necessarily. I trust your judgment.” He looked at the twins. “And they seem to be doing okay. For a while there I was afraid the entire vacation would be full of complaints and comments about returning home.”
“We’re going to have too much fun to think about returning home. We’re going to la playa after lunch—will you be joining us?”
“I have some work to do. I should warn you, the boys don’t know how to swim.”
“Nadar, Daddy,” Pablo said. “We’re going to learn to nadar, if we say it in Spanish.”
“Ah, very good. So usted irá a la playa a aprender nadar.”
Juan looked at him in confusion. “What?”
“He said we’ll go to the beach to learn to swim,” Stacey said, smiling at the child. “Your daddy already speaks Spanish. We’ll have to surprise him, too.”
“Aren’t you going to teach me to nadar, Daddy?” Juan asked.
“If I get done with my work today. Otherwise maybe tomorrow,” Luis said.
He returned to the main table. Stacey couldn’t hear the conversation but she could tell from her posture that Maria was scolding her grandson. She hid a grin. The businessman didn’t look like anything could sway him, but for a second she could see the little boy he’d once been, listening respectfully to his abuela.
Luis listened politely to his grandmother chiding him for staying away so long.
“I’m not getting younger, you need to visit more often,” she said in rapid Spanish.
“I have been away too long. But it’s not easy to travel with children.”
“They are old enough now, certainly.” She looked at the boys and her expression softened. “They remind me of you and your sister when you came to visit. I love having children in the house.” She studied the three at the table near the flowers and nodded. “I think they like their nanny very much. But they should be with you. You work too long, this vacation should be about family and not work. Spend time with them, Luis.”
“I will. There are only a few things to see to, then I can. And they have Stacey. She’ll see they have a good visit,” he conceded, looking over. For a moment he wished Stacey had brought them to the main table. He watched as even Pablo seemed captivated by whatever it was she was saying. His shy little boy was warming to the temporary nanny. He hoped both boys enjoyed the visit. He did need to make time for them, but until he could, he was sure they were fine.
The beach was wide and white, the sand fine and clean when the trio headed out after lunch. The Mediterranean Sea stretched as far as the eye could see, various shades of turquoise and blue. A soft breeze blew off the water, keeping the temperature comfortable. One of the servants had set up a wide umbrella for shade, but the two little boys didn’t want to sit in the sand. They raced to the water, and splashed in, stopping when the water reached their knees.
Stacey dropped the towels and ran after them, grabbing a hand each and slowly encouraging them to walk farther into the water. It was shallow and even when they had walked out twenty feet the water was not too deep for the boys. They loved splashing, running to the beach and back into the water.
“I want to swim,” Juan called.
Pablo stopped near Stacey, and reached out to hold her hand. “It’s scary,” he said.
“Only because you don’t know how to swim yet. It’ll be fun. Juan, come here, we’ll begin.”
“Daddy said he’d teach me,” Juan said, standing near the shore studying the water with trepidation.
“When he can, I’m sure he’ll come out with us, but we can get some basics out of the way and surprise him,” she called.
A moment later he waded out to her. The water wasn’t even waist high on the boys.
“First we’ll practice putting our faces in the water,” she said, kneeling down to be more at their level. She showed them how and both boys dutifully put their faces in the water for a split second. Juan came up with a wide grin, Pablo looked uncertain.
“Let’s do it again, this time blow bubbles. Let’s see who can blow bubbles the longest.”
Several minutes passed as they all blew bubbles. Gradually Pablo became more comfortable. Stacey was delighted when he finally raised his face with a grin on it. “I blew them the longest,” he said proudly.
“Indeed you did, sweetie. You’re our bubble champ.”
“I can do that,” Juan said, taking a deep breath and plunging beneath the water. Bubbles popped on the surface. When he finished he stood up and grinned. “Now am I the longest?”
“It’s a tie,” she said with a laugh. These boys were fun.
A moment later she was surprised to see Luis striding across the sand, wearing swim trunks, a towel slung around his neck. His wide shoulders and muscular chest were already tanned. Where had he been to acquire that? she wondered. She’d thought he worked all the time.
Catching herself staring, she turned and focused on the boys, suddenly conscious of the bikini she wore. Perfectly suitable for the sea, it was still revealing. Not that children noticed, but there was nothing child-like about Luis Aldivista.
“Daddy!” Pablo ran out of the water to greet him.
“I thought you had work,” Stacey called, definitely not having expected him. What was she trying to do, send him back inside?
“My grandmother does not have internet service, and she was not willing for me to tie up her phone for long-distance calls. She very patiently explained the concept of vacations to me,” he said with a rueful smile.
Stacey was captivated by that smile. It took years off his looks, making him seem like a carefree younger version, out for a good time.
“The boys are delighted to have you here,” she said. Juan was already jumping up and down beside him, begging his father to teach him to swim.
“Shall I leave them with you?” she asked. It would be a great for him to spend time with his sons. She’d only be in the way.
“No, stay. One on one’s a better ratio.”
“I want to swim,” Juan called again.
“How about Stacey and I teach you both at the same time?” Luis asked, dropping his towel and walking into the water.
Stacey could have easily forgotten the children and feasted her eyes on him for the rest of the afternoon. His wide shoulders tapered to slim hips. His muscular chest seemed out of place with a man who commanded a software development firm and worked inside most of the day. This man seriously kept himself in shape!
She needed to get a grip. She was there solely for the boys, not to enjoy the physique of her reluctant employer. Concentrate on teaching the boys to swim, she told herself firmly. Easier said than done with a tantalizing male so near.
As the afternoon
