Baz shrugged. “I would say I do. The staff inhabits the top floor. They have their own recreation room, in addition to sitting rooms in each of their suites.”
And the rest of this massive hacienda was for Baz and his family. It was an apartment complex. “How many bedrooms in a place like this?”
“There are quarters for eight live-in staff members, though not all are occupied, six suites in the family hall and ten guest rooms on the other side of the house.”
Ginormous could be good. Her room would be on the other side of the house from his. Distance would make it easier for Randi to stay away from temptation.
“Would you like to refresh yourself from the journey?” the butler asked.
“Yes, sure. That would be great.” If she didn’t get away from Baz soon, it was going to be her doing the kissing.
And that way lay nothing but pain.
“I’ll take her up,” Baz told the black-clad man.
“Very good, sir.”
“Would you like a tray brought up?” an older woman, who Randi assumed was the housekeeper, asked.
“Sí. Something light,” Baz replied before Randi could tell the woman not to go to any trouble.
Randi frowned at Baz. “If I want something, I could go down to the kitchen.”
“But since you have not had a tour of the house yet, it would be a chore to find it.”
“I’d probably end up falling in the indoor pool,” Randi joked.
“Oh, that’s unlikely. The pool has a very wide apron,” Emilio offered. “But if you would like to go swimming this afternoon, it is heated and ready for use.”
“You have an indoor pool?”
“It is half indoor, half outdoor on the back of the house.” Baz’s eyes warmed with emotion. “My grandfather installed it for my grandmother. She was a keen swimmer year-round.”
“Your grandparents live here?”
“They did until their deaths over a decade ago.”
“About the same time you were forced to take over the company.”
Baz led her up the wide marble staircase. “Two years before. My grandfather would have been very disappointed I didn’t go to university.”
“I’m sure he was proud of you, regardless.” Randi wasn’t going to think about why she felt the need to comfort Baz.
The portraits displayed in gilded frames hanging on the wall of the hall they walked along looked old. “Are those your ancestors?”
“They are. The Perez family has been in Madrid since before the Inquisition.”
He pushed open a heavy oak door, leading her into a huge bedroom suite, complete with her own sitting room and balcony off the bedroom. One of the doors led to a spa-like bathroom, naturally, and the other into a walk-in closet that could have been used as another small bedroom. She said as much.
Baz nodded. “What are now the walk-in closets used to be sleeping quarters for maids and valets for my ancestors.”
“This is pretty impressive for guest accommodations.”
“While the guest rooms are perfectly elegant, only two have their own sitting rooms.”
“And I got one? I’m honored.” She ran her hand over the carving on the canopied four-poster bed. “I can see where Casa Clavel has been updated, but you retained the historic tone to the place. It’s wonderful.”
“I am glad you like it, but this is the family hall.”
“What?” she asked, spinning around to face him. “I’m not family.”
“I wanted you close. There was no reason to put you in the guest hall as we are the only people in the hacienda at present.”
“But...” There went her plan to keep her distance from him.
“If you do not like this room, we can move you.”
“You know it’s not the room.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
“You’re really used to getting your own way, aren’t you?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“For me, maybe it is.”
“Because I want something you do not?” He removed his suit coat and laid it over a chair that looked like it was original to the house. “You must know I would never push you into anything you found objectionable.”
“Like you didn’t push me into coming to Spain?” Trick, more like.
Only, if she was honest with herself, she’d admit she wanted a way across the chasm separating them, too. She just didn’t know if that desire was going to cause her more pleasure or pain.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BAZ TUGGED ON his tie, loosening it and then pulling it off. It landed in a neat line over his jacket. “I would not have forced you. You have to know that.”
Did she? Honesty compelled her to admit, “I do.” She sighed. “I did. As contrary as it may sound, if I’d thought you really were forcing me, I would have refused to come and let the chips fall where they may.”
More important, why was he taking off his clothes?
“So you, too, are used to doing as you like.” He toed off his shoes, pushing them under the chair with his foot.
“Maybe, but with a lot more limits than you.” Should she say something about the slow, casual striptease?
His socks were next, but so far he was keeping the important garments on. “Trust me. A man in my position has many constraints on his life and actions.”
She scoffed, “You live like a king.” Literally.
“And like any royalty, I have responsibilities to the people who rely on me, to my company, to my family. I am not responsible for the well-being of a nation, but nothing I choose for my life is without consequences for others, sometimes many others. I always remember that.”
“You’re saying you’re not a despot.”
“I am a man with a great many responsibilities.” He unbuckled his belt and dropped it with the jacket and tie.
“Why are you undressing?” she asked, her voice a little high-pitched.
He shrugged. “I am merely getting comfortable. That is one of the benefits of being home, is it not?”
“Sure, but it wasn’t just the desire to be back in your own home that prompted your return to Spain, right? Those responsibilities you were talking about are calling to you, aren’t they?”
Her hint seemed to fall on deaf ears as he unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt. “Sí.”
“Do you need to get to work, then?” she asked hopefully.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” He smiled at her and then took her hand before she had a chance to answer, pulling her toward the French doors leading to the balcony. “I worked on the plane while you napped. I can enjoy some uninterrupted time with you now.”
She’d closed her eyes to avoid more deep discussions and had ended up falling asleep, not waking until a few minutes before they landed.
“I haven’t been sleeping well,” she excused herself.
He nodded like he understood. Maybe he did.
She stepped toward the rail, turning her face up to the sun. “I love fall in a warm climate.”
“Oregon’s more definitive seasons are not to your liking?”
“The rain is okay, but I don’t like being cold. It doesn’t get extreme in Portland, like the Midwest. Or so Kayla tells me, but we’ve had some pretty chilly days already this fall and I know last winter they got snow several days in Portland.”
“And there are places covered in snow for six months out of the year.”
“I know, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’m a warm baby.”
“You were raised in Southern California. That is understandable. I have never wanted to move to a colder climate, either. A vacation to the snowy mountains is sufficient exposure for me.”
“I was starting to miss the sunshine,” she admitted. “It was worth it to be close to Kayla, though. It?
??s been great getting to know my sister.”
“Why were you raised apart?”
“My mom abandoned her at a truck stop when she was three, before I was born. We didn’t even know the other existed until Andreas hired an investigator to find Kayla’s family.”
Baz’s mouth twisted with distaste. “Your mother is a piece of work.”
“She is that. I’m nothing like her.”
“No, of course not.”
“But I could pass her genes on if I have children. Most days I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” Just sometimes, Randi wondered what it would be like to carry a baby inside her.
He brushed the hair away the gentle wind had blown into her face. “You could also pass along your kindness, compassion, intelligence, beauty and strength of character.”
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“I will not refrain from the truth.”
“You’re so certain of yourself.”
“I know what I want.”