exactly what those lips tasted like.
He was like every erotic dream she’d ever had just handed to her on a plate.
She leaned her head on one hand and turned to face him. ‘Who says I’m a cocktail kind of girl?’
He blinked. Her accent did that to people. It took their ears a few seconds to adjust to the Scottish twang. He was no different from every other man she’d ever met. The edges of his mouth turned upwards at the sound of her voice. People just seemed to love the Scottish accent—even if they couldn’t understand a word she said.
‘It’s written all over you,’ he shot back. He mirrored her stance, leaning his head on one hand and staring at her.
There was no mistaking the tingling of her skin. Part of her stomach turned over. There was a tiny wash of guilt.
Today wasn’t meant to be a happy day. Today was a day to drown her sorrows and contemplate if she could have done anything different to save that little baby. But the truth was she’d already done that. Even if she went back in time she wouldn’t do anything different. Clinically, her actions had been everything they should have been. Little Marco’s body had just been too weak, too underdeveloped to fight any more.
The late evening sun was streaming in the windows behind him, bathing them both in a luminescence of peaches and purples. Distraction. That was what this was. And right now she could do with a distraction.
Something to help her forget. Something to help her think about something other than work. She was due to go home in a few days. She’d taught the surgeons at Montanari Royal General everything she could.
She let her shoulders relax a little. The first two glasses of wine were starting to kick in.
‘I don’t know that I’m a Lavender Fizz kind of girl.’
‘Well, let’s see what kind of girl you are.’ The words hung in the air between them, with a hundred alternative meanings circulating in her mind. This guy was good. He was very good.
She half wished she’d changed after work. Or at least pulled a brush through her hair and applied some fresh make-up. This guy was impeccable, which made her wish she were too. He picked up the cocktail menu, pretending to peruse it, while giving her sideways glances. ‘No,’ he said decidedly. ‘Not gin.’ He paused a second. ‘Hmm, raspberries, maybe. Wait, no, here it is. A peach melba cocktail.’
She couldn’t help but smile as she raised her eyebrows. ‘And what’s in that one?’
He signalled the barman. ‘Let’s find out.’
Her smile remained fixed on her face. His confidence was tantalising. She sipped at her wine as she waited for the barman to mix the drinks.
‘What’s your name?’ he asked as they waited. He held out his hand towards her. ‘I’m Seb.’
Seb. A suitable billionaire-type name. Most of the men in this hotel had a whole host of aristocratic names. Louis. Alexander. Hugo. Augustus.
She reached out to take his hand. ‘Sienna.’
His hand enveloped hers. What should have been a firm handshake was something else entirely. It was gentle. Almost like a caress. But there was a purpose to it. He didn’t let go. He kept holding, letting the warmth of his hand permeate through her chilled skin. His voice was husky. ‘You’ve been holding on to that wine glass too long.’ Before she could reply he continued. ‘Sienna. It doesn’t seem a particularly Scottish name.’
A furrow appeared on his brow. As if he were trying to connect something. After a second, he shook his head and concentrated on her again.
She tried not to fixate on the fact her hand was still in his. She liked it. She liked the way this man was one of the most direct flirts she’d ever met. He could have scrawled his intentions towards her with her lipstick on the mirrored gantry behind the bar and she wouldn’t have batted an eyelid because this was definitely a two-way street.
‘It’s not.’ She let her thumb brush over the back of his hand. ‘It’s Italian.’ She lifted her eyebrows. ‘I was conceived there. By accident—of course,’ she added.
A look of confusion swept his face as the barman set down the drinks, but he didn’t call her on her comment.
Sienna had a wave of disappointment as she had to pull her hand free of his and she turned to the peach concoction on the bar with a glimpse of red near the bottom. She lifted the tiny straws and gave it a little stir. ‘What is this, exactly?’
Those green eyes fixed on hers again. ‘Peach nectar, raspberry puree, fresh raspberries and champagne.’
She took a sip. Nectar was right. It hit the spot perfectly. Just like something else.
‘Are you here on business or pleasure, Sienna?’
She thought for a second. She was proud to be a surgeon. Most men she’d ever met had seemed impressed by her career. But tonight she didn’t want to talk about being a surgeon. Tonight she wanted to concentrate on something else entirely.
‘Business. But it’s almost concluded. I go home in a few days.’
He nodded carefully. ‘Have you enjoyed visiting Montanari?’
She couldn’t lie. Even today’s events hadn’t taken the shine off the beautiful country that she’d spent the last few weeks in. The rolling green hills, the spectacular volcanic mountain peak that overlooked the capital city and coastline next to the Mediterranean Sea made the kingdom one of the prettiest places she’d ever visited. She took another sip of her cocktail. ‘I have. It’s a beautiful country. I’m only sorry I haven’t seen enough of it.’
‘You haven’t?’
She shook her head. ‘Business is business. I’ve been busy.’ She stirred her drink. ‘What about you?’
He had an air about him. Something she hadn’t encountered before. An aura. She assumed he must be quite enigmatic as a businessman. He could probably charm the birds from the trees. At least, she was assuming he was a businessman. He looked the part and every other man she’d met in this exclusive hotel had been here to do one business deal or another.
But for a charmer, there was something else. An underlying sincerity in the back of his eyes. Somehow she felt if the volcanic peak overlooking the capital erupted right now she would be safe with this guy. Her instincts had always been good and it had been a long time since she’d felt like that.
‘I’ve been abroad on business. I’m just back.’
‘You stay here? In this hotel?’
He laughed and shook his head. ‘Oh, no. I live...close by. But I conduct much of my business in this hotel.’ He gave another gracious nod towards the barman. ‘They have the best facilities. The most professional staff. I’m comfortable here.’
It was a slightly odd thing to say. But she forgot about it in seconds as the barman came back to top up their glasses.
She took a deep breath and stared at her glass. ‘Maybe I should slow down a little.’
His
