Stiffly she said, ‘I don’t know you enough to like or dislike you.’
Which, technically, was true. After all, they’d only really met before for a few moments. Not that she’d ever admit it, in case he remembered the skinny girl in the badly fitting wig and too-short dress who’d tried to chat him up so ineffectually.
‘Would you really prefer if I hadn’t asked you to take on this assignment?’
She forced herself to look at him, even though it was hard when those grey eyes were narrowed on her and looking at her so intently. She took an inward breath. She needed to let go of whatever impression she’d had of him from before. It wasn’t his fault she was still carrying it around like a weight.
‘I won’t deny that the space is daunting. But, no, I’m glad you asked me. It’s good to get out of my comfort zone.’
He arched a brow. ‘Personally I’ve always seen comfort zones as the death of progress or achievement.’
Edie could well imagine that. She doubted a man like Sebastio Rivas had ever been in a comfort zone in his life. She shivered a little at the prospect of going so far outside her own.
He unfolded his arms. ‘I will just have to do my best to garner your favour, Edie.’
The thought of him trying to charm her made panic spike. ‘Not every woman on the planet has to like you.’
The words had spilled out before Edie could censor them, and she looked at Sebastio aghast, expecting him to storm out and fire her on the spot. Instead his head fell back and he let out a full-throated laugh.
When he looked back at her his eyes were gleaming with genuine amusement and her chest grew tight. He looked years younger and less intense when he smiled.
‘Indeed, they don’t.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘As you pointed out, I’m under pressure for time—so why don’t we get on with it?’
Edie’s conscience smarted. He hadn’t really deserved her waspish reply, but he put her on edge and made her feel jittery. She hadn’t been expecting that response. It disarmed her. And then she felt guilty. Had she subconsciously wanted to provoke him into firing her because that would be easier than dealing with him again and facing up to how he made her feel?
Edie looked around the room they’d entered and their previous exchange was forgotten in the face of what could be described only as majesty.
It was a massive room, with an enormous stone fireplace at one end. An ornate coat of arms hung above it. Huge chandeliers. A wall of windows with the longest curtains she’d ever seen in her life, made of heavy luxurious velvet. The parquet floor was covered in oriental rugs.
Edie wondered how on earth he had thought she could do this. After all, he’d only seen a tiny display—a few branches, leaves and artfully cut-out decorations!
Sebastio stood in the middle of the room, perfectly in proportion with the space around him. But for once his sheer masculine beauty couldn’t distract her as the full enormity of what he was asking of her sank in.
‘Look, I’m truly flattered that you liked my display enough to think I could do this...but I don’t want to mislead you. This is way beyond my capabilities in such a short space of time.’ She started to back out through the door. ‘You need to hire professionals who are used to dealing with a project of this size. Why have you left it so late?’
The question landed like a lead weight in Sebastio’s gut. Because he didn’t want to be doing this at all. But he could read the panic in Edie’s eyes, and he suspected that unless he was honest she’d bolt.
‘Because,’ he said heavily, ‘I detest Christmas.’
The panic faded to be replaced by something else. Curiosity? Sympathy? Cursing himself for giving in to an impulse to be honest, because it would only lead to questions he wasn’t prepared to answer, Sebastio went into damage limitation mode.
‘What about this? I’ll hire professionals who have expertise and resources in this area, but I want you to design the decorations and oversee everything. So in essence you’ll be the creative designer and you’ll have all the help you need.’
She still looked as if she was ready to turn and run, and Sebastio didn’t like the sense of desperation he felt to convince her at all costs.
He said, ‘I know you’ve probably never project-managed anything this big before, but really it’s just a matter of being clear about what you want and delegating. Would it help if you could have the young man who was working on the window with you?’
Her mouth closed and he could see her brain whirring as she took that in. She relaxed perceptibly.
‘Well...that would be helpful...to have someone I know here.’
Sebastio thought of something then, and asked sharply, ‘Are you in a relationship with him?’
He couldn’t recall the features of the skinny young man, but he was already regretting saying that he could be part of this commission.
Edie looked affronted. ‘No! Jimmy is gay. Not that it’s any business of yours.’
Some of the tension in Sebastio’s chest immediately eased. ‘I think you can do this job, Edie. I wouldn’t ask you if I thought you weren’t capable. I’m not in the habit of hiring or working with incompetents.’
That made him think of the cohesive unit of the rugby team around him, all working as one to the best of their ability. He pushed down the pang of regret. The ever-present guilt.
Edie was biting her lip again, and Sebastio had to fight the urge to close the distance between them and crush that lush mouth under his, seeking to dilute his memories as much as anything else.
Because he wanted her.
He cursed himself. He hadn’t needed to exercise restraint for a long time—if ever—but he had to exercise it now. He couldn’t jeopardise his successful acceptance into European society just because his hormones had decided to come back to life.
He backed away, putting distance between them. ‘I’ll show you the rest of the rooms to be decorated...’
Edie dutifully followed Sebastio as he took her through yet more rooms with the same football field dimensions. She couldn’t help wondering why he detested Christmas so much. But then she told herself it was none of her business. Not everyone liked the festive season. She knew that. It could be hard for people who didn’t have family around them, and if Sebastio Rivas was spending Christmas in London then maybe he had family issues...
The shock and trepidation were wearing off slightly as she focused on what Sebastio was saying about each room, what he wanted, and in spite of her earlier sense of panic she actually began to imagine the rooms dressed for Christmas, filled with guests. She was surprised at how easily images were coming to her—considering the proportions!
‘So you’ll do it, then?’ Sebastio asked.
They were in a ballroom that had French doors leading out to a terrace overlooking a vast manicured garden, complete with fountain.
Would she do it? Could she?
She realised now that she did want to do this. It would be a huge challenge—beyond anything she’d ever done before.
It’s not just for the challenge, though, is it? asked a wicked little voice.
It was because of the way this man made her feel—alive and aware. Exactly the way he’d made her feel that night four years ago. As if just looking at him and connecting with him, even so fleetingly and painfully, had given her some vital injection of life-force. Something she’d been afraid she’d never feel again.
She knew it wasn’t appropriate