Treasured Secrets (20 page)

By contrast, Alessandro was a bundle of nervous energy, incapable of hiding his feelings for her. She dreaded the moment when he'd have to accept she'd never be his. During the flight he'd drunk several glasses of scotch and dry, no doubt in an attempt to keep up with Archer. The silly bugger was giggly with intoxicated excitement by the time they landed in Athens.

Rosalina tried to conceal her amusement as Archer manhandled Alessandro through the airport. To his credit, Archer masked his annoyance with a cheeky smile and you could've sworn he was helping out an old friend. When a taxi pulled into the curb, Rosalina bundled Alessandro into the back seat while Archer attended to their luggage.

Nearly an hour later, the taxi pulled to a halt alongside the marina. Rosalina breathed in the crisp night air. The smell of the ocean was like a welcome-home present. Alessandro was impossible to wake and it took all her might to drag him from the back seat. She was about to help him out of the car when she heard a familiar whistle.

Smiling as she turned, she spied Jimmy's distinct swagger as he strode up the pontoon towards them.

‘Hey, Jimmy,' she called.

‘Hey, Baby Cakes.'

Rosalina had once hated being called Baby Cakes, but right now it was simply perfect.

He embraced her in his signature bear hug and spun her around. ‘What the hell happened to you?'

Rosalina reached up to touch her bruised eye. She'd completely forgotten about it. Even after all this time, faint bruising still circled it. ‘Oh, it's nothing. It was much worse.'

‘Right,' Jimmy said suspiciously. He transferred the suspicious look to the body in the back of the car. Alessandro was still passed out, with his legs on the curb but the rest of his body sprawled over the seat.

‘It's true. I'll tell you about it later.'

Archer dropped the last suitcase from the cab onto the footpath and he and Jimmy shared a hug and slap on the back. ‘It's good to see you, man.'

‘You too, buddy.'

‘How's my baby?'

Rosalina knew Archer was referring to his precious yacht.

‘She's perfect. I treated her just like my own.'

‘Holy shit, now I'm worried!'

‘Okay, I treated her better than my own.'

Jimmy helped Rosalina tug Alessandro from the cab and she draped the Italian's heavy arm over her shoulder to help him stand. Alessandro was at least holding his own weight; there was no way she could carry him. Archer and Jimmy gathered two suitcases each and indicated to Rosalina to lead the way. Despite all Rosalina's efforts to keep Alessandro straight, his drunken wobble risked plunging them into the marina water at any moment.

‘Who's the pisshead?' Jimmy asked.

‘That's Rosalina's boyfriend,' Archer said before Rosalina could answer. Over her shoulder she cast a sideways glance at Archer, and even in the dim marina lights she noticed his cocky grin.

‘He's a good friend of mine,' she countered. ‘Alessandro was attempting to keep up with Archer. And he would have, too, if Archer hadn't switched to scotch on purpose.' She glared at Archer as she said it and he poked his tongue out at her in reply. ‘Alessandro's not much of a spirit drinker.'

‘No shit…you could've fooled me.' Jimmy loved his sarcasm.

Evangeline
dominated a double-sized berth at the end of the marina. Her precision lighting accentuated her stylish curves and her sleek style showed off her power. She was the envy of the motor yachting elite, no matter where she was anchored in the world.

Rosalina was pleased to see Jimmy had taken the time to wash off the sea salt that would've peppered the deck during their weeks at sea, because she knew the moment Archer stepped on board, he'd be scanning every inch of the deck like an overprotective parent.

Two crewmen raced up to help Rosalina with Alessandro.

‘Take him to the Fraser suite,' Archer said as Alessandro began to sing. The combination of his Italian accent and alcohol-affected brain made him impossible to understand and the muffled tune had Jimmy laughing aloud.

It'd been Rosalina's idea to name each of the yacht's six bedrooms after islands off Australia's Eastern coastline. The Fraser suite was a VIP cabin with a double spa bath, fully stocked mini bar and king-size bed, and as Alessandro was carried towards it, Rosalina suspected he wouldn't appreciate its luxury until well into tomorrow.

Rosalina tried to blink back her exhaustion but it was impossible. The demands from the last couple of days had finally caught up with her and all she wanted to do now was crawl into bed. She stifled a yawn and turned to Jimmy. ‘So Captain, what room shall I take?'

Jimmy was taken aback. He glanced at Archer, then shrugged. ‘You should have the Hamilton Suite.'

The Hamilton was the superior master suite and the star bedroom of the yacht. She gripped the handle of her suitcase and tugged it towards the central stairs. ‘I can't have that room. I'll let you two fight over it. I'll take the Moreton suite.'

Heavy footfalls sounded behind her and she turned to see Jimmy reaching for her case.

‘I'll be okay, Jimmy.' His eyes were troubled and she touched his arm for reassurance. ‘See you in the morning.'

Jimmy nodded and pivoted away. Rosalina was more than happy with the Moreton suite, and she couldn't stand being alone in the Hamilton suite anyway. It would bring back too many impassioned memories. The next time she returned to that suite would be when everything was perfect.

She opened the door to her room and dragged her case to the corner. In the bathroom she stripped down to her underpants, splashed water on her face, brushed her teeth and examined her bruise. The swelling was long gone, but the bruise had mellowed to an interesting potpourri of plum and yellow. It was well past midnight when she finally crawled into the king-size bed. Pulling the crisp sheet up under her chin, she sighed as the sounds of the marina lulled her to sleep.

***

Archer lay in his enormous bed alone, and the emptiness surrounded him like the air itself. He rolled onto his side and spread his palm over the unwrinkled sheet on the other side of the mattress. Knowing Rosalina was asleep in the room just two doors down was comforting and disappointing at the same time. He didn't expect her love to be offered to him on a platter, but he'd hoped the lure of
Evangeline
would have softened her resolve somewhat. It was after two a.m. when he rolled onto his stomach, closed his eyes and readied for sleep.

After what seemed like only twenty minutes, he was surprised to feel the sun streaming in through the window. He was even more surprised that he'd actually slept through the night and cursed himself for not closing the electric blinds the night before. He reached for the remote, ready to go back to sleep, but the familiar smell of Rosalina's morning pastries baking had him up and into the shower in a matter of seconds.

Like he had first-date jitters, he struggled to decide on what to wear. Eventually he chose a pair of khaki cargo pants and a white button-up shirt. He splashed on aftershave and then headed towards the galley.

His breath caught at his first glimpse of Rosalina. The oversized T-shirt she was wearing had slipped to the side to expose one very sexy shoulder. Her olive skin was flawless, and with her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail she looked like a goddess. He would've quite happily stayed right where he was and watched her weave her magic in the kitchen, but she saw him. Her smile lit up her face, and as she twirled a lock of hair behind her ear, her cheeks flushed. It was a delightful greeting.

‘Hey, you're up earlier than I thought you would be.' Her fingers curled around her coffee mug, looking unassumingly sexy as she caressed it. Her standard morning pose took his breath away, and boy, had he missed it.

He stepped up to her and, resisting the urge to pull her into his embrace, kissed her cheek. ‘I forgot to lower the blinds.'

‘Aaah. Coffee?'

‘Yes, please.'

Rosalina filled a mug from the coffee machine and their fingers touched briefly as she handed it to him. It was too brief and he wanted more. But he had to give her time and he was prepared to wait as long as it took to receive her forgiveness. His first goal was to make sure the treasure hunt was fun. And while they were hunting, she could fall in love with him all over again. Well, that was the plan anyway.

Alessandro staggered onto the galley, squinting against the morning sun. ‘Where am I?'

Archer's heart sank. He'd forgotten all about the Italian thorn in his plans. ‘You're on my yacht.'

‘This?' His eyes bulged. ‘You told me you owned a boat, not a bloody multi-million dollar yacht.'

Rosalina shrugged. ‘He can be modest at times.'

Alessandro visibly crumpled in what looked like a wave of defeat. He rubbed his hands down over his cheeks, as if trying to clear his mind.

‘Coffee?' Rosalina asked.

Alessandro flopped into one of the leather lounges and covered his eyes with his forearm. ‘
Si, grazie
.'

Archer suppressed a grin as Rosalina filled a coffee mug and sat beside Alessandro to hand it to him. Archer watched the two of them together and understood Alessandro's pain. Rosalina was a woman any man would want to hang onto and Alessandro must've thought he'd won her over. Before Archer had returned, anyway.

A woman dressed in a bikini top and the tiniest white shorts entered the room and Archer instantly recalled his directive to Jimmy to steer clear of the bikini babes. Archer couldn't even guess what expertise this young woman came with, but he smiled despite himself. Jimmy always was a sucker for a pretty lady.

‘Hello.' The blonde held her hand towards him. ‘You must be Archer. I'm Ginger.'

‘Are you one of the crew?' He took her hand. Based on her soft skin, he couldn't foresee her partaking in any manual labour.

‘I'm the chef. Not that I have any real experience, but Jimmy's so nice. He likes my cooking.'

‘I'm sure he does.' Archer noticed Rosalina stiffen in her seat. This was her domain. Well, it had been, more than eight months ago. Though he was confident she'd try to reclaim the kitchen pretty soon anyway. He just hoped the inevitable takeover wasn't a nasty one. Ginger might be reluctant to give up such prestigious surrounds.

Alessandro stood up as Ginger walked towards him. ‘I'm Alessandro, or Alex if you prefer.' He held out his hand.

Rosalina stood up, too. ‘I'm Rosalina.'

‘Oh, yes. I've heard all about you. Jimmy tells me you're an amazing chef. Maybe you can teach me some of your home secrets.'

‘Sure. I could do that.' Rosalina did well to hide the mockery from her voice.

Alessandro groaned and flopped back into the seat.

‘Are you okay?' Ginger sat beside him.

‘He's got a hangover,' Archer said.

‘Oh, I've got the perfect cure for that. Come with me.' She dragged Alessandro to his feet and led him towards the galley. ‘Have you ever heard of Vegemite?'

Archer and Rosalina laughed and Alessandro cast a worried look at them over his shoulder.

‘Looks like he's in good hands,' Rosalina said.

‘She's a real gem. But I think Jimmy's got some explaining to do.'

Rosalina sidled up to Archer. ‘Did you sleep well?'

I would've slept better with you beside me
. ‘Not too bad.'

The way she looked at him, he knew she was trying to read his mind.

‘Slept right through till morning.' He held up three fingers in a ‘scout's honour' gesture. ‘Promise.'

She placed her hand on his forearm. Her touch was electric. ‘That's good. So…' She walked back to the coffee pot. ‘What do we do now?'

‘We might as well get going. Jimmy'll probably sleep till midday. He's had a huge couple of weeks.'

‘He's done a great job.'

‘So he should, the amount I'm paying him.'

‘That's not the point.'

She was right. Previous experience had shown that paying good money didn't always equate to work done well. The person needed to have a genuine passion to do a really good job. And he had to admit Jimmy had done damn fine in getting
Evangeline
halfway around the world. Regardless of who he'd hired for staff. ‘You're right. I'll thank him properly later. Want to help me with the ropes?'

‘Sure, let me clean up first.'

‘I'll get Ginger to do it. After all, she's paid to be the chef.'

They found Ginger with Alessandro. The Italian was slumped back in a chair with a cloth over his eyes while Ginger massaged his shoulders. Archer thought it was a match made in heaven. At least, he hoped so. Any attention Ginger sent Alessandro's way, especially if it took the Italian's focus away from Rosalina, had to be a good thing.

***

Greece's Fliszos marina was one of the biggest in the world, and it was more than half an hour before Archer had navigated
Evangeline
out of the marina and into open waters. It wasn't until the marina was a blurry white splash on the horizon that Jimmy finally emerged from his bedroom.

‘Aye, who's taken over my boat?'

‘Hey, Jimmy.' Archer shook Jimmy's hand and they clapped each other's backs. ‘Thought you'd sleep for a week.'

‘And let you run amuck on my ship? I don't think so.'

‘Well, how about helping me make a decision on where we're going then.'

As they motored past an enormous cruise liner, Archer saw a bikini-clad Ginger step onto the front of the yacht and wave to the abundance of passengers high up on the ship's balconies. ‘I see your little lady's enjoying herself.' Archer nudged Jimmy.

Jimmy flushed, but only slightly. ‘Oh, so you met Ginger. She's a great cook.'

‘So I hear,' said Rosalina.

Jimmy flushed brighter.

Archer pushed the throttle forward, increasing the speed, and they sliced through the beautiful azure waters, leaving silvery bubbles in their wake.