"We'll walk back with you."
"Don't be silly. Stay, finish your-Oh."
She peered blankly as he grabbed up the last of his sandwich and stuffed it in his mouth.
"I guess he's done," Gia said with amusement.
"I guess," Carolyn said dryly, watching him chew and swallow the mammoth mouthful he'd taken.
"Don't forget your purse," Christian said quietly as Carolyn started to turn away from the table.
She came to an abrupt halt and turned back to snatch it up. "That would have been good. Especially since that's what I came down for in the first place."
Christian followed the women out of the restaurant.
He listened idly to their happy chatter all the way to the vans, and then opened the door and saw them in. He then closed the door and climbed into the front passenger seat, leaving them alone together on the first bench seat. It was better that way. Less tempting. He was determined to see her back to her villa without kissing or touching her.
The moment the van stopped, he was out and opening the door for her.
"Thank you." Carolyn took his offered hand to disembark.
When he released her, she turned toward the stone path to her villa, saying, "Good night."
"Good night," Christian said quietly as he closed the door. He watched her walk away as he got back into the van. The moment she slipped inside, the driver pulled away and Christian forced himself to relax back in his seat.
"Are you going to try to sleep again?" Gia asked as they walked from the van to their own villa moments later.
Christian grimaced. "I slept all afternoon. I'm not likely to sleep now. It's why I was awake to see her leave for the lounge earlier."
Gia nodded. "Your parents saw you leave. Marguerite called and asked me to keep an eye on the two of you and make sure you didn't need help."
"She has such faith in my abilities," he said wryly, opening the door for Gia.
Gia chuckled as she entered the villa. "She was only worried because you can't control or wipe Carolyn's mind and she feared she might ask something that you would have difficulty answering honestly... as she did," she pointed out dryly.
"Yeah." Christian followed her inside. "Thanks for intervening."
"Hey, you're my favorite cousin," she said lightly, bumping his arm with her shoulder, and then added with a grin, "Well, one of them."
"Right," he said with a laugh.
"So what are you going to do?" she asked, as she closed the door.
"Wait for dawn and then find her tomorrow morning, spend the day with her, and earn her trust."
"Out in sunlight?" she asked with concern. "And when will you sleep?"
"I'll sleep tomorrow night. By then I ought to conk right out. And I don't see any alternative to going out in daylight. Between the shows at night and her mortal hours, it's the only way to spend more than a couple of hours a day with her. I need to gain her trust."
Gia nodded solemnly. "Well, you may as well come hang with us then. Maybe you can get Zanipolo to shut up about Carolyn's thinking he must be the g*y one. He's questioned why she would think that ever since returning.
He's now determined to cut his hair and grow a beard to look more manly."
Christian chuckled and followed her from the foyer.
Chapter Seven
A squeal and a laugh made Carolyn glance to the right, the sunglasses she wore hiding the fact that she was watching a young couple romp on the shoreline. A young redhead was apparently reluctant to enter the water and a dark-haired young man had grabbed her around the waist from behind, lifting her off her feet. Definitely honeymooners, Carolyn decided as she watched the young man carry the laughing woman into the sea.