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‘I wouldn’t have put it quite like that.’

‘No chance,’ she told him bluntly. ‘You’re perfectly safe with me. I don’t go for rich men. I especially don’t go for rich, arrogant men. We both want to find your brother and that’s our only tie. When we part company, I have no intention of seeing you ever again, so your precious boundaries will remain well and truly intact. Now, if that’s everything? I have a lot of things to do before we leave…’

CHAPTER THREE

JAVIER’S OPTIMISTIC PLAN to leave within a couple of days because every second mattered, was happily delayed by three days because he had unavoidable meetings abroad.

He had tried to call her the day after they’d had dinner and caught her in the middle of a teaching session. He immediately followed up with a text message that had, predictably, got on her nerves because it had been just three words.

Call me. Urgent.

Fearing the worst, she had called him immediately to be met by his deep, lazy drawl down the end of the line telling her that she could relax because they would be leaving later than anticipated.

‘I have meetings in New York and they’re unavoidable.’

‘I thought time was of the essence,’ she’d said sarcastically. She was annoyed with him for messing her around but a lot more annoyed with herself because of the effect his voice had on her. It made her skin prickle.

‘So is saving a small start-up business and, along with it, two dozen jobs. The jobs of young people who don’t deserve to be booted out because of a hostile takeover. As soon as I hang up, I’ll get Hannah to email you the travel itinerary. She’s my EA and she’ll be dealing with the details. If you have any questions, direct them at her.’

‘Wait, weren’t you paranoid before about third party involvement? Just in case they ran to the press and sold the story about your brother taking a little time out to the highest bidder? Not that I think anyone would be interested.’

‘My EA’s booking our flights and handling the travel details,’ he had replied smoothly. ‘That doesn’t amount to third party involvement. She has no idea that this isn’t another…personal trip for me.’

Hope had flushed because she’d known just what he’d meant. Hot boss…hot date…a week or so away for hot sex… His EA probably spent half her life booking places for him to visit with whichever woman he happened to be seeing at the time.

‘Won’t she be a little curious?’ she had asked, addled as her imagination went into overdrive.

‘She’s paid not to be curious when it comes to my private life.’

He’d laughed softly and she had felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. That low sound was just so damned sexy.

‘Wonderful,’ Hope had said in response. ‘As soon as I have the dates, I’m going to have to tell my students. So there can’t be any more unavoidable meetings just because you’re saving people from unemployment.’

He had burst out laughing then and when he’d finally sobered up, had said with amusement still in his voice, ‘You’re definitely not my brother’s type.’

Then he’d disconnected before she’d had time to be furious with him. That had sounded, as it had the first time he’d said it, a lot like an insult.

But the time had now come for Hope to travel. Javier’s driver, Gerry, would be collecting her in roughly…two hours.

To her relief, she would be travelling solo, with Javier meeting her at the other end. She would be flying straight from New York to Mexico which, of course, made perfect sense.

Javier’s villa was another plane trip away once she’d landed at Mexico’s international airport but they would be taking that flight together. If Carlos was there, they would both arrive in a show of unity.

Hope knew that Carlos would not be hiding out there, but she’d worked out her plan for gently bracing Javier for what, eventually, he would have to confront.

Hope’s thoughts now were mostly on the mission ahead, while her mother pottered around her, tidying the breakfast they had just eaten and pouring them both cups of coffee.

Hope’s mother had travelled up to London the evening before to stay with Rosie while Hope was away and was finding it difficult to get on board with Hope’s vague reason for the sudden trip. She had told her mother that the trip was a factfinding mission for a freelance photography project.

‘It seems a very odd time of year to ask someone to drop what they’re doing and travel halfway across the world to take some pictures,’ her mother said as she sat down and looked at Hope.

‘You know, Mum, that a person can’t pick and choose when it comes to accepting freelance work.’

‘But you’re going to be back in time for us to decorate the tree together, aren’t you?’

‘I’d never miss that!’

Hope looked at her mother. They could have passed for sisters. Julie Jamieson had had her when she was just eighteen, and despite everything she’d been through, she was still a very youthful and fresh-faced woman. They had the same auburn hair, same green eyes and same heart-shaped face.