in his mind, memories of his childhood and youth inevitably came flooding back.
Inhaling a deep breath, he endeavoured to get a better grip on his emotions. He had just started to relax a little when on the horizon glinting in the sunshine he glimpsed a small white sailing vessel. It was about the same size and proportion of the boat that Ludo’s brother had used whilst staying on Margaritari.
Why didn’t I
insist on providing him with a bigger and sturdier vessel? If I had it would have had a much better chance of staying afloat in those gusting winds than the one Theo used … the one Theo drowned beneath …
But even as his heart pounded with renewed sorrow and regret Ludo couldn’t help remembering his big brother’s amused voice saying, ‘You need more than one sailor to handle a bigger boat, little brother, and I want to be by myself on this holiday. I’m surrounded by people every working day of my life, and often during the night too if I’m on call. A small boat will do me just fine!’
Rubbing his chest with the heel of his hand, Ludo freed a heartfelt sigh. Some way, somehow, he was going to have to come to terms with what had happened to his brother properly, or the crowd of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ would burden him for the rest of his life. He couldn’t let that happen. If he did, then Theo’s inspirational and admirable example of how to live a good and useful life would be buried along with his memory.
Once again he sought to divert his troubling thoughts with the memory of the honeyed heat of Natalie’s sexy mouth and the feel of her slim, shapely body in his arms. Allowing himself a brief smile of anticipation, he wondered if tonight would be the night when she paid that visit to his room. The hope that she would made him realise that it had been at least an hour since he’d left her to her own devices—ostensibly to unpack and maybe to take a reviving shower after their travels, like he had. Surely she must be finished by now?
He’d noted that all she’d brought with her was one small suitcase and a tote. Women in Ludo’s experienceusually brought far more than that when going on holiday with him—but then he already intuitively knew that Natalie was unlike most of the women he was acquainted with. She was neither self-centred nor vain, and if he was right she wasn’t trying to impress anybody either.
When he knocked on her door a couple of times and she didn’t appear, he immediately turned on his heel and hurried downstairs to see where she had got to.
CHAPTER SEVEN
W ITH HER INSIDES churning at the prospect of facing Ludo again after he’d stormed from the room, Natalie made herself unpack and hang up her clothes. This wasn’t the way she’d envisaged her stay in Greece starting out.
In the streamlined, beautifully accessorised marble bathroom she took a quick cooling shower and then, in a bid to lift her spirits, selected one of her favourite dresses to wear. It was a burnt orange halter-neck in a flatteringly soft fabric that trailed elegantly down to her feet, and she teamed it with some pretty Indian bangles and flat Roman-style sandals. With the timeless Mediterranean glinting in the sun behind her, wearing the dress helped her feel as though she really
was
on holiday … at least so long as she didn’t think about Ludo being angry with her, or the myriad of potentially difficult connotations of agreeing to pose as his fiancée.
What had he meant by his declaration that by the time she came to leave the very idea would break her heart? It had sounded as though he was furious that she would dare to deny him
anything
. It had already occurred to Natalie that he was probably a man who used physical gratification as a way to soothe deep private pain. Havingbeen denied his chosen way of gaining some relief, it wasn’t hard to understand why he’d reacted so furiously. The death of his brother and his own self-imposed exile from his home had to be weighing heavily
Inhaling a deep breath, he endeavoured to get a better grip on his emotions. He had just started to relax a little when on the horizon glinting in the sunshine he glimpsed a small white sailing vessel. It was about the same size and proportion of the boat that Ludo’s brother had used whilst staying on Margaritari.
Why didn’t I
insist on providing him with a bigger and sturdier vessel? If I had it would have had a much better chance of staying afloat in those gusting winds than the one Theo used … the one Theo drowned beneath …
But even as his heart pounded with renewed sorrow and regret Ludo couldn’t help remembering his big brother’s amused voice saying, ‘You need more than one sailor to handle a bigger boat, little brother, and I want to be by myself on this holiday. I’m surrounded by people every working day of my life, and often during the night too if I’m on call. A small boat will do me just fine!’
Rubbing his chest with the heel of his hand, Ludo freed a heartfelt sigh. Some way, somehow, he was going to have to come to terms with what had happened to his brother properly, or the crowd of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ would burden him for the rest of his life. He couldn’t let that happen. If he did, then Theo’s inspirational and admirable example of how to live a good and useful life would be buried along with his memory.
Once again he sought to divert his troubling thoughts with the memory of the honeyed heat of Natalie’s sexy mouth and the feel of her slim, shapely body in his arms. Allowing himself a brief smile of anticipation, he wondered if tonight would be the night when she paid that visit to his room. The hope that she would made him realise that it had been at least an hour since he’d left her to her own devices—ostensibly to unpack and maybe to take a reviving shower after their travels, like he had. Surely she must be finished by now?
He’d noted that all she’d brought with her was one small suitcase and a tote. Women in Ludo’s experienceusually brought far more than that when going on holiday with him—but then he already intuitively knew that Natalie was unlike most of the women he was acquainted with. She was neither self-centred nor vain, and if he was right she wasn’t trying to impress anybody either.
When he knocked on her door a couple of times and she didn’t appear, he immediately turned on his heel and hurried downstairs to see where she had got to.
CHAPTER SEVEN
W ITH HER INSIDES churning at the prospect of facing Ludo again after he’d stormed from the room, Natalie made herself unpack and hang up her clothes. This wasn’t the way she’d envisaged her stay in Greece starting out.
In the streamlined, beautifully accessorised marble bathroom she took a quick cooling shower and then, in a bid to lift her spirits, selected one of her favourite dresses to wear. It was a burnt orange halter-neck in a flatteringly soft fabric that trailed elegantly down to her feet, and she teamed it with some pretty Indian bangles and flat Roman-style sandals. With the timeless Mediterranean glinting in the sun behind her, wearing the dress helped her feel as though she really
was
on holiday … at least so long as she didn’t think about Ludo being angry with her, or the myriad of potentially difficult connotations of agreeing to pose as his fiancée.
What had he meant by his declaration that by the time she came to leave the very idea would break her heart? It had sounded as though he was furious that she would dare to deny him
anything
. It had already occurred to Natalie that he was probably a man who used physical gratification as a way to soothe deep private pain. Havingbeen denied his chosen way of gaining some relief, it wasn’t hard to understand why he’d reacted so furiously. The death of his brother and his own self-imposed exile from his home had to be weighing heavily
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