Chapter 2

“Please help yourself to a cup of tea while you wait.” He gestured toward a silver tray resting on the mahogany coffee table. “It should only be a moment.”

As his footsteps faded away, Claire wandered around the edge of the room, trailing her fingers over the intricate molding of a sideboard here, a carved marble statue there. Each piece of art on the walls was individually lit, exuding more of that museum aura, while each step she made was silent, the sound absorbed by the plush carpeting.

How was someone this wealthy so completely incognito online? Money bought a lot of things, but these days, privacy was not one of them.

Without Seth’s presence as a constant reminder, the lingering desire thrumming beneath her skin ebbed to more tolerable levels, allowing her the peace of mind to go back to musing what a woman like Celeste Rieke could have done with her grandfather. Though he never advertised his abilities, news had spread via whispers at parties, surreptitious notes passed from one hand to another. His clients had ranged from the truly indigent to the incredibly rich, but one thread had bound them all together.

They all needed Antonio Pavaro’s magic to help rescue someone they loved.

Who had Celeste wanted to help? Other than Seth, there was no indication anybody else was around. Was it a distant family member? An old friend? A lover?

A distant door opened and shut. Claire turned automatically toward the echo, but she knew right away the footsteps were too heavy to be a woman’s. They didn’t sound like Seth’s either.

Her pulse leaped when a giant of a man filled the open doorway.

Where Seth had been sleek and elegant, like a panther on the prowl, this one was rough around the edges. Faded jeans hugged his powerful thighs, the knees grass- and mud-stained, the hems frayed and nearly white from longtime wear. His black T-shirt was dirty too, with smears along his stomach where he’d wiped his huge hands clean. Muscles sculpted his arms, while his shirt strained across his broad shoulders.

But his pale-green eyes stole her breath away. They bored into her from across the room and would’ve terrified her if it weren’t for the unruly russet curls falling across his wide brow. He wore his hair like an unaware college kid, and it softened the effect his intense gaze and overwhelming size created.

When he didn’t speak, she managed a weak smile. “Hi.”

He didn’t respond. She tried again.

“Are you looking for Seth? He went to find Ms. Rieke.”

At mention of Seth, the man finally blinked and glanced behind him. It lasted a mere moment before his gaze returned to rivet on her.

“She should be down any minute,” Claire said. “I have an appointment with her.” In a desperate bid to banish the butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in her stomach, she tore her eyes away and immediately remembered the tea. “If you want to wait with me, I could pour you something to drink.”

He followed her line of sight and frowned. “You haven’t had any.”

Her knees almost buckled. His voice was a rumble, thunder unleashed from miles and miles away. How Celeste got anything done with these two men around, she had no idea. Claire would be constantly wet and bordering on coming just from listening to them.

“Tea’s not my thing,” she said. “I have the wrong accent to really pull it off.”

Her feeble attempt at a joke wiped away his frown, and his full mouth twitched as it fought off a smile. “Me too,” he confided.

He wasn’t going anywhere but he wasn’t coming in either, and with her sparkling tea repartee now exhausted, Claire was at a loss for what to say. “Do you work here?” was the best she could do.

He nodded. “I was in the garden. Have to get the bulbs in before it gets too wet.”

“That’s a better explanation for the dirt than what I was coming up with.”

A cock of his head. “What did you—”

“What are you doing here?” Seth materialized in the doorway, his approach to the room blocked by the man’s bulk. He glanced between Claire and the gardener, his long hands fidgeting at his side. “I thought you had weeds to take care of.”

The gardener’s head immediately ducked, and he edged his way back into the hall. His demeanor shifted to subservience so abruptly, Claire wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it. Her sense of fairness revolted, and she sprang forward to plant herself between them, a hairsbreadth from each man

“They were bulbs, actually.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Big difference.”

Two heads swiveled toward her at the same time, but she didn’t budge. Amusement flickered in Seth’s eyes.