To Tame a Tycoon (4 page)

As she stared over at Robert her eyes went out of focus and her mind wandered back in time to another man who was tall and lean but older and with hair the glossy black of a raven’s wing.  Enrico Megalos.  Her renegade mind kept taking her back to him, making her relive every moment she’d spent with him.  It didn’t matter that all her interactions with him had been on a professional basis only.  No, crazy brain that she had, it kept playing back each scene in her head and each time it ran the movie it was sexier than the time before.

The movie ran in slow motion, giving her a close-up view of his broad forehead, the thick dark brows, the lashes any warm-blooded woman would lust for, the long lean nose that spoke of his heritage and the piece de resistance - the firm yet sensuous lips she was dying to taste.

“Who is he?”

“Uh, what?”  Asia blinked, dragging herself back to the present, and turned to stare at her partner in the food line.

“Who is he?  The guy you’re mooning over?”  Shelley cocked an eyebrow at her and her lips trembled like she was trying not to laugh.  “This is the first time I’ve seen you spaced out like that and it can only mean one thing.  You’ve found a man.  Finally.”

“I…didn’t,” Asia protested but her voice was too weak, too airy, for her statement to be true.  She knew it, and she knew Shelley knew it.  Or at least she could guess very easily.

“Mm-hmm.”  Shelley rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, looking so comical that Asia burst out laughing.

“I didn’t find a man,” she said again, her voice stronger this time.  “Really, I didn’t.”

“Tell that to the birds,” Shelley said dryly then turned toward a lone straggler who approached with a tray.  She loaded the girl’s plate with food then watched as she headed off to a free table.  Only then did she turn her attention back to Asia.  “Girl, I’ve known you since you were still beating the books on campus.  I know every expression on that sweet face of yours.  And psychologist or not, you’re no good at hiding your feelings.”  Shelley dropped her ladle back into the mashed potato and reached for a napkin to clean up a blob that had fallen onto the counter.  As she wiped she continued speaking.  “What I see is love, honey.  No use denying it.  You’ve got a heart full of love.”

“But it can’t be.”  Asia shook her head vehemently.  “He’s a client.”

“Ah ha!”  Shelley pointed a finger in Asia’s face.  “I knew it.  You’ve found a man.  And thank God for it.  You’re finally listening to me.”

“Shelley,” Asia whispered, “that’s not how it is at all.”

“How is it then?”  She demanded, hand on hip. 

“Carol, can you come here a minute?”  Asia waved a hand at the white-aproned woman who was chatting with the cook.  As Carol approached she began untying her apron.  “Can you hold the fort for a while?  Shelley and I need a break.”

“Sure,” Carol said with a shrug.  “Most of the kids have already eaten, anyway.  Nothing much to do.”

“Thanks,” Asia said then grabbed Shelley’s arm and marched her out the back door.  Only when they were outside and out of earshot did she release her. 

“Okay, Miss Nosey Parker,” she said, “here’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”  She took a deep breath.  “I admit it.  I know I’ve been picky but I’ve finally found a man who actually…makes my heart race."

Shelley rolled her eyes as she always did but now she was shaking her head in what looked like exasperation.  “You can’t say it, can you?”  She put her hands on her hips in classic Shelley pose.  “You finally found a man who turns you on.  Say it, girl.  Come on.”  Then she gave her laugh, the one that sounded like a dog yelping.  “I found a man that makes my heart race,” she said in a singsong, mocking voice.  “Say what you mean.  The man turns you on.”

“Alright, alright,” Asia said, looking around.  “Will you keep it down?  Are you planning to announce it to the world?”

“So what’s his name?  What does he look like?”  Shelley said, ignoring her plea.  “Is he hot?  He’d better be.  After your everlasting wait I don’t want you bringing me any old-”

“Will you stop?”  Asia felt like gagging the woman.  Nice though she was, Shelley had no clue about speaking softly.  She pulled her away from the door.  “I will not under any circumstances tell you his name.  He’s a client.”

“Client, schmient- ”

“Stop.”  Asia put up her hand.  “All I’m going to tell you is yes, he’s hot and yes, he turns me on.  Big time.  But there’s nothing I can do about it.  Not as long as I’m working for him.”

“So quit,” Shelley said with a shrug.  “Then ask him out.”

“I can’t do that-”

“Yes, you can.  Asia, you are twenty-five years old, going on twenty-six.  When are you going to find a man and settle down?  Those eggs of yours won’t be doing much in a few years.”

“Oh, Shelley, you’re so funny,” Asia said dryly.  “This, from a woman who had her first child at thirty-four.”

“Yeah, but you might not have my kind of luck.”

Asia gave a sigh.  “I’ll be fine.”  Then she smiled.  “All I have to do is keep my mind on the job and out of the bedroom.”

To Asia’s surprise Shelley reached out and pulled her into her arms.  “You’re like a daughter to me, Asia.  Please don’t keep dallying until it’s too late.  I want you to find a good man and be happy.”

Asia wrapped her arms around the little lady and hugged her back.  “I will one day, Shelley.  I will.”

But even as she spoke she knew that her heart yearned for only one man.  Or maybe it was just her body that was doing the yearning, but still…

That man, excruciatingly handsome and lust-inducing, was - sadly - totally off limits for her.

******

“Rico, which one of these American women plans on making a good man out of you?”  Julio slapped him on the shoulder, almost pitching him into the pool.

Rico shrugged away from his older brother’s heavy hand and put some distance between then. If he knew anything about his brother it was that he should never trust him when he was at his most amicable.  As a kid he’d suffered at the hand of a brother who was nine years his senior and brawny, to boot.  How do you defend yourself from a brother like that?  You use your wits and you move damn fast, never letting him get the upper hand.

So Rico chose to do that now.  Never mind the fact that he was in his twenties and his brother was in his thirties, Julio would think nothing of launching a surprise attack and knocking him over into the pool.

“Don’t you worry about that,” he said coolly and walked away from the poolside and toward the patio where his parents sat, Julio’s daughter on the lap of the matriarch of the Megalos family. 

Carmelita Megalos was a tiny woman but her body was the only thing about her that was small.  In her family she wielded a power that rivaled that of her husband.  Between the sparrow with her snapping dark eyes and the bearded lion who had fathered the small tribe of three, there was a constant battle for control.  To this day, though in their fifties and sixties, they refused to give up the fight for domination.

But it was a loving rivalry that they enjoyed.  They’d been like that for as long as Rico could remember and they’d be just as feisty for many years to come.

“Come here, Athena.  Come to Uncle Rico,” he said and held out his arms to the two year old.

She blinked up at him then pulled the pacifier out of her mouth.  “No,” she said, her voice strong, firm and resolute.  Then she closed her eyes, leaned back against her grandma’s belly and popped the pacifier back into her mouth.

Rico straightened with a sigh.  “No-one can deny that she’s a Megalos.”

Alexander Megalos chuckled.  “The only sweet one in the family.  Except for your sister, of course.”

“Demetria?  She’s just as bad as the rest of us.  She got Mama's Latin spirit and your directness.”  Rico laughed.  “You never have to wonder what she thinks of you.”

Alexander laughed, too, but then he smiled and shook his head.  “Pity she couldn’t have made it on this trip.”

“I know,” Rico said with a nod.  “But with the baby on the way it wouldn’t have been a good idea.  And remember, she has two other kids under three years old.  That’s quite a handful.”

“Maybe next time,” Alexander said and his voice trailed off as he looked out over the pool, obviously deep in thought.  Most likely his mind was still on Demetria, his middle child, and as Rico and Julio always teased, his favorite.  There was a closeness between Alexander and Demetria that her brothers did not question or even think of resenting.  Who could come between a man and his daughter?

The Megalos family - Alexander and Carmelita along with Julio, his wife and their daughter - had crossed the Atlantic on their mega yacht as they’d done each year since Rico moved to Florida.  They would spend a month in the United States, part of the time at Rico’s home on Fisher Island, and the rest visiting relatives in various cities.  The matriarch and patriarch were retired and free to roam and although Julio was running his own shipping business in Greece he’d decided that time with family came first.  He had no hesitation about spending a month away from the office.  While he was traveling whatever needed to be done could be done remotely.

Rico loved it when the family visited.  It was an opportunity to connect with his culture and heritage.  Carmelita would fix Greek and Spanish dishes like nobody else could.  She loved to cook and he loved to eat.  It was not unheard of for him to gain five or maybe even seven pounds during one of their visits.  And - his favorite part - whenever she visited, his mother spoiled him.

Rico flopped down in the chair beside Carmelita and stretched his legs out in front of him.  He’d enjoyed the outdoor barbecue and now he was full, relaxed and ready to enjoy the cool evening breeze that wafted over the island.  His eyes were closed and he was almost drifting off when he felt a warm hand on his arm.  He opened his eyes to see his mother smiling at him.

“Are you happy here, Enrico?” she asked gently.  She was the only one who still called him Enrico.  There was a slight crease between her brows, a sign that she was worried.

“In Miami?  Of course,” he said, deliberately making his tone light.  His mother was a very perceptive woman and you had to be careful or she’d read you like a book.

“Are you really,
mi hijo
?  You are not lonely all by yourself in this great big country?”

“I am fine,
Mamita
.  You don’t need to worry.”  He covered her hands with his.

“And what about the girls?” she persisted.  “You did not find any American girl you like?  You never tell us about a girl over here.”

Rico frowned.  He should have guessed where his mother was heading with her line of questioning.   On every visit she would find at least one opportunity to ask questions about his love life.  She was convinced that he was lonely without a woman and had even suggested that he return to Europe to find one.  She refused to believe what he told her each time - that he was too busy for a relationship right now.  She was convinced that at twenty-five her younger son needed to have a woman in his life.

The truth was, he hadn’t met anyone who piqued his interest - until now.

As it had done so often over the past couple of weeks, his mind zoned in on Asia Miller.  There was just something about her, petite and soft-spoken yet so direct and fearless, that made her irresistible.

She was different from the women he knew.  She actually stood up to him in her own quiet way.  He was not used to that and it had thrown him off balance for a while.  But after he’d gotten over his initial shock he’d found that he liked her style.  She was fresh and she was bold.  A perfect fit for the Megalos family.

He caught himself.  Why in the blazes had that thought crossed his mind?  He glanced over at his mother but she sat serenely rocking Athena on her lap.  It was her fault for planting such thoughts in his head.