The Spanish Billionaire's Hired Bride by Rachel Lyndhurst

Author:Rachel Lyndhurst [Lyndhurst, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Published: 2012-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Ricardo was silent and stony-faced on the journey back to the villa, and Helen couldn’t think of anything to say under the circumstances. General chitchat felt inappropriate. The man she had seen in action wasn’t the shallow playboy billionaire she’d thought she’d married. He’d shown extraordinary strength and self-control under pressure, and his hands weren’t shaking with the shock of it all like hers were.

They’d stayed an hour or so after the ambulance left, and Ricardo had made sure there was somebody to deal with every aspect of the farm while Tino was at the hospital. The animals still had to be fed and stabled, clothes and toiletries would need to be taken to the hospital, phone calls needed to be made, forms filled out…the list seemed endless.

“I need a drink. I don’t know about you,” he said as they arrived back at the villa. He suddenly looked completely drained. “A large one.”

“Just what the doctor ordered,” Helen said and tried to keep up as he strode across the drive towards the front door.

Once inside the living room, its glass doors flung open to the warm sea breeze and cry of seabirds. Ricardo handed her a large tumbler of whiskey before knocking his own back in one go. His voice was gravely. “Sorry, did you want ice?”

“It’s okay, I’ll get some.” She sniffed the smoky liquid. “I’ll need a dash of lemonade from the kitchen if I’m going to swallow this lot and live.”

“Sorry, there’s other stuff,” he said and ran his forearm across the soot and sweat on his the forehead. “Come on, let’s see what we can find in there. The fridge is always full.”

Helen noticed a tremor in his hand as she gave him back her glass. “You have that and then go and have a long hot bath. I can manage a fridge door on my own.”

“Thanks.” He sipped the second whiskey more slowly. “Sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course not, as long as Lucia’s not guarding it!”

“Lucia has her hands full with her family right now. I’ve given her as much time off as she needs. But she’ll be your best friend forever after what you did today, don’t worry.” He drained his glass and put it down with a click on a glass table.

“I didn’t do much.”

He shook his head. “You were there for me,” he said quietly. “And for Tino and his family. There to help, no questions asked. Not many women I’ve known would have done that, risked ruining their expensive manicures and hairstyles.”

Helen glanced down at her hands. Her wedding manicure was a distant memory. She had a torn nail and the rest were full of dirt. “I think I’d better wash these while I’m in the kitchen,” she said laughing. “And then have a bath myself.”

“Good idea,” Ricardo said and turned to leave. “I’ll see you later.”

Later? That didn’t sound like an invitation to join him with a bar of soap. Helen shrugged and tried to put her disappointment aside.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.