know what you mean.”
When she saw him fold his strong arms, a shiver ran through her body.
“What’s the reason you suddenly have to get back to Madrid? You haven’t had anything to eat or drink yet.”
“I’m still full from lunch, and since my business with you is concluded, it’s only fair to the person driving me to get an early start so they can be back at a decent hour.”
At this point he’d moved away from the door. Standing there with his hard-muscled legs slightly apart, he reminded her how impossibly attractive he was, reinforcing the reason why she shouldn’t stay here another second.
“What makes you think we don’t have business to talk over?”
She rubbed her palms against womanly hips, a gesture he observed with those intense black eyes. “I—I don’t understand.” What was he getting at?
His chest rose and fell visibly. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to explain.”
Knowing he always meant what he said, the second he went out the door she hurried into the bathroom. No sooner did she emerge than there was a knock on her door.
She trembled before opening it. Soraya stood at the entry with a tray.
“The Senor told me to put this on the table.”
Jillian smiled at her. “Come in.”
She moved quickly and set it down. Her eyes darted from the roses to Jillian. “You have beautiful flowers.” “I agree.” It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her Remi had brought them to the hospital. However, at the last second she held back from di vulging that revelation in case Soraya misunderstood the reason. “Thank you.”
The other woman nodded. No doubt she’d drawn her own conclusions.
On her way out of the room she passed Remi. Once the door was closed, he walked over to the table. “Come and join me,” he said, flicking her a glance.
This wasn’t a good idea. He had no conception of what his nearness was doing to her, but she couldn’t very well refuse him. After helping her to sit down, he took his place opposite her.
Maria had prepared a light meal of salad with chicken. Most people in Spain didn’t eat dinner before nine, but she realized Remi had made an exception for her. He was incredibly thoughtful, even providing ice water. She drank thirstily. Remi observed every move.
Halfway through their meal he put down his fork and sat back. “It’s true the estate was never meant to be anything but my family’s home and workplace. In order for me to accommodate the needs of the kind of tour you’re talking about, new facilities would be required.”
She wiped the corner of her mouth with the napkin. “I realize that. When I saw the groves, I’m afraid I got too carried away with excitement to consider the fundamental things required to make my plan feasible. To be honest, I’m embarrassed.”
After a slight pause, “Would it surprise you to know you’re the first person to broach such an idea with me?” he queried. “It would never have entered my mind otherwise.”
She squirmed in the chair. “All the more reason you should have pointed out the flaw in my plan and saved yourself the trouble of driving me all the way here. This is the third day you’ve had to worry about me instead of doing your work.”
“Let’s just say I was struck by your interest and your enthusiasm for something that’s a living part of me. You have no call to be embarrassed, Jillian. In fact, you’ve given me an idea.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean?”
He rubbed the side of his hard jaw with his hand. “I haven’t told you why I went to Toledo the other day.”
“No, but you indicated it was important.”
“That’s true. This has been one of the driest years on record. There isn’t going to be enough rain in the coming months to fill the reservoirs.”
She nodded. “Someone in the office told us Spain hasn’t had normal rainfall in a long time.”
“Forty percent less,” he informed her. “In Castile-La Mancha some of the reserves are as low as thirteen percent, and the government has imposed water restrictions. In some places the country has depended on tankers for their water.”
Jillian shook her head. “How awful.”
“We need heavy rain, but it probably won’t happen.” He pushed himself away from the table and walked over to the window, where she could see the groves in the distance. As he looked out at the vista he said, “In the last eight months there’ve been massive crop failures.”
“On your estate, too?”
Lines marred his hard features. “We’ve had our share along with fires.”
“Were they devastating?” she asked, her voice throbbing.
He turned to her. “They could have been. Fortunately on our property we have emergency wells we’ve opened as a last resort. However, as my accountant pointed out the other day, I’d be wise to diversify as an insurance policy against more hard times to come. At the time I’m afraid I didn’t give him much heed in that department.”
She rose to her feet, clinging to the chair. “Why?”
A nerve throbbed along his jawline. “My parents grew other crops that could be harvested at a different time of the year to bring in income, but they too were afflicted with droughts and it became a doomed project.”
She could hear what he wasn’t saying, that he and his family had worked unceasingly without the expected results. Her heart went out to him.
“For the last two years I’ve been working with a skeleton crew to reverse our losses.”
“And have you recovered?” She held her breath waiting for his answer.
His gaze collided with hers before he nodded. “I’ve finally rounded the corner.”
“So the other day you were driving home from Toledo filled with the joy of that knowledge, only to be run off the road by a crazy American driver whose mind was on your olive groves. An idiot who didn’t have the sense she was born with to avoid catastrophe!”
Her little sob resounded in the air. In the next instant Remi closed the distance between them. She felt arms of velvet steel go around her.
Without saying anything he rocked her back and forth the way her husband would have done if he’d been there. The contact caused the floodgates to open. She sobbed against his broad shoulder and clung to him, unaware of the passage of time.
Jillian was crying over so many things she didn’t know where one pain left off and another began. It was all mixed together with Remi’s own pain. He whispered words she didn’t understand, but they comforted her. Somehow—she didn’t know quite how—she ended up lying full length on the bed without remembering being carried there. Slowly the tears subsided and she felt his weight as he sat down next to her.
