LITMIR.BIZ

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conversation.

      Or a warning?

      The pilot had given Cleo a brief tour of the aircraft when she’d first climbed on board. And, as well as this comfortable cabin where they were sitting, there were both double and single bedrooms on the plane. Together with a couple of bathrooms, one of which Cleo had been glad to take advantage of.

      ‘Don’t mind Serena,’ remarked Dominic now, continuing to gather his papers together. ‘Believe it or not, she’s a little nervous, too.’

      Cleo reserved judgement on that, but evidently it wasn’t a problem he suffered from.

      She didn’t make any comment, returning her attention to the view. She had to pinch herself at the thought that this was where she’d been born; this was where she actually came from. Was that the reason Henry and Lucille Novak had never shown any desire to come back?

      She shivered, but now the distant shapes of several islands were appearing below them. And, as the plane banked to make its approach to the small airport on San Clemente, she saw the wakes of several boats moving purposefully across the sparkling water.

      Her stomach hollowed again as the sea seemed to rush up to meet them, and she tried to concentrate on the sails of a large yacht that seemed to be making a run towards the island, too.

      ‘That looks like Michael Cordy’s yacht,’ observed Dominic suddenly, and she realised he’d come to stand beside her chair and was leaning rather unnervingly towards the window.

      It seemed such a reckless thing to do in such a small plane that was already tilting far too much for Cleo’s liking. Her hands sought the leather arms of the chair, gripping so tightly her knuckles whitened, and, as if becoming aware of her anxiety, Dominic dropped down into the seat Serena had vacated.

      ‘It’s OK,’ he said reassuringly. ‘Rick’s a good pilot.’

      ‘I’m sure.’ Cleo licked her lips, her words tight and unconvincing. Then, forcing herself to relax, she glanced out of the window again. ‘Is—is that the island? Just there?’

      She pointed and Dominic leaned forward again, forearms resting along his spread thighs, his posture unconsciously sensual. Cleo’s eyes were irresistibly drawn to the innocent bulge between his legs, and she had to force herself to look away.

      Fortunately, he hadn’t appeared to notice.

      ‘Yeah, that’s San Clemente,’ he said, with evident pride. ‘It always looks smaller from the air.’

      ‘Do you think so?’ Cleo had been thinking it looked bigger than she’d expected. ‘Do you get many visitors?’

      Dominic lounged back again, propping an ankle across his knee. ‘Tourists, you mean?’ And at her nod, ‘We get a few. We don’t have any high-rise hotels or casinos, stuff like that. But our visitors tend to like the beach life, and we do have some fantastic scuba-diving waters around the island.’

      He was watching her again, and Cleo shifted a little nervously. ‘Do you go scuba-diving?’ she asked, and Dominic pulled a wry face.

      ‘When I have the time,’ he said. ‘But since the old man’s been ill, that isn’t very often.’

      ‘The old man?’ Cleo frowned.

      ‘Jacob Montoya. Our grandfather,’ he said flatly. ‘Remember?’

      ‘Oh, yes.’ Cleo bit her lip.

      Dominic’s brows drew together then. ‘I should tell you,’ he said, ‘the Montoya Corporation is involved in a lot of different businesses. Leisure; casinos; oil. And recently we acquired a telecommunications network, that should keep the company solvent in the years to come.’

      Cleo’s jaw had dropped. ‘I had no idea,’ she whispered, and Dominic expelled a weary sigh.

      ‘I know that,’ he said. ‘But don’t let it worry you. No one expects you to take it all in at once.’

      And wasn’t that the truth? she thought unsteadily. She was having a hard time dealing with any of it. Even though the Montoyas had delayed their departure for a week to give her time to make her arrangements, it still hadn’t been enough.

      Not that people hadn’t been understanding. Her head teacher, Mr Rodgers, had found her explanation quite fascinating, and he barely knew the half of it. Still, with his help, she had been able to persuade the local education authority that this was an emergency, and they’d given her a couple of weeks’ unpaid leave.

      Norah had been helpful, too, offering to go shopping with her, encouraging her to see this journey as the opportunity it really was.

      ‘You don’t know how I envy you,’ she’d said, refusing Cleo’s offer to pay her share of their expenses while she was away. ‘You make the most of it, girl. You may never get a chance like this again.’

      But, in spite of numerous good wishes, Cleo’s actual involvement felt no easier. She was out of her comfort zone, she thought. Not to mention—literally and figuratively—out of her depth.

      Suddenly aware that the silence in the cabin had become deafening, Cleo rushed impulsively into speech.

      ‘Do—do you work for your grandfather?’

      ‘Our grandfather,’ Dominic amended drily. Then, with a lift of his shoulders, ‘I guess I do.’

      ‘What he means is, he runs the corporation,’ broke in another voice sardonically. ‘Don’t let him fool you, Cleo. Without Dominic, there’d be no Montoya Corporation at all.’

      Dominic got abruptly to his feet. Returning to where he’d left his laptop, he began stuffing the rest of his belongings into his bag.

      ‘Did you speak to Mom?’ he asked, the coolness of his tone an indication that he wasn’t pleased with her, and Serena pulled a face at Cleo before answering him.

      ‘Uh—yes,’ she said, as if there was any doubt about the matter. ‘She says the old man can’t wait for Cleo to arrive.’

      Dominic shook his head. Serena was bound and determined to make this as difficult for the girl as it was possible to be.

      ‘Lily also said she thinks she should make some other arrangement if this is going to be a long-term commitment.’ She gave Dominic a sly look. ‘She’s even talking of moving in with you.’ She paused. ‘Now, wouldn’t that be a happy development?’

      Dominic scowled, and, although Cleo didn’t even know the woman yet, it seemed painfully obvious that Dominic’s mother had already taken a dislike to her.

      ‘Um—perhaps I could stay at a hotel,’ she ventured, just as the pilot’s voice came over the intercom, advising them to buckle up as they’d be landing shortly.

      Dominic gave her an impatient look as he seated himself in his own chair and fastened his seat belt. ‘No,’ he said flatly. ‘You’ll be staying at Magnolia Hill.’ His lips twisted. ‘Believe me, your grandfather won’t have it any other way.’

      Lily Montoya was standing on the veranda when Dominic, Serena and Cleo arrived at the house.

      Cleo guessed she’d been waiting for them, evidently as curious to see her late husband’s illegitimate daughter as she was to greet her son.

      Cleo was conscious of the older woman’s eyes assessing her as she stepped out of the back of the open-topped Rolls-Royce that had been sent to meet them. But then Lily flung herself into Dominic’s arms, hugging him and chiding him and accusing him of being away for far too long.

      Dominic treated his mother’s exuberance with as much patience as affection, his eyes meeting Cleo’s over the woman’s shoulder filled with a rueful resignation.

      Nevertheless, it was obvious his mother had missed him terribly. And, despite his efforts to introduce her to Cleo, she persisted in distracting him with news about some woman he had apparently been seeing.

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