“A lot. Not enough and too much, all at once.” She laughed, but it sounded downright manic. “There’s so much I need to tell you. I don’t know where to start.”
Unable to stop himself, he reached out, settled his hand over hers where it rested on the arm of her chair. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. You can tell me later—or never.”
“I appreciate that, really I do. And I need to tell you. You need to be prepared for when we meet with the Worth brothers. My half-brothers—there’s no denying it now. I believe everything my mother said.” She slipped her hand from beneath his, and he tried not to be offended. Because really, if he was, how much more of a jackass could he be? “I feel like I’m about to come out of my skin. Want to get out of here for a few hours?”
He frowned. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m terribly serious. We have to be back by dinnertime because my mother will be joining us.” She tapped her finger against her lips, her gaze pensive. “Something else I need to talk to you about, you need to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?” he asked warily. That didn’t sound good.
“I’ll tell you later. I swear. But first, let’s go. Did you bring swim trunks?”
“Uh, no. Hadn’t planned on swimming while we were here.” He hadn’t planned for this to turn into any semblance of a real vacation either.
“I’ll find some. My brothers always leave a few pairs at the house. One of them has to be close to your size, most likely Rafe. I’ll have Renzo send them to the tower and I’ll go change. Meet you by the car in fifteen minutes?”
“All right.” He watched as she leapt to her feet, moving at lightning-fast speed as she started for the house. She seemed frantic, frazzled, which wasn’t like her. The conversation with her mother must’ve upset her greatly, not that he was about to pry.
Though really he had every justification in the world to pry. She was his client. He needed to know everything so he was armed and ready before he faced the Worth brothers’ wrath.
She stopped, as if she remembered something, and turned to look at him. “I just need a few hours away from this place, you know? Away from everything.” She smiled, her gaze meeting his. “Thanks, Gavin.”
“No problem.” He had no idea what she was thanking him for but if she kept looking at him like that, she should watch out. He might grab her and pull her in for a kiss.
And never let her go.
Stasia took him to the public beach, where it was crowded and noisy and so damned distracting she forgot all her troubles in an instant. Focused instead on the warm sand beneath her feet, the giant, bright orange umbrella that gave them a bit of shade from the otherwise intense heat. She shed the skimpy dress she’d tossed on as a cover up before they left, stuffing it into her giant bag before she settled onto the lounge chair.
“You going to join me?” She lifted her sunglasses so they rested on her forehead, enjoyed seeing Gavin so completely out of his element. All around them people chattered in Italian, with a sprinkling of French and Spanish thrown in for good measure, the beach heavily populated with tourists and locals alike.
And there stood Gavin, glancing around warily, still clad in a faded red T-shirt and the black swim trunks borrowed from one of her brothers. The sunglasses he wore were borrowed as well, and they shielded his eyes, which was a damn shame. Though they rarely gave up his real thoughts or motives, she did enjoy drowning in his pretty green gaze.
Not that she’d ever admit such a crazy thing…
Looking sexily disgruntled, he pulled his T-shirt off in that one-handed way men had, letting it fall to the ground so it would get trampled and covered in sand by the time they left. He dropped onto the lounge chair next to hers, sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the majority of men who were tanned beyond reason and wearing skimpy Speedo-type swimsuits. How would he look in one of those types of swimsuits? Foolish or damn good?
She had a feeling it would be the latter.
“I can’t believe you wanted to come here,” he muttered as he settled into the chair. “This beach is packed. Wall-to-wall.”
“I know, isn’t it great?” She sighed, settled her sunglasses over her eyes and drew her legs up so they were bent at the knee. Wrapping her arms around them, she hugged herself. “I needed the distraction.”
“What your mother said must’ve really shaken you.”
Stasia nodded, didn’t bother looking his way. Too afraid if she saw any trace of emotion, a hint of sympathy, she might lose it. “It did. Funny how I expected it all yet it was a shock to hear anyway.”
“At least it’s confirmation, right?”
“Yes, right. It is definitely confirmation.” And she didn’t know how to deal with it or what to do next. She was lost. Completely and totally lost, and the only lifeline she seemed to have at the moment was a certain attorney who was sitting next to her, looking at her as if she’d completely gone insane.
Which might be close to the truth, but she couldn’t dwell on it now. Keeping her gaze glued on the sea stretched out before them, she decided to go for it. “She thinks we’re together.”
She felt more than saw his head whip in her direction. “What did you just say?”
Glancing at him, she noted his incredulous expression. No surprise there. “You heard me.” She was sure he did.
“Who thinks who’s together?”
“My mother thinks the two of us are together. Like we’re a couple, seeing each other. Dating.”
“And you told her I was your attorney and nothing more, right?” His voice was firm, sending a shiver down her spine. Not a good one, either.
“Nope.” She shook her head, feeling one thousand times the fool. “I didn’t. I didn’t want to scare her.”
“Jesus, Stasia.” She dared to glance his way. He raked his fingers through his hair in that universally frustrated way, the anger emanating from him palpable.
“Shit. This is just great,” he muttered. “I need a drink.”
“That is the last thing you need and you know it.”
“Be proud of yourself. You’re driving me to drink.”
“Gavin…”
He cut her off. “Don’t try and placate me. This is a bad idea, us pretending that we’re together.”
Disappointment crashed through her, which was ridiculous. What happened between them last night didn’t mean a thing to him. She’d assumed from the start it had been some sort of release for him and she’d been merely the vessel for him to take advantage of. He didn’t care about her. He could hardly stand to be around her, most of the time.
Like now.
He stood. She could feel his steady glare upon her, even shielded behind his sunglasses. “I’m going in the water. I need to cool down.”
Without waiting for a reply from her, he left, moving between the rows of lounge chairs, pushing his way through the crowds of people that stood on the edge of the beach. She watched him go, admiring the width of his back, the play of muscles beneath his lightly bronzed skin. His passing turned more than a few female heads, not that she blamed them. A woman couldn’t
not
admire Gavin as he walked past.
She ignored the jealously spiking within her. As if she had any right. She had no claim on the man. One night beside the pool didn’t make them a couple.
With a sigh, she flopped onto the lounger, staring up at the clear blue sky. She couldn’t disappoint her mother by telling her the truth, could she? She was in a fragile enough state. Thinking that her poor, lost daughter at least had a man to cling to most likely had given Claudia Renaldi reassurance.
But what if Gavin was so mad he wanted to leave? How could Stasia explain his abrupt departure?
Closing her eyes, she breathed deep, trying to calm her racing heart. This was a mess. She hadn’t expected to get so tangled up in her emotions, so tangled up in her feelings for Gavin, whatever they were. Confusing, baffling, irritating, exhilarating, they were all that and more.
Incredibly hard to deal with too, especially since the man she felt all of this for wanted nothing to do with her.
Deciding to hell with it, she left her lounge chair, followed the same path Gavin took to the edge of the water. She stood there, staring into the distance, trying to locate him when he miraculously appeared. He wasn’t too far out, the water almost chest deep as he faced the beach. She felt his gaze on her, knew he was watching her, but he didn’t beckon her to join him.
Well, too damn bad. She was going out there anyway. They needed to draw up some sort of plan so they could figure out how to handle her mother and she couldn’t let him avoid her.
She walked straight into the warm water, never taking her eyes off him as she approached. He didn’t move either, seemed prepared to wait for her and when she finally waded out far enough that she was close to him, she finally spoke.
“Ignoring me isn’t going to fix this predicament we’re in.”
“Since you’re the one who put us in it, I’d love to hear your suggestions on how we might fix this.” The sarcasm in his voice was beyond evident.
She treaded water, her mind awhirl with all sorts of solutions. None of them would appease this man. “Can’t you do this one favor for me? We won’t be here long. And it’s not like you have to make declarations of your love for me in front of my mother.”
“We’ll be lying to her, Stasia. Isn’t that why you’re so upset with her? Because she’s lied to you your entire life?”
Well. He had her there. “I already told her we were together.”
“And you don’t want to look like a liar.”
“I don’t want to disappoint my mother,” she blurted. That was closer to the truth. She knew her mother wanted her happy. If she could help ease the burden of guilt that had weighed so heavily on her for so long, then Stasia would do whatever she could.
That she could forgive her mother so easily would probably anger her brothers. Gavin too. But she couldn’t help it. She’d always had a soft heart.
“Why not? Sounds like she’s been disappointing you your whole life.”
She flinched at the words he flung so carelessly, like sharp weapons that sliced through her skin. Without another word she turned, struggled against the water as she headed back to shore.
“Stasia, wait,” he called after her, but she ignored him. Tried her best to pick up the pace and get away from him as quick as she could, but the waves had swelled, sweeping over her and sending her underwater.
She emerged seconds later, coughing and sputtering, pushing her wet hair away from her face. The saltwater burned her lips, stung her eyes and a fresh burst of determination fueled her on.
Only to be thwarted by two large hands grabbing her by the waist and stopping her progress.
“Let me go.” The curvy, wet bundle of pissed-off woman struggled against his hold, her backside brushing against his front, sending a fresh surge of lust straight through him. Obliterating the anger and absolute frustration he’d felt toward her only minutes ago.
Irritating as hell, this connection he had with Stasia. Gavin didn’t understand it. Couldn’t ignore it no matter how much he wanted to.
“You’re mad.” He hauled her close, his mouth just above her ear. “What I said was really shitty.”
“Terribly shitty,” she agreed. The more emotional she became, the thicker her accent grew. It was sexy as hell.
“I was angry. You’ve put me in a spot I really don’t want to be in.” If she didn’t stop rubbing that delectable ass against him, he was going to lose it.
“I’m sorry.” She stiffened, tension radiating from her in not-so-subtle waves. “I’ve been put in the same spot, you know. And I’m not happy about it either.”
“I know.” Really, he did. Taking a deep breath, he decided to do what normally didn’t come naturally for him. Apologize. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He loosened his grip on her but still kept her close, enjoying her wet, warm skin pressed to his. His hands rested just below her breasts and without thought he lifted his thumb, caressing the underside of her breast.
She jerked against him. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” He pulled her with him further out, till both of them were treading water, the waves rocking them back and forth. She felt good nestled against him. He’d wanted to strangle her when she admitted what she’d told her mother. It felt like this entire case was nothing but lies piled on top of lies.
Yet here he was, falling into her seductive trap. Funny how he found her even more attractive when she was madder than hell at him. He never knew he was such a sadist.
“Stop—touching me.”
He swiped his thumb slowly across her nipple, felt the bit of flesh harden beneath his touch. He was a complete jerk for doing this to her, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
“I can’t help it. Every time I get near you, I need to put my hands on you.” He gave her a little squeeze. “Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all, pretending we’re together.”
“I thought you hated it.”
“I don’t like lying to your mother. I don’t like lying to anyone.” He drew his finger upward, along the outer edge of her breast, to trace the string that tied at the back of her neck. “It’s not such a hardship, though. Touching you, wanting to be close to you.”