kind of you, I’m sure,’ Elias snapped, and he cut the line—but not before Nacho heard the want and need in the other man’s voice. They both needed something from the other, so for now Grace was staying.
And so the games begin, he thought as he stowed the phone. But, however intriguing he found Grace, he would send her home before intrigue turned to something more. If he had learned anything from the past it was that women could appear strong and then disappoint in ways that led to disaster.
Dismounting his horse at the gate of the cottage where Grace was staying, Nacho lashed the reins to the fence. Striding up the path, he rapped firmly on the door. The dog answered with a bark. Steadying his breathing, Nacho heard Grace’s murmured thanks to Buddy in a voice that was gentle and affectionate, and then he heard her footsteps crossing the room to open the door.
‘Nacho,’ she said, in a very different tone from the one she’d used for the dog as she swung the door wide.
‘You knew it was me?’
Coming straight from his call to Elias, Nacho was strung tight as a drum.
Sensing this, Grace lifted her chin. ‘I will always know when it’s you. Your horse has a distinctive stride. And the way you knock on the door is quite unique. I’m surprised it’s still standing. And I could feel your tension a mile away—’
‘My what?’ he said.
‘Exactly,’ she said. ‘So, what can I do for you, Nacho?’
No other woman spoke to him like this—with the possible exception of his sister, Lucia. Was this aloof attitude some defence mechanism Grace had perfected since going blind? Did she push everyone away now?
‘You should move into the main house,’ he said brusquely.
He had already turned and was on his way, having anticipated Grace’s immediate compliance—her gratitude, even.
‘Is that your acceptance speech?’ she said, calling him back. ‘Have you been speaking to Elias, by any chance?’
‘You’ve spoken to him too?’ he said.
‘I might have done,’ she fudged. ‘So, am I to stay, Nacho? Is this your invitation?’
‘I suppose you could call it one,’ he conceded brusquely.
‘But why would you want me to move into the main house?’
‘Because you’ll get the assistance you need there, obviously.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ she said.
‘You’ll be more comfortable,’ he explained impatiently, knowing he should try to be more diplomatic.
‘I’m very comfortable where I am, thank you,’ she said coolly. ‘And I wouldn’t dream of inconveniencing you.’
‘Don’t be so ridiculous, Grace. How would you be inconveniencing me?’
‘By making you more angry than you are now? By having you walk on eggshells during my stay? By making you feel duty-bound to watch over me?’ She finished the tirade with an angry gesture. ‘How much more time must I waste convincing you that I don’t need any special treatment, Nacho?’
‘How much time would you waste?’ he fired back incredulously.
‘Haven’t you got it yet?’ she said. ‘I’m completely independent.’
‘Don’t tell me what to think, Grace,’ he warned. ‘If you’re going to work for me, I’ll show you the same consideration I show all my staff and not one iota more. Unless, of course, you’re looking for pity?’
‘Well, thanks for the heads-up,’ she flashed, ‘but I’m not working for you. I’m working for Elias. And if I were looking for pity—which I’m not—you would be the last person I’d turn to.’
He took a step back as she slammed the door in his face. Raking his hair with angry fingers, he was forced to admit that she’d got one thing right—he was the last person she should turn to. But that didn’t change anything. His mind was made up.
Balling his fist, he hammered on the door.
‘What now?’ Grace demanded, flinging it wide.
‘Do you mind if I come in for a moment?’
‘It’s your guest cottage,’ she reminded him with a shrug.
She stood well clear as Nacho walked in, and was glad of Buddy’s warm presence nestling protectively against her legs. Closing the door after him, she heard Nacho start to pace. The room seemed smaller suddenly, and the air swirled around him as if it were in turmoil too.
No one had ever affected her like this. No one had ever frightened her quite so much, or made her want things so much she couldn’t think straight. She’d been a fool to imagine she could ever do business with Nacho as if they had never met—as if she had never felt his hands on her arms or his lips on her mouth.
‘I can see you’re coping really well, Grace.’
Not right now she wasn’t.
‘Please don’t patronise me,’ she flashed. ‘And please don’t feel you must make a speech. There are people far worse off than me who pick up their lives and get on with things. I don’t need your sympathy, Nacho. I’m here to do a job. All I ask is that you treat me like anyone else and make no allowances. You don’t even have to be around while I’m working. I’m quite happy to liaise with your people and with Elias back home. I can draw up a report and send it to you as soon as we’re finished. You don’t even have to know I’m here.’
‘Grace, please sit down.’
‘I prefer to stand, if you don’t mind,’ she said, keeping the back of the chair between them like a shield.
‘As you wish. You’re right. I have spoken to Elias and we have agreed that you may taste the wine.’
‘Really?’ For the sake of her old friend she somehow managed to hide her affront.
‘And when you’ve finished the tasting,’ Nacho went on, ‘I’ll arrange for your flight home.’
‘There’s more to this job than tasting wine.’ She was in turmoil, and her promise to Elias hung by a thread. Her body was pulled one way by Nacho’s sheer magnetism, while her mind was being pulled another. She wanted to stay, to experience more of Nacho, and yet she wanted to tell him to go to hell. She forced her thoughts back to business. ‘Elias needs a lot more information before he’s in a position to place an order.’
‘Enough,’ Nacho said firmly. ‘That is all.’
‘Are you firing me?’ Before he had chance to answer, she demanded, ‘On what grounds?’ Her resolve to remain calm and concentrate on business had completely vanished as her anger increased. ‘You haven’t even given me a chance to prove myself.’
‘I don’t have time to waste on a novice. And I won’t take chances with family money. I need
