Table of Contents

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dedication

Dear Madam

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Copyright

“You’ve never had a boyfriend?"

He eyed her disbelievingly.

Just the one. Simon. But he had died. And she hadn’t allowed herself to love anyone since him.

Liam’s mouth twisted. “You seem to be taking a long time finding an answer to that question,” he taunted.

She drew in a deep, steadying breath. She had no intention of owning up to a boyfriend, because she had no intention of talking about Simon. Certainly not to this man.

“Why is my personal life of interest to you, Liam?” She used his first name deliberately now, the familiarity putting them back on an equal footing. “Our discussion is merely on a business level,” she reminded him firmly.

He calmly met the challenge in her gaze. “I like to know all there is to know about the people I do business with."

For the attention of the Reader

Dear Madam,

Re: 9 to 5

We have pleasure in drawing your attention to our new series of stories with company settings. You have written to us at Harlequin Presents on many occasions to tell us how much you enjoy office romances. So, it is at the top of our agenda to give you six sizzling months of business affairs.

Because you’re the boss and we work to give you nothing but the best, the first vacancy in the 9 to 5 series is filled by your very favorite author, Carole Mortimer. We can guarantee that her story of Juliet and Liam, as they struggle to save their company and not to fall for each other, will entertain and enthrall you right to its very end.

9 to 5: it’s the business!

Sincerely,

The Editor

Two’s Company
Carole Mortimer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

‘YOU’RE standing in the way of my view.’

Juliet turned towards the source of the voice, startled out of her early morning reverie by its intrusion, even more startled when she saw the man frowning across at her as he lay on a lounger on the patio a short distance away.

She had been totally unaware of anyone else’s presence as she stood near the sea-shore staring out across the calm water, the beauty of the sunrise reflected on that water also lost on her as she wondered how much longer she was going to have to stay here. To most people it wouldn’t have been a hardship to stay on at this exclusive hotel on the paradise island of Majorca, but Juliet wasn’t most people, and she wasn’t here to enjoy herself!

And she certainly wasn’t in the mood to put up with what she considered to be this man’s rudeness; he might have paid to stay in this hotel too—as she knew, very much so!—but the cost of his hotel suite didn’t give him exclusive rights to the view.

Grey eyes surrounded by long dark lashes flashed a warning of her displeasure at being attacked in this way. ‘I thought the view belonged to everyone,’ she snapped back, putting up a hand to push the heavy swath of her blazing red hair back over her shoulder, having left her own suite earlier without bothering to secure it at her nape as she usually did.

She had been on the island almost a week now, and she found the nights the most difficult to deal with. She had no trouble keeping herself occupied during the day, but at night she would fall into a troubled sleep for a couple of hours, and then wake up at about three o’clock in the morning unable to go back to sleep again. She had taken to going for long walks along the sea-shore as soon as it became light, and this morning had been no exception.

Two more days, she had decided on this morning’s walk, and then she would give up her vigil and go back home to England. She was solving absolutely nothing by staying on here anyway; the person she had come here to see just wasn’t going to put in an appearance, and she might as well accept that.

The man stood up from the lounger, tall and lithe in a black T-shirt and fitted denims, his over-long hair glinting golden in the sunshine, eyes the blue of the water lapping in front of them, and squinted in the bright early morning sun as he stared across the width of his patio-area at her.

It was only just after six o’clock in the morning, too early for any of the other hotel guests to be up and about, and Juliet was suddenly aware, as the man walked towards her, of just how alone the two of them were. And he didn’t exactly sound friendly, either; in fact, he was distinctly hostile!

As he came to stand just in front of her Juliet realised exactly how tall he was, dwarfing her five feet two in height by at least a foot, making her even more conscious of her own vulnerability alone on the sea-shore with him.

‘The view does belong to everyone,’ he murmured in that husky voice. ‘I was just surprised to see someone else out and about this early in the morning.’

And that gave him the right to be rude to her? As far as apologies went it wasn’t exactly effusive, but then this man gave the impression of rarely, if ever, making apologies for anything!

Up close like this he looked to be in his late thirties, had a ruggedly handsome face, dark lashes surrounding those sharply alert blue eyes, his nose long and straight, his mouth a sculptured curve, the chin square and powerful. And he was looking down that long nose at her now, no matter how pleasant his words just now might have sounded.

Juliet shrugged, her own clothing similar to his except that the T-shirt tucked into the narrow waistband of her jeans was navy blue in colour. She looked very small and slight next to his much more forceful physique.

‘The morning is the most beautiful part of the day,’ she dismissed—although at three o’clock in the morning she hadn’t been quite so sure about that!

‘I happen to agree,’ he nodded, still looking at her with those piercing blue eyes—eyes that seemed to miss nothing.

For all that he was dressed casually he didn’t look like the usual holiday-makers Juliet had so far seen at this exclusive hotel. Most of them, including the men, were more interested in making a fashion statement with their clothing than actually relaxing and enjoying the sun and the sea, and this man gave the impression that he didn’t give a damn about fashion, that he dressed for comfort, and to hell with what anyone else thought about the way he looked. Even that slightly waving golden-coloured hair was unfashionably long. Although she could be making a complete misjudgement—she very often did—and later on, when he was joined by his fashion-conscious wife and spoilt teenage children, she would know that she had!

‘Well, if you’ll excuse me…’ She gave him a bright dismissive smile before turning away.

‘No,’ he said abruptly from behind her.

Juliet turned with a frown; what did he mean, no?

‘I ordered coffee a few minutes ago,’ he smiled, revealing even white teeth, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

It was amazing the difference that smile made to his face; he no longer looked remote and slightly daunting, and certainly not hostile. But, nevertheless, Juliet was still somewhat perplexed by his manner.

‘Why don’t you join me?’ he offered smoothly.

Her grey eyes widened. Really, she had just met the man, and he had been distinctly rude from the first, and now he had the nerve to ask her to join him for coffee. ‘Wouldn’t your wife think that rather odd?’ she returned with sweet sarcasm.

She had kept herself very much to herself since her arrival here, resisted all the attempts of the other guests to try and include her in their activities. She was very much a loner anyway, so that hadn’t been difficult for her to do; she certainly had no intention of joining this man for coffee—or anything else.

His mouth twisted. ‘I don’t have a wife,’ he told her drily. ‘And even if I did I can’t see anything wrong in my asking you to join me for a cup of coffee!’

Colour warmed Juliet’s cheeks at what she sensed was his mockery. Maybe she was being a little overcautious, but her experiences of life so far had taught her to have very little trust in other peopleespecially some lone man she had accidentally met like this.

‘I don’t—’

‘Could you put the tray on the table, please? And bring another cup.’ The golden-haired stranger talked past Juliet and over her shoulder, and as she turned she could see the waiter arriving with his tray of coffee things. In fact, it wasn’t just coffee; there were rolls and croissants there too.

And he was obviously a man used to giving orders and expecting them to be obeyed, she thought as she watched the waiter putting the tray down on the table on the patio before going off to get the second cup.

‘Come and sit down,’ he offered now, strolling back on to his patio with long, easy strides. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ He indicated the rolls and croissants. ‘There’s plenty here for two.’

Juliet gave him a perplexed frown. She hadn’t exactly got around to refusing his offer of coffee, but it must have been obvious to him that she had been about to do so when the waiter arrived. And yet he was choosing to ignore that. He had also put her in a position where it would look very churlish of her to refuse the offer now.

She joined him on the patio to his suite with some reluctance, the man waiting to resume his seat until she had made herself comfortable in one of the four chairs arranged around the table, and choosing the one directly to her left rather than the one opposite which she had been hoping he would opt for.

‘Nothing to eat for me, thank you,’ she refused stiltedly, not exactly comfortable with this situation; she felt as if she had been coerced into it, and it didn’t sit well with her normally self-sufficient nature.

He gave her a considering look. ‘You look as if a few pounds in weight wouldn’t do you any harm.’ He arched pointed brows at her almost boyish figure.

Juliet was well aware of the fact that she was probably more slender now than she had ever been in her twenty-seven years, and that it didn’t exactly suit her to be this thin, but she certainly didn’t appreciate this man telling her so. ‘Just coffee, thanks,’ she told him abruptly, intending to drink up as quickly as possible and make her escape.

But as he nodded before pouring the steaming hot brew into the waiting cup she knew that that wasn’t going to be immediately possible, not unless she wanted to make a complete idiot of herself by scalding her mouth in her haste! She added plenty of cream when he placed the cup in front of her, but even so she knew it was still going to be too hot to drink just yet.

‘I’m Liam, by the way.’ He looked at her enquiringly.

‘Juliet,’ she muttered into her cup, just as unforthcoming, before taking a hesitant sip of the steaming liquid. It was as hot as she had suspected, and she put the cup back down again, resigned to spending more time than she wanted in this man’s company.

‘Thanks.’ He smiled dismissively at the waiter as he arrived with the other cup and saucer. ‘Are you here on business or pleasure?’

Juliet looked up at him sharply as she realised that he was once again talking to her. ‘Business?’ she echoed tautly.

He shrugged broad shoulders, relaxing back in his chair. ‘There are plenty of business opportunities here. Even this hotel is up for sale.’

And she hardly looked in a position to buy one of the Carlyle hotels! ‘So I believe,’ she answered non-committally. ‘Is that why you’re here?’ she returned challengingly.

He shook his head. ‘This is purely a pleasure trip for me. I was just curious about you; you don’t look the usual type to book into an adventure playground like this one.’ He raised questioning brows at her.

Juliet bristled with indignation. What ‘type’ did she look? Oh, he was right, of course, but even so…!

And he hardly looked like the bored socialite in search of the sun—a description which seemed to fit most of the guests here. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’ She shrugged dismissively.

Liam nodded. ‘Thinking about a holiday and actually taking one are two different things, aren’t they?’ he said drily.

‘But you’ve only just arrived here—I mean, I haven’t seen you around for the last week,’ she explained awkwardly, that colour back in her cheeks as she realised that she had given away the fact that he was the sort of man she would have noticed if she had seen him before. But she would have done; he was hardly the type of man to be overlooked in a crowd, let alone here at this hotel! Nevertheless, she felt a little embarrassed at having acknowledged the fact.

‘I arrived last night. As you said, it seemed like a good idea at the time,’ he added grimly. ‘Now I’m not so sure.’

‘You’ve hardly given yourself time,’ Juliet pointed out.

Liam looked at her over the rim of his coffeecup, having ignored the cream and sugar to drink it black. ‘How long have you been here?’ he drawled.

She shrugged. ‘Almost a week.’

‘And?’ He arched blond brows.

She suddenly realised the point he was making. ‘I didn’t come here with the intention of enjoying myself,’ she snapped irritably.

He sat back once again. ‘No? Then you are here on business?’

This man was altogether too curious, too probing, too damned direct! ‘Perhaps,’ she returned non-committally, trying the coffee once again, just wanting to drink it and be on her way back to her own suite of rooms.

‘I’m not that daunting, am I?’

She looked up sharply to find that Liam was watching her, amusement dancing in those deep blue eyes now as he looked pointedly at the halfempty cup in her hand. Juliet put the cup back in its saucer with a clatter. ‘I think I should get back to my suite now. I would like to shower and change before breakfast,’ she told him stiltedly.

He nodded. ‘Join me for lunch?’

She stiffened defensively. ‘No, I——’

‘We’re both on our own, Juliet,’ he cut in reasonably. ‘It’s ridiculous for the two of us to eat alone.’

She stood up abruptly, her hair falling loosely over her narrow shoulders, a blaze of red in the sunshine. ‘I prefer to eat alone, thank you,’ she snapped. ‘And I’m certainly not here for a pickup!’ She was breathing hard in her agitation.

Liam appeared unmoved by her outburst, looking at her consideringly. ‘I didn’t for one moment think that you were,’ he finally said softly.

Juliet gave him one last frowning look before turning on her heel and hurrying away across the garden to the main entrance of the hotel, very conscious as she did so that he was watching every step of her departure.

She began to breathe easily again once she was inside the reception area, although the haste of her steps didn’t lessen as she hurried over to the lift and waited impatiently for its arrival to the ground floor. Not that she thought for one moment that the man, Liam, would follow her; she just felt completely disturbed by the whole encounter, wanted to get to the privacy of her own suite as quickly as possible so that she could begin to relax her jangled nerves.

Not that Liam had been the first man to show some sort of interest in her since her arrival here. There had been several other single men in the complex who had obviously seen her as a prime target for a holiday romance, although she hadn’t thought any of them particularly had romance in mind, more like a bed-partner for the duration of their stay! But she hadn’t been interested in any of their overtures, and she certainly wasn’t interested in Liam’s either.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t an attractive man—she would be fooling herself if she didn’t acknowledge that—but she wasn’t interested in a relationship of any kind, of any duration, with anyone.

She had come here for quite a different reason, and after six days of waiting she had to accept that it had been a wasted journey. It had been made out of desperation anyway—a last-ditch attempt to locate and talk to Edward Carlyle before it was too late. The problem was that he had made it very clear that he didn’t want to talk to her, that he had nothing to say to her, and it had been a purely accidental comment, made by the secretary she had plagued for days for information of his whereabouts, which had made it possible for her to know that he would be on the island of Majorca at this time to meet a prospective buyer for his hotel. This hotel.

Instead of showering and changing as she had said she was going to she lay on the bed staring up at the pristine white ceiling. Time was running out, and she just didn’t know what to do to stop everything collapsing around her ears. Edward Carlyle was the key, she knew that, but she also knew he had every intention of letting things collapse.

She had never met the man, but she knew of him from his father, William, knew that the two men had argued years before, with Edward leaving the family and the family business with a vow never to return to either. And now that family business was in danger of falling. Without Edward Carlyle’s intervention, that was exactly what it was going to do. And so far he had proved impervious to her request that the two of them should meet to discuss the matter.

She had been stunned when on William’s death two months ago, his will had revealed that he had left Carlyle Properties jointly between Juliet and his remaining son Edward, his younger son having died several years earlier. As William’s personal assistant Juliet obviously knew how to run the company, but with a completely joint ownership between herself and Edward Carlyle, an exact fiftyfifty split, it was impossible for her to make any major decisions without the approval of the other partner. And Edward Carlyle refused even to acknowledge her letters, let alone come to England and talk over the running of the business.

It was deliberate, Juliet was sure of that. She knew that even though his father was now dead Edward Carlyle must still harbour feelings of anger towards William, that the family rift was still there despite the death of one of the participants. Edward Carlyle was going to let his father’s property business fail simply by being indifferent to its existence!

Obviously, with the success of his own chain of exclusive hotels all over the world, Edward Carlyle didn’t need Carlyle Properties, but Juliet felt a sense of loyalty to William to keep the company going. He had done so much for her, she didn’t want to let him down now…

She had tried what had amounted almost to camping out in Edward Carlyle’s head office in England, the luxurious suite of offices from where he supposedly ran the hotel chain. But it had transpired that he spent little time there, preferring to be actually in the hotels themselves to ensure their efficient running.

And no wonder, if this hotel complex was anything to go by; in the six days Juliet had been here she had quickly realised how easy it would be to become used to the attentive luxury of a place like this! There was everything one could possibly need here to ensure every comfort. Except Edward Carlyle himself!

Unfortunately the property business was still a difficult thing to be in, and William had only just managed to salvage the company three years before when the market had collapsed around a lot of people’s ears. Things were starting to pick up again now for anyone who had actually survived that collapse, but, even so, decisions still had to be made very carefully. And without Edward Carlyle’s agreement Juliet couldn’t make any at all

She turned over on the bed with a pained groan. She had to find Edward Carlyle. She just had to. Two more days and she would go back to England and start her search for him all over again. While there was still time she wasn’t about to give up. She couldn’t! She owed it to William not to…

She hadn’t even been aware of dozing off, but she knew that she must have been asleep for some time when she rolled over on the bed to see the bright sunshine blazing through the doors that led out to the balcony of this first-floor suite. A quick glance at her watch revealed that it was after eleven o’clock. Almost lunchtime, and she hadn’t even had breakfast yet!

As usual, there was a buffet lunch being set out in one of the gardens when Juliet ventured downstairs almost an hour later, having showered and changed into a cotton sundress of a bright red colour that somehow managed not to clash with the blaze of her now confined hair, a tortoiseshell slide loosely securing its curling length at her nape. It had been strange, a week ago in England, packing all her summer things to bring away with her; in early November in England it was already cold and wintry.

The man, Liam, was the last person she wanted to see as she approached one of the tables placed about the garden near the buffet. He was seated at another table a short distance away, watching her with narrowed blue eyes, still wearing the faded denims but having put on a short-sleeved shirt of the same sky-blue colour as his eyes. His hair looked even more golden in the bright midday sun, his skin tanned a dark bronze.

No doubt, like a lot of the other guests here, he spent a great deal of time sitting around in the sun doing nothing but improving his tan, Juliet thought disgruntledly as she put her laden plate down on the table and sat down abruptly, carefully avoiding looking across at Liam as she did so.

She no longer felt hungry as she looked down at the salad and fruit on her plate. What was she doing here? This wasn’t her sort of place at all; these weren’t her sort of people either. God, it was all such a waste of time, and——

‘I should eat that if I were you,’ murmured a familiar voice from above her. ‘You look as if a puff of wind might blow you away!’ Liam added grimly.

Juliet had looked up at him at the first sound of his voice, and her face became flushed with irritation now as she heard his last comment. ‘I would hardly have selected the food if I didn’t intend eating it,’ she bit out tautly, deliberately picking up her fork at his taunt to stab at a piece of melon and put it pointedly in her mouth, meeting his gaze challengingly once she had done so.

‘Fruit and salad…’ He was shaking his head as he lowered his lean length into the seat next to her. ‘It’s hardly going to pile on the pounds, is it?’

She swallowed the piece of melon, almost choking on it as she realised she had forgotten to chew it. ‘I don’t want to “pile on the pounds", thank you!’ she finally managed to snap.

Liam sat forward, his elbows resting on the table beside her, the hair on his tanned arms a golden blond too. ‘It may be fashionable to be thin, Juliet,’ he said softly, ‘but most men prefer a woman they can actually hold on to.’

She gasped at his familiarity; didn’t this man know how to take a hint? It must be perfectly obvious to him by now that she didn’t appreciate his intrusive company. God, she had told him bluntly enough that she wasn’t in the market to be picked up. But maybe that fact alone was a challenge to him, she wearily acknowledged; he looked like the sort of man who would relish any sort of challenge offered to him!

Well, she had said it, and she meant it; she had much more important things to do here than become the plaything of a man like Liam. ‘I really don’t care what “most men prefer",’ she told him with sweet venom. ‘Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to eat my lunch in peace.’ She looked at him pointedly.

‘Don’t mind me.’ He relaxed back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest to watch her with narrowed blue eyes.

That was hardly what she had meant and he knew it! What was she supposed to do now? Because she had no intention of eating her lunch with this man sitting there watching her every move.

‘You——’ She broke off, looking past him to the table where he had been sitting minutes earlier.

A woman was now sitting at the table, looking across at the two of them enquiringly—a beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, her blonde hair short but perfectly styled, make-up expertly applied. And she was obviously waiting for Liam…He hadn’t wasted much time since his arrival here; breakfast with Juliet, lunch with this other woman! And the other woman, with her slightly voluptuous figure, looked exactly the sort of woman a man could hold on to!

Juliet turned back to Liam. ‘I believe your luncheon guest has just arrived,’ she informed him directly.

He turned to glance casually over at his table, lifting his hand to the woman in an acknowledging salute, before turning back to Juliet. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you later,’ he said huskily as he stood up to leave.

Not if she saw him first! Avoiding this persistent man was going to make these last two days of her stay even more of a trial than the previous six had been. But maybe not, she thought with a grimace as she saw the way the beautiful blonde woman looked up and smiled at him as he joined her at the table; he looked as if he might have his time filled quite adequately by her. Thank God!

Men, especially of the type she guessed Liam to be, were not something she wanted in her life. She didn’t want any man in her life!

Except Edward Carlyle. She desperately needed to have him in her life, in the life of Carlyle Properties—otherwise there wasn’t going to be a company at all.

That thought put her totally off eating any more of her lunch, and she put the fork down, the food untouched—except for that piece of melon she had so defiantly eaten when Liam had been sitting with her.

She wanted to leave, having totally lost her appetite, but she was very conscious of the fact that if she did so Liam would no doubt watch her going.

What difference did it make if Liam watched her leave? she irritably admonished herself, standing up determinedly; it was none of his business whether or not she ate her lunch!

She walked past the table where he sat with the attractive blonde woman, her head held high. Deep in conversation with his luncheon companion, he didn’t even glance her way.

And Juliet was even more annoyed with herself for even thinking that he would have noticed her departure!

There was something so very beautiful about Majorca in the evening. The sunset brought into focus all the beauty of the orange-pink stonework of the buildings that were prevalent on this lovely island, of the hotel itself as Juliet walked along the sea-shore towards it on her way to dinner, bathed in the pink glow of sunset.

If only she could be like the other carefree holiday-makers here just wanting to enjoy themselves. But it seemed like years since she had been carefree. If she ever had been!

There had been years of being in foster care and then several more years of being out in the world on her own. Before meeting Simon…

At the thought of him she brought her thoughts to an abrupt halt. She hadn’t thought of him for years; refused to think of him. It was all too painful…

Then why was she thinking of him now? She frowned. She knew why. That man, Liam, in some way reminded her of Simon. Oh, not in his manner; Liam was much more self-assured and powerful than Simon had ever been. Simon had been so weak. But their colouring was the same; Simon had been blond as Liam, with the same deep blue eyes. He had been almost as tall as the other man too.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why Liam had evoked such a strong response within her; she could usually handle any advances made to her without feeling as if she was running away! But Liam had made her feel defensive from the first. And now she knew the reason why. He reminded her of Simon, the man she had once loved so deeply…

And, having realised that, Juliet found it was not conducive to her peace of mind that Liam was the first person she saw when she entered the hotel dining-room half an hour later. He was seated alone at a table near a window that overlooked the tranquil bay of this beautiful resort in the north of the island, his luncheon companion noticeably absent. And he looked devastatingly attractive in a white dinner-jacket and snowy white shirt with a white bow-tie, his blond hair brushed back from his face, his eyes deeply blue against his tan.

Juliet looked quickly away from him because he seemed to sense her gaze on him and turned in the direction of the doorway she had just walked through. Probably he had been expecting the beautiful blonde from lunch; he was obviously waiting for someone, as his table was set for two people. And the other woman would probably want to make a grand entrance when she did arrive— unlike Juliet, who just wanted to reach her table as quickly as possible, away from that piercing blue gaze which she could feel was watching her every move now.

The black dress she wore was plain but stylish, fitting neatly to the smooth contours of her body, showing the extent of her shapely legs beneath its knee-length hem. Her hair, the long red curls wilder than usual from the slight breeze that had blown up this afternoon, was loosely confined at her nape with a black slide this time, her make-up light, her lip-gloss a light peach colour.

She had checked her appearance before she’d left her suite, and knew she looked elegantly attractive rather than showily sexy—the way she had always liked to look when she had acted as William’s hostess during business dinners. It was a style of dress that made her feel comfortable. But not so with Liam watching her so intently!

She kept her gaze on the back of the maitre d’ as he took her to her table, looking to neither left nor right of the elegant candlelit dining-room as she did so, not wanting even inadvertently to meet the gaze of the man Liam.

‘Good evening, Juliet.’

She looked up at the sound of his voice, her eyes widening as she realised that the maitre d’ had left after showing her to the table Liam occupied. Liam was standing now as he looked down at her with amused blue eyes.

She shook her head, colour darkening her cheeks. ‘There seems to have been some sort of mistake…’ She looked about her self-consciously.

‘No mistake, Juliet,’ he assured her smoothly, coming around the table to pull back the chair that was placed opposite his.

She frowned up at him, making no move to sit in the chair. ‘But I don’t want to have dinner with you,’ she blurted out bluntly.

‘Oh, I think you do, Juliet,’ he murmured derisively, that amusement still in his dark blue eyes.

She looked up at him indignantly. ‘I most certainly do not!’ she snapped. ‘What happened to your companion from lunch? Didn’t it work out?’ she scorned with obvious sarcasm. Really, this man was extremely arrogant to have assumed that she would be willing to have dinner with him, even going so far as to tell the maitre d’—obviously, because the other man had shown her to this table without hesitation!—that she would be joining him. Well, she had no intention of doing so!

The amusement gone from his eyes now, his gaze narrowed. ‘Sit down, Juliet,’ he told her softly, but nevertheless in a voice that brooked no further argument.

No doubt he was uncomfortable with the attention—albeit discreetly—that was being directed their way from the other diners in the room because of her obvious reluctance to join him at his table. Probably this had never happened to him before, Juliet realised disgustedly.

Her gaze was steady as she looked up at him, grey eyes cool and calm. ‘I told you, I don’t want to have dinner with you,’ she said evenly, her voice lowered.

Liam straightened, his expression grim now. ‘And if you remember I said that you do,’ he returned challengingly.

Her eyes widened now. He really was the most…! ‘Maybe this arrogant approach works with some women,’ she snapped indignantly, ‘but it certainly isn’t going to work with me! Now, if you’ll excuse me…?’ She looked at him pointedly as he stood firmly in the way of her walking away from the table.

‘Certainly.’ He stepped back. ‘But I was under the impression,’ he added softly as she turned away, ‘that you wanted to talk to me.’

Juliet turned back dazedly. ‘I can’t imagine how you ever gained that impression,’ she said incredulously. ‘Other than bluntly telling you I don’t care whether I ever set eyes on you again, I’ve done everything I could to show you that I’m not interested in whatever you have in mind. You really do have the most monumental arrogance, Mr…Liam!’ Her eyes flashed her anger as she glared up at him.

‘The name is Carlyle, Juliet,’ he told her softly. ‘Edward William Carlyle,’ he added pointedly. ‘Are you still of the opinion that you don’t care whether you ever set eyes on me again?’ He coolly returned her gaze, his brows raised mockingly.

CHAPTER TWO

JULIET didn’t have to be asked to sit down again; she almost fell into the waiting chair, all the time looking up at the man she now knew to be Edward Carlyle, the man she had come here to see.

He was Edward Carlyle. Edward William Carlyle, that middle name obviously where the Liam part came from. Good God, she still couldn’t believe it. He had been this close to her all day and she hadn’t even known it.

But he had known exactly who she was, she suddenly realised as she watched him resume his seat in the chair opposite her. And he had been playing some sort of cat-and-mouse game with her all day…

And he still was, she slowly acknowledged as he met her gaze coolly across the width of the table that stood between them. He looked perfectly relaxed as he rested the lean length of his body back in the chair.

Juliet drew in a slow, controlling breath. She had found Edward Carlyle at last or rather he had found her! She mustn’t let her feelings of resentment at his subterfuge override her need to speak with him. But she did feel resentful; there was no doubt about it. He had known all along exactly who she was, she was sure of that now, but he had chosen not to let her know who he was until he had been ready to do so. Which appeared to be now.

‘You’re right,’ she nodded, amazed at how calm she sounded considering that she still felt slightly dazed by the fact that she had already had at least two other opportunities today to speak to Edward Carlyle, and hadn’t even been aware of it. ‘I do want to speak to you. I—’

‘Shall we order dinner first?’ he suggested lightly as the waiter appeared at their table.

The last thing she felt like doing now was eating; in fact, she felt as if food might actually choke her. ‘I haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet,’ she said awkwardly.

Liam—Edward Carlyle—gave her a considering look. ‘Would you like me to order for you?’ he offered distantly. ‘I can recommend the salmon and the pork.’

He should be able to—he owned the damned hotel! God! Ordinarily she would have told him what he could do—what any man could do!—with his arrogance in suggesting that he order her food for her, but there was nothing ordinary about this meeting, and quite frankly she didn’t feel up to choosing anything for herself. ‘Fine,’ she accepted abruptly, closing her unread menu before turning to stare sightlessly out of the window while he spoke to the waiter.

This wasn’t at all how she had envisaged meeting Edward Carlyle; she had thought it would be on a business footing, not the two of them sitting here in evening clothes about to eat a meal together. Especially when, until a few minutes ago, one of them had been at a complete disadvantage in not knowing exactly whom she was speaking to!

He didn’t look anything like William, his father having been dark-haired, with astute grey eyes and softer features than his son’s. She could be forgiven for not having made any connection between the two men. But that didn’t alter the fact that she was now sitting opposite Edward Carlyle at the meeting she had wanted for the last two months— and that she felt completely at a loss as to how to even begin the conversation they needed to have!

She drew in a ragged breath as she turned back to face him. ‘Mr Carlyle—’

‘The name is still Liam,’ he cut in firmly. ‘No one but my father ever called me Edward. And he was “Mr Carlyle",’ he added grimly.

The friction that had existed between the two men when William had been alive was still obvious in Liam’s voice. Juliet sat forward in her seat. ‘We need to talk, Mr…Liam,’ she amended at his frowning look. ‘But I don’t think these are exactly the right circumstances.’ She looked pointedly around them at the rapidly filling restaurant. A pianist and a violinist were now taking up their positions across the room.

‘No,’ he acknowledged abruptly as the music began to play softly in the background.

Juliet frowned across the table at him. She was looking at him with new eyes now that she knew he wasn’t just a man who had been trying to pick her up for a holiday fling. And she could see a toughness about his mouth and eyes, a power in the hard lines of his face; he didn’t look as if he was going to be an easy man to talk to in any circumstances!

‘We’ll have dinner, Juliet.’ he told her softly. ‘Then we can talk over coffee in one of the lounges.’

That still wasn’t ideal. This was a business affair, not something to be discussed in these luxurious surroundings over a cup of coffee!

‘Juliet,’ Liam continued firmly as he steadily met her gaze across the width of the table, ‘we do this on my terms or not at all.’

Her eyes flashed, deeply grey. He knew that he had the upper hand and was very much in control of the situation. And he was enjoying the power.

But if she got up and walked out now would he ever give her the opportunity to talk to him again? Somehow she knew that he wouldn’t. He didn’t need to; he had already shown his lack of interest in Carlyle Properties. If she wanted to talk to him at all, she was going to have to sit here and suffer through dinner with him. But for what reason? If they didn’t discuss business, what else were they going to talk about for the couple of hours it would take to eat the meal?

‘Tell me about yourself, Juliet,’ he invited once their salmon had been delivered to the table.

She gave him a startled look. What did he mean, tell him about herself? What was there to tell? He must already know that she was his partner in Carlyle Properties, and he had stated quite firmly that he didn’t want to talk about business just yet, so…

‘Your personal life, Juliet,’ he drawled mockingly, seeing her puzzled expression.

She blinked across at him, making no effort to use the fish-knife and fork she had picked up preparatory to eating her salmon. Personal life? She didn’t have one. Carlyle Properties had been her life for the last seven years.

‘You must have one,’ he taunted, having no hesitation in starting his own meal.

She shook her head. ‘No, I—’

‘Where do you live? Do you have a family? A boyfriend? Lover? Or are you married? With children?’

The questions were shot at her in such quick-fire succession that Juliet barely had time to draw her breath before Liam delivered the next one. And what he was asking was too personal when they were only business partners!

‘I could ask you the same questions,’ she returned challengingly.

His mouth twisted mockingly. ‘Well, I certainly don’t have a boyfriend!’

Her cheeks warmed at his mocking tone. ‘I saw your girlfriend earlier,’ she snapped irritably.

He frowned slightly, and then his brow cleared. ‘You mean Diana,’ he nodded. ‘Diana isn’t my girlfriend, Juliet; she’s my personal assistant.’

Juliet gave him a slightly sceptical look from beneath raised brows. If that was what he chose to call the other woman that was up to him, but there had seemed to be a familiarity between the two of them that implied a slightly deeper relationship than the one he had described.

‘As you were my father’s personal assistant,’ he added softly.

Juliet gave him a sharp look, but the blue eyes that returned her gaze were completely enigmatic. Just how much did this man already know about her? And if he already knew the answers to the questions he had asked her why had he asked them at all?

She gave a cool nod of acknowledgement. ‘As I was your father’s assistant.’

‘And now you’re his joint heir,’ Liam bit out hardly.

She swallowed hard. It must seem strange to William’s son that his father had worded his will in the way he had, she freely acknowledged that, and if Liam had shown the slightest interest in Carlyle Properties during the last two months she would gladly have told him that she knew he had prior claim to the company. But she knew from his behaviour that he would be quite happy to see Carlyle Properties go under, and she owed William more than to allow that.

‘You didn’t answer my question, Juliet,’ Liam continued in that hard voice.

‘Do I need to?’ She met his gaze with a calmness she was far from feeling. ‘You seem to know enough about me already. And what you don’t know I’m sure you could make up!’

He gave a shrug of indifference at her show of temper, sitting back in his chair, giving up all idea of eating his own food now. ‘You live at Carlyle House—have probably done so for some time, even before my father’s death?’ He raised mockingly questioning brows.

‘For several years before that,’ she acknowledged tautly.

He pursed his lips. ‘And what did your boyfriend make of that?’

God, how he persisted! ‘I don’t have a boyfriend,’ she bit out coldly, so angry that she was starting to shake with the emotion, her eyes flashing, darkly grey.

Blond brows rose. ‘At the moment?’

‘Ever!’ she answered forcefully.

He eyed her disbelievingly. ‘You’ve never had a boyfriend?’

Just the one. Simon. But he had died. And she hadn’t allowed herself to love anyone since him.

Liam’s mouth twisted. ‘You seem to be taking a long time finding an answer to that question,’ he taunted.

She drew in a deep, steadying breath, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing just how much he was disconcerting her. She had no intention of owning up to a boyfriend, because she had no intention of talking about Simon. Certainly not to this man.

‘Why is my personal life of interest to you, Liam?’ She used his first name deliberately now, the familiarity putting them back on an equal footing. ‘Our discussion is merely on a business level,’ she reminded him firmly.

He calmly met the challenge in her gaze. ‘I like to know all there is to know about the people I do business with,’ he returned softly.

Juliet felt the warmth in her cheeks. She didn’t like the idea of this man knowing all there was to know about her; she had lived her life very privately for the last seven years. The fact that she now had a larger-than-life business partner, whose name was synonymous with the exclusivity to be found at his hotels world-wide, couldn’t be allowed to change that.

‘I’m sorry to disappoint you, Liam,’ she bit out tautly, ‘but I don’t actually have a private life to speak of.’

‘A career woman, hmm?’

The way Liam said it, it sounded like an insult! But that was exactly what she was. Oh, not in the way of hard-headed businesswomen who lived for nothing but succeeding and getting ahead, no matter who they had to step on or over to get there. But Carlyle Properties had become the main focus of her life, and in that sense she was a career woman.

‘Only as far as Carlyle Properties is concerned,’ she told him stiffly, made more and more uncomfortable by this conversation. She had wanted to meet William’s son only as a means of keeping the business going, wanted nothing more than a business partnership with him, had no interest in his personal life, and resented the fact that he should take any in hers.

The blue eyes glittered coldly. ‘It’s interesting that a young woman of twenty-seven, with no surface connection to the Carlyle family, should live in Carlyle House and inherit half the family business…’

It wasn’t ‘interesting’ at all. In fact, now that she had met this man, this whole thing was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth! But she owed William so much…

‘Perhaps,’ she conceded distantly. ‘But as your father’s personal assistant—’

‘And just how “personal” was that?’ Liam watched her across the table with narrowed eyes.

Juliet looked up at him sharply. ‘Just what are you implying, Mr Carlyle?’ she bit out tautly.

He shrugged broad shoulders. ‘My father was old enough to be your grandfather—’

‘Hardly, Liam,’ she cut in derisively.

‘He was sixty-five when he died, Juliet,’ he reminded her coldly. ‘More than old enough to be your grandfather.’

She had never thought of William in those terms, but, put like that, she supposed that in actual years William could have been her grandfather. But even so…

‘Why did you live with him, Juliet?’ Liam didn’t give her a chance to answer before attacking again. ‘Surely that isn’t normal in a business association?’

Under attack was exactly how she felt now. This man, for all his apparent lack of emotion about this situation, was obviously not so calm beneath the surface. ‘Your father and I were friends as much as anything else,’ she returned defensively.

‘Close friends?’

She didn’t just feel under attack now, she was under attack! No doubt about it. Liam’s eyes glittered dangerously, his mouth a thin, angry line.

She gave up any pretence of trying to eat a meal with him; they were both wasting their time even attempting it under these circumstances. ‘I suggest we meet at ten o’clock tomorrow morning in one of the conference-rooms here, Liam,’ she told him evenly, bending down to pick up her evening bag. ‘We can discuss anything you care to talk about then.’

His eyes were narrowed to ominous blue slits. ‘Anything?’

‘Within reason,’ she nodded.

He shook his head. ‘I don’t think you’re in a position to dictate conditions, Juliet,’ he scorned.

Neither did she! But she had a feeling that if she showed this man an ounce of weakness he would use it to his advantage. And to have become as successful as he had over the last ten years he must have had to play by his own set of rules, otherwise he would never have survived in business, let alone have owned his world-wide string of hotel and leisure complexes! She was a mere beginner compared to this man.

‘Possibly not,’ she conceded, standing up smoothly, her lack of composure not showing by so much as a tremble of her hands as she held on to her evening bag—possibly because she was holding on to that bag so tightly, was gripping the black leather so hard, her hands couldn’t tremble! ‘But nevertheless I do not conduct business discussions over dinner. And this is a business discussion, Liam,’ she added firmly. ‘And tomorrow when we meet I will bring the necessary paperwork with me so that we can talk knowledgeably about Carlyle Properties.’

He gave her a look that said she could bring the paperwork but whether or not he chose to discuss its contents would be completely up to him!

Juliet was inwardly shaken by that look, but she managed to give him a cool nod before turning and walking from the dining-room, all the time conscious of that narrowed blue gaze following her progress across the room. She’d known it would.

She was still stunned by the realisation that he was Edward Carlyle. She could have had no inkling, no idea—God, she had had no idea! And he had been playing with her all day. No doubt he had enjoyed himself at her expense, but she just felt totally stunned by the whole encounter.

And no wonder meeting Liam had brought back such sharp memories of Simon—the two men had been brothers…!

Neither man had looked in the least like William, and Juliet realised that was because they had both taken after William’s blonde-haired, blue-eyed wife—the wife who had died after giving birth to Simon.

Juliet had been nineteen and working in the office of Carlyle Properties as a junior typist when she had met Simon, the twenty-five-year-old son of the owner. And the two of them had been attracted to each other from the start.

At the time Juliet hadn’t even realised that Simon had a brother; William and Edward had argued a couple of years before she had come to work for the firm, the result of which had been Edward cutting himself off from his family completely. The name Edward had never been mentioned among his family either, and any photographs of him that might once have been in the house had been long since removed when Juliet had arrived on the scene.

Not that any of that had mattered to Juliet; it was all family history, and, she being an orphan herself, family relationships were a bit of a mystery to her anyway. At the time she had been too much in love with Simon to care about anything else. And to her amazement that love had been returned, their romance being of the whirlwind type, the two of them spending all of their free time together. With the approval of William. He had seemed pleased that his son was settling down, had welcomed Juliet into his home and his warm affection.

It was the first taste of any real family that Juliet had ever had, and she remembered how she couldn’t help wondering how ‘my dear older brother’, as Simon sardonically called him, could ever have distanced himself from that closeness.

But it had only been a fleeting thought, drawn as she had been into the lives of the Carlyle men, with William making her his personal secretary as her relationship with his son deepened.

And then had come the dreadful night that Simon had been killed. It was a night Juliet would never forget, the nightmare having remained with her for the last seven years. William, despite having now irrevocably lost his younger son, had been marvellous with her, the two of them forming a bond that night that was to last until the day William died.

It still existed as far as Juliet was concerned! But she knew that Liam Carlyle would never understand a bond like that, that he saw it only as black and white—mostly black! She had lived with his father in the family home, so therefore she must have been his father’s mistress. How far from the truth he was! Juliet would never be any man’s mistress. Nor any man’s wife, for that matter. There had been no man in her life after Simon. And there never would be.

No man in that way anyway. But she seemed to be stuck with Liam in her life at the moment—a business partner for now—although she had a feeling that that might come to an end tomorrow morning.

She had tried. No one could say that she hadn’t tried. But if she failed now she would still have let William down…

Sleep was even more impossible that night than it usually was. Juliet, finally having given up all pretence of even trying to sleep, got out of bed to go once again through the papers she had brought with her from England for Edward—Liam—Carlyle to look at.

It was all pretty straightforward really; she needed his signature on vital papers to be able to finance and maintain the company. Surely that wasn’t going to be too much to ask? It wouldn’t cost him anything, just his signature and a little of his time. But it was time which he had been refusing to let her have for the last two months…

She dressed carefully for her business meeting. Their encounters so far had been far from businesslike, and she had an idea that she was going to need all the confidence she had this morning!

Her skirt was neat, black, and tailored, finishing only slightly above her knee, the pale green blouse tucked in neatly at the narrow waist, her make-up minimal, her hair secured at her nape with a black slide. With her business file tucked under her arm she looked even more the part.

At least she hoped she did! The last thing she needed was to feel inadequate with Liam Carlyle.

The receptionist smiled at her enquiringly as she approached the desk.

Juliet returned the smile. ‘I’m supposed to be meeting Mr Carlyle in one of the conference-rooms this morning.’ It was more a statement than a query, but she had no idea which room Liam had chosen for their meeting.

‘Miss Berkley?’ the receptionist returned lightly.

Well, at least the young girl realised who she was, which was promising! ‘That’s right.’ Juliet answered with some relief; she had had a terrible feeling, after the way she had left yesterday evening, that Liam might not even turn up.

‘Miss Gilbraith is waiting for you in the coffeelounge,’ the receptionist informed her as she pointed in the direction of the elegantly furnished room to their left.

‘Miss Gilbraith…?’ Juliet frowned. Who on earth…?

‘Mr Carlyle’s assistant,’ the young girl told her with another friendly smile.

Diana…But why was the other woman and not Liam waiting for her? Surely he hadn’t decided to let his personal assistant deal with this? Did he really care so little for his father, or his father’s business, that he had passed the responsibility for this on to someone else?

Juliet was barely aware of thanking the young girl behind the desk before she walked over to the lounge. She couldn’t believe Liam had done this! Oh, she realised that there was still rancour inside him towards his father, but really, this was unbelievable!

Diana Gilbraith sat at a table near the window, looking uninterestedly out at the boats which were sailing in the bay. The other woman looked just as chic as she had yesterday, today wearing a blue sundress that showed off the depth of her tan and made her hair appear blonder as it fell loosely to her shoulders. If Juliet was dressed for business, this other woman was dressed for a day in the sun!

Juliet straightened her shoulders as she approached the other woman, steeling her expression to look confident and self-assured. ‘Miss Gilbraith?’

The other woman turned with a warm smile at the query, standing up in one smooth, eye-catching movement; if this woman was only Liam’s personal assistant, Juliet would be very surprised!

‘Miss Berkley,’ she greeted warmly, the smile reaching the deep blue of her eyes. ‘And please call me Diana.’

Juliet, given the circumstances, had been prepared to dislike the other woman—her defences were already firmly in place—but now she found it was impossible to resist her warmth. ‘Juliet,’ she returned awkwardly. ‘Is Mr Carlyle not with you?’ Obviously he wasn’t, but how else was she to broach the subject of Liam’s whereabouts?

‘Let’s sit down, shall we?’ Diana suggested lightly, and waited until they were both seated before resuming the conversation. ‘Unfortunately Liam had to leave early this morning,’ she told Juliet regretfully. ‘But he asked me to make his apologies.’

She just bet he had! ‘Had to leave early this morning’ indeed. ‘When will he be back?’ she bit out tightly, doing her damnedest to hide her disappointment and knowing that she must be failing miserably; she had banked everything on this conversation with Liam, and now he wasn’t even here!

‘He didn’t say.’ Diana Gilbraith gave a vague shrug. ‘But then, Liam is like that,’ she added dismissively. ‘He’ll ring me when he needs me.’

Juliet could well imagine he would. Needed the other woman for what? she could have said, but somehow, despite the briefness of their acquaintance, she quite liked this woman sitting across from her, and felt, now that she had actually spoken to Diana, that she’d had no right to make the assumptions she had concerning her and her employer. Something about Diana Gilbraith said that they would be erroneous assumptions.

Of course, that could have something to do with the wedding-ring Diana wore on her left hand, Juliet acknowledged self-derisively. She had noticed the plain gold band, accompanied by a substantial solitaire diamond engagement ring, seconds ago.

But none of this helped Juliet; she needed to see Liam Carlyle, and he seemed to have disappeared off to goodness knew where, and even his personal assistant didn’t know when he would be back!

She gave a heavy sigh. ‘In that case there doesn’t appear to be a lot more to say.’ She grimaced, standing up. ‘Thank you for at least letting me know,’ she added politely; it was hardly Diana’s fault that her employer had done a disappearing act.

‘Oh, I don’t think you quite understand.’ Diana stopped her departure, giving a light, apologetic laugh. ‘Maybe I haven’t explained myself very well. Liam has gone to his villa in the hills; he would like you to join him there.’

Juliet stared down at the other woman, complete incomprehension in her expression, she was sure.

‘I obviously haven’t explained myself at all.’ The other woman shook her head self-deprecatingly. ‘You’ll have to forgive me, Juliet; Liam has given me a week’s holiday, starting today, and I’m quite excited at the prospect of going home to my family. But that’s no reason for me to be burbling in this way.’ She gave a rueful grimace. ‘Liam wants you to drive down to his villa and——’

‘Drive?’ Juliet repeated dazedly, dropping back into her chair, still stunned by the knowledge that Liam had a villa on the island. She was even more stunned by the fact that he expected her to drive there; she had never driven on the right-hand side of the road before!

Diana nodded. ‘There’s a hire-car waiting outside for you. I’m to give you directions, and a map, of course, so that you don’t get lost.’

Juliet was still having a problem taking all this in. Liam wanted her to drive to his villa somewhere on the island, and would talk business with her there? Why not here? Why did she have to go to his villa? Suddenly she knew exactly why: Liam Carlyle didn’t like being told what to do, and last night she had dictated the time and place they were to meet!

It appeared that she had no choice but to make that drive.

‘…and your account dealt with.’ Diana Gilbraith was talking to her smilingly.

Juliet gave a dazed shake of her head. ‘Sorry?’ She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard a word the other woman had said.

‘It’s all right.’ Diana smiled at her again. ‘The island has that effect after a few days,’ she excused. ‘I always become very lethargic when we stay here. I was telling you that Liam has booked you out of the hotel and dealt with your account.’

Juliet blinked, stunned; she wasn’t keeping up with this conversation at all! ‘Why?’ she frowned. But she had a feeling she already knew!

‘You’ll be staying at his villa now, of course,’ Diana said dismissively, seeming to have no idea what effect this information was having on Juliet.

And it was having an effect! Liam had booked her out of the hotel, paid her account—an account which she had to admit she had been dreading receiving! —and now expected her to go and stay with him at his villa God knew where. And Liam, of course—but then, considering the autocratic way he was behaving, perhaps he thought he was God!

Or, more to the point, he knew he was the one with the power to dictate the terms and conditions of any further meetings between the two of them…

CHAPTER THREE

IF JULIET had been in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, the drive down the west coast of the island to Liam’s villa would have been very pleasant; the views were magnificent. But she needed extreme concentration to make the drive at all, unaccustomed as she was to driving on the right-hand side of the road, and her thoughts were far from troublefree too.

She felt like a puppet having its strings pulled— by Liam Carlyle. What could have been so important that he’d had to leave the hotel this morning before their meeting? Diana Gilbraith hadn’t seemed to have the answer to that one—or if she had she wasn’t telling. And the other woman had left too now, to go south and take a plane home to her family in England.

It was all very unexpected, and Juliet couldn’t say she was exactly pleased at the thought of going to Liam’s villa. She hadn’t even realised, during all her effort to see him, that he had a villa on the island.

The man was as elusive as a chameleon!

And she had to try and do business with him. Try being the operative word; Juliet had a feeling that it was going to be more difficult than she had ever imagined. And she didn’t at all like the feeling that she was being played with.

It seemed a long drive to Liam’s villa, although in actual miles it probably wasn’t that far. But she had no real idea of where she was going, and continually referred to the map Diana Gilbraith had given her, keeping a keen eye on the X that indicated where the actual villa was. It appeared to be just outside a village on the west coast of the island, and as she approached the village after lunch she kept an eye out for a sign that would indicate the villa, the name of which she couldn’t have pronounced if she had tried to ask anyone.

Damn Liam Carlyle! She felt totally out of her depth—in a place she didn’t know, a country whose language she couldn’t understand, let alone speak!

She had actually driven through the village before she realised that she must have missed the villa completely. She had been so fascinated by the terraced village perched on the side of the hill, and the orange and lemon trees growing beside the houses on those terraces, that she had driven out the other side of the village before she knew what she was doing.

She was hot, tired and extremely irritable by the time she had reversed and driven back, finding the villa with no problem this time, although she was slightly put off by the rough track that seemed to lead down to it. Surely this couldn’t be the right place? After the luxury she had just come from, this villa appeared to be rustic to say the least.

But the name appeared to be right, and even if it was the wrong villa perhaps the owner would be able to direct her to the right place.

If the owner had been at home! Several rings on the doorbell elicited no response, further increasing Juliet’s irritability. Despite appearances this had to be the right place, she decided, and she had no intention of running all over the island looking for Liam. The damned man had booked her out of her hotel—OK, he had paid her bill in the process, but it was still a damned cheek!—and so she intended just camping out on his doorstep until he turned up!

If he turned up…There was always the possibility that he hadn’t come here at all, that he literally had got her running all over the island for nothing. He

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