Falling for Alexander (Corkscrew Bay #2) (2 page)

“
You bought a piece of our community.”

A sigh came down the line. “
Listen, Ms. Hadley, maybe Lord Ashley sold you out. I don’t know. I suggest you take up your disgruntlement with—”

“
I’m not asking you to open up your home, Mr. Gerardo. Lock the doors and chain down the garden gnomes if you’re that neurotic. But now, I’d like to make
myself
clear. For the last three decades, the Easter egg hunt has been hosted in the grounds of Darrock Castle and perhaps that’s something you might have considered before you started throwing your millions around. If you want to live in obscurity, there are plenty of sprawling country estates to do so. You did not have to buy our castle.”

She took a deep breath and held it.

Crap, I went too far.

Our castle?

Seriously?

“
I have no intention of arguing your worthless points.” A curse masquerading as a muttered breath came down the line. “Put me directly through to the manager, please.”

Kate cradled the headset to her breast, doing her best to resist the urge to tell him exactly where he could shove her
worthless
points.

Italy had as much history as England, if not more. Italian or English, they both knew the re
sponsibilities that came with properties such as Castle Darrock. She, however, was apparently the only one who cared.

She spoke into the phone again. “
Kate Hadley, manager of the Corkscrew Weekly, good morning.”

“
Is this a joke?”

“
The only joke here is your arrogance,” she retorted. “Last time I checked, the press still had freedom of speech in this country. We’re not hiding behind the hedges with long lens cameras, Mr. Gerardo.”

Okay, she had hung from the edge of the bluff a couple of times with a long le
ns camera to get a bird’s eye view of the castle nestled in the valley, but he didn’t know that. “We’re entitled to our opinions and I’m passionately opinionated about perpetuating traditions.”

Another pause. “
Could I have the name and number of the paper’s owner?”

“
She’s right here,” Kate said. “I’ll put you through.”

A moment later, she chirped, “
Kate Hadley, owner of the Corkscrew Weekly, good morning.”

Until now, Kate wouldn
’t have thought it possible to feel tension hissing down a telephone line. If she’d been on her cell phone, birds would be plunging from the skies.

Finally, he ground out, “
If you don’t keep my name and home out of your paper, Ms. Hadley, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers. You don’t want that. The people I employ will not hesitate at slashing through your bullshit and hanging it out to dry.”

Click.
Followed by the buzz of a dead line.

Kate pressed the record button seconds too late to catch that threat for evidence.

“Nice speaking to you, too.” She slammed the phone into its cradle with more bravado than she felt. Not when she wasn’t convinced that slashing and hanging had been meant entirely in a metaphorical sense.

Chapter Two

For two weeks running, Mrs. Pinnings had failed to put in her usual weekly appearance at the Post Office. On the Thursday morning of the second week, back propped against the redbrick wall and her stare fixed on the off-street parking bays in front, Kate’s stomach clenched. She checked her watch.

Almost nine thirty.

Mrs. Pinnings wasn’t coming.

Kate waite
d another ten minutes and then took off at a brisk march for the police station at the corner of the high street. She pushed through the set of double glass doors, greeting the officer manning the reception desk with a wave as she passed. “Is Harry back there?”

“
I haven’t seen him leave.”

“
Excellent,” she called out as she swung through the inner doors.

Harry
’s gaze lifted from the computer screen, tracking her as she wended a path between the desks and pot plants in the open plan area. The only other officer present, Nadia, glanced up and gave Kate a quick smile before going back to her furious typing.

“
Where is everyone?” Kate asked as she stopped in front of Harry’s desk.

“
Routine rounds.” He settled deeper into his chair and folded his arms as he looked up at her from beneath that dark blond brow. “Please tell me this is a social call.”

His easy drawl and laid-back charm invited her to take a seat and leave the worrying for tomorrow. Beneath that uniform and his promotion to Chief Sergeant, he was still t
he sun-streaked blond, golden-tanned surfer dude she’d crushed on for most of her school years. The guy who’d rocked his guitar in the garage and refused to grow up beyond getting a respectable job in a town that boasted the best waves in Cornwall.

Kate wa
sn’t amused. That crush was history and right now she needed an aggressive law enforcer. “Mrs. Pinnings didn’t show up again today.”

“
And again, no one’s filed a missing person report.”

“
Then I’m filing one, right now.”

“
On what grounds? The woman apparently had no post office business for two weeks. That doesn’t mean she’s missing.”

“
She’s never missed a Thursday before.”

“
I’m more concerned about how you’d know that,” he said.

Kate rolled her eyes. “
Can’t you just give this Alexander Gerardo a call and ask to speak to her?”

“
No.”

“
Why not?” she demanded, slamming her palms on the desk and scowling down on him.

“
Because you’ve harassed that man for years—”

“
I have not.”

“
Yeah, that’s right.” Harry inclined his head, a grin slipping through. “You’ve harassed
me
for years to dig up dirt on the poor guy. You’re obsessed, Kate.”

She opened her mouth to object, but ran out of steam before the first word. This wasn
’t about her or about helicopters landing at odd hours. This wasn’t about a man who bought a castle but never showed his face in the community or about Harry’s stubborn refusal to even entertain the possibility that something seemed strange about the entire Castle Darrock set-up.

She sank into the chair opposite from Harry. “
I haven’t seen Mrs. Pinnings since I ran that article mentioning Gerardo’s name. What if he knows she leaked the information?”

“
For God’s sake, this isn’t some FBI show.”

“
You’ve never spoken with Mrs. Pinnings. I swear she was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement or something.”

“
Which wouldn’t be a crime.”

“
But murder is. What if this guy decided to slash and hang more than just my printed words?”

Harry lost the grin, blue eyes narrowing on her. “
Are you sure you want to go about spouting false accusations?”

“
Fine!” She threw her head back against the top of her chair, closing her eyes for a moment. Okay, she didn’t really believe Gerardo had murdered poor Mrs. Pinnings.

Her eyes snapped open and she lifted her head. “
What if he fired her?”

“
Again,” drawled Harry, this time with a hard edge, “not a crime.”

Not a crime, but definitely my fault.
“Couldn’t you at least look into a case of wrongful termination?”

“
That’s a civil matter,” he pushed out on a sigh. “Not one for the police.”

She tilted her chin and squared her jaw, grimly sear
ching for another angle of attack.

“
Go home, Kate,” he said firmly. “Leave Darrock Castle, Mr. Gerardo and Mrs. Pinnings the hell alone. Do you hear me? Otherwise you’ll be the one behind bars.”

She gave him her best hardboiled stare.

He returned it twofold.

Kate sighed. She knew this part of Harry, too. The layer of iron beneath the butter. The grit that had likely earned him that promotion at the age of twenty-four. “
You’re not going to do a damn thing, are you?”

He cocked a brow at her.

And that, apparently, was his final say on the subject.

Chapter Three

Kate stepped on the brakes, slowing the Jeep to a crawl as she rounded the last bend in the valley pass. To her left, the slope was too steep for anything except hardy shrubs, a narrow strip of pi
ne forest decked on the top and then the limestone cliff that bumped up against the Atlantic. The view to her right was a lush, gentle rise that stretched into a National Park founded by the Ashleys when they’d closed the peat mines there. Both sides of the valley were firmly rooted in Kate’s heritage; ancestors who’d worked the mines during the day and, by night, smuggled contraband from the sandy coves directly to the castle through secret pathways tunnelled into the limestone cliff.

For good or bad, rega
rdless of the historical divide between blue blood and peasant folk, the castle had never been closed to the town.

Until Alexander Gerardo.

The road ended at a seven-foot high arched gate of solid wood. Kate drew to a stop and killed the engine. She wasn’t without doubts at what she was doing here. But Megan was halfway across the world on an extended honeymoon and Lucy was back in London. There was no one to talk her down and she was going crazy from the guilt.

She had to know Mrs. Pinnings
’ fate.

Kate ste
pped from the Jeep, leaving the door open behind her as she crossed to the intercom system mounted to the wall. She pressed the ‘call’ button and leant in to speak. “Hello?”

No response.

She glanced up into a blinking security camera. Smiled.
Mrs. Pinnings? Anyone?
She jabbed the button again. “Hello…?”

Mrs. Pinnings wouldn
’t leave her standing here. The woman might not invite her in, but she’d at least answer.

Kate
’s gaze hardened on the mailbox slot that had swallowed every last one of their petitions to no avail. She put her finger to the button again and held it down. “Come on, I can do this all day.”

Her finger was starting to cramp when a hollow voice finally crackled through the intercom. The static was so bad, she could barely make out the, “
Can I help you?”

A male voice.

She frowned up at the camera. “I’m here for Mrs. Pinnings.”

“
I’m afraid Mrs. Pinnings isn’t here.”

I knew it!

“I’m well aware of that,” she returned. Who was on the other side? The butler? Or had a new, male housekeeper already been installed, in the hopes a man would be more likely to keep his mouth shut? “I’m here on behalf of Mrs. Pinnings.”

“
And you are?”

“
Kate Hadley.” Her reply was met with a crackling echo of static.

“
Mrs. Pinnings’ niece,” she added, desperate to get a proverbial foot in the door. Maybe she’d manage a word with Gerardo, cut a deal with him and his privacy issues in exchange for Mrs. Pinnings’ job.

The voice came back. “
Wait there.”

“
Thank you.” Kate gave the camera a smile she was far from feeling. What a bloody hoity-toity butler. Guess that meant she wouldn’t be speaking to Alexander Gerardo. But at least she might get some answers.

She returned to the Jeep, slammed the door shut and leant against it.

When the gate finally slid open on an automated hiss, she was grateful for the cool metal support at her back. Her knees dipped and her mouth went slack as her gaze hooked on the man walking up to her. Just over six-foot of pure gorgeous, a jaw chiselled from testosterone ore and sleek black hair falling carelessly to an inch below the line of his jaw.

Broad shoulders and lean muscle worked those jeans and white T-shirt with casual elegance. A pair of designer shades hid the colour of his eyes.

Not the butler, then, and her conclusion had nothing to do with the price of his sunglasses. It was there in the leashed power of that slow, confident stride. In the tilt of his head as that hidden gaze no doubt drilled through her lies. It was in the whole package—body and attitude—blended in pure sin to match that voice.

Al
exander Gerardo.

He stopped a good couple of paces before he reached her, folding his arms. “
Ms. Hadley,” he greeted in a thick drawl. “You’re one hell of a busy lady.”

How old was this guy? Twenty-eight? Thirty? After hearing him on the phone, she hadn
’t expected ancient, but she had expected someone who’d had time to amass the kind of fortune required to buy Castle Darrock.

“
A reporter,” he continued, coming one step closer. “A small business owner—”

“
Not that small,” she snapped, finding her voice.

“
And
Mrs. Pinnings’ niece,” he finished smoothly in a tone that blatantly hacked her lie to pieces.

She winced, but what choice did she have? If she didn
’t brazen this out, she’d get no information. “Actually, being Mrs. Pinnings’ niece is what I am, not what I do, and it hardly takes up any time at all.”

“
Interesting that she never mentioned you to me.”

Kate couldn
’t resist the plug. “Why would she? My aunt is professional enough to keep her business and personal life separate.”

He shrugged. “
The coincidence is amazing, wouldn’t you think?”

“
Of me living in Corkscrew Bay?” Kate shot back, her head spinning as she tried to keep one step ahead of his suspicions. “I’m one of the reasons my aunt took this position down here.”

Silence.

Kate bit down on her lip. Unless he meant the coincidence of the relationship between his housekeeper and a local reporter. Had she just made it worse? “My aunt didn’t take this job in order to feed me inside information, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said coldly.

“
I wasn’t.”

Sh
e blew out a breath of relief.

“
Until you mentioned it,” he added in that unaffected drawl that was starting to seriously work on her nerves.

“
Well, go ahead and un-think it!”

“
If you insist.”

Her mouth opened in protest, then snapped shut as his words rea
ched her brain. She narrowed her eyes on him. Was he messing with her? What
was
he thinking? Damn those shades.

She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. “
Mrs. Pinnings is an ethical, loyal employee and she doesn’t deserve to be treated otherwise.”

“
I’m well aware of Mrs. Pinnings’ worth.” He unfolded his arms to hitch a thumb in the front pocket of his jeans. His other hand went to his hair, long fingers pushing the silky strands from his forehead. “That’s why I gave her four weeks off to celebrate her fiftieth birthday at home.”

A vein twitched at the back of Kate
’s neck. Four weeks? From the goodness of his heart?

Tossing out any preconceived notions, what did she really know about the man?

There was his high-handed dismissal of the town’s affairs. The threat to unleash his lawyers on her. None of which recommended the man to her, but this was about Mrs. Pinnings and in the name of objectiveness, Kate admitted she wasn’t a fair comparison to his live-in housekeeper.

Maybe she was worrying herself
silly and all because Mrs. Pinnings was off in…
where
? Well, somewhere, enjoying a little R&R. Maybe Harry was right.

Then why were her instincts on red alert?

Gerardo’s jaw tensed, emphasising harsh angles and hollowing his cheeks. “I’d have thought you’ll be in Penryn for the weekend yourself…for your aunt’s celebrations.”

Penryn. Where was Penryn again? On the other side of the peninsula, came to mind. Or was that some other town she was thinking of? Either way, Penryn was clearly the place Mrs. Pinnings
called home. And her birthday was this weekend. Kate filed the information away, details a niece should know. She cleared her throat to cover the pause as she formulated her response. She wasn’t in Penryn because…because…

“
My Jeep,” she blurted, bumping her backside against the door. “It’s too unreliable for the trip and the train doesn’t go anywhere close.” She put some effort into her groan. “I would have loved to be there.”

He just looked at her.

Or, at least, she assumed that’s what he was doing from behind those dark glasses. Looking and judging. Her excuse was flimsy. For all she knew, Penryn was on a main train route. Not to mention taxis and busses.

It was only Thursday. She could have said she was leaving for Penryn in the morning.

“I’m sure Mrs. Pinnings would love for you to be there, too.” He came forward a step, then another. “Tell you what.”

Kate shrank back as his third step brought him too close for comfort, but she was up against the Jeep and had nowhere to go.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make the party on Saturday,” he said, tilting his head slightly as he pushed his sunglasses up into his hair. “But my schedule just cleared.”

Grey eyes, the colour of a tempest dawn. Without the shades, his face looked just a little lived in, a little lin
ed, those grey eyes edged in fine creases. A thread of desire tugged low in her abdomen. Her mouth went dry and telling herself that this was Alexander Gerardo, the man who’d threatened her, belittled her, and possibly fired Mrs. Pinnings because of her, wasn’t helping. Her tingling pulse didn’t seem to care. A single thought ran through her brain, her body, her blood.
Holy smokes, the man certainly lives up to that sinful voice…and then some.

“
I’m sorry?” She shook her head, swallowing hard. “What was that?”

“
I’m offering you a ride.” The creases at his eyes deepened as he looked at her. “We’ll set off first thing Saturday and return Sunday morning.”

She shook her head again. He was offering her
— Oh! “You’re going all the way to Penryn for Mrs—um, my aunt’s birthday party?”

“
It’s only a couple of hours drive.”

She narrowed her eyes on him. He wouldn
’t consider attending the birthday celebrations of a woman he’d fired. She should feel relieved.

The tugging desire and pulse tingling combined to throb at her te
mple. Not a common symptom of relief.

“
I was invited,” he added. “If that’s what’s worrying you.”

Which was more than she could say for herself.

No longer able to meet his gaze, Kate glanced over his shoulder. Beyond the gates, a cobbled driveway disappeared after the first bend into the tangle of ancient oaks and elms. A wall of crenulated limestone rose up behind the forest where the town should have been holding their Easter egg hunt next weekend. That small reminder was all it took for the pieces to fall into place.

Alexander Gerardo was not the kind of man to meet her at the gates when a simple explanation would have done.
Mrs. Pinnings will be away until the end of the month. Come back then.

Her gaze swung back to him, to those piercing eyes trained
on her. The mind behind those sharp, observant eyes no doubt never missed a thing either. He didn’t believe she was Mrs. Pinnings’ niece. Not for a minute. Her story didn’t even sound plausible to her own ears, but instead of calling her out on it, he’d fed her details she should have known. Instead of questioning her lame transport excuse, he’d offered her an alternative.

This from the man who
’d hidden behind his massive walls for three years and threatened her after she’d made one tiny crack.

“
So,” he said, the hint of a grin breaking through the harsh line of his jaw. “I’ll pick you up Saturday morning, then? About eight-thirty, should we say? Outside the newspaper offices?”

She gave him a frown. “
You know where that is?”

He tugged his shades over his eye
s again, inclined his head at her, and turned without so much as a farewell. Not waiting for a confirmation, as if his word was law rather than an offer to help.

Kate sighed. It wasn
’t like he’d drag her into his car. Even Harry would have to take notice if the man kidnapped her off the high street in broad daylight.

She didn
’t have to go anywhere with Alexander Gerardo, who’d walked inside the property by now, still not turning once as the gates slid closed after him.

She gritted her teeth, stifling a fru
strated yell. She didn’t believe a word he’d said either. Did Mrs. Pinnings even live in Penryn?

The beauty of him knowing she
’d lied meant he could lie twice as fast and twice as big. Of course he hadn’t called her out. Why do that when he could play her game so much better? He knew she wouldn’t leave the matter of Mrs. Pinnings alone and that’s what he wanted most, to be left alone. This way,
his way
, he thought she’d have no option but to chicken out and back down for good.