Cinderella's Christmas Secret - Sharon Kendrick Page 0,6
been given a sentimental piece of jewellery.
Maybe that was her own fault. She knew people thought she dressed too conservatively for her age, because they’d hinted at it more than once and Janette had come right out and said so on more than one occasion. But they hadn’t grown up watching a woman who used sexual allure like a weapon, had they? Who’d painted her face like a courtesan and squeezed her body into clothes bought solely for the intention of showing off her fabulous physique. But it hadn’t worked. Her mother had spent years making herself available to a man who didn’t want her and, as Hollie had watched her repeat that humiliating spectacle over and over again, she had vowed she was never going to be like that. Women didn’t need a man to define them any more and she was going to live her life on her terms.
She cleared away empty glasses and plates and the next time she looked, Maximo Diaz was nowhere to be seen and most of the other guests had begun to drift away. Her heart sank. And that was that. She hadn’t even seen him go! Feeling curiously deflated, she brushed up the dropped cocktail sticks and pine needles which littered the floor before making her way back to the basement to change, and by the time she’d bagged up her elf costume, the place was almost empty.
Someone had turned off the flashing Christmas tree lights and the hotel seemed deserted as she left by the staff entrance at the back. But as Hollie stepped out into the dark night, she was unprepared for the rain—or rather, the sudden deluge which was tipping from the sky. With no umbrella and a coat which wasn’t particularly waterproof, she was quickly soaked through and her windswept progress to the nearby bus stop didn’t provide much in the way of shelter. She looked upwards. Why hadn’t the council bothered to repair that gaping hole in the roof?
In vain she scanned the horizon for the welcoming light of the bus and was just contemplating digging out her phone to call a taxi—and to hell with the expense—or even braving the elements and walking home, when a large dark car purred soundlessly down the street and came to a gliding halt beside her.
It wasn’t a car she recognised. It was sleek and gleaming and obviously very expensive. A car which looked totally out of place in this tiny Devon town, especially as it was being driven by a chauffeur who wore a peaked cap. But Hollie’s heart missed a beat as she identified the powerful figure sitting in the back seat.
The electric window slid down and the shiver which rippled down her spine had less to do with the water slowly soaking through her jacket and more to do with the ebony gaze of Maximo Diaz, which was spearing through her like a dark sword. With a crashing heart she registered his thick black hair and the curve of his sensual mouth, which now twisted in what looked like resignation.
‘Get in’ was all he said.
CHAPTER TWO
‘WHERE TO?’ MAXIMO demanded as the woman slid her damp and shivering body onto the seat beside him and his chauffeur shut the door on the howling night.
‘I was on my way h-home.’
‘I’d kind of worked that out for myself,’ he said, steeling himself against the strangely seductive stumble of her words. ‘Where do you live?’
‘Right on the edge of town, towards the moors.’ She turned her face towards his in the dim light of the limousine and he could hear the faint deference in her voice. ‘It’s very kind of you to give me a lift, Señor Diaz.’
‘I’m not known for my kindness,’ he told her, with impatient candour. ‘But you’d have to be pretty hard-hearted to drive past a woman standing alone at a rainy bus stop on a night like this.’ He stared at the raindrops which glittered on her pale cheeks and lowered his voice. ‘The question is whether you want me to drive you home, or did your mother warn you never to accept lifts from strangers?’
‘You’re not exactly a stranger, are you?’ she answered primly. ‘And since you’re offering, then I’ll accept. Thank you. It’s a rotten night and it really is very...nice of you.’
Nice as well as kind? Maximo almost laughed as he leaned forward to tap the glass and the big car moved forward. When was the last time he’d been described in such