Taming The Wild CEO novel Chapter 24

C H A P T E R 2 2 : T O C O N V I N C E O N E S E L F

E L L A S T A N F O R D

After Washington D.C. intermittent sunshine and rain, Trapani, Sicily looked so unreal and beautiful — just like a coloured postcard. The streets lined with palm trees whose leaves were green and lustrous, the hotels dazzling white and glinting in the sun, the layered rows of houses softly washed in pastel colours, over all of the town the brilliant azure sky making it look more like a film set than anything Ella could remember.

They drove from the airport in a hired car which she had booked from Rome. Javier knew the route well from previous visits, his long hands capable on the wheel, his hard profile abstracted in thought.

“Your older brother lives here, doesn’t he?” asked Ella. Oddly enough, she felt slightly irritated by his apparent unawareness of her presence beside him in the car.

He turned his head, the dark hair brushing against the collar of the dark brown shirt he wore. “Yes. Piers, my second older brother,” he answered with a slight nod. The piercing blue eyes skimmed over her, observing the plain violet dress she was wearing. A faint flush rose in her face, and his mouth curved suddenly in mockery. “He lives about two hours drive from here in an idyllic cottage beside the river,” he added. “Far from the crowd.” She noticed the way his voice held a strange note of irony.

“Does she live alone?”

“Yes. He enjoys solitude.”

“Doesn’t he get lonely or miss his family?”

“He is an artist,” he said, as if that explained everything.

“What kind of artist?” asked Ella curiously.

Although she knew most of Javier’s siblings and their businesses —after all, they owned everything that had ‘Summers’ name on it, she rarely heard of Piers Summers being mentioned. She found it rather odd how Edward and Helena Summers had eight grand-children and had divided each business industry to each of them and yet still, there was one being left out. Thornton Summers owned the multibillionaire software company Summers Tech Inc., Declan Summers managed the hotels line, Javier had Summers Entertainment, Clara had the Summers Publishing House, and there were three more siblings in airline, medical or healthcare, and F&B industries. There should be one industry they could have given to Piers, or if there was not, then they could at least let him build one.

“A painter.” He shrugged, turning back to his interest in the traffic around them. “He paints panorama, mountain or lake. Occassionally he does portraits too, but has no real talent for them. His still lifes sell well though.”

Now Ella was even more intrigued. “Enough to live on?”

He surprised her by laughing. “I highly doubt it. He is not that good. He sends them to an art dealer in Rome who then sells them to rich tourists. It is a pleasant addition to his income but that is about it.”

Ella wondered if he secretly supported his brother financially, and imagined he must he doing so. Certainly he earned enough. The firm was largely in his possession, and although he lived well he must be very well off, she supposed. It had never occurred to her to be interested in his background. That his family had owned the firm had given him the sort of secure, moneyed background which explained his air of arrogant self-assurance.

“Do you see much of your brother?” she asked, as he spun the car into the curved drive leading to their hotel.

“Piers is not a sociable type,” he said tersely.

His reply made her wonder what that meant. Unclipping her safety belt, she then opened the car door. Javier came round and assisted her to alight, his hand beneath her elbow. A group of tourists walked past them, laughing, their air of leisure underlining their reason for being here and Ella looked after them enviously. The two women wore brief sun-dresses and large straw hats, their bodies smoothly tanned.

Javier glanced after them, then looked down at her wryly. “Wish you were here on holiday, huh?” he asked.

“The weather is certainly wonderful,” she sighed. “This place must be marvellous for a honeymoon.”

Javier's hand tightened around her elbow and Ella made a silent face of protest. Her lips parting in a wince. Then as if he had not realized it, he dropped his hand and turned to greet the hotel doorman who came hurrying to welcome them.

Their rooms were side by side on the first floor, facing the sea, each with French windows leading out on to a shared balcony. A page boy escorted them, carrying their luggage. While he was showing Javier his room she opened the french windows in her own and went out on to the balcony to stare down the white promenade, through the smooth leaves of palm trees, to where the blue water curled on to the beach. Half-naked bodies lay under beach umbrellas in the cool shade which protected them from the direct rays of the sun. A few people were swimming. One or two were sailing in small dinghies, the white of the sails flapping in a faint breeze. She could just hear the jingle of the mast wires us they turned. A step brought her attention back to her more immediate surroundings. She turned and met Javier’s piercing blue eyes. She was surprised to see that he had already changed into cream colored shorts and a plain black T-shirt.

“You have changed,” she said what was obvious and immediately chastised herself.

His brows lifted sardonically. “So I have,” he mocked. His blue eyes slid down over her. “I suggest you do the same. You look too neat and businesslike in that dress. I gather you brought something more casual.”