had produced a totally unexpected body. She still had curves, albeit more streamlined than they used to be, and they were now combined with a tiny waist.
She was still amazed that the loss of such a small amount of weight had made such a difference. If she had realized how little had stood between her and a totally new body, she would have opted for diet and exercise years ago. “Can’t you come up with a better conversational opener than that?”
“Maybe I’m out of touch. What am I supposed to say?”
“According to a gossip columnist you’re not in the least out of touch. If you want to make conversation, you could try concentrating on positives.”
“I thought that was a positive.” Nick frowned. “Which columnist?”
Elena drew a swift breath. After her unscheduled meeting with Nick in Auckland she had, by pure chance, read that he had dated a gorgeous model that same night. She said the name.
His expression cleared. “The story about Melanie.”
“Melanie. Rhymes with Tiffany.”
Nick’s gaze sliced back to hers. “She’s a friend of my sister, and it was a family dinner. There was no date. Have you managed to sell the villa yet?”
“Not yet, but I’ve received an offer, which I’m considering.”
The muscles beneath her fingers tensed. She caught his flash of annoyance. “Whatever you’ve been offered, I’ll top it by ten percent.”
Elena stared ahead, keeping her gaze glued to the tulle of Gemma’s veil. “I don’t understand why you want the villa.”
“It’s beachfront. It’s an investment I won’t lose on, plus it seems to be the only way I can get you to agree to help me search for the ring.”
“I’ve looked. It’s not there.”
“Did you check the attic?”
“I’m working my way through it. I haven’t found anything yet, and I’ve searched through almost everything.”
Her aunt had been a collector of all sorts of memorabilia. Elena had sorted through all the recent boxes, everything else she had opened lately was going back progressively in time.
There was a small, grim silence. “If you won’t consider my purchase offer, will you let me have a look through before you sell?”
Her jaw set. “I can’t see Aunt Katherine putting a valuable piece of jewelry in an attic.”
“My father noted in a diary that he had given the ring to Katherine. You haven’t found it anywhere else, which means it’s entirely probable that it’s in the house, somewhere.”
Elena loosened her grip on the small bouquet she was holding. Nick’s frustration that he wasn’t getting what he wanted was palpable. Against all the odds, she had to fight a knee-jerk impulse to cave and offer to help him.
Determinedly, she crushed the old overgenerous Elena: the doormat.
According to Giorgio her fatal weakness was that she liked to please men. The reason she had rushed around and done so much for her Atraeus bosses was that it satisfied her need to be needed. She was substituting pleasing powerful men for a genuine love relationship in which she was entitled to receive care and nurturing.
The discovery had been life altering. On the strength of it, she intended to quit her job as a PA, because she figured that the temptation to revert to her old habit of rushing to please would be so ingrained it would be hard to resist. Instead, she planned to branch out in a new, more creative direction. Now that she’d come this far, she couldn’t go back to being the old, downtrodden Elena.
Aware that Nick was waiting for an answer she crushed the impulse to say an outright yes. “I don’t think you’ll find anything, but since you’re so insistent, I’m willing for you to come and have a look through the house for yourself.”
“When? I’m flying out early tomorrow morning and I won’t be back for a month.”
In which time, if she accepted the offer she was considering, the villa could be sold. She frowned at the way Nick had neatly cornered her. “I suppose I could spare a
She was still amazed that the loss of such a small amount of weight had made such a difference. If she had realized how little had stood between her and a totally new body, she would have opted for diet and exercise years ago. “Can’t you come up with a better conversational opener than that?”
“Maybe I’m out of touch. What am I supposed to say?”
“According to a gossip columnist you’re not in the least out of touch. If you want to make conversation, you could try concentrating on positives.”
“I thought that was a positive.” Nick frowned. “Which columnist?”
Elena drew a swift breath. After her unscheduled meeting with Nick in Auckland she had, by pure chance, read that he had dated a gorgeous model that same night. She said the name.
His expression cleared. “The story about Melanie.”
“Melanie. Rhymes with Tiffany.”
Nick’s gaze sliced back to hers. “She’s a friend of my sister, and it was a family dinner. There was no date. Have you managed to sell the villa yet?”
“Not yet, but I’ve received an offer, which I’m considering.”
The muscles beneath her fingers tensed. She caught his flash of annoyance. “Whatever you’ve been offered, I’ll top it by ten percent.”
Elena stared ahead, keeping her gaze glued to the tulle of Gemma’s veil. “I don’t understand why you want the villa.”
“It’s beachfront. It’s an investment I won’t lose on, plus it seems to be the only way I can get you to agree to help me search for the ring.”
“I’ve looked. It’s not there.”
“Did you check the attic?”
“I’m working my way through it. I haven’t found anything yet, and I’ve searched through almost everything.”
Her aunt had been a collector of all sorts of memorabilia. Elena had sorted through all the recent boxes, everything else she had opened lately was going back progressively in time.
There was a small, grim silence. “If you won’t consider my purchase offer, will you let me have a look through before you sell?”
Her jaw set. “I can’t see Aunt Katherine putting a valuable piece of jewelry in an attic.”
“My father noted in a diary that he had given the ring to Katherine. You haven’t found it anywhere else, which means it’s entirely probable that it’s in the house, somewhere.”
Elena loosened her grip on the small bouquet she was holding. Nick’s frustration that he wasn’t getting what he wanted was palpable. Against all the odds, she had to fight a knee-jerk impulse to cave and offer to help him.
Determinedly, she crushed the old overgenerous Elena: the doormat.
According to Giorgio her fatal weakness was that she liked to please men. The reason she had rushed around and done so much for her Atraeus bosses was that it satisfied her need to be needed. She was substituting pleasing powerful men for a genuine love relationship in which she was entitled to receive care and nurturing.
The discovery had been life altering. On the strength of it, she intended to quit her job as a PA, because she figured that the temptation to revert to her old habit of rushing to please would be so ingrained it would be hard to resist. Instead, she planned to branch out in a new, more creative direction. Now that she’d come this far, she couldn’t go back to being the old, downtrodden Elena.
Aware that Nick was waiting for an answer she crushed the impulse to say an outright yes. “I don’t think you’ll find anything, but since you’re so insistent, I’m willing for you to come and have a look through the house for yourself.”
“When? I’m flying out early tomorrow morning and I won’t be back for a month.”
In which time, if she accepted the offer she was considering, the villa could be sold. She frowned at the way Nick had neatly cornered her. “I suppose I could spare a
Similar Books
Red Mesa
Aimée & David Thurlo
A Taste of Pleasure
Antoinette
Seven Dirty Words
James Sullivan
2 The Dante Connection
Estelle Ryan
The Misbehaving Marquess
Leigh LaValle
A Sea of Purple Ink
Rebekah Shafer
T.J. and the Penalty
Theo Walcott
She's Gone: A Novel
Joye Emmens
The Dolls’ House
Rumer Godden
Kydd
Julian Stockwin