cream? Bandage?’
‘I’ll be fine as soon as you give me back my hand.’
‘Nonsense. As you said, this is my fault.’
Jude couldn’t disagree with that. She told him where to find her first aid kit and watched in silence as he efficiently bandaged her hand, treating her with a great deal more concern than the scalding warranted. Much to her discomfort because halfway through the procedure, and having recovered from the shock at having him sneak up on her from behind, she became acutely aware of what she was wearing. A baggy T-shirt, along the lines of the one she had tossed at him earlier on. It reached mid-thigh but thereafter she was fully exposed and all too aware of the unprepossessing image she presented to a man who obviously didn’t do casual, judging from his remark about her jeans outfit the night before.
She hunched forward in an attempt to conceal the jutting peaks of her breasts and then realised that she was thereby exposing them to an overhead view so she sat up and glared at his dark head as he put the finishing touch to the bandage.
‘Now stay right there and I’ll finish what you started.’
‘What have you been getting up to down here? How long have you been up?’
‘Oh, I only managed to grab a couple of hours’ sleep,’ Cesar said, his back to her as he made them both a mug of coffee. ‘Perhaps it was the novel experience of sleeping in a pink T-shirt.’
Jude took some comfort in imagining him looking ridiculous. Had he been wearing it right now, she figured she might have coped with him being in her space without her body feeling as though it were on fire.
‘Then—’ he placed her mug of coffee next to her on the table and sat down ‘—I tried to get the Internet working but it refused to oblige.’
‘Phone lines might be down,’ Jude said glumly. ‘A heavy fall of snow can sometimes do that. It can also be a bit quirky at times.’
A bit like its owner, Cesar thought. He had had time to think things over and had come to the conclusion that nothing would be gained from browbeating her. She was clearly as stubborn as a mule and, from what he could see, given to baring her claws. Far better to put away his armoury and use weapons of a different nature to find out what exactly her role was in his brother’s life.
‘I then decided to use my time profitably so I went to check on the car.’
‘And you got it started?’
‘Started but nowhere to go with it. Snow’s pretty deep.’
‘Couldn’t you have scraped the snow away? You’re a strong man,’ she added boldly. ‘Men do stuff like that.’
‘Sure, if I’d wanted to spend the next eight hours outside in the freezing cold—and here’s some more bad news. The sky looks grim and the weather reports are talking about more snow in the next twenty-four hours.’
‘They can’t be!’ Jude all but wailed.
‘Hazard of living in this part of the world. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve seen snow in London.’
‘How can you be so…so calm about all of this?’
‘Why get hot and bothered about something over which I have no control?’ Sure, he had uttered a few ungentlemanly curses when he had discovered the lack of Internet connection but he had now resigned himself to the fact that the business world would have to spend at least part of the weekend without him. For Cesar, this was no small thing. Work was his driving force. It took precedence over everything and everyone.
‘Because you live for your work! You practically have a bed in your office!’
‘And how do you know that?’
‘Freddy told me.’ It had slipped out before she had time to catch it and Jude shot him a sheepish look. He might rub her up the wrong way but she knew that she would have hated the thought of being discussed behind her back. ‘He just mentioned it in passing,’ she amended.
‘You two seem to share quite a close relationship…considering it’s purely professional…’
‘I never said that it was purely professional…’
‘But you told me that you were working on a project with him.’
‘I am. Was. Am.’
‘Past tense? Present tense? Which is it to be? And you never said precisely what this so-called project is.’
‘I told you, that’s something I know Freddy would want to tell you about himself.’ She belatedly remembered that she was supposed to support him whenever and wherever possible. ‘And it’s very exciting.’
‘Well, I can’t wait to find out what it’s all about. I’m literally on the edge of my seat. If my little brother is involved, then it’s sure to be a non-starter. His business sense has always been fairly non-existent.’ He finished his coffee and pulled out a stool so that he could prop both feet up—something, she noted, he seemed quite at ease doing considering he was in someone else’s house. ‘So he told you that I’m his workaholic brother, did he? In between discussing his mystery project?’
‘You make it sound as though it’s a crime to be friends with Freddy.’
Cesar decided not to inform her that it would only be a crime should she want to adjust her position from friend to spouse.
‘I’m just curious. Project to friend? Friend to project? What was the order of events? How did you meet?’
Jude looked at him warily. That earnest expression on his face didn’t fool her a bit. He was taking small steps around her, looking for clues.
‘I’m a designer,’ she mumbled, trying to sort out how she could avoid divulging details about their meeting, which had happened courtesy of Imogen. ‘And he needed some stuff doing…’
‘Oh, yes. The stuff he wants to talk to me about. And, at that point, did you know how much Fernando was worth?’
‘I knew that’s where all your questions were leading!’
‘I’m that obvious?’ Cesar asked indifferently.
‘Yes, you’re that obvious, not that you care! I have to go and get changed.’ She stood up and gave him a withering look, which had zero effect. He still carried on calmly looking at her, as though he had all the time in the world to wait until she decided to deliver the answer he wanted to hear.
‘Please don’t bother on my account,’ Cesar drawled, taking in the shapely legs which had been disguised the night before in their jeans. For someone with dark hair and dark eyes, she was delicately pale and her skin was like satin. He had become used to a diet of women who slapped on make-up. Jude, he absent-mindedly noticed, was wearing none and her face was fresh and smooth. She had a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and he imagined that she might have been a tomboy, climbing trees and doing everything the boys did.
Jade ignored him. ‘I haven’t been eyeing up your brother as marriage material so that I can get my hands on his
