At His Service: Flirting with the Boss
“Yes, but her brother lives in New York and there’s a problem.”
The doctor listened. “Under the circumstances it’s a good thing you’re here to lend support. I’ll want to see her in a week at my office. Then we’ll know more about her ability to see. The nursing staff will send her home with instructions. She has to put drops in her eye three times a day for the first three days.”
“Is she going to be in a lot of pain?”
“No, but within twenty-four hours she’ll complain of it irritating her, and she’ll want to rub it. Right now she has a small, cuplike patch taped over her eye to protect it day and night. Each time she needs the drops, she’ll have to unfasten it. Otherwise, she can do normal activity, even read or watch television.”
“What if she wants to go back to work?”
“Not for a month. The one thing I warn is that she doesn’t bend over so her head is lower than her heart. When she’s awake, you can tell her the operation was a success.”
Their eyes met in silent understanding of what he didn’t say.
“You have my number. If there’s an emergency, my service will get in touch with me.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
The second he left, Remi went back to the reception area to phone David Bowen. He wasn’t going to like what Remi had to tell him.
Jillian heard voices before she came fully awake. She knew she was in a hospital. During the night a nurse had told her the operation was over and everything was fine. They were taking her to a private room. She’d had no idea what time that was.
When she finally opened her eyes, sunlight filtered in the room through the blinds. She couldn’t see out of her right eye. Raising her hand to feel it, her fingers met with something plastic that had been firmly taped down.
A man’s calloused hand caught hold of hers in a gentle grip. “Don’t touch it, Jillian.”
That deep voice—
She remembered his thickly accented English. He was the man at the accident scene.
Slowly turning her head she took in the tall, powerful-looking Spanish male standing at her side. Her hand was swallowed in his strong, warm grip. Until now she’d never realized how white her skin must look to a man whose natural olive complexion had been burnished by years in the sun.
Vibrant black hair was swept back from a widow’s peak, highlighting hard, chiseled features. A true man of Castile. With those eyes, dark and brooding beneath equally black brows, she was put in mind of a figure from an El Greco painting.
Wearing a white shirt with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows, his pronounced five o’clock shadow lent him an earthy sensuality that took her by surprise. It had to be the anesthetic still in her system playing tricks with her mind.
“Are you my guardian angel?”
“If I were, you would never have had that accident.” He gave her hand a small squeeze before relinquishing it.
“You were the driver of the other car?”
“Sí. I’m Remi.”
The memory of their near miss flashed through her mind. “I—I could have killed you.” She half moaned the words.
“It wouldn’t have come to that. In any case, you were such an excellent driver, you turned aside in time.”
She bit her lip. “I remember swerving and the sound of the helicopter, but little else.”
“You’re at the Holy Cross Hospital in Madrid.”
“Madrid? I thought I was in Toledo.”
“I had them fly you here so Dr. Filartigua could operate. He’s an expert eye surgeon.”
She tried to swallow but her mouth was too dry. “Thank you. The nurse told me the operation was a success.”
He studied her intently. “The doctor told me the same thing. Would you like some juice? Then we’ll get your brother on the phone. He’s anxious to talk to you.”
She let out a small cry of surprise. “How did David find out about this?”
“I made inquiries through your work. When I told them what happened, they said to tell you not to worry about anything. All they cared about was your getting better. They gave me your brother’s name and phone number so I could get hold of him.”
“I see.”
He handed her a paper cup from her breakfast tray. The chilled apple juice tasted good. She drank all of it and handed the empty container back to him. “Gracias, Senor.”
“De nada, Senora.”
She had a feeling he was laughing at her. “I know my Spanish needs a lot of work.”
“You made yourself perfectly clear at the accident scene. I was impressed. If I sounded amused just now, it’s because you seem totally recovered from your operation. I wasn’t expecting it quite this fast.”
Even if he was lying about her Spanish, she was glad to feel this good already. She raised the head of the bed with the remote so she could sit up. That’s when she saw an arrangement of yellow and white roses interspersed with daisies placed on the table.
“Did you bring me those beautiful flowers?”
“Sí, Senora.”
“They’re gorgeous! Would you move the table closer so I can smell them?”
“I’ll do better than that.” He picked up the vase and carried it over to her. She buried her nose in one of the roses.
“They smell so sweet.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“Who wouldn’t?” she cried softly. “Thank you!”
After he’d put them back, she spotted an unmade cot in front of the closet door. Her gaze darted to his. “You slept with me?”
His lips twitched. “Guilty as charged.” The man’s masculine charisma was lethal.
Her words had come out the wrong way. Heat rushed to her face like a swarm of bees. “What about your family waiting at home for you?”
A subtle change in his expression hardened his features. “What family would that be?” His acerbic question stopped her cold. “No doubt my staff was delighted by my absence,” he added in a mocking voice, but she saw no levity in his piercing black eyes.
“Why would you stay here with me?”
He stood there with his legs slightly apart, his hands on his hips. She’d never known a man so ultimately male. “I promised your brother I’d look after you. Would you like to call him now, or after you’ve eaten your breakfast?”
“I’d better phone him first. He took care of me after our parents died. Even after I was married he never got over the habit.”
“He told me you lost your husband a year ago. I’m sorry. Naturally he’s concerned.”
Jillian wished her brother hadn’t said anything. She sucked in her breath. “He worries too much about me.”
He cocked his head. “Where his sister is concerned, that’s a brother’s prerogative surely?”
“Do you have sisters?”
“No.” In an instant his eyes darkened, making her wish she hadn’t said anything. “Use my phone.” He handed her his cell. “I programmed his number. Press eight.”
As she took the phone from him, their fingers brushed. His touch sent little trickles of awareness up her arm.
He was a take-charge kind of male with a daunting, innate authority others wouldn’t dare to challenge. In Jillian’s case he’d left nothing to chance. Because of him she’d been given the finest care possible in the shortest amount of time. If that wasn’t enough, he’d watched over her all night.
She owed him a great deal, possibly her life. By the time her brother answered the phone, she was feeling rather emotional.
“Dave?”
“Thank heaven, Jilly. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. How are Angela and the children?”
“They’re great. You sound too well for someone who’s just survived an accident and an operation.”
“The seat belt kept me from being hurt, and the Senor was right there to get me to the hospital. It’s just my eye. I’ve been told the operation went without problem.” She fought to keep the wobble out of her voice.
“Are you in bad pain?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.” That horrific pain had gone.
“Let me speak to Senor Goyo.”
“Goyo?”
“I don’t think you’re fully awake yet, Jilly. Remi Goyo’s the man who’s been taking care of you.”
She almost dropped the phone. Her gaze darted to the window where he stood looking out through the slats, his expression remote.
Before the accident she’d stopped in front of the gate at the Soleado Goyo estate to speak to the owner, but one of the workers told her Don Remigio had gone to Toledo on business. She would have better luck if she called him first.
Don was a word used for a titled person in Spain. Now that she thought about it she remembered seeing a coat of arms emblazoned in the tile work of the arched gate.
“Senor Goyo?” At the sound of her voice, he turned in her direction. “Are you Don Remigio?”
“Sí?”
He moved toward her. “My name’s Remi,” he reminded her in a low tone before reaching for the phone.
Yes, she knew that, but having learned he was an aristocrat, it put everything on a slightly different footing. Again she felt the warmth of his fingers and trembled as he took his cell from her. It had to be the operation making her senses come alive to him. Since Kyle’s death she hadn’t looked at another man. She couldn’t.
Her husband had been an attractive, russet-haired guy with warm brown eyes she’d met working for EuropaUltimate Tours. Three inches taller than her five-foot-six frame, they’d been a perfect fit in every way and had married within six months. They’d been so happy, she’d never imagined the day coming when it would all end without warning.
That’s the way her accident had happened. One minute she was driving along the highway, excited by her latest idea for a new tour. The next minute a stranger was carrying her from the wreck, urging her not to touch her injured eye. He was a man with supreme confidence who knew exactly what to do and had managed to keep her fear from escalating out of control.
CHAPTER TWO
JILLIAN STRAINED to hear his side of the conversation with her brother, but it was difficult because he’d turned his back toward her. Maybe the action was unintentional, but it frustrated her, particularly since she was helplessly drawn to the play of muscle across his broad shoulders.
There she went again noticing everything about this remarkable stranger who lit his own fires in a crisis while others just stood around reeling in confusion. No one else could have summoned a helicopter that fast.
The nurse chose that moment to come in and take her vital signs. Before the other woman left the room, she moved the rolling table forward so Jillian could eat her breakfast.
Halfway through her breakfast Remi walked over and handed her back the phone. “Your brother wants to say goodbye.”
What had they been talking about for such a long time? She lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey, thanks for remembering you wanted to talk to me,” she teased.
“Remi told me you were being examined. Naturally I wanted to thank him for everything he’s done for you. I’m trying to make arrangements to fly over.”
“Don’t come, Dave. I’ll be flying back to New York as soon as I’m discharged. Luckily I’m in Madrid, where I’m already ticketed.”
“How can you leave? Remi told me the doctor expects to see you back in his office in a week.”
She flashed a covert glance to the arresting male standing next to her bed. He seemed to know a lot more about her situation than she did.
“That’s not a problem, Dave. I’ll go to an eye surgeon in New York for a checkup. Right now I’ve got work to do. I’ll slip up to Albany in a couple of weeks.”
“Let me talk to Remi again, Jilly.”
No way. She loved her overprotective brother, but he went too far. She felt guilty enough the owner of Soleado Goyo had felt compelled to spend the night with her. Kyle had told her she snored. How embarrassing.
“Tell the children I bought some souvenirs I know they’ll love, and I found the most beautiful christening outfit for the baby in Coimbra. I picked up something for you, too, but it’s a surprise. See you soon. Love you.”
On that note she pressed the disconnect button and handed the phone to the man whose black gaze flickered over her without letting her know what he was thinking.
She pinned him with her good eye. His dark vital presence stood out against the sterile background of her room. “When did you speak to the doctor?”
“Right after your surgery.”
“I’d like to talk to him about getting out of here.”
“You just woke up.”
Jillian drew in a deep breath. “I feel good. It isn’t as if I was knocked unconscious or anything. Thanks to you the best surgeon has operated on my eye. I’m not even in pain. I’ll go crazy if I just have to lie here. If you were in my shoes, you wouldn’t stand for it, either.”
The furrow between those black brows deepened. “How do you know that?”
“Because the second you’re not busy you start pacing around.”
His eyes mirrored a faint respect for her observation.
“I recognize the signs, Senor, believe me. The fact is I’m made the same way you are. No doubt you’re dying to get back to your olive groves, but your sense of responsibility to me has kept you here. I’m sorry for that.”
He put a hand behind his neck and rubbed it absently. “Who told you the nature of my business?”
“No one. When Dave said your last name was Goyo, I realized you had to be the owner of Soleado Goyo.” And a very important person.
She knew she’d caught his interest by the way he shifted his weight. “You’re familiar with the brand?”
“I’ve cooked with your olive oil many times. In my opinion it’s unmatched. While I was driving past all those olive groves yesterday, I slowed down to ask a worker about them.”
“No one told me.”
“I don’t know why they would. I—”
But before she could finish her explanation, a man in a moustache and a blue summer suit walked in the room. He nodded to Senor Goyo. “Good morning, Senora Gray. I’m Dr. Filartigua.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ve been hoping you would come in. Thank you for operating on me. I know I’m very lucky.”
“That’s my job. How are you feeling?”
“Well enough to leave.”
“I’m gratified to hear it, but I insist you stay an extra day to give your body a chance to get over the shock of the accident.”
“I feel fine, Doctor. I need to get back to my job in New York right away.”
He shook his head. “No flying for a month.”
“A month—”
“The air pressure changes on a jet could cause problems. You want to heal as quickly as possible, don’t you?”
She fought not to cry out her disappointment. “Of course.”
“You can do normal activities, but no driving on your own. I’ll take a look at your eye in a week and we’ll see what’s going on in there.”
His comment jarred her. “But it was just a piece of glass. I thought the operation was successful.”
“Indeed it was, but only time will tell us how much permanent damage was done internally.”
Her body shuddered in reaction. “Are you saying my sight could be impaired?”
“It’s possible, but concentrate on getting well and letting nature take its course. The nurse will be coming in to start you on a course of drops for the next three days. They’ll stem any infection. Enjoy being pampered. Everyone needs it once in a while.”
“But—”
“No arguing.” He smiled. “I’ll check on you again in the morning. If all is well, then you’ll be released.” He patted her arm and left the room.
A familiar male hand grasped hers. She tried to pull away but he held on. Jillian knew what he was trying to do, but if he dared say one word, she feared she would howl the place down.
Blind? Or close to it in one eye? She couldn’t comprehend it.
Her thoughts turned to her late husband, who hadn’t been given any odds. He’d died on impact with that semi. How did she dare complain when she still had the sight out of her left eye?
After surviving the precarious moment, she eased her hand from Senor Goyo’s firm grip. “I’m all right,” she whispered.
“In that case I’m going to drive to Toledo for your purse and suitcase. I presume you travel with a laptop.”
He understood a lot. She nodded without looking at him.
“You can work from your hospital bed. I won’t be long.” As he started to leave she called to him.
“Don Remigio—”
He paused in the doorway. “I answer to Remi,” he said, his voice grating.
The last thing she wanted to do was offend him. “Remi, then. I’m so indebted to you, I don’t know where to start.”
“That’s good. It helps assuage my guilt.”
“The accident was my fault, not yours.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion. Mind the nurse while I’m gone.” He disappeared.
The room seemed bigger without his virile presence.
And much emptier, she realized after he’d been gone a few minutes. Since the rollover he’d been her constant companion, waking or sleeping.
She should be glad he’d gone. Tomorrow she would take a taxi to the Prado Inn, where she’d intended to stay before catching her flight. For the next week she would do what she could on the computer.
By using a taxi to get around, she could take time out to look for some different and interesting spots in Madrid’s environs to add to the new itinerary.
In the middle of making plans, the nurse came in to put three sets of drops in her eye. When she lifted the patch, Jillian couldn’t see anything, but the nurse told her that was normal this soon after surgery.
Yes, it was normal if you were blind….
As the other woman was refastening the tape, the phone rang at the side of her bed. The nurse picked up the receiver and handed it to her before leaving the room.
Only Jillian’s brother knew to reach her here at the hospital. She spoke into the phone. “David Bowen, if you’re checking on me again, I’ll have you know I’m fine!”
“You sound in a bit of a temper,” came Remi’s heavily accented voice. The sound of it caused her heart to turn over for no good reason. “You must be getting better.”
Heat crept into her face. “I’m sorry you got the brunt of that outburst. It’s just that I don’t like my brother worrying about me when they’ve got a baby on the way.”
“He told me.”
Good heavens. The two men sounded like they’d been friends for years.
“As for the reason I’m calling, I thought I’d ask if you need any shopping done.”
She blinked. “That’s very kind of you, but everything I require is in my suitcase or my purse.”
“Muy bien. Then I’ll see you within three hours.” He clicked off.
Jillian hung up the phone thinking he was more protective than Dave, and that was really saying something. For some reason Senor Goyo felt a sense of responsibility toward her she didn’t want or deserve. Too bad he’d overheard what the doctor had said.
She hated it when people felt sorry for her. After Kyle’s death she couldn’t get back to work fast enough. The people on the tour buses didn’t know anything about her or her life. That’s the way she liked to keep it.
“Buenos dias, Senora.” A custodian had entered the room and hurriedly made up the cot Remi had slept in. She folded it against the closet doors. It reminded Jillian she didn’t want him sleeping in here with her again tonight.
The woman emptied the wastebasket, then swept the room before leaving again. No sooner was Jillian alone than the nurse came in to get her up so she could go to the bathroom. On her own she washed her hands and face, then brushed her teeth with the necessities provided. Afterward she felt good enough to take a little walk around the room.
When she climbed into bed the nurse took her vital signs, gave her a smile and turned on the TV for her. “Once Senor Goyo has returned with your things, I’ll help you shower.”
“That would be wonderful. Blood got in my hair.”
“Until your appointment with Dr. Filartigua, you won’t be able to wash it with water. We have a dry shampoo here you apply and then brush out.”
After the nurse left, someone else brought her another apple juice. Jillian had never had such service. It was because of the Senor. Talk about pampering. Yet all the attention in the world wouldn’t stop her mind from thinking about her injury.
Could you get a driver’s license if you could only see out of one eye? Jillian thought so, but she would check.
She had to be able to drive to do her job, and she needed that job. It kept her so busy she didn’t have time to dwell on Kyle’s accident or the death of their dreams to get pregnant and eventually own their own tour company.
They’d planned to have it all. Instead they’d only been allowed eighteen months of marriage before tragedy struck.
Even with her patch on, tears rolled down both cheeks. Great …
Jillian could hear Senor Goyo telling her not to cry so the tears wouldn’t irritate her injury. What difference did it make now?
She reached for some tissues on the bedside table to mop up, realizing she was wallowing in self-pity. What a disaster she’d turned out to be. The second she had her laptop back, she’d look up the rules for a New York driver’s license and find out what she could or couldn’t do with one eye.
Remi stepped out of the main police station in Toledo. He waved to Paco, who’d brought Remi’s car from home. Diego nodded to him as he pulled up behind the foreman in one of the estate cars. Both men walked over to him.
“Thanks for coming.” He put Jillian’s purse and suitcase in the backseat, where he could see the overnight bag he’d asked Maria to pack for him.
Paco changed places with him and shut the door. “When will you be back?”
“Tomorrow.” He’d already instructed Maria to prepare his parents’ room for her on the main floor. No one had slept there since his widowed mother had passed away. He had an idea Jillian would enjoy it. “Senora Gray will be staying with us for at least a month. She can’t fly to the States before then and she has no family here.”
He’d just gotten off the phone with David Bowen, who had too much on his plate worrying about his pregnant wife to consider leaving her. Jillian’s brother couldn’t thank him enough for helping out at a time like this and insisted on transferring some funds to his account. Remi told him to forget it.
“What did the doctor say about her eye?”
A tight band constricted Remi’s lungs. “Barring a miracle I’m afraid there’ll be permanent damage. It’s a matter of how much.”
“That’s a tragedy.”
Diego frowned. “I wonder if she could possibly be the American who stopped at the entrance to the estate right before the accident happened.”
It had to be Jillian. She’d mentioned talking to one of the workers. “Was she blond?”
“Like liquid gold.” Diego made a gesture with his hand, the kind that meant the woman’s looks could strike a man dumb. “She wanted to talk to the owner. I told her to call you.”
He lowered his head. She wouldn’t have to do that now, but the fact that she hadn’t brought it up yet led him to believe she didn’t plan to. He gritted his teeth.
“I’ve got to get going.” Remi looked at Paco. “Call me if an emergency comes up.”
“Por supuesto.”
After thanking both men, he took off for Madrid wondering what her visit to the estate yesterday had been all about. Before long he’d have answers, but right now he intended to stay within the speed limit. It would be a long time, if ever, before he could shake off yesterday’s trauma.
Once back in Madrid he checked in at a hotel near the hospital to shower and shave. A change of shirt and trousers made him feel more human. When he glanced at his watch, he realized she would have eaten her lunch a long time ago. He’d buy something for himself in the cafeteria and take it up to her room to eat while she worked.
The police wanted to talk to her, but he’d put them off by telling them about her eye injury. At that point they agreed to wait until she was settled at the estate.