herself someone greedier than she is.” At her surprised expression, he explained his words. “When I took her ice climbing for the first and only time, she bruised her ankle, then sued my company to make money off an injury that was so minimal she could walk on it within a day.”
“Oh, dear. Are you very rich?” she teased.
“Extremely,” he said in total honesty, unafraid to admit it to her.
“Is she very beautiful, the way I imagine Bizet’s Carmen? Long black hair? Fiery dark eyes, passionate to her very soul with a figure to die for?”
“I’ll admit her beauty was extraordinary.” But her soul …
“Then you’re probably right, and she has the kind of marriage she’s been waiting for all her life, where both grasping parties have their needs completely met.”
After that comment Des broke into full-bodied laughter, delighted by her intelligence and the fact that she didn’t take herself seriously.
“Señor Pastrana,” the doctor said as he walked into the room. “I’m happy to hear you laugh like that. It is the best of signs. And I’m glad that you’re now fully awake and talking to Señorita Bonner. She’s been at your bedside since yesterday, waiting for you to open your eyes. Welcome back. How are you feeling?”
“Good.” It was the truth … since he’d awakened to an angel staring down at him.
The doctor checked Des’s vital signs while Ally kept watch. “Can you give me a few more details, por favor?”
“My head hurts, but it’s not that bad and I’m no longer feeling sick to my stomach.”
“Muy bien. We’ve been giving you antinausea medication in your IV. Keep this up and tomorrow you’ll be able to go home—provided you take care of yourself.”
Ally’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful news.”
For several reasons, Des agreed.
The doctor smiled at him. “You were fortunate your lovely climbing companion here got you off the ice quickly. Otherwise we would have had to treat you for hypothermia. But I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t warn you of the dangers of pushing yourself too hard. You may be the head of a successful business empire and famous throughout Spain, but you are still human.”
“I’ve had a lot of work to accomplish,” he admitted.
“Don’t we all, but that’s the reason why this particular flu hit you especially hard. Follow my advice and take it easy for a while.” He smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Gracias, doctor.”
“De nada.”
As Des looked at Ally again he considered the doctor’s words. Perhaps he should take some time off from work and find more … pleasurable ways to fill his life.
CHAPTER FIVE
“DON’T leave yet, Ally.” Des was afraid she’d follow the doctor out of the room.
She gripped the side rail of his bed. “You need to rest.”
“I’ve been unconscious for twenty-four hours, I feel like company. Do you mind?”
As Des said the words, he realized he meant them. But not just any company would do. Only hers. He realized that, too. His friend Raoul wouldn’t believe how quickly his whole attitude was changing. Des would have to text him later.
“I’ll stay for a while longer.” She pulled up a chair to the side of the hospital bed. “Oh, before I forget, Miguel went up to the amphitheatre and brought back all our things. There was a trail of debris from the cascade to the car.”
“When you went through my pockets, did you find my phone?”
“Oh, yes—” She reached in her purse. “Here it is. I’ll put it on your bedside table.”
“Gracias.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t have another thing on my mind after you passed out except to drive you here. I’ve still got the keys to your truck, too.”
“That’s good,” he murmured. “Keep them until tomorrow. That way if you’re willing, you can visit me and then drive me home.”
There was a slight hesitation that concerned him before she said, “Of course I will. You went out of your way to accommodate me. Until you fell, I was really enjoying the climb.”
A nurse came in to change his IV bag, then slipped out again.
Ally smiled at him. “Can I bring you anything from your room at the posada?”
“I could use my electric razor. It’s in the bathroom with my other things.”
“Tell you what. Why don’t I leave now and bring them back to you?”
“In other words, I could do with a shave.”
“Did I say that?”
His black brows quirked in amusement. “You didn’t have to.”
“Where’s the card key for your room?”
“A monk’s cell doesn’t have something as modern as an electronic card to open the door—it has a metal key. It’s with my car keys.”
“Oh—” She reached in her purse once more and brought out the keys. “Which one opens your room?”
He took hold of her hand to show her. It trembled at the contact. Pleased by the response he said, “It’s the middle one.”
She quickly eased her hand away. “What room number?”
“Mine doesn’t have one. It has an exterior entry around the west side of the posada. You can’t miss it since it’s the only one.”
“That sounds rather mysterious.”
A low chuckle came out of him. “Wait till you see it.”
She moved the chair against the wall. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Hurry,” he called out as she opened the door and left.
Hurry?
More than the word, the urgency in Des’s tone caused Ally to tremble again. She couldn’t believe he was the same forbidding stranger she’d met in the posada dining room, let alone the unconscious man she’d brought into the hospital so ill she’d feared for his life.
The warm, compassionate Spaniard who’d just listened to her heartache and then told her about his own broken engagement showed a completely new side of him, and the change was doing odd things to her equilibrium. The increasingly strong attraction she felt toward him sent off warning bells in her brain. She’d come here for adventure, not
