‘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.