Jessica Hart - British Bachelors - Gorgeous and Impossible - My Greek Island Fling / Back in the Lion's Den / We'll Always Have Paris

One of the kittens yawned widely, displaying the cutest little pink tongue, stretching his body out into a long curve before closing his eyes and settling down to more sleep on the sun-warmed passenger seat. The other ball of white fluff washed his face with his paw, then curled back into a matching position.

A low chuckle started deep inside her chest and rambled around for a few seconds before emerging as slightly manic strangled laughter, which soon evolved into full-blown sobbing.

Lexi closed her eyes, slumped back against the headrest and gave in to the moment. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks as the deep sobs ripped through her body, making her gasp for air. This was not fair. This was totally not fair .

Swallowing down her tears through a painful throat, Lexi slowly cracked open her eyes and took a firm hold of the steering wheel with both hands, curling her fingers tightly around the hot plastic as if it was a lifeline to reality.

It took a moment to realise that with all the sniffing she had not heard the gentle crunch of Mark’s footsteps on the gravel driveway.

She stared straight ahead at the olive and lemon trees as he slowly strolled over to the side of the car, then leant his long tanned forearms on the open driver’s window and peered inside without saying a word.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, until the silence got too much for Lexi.

‘There are cats. In my car. I wasn’t expecting cats in my car.’ She sniffed, and then flicked down the sun visor and peered at herself in the vanity mirror.

‘And look at this.’ She released the steering wheel and pointed at her eyes. ‘It took me an hour to put this make-up on at the airport. And now it’s totally wrecked. Just like the rest of me.’

She slapped her hands down twice on the dashboard, startling the cats, who sat up and yawned at her in complaint. ‘Now do you understand why I never mention my dad when I’m working? Just the mention of his name makes me all …’ She waved her arms towards the windscreen and waggled her fingers about for a few seconds before dropping them into her lap.

‘I noticed,’ he murmured, in a calm voice tinged with just enough attention to imply that he was trying to be nice but struggling. ‘And, by the way, allow me to introduce Snowy One and Snowy Two. They live here. And they tend to snuggle on warm car cushions, towels, bedding, anywhere soft and comfy. You might want to think about that when you’re working outside.’

Her head slowly turned towards him so that their faces were only inches apart. And his eyes really were sky blue.

‘Working?’ she squeaked. ‘Here?’

He nodded.

‘I don’t understand. A minute ago you couldn’t wait to see the back of me.’

‘I changed my mind.’

‘Just like that?’

He nodded again.

‘Have you considered the possibility that I might not want to work with you? Our last conversation was a little fraught. And I don’t like being called a liar.’

‘I thought about what you said.’ His upper lip twitched to one side. ‘And I came to the conclusion that you might have a point.’

‘Oh. In that case I’m surprised it took you so long.’

Mark stared back at her with those wonderful blue eyes, and for the first time she noticed that he had the kind of positively indecent long dark eyelashes of which any mascara model would be envious.

They were so close that she could see the way the small muscles in his cheeks and jaw flexed with the suppressed tension that held his shoulders so tight, like a coiled spring.

Mark Belmont was a powder keg ready to blow, and like a fool her gentle heart actually dared to feel sorry for him. Until she remembered that he had been doing all the judging and, until now, she had been doing all the explaining.

‘I’m never going to apologise, you know,’ she whispered. ‘Can you get past that?’

‘Strange,’ he replied, and the crease in his brow deepened. ‘I was just about to say just the same thing. Can you get past that?’

‘I don’t know,’ she replied, and took a breath before chewing on her lower lip.

Time to make her mind up. Stay and do the work or cut her losses and go. Right now.

She felt Mark’s eyes scan her face, as though he were looking for some secret passage into her thoughts.

Her fingers tapped on the dashboard, but his gaze never left her face, and she could hear his breathing grow faster and faster. He was nervous, but did not want to show it. And she needed this job so badly.

‘Okay,’ she whispered, her eyes locked on his. ‘I am going to give you another chance.’

He exhaled low and slow, and Lexi could feel his breath on her neck as the creases at the corners of his eyes warmed, distracting her for a second with the sweet heat of it. Time to get control, girl!

‘Here’s what’s going to happen,’ she continued, before Mark had a chance to answer. ‘First I’m going to drag what’s left of my luggage back inside your lovely villa and find a nice bedroom to sleep in. With a sea view. And then we’re going to write your mother’s biography to celebrate her life. And when we’re finished, and it’s totally and absolutely awesome and amazing, and you’re standing at the book launch with your family all around you, then you’re going to say that you couldn’t possibly have created this best-seller without the help of Lexi Sloane. And that will be the end of it. No more recriminations and no more blame. Just a simple thank-you. And then we get on with our respective lives. Do you think you can do that, Mr Belmont?’

‘Miss Sloane …’

‘Yes?’ she muttered, wondering what conditions and arguments he was going to wrap around her proposal.

‘My cat has just peed on your shoe.’

She looked down just as Snowy One shook his left leg and then clawed his way back onto the car seat without the slightest whiff of contrition.

‘Can I take that as a yes?’ she huffed.

‘Absolutely.’

MARK woke just as the morning sunlight hit that one perfect angle where it was able to slant around the edge of the blackout blind and shine a laser beam straight onto his pillow.

He groaned and blinked several times, turning to glance at the wristwatch he wore 24/7. It was set to tell the time in each of the main financial markets as well as local time on Paxos. And at that moment they were all screaming the same thing. He had slept for a grand total of four hours since forcing himself into bed at dawn.

By 9:00 a.m. on a normal weekday Mark would already have showered, dressed, had breakfast and coffee and been at his desk for three hours. Insomnia had been his faithful companion for years—he’d hoped that being back on Paxos would help him to catch up on his sleep.

Wrong again.

Pushing himself up on the bed, which was a total wreck, Mark reached across to his bedside table for his glasses and tablet computer and quickly checked through the emails his PA had filtered for him. London was an hour behind Paxos, but the financial markets waited for no man and his team started early and worked late. They earned the huge salaries he paid them to make Belmont Investments one of the most respected London financial houses.

Ten minutes later he’d sent replies to emails that needed his personal attention and forwarded others to the heads of department to action.

Then he turned to the real nightmare. The restructuring plans which would secure the long-term stability and profitability of the company. It was going to be tough convincing his father that these difficult measures needed to be taken, and they had already been delayed for months following his mother’s death and his father’s illness.