When She Fell for the Billionaire(31)
Sabrina’s heart sank. That meant Markos Konstantinos wouldn’t be arriving until the day of the wedding itself. And what chance did she have of getting through to him once the media and the security descended full force on the island if Luca refused to have anything to do with her after her display of pique in his suite? She’d be gone the day after the wedding. She’d have to find a way. “That would be great!” she said insincerely.
“It would be our pleasure to welcome a guest of such international renown at The Medeia.” It would be a big publicity coup for the hotel and Seireneda to have Chase Latimer on the island. “Just do let me know if he will manage to make it so I can confirm his booking.”
“I will. Thank you.” She leaned forward and dropped her voice. “I trust that this will be all hush hush. My friend values his privacy.”
The manager was most effusive in his assurance.
Sabrina made her way back to her room, her mind in a whirl. After days of trying to ferret information, just like that she had the knowledge at her fingertips. All it took was a mention of Chase’s name. She shook her head ruefully. His head was going to swell even bigger than it was already.
A note propped on the desk snagged her attention. The words were written in bold, cursive handwriting.
“Have breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me tomorrow.”
Sabrina’s eyes landed on the small velvet box that had been holding the note up. She laid the note on the desk and opened the box. Inside was a small, teal-colored sea glass. Underneath the box was another note.
“There’s more where this came from. I will take you there. Lobby, 7 am, tomorrow.”
Sabrina shut the box. Luca was asking her to spend a whole day and night with him. Her mind said no but her body, her body was saying a definite yes. The Konstantinos wouldn’t be arriving until the day of the wedding anyway, so it was not like she was abandoning her mission, she rationalized guiltily. And besides, she had her back-up plan in place.
Just in case.
Chapter 8
She was punctual. Luca was pleasantly surprised. At five minutes before seven in the morning, the elevator doors slid open and his cup froze midway to his lips at her grand entrance. Grand to him because without any fanfare, she stole his breath again. She wasn’t trying to draw any attention, Luca observed. Her hair was pulled back off her face in a ponytail. She had on a tank top, a thin cardigan, and white shorts, all off-the-rack items that looked like a million euros on her. She spotted him just as he moved to deposit the cup on its saucer on the table. He sighed. Another espresso wasted. After a sleepless night, doing conference calls and then tossing on the bed, he badly needed it. Markos had called again, reiterating the need to keep Sabrina quiet and out of his mother’s way. They were arriving late in the afternoon today. Thus the need to plant that little misinformation via the manager of the hotel just in case Sabrina decided she’d rather go after Markos and to hell with their deal.
He buried the raging jealousy he felt over the fact that she was sniffing around, still angling for Markos, even though she made a bargain with him. The bargain he had no intention of honoring. It made them even then, he thought grimly, but that didn’t erase the ungovernable need he felt to make her forget her ex-lover.
He rose to his feet just as she walked towards his corner in the lobby café. She ducked her head, making eye contact with the floor until she halted a few feet from him.
“Buon giorno,” she greeted.
On another woman, he would have said she sounded shy. Luca swore mentally. He had a sudden image of her in a Catholic school girl uniform, hands clasped behind her back, scuffing the tip of her black school shoe in girlish embarrassment.
“Buon giorno,” he returned curtly, ruthlessly erasing the image. It was turning him on. And why this sudden fantasy about a school girl Sabrina? She was not an innocent young miss. And Luca had no use for innocent misses since he had lost his virginity to Maria a.k.a. Lucia.
Disgusted at himself for allowing her to continually get inside his head, he swooped down to distract himself instead with a kiss. It was a mistake. Her lips were soft, smooth, and bare of lipstick. They parted just a fraction of an inch and a tiny puff of air brushed against his own, as if she had exhaled in relief at the contact. As if she had been waiting for the kiss all along. His arms sprang out and snaked around her waist, yanking her close before he even realized what he’d done. She clung to his shoulders while he tasted her sweetness, over and over, nibbling at the bow of her lip, grazing that corner of her mouth that tilted ever so rarely when she smiled. He could feel the hard points of her nipples through his shirt. He groaned mentally, trying to will his erection down.