are totally awesome sauce,’ she murmured across the table in an equally low voice. ‘Yes. I like them.’
She sat back under the sun umbrella and sipped her wine as she looked around at the harbour and the line of yachts moored in the marina in the warm bright sunshine.
‘I must say, Mr Belmont, that you treat your lady guests remarkably well. A waterfront location only feet from the Mediterranean, a delicious meal, splendid local white wine–and shoes. I am impressed.’
‘Thanks. I thought it was only appropriate since I have a pre-published children’s author with me—that, and the small fact that we’ve been slaving away in that stuffy study for two days and hardly coming up for air.’
She looked at Mark over her glass.
Slaving was one way of putting it.
The constant struggle to avoid touching his body as they negotiated around each other in the small space had driven her mad with frustration.
Sometimes she could almost feel the tension between them.
But he had kept his word and not made any moves on her. And she was grateful … wasn’t she? She couldn’t give in to the feelings. That would mean trouble for both of them and would only end in heartbreak. She had to hold it together and fight temptation for a few more days. Just. A. Few. More. Days.
In the meantime she could enjoy his company. Memories of meals like this were going to have to sustain her on many a lonely night in a foreign hotel for a long time to come.
‘It’s been worth it, Mark. The book is shaping up really well, and the work we were doing this morning on your village school was lovely.’ Lexi clinked her wine glass against his water beaker in a toast. ‘To team work.’
‘I’ll drink to that. Speaking of which, I have a mission to accomplish—and you are the ideal person to advise me.’
‘Ah,’ Lexi replied, rubbing her hands together. ‘Business or personal?’
‘Personal. I have to buy a present for my nephew Freddie before I head back. Two years old and already interested in everything animal-related. I was thinking of a soft toy, but he has a room full of those already. Any ideas?’
Lexi rested her arms on the table and chuckled. ‘I am no expert on toddlers. But tell me what sort of things he likes to do. What kind of games does he enjoy?’
Mark’s face instantly relaxed into an expression of pure delight. ‘Here. This might help. They are both total scamps, but you have to admit they’re adorable.’
He dived into his trouser pocket and pulled out a state-of-the-art smartphone which made Lexi drool with envy. His fingers moved swiftly over the keyboard and a few seconds later he scooted his chair closer to hers so that she could watch the surprisingly clear images come alive on the small screen.
His body was pressed tight against hers all along one side of her capri pants and sleeveless top, and at another time and another place she would have called it a cuddle. He was so close that she could feel the golden hairs on his tanned arms against her bare skin, the heat of his breath on her neck, and the smell of his expensive designer cologne filled her head.
The overall effect was so giddying that it took her a moment to realise that he was looking at the phone rather than her, and she forced her eyes to focus on the video playing on the screen.
It was Mark. Playing with two of the cutest little boys on a sandy beach. They were making sandcastles and Mark, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, was helping the youngest to tap the sand into his bucket with great gusto while his brother danced around with a long piece of seaweed. All three of them were laughing their heads off, and seemed to be singing silly, glorious nursery rhymes. Pure childish joy and delight beamed out from the brightly coloured images in front of her. They looked so happy.
Mark with his nephews. Caught in the moment. Living. Showing his love in every single laugh and smile and hug.
She glanced up at this man whose face was only inches away from hers. He was the real deal. He had taken time out from his international business to go to the beach with his nephews and simply enjoy them.
Her heart broke all over again.
Only this time it was not for Mark. It was for herself.
When had she ever done that? When had she made the effort to spend time with her mother’s soon-to-be step-grandchildren or her friends’ children? Or her neighbours? She hadn’t. She’d chosen a job where the only children she met belonged to her clients—that way she could share their family life second-hand.
The truth of the life she had created for herself jumped out from that simple holiday video that Mark kept on his phone because he loved those boys so very much and it slapped her across the face. Hard.
She’d told herself that she wasn’t ready to adopt a child as a single mum, after seeing what her mother had gone through, but the truth was simpler than that.
She was a fraud. And a liar. And a coward.
She was too scared to do it alone. Too scared to take the risk.
And here she was, trying to tell Mark Belmont how to live his life, when he was already way ahead of her in every way. He had chosen to fill his life with real children who loved him right back. Damn right.
‘I think the best thing is probably to trawl the shops and throw myself on the mercy of the lovely ladies who work there.’ Mark smiled, totally unaware of the turmoil roiling inside her head and her heart.
And she looked into those eyes, brimming with contentment and love for those two little boys, and thought how easy it would be just to move a couple of inches closer and kiss him the way he had kissed her under the stars. And keep kissing him to block out the hard reality of her empty life.
Bad idea. Seriously bad idea.
She could never give him, or any man, the children he wanted. And nothing she could do was going to change that.
Suddenly it was all too much. She needed to have some space from Mark. And fast.
‘Great idea,’ she gushed. ‘I think I’ll take a walk and meet you back here.’
Throwing her new sandals into her bag, Lexi stood up and, with one quick wave, took off down the stone wall of the harbour towards the port before Mark had a chance to reply.
White-painted wooden fishing boats with women’s names lined the harbour between the marina and the commercial port, and Lexi forced herself to try and relax as she sat down on a wooden bench under the shade of a plane tree and looked out across the inlet to the open water between Paxos and Corfu.
The hydrofoil was moored at the dock and had just started loading passengers. For one split-second Lexi thought about running back to Corfu so she wouldn’t have to face Mark again. All she had to do was buy a ticket and she could be on her way before he even knew she was gone.
Leaving Mark and his life and Crystal Leighton’s biography and everything that came with it behind her.
Stupid, self-deluded girl. Lexi sniffed and reached for a tissue.
Other
