the coin toss,’ she explained. ‘I think we should keep that a secret between us so it has maximum impact for the guests when they discover the secret of the caves.’
‘Do you like keeping secrets, Maxie?’
She balked at that. ‘Sometimes,’ she admitted. The caves suddenly felt oppressive. ‘Is that it?’ she prompted.
‘There’s just one more thing I think you should see.’
Her gaze lingered on his back as Diego led the way. He was such a powerful man, with only the limp to remind her that all was not well with him. If the leg had been attached to anyone else it might have been a good time to suggest trying out the massage technique that had worked so well for her mother—but not while it was attached to Diego Acosta.
The next cave contained an underground lake. A natural chimney allowed light to flood in, giving the water an unearthly glow. Diego was hunkered down at the water’s edge, where tiny albino crabs were scuttling in the shallows at his feet.
‘They are unique and vulnerable,’ he explained.
Diego’s hard face had softened. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen before. It made her even more certain that she wasn’t the only one who had allowed the past to colour her life. As she stared at the broad sweep of his shoulders and his strong, tanned neck she wanted to ask so many questions, but she was here for a fact-finding trip of the island, not him, and so she settled for, ‘I didn’t take you for a nature-lover.’
‘Oh, I love nature,’ he said, standing up to fix her with an assessing stare. ‘It’s people I have a problem with.’
Okay. She turned her attention to gathering more shots for Holly.
They held concerts in the underground theatre here, Diego explained as he led the way into the incredible facility buried deep in the bowels of the earth. ‘We invite people over from neighbouring islands.’
As you do, Maxie thought wryly. ‘How many people can the theatre seat?’ She had immediately reverted back to business mode and was taking notes.
‘Three hundred or so—more if we take the seats out.’
‘It would be perfect for a party after the wedding breakfast,’ she mused out loud, though of course it would be up to Holly to make the final decision.
She was standing too close to Diego, Maxie realised as her body thrilled a warning. Moving away, she stared down the steeply raked aisle to the unusual stone stage, with its backdrop of rough-hewn rock glowing amber beneath the lights. She took some shots, made a few more notes, and then turned to go—almost colliding with him.
As she skirted past she could hear his steady breathing above the thundering of her heart and something made her ask impulsively, ‘Do you mind if I stop by to watch you training your horses?’
‘You’d find it boring, surely?’
‘No. But if I’d be in the way—’
‘You wouldn’t be in the way.’
If her heart had been thundering before, it was out of control now. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m sure.’
They climbed back up the steps and emerged into the light. ‘Do you still think you can ride my bike?’ Diego asked.
She stared at the big black monster, sensing there was a bigger decision to be made here than whether she could ride his bike. ‘Yes, I do,’ she said.
Diego needed someone to stand up to him. She needed to test herself. Bring it on.
THE bike seemed to have grown bigger, while Maxie seemed to have shrunk. Drawing in a steadying breath, she tried not to register anything when Diego swung onto the saddle behind her—and failed miserably. Her back lit up like the Fourth of July. At least he couldn’t know how she was feeling—and at least he couldn’t see the tension on her face.
‘Just thumb the starter button, Maxie.’
There was another moment when he reached around her to guide her hands and his hard, muscular torso pressed into her back. The temptation just to close her eyes and lean against him…
‘Did you get that, Maxie?’
Diego’s tone was enough to eject her from that daydream. ‘Got it,’ she confirmed.
‘Good. You may have ridden a bike before, but I promise you you never rode a bike like this before.’
‘Like everything else on the island, I’m sure it’s extraordinary,’ she said dryly, smiling as she turned on the engine. It purred like a kitten.
‘Squeeze, don’t grab at the controls,’ Diego warned as she upped the revs. ‘You have to make love to them.’
‘I will,’ she said briskly, not wanting to think about making love in any context right now.
‘If you do exactly as I tell you,’ Diego added, ‘you’ll find the bike will respond like a—’
Like a lover? ‘Like a bike?’ she suggested.
‘Like the most responsive of bikes,’ Diego amended coolly.
Blowing out one last steadying breath, she released the brake and hit the throttle.
‘You’re doing ninety,’ Diego yelled above the wind. ‘Slow down or I’m taking over!’
She laughed as exhilaration took her over, and only slowed at the next bend. She took the corner well and didn’t speed up again. She’d had her moment. She wasn’t trying to provoke Diego. She just wanted to push the boundaries for once in her life.
That was Maxie Parrish, Maxie concluded wryly as the countryside turned from a dun-coloured blur into a crystal-clear image of scrubland punctuated by the occasional tree, she always knew when to pull back.
‘You ride well,’ Diego commented now he could be heard over the engine.
She could only blame the island for freeing something crazy inside sensible Maxie. ‘Thanks for letting me ride!’ she yelled back.
As Diego eased back in the saddle, she felt the loss of him instantly.
‘Do you ride a bike every day?’ he said.
‘Every day to work—and sometimes when I’m at home.’
‘Home?’ Diego queried, frightening her with the speed of his pick-up. ‘Do you live alone?’
‘I do now,’ she said lightly.
‘No boyfriend.’
‘No…’ She drew the word out as if she had no time for one, which was true.
