The subject of her virginity—if it was true—unsettled him somewhat. Then again, everything about Elise was turning out to be uncharted territory for him.
She got under his skin in the most disturbing way, but not enough for him to step back from the clamouring desire raging through his blood. Perhaps, once he’d had her, she would cease to have this peculiar power over him.
He would have her.
But for now he had other matters to deal with.
‘My grandmother received your flowers,’ Elise said. Her frown momentarily disappeared, a hint of the smile that toyed with his breathing when in full bloom curving her lightly glossed lips. ‘She called when I was getting dressed. She wanted to thank you. She says to tell you they’re the most beautiful flowers she’s ever received.’
His own mouth curved. ‘She was the perfect absent hostess and she ensured our invitation to Kenzo Ishikawa’s birthday party. It was the least I could do.’
Her smile widened. ‘She did say you owe her big, though. And that she might call in her chips when you least expect it.’
‘I look forwarding to meeting her one day. She sounds formidable.’
Pride propelled her nod. ‘She’s one of the strongest people I know. She’s the product of a Pearl Harbour love story that almost didn’t happen.’ Her smile slipped a little. ‘Her childhood was rough. When it was her turn to become a mother, she tried to shield my mother as much as possible. She believes she overcompensated by spoiling my mother, which is why...’ She shook her head and stopped.
Alejandro reached for her hand. It was an unfamiliar offer of comfort, and yet it felt right. ‘You reminded me that the apple sometimes does fall far enough from the tree to seek its own roots and light. Your mother may have been spoilt as a child, but I doubt the grandmother who encouraged you to follow your dreams also encouraged your mother to take the particular path she’s taken. I bet they disagree on a few things?’
‘They disagree on everything! They fought constantly about the way she was bringing me up. My grandmother couldn’t bear it any longer, which is why she moved back to Hawaii. Surprisingly, they have a better relationship now they’re thousands of miles apart.’
‘Distance provides clarity. Sometimes.’
She eyed him, and Alejandro knew what was coming. ‘Did it do that for you?’ she asked.
Surprisingly, her question didn’t grate on him. Although the chafing layer of disquiet closely resembling guilt and regret that had manifested when Gael visited him in his office intensified.
He shifted in his seat. ‘It taught me that I never wanted to be in that situation. I’ve seen the wedding pictures. I’ve heard the stories of how they met. My parents married believing they were happy. For some reason, that changed very soon afterwards. They took pleasure in hurting one another until they were locked so fully into their macabre roles they couldn’t see anything or anyone else, not even their son. I knew very early, I wanted nothing to do with that level of emotional turbulence.’
She looked pensive. ‘True compatibility in any relationship is hard to find, I know, but just because that happened to them doesn’t mean it’ll happen to you.’
‘It didn’t just happen to me. It happened to Gael. It happened to his mother. It happened to everyone my parents came into contact with. The Aguilar brain may be good for business, but there’s no heart there to sustain meaningful relationships. I accepted that a long time ago.’
Her eyes shadowed, her face losing colour.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
She averted her face sharply towards the window. ‘Nothing. I’m fine.’
Alejandro let it go, but he wondered if his declaration had been too harsh.
But the truth often was. Realising his parents had no room in their life for him had hurt for a long time. Time and distance had dulled the pain. Increasingly fleeting liaisons, which proved he wasn’t built for relationships, had only confirmed his suspicions.
He was more than content to accept the status quo.
Except the regret continues to chafe...
The hand within his grip moved. He gripped it tighter. As he stared down at their entwined hands something moved through him. Something numinous that had nothing to do with the electric heat of their touching palms.
The emotion further unsettled him. So much so, when the limo driving them to Ishikawa’s party drew to a stop at the top of a small hill, relief poured through him. Alighting, he took a deep, sustaining gulp of the cool evening air.
All around cherry blossoms flowered in pinks, reds and whites. Spring in Kyoto was breathtaking. But nothing surpassed the beauty of the woman who stepped out beside him a second later.
His gaze moved over her, quiet satisfaction eroding some of the tumult.
He’d called in a stylist when she’d asked for time off to go shopping. Her clear embarrassment and distress had made him probe deeper, which had led to the discovery that she hadn’t packed adequately due to a visit from her mother.
She hadn’t needed to go into great detail for him to know her mother was the reason she’d boarded his plane with shadows under her eyes. Those shadows were gone now. He paused to appreciate her feminine form in a red gown that bared her shoulders and warmed her complexion, the lightly made-up face and elegantly styled hair.