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To her surprise, Seb's hands captured hers. 'I can promise you, Gina, that I will listen to what your grandmother has to say, and I will do all in my power to help her fulfil her wishes.'

'All right.' She couldn't say why, but she believed him. Relief flooded through her at the realisation she might not have failed her grandparents after all. 'Thank you.'

Gina wished she could excuse the unsteadiness of her voice and the rush of relief at Seb's guarantee, but she knew it was more due to the effect of his touch. Her skin was tingling, her heart racing. She was in real trouble. Her gaze clashed with his once more and she saw the speculation in his eyes—but also the answering heat and flare of masculine interest.

This kind of instant desire and feminine recognition was new to her. She was impossibly attracted to Seb. But she was only on Elba for a short time, and—more to the point—this trip was all about her grandmother, not herself. The last thing she should be thinking about was a man! Yet she couldn't prevent the rush of inner excitement that came with feeling like an attractive woman after a long spell in the dating wilderness.

'You will allow me to show you and your grandmother some Elban hospitality?' Seb asked now, his thumb tracing a tantalising caress across her palm.

'I don't know.'

Gina felt ridiculously flustered. She couldn't think when he touched her. Bemused at the speed of what was happening between them, she withdrew her hand from his. Her resolve was shaky, and it crumbled further under the warm appeal in his slumberous gaze. A short time in this man's company and she felt like a giddy teenager.

'Let me take you both to dinner,' he continued, his voice persuasive. 'We can talk more about your reasons for being here, and how I might help your grandmother.'

Gina wavered. It was important that this trip was a success, and Seb had played the one card guaranteed to make her weaken. This man could be all that stood between them and the agreement they needed to complete their mission on Elba.

'I'll have to ask Nonna Maria.'

'Of course.'

'In fact, I ought to go now.' Feeling an urgent need to remove herself from the temptation of Seb before she lost her head and did something crazy, Gina rose to her feet and picked up her bag. 'I don't like to leave her alone for too long, and she will be anxious for news.'

Something flickered across his face, but he masked it swiftly before she could assess what he was thinking. 'I shall escort you back. Then I can meet her and ask her myself.'

'You don't have to do that,' she protested, concerned at spending more time in his company before she had reinforced her defences, exerted some control over her wayward hormones and given herself a stern talking-to.

'Perhaps not...' He stood, his hand once more resting at the small of her back, sending new shivers along her spine as he guided her across the terrace. 'But I would like to.'

Again there was that edge in his voice. He might find her attractive, but he was still unsure whether or not to believe her story. She didn't understand his misgivings, but the fact that he had them at all could affect the outcome for her grandmother. She had to do all she could to keep him on side—even if it did mean walking on dangerous ground herself. He only had to look at her or touch her and her common sense evaporated.

'All right.'

Before she knew it, he had taken a bike from the garage, she had told him where she was staying, and they were cycling west towards the village. Conscious of him every yard of the way, she wondered what her grandmother would have to say when she brought Seb home.

Gina couldn't help but feel nervous. This man was a stranger. A handsome and charismatic one—one who attracted and excited her like no other—but still a stranger. And now he had the power to make or break her grandmother's heart.

Would he help them?

Or would they be returning to Scotland disappointed?

As
he
showered, Seb thought back over the afternoon. Maria had enchanted him from the first moment he had met her. Much like her granddaughter...but in a very different way.

For someone who usually remained detached, he had been deeply moved by Maria's story, and fascinated by her memories of the part of Elba he knew so well. The love and affection between her and Gina had been evident in every word and look, and although neither had yet revealed the reason why they wanted to contact the owners of the villa, his doubts about their genuineness were fading. Just listening to Maria talk had confirmed how important it was for her to be on Elba. Despite the emotional and physical upheaval of the trip for someone of her age, it was a final pilgrimage she obviously needed to complete. He wanted to help Maria—and to learn more about Gina. The opportunity to begin that process had presented itself when Maria had accepted his invitation to take them both to dinner.

Knotting a towel around his waist, he sat on his bed and reached for the phone to call his cousin. Now thirty-three, he and Rico were only a few months apart in age, although their early upbringing had been very different. Rico was more outgoing, more trusting, but as a top allergist and im
munologist, with his own successful clinic, he was just as dedicated to his career in medicine.

Rico answered promptly, and Seb filled him in on Maria's story and the connection to the family villa.

'You're lucky that Mamma is away on business with the charity, or she would be over there in a flash to investigate,' Rico suggested with wry amusement.

Lovely as Zia Sofia was, Seb was relieved she was not around to interfere. He wanted to handle this situation on his own. Which brought him to his reason for calling his cousin. 'Why does the name Strathlochan mean something to me?'

'It's the county town near the village where Nic di Angelis lives,' Rico reminded him. 'I worked with him in Milan a few years ago—and I went over to Scotland for the wedding when he married his GP partner, Hannah.'

'How strange.'

'Is that where these women are from?' Rico asked, sounding as surprised at the coincidence as he was.

'They moved there from Glasgow. Until a few days ago Gina worked in the A and E department at Strathlochan Hospital.' Seb hesitated a moment. 'Are you still in touch with Nic? Would you be able to make some discreet enquiries for me?'

'Tell me what you need and I'll talk to him.'

'Thanks, Rico. I want to make certain everything is above board.' He paused, still feeling the flicker of guilt he had experienced when Gina had introduced him to her grandmother as the caretaker. 'At the moment they don't know who I am, or what my connection is to the villa.'

There was a long pause. 'Seb, what are you doing?'

'I need to be sure there are no ulterior motives. I've said I'll do what I can to help when I know what it is Maria wants,' he pressed on, ignoring the warning in his cousin's voice.

'I'll check things out with Nic, but my hunch is the same as yours. These women are genuine.' Rico was silent a moment, and his voice was solemn when he spoke again. 'I know what Antonella did to you, that it's made you cautious and untrusting. And I know how difficult things have been with the press intrusion. But Maria and Gina are not media people out to get you. Don't you think you should tell them the truth?'

Sighing, Seb leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about Antonella and her deception. Or the press. Or his so-called celebrity status. How could he explain to Rico that he had enjoyed being treated as an ordinary person? He didn't want Gina and Maria to judge him on his name or his money.

'I'll tell them when the time is right.'

'On your head be it.' His cousin's disagreement at the decision was plain. 'Before I go, you need to know there are still reporters sniffing around your apartment. A couple have been here, to the clinic, and Papa took no nonsense from one who went to the house.'

Seb ran the fingers of one of his now less able hands across his brow, biting back his annoyance at the way the press were hounding his family. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's fine. I just wanted to fill you in on the official line.'

'And that is?'

Rico chuckled. 'That you have gone overseas. Well, it is kind of true, no?'

'Thanks.'

'No problem,
cugino.
Hang in there. I'll be in touch. Enjoy your dinner tonight with the lovely ladies.. .and tell them you're not the caretaker.'

Seb set down the phone and rose to dress, trying to ignore Rico's advice. Instead, he thought of the evening ahead. He had been surprised to discover Gina and Maria sharing a small room in a cheap bed and breakfast—but, combined with a few other clues, he had guessed that money was tight and it had been a financial struggle for them to come to Elba. Despite the luxuries his career had brought him, he had not forgotten what it was like to live from hand to mouth, to be thrifty, to go without. As he tended to wear casual clothes on the island, he ignored the handful of designer suits hanging in his wardrobe and dressed down, wanting to put them at ease.

Having learned that they both enjoyed seafood, he had chosen a restaurant that was inexpensive and friendly but had a reputation for excellent food. He'd not been there before, and he hoped no one would recognise him—or, if they did, that they would be discreet. He had not forgotten Rico's warning, but he was not yet ready to reveal his true identity to Maria and Gina.

Gina. Anticipation gripped him at the thought of seeing her again. He had never felt such an instant attraction to a woman before. She was only here for a short time, so it would be crazy to act on the searing desire that charged through him whenever he was near her. But, fool that he was, whatever the consequences, he couldn't keep away.

Picking up the keys to the basic runabout his uncle kept for driving on the island, he headed for the door, tension and expectation tightening inside him. It was time. Time to meet Maria again. Time to be with Gina.

Gina dressed for the evening, conscious of the fact that she was taking far more care over her appearance than she had in ages. It was a long time since she had felt feminine and desired—just as long since she had spent any time thinking about a man. But meeting Seb this afternoon, experiencing an attraction the depth of which she had never known before, made her feel as if she was awakening from a long slumber. A self-imposed hibernation sparked when Malcolm had delivered his ultimatum. She had made her decision then and had stuck to it, never feeling tempted...until now.

She thought of her grandmother's words of concern that she had put her life on hold. She didn't begrudge a moment of the time she had spent caring for her grandparents, but between them and the pressures of work there had been little time for an active social life. She saw her girlfriends when their shifts allowed, but she had neither the time nor the interest in dating, would never take the risk of someone trying to come between her and her family again. It had never crossed her mind before today just how long it had been since she had given any thought to her own needs as a woman.

Seb was the sexiest, most compelling man she had ever met. And potentially the most dangerous to her resolve. Just being with him brought long-forgotten wants bubbling to the surface, and she tried to remind herself for the umpteenth time that she had to continue to set her own wishes aside and remember that this trip was all about her grandmother. She couldn't risk letting her desire for a man jeopardise that. On the other hand, Seb could be the one to help them gain the villa-owner's permission for what they had come to Elba to do. They needed him. She very much feared she needed him in a very different way.

After moisturising her skin following a bath, she applied some mascara to accentuate her eyes and a touch of colour to her lips. Leaving her hair loose, she dabbed some vanilla-scented perfume on her pulse-points and behind her ears, then stepped back to take one last look at her reflection in the mirror. Not knowing where Seb might be taking them she'd put on the best dress she had brought with her. It had capped sleeves and a scooped neckline, which revealed rather a lot of her generous cleavage, while the rich red fabric clung to her curves before fanning out at the hips, the skirt rippling to her knees. Flat shoes, a black wool wrap and her bag completed the outfit. She was ready. If only she didn't feel so nervous. Her heart scampered fit to burst, and a shiver of delicious anticipation tingled down her spine— warnings, if she needed any more, of just how fast and how deep she was falling for this man.

'Che bellezza!
How lovely you look,' her grandmother praised with a delighted clap of her hands as Gina stepped out of the tiny bathroom and into the bedroom they shared.

'Thank you.'

'Seb will be a man much envied tonight.'

Gina flushed at the gentle teasing. 'He is doing this to help you,' she reminded her, trying to push away her own edgy excitement at the thought of seeing him again.

'I believe his reasons are much more basic. You are as attracted to him as he is to you,' her grandmother stated with uncanny perception.

'We're only here for a few days—' Gina struggled to keep reminding herself of that fact'—and seeing to your needs is all that matters.'

Her grandmother waved her hand dismissively. 'Nonsense,
ragazza mia.'

'Nonna—'

'I cannot stop caring and worrying, Gina. Despite your protests, I know you have given up so much for your grandfather and me. We never intended to restrict your life by coming to live with you.'

'You haven't,' Gina protested, knowing for the first time that it was not entirely the truth.

Her grandmother took one of her hands in both of hers. 'You are a beautiful woman, but I think you have forgotten this. Today, for the first time, I can see you blossoming again, and it pleases me more than I can say.'

'We are here for a reason—'

'Which does not mean you should not enjoy yourself also,' her grandmother interrupted. 'Have some fun, enjoy the romance. Who knows where the attraction you and Seb share might take you?'