"After my money, huh?" he teased, not believing it for a moment. He didn't yet know how she'd gotten it, but she had money. Her clothes and the few pieces of jewelry she wore said as much, not to mention the fact that she was staying in a villa. Genie might be a friend, but he didn't think she could get Carolyn and her friend a reduction on the price of the villa they were in, and he knew they didn't come cheap. He'd made arrangements to switch the billing for their villa to him before they'd gone down to the bar to perform and the price had raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's me. The gold-digging divorcee, looking for her next victim."
Christian eyed her silently. There was something in her tone of voice that sounded almost like bitterness. It raised questions in him, but questions he couldn't ask without touching too close to her marriage.
"Julius is your older brother, right?" Carolyn asked suddenly.
Christian hesitated. He didn't want to lie to her, but she wouldn't believe him if he claimed Julius Notte as his father. Finally he said, "Julius is older than me."
"And the construction company, it's the family business?" she asked.
He nodded.
"So, what about your parents? Are they retired?" Carolyn sipped her wine.
"My parents are presently on an extended vacation," he said carefully. It wasn't a lie, a honeymoon could be considered a vacation... couldn't it?
"Any other siblings besides Julius?" she asked.
"Three half-brothers and a half-sister, through my mother." A smile curved his lips as he thought about the relatives he'd just recently become acquainted with.
"Wow, a big family then," she said enviously. "What are their ages? I'm guessing Julius is the oldest if he runs the company. How many years are there between you?"
Christian silently cursed. There was no way to answer without lying through his teeth, so he did the only thing he could think to do and stuffed his mouth with food while he scrambled to come up with a way to deflect the question.
"Hey, you two," Gia said brightly, suddenly appearing at the table.
"Gia, hi." Carolyn smiled at his cousin as she joined them.
Christian merely grunted and continued to chew, but knew Gia had just saved his bacon. He also had no doubt his mother had sent the woman down to keep an eye on things in case he needed help. Christian just wondered how long and where exactly she'd been skulking around.
He hadn't seen her approach.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Carolyn pushed away her half eaten sandwich.
"Jet lag is a bitch," Gia said wryly. "Makes me glad I don't have to travel much."
"Yeah, Christian was telling me you guys only play locally," Carolyn said. "Do you work for the family company too?"
"No, I'm a hunter," Gia answered and Christian froze.
When Gia's expression froze as well, he realized she'd recognized the slip, but before either of them could react, Carolyn said, "A corporate headhunter?"
Christian relaxed as Gia quickly nodded. "Yes, a corporate head hunter."
"Really?" Carolyn smiled. "I use those all the time.
Do you work only in Europe or do you do work in Canada and the U.S. too?"
"Mostly Europe," Gia murmured.
"That's a shame. I haven't been too happy with the company we usually hire. If you worked in the U.S. and Canada I'd have hired your firm next time." She laughed and added, "I already know you can be persuasive at getting someone to take on a job they may not be eager to do."
Gia and Carolyn chuckled and Christian forced a smile, knowing Carolyn was talking about Gia's persuading her to be his supposed beard.
"Well," Carolyn said, glancing at her wristwatch. "It's good you showed up. You can keep Christian company. I need to get back to the villa and get some sleep."
Christian quickly swallowed his food and stood.