Chapter Five #2
Her hands were cold and she wished she’d remembered to bring gloves with her.
Her coat felt inadequately thin and the breath leaving her mouth was coming out in big, white puffs.
She was just beginning to wonder if anyone was at home when the door of the castle opened with a creak and she turned to see Maximo standing before her, his powerful frame outlined by its arching wooden frame.
Hollie felt her stomach somersault and silently cursed—but what could she do about her instinctive reaction?
Despite everything which had happened between them, she obviously hadn’t acquired any immunity to him.
And no wonder. Dressed in his habitual black, he looked as if he had arrived from another age.
As if he were thoroughly at home in this windswept citadel, high on a hill.
A conquistador, Janette had once called him and, with all that powerful and brooding darkness he exuded, didn’t her boss have a point?
‘Hollie,’ he said. His rich Spanish accent filtered over her skin like velvet but there was a frown creasing his brow. ‘This is a...surprise.’
And obviously an unwelcome one, judging by his acid tone.
‘I have some papers for you to sign,’ she said, instantly on the defensive, determined to ensure he understood she was there because she had to be and not because she wanted to be.
‘Also...’ flushing, she bent to retrieve the large white box from the doorstep, which she held towards him ‘...Janette wanted you to have this.’
‘What is it?’ he questioned, eying the box warily.
A few random snowflakes fluttered onto her cheeks and she shuffled from one foot to the other, feeling acutely embarrassed by the cold lack of welcome in his eyes. Suddenly she understood the expression about wishing the ground would open up and swallow you. ‘It’s a cake.’
‘A cake?’ he echoed.
‘We wanted to...well, it was Janette’s idea, actually. She wanted to celebrate the sale of Kastelloes and so she asked me to bake you a cake.’
‘And does she ask you to do this for all your purchasers?’ he questioned silkily as he took the box from her. ‘Or should I be flattered?’
Something about the sarcastic way he said it made Hollie’s temper suddenly erupt.
She had tried doing this in a polite and professional manner yet he still seemed so full of himself.
So full of arrogant provocation and mockery.
Did he think she’d concocted some kind of flimsy excuse just in order to see him?
She wasn’t that desperate. ‘Christmas is supposed to be a time for giving, isn’t it?
’ she retorted. ‘Perhaps that was one of the reasons she asked me to do it. And you don’t have to eat it, you know,’ she added.
‘You can always feed it to the birds. I’m sure they’d appreciate something to line their stomachs in this cold weather. ’
‘I’m sure they would,’ he said. As if on cue, a flurry of snow came cascading down from the straining sky, straight onto her sleek head, and Maximo reluctantly acknowledged the growing tension inside him.
He had come to this ancient castle specifically to escape Christmas, because it was a festival he avoided wherever possible.
It provided the ideal bolt-hole and he’d planned to spend a few days there before he had the building razed to the ground.
He hadn’t imagined that anybody would come near him and he hadn’t wanted them to.
Yet now Hollie Walker had turned up, reminding him of his harsh new reality.
Forcing him to acknowledge the child growing in her belly—a fact which was complicated by the realisation that he would like nothing better than to take her into his arms and kiss her again.
To strip her of her drab clothing and reveal the luscious body which lay beneath.
To lose himself in her sweetness as he had done on that rain-lashed night.
His mouth twisted, because what would be the point of that?
He was not going to be a part of her life, or her child’s.
He had given her the details of his lawyer, so she could be in no doubt that he would be more than generous.
Because providing financially for Hollie and her baby was something he could do.
The only thing he could do. A child needed love and he did not know how to give love.
His heart was damaged—his emotions shredded. He had accepted that a long time ago.
So why not just sign the damned papers, enthuse over the damned cake and then send her on her way, no matter how much he hungered to recreate that night he’d spent in her arms?
If he was cold and indifferent towards her, she would soon realise how much better off she was without a man like him. ‘You’d better come inside,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry. I’ll be sure not to keep you for any longer than I have to.’
‘Let’s go to the library,’ he said, shutting the door on the icy blast outside. ‘Unlike most of the castle, at least it’s warm in there.’
‘Whatever,’ she said, with a shrug.
Hollie’s heart was heavy as she followed Maximo through the wood-panelled corridors, thinking he couldn’t have been more unwelcoming if he’d tried.
She thought how abrupt he seemed and she wished she weren’t here.
In fact, she wished she were anywhere but here—but the instant she entered the library, her concerns were briefly forgotten.
She’d only ever seen the place deserted, when Janette had brought her round to view it just before it went on the market.
The fire exit signs from its days as a hotel were faded and the place had always appeared so lacklustre and uninspiring.
But not today. Today she found herself noticing the perfect proportions of the room—the intricate carvings of cherubs and sailing ships, and the huge mullioned windows which overlooked the grounds.
Was that Maximo’s influence? she found herself wondering.
Did he have the ability to transmute dull surroundings and turn them into a place which breathed beauty, as he had done the night when she’d taken him home?
Maybe it was just the roaring fire in the grate which had brought the ancient room to vibrant life—illuminating the detailing on the stone fireplace and the bare wall above it, which was just crying out for a painting.
A rich landscape in oil, Hollie thought longingly.
Or a portrait. You could put a comfortable chair underneath—two chairs, maybe—and sit there in the evenings watching the shadows fall.
She felt a wistful wrench of her heart. Couldn’t someone turn this castle into a home?
It was unlikely to be Maximo.
She turned to find him studying her, his black gaze fixed on her intently, as if he had never really seen her before.
Hollie’s heart missed a beat, because wasn’t she feeling a bit like that herself?
As if this were the first time they’d ever been alone.
She felt awkward in his presence, which was slightly ridiculous, when you considered all the things they’d done together.
Or maybe it wasn’t ridiculous at all. What did she know?
She’d thought that what they’d shared had been intimacy, but she had been wrong.
In her innocence she had confused sex with real closeness.
But you could be naked in a man’s arms and it counted for nothing, because right now Maximo Diaz seemed like a stranger. A stranger whose child she carried.
‘What exactly do you want me to sign?’ he questioned, putting the unopened box down on the table.
‘It’s right here.’ Her hands were trembling as she scrabbled around inside her briefcase and she wondered if he’d noticed as she walked across the room towards him. ‘It’s the release form concerning the fixtures and fittings. It’s just a formality.’
He was reading it. Of course he was. He wasn’t the kind of man who would put his signature to something he hadn’t studied first. And because he was reading it, it was taking much longer than she had anticipated.
The silence in the room seemed immense and Hollie pulled out her phone and began to look at it, as if there were loads of missed calls she needed to attend to, though in truth the screen was just a blur of mangled words.
As a distraction technique it was pretty useless because she couldn’t escape the troubled whirl of her thoughts as the minutes ticked slowly by.
His dark head was bent and when eventually she heard the scratch of his pen, he looked up, his smile brief and perfunctory.
‘I think that’s everything you need.’
He can’t wait to get rid of you.
He was rising from the chair and Hollie couldn’t hold back her shiver as he handed her the document.
‘If there’s nothing more, I’ll see you out.’
‘There’s really no need. I know my way around.’
‘I insist.’ He shot her a brief look and something like pain filtered through his black eyes. ‘How are you feeling?’
It might have been funny if it hadn’t been so sad and Hollie only just managed to keep a burst of hysterical laughter from her lips.
To say there was an elephant in the room didn’t come close to it.
Was that to be his only reference to the fact that she was pregnant?
Because if so she was just going to have to deal with it.
From somewhere she managed to produce a smile.
‘I’m fine, thanks,’ she said. ‘The doctor seems very pleased with my progress so far.’
There was a pause. ‘Look, I’m aware that my reaction to your news wasn’t great and I apologise for that.’
His words were grudging rather than heartfelt, but Hollie told herself she must be generous in her response. ‘No, it was hardly the stuff of dreams,’ she said drily. ‘But that’s okay. It must have come as a terrible shock and at least you were being honest. And I’m over it now.’
‘My lawyers tell me you haven’t made contact yet.’
‘No. I thought I’d wait until after Christmas now.’
He inclined his head. ‘As you wish.’
As you wish?
Hollie had a whole catalogue of wishes, most of which were never going to come true. She wished he had a heart instead of a lump of cold steel lodged somewhere deep in his chest. She wished...
No. Only a fool would ever wish for love from such an unsuitable candidate.
They had reached the hall and he was opening the door and all Hollie wanted was to get away from him and the way he was making her feel, when his terse exclamation startled her.
‘Es imposible!’
Hollie followed his gaze and looked outside.
Her Spanish was limited to about three words which involved asking for a beer, but even she understood that what he’d just said wasn’t true, because it wasn’t impossible at all.
She felt the jump of her heart. She’d been so busy with her thoughts that she’d barely noticed the time passing, or the increased snowfall.
But from here she was aware of how quickly the weather had closed in, and now they seemed to be in a complete white-out.
The landscape had been utterly transformed.
Trees, grass and bushes were coated with a mantle of white, which sparkled like diamonds in the fading violet light.
The thick fall had turned the place into a winter fairy tale—but one with an underlying threat because, outwardly, everything had changed.
No footsteps up the lane. It was as if she’d never been there.
Hollie had only ever thought of snow as a positive thing—as pretty, white and fluffy—but now she saw it as an obstacle, barring her way out of there.
And there was no sign of it stopping. She stared up into the darkening sky and uttered a soft curse beneath her breath.
All she wanted was to get back to her little cottage because, although it might not amount to very much, at least it was home .
‘Where’s your taxi?’ he demanded.
She shrugged. ‘I got a lift here and I was planning to walk back.’
He made a soft curse beneath his breath. ‘I would take you myself except that I’ve dismissed the chauffeur for the holidays and he’s taken the car.’
‘It’s fine,’ she said, between gritted teeth, thinking that she’d rather walk home barefoot than be driven home by him .
‘I’ve been cooped up in the office all morning, and a bit of snow won’t kill me.
’ With a grimace of stark realisation, Hollie stared down at her feet.
‘These boots weren’t exactly made for walking, but I guess they’ll have to do. ’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ he snapped. ‘You can’t possibly walk home in this.’
‘Watch me.’
‘I don’t think so. You’re pregnant, remember?’
‘I’m hardly likely to forget, am I?’
‘Do you make a habit of being rescued from bad weather, Hollie?’ he demanded. ‘Don’t you think it’s time you invested in one of those clever phone apps?’
‘Oh, go to hell!’ she snapped back, taking a defiant step forward and immediately sinking into a deep white drift which came almost to the top of her boots.
And suddenly Maximo’s hands were on her waist and he was lifting her clean out of the snow, and she was staring up into the hard glitter of his black eyes.
And wasn’t it crazy that, in the midst of all her complicated emotions, her overriding feeling was the hungry throb of her blood in response to his touch? ‘Go to hell,’ she repeated weakly.
His velvety voice filtered over her skin. ‘Even hell would reject a man like me.’
‘Please put me down,’ she said. ‘I want to go home.’
‘Well, you can’t. You’re not going anywhere right now. Not when it’s like this. You’re going to have to stay here for the time being.’ He lowered her to her feet. ‘Unless that’s what you had in mind all along?’
She moved even further away from him, though that did little to ease the furious punch of her heart. ‘Are you serious? Are you arrogant enough to think I’d deliberately get myself stranded here like this?’
He shrugged. ‘Only you know the answer to that, Hollie. But if you’re asking whether I think a woman is capable of such manipulation, then I’m afraid the answer has to be yes.’
‘Why, you... cynic ,’ she breathed.
‘You think so? I prefer to call it realism. But that’s irrelevant.’ He moved towards the door, his muscular body all honed and rippling strength. ‘And rather than standing here debating my perceived defects of character, you’d better come inside, out of the cold.’