no longer a Spanish grandee to be fawned over merely because he held a title, but Alejandro, a man to be judged alongside all others without regard to wealth or rank, and it was only in the mountains that he truly found peace.
‘Alejandro!’ Annalisa’s voice was ever more insistent as she played to a gallery of friends. ‘We need you to escort us inside!’
‘I’m sure you can do that without my help,’ he called back to a chorus of disappointment. His bodyguards would protect the young women, and he had laid on all the food and drink he thought necessary for a good time that wouldn’t descend into chaos.
He adored his sister but would be the first to admit that he’d spoiled her. She’d been so young when their parents were killed and he’d assumed responsibility for her care. They had enjoyed the most wonderful childhood, so it was no wonder Annalisa was stricken when their parents were taken so suddenly in a tragic accident. Without a mother to confide in, she’d been lost. He’d done what he could and might have overcompensated in trying to make her feel secure again. Annalisa could be temperamental but more than made up for this with her sunny outlook on life and her ability to spread happiness. Other than where he was concerned at this moment, Alejandro conceded with some amusement as Annalisa followed him across the road.
‘What do you think you’re playing at, Alejandro? You promised you’d be nice to my friends.’
‘And I will,’ he assured her. ‘My promise won’t be broken, but something came up.’
‘Something?’ His sister, who knew him better than anyone, narrowed her eyes. ‘Or someone?’ she commented shrewdly. ‘Just don’t let this someone keep you too long. You’ll be missed, Alejandro.’
‘No, I won’t,’ he countered coolly as her friends watched this mini drama play out. ‘You’ll be too busy dancing on the table with your friends. But, be warned. I’ll be back in ten minutes. And please try to remember you’ll be engaged to a prince by tomorrow night, and I doubt he’ll indulge you as I do when he sees your photograph splashed across the press.’
‘You always were a spoilsport,’ Annalisa fired back with a familiar mix of fire and love in her expression as she returned to her friends across the street.
If you mean, by calling me a spoilsport, that I love you and care for you, you’re right, he mused as the door to El Gato Feroz swung wide and the maître d’ rushed to greet him. He stated his wishes and the man hurried off. Dangerous seconds ticked away, during which his imagination ran riot as to what Annalisa was getting up to. Just when he thought the wait couldn’t get any worse, a woman he recognised from a brief encounter years back entered the restaurant with her elderly, wealthy husband. ‘Alejandro,’ she purred, pausing to place a jewelled hand on his arm. ‘When are you and I going to get together again?’
‘Never,’ he murmured discreetly as a pretty young hostess distracted the woman’s husband. ‘You’re married now.’
‘And?’
The woman blushed guiltily as her elderly husband turned back to introduce himself to Alejandro. ‘Your Excellency,’ the older man exclaimed, dipping his head with respect. ‘What an honour...’
‘The honour is all mine,’ Alejandro assured him as he returned the courtesy.
Gossip suggesting that his prowess in the bedroom was unparalleled had done him no favours at all, he reflected with amusement as the would-be siren cast a lingering glance over her shoulder when her husband ushered her away.
When the maître d’ returned, his downcast expression suggested the young chef was as diligent as Alejandro had first thought her. His sympathies were with the maître d’, who couldn’t have looked more miserable if he’d tried. Throwing his arms wide, he exclaimed, ‘I’m so sorry, Don Alejandro, but Chef Sadie is in the middle of service, and asks me to tell you that she cannot possibly be disturbed.’
‘Not your fault,’ he reassured the man, ‘but mine for succumbing to impatience.’
Sadie. Her name was Sadie. He played the name over in his head. Well done, Sadie, he mused as he left the restaurant. This little skirmish might be over, but the battle was not lost. A smile played around his lips as he crossed the street. It pleased him to discover a woman who refused to obey his smallest whim.
* * *
Why had Don Alejandro, Duque de Alegon, asked to see her? Sadie peered out of the window as the athletic shape of one of the most famous, or should that be infamous, men in Spain strode across the narrow street. The Don was infamous, thanks to rumours suggesting that his expertise in business was only exceeded by his skill in bed. A quiver of awareness ran through her at the thought of all that raw, sexual energy contained in one immensely powerful individual. That was the huge difference between them right there. She had no sexual experience to speak of, and no time for it. Having seen her mother degraded by her father throughout Sadie’s childhood, she was in no hurry to change the status quo. Her father had been enough to put her off men for ever, with the exception of her boss, Chef Sorollo, who was an exceptional human being, and who had always kept her safe.
It wasn’t long before Sadie’s thoughts strayed back to Don Alegon. No one had ever asked to speak to her personally in the middle of service, unless it was to request a special dish from the kitchen. Perhaps he’d wanted some last-minute advice on the menu for his sister’s party tomorrow night. A rush of hot embarrassment swept over her, because if that were the case, she should have agreed to see him. There again, if that was what he wanted, wouldn’t he deal directly with Chef Sorollo?
She glanced through the window in time to see him disappear inside Club Magia, where high society liked to congregate and check each other out. Some men with powerful physiques looked uncomfortable in a sharply cut suit, but the dark, exquisitely cut garment clung lovingly to what was undeniably a brutally masculine form.
Sadie’s heart was threatening to leap out of her chest by the time she turned back to her cooking. Why did she have to raise her head from the sauce in the first place, to see a man with the Duke’s reputation staring at her? Animal instinct, she supposed; the hunter and the hunted. The feeling of being a quarry was new to her and made this brief encounter with danger all the more exciting. There was something undeniably animal about him that made her mouth dry and her body yearn for things it had never experienced, but she had more sense than to encourage a man like Don Alegon, who moved in extremely exalted circles, while this kitchen was her home.
Nothing made Sadie happier than nurturing and feeding people. Perhaps as a result of her socialite parents finding her a nuisance, she had sought out the friendship and company of their servants, and it hadn’t taken long to discover the pleasure that came with making people happy by providing good food. When her father had died of one drink too many, and her mother had rejected her completely, Sadie had known exactly what she wanted to do.
* * *
The following evening Sadie and the team were making final preparations for Annalisa Alegon’s engagement party when Chef Sorollo was called to the phone.
‘A disaster!’ the great chef wailed on his return.
Everyone in the kitchen fell silent, and everyone, Sadie was sure, was filled with the same horror-struck thought: Not tonight!
Even the calmest chef could lose his cool sometimes, and Chef Sorollo was not the calmest of chefs, but this outburst fell outside the range of his usual tirade and he looked genuinely shaken up. Gentle probing by Sadie revealed that a close member of his family had been taken ill. Nothing came before cooking for Chef Sorollo, apart from his immediate and extended family, which included his staff. Fortunate enough to be included in the heart of that extended family, Sadie knew she had to step up to the plate.
‘Don’t worry. You go. I’ll take over,’ she said.
‘I knew I could rely on you,’ her friend and mentor exclaimed with relief as he called a cab.
It was the least she could do. The great chef had been like a father to her ever since the day she’d arrived in Madrid looking for a job. Having left home and blagged her way on board a super-yacht, Sadie had soon realised that a life at sea wasn’t for her, though her cooking had earned a glowing reference from the head chef in the ship’s galley. When the mega-yacht had docked in Barcelona, she’d headed inland to Madrid with the dream of pursuing a career in catering, specifically at the world-renowned El Gato Feroz. Sadie had read about the famous restaurant at school and could only imagine how wonderful it would be to work alongside the famous chef. Landing the lowly position of dishwasher was like a dream come true.
‘Start at the bottom and work your way up,’ had been Chef Sorollo’s advice. Unflinching loyalty and long hours of dedicated work in the professional kitchen was Sadie’s way of paying him back.
‘You’ve come a long way,’ Chef Sorollo commented as he grabbed his coat and prepared to leave her in charge of his kitchen. ‘Do you remember your first day here?’ he asked, glancing outside to see if his cab had arrived.
She would never forget it. ‘Vividly,’ she said, remembering how, with determination etched into every fibre of her being, she had followed a member of his staff through the back door. The best part of that first day at El Gato Feroz had been meeting the world-famous chef. She could hardly believe it when he’d insisted on personally conducting her interview. Having the great man show such interest in someone who was only going to be at best a very lowly member of staff had really impressed her, and she’d never forgotten it. Dishwashing was just the start, Chef Sorollo had promised, and if she agreed to stay on late each night, he would teach her to chop vegetables. If she mastered that skill, who knew how far she could travel?
‘That first day was the best day of my life,’ she told him now.
‘I knew this day would come,’ he told her with an affectionate smile that softened the lines of worry on his face. ‘I’ve always known I can trust you, Sadie. But don’t wear yourself out tonight. There’s no need to. You have a lot of support here, and Don Alegon is a good man. I’ve known him for years. He’ll understand why our plans have been forced to change.’
Sadie wasn’t quite so optimistic but said nothing to delay her friend.
‘Right, team,’ she announced as a cab drew up outside. ‘We’ve got this. Let’s get busy and make Chef Sorollo proud.’
* * *
‘What?’ Alejandro was incensed. He’d arrived early at Annalisa’s party to check everything was ready, only to learn Chef Sorollo would not be in the kitchen on this most special night!
A man who never lost his temper came as close as he ever had, because this celebration was not for him, but for his sister. ‘How can a head chef leave the kitchen on a night such as this?’ Silverware and crystal rattled at his bellow. The hapless maître d’ seemed lost for words. Not so, the woman who emerged from the kitchen. The woman who had refused to speak to him last night. On closer inspection she was even more beautiful, and not in a conventional way; it was the honesty shining from her eyes and the firmness of her jaw that attracted him.
‘Don Alegon,’ she said in the warmest of tones, ‘welcome to El Gato Feroz. How nice to see you—’
‘At last?’ he bit out.
Ignoring his ill temper, she smiled. ‘It’s very good of you to drop by early to check on everything. I would do exactly the same.’
‘Would you?’ he challenged sharply.
‘I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced myself,’ she said, not the least bit put off by his frosty manner. ‘Chef Sadie Montgomery, at your service tonight. But, please, call me Sadie.’
‘Alejandro Alegon...’
Ignoring his invitation to drop the professional barrier between them to the extent that she would call him by his first name, she held out her hand for him to shake, and said coolly, ‘A pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face, Don Alegon.’
Remembering the previous night’s snub, he gave her a hard stare. She smiled pleasantly. He grasped her hand briefly, but it was long enough to register a great deal about the young chef. Her hand was cool and dry, and her handshake firm and no-nonsense. It was the grip of a woman in charge. Was he wrong about the fire beneath her contained exterior? For once he doubted his initial verdict. He couldn’t imagine this woman ever losing control.
‘Allow me to reassure you,’ she continued, ‘that, in spite of Chef Sorollo’s absence tonight, the menu remains unchanged, and the food will be as delicious as always at El Gato Feroz.’
‘With you in charge?’ He was at a loss as to how to deal with such straightforward charm and felt bound to take her to task.
‘Yes,’ she stated firmly, holding his stare without flinching.
Her eyes were violet, he saw now, and she used them to good effect, staring directly at him with nothing more in her expression than the desire to please, and a calm determination to soothe him now that it was glaringly obvious he wouldn’t be getting the top chef he’d paid for tonight.
‘I hope you’re pleased with what we’ve done,’ she said as she led the way deeper into the restaurant. ‘The team has worked really hard to make sure everything is perfect for your sister’s party.’
Glancing around, he had to admit that the restaurant did look at its best. He’d requested exotic, fiery blooms to match his sister’s vibrant personality, and florists had certainly worked their magic.
‘We’ll light the candles soon.’ He stared down at the young woman at his side. ‘And then you’ll see how the crystal and silverware sparkles like something out of Aladdin’s cave,’ she added, staring into the middle distance as if picturing the scene.
So, there was a softer side to Sadie. Interesting, he thought, though she snapped out of the reverie almost immediately. As they continued the tour, she remained every inch the professional, from the crown of her chef’s hat to the toes of her ugly, though sensible, shoes. It was when they accidentally brushed against each other when they moved as one to open a door that his body responded with surprising enthusiasm. He was tired of pushovers, he supposed as he took in the line of Sadie’s resolute jaw.
‘You have nothing to worry about, Don Alegon,’ she assured him. ‘We’re always meticulous with planning and preparations at El Gato Feroz, and I’m confident the team has thought of everything.’
She took no praise for herself, he noticed. ‘I’m not worried,’ he said, and with a casual gesture he added, ‘I expect the best, and I’m sure that you and your team will deliver exactly that.’ Strangely, he did have confidence in Sadie.
‘Thank you for putting your trust in us,’ she said, seeming pleased. ‘Would you like a cocktail while you wait for the guests to arrive?’
She gestured towards the famous mirrored bar with its line of deeply upholstered stools in midnight-blue velvet. ‘No, thank you,’ he said crisply, thinking how cold he sounded. This was the effect the city always had on him. It seemed to turn his default setting to tense, and when his sister was added to the mix, his desire for excellence was off the scale.
‘Can’t I tempt you with a glass of champagne?’
She could tempt him with many things, he thought as she stared into his eyes, but not champagne. He wanted a clear head tonight. His doubts on the wisdom of Annalisa’s choice of husband remained, and he needed to keep a watchful eye on the Prince and his friends. They might have grand titles, but a thorough investigation by his security team had proved they didn’t have the money to fund their extravagant lifestyles, and when his sister was in one of her reckless moods, she might not see trouble looming on the horizon as he did.
‘Champagne? No, thank you,’ he told Sadie.
‘Beer, then?’ she suggested with the hint of a mocking light in her eyes.
She was not afraid to tease and test him, which was another point in her favour. ‘A beer would be good. But only if you join me.’
Her polite smile didn’t falter as she told him, ‘I never drink on duty.’
They stared at each other with renewed interest until she said, ‘I believe your sister’s arriving, so I’ll have one of the waiters bring you your beer.’
Before he could say another word, she had gone. Once again, eluding him, he thought, grinding his jaw. Before he had chance to dwell on this, the fleet of stretch limos he’d ordered to accommodate Annalisa and her friends drew up outside the restaurant. He’d be too busy for the rest of the evening to talk to Sadie, but she’d thrown down a gauntlet he wouldn’t forget.
CHAPTER TWO (#ua235d89c-8fd2-5a26-9306-264494a6a5d4)
IT WOULD BE a late night before she climbed into bed in the tiny attic above the restaurant, but there was nothing she wouldn’t do for Chef Sorollo, and Sadie was enjoying every moment of being in charge of the kitchen. It was the first time she had been put to the test, and she was determined to shine for her mentor.
‘Service!’ she called out for the umpteenth time, remembering back to when the great man had asked her if she had anywhere to live. From the off Chef Sorollo had shown piercing intuition, understanding so much without her having to say a single word. ‘I have a room,’ he’d said. ‘It’s not much, but it’s somewhere to lay your head.’
Sadie smiled to think she’d lived there ever since. The simple bedsit with its view over the rooftops of Madrid was spotlessly clean and extremely comfortable, and, best of all, it was quiet. There was no shouting, no china crashing to the floor and no violence. There was just the hum of purposeful activity in the restaurant kitchen far below. Some might have thought it a comedown after the brash opulence of her parents’ home, but Sadie had always felt like a clumsy intruder in the huge, echoing mansion, with its screening room, swim-up bar, and regular shouting matches.
‘Everyone loves it, Sadie,’ one of the waiters exclaimed as he swept past her as if on oiled wheels. ‘Your party’s a huge success.’
‘Our party,’ she called after him, smiling.
With a little gentle prompting by Chef Sorollo, her story had come out. The great man had insisted on taking charge of her education, sending her to night school, where she’d formally trained to be a chef. When she was qualified, he’d taken her under his wing and had completed her training, saying that a loyal and loving family stayed close and looked after each other. That was why work consumed her now, and why there had never been a more important night for Sadie—because this was her way of thanking a man who had turned out to be her saviour.
Excellence was paramount tonight. With so many celebrated guests present, the papers would report Annalisa Alegon’s party, and there would be photographs of everyone present. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of one guest in particular. She’d had chance to read up on Don Alejandro de Alegon and had learned something of his colourful history. He was descended from a long line of aristocrats on his father’s side, while his late mother had been a Spanish gypsy princess. Both his parents had been killed in a tragic accident, leaving Alejandro to raise his younger sister. Everyone thought it a great honour that he’d chosen El Gato Feroz as the venue for his sister’s engagement party. Sadie guessed he made all the choices; even on the briefest sighting, he’d struck her as that type of man. He played out his life on the world stage while she was content in the kitchen, and she would never belong in his world any more than she had belonged in her parents’ world. Bottom line: the Don commanded while she was happy to serve.
Serve him?
Certainly not! Sadie concluded with a short laugh as she served up a fresh batch of delicious entrées. The thought that there was no buffer between Sadie and Don Alegon in the comforting form of Chef Sorollo might make her tense, but she would allow nothing to get in the way of making tonight the success her mentor and his team deserved. It would be business as usual tonight at El Gato Feroz.
* * *
For the rest of the night he was aware of Sadie somewhere close by, and he looked for her constantly. No other woman had ever affected him this way, and he couldn’t explain the feeling. It took his sister linking arms with him to return his attention to where it should have been all along.
‘I can’t thank you enough for tonight,’ Annalisa said as she snuggled into his side. ‘It’s more than I deserve—’
‘A lot more,’ he agreed dryly.
They laughed together. Annalisa was the one person in the world who could shake him out of his city tension. There were so many plates to keep spinning he could barely spare her a moment when he was in Madrid, but Annalisa had always gone where angels feared to tread, and tonight was a special occasion.
‘Are you happy? Are you sure about the Prince?’ he asked with concern as his glance swept over the man in question and his party, who were doing their best to drain the last bottle of wine in the cellar of El Gato Feroz.
‘I know I love you,’ his sister told him fervently as she stared up into his eyes. ‘You do know that, don’t you, Alejandro? You’re so stern, I wonder sometimes if you realise how much I appreciate all you do for me. I just hope the day will come when I can do something for you.’
‘Behave yourself,’ he said mock sternly. ‘That’s what I want you to do. And don’t worry about me.’
‘But I do worry about you,’ Annalisa insisted. ‘You should be thinking about your life going forward, not mine. What would it take to make you happy, Alejandro?’
‘Whatever it takes for you to have a good life,’ he said, glancing with concern at Annalisa’s husband-to-be, who seemed more interested in talking to the pretty woman at his side than looking after his sister. ‘You will tell me if anything goes wrong, won’t you?’
‘I know you’re always there for me,’ she said. ‘But I don’t want to talk about me, I want to talk about you. It’s time you did something for yourself, instead of always for other people. You deserve happiness too.’
‘Nobody deserves anything,’ he stated firmly. ‘You just concentrate on your upcoming new life as a princess.’ As he said this, he wondered how much of Annalisa’s latest romance was based on the idea of becoming a princess, rather than the reality of marrying such a weak man. His sister wasn’t a fool, but she was a dreamer. It wasn’t up to him to live Annalisa’s life for her, he reminded himself, though living up to that wasn’t easy. ‘Happiness is fleeting,’ he warned as he held her gaze. ‘Grab it while you can.’
‘That’s a lesson for you too,’ his sister told him. ‘I know you’re thinking about our parents when you say things like this, and I also know they’d want you to be happy. Grab some happiness while you can, Alejandro, and hug it tight.’
He smiled. ‘You’re a lovely young woman and I’m very proud of you. You know that, don’t you?’
‘If I don’t,’ his sister assured him with one of her sideways looks, ‘I’m sure I can rely on you to tell me.’
They laughed together, and for a few moments everything was simple and warm, as it had always been before the Prince came on the scene. ‘Just make sure you tell me if the Prince lets you down,’ he said, turning serious.
‘You’ll be the first to know—your cast-iron security team will make sure of it,’ Annalisa added with a cheeky glance as she turned away to her friends.
He watched the young women in their huddle at the table, wondering what they were discussing so avidly. He soon found out.
‘We want the chef to step out so we can thank her for the most marvellous evening,’ Annalisa came to tell him.
‘Annalisa!’ he exclaimed as she bolted away. Too late. She’d already attracted the attention of the maître d’.
A few minutes later, his sister returned with a slightly pinker version of Sadie, who emerged from the kitchen to a storm of applause. In spite of Chef Sorello’s absence, the food had been absolutely delicious and everything had gone without a hitch. He surprised himself by leading the applause, and even offering a personal vote of thanks. When their eyes met, Sadie held his stare with that same mix of professional cool and not quite hidden glint of something more. It was a combination that made his senses roar.
It was the early hours before the guests began to leave. As the restaurant emptied, he stepped outside to find a hint of dawn tinting the night sky lavender. It was a particular light that reminded him of daybreak in the mountains he loved, because it was there, in the wild, dramatic land of his mother’s people, where he felt most at ease. His mother and father’s very different personalities would always war inside him, he supposed. Striving to be the best of both of them was his life’s work. His mother had bequeathed vision and passion, while his father had instilled in him a stern sense of responsibility that insisted his life in the city must always take precedence, because it was here that he cared for his sister and ran a business upon which countless families depended for their livelihood. This thought was only underlined when he noticed Annalisa’s fiancé, the Prince, ignoring the wait staff as he strode out of the restaurant, surrounded by his cronies.
‘Where is he going?’ he asked Annalisa as she stared after the Prince with concern.
‘To a club, I think...to celebrate our engagement,’ she added quickly when he stared at her, frowning.
‘The very least the staff deserve after such a marvellous evening is a word of thanks. And shouldn’t you have a lift home? Don’t worry, I’ll take you,’ he said, seeing Annalisa’s crestfallen expression. Why such a generous-hearted woman should attract such selfish men was utterly beyond him.
He made up for the Prince’s oversight by giving the staff the recognition they deserved, and he enjoyed talking to each of them in turn to thank them personally for making the evening so special for his sister. His only irritation was that when it came to showing his appreciation to the woman who’d saved the night, Sadie was nowhere to be found.
* * *
Resting back on her narrow bed in the attic room above the restaurant, Sadie sighed with relief and contentment...marred with just a little bit of racing heartbeat, thanks to a pair of dangerous dark eyes that kept flashing back and forth inside her mind. At least she could report to Chef Sorollo that everything had gone well. And now that she was back in her safe place, she was confident she would never need anything more than this.
Except relief from images of the Duque de Alegon, Sadie concluded with an impatient huff as she punched her pillows into submission. Turning over repeatedly also failed to banish the all too vivid picture of Alejandro de Alegon. It was ridiculous. She’d probably never see him again. Which would be far better for all concerned, Sadie concluded. He stirred such turbulent feelings inside her, and she’d learned as a small child that passion was a destructive force that led to nowhere but anger and violence. Witnessing her parents’ unhappy relationship had more than proved that.
Closing her eyes, she turned her thoughts determinedly to what had been an astonishing evening. What a setting! What a night! The team had really proved their worth. And then there were the looks she’d shared with Don Alegon...she’d remember those for ever.
So much for blotting him out of her mind!
Alejandro...
She murmured his name out loud, for the pleasure of tasting it on her tongue. Imagining his firm lips on hers, and his lean, bronzed hands leading her towards the type of pleasure she couldn’t even imagine, was inevitable.
And that’s enough! she told herself firmly. However wonderful the evening had been, she would wake up in a few hours, shower and change, ready to prepare lunch.
* * *
Service in the restaurant at lunchtime the next day didn’t go as smoothly as Sadie had anticipated. It seemed incredible that, yet again, a crisis had stopped everyone in their tracks.
‘Oh, my God, no!’ Sadie exclaimed, incapable of hiding her feelings when she heard the news. Gripping the stainless-steel countertop to steady herself, she tried to take in the newsflash on a colleague’s phone. Complete with lurid pictures, it showed a car crash, and the text underneath read that Alejandro, the Duque de Alegon, and his sister, Annalisa, had been innocent victims of a pile-up on their way home from a party last night at El Gato Feroz.
Seeing Annalisa so happy only hours before, and Alejandro so vital and strong, she hardly dared to ask the question. ‘Are they badly hurt?’
One of her fellow chefs was quick to reassure her. ‘They were relatively unscathed, it says in a later bulletin,’ he explained, showing her the screen on his phone. ‘It’s a miracle, some are saying, especially as Don Alegon risked his life, saving his sister from the smoke-filled car. They’re keeping them in hospital as a precautionary measure only, it says here.’
‘His sister would be dead if the Duke hadn’t been such a hero,’ a waiter added. ‘Apparently, he barely had time to free her before the car exploded.’
‘Sadie, are you okay?’ a colleague asked with concern. ‘Shall I get you a drink of water?’
‘It’s fortunate the Duke drank water last night, unlike the Prince and his friends,’ one of the waitresses chipped in. ‘Don Alegon drank one beer, and then he was on water for the rest of the night.’
‘It says so here in the report,’ Sadie confirmed as she read the screen over her fellow chef’s shoulder. ‘The police have confirmed that Don Alegon had not been drinking to excess and was in no way responsible for the crash.’
‘Look, here’s a picture of the party,’ one of Sadie’s colleagues exclaimed excitedly, holding up her phone. ‘There’s a picture of you, Sadie, when you came out of the kitchen and everyone applauded. What great publicity for the restaurant. Chef Sorollo will be thrilled.’
‘Yes,’ Sadie murmured as the phone was pushed under her nose. She blushed to see Alejandro’s black gaze fixed on her face. ‘Maybe we could send him some food from the kitchen,’ she murmured distractedly, hoping no one else had noticed Don Alegon devouring her with his eyes.
When her colleagues chorused, ‘What a good idea,’ she progressed the thought. ‘Some delicacies,’ Sadie mused out loud, already working out a menu in her head. ‘Something to tempt the invalid.’ A voice in her head suggested Don Alegon would not be a typical invalid but would rail against his enforced confinement.
However bad a mood he was in, he’d saved his sister, and that was good enough for Sadie. She would prepare a feast that even Alejandro at his angriest would find impossible to resist.
* * *
‘What the hell is this?’ Lifting the red-and-white gingham cloth that had been so carefully arranged over the wicker basket, Alejandro lost no time in firing the contents into the bin.
‘You ungrateful brute!’ his sister railed at him, eyes blazing with fury. ‘How could you?’
‘Whoever sent this must think I’m not capable of ordering in!’
‘Chef Sadie sent it,’ Annalisa fired back. ‘It was a very kind thought. You should be ashamed of yourself,’ his sister finished with an angry gesture worthy of any great actress.
Sadie had sent this? He scanned the delicacies in the bin, regretting now that he’d been so hasty. His customary good manners had utterly deserted him, thanks to this enforced stay in hospital. It didn’t help his temper one bit—having imagined himself invincible—that Annalisa had been discharged from hospital before him.
‘If you weren’t my brother and you hadn’t saved my life, I’d be ashamed of you,’ Annalisa now assured him. ‘I am ashamed of you. How dare you throw this kindness back in Sadie’s face? Who else would send you food?’ Shoving a stiff white card under his nose, she commanded, ‘Read this. She’s signed it and so has every member of staff at El Gato Feroz. I hope it makes you feel as bad as you should, you monster.’
‘Back in bed!’ The sharp voice from the doorway startled them both. It was the ward sister making her rounds. ‘You breathed in a lot of smoke, Don Alegon,’ she told him, ‘and what you need now is rest.’
‘What I need now is to get out of here,’ he argued tensely. ‘And what about my sister? She was in the accident too. Shouldn’t she be resting?’
‘I managed to keep my head out of the window,’ Annalisa piped up, ‘so I was breathing fresh air. Braving the smoke to save me forced you to breathe in a lot of smoke, so do as the ward sister says and get back into bed.’
‘Am I a caged beast now?’ he grumbled, only to be greeted by peals of laughter from both women.
‘You’re an ungrateful beast,’ Annalisa confirmed, and as the ward sister left them to continue her rounds she began to forage in the bin. ‘What if I had wanted to eat some of this?’
Fortunately most of it was boxed and, having salvaged a container of freshly baked macarrones, Annalisa was cramming her favourites into her mouth before offering the rest to him. He refused, of course.
‘You don’t deserve anyone to be kind to you,’ she flashed. ‘The least you can do is write a thank-you note to Sadie for preparing all this lovely food.’
He growled but found he couldn’t summon up any anger. Quite a different emotion was plaguing him at the thought of Sadie going to all this trouble, and it was one that ensured that as soon as he was discharged, he would thank Sadie in person.
‘You’re still my responsibility,’ he informed Annalisa, ‘and you’ll do as I say.’
‘Oh?’ she queried. ‘Am I not in the charge of my soon-to-be husband?’
‘That puny excuse for a man,’ he bit out, no longer able to hide his true feelings for his sister’s fiancé in his present state of mind. Annalisa wouldn’t even have been in the car accident if her fiancé had done what he was supposed to have done and taken care of her, escorting her home. ‘Tell me you sent him packing?’ Hope rose inside him when his sister hesitated before answering.
‘Take a note, Don Alejandro,’ Annalisa retorted, smashing his hopes into the ground. ‘I’m all grown up, and I’ll make my own decisions without consulting you first.’
‘Is it over?’ he pressed.
‘None of your business. And you can stay in bed,’ she added sharply. ‘I won’t have you towering over me and attempting to bend me to your will.’
As if, he thought, trying not to smile. ‘Where are you going now?’ he demanded as Annalisa made for the door.
‘To El Gato Feroz,’ she fired back. ‘One of us has to thank Chef Sadie, if only to prove that not all the Alegons are arrogant, ungrateful brutes.’
‘Come back here!’
‘No,’ she flashed. ‘If you can’t do anything to help yourself, then it’s up to me to do something to help you.’ Leaving him with that disturbing thought, his sister stormed out.
The spartan hospital room was unbearably quiet when Annalisa left. Was she right? Was Annalisa ready to take charge of her life, and was he guilty of interfering? Caring for his sister had been such an overwhelming force inside him for so long, he didn’t know how to let it go. The thought that Annalisa might need space from him had never occurred to him before, and would take some getting used to.
Where better to do that than in the mountains he loved, where his lungs would soon heal? He would discharge himself. The accident had put life in perspective, proving how fragile it was, and allowing him to see that he had never examined his grief of losing his parents. There hadn’t been chance with the weight of responsibility eating up every minute of every day. Annalisa and the business had always taken priority over personal concerns, but he couldn’t carry out his duties effectively with such an unreasonably short fuse. The time had come to heal his soul as well as his body.
CHAPTER THREE (#ua235d89c-8fd2-5a26-9306-264494a6a5d4)
SADIE EXCLAIMED WITH happy surprise when Annalisa Alegon turned up at the restaurant. ‘Señorita de Alegon! How lovely to see you again, and what a relief to see you looking so well!’
Annalisa looked gorgeous in a simple, flower-patterned summer dress that showed off her bronzed limbs to best advantage. She had teamed the sky-blue confection with delicate strappy sandals, huge sunglasses, and a beribboned straw hat with a wide brim on top of her flowing black hair.
‘And your brother?’ Sadie held her breath as she waited for the answer.
‘First off, I am, and always will be, Annalisa to you,’ Annalisa insisted as she enveloped Sadie in a hug. ‘As for my brother? Predictably, he’s grouchy. Confinement doesn’t suit him.’ She shrugged. ‘Our heritage, I suppose. But let’s not talk about him. I’m here to thank you for last night. It was such a wonderful occasion. And, of course, for the delicious treats you sent to the hospital.’
At the mention of the word hospital, Sadie paled. ‘Was your brother able to enjoy the food I sent over?’
Annalisa slanted an amused look at Sadie. ‘He was most appreciative.’
Her face remained carefully expressionless, leaving Sadie free to guess the rest. ‘All I care about is that you’re both safe. It was such a shock to hear about the accident.’
‘I’d have been burnt to a crisp without Alejandro,’ Annalisa stated bluntly. ‘He’s the best of men, you know.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ Sadie agreed politely.
‘Are you all right?’ she asked suddenly, with concern, keen to divert attention away from how she felt about Alejandro.
‘A little delayed shock, I think,’ Annalisa admitted with a dismissive shrug. ‘Inevitable, I suppose. An accident like that really shakes you up and proves how vulnerable we all are. I keep thinking, what would I do without Alejandro?’
Sadie smiled. ‘I saw how close you are.’ It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if Annalisa’s fiancé had taken care of her too, but instinct kept her quiet. She hadn’t liked the Prince, or his friends. ‘So, your brother’s to remain in hospital?’ she asked instead.
‘And as stubborn as ever,’ Annalisa confirmed. ‘Though knowing Alejandro, I doubt they’ll be able to keep him there for long.’
‘Shouldn’t he give himself chance to recover? I heard he inhaled a lot of smoke.’
‘True, but Alejandro taking things slowly is never going to happen. And he has his own ideas when it comes to convalescing. Chopping logs, swimming in freezing cold lakes and riding flat out on the plateau above the mountains suits him better than a hospital bed. Quite literally anything that takes him away from the city for a while. You wouldn’t know him when he visits our mother’s people. He’s a different man. They regard him as a king, but Alejandro assures me that it’s only when he’s in the mountains that he’s pared down to the better man beneath all the hype and celebrity that status brings him in Madrid.’
Fascinated, Sadie was desperate to learn more. ‘Can I offer you a coffee, or perhaps a cold drink?’
‘I’d love a coffee, if you’ve got time,’ Annalisa agreed.
Sadie would make time, not just to learn more about a man who had affected her so profoundly, but because Annalisa looked a little lost, as if she needed a friend to confide in as much as Sadie. ‘Of course I’ve got time,’ she confirmed warmly as she indicated an empty table where they could sit.
Annalisa’s opening gambit couldn’t have surprised Sadie more. ‘I don’t want to cause any trouble,’ she said as they sat down.
‘Drinking coffee?’ Sadie remarked lightly, wondering what was coming next. ‘I don’t think there’s too much risk in that. If there’s anything at all I can help you with...’ she added as Annalisa played with her coffee spoon.
‘There is something you could help me with,’ Annalisa blurted. ‘I’m worried about my brother. He’s far more important to me than anyone else.’
‘You’re worried about Don Alegon?’
‘Alejandro,’ Annalisa prompted.
‘Well, Alejandro seems tough enough to withstand whatever life throws at him.’ Unless his injuries were worse than the press had reported, Sadie thought with a stab of alarm. ‘His condition hasn’t deteriorated, has it?’
‘No,’ Annalisa exclaimed quickly, to reassure them both, Sadie thought.
‘His voice is still scratchy, and, of course, he could do with some fuss, as well as someone he’ll actually listen to when they tell him to slow down. It’s just a pity I can’t get up to the mountains at the moment, because I have other things to sort out.’
‘If there’s anything I can do—’
‘With my brother heading to Sierra Nevada—and I know he will once he leaves hospital—he’ll need someone to care for him—to make sure he eats his food—that sort of thing—someone he’ll listen to when they tell him not to overdo the exercise...’
Annalisa was being a little optimistic, Sadie thought, and there was something suspiciously like a question in her eyes. ‘Oh, no, I can’t,’ Sadie said quickly.
‘Even slight damage to the lungs can be quite serious,’ Annalisa added, adopting a mournful look. ‘I really think he needs someone to supervise his recovery.’
‘I can imagine how that would go down,’ Sadie commented dryly.
‘But if anyone could do it, you could,’ Annalisa insisted, brightening as she continued to work on convincing Sadie.
‘You’re asking me to go there uninvited?’
‘I’d explain to my brother first,’ Annalisa assured her with eyes that were wide and appealing.
‘So, let me get this straight. You’re asking me to go to the Sierra Nevada mountains to look after your brother who doesn’t know I’m coming?’
‘Until I tell him,’ Annalisa exclaimed.
‘And you would tell him?’
‘Of course—and you’ll love it there,’ she added enthusiastically. ‘It might not be Madrid, but the mountains are very beautiful, and I’ve never seen my brother’s face light up as it does when he looks at you.’
‘What?’
‘Obviously, your food is delicious,’ Annalisa said, backtracking fast. ‘But I know he likes you too. And with food being the way to a man’s heart...’
The persuasive tactics continued, as Annalisa remained stubbornly oblivious to Sadie’s growing doubts as to the wisdom of her plan.
Convinced she was being set up, Sadie finally interrupted. ‘Surely a man like Alejandro can employ any chef in the world?’
‘He loves your food best,’ Annalisa countered quickly. ‘And I’m sure he’d recover faster if you’re on hand.’
On hand? Sadie queried silently. To do what? More than cooking? Annalisa might be a novice matchmaker, but she had made a great case, and Sadie was actually severely tempted to go to the mountains to discover if Alejandro really was a different man when he was there. Sensibly, she resisted the temptation and made her refusal as gentle as she could. ‘I don’t think I’m the right person for the job, but I might be able to find a private chef who I’m sure would be only too pleased to cook for your brother.’
‘He wants you—’ Annalisa blushed furiously. ‘I mean, he wants you to cook for him. It’s your food he likes. Please say you’ll do it. I don’t have time to interview any other applicants, and I’m afraid for his health.’
‘His scratchy voice?’ Sadie remarked dryly.
‘Busted,’ Annalisa conceded with a theatrical huff. Sitting back, she cocked her chin to share an amused look with Sadie. ‘But, honestly, he does need you, and as his sister I have a duty to tell you that. Come on, Sadie—what do you have to lose? If you hate him, you can take a look at the antiquated kitchen. You’d be doing both of us a favour if you could offer suggestions on its renovation.’
‘Doesn’t he have a housekeeper to do that?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Annalisa confirmed, ‘but it’s not her job to redesign the kitchen, and you have so much more experience...’
‘Please,’ she added after both women had been silent for a while. ‘Alejandro does so much for everyone, and I want to do something for him.’
‘I’m not sure he likes me as much as you think he does. We’ve only met once, though I’m very pleased to hear that he likes my cooking. But if he goes to the mountains for solitude, and to be himself, as you have explained, I can’t imagine he’ll want to see me.’
‘But you can handle him. You won’t let him boss you around. And, of course, you’ll make him eat all that delicious food you prepare.’
‘Spoon-feed him?’ Sadie suggested, tongue-in-cheek.
‘You can try,’ Annalisa agreed with a laugh. ‘Please...for me,’ she repeated as Sadie drained her coffee. ‘You’ve nothing to worry about. He prefers horses to people, and keeps his best mounts at his mountain retreat, so you’ll probably hardly ever see him.’
Sadie pushed her cup and saucer to one side, giving them a few moments of thinking space. ‘I’d really love to help,’ she admitted, staring Annalisa in the eyes, ‘but it’s impossible for me to leave the restaurant.’
‘Who says you can’t?’ Chef Sorollo demanded as he walked past.
‘You’re back,’ Sadie exclaimed with relief, springing up. ‘Is everything all right at home?’
‘Yes, thank you. False alarm. I was more concerned to hear about the car crash,’ he added, and, turning to Annalisa, he took both her hands in his. ‘How are you, Señorita Alegon, and how is your brother?’
Explanations and expressions of relief were exchanged, before Chef Sorollo turned back to Sadie. ‘Did I just overhear you saying that you can’t take any time off work? I’m back, as you can see,’ he declared expansively, tapping his chest with both hands, ‘and no one deserves a break more than you. You’re no good to me exhausted, Sadie.’
‘Exactly what I was thinking,’ Annalisa exclaimed, brightening now that she had an ally and success within her grasp. ‘I’ve just explained to Sadie that if she could possibly go and cook for my brother for a little while, it would aid his recovery—’
‘Good thinking,’ Chef Sorollo cut in, and, carrying the baton forward, he added, ‘Your brother did ask me if I could visit his mountain retreat at some point, to advise on the renovation of the kitchen. Why, Sadie, that’s the perfect job for you!’
Set-up! sounded loud in Sadie’s ears, but what could she do about it, when two of the nicest people she knew had decided to range their forces against her?
‘The mountain air will do you good,’ Chef Sorollo declared. ‘It will be so refreshing, and, apart from advising on the kitchen, you can source some new recipes for El Gato Feroz. Perfect!’ he enthused. ‘The cuisine in the mountain villages is said to be second to none. Good. I’m glad that’s settled,’ he added before Sadie had chance to say a word.
‘So, you’ll do it?’ Annalisa asked, barely able to contain her excitement as she leaned across the table.
The alternative was to refuse to do something for Chef Sorollo, who had done so much for Sadie. ‘Yes,’ Sadie confirmed, biting down on everything else she’d like to say, but couldn’t when it involved her mentor. She might have felt marginally more upbeat about the forthcoming trip if she hadn’t seen the glint of amusement in the great chef’s eyes.
* * *
The sun was blazing down in the village square when Sadie finally arrived in the mountains after a long and tiring journey. She was somewhere close to Alejandro’s mountain retreat, but wasn’t sure of the precise details, as Annalisa had promised someone would meet her. Well, that someone hadn’t turned up. She’d been waiting for the promised lift for about an hour while village life bustled on around her. At least the surroundings were magnificent. Shading her eyes, she stared up at the majestic snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada, noticing that the paths leading up were steep and rocky, and utterly uninviting in the heat of the sun.
Seeing an elderly lady looking at Sadie as if she would like to help, Sadie asked, ‘El Castillo Fuego?’
‘Es menos de tres millas—’
‘I’m sorry?’
The elderly woman pointed out a tree-lined track.
‘It’s less than three miles to the castle,’ she explained in heavily accented English. ‘Once you get past the smooth lower slopes the trail is a bit tricky, but you should arrive before it gets too hot for walking if you leave now,’ she added helpfully.
‘So, there’s no transport going up there?’ Sadie asked, hope dwindling as she stared apprehensively at the long and winding path.
‘There is only walking, or the helicopter used by El Duque.’ This was said with a glow of admiration in the old lady’s voice.
‘Excellent,’ Sadie said, trying not to sound too dejected.
‘There are some mule trains...’
Sadie brightened.
‘But not today.’
‘Well, thank you very much for the information.’ She held back on her thoughts of El Duque soaring effortlessly up the mountain to his secluded retreat, leaving her to slog up to his remote castle on foot.
‘You can’t miss El Castillo Fuego,’ the old lady promised as Sadie adjusted a backpack that seemed to have doubled in weight at the prospect of the climb ahead. ‘It dominates the landscape for miles around.’
‘I can’t wait to see it.’ Determined she wouldn’t be beaten, she added brightly, ‘And thank you again for the help.’
Well, at least she had a plan now. Arrive. Feed the invalid. Assess the kitchen. Leave.
Sadie remained upbeat for approximately five hundred yards, after which it became clear that working in a kitchen had done nothing to prepare her for the outdoor life. If this was ‘smooth’ walking, she dreaded to think what the top part of the track would be like.
* * *
This was what he needed, Alejandro concluded as his stallion picked a safe route down the path. Freedom, fresh air, with just the wind in his face and the sound of the nearby waterfall cascading down the cliff, punctuated by the intermittent cry of an eagle.
And a cry for help?
In English?
In a voice that sounded uncannily like Chef Sadie’s?
Instantly, he saw his sister’s hand in this. Not satisfied with mollycoddling him after the accident, Annalisa had sent what she perceived to be an angel of mercy to cook for him. And now the angel needed assistance.
Urging his horse around a rocky outcrop faster than safety allowed, he found himself confronted by the most astonishing scene.
His stallion snorted its disapproval as he brought it skidding to a halt. Assessing the situation at a glance, he saw that Sadie was in no real danger, but she was lucky he’d ridden by. Poorly prepared for the mountains, she’d been let down by her footwear on the rocky trail. She’d slipped on the shale, and the straps of her backpack had become entangled in a tree. At the angle she was caught, she had no chance of freeing herself, but her feet were on the ground, so she was in no danger of falling any further down the slope.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he demanded.
‘Hanging around?’
He wasn’t amused. ‘For how long?’
‘Ten minutes or so. Does it matter?’
‘It would if I hadn’t ridden by.’
Her scowl made him laugh.
‘You think this is funny?’ she flashed with a frown.
What might have maddened him in the city—Sadie’s naivety; the risk she’d taken to walk up a track she didn’t know—irritated him, but relief that he had found her overcame everything...not that he wouldn’t make her suffer for a while.
‘Are you just going to sit there?’ she demanded.
‘Don’t tempt me.’
Her answer was a snort of disgust.
The slope of the land meant they were at eye level, and if the straps on her backpack gave way, the worst that could happen was that she would roll a couple of yards down the hill. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got time for this,’ he said as he wheeled his horse around. ‘Thor is hungry and impatient to get home. If he should bolt—’
‘Bolt?’ she scoffed. ‘Weren’t you bornin the saddle?’
‘In a caravan, actually.’
She shrugged. ‘If you’ve finished staring, I’d appreciate a hand getting down.’
‘You haven’t told me why you’re here,’ he said, and with considerable restraint, in his opinion.
‘I’m supposed to be checking out your kitchens, as requested by Chef Sorollo, so I can advise on a refurbishment,’ she informed him tetchily, ‘but I can hardly do that while I’m swinging from a tree.’
‘Clearly.’ His lips pressed down as he frowned. ‘I did ask Chef Sorollo for advice.’
‘And he decided to send me. Now can you please get me down?’
He was in no hurry. The view was good from here. Sadie’s hair was a rich, vibrant red-gold, and he’d never seen it cascading free before. It fell to her waist in such glorious abandon, he could imagine it would look that way after they made love.
‘And Annalisa said you needed someone to take care of you,’ she added. ‘Apparently, there was some damage to your voice? Are you okay?’ she asked with sudden concern.
‘I appear to be.’
She appeared relieved, and then she bridled. ‘No hurry,’ she said sarcastically. ‘I’m happy to hang around here all day.’
‘In that case—’
‘Don’t you dare,’ she warned as he turned his horse.
‘You’ll keep.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ she yelled after him.
He rode a short distance before coming back. ‘Thank goodness,’ she exclaimed with relief. ‘You are going to get me down?’ she asked with sudden doubt ringing in her voice.
He shrugged. ‘Both Thor and I need feeding.’
She said something rude under her breath while he positioned his stallion beneath her. Unsheathing his knife, he sliced through the straps of her backpack, and as she fell, he caught her. Lifting her onto the saddle in front of him, he locked an arm around her waist. ‘You are the most annoying woman I have ever met. Either you won’t see me, or I can’t get away from you. And only the fact that I refuse to leave you to plague the poor mountain lions when they come to eat you encourages me to take you with me. We’ll discuss your stupidity in the morning,’ he added over Sadie’s spluttering reply.
‘My stupidity?’ she exclaimed with affront.
‘Wandering around a mountain you’re unfamiliar with, in unsuitable clothing? What else would you call it?’
‘I was told I’d be met when I arrived,’ she countered hotly.
‘Well, no one told me,’ he assured her, ‘or I would have instructed you not to come.’
‘Instructed me?’ she exclaimed with outrage.
So, there was fire beneath that cool exterior. It seemed the mountains had changed them both.
Urging his stallion forward when they hit a flatter piece of ground, he said, ‘I hope you can ride.’
‘I’ve been riding since I was a child,’ she told him. ‘So, you’re quite safe to let me go.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that. My stallion’s suffered enough delay for one day, and the last thing I need is you falling off.’
As she huffed her displeasure, he registered how good it felt to have Sadie pressed up hard against him. She was more toned than he had expected, though soft in all the right places. Strong, yet vulnerable, he thought, and, though he had briefly resented the fact that his precious solitude had been interrupted, he found himself looking forward to the next few days. ‘Hold on,’ he said as he pushed Thor into a gallop when they reached some flat ground.
‘Do you think I’m going to drop off like a pile of old rubbish?’
‘I wouldn’t describe you quite like that,’ he said dryly as Sadie turned to flash him an angry glance.
‘How would you describe me?’ she asked after a few moments when she had settled into the rhythm of his horse.
He smiled and said nothing. That was one question he had no intention of answering just yet.
CHAPTER FOUR (#ua235d89c-8fd2-5a26-9306-264494a6a5d4)
ALEJANDRO FELT INCREDIBLE as they rode together in perfect harmony. Muscular, hard, fit and strong, he was so confident and commanding on horseback. As Annalisa had predicted, he was very different in the mountains. There was even the suggestion of a sense of humour, which only added to his blistering appeal. Hot as hell in banged-up jeans and a tightly fitting T-shirt, faded through years of use, and smelling of sunshine and warm, clean man, he was no longer the stern aristocrat, the stylish Don, but a rugged man of the mountains with wild hair and dangerous eyes. He was also relaxed enough to tease, which felt like the prelude to something else...something far more alarming, and yet exciting. It wasn’t every day she got to ride a formidable stallion with a man as competent on horseback as Alejandro.
Would he be as good at everything else?
Almost certainly, Sadie decided, smiling at the thought of spending time with him.
‘You sit well on a horse,’ he said, distracting her from these dangerous thoughts.
She had to take several deep, steadying breaths, straighten up and put a few inches between them before she could even think straight enough to answer this observation. ‘I spent a lot of time in the stables as a child,’ she admitted. When it had been a case of doing anything to put distance between Sadie and her warring parents. ‘Horses were always the best company, I found.’ Just as well, since friends weren’t allowed in the house. Her mother would always say there were too many antiques for them to damage.
‘I think the owner of the nearby stables must have got fed up, seeing me peering longingly through his fence, and so he taught me to ride. I haven’t had much opportunity to ride a horse since then, because I’ve been working, but this is fabulous and I’m really enjoying it.’
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