CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It wasn’t easy for Marco to walk on the shingle as his soft Italian loafers squelched in the boggy sand and water oozed over the top after a few minutes. He made a note to buy some walking boots when they found the high street.
Once he had Sapphire in his sights he slowed down, taking time to think about her words and accepting that she was right. He’d given out way too many conflicting messages as he struggled with remaining professional, while fighting down the attraction he felt towards her.
He could of course rectify the problem by firing her, leaving them both free to have a relationship if they wanted to; if only life was that simple. He smiled at the thought of how she would react to the idea of being dismissed; she’d probably thump him.
He broke into a jog, not wanting to lose her as she turned away from the beach. He spotted her entering a pub, its weathered sign creaking in the wind on rusty hinges, and made his way towards it, pushing the door open. Spotting her instantly, he strode over to her. ‘May I sit here?’ He indicated a vacant stool next to her.
Sapphire looked up, her bottom lip trembling and her eyes red-rimmed, even as they sparked with defiance and anger. She looked vulnerable in her fury and a tenderness that made him want to fold her into his arms and soothe her, rose in his chest. He pulled out the stool and straddled it, to sit opposite her, although she hadn’t even acknowledged his presence.
She looked hunted as she nursed a hot drink, both hands hugging it to her chest. He couldn’t understand why she was so upset. ‘Come back with me, Sapphire, please; we need to talk.’
‘I just want to go home, Mr Cavarelli. I don’t know why you wanted me here, I just know I shouldn’t have come.’
‘What’s with this Mr Cavarelli all of a sudden? Call me Marco, for crying out loud.’
‘No, I would rather call you Mr Cavarelli.’
‘I don’t understand what this is all about, Sapphire. What am I not getting?’ He shuffled his stool closer to her and she shrank away from him, holding her mug up to her chest like a shield. He wanted to take the mug away from her and fold her hands into his, but settled for barely tracing his finger over her knee, letting her know that he cared.
She flinched and pulled her leg away. He sighed. ‘Sapphire, I’m an extremely savvy business man; I practically own an empire, for God’s sake –’
‘Whereas I have absolutely nothing – thanks for that,’ she interrupted, but her voice caught on the last word and tears filled her eyes.
Marco exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘What I am trying to say is that I know how to compose myself and arrange my life, but with you … I swear to God that I have no idea how to handle you. And I’m sorry, I don’t know what part of me thought it was a good idea to bring you over here.’
Except he did know; he wanted to be alone with her, without anyone judging him or watching them. He swallowed.
She suddenly turned to him. ‘Do you know I once fought a hyena?’
He blinked. ‘No, I didn’t know that. I’ve read your CV twice and I swear it wasn’t in there.’
She smiled grimly at his words. ‘It was trying to savage my step mum’s dog. Hated my step mum – loved her dog.’
‘Okay. That’s interesting.’
‘It was quite a small hyena.’ She wrinkled her nose ruefully.
Marco laughed. ‘A hyena is a hyena in my book.’
‘And another time I rode off on Star, determined never to come back, and I survived for five days in the desert until they found me.’ She took a large gulp of her drink. ‘Of course, I was quite hungry by then and caved in when I smelled steak cooking. Bastards had lit a barbecue and were smoking me out – figuratively speaking, of course.’
‘Of course.’ He smiled. ‘I don’t suppose the smell of samphire would have cut it, if I hadn’t found you here?’
Sapphire’s return smile almost reached her eyes this time and he braved another question.
‘And Star is your horse, if I remember correctly?’
‘Yes. He was quite wild, but I rode him anyway – he didn’t mind me.’
‘Wow.’ He had certainly underestimated Sapphire when he’d first met her.
‘I was a bit of a tomboy.’
‘You don’t say.’ He rubbed at his forehead. ‘And here I was thinking a ginger and lemon facial scrub up at the hotel would be all it took to win you over.’
He was relieved to see the hostility had disappeared from her eyes, but she was still tense and wary, and it was his fault. She put her mug down and stood up. ‘I just wanted you to know that I’m not completely lacking.’
‘I never thought you were.’ He frowned. ‘You think this is a challenge – to prove your worth?’
Sapphire’s face crumpled once more and she pressed her lips together as she held back tears. ‘I don’t know anymore. I just know I can’t compete with all the beautiful women in your life and I feel as if I should.’
Marco shook his head. How had he given out such a completely wrong message to her? ‘What beautiful women?’
‘The ones Finbar’s told me about. They’re everywhere.’ Her voice rose a notch as she waved her hand around the pub.
Marco stupidly looked up to gaze at the locals, who were mostly men, and none of them were beautiful in the slightest.
‘I just can’t do this,’ she sniffed, her voice muffled as she pressed her hand to her mouth. ‘I’m sure it would be for the best if I caught the next flight home.’
‘No, it wouldn’t, Sapphire. You are beautiful – more beautiful than any of the socialites I mix with. You must believe me.’
He’d said more than he should and there was no undoing it. In for a penny in for a pound, he thought, deciding to level with her. It was time for honesty and candour and hopefully a chance to make amends. He held out his hand offering a truce.
She stared at his hand, ignoring the offer and his intentions took a nose-dive. He tried again. ‘We are both strong people, I know that, but our emotions are all tangled up. Let’s try to sort this out, shall we?’ he asked, reluctantly dropping his arm back to his side, his voice pleading.
She nodded her agreement, though and that was enough for him. She put her mug on the table and heaved herself upright as if she didn’t want to leave, before giving him a watery smile and raising her eyebrows, which seemed to say come on then, let’s do this thing.
Marco was grateful that she was at least prepared to walk with him, and they started out back along the beach towards the cottage.
Sapphire was soon shivering again, any heat the sun had bestowed on the day being eaten up by a chill wind blowing across the beach and scouring them with grains of sand. ‘I don’t think I brought the right clothes with me; remind me again, what season are we supposed to be in?’ she said, wrapping her arms around her chest.
Marco laughed and threw his arm casually around her shoulders, drawing her to his side ostensibly to warm her up. He inhaled the scent of her hair and enjoyed the intimacy of her body next to his. He half expected her to pull away, but she stayed in his embrace and he was glad that she appeared to have forgiven him. ‘Sapphire, I’m sorry I seem to be making a mess of this. Stick with me and I promise we’ll sort it out.’
Sapphire blinked and looked at him warily, her eyes still pooled with unshed tears but she looked puzzled now too. He knew he should give her more of a clue as to what he meant, but he was winging it. He would let her know his intentions when he himself knew.
They walked along the beach side by side as if they were just a regular couple on a break, as they headed for the high street. Marco ducked into a shop, pulling Sapphire inside. While she poked around at the touristy trinkets, he spoke to the sales assistant, who glanced at Sapphire and then produced a cream woollen jumper, chunky and long. ‘Perfect. Don’t bother wrapping it, she’ll wear it now.’
He turned. ‘Sapphire, come over here, please.’ He held up the jumper. ‘Here you are, put it on.’
Sapphire rolled her eyes and he apologised. ‘Sorry, don’t mean to boss you around – again.’ She gave him big eyes as she slipped off her thin cardigan and he nodded his satisfaction. As an afterthought, he picked up a woollen bobble hat and popped it on her head, pulling it down over her ears. ‘We’ll take this too.’
She laughed as she looked in the mirror. I look as if I’m going on an Antarctic trek, not a walk along the beach.’
‘At least you’ll be prepared for every eventuality,’ Marco said, adding, ‘Pretty as a picture.’ She blushed and he felt another tug on his heart, pushing it away, quickly.
He brushed her hand accidentally as they browsed the convenience store, and was not surprised to feel the tingling of expectation, of a sexual attraction he no longer tried to dismiss. He looked at her fingers, delicate and long, as she pointed out interesting-looking food, her fingertips a perfect shell pink. He was lost to her and there was no point in trying to fight it; he longed to touch her and kiss her – and more.
Cautiously he reached for her fingers, folding them into his hand. Her head shot up and she searched his face, apprehension turning to a question as he held her gaze. He turned her hand over and traced his thumb over her palm, enjoying the moment of deliberate contact. Looking into her eyes once more, he couldn’t tell if he saw fear or desire in them. ‘Okay?’ It was one small word, but it was all he needed to say, for now.
Sapphire tightened her grip on his hand and nodded. ‘Yes.’ Her voice was small and tentative but it was enough for Marco.
He let out a breath of relief as he squeezed her hand briefly and towed her out of the shop. ‘Come on, let’s get back.’