‘What did you think?’
‘I don’t know what I thought,’ she admitted, shaking her head. ‘But this is such a surprise—a wonderful surprise.’
‘I’ve bought the house and everything in it, so you can work with me. Or you can stand in my way, if you prefer, though I wouldn’t advise it,’ Chico said wryly. ‘When I’m set on a plan, I always carry it through.’
He wanted them to work together? It was an extraordinary, far-sighted plan, but what could she offer the children? She didn’t have a diploma, let alone a peg to hang her hat. Were the children supposed to wait until she resolved those issues?
‘Could I live here?’
‘I would hope so,’ Chico confirmed. ‘Where are you going now?’ he demanded, coming to stand in her way.
‘I have to think about this. I need to get back on my feet again first.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘You do. And?’
‘That means ploughing my own furrow, not walking in yours.’
‘But you’re a crucial part of my plan, Lizzie. I won’t let you go so easily this time.’
‘You can’t stop me,’ she said in her most reasonable tone.
Chico’s black eyes changed. She knew that look. ‘Don’t you dare,’ she warned him. ‘If you kiss me, I’ll—’
‘You’ll what?’ Grabbing her close, he cupped her chin and made her look at him.
Lizzie felt so good in his arms, he had to close his eyes for a moment so he could absorb just how good. She was like every Christmas gift come at once—better even than he remembered.
‘You barbarian,’ she flashed when he pulled back. ‘How dare you come in here and kiss me?’
‘How dare I? Really?’ His lips tugged with amusement, which only made her madder than before. Her eyes turned black, her lips were swollen, and her nipples thrust imperatively against the fine lace of her bra. ‘I might ride to your rescue occasionally, but I’m no saint.’
Before she had a chance to argue with him, he drove his mouth down on hers, claiming the last thing that interested him at Rottingdean. And then, with a fierce sound of hunger and need, she laced her fingers through his hair to keep him close.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
HE HAD NEVER experienced such a rush of desire before. This was a kiss like no other; an embrace he doubted either of them would ever forget. It was as if all the forces of nature had come together to bind them close. They could argue all they liked, but the fates would not allow them to defy their destiny. When he finally released her, Lizzie’s face was flushed to show that the blood was pumping fiercely through her veins. But it wasn’t just lust driving her.
‘You can’t have everything at Rottingdean, Chico,’ she told him. ‘You can’t buy me along with the Chippendale chairs.’
‘I don’t want to buy you,’ he fired back. ‘I don’t see you as one of the fixtures and fittings,’ and just as she was about to get started, he added, ‘but I don’t see why I can’t have you.’ And catching her close, he smiled down. ‘Why fight what we both want, Lizzie?’