Page 3

“I will.” Lela tried to disguise her anxiety with the sharp response.What did Papa tell you? What isn’t Papa telling me?

Dog-tired, she couldn’t recall the elusive memory hearing his name triggered. Giovanni Vella’s narrow-minded view of the proper role and place of women in his family coupled with his wealth and power were an unhealthy mix. Using his influence to get his way was commonplace. Unleashing a fancy lawyer before they had any facts hit a new low, tantamount to Papa declaring his intention to impose his will on her and Sophie.

“I’ve been employed to find Sophia Vella.”

“Sophie, her name is Sophie.” The name Lela’s sister, Mari, had listed on her daughter’s birth certificate.Damn Papa’s pig-headedness.

Hamish inclined his head, acknowledging the correction. “Why are you here?”

“Have you found her?” she asked, with the beginnings of relief. Maybe that’s why MacGregor was at the airport?

“Not yet. I accepted the job late this afternoon.”

“Then we’re starting from the same place.” She summoned a polite smile. She couldn’t afford to trust him until she understood why Sophie had taken off, along with Papa’s role in her departure. Last week Lela had refused to support Sophie’s wish to go to a house party with her boyfriend. It wasn’t their first disagreement about boundaries, and Sophie had seemed to accept Lela’s decision.

“I’ve worked in Malta before. I have extensive contacts who’ll find her quickly and without fuss.”

“What sort of contacts?” Lela had her own, but if he knew people who’d make the search easier, she’d be a fool to ignore them ... and him.

“An experienced investigator I’ve used in the past.” His implied leadership role was a forceful reminder he was her father’s creature.

“What’she—I’m assuming your contact is a he—doing for you?”

“My investigator is a man, Ms. Vella.” He acknowledged her snap of frustration. “Although I don’t see the relevance of his gender. You’re welcome to join me tomorrow morning when I brief him.”

“I don’t have a problem with men,Mr.MacGregor. I’ve noticed a lot of them have a particular world view, approach problems in particular ways.” Sniping at Papa’s hired help was uncharted territory for Lela, empirical evidence that sleep deprivation muddled your reasoning.

“That sounds like an insult,” he quipped.

“I find a diversity of views delivers better results.”How did I allow myself to be drawn into this ridiculous conversation?

“Letting prejudice or ego overrule common sense won’t find your niece.”

Damn him for being right.

“You know nothing about me.”

“Same goes.” The challenge in his level voice slowed her down.

Papa favoured the quick hit of adrenalin that came from winning a fight, rather than taking the time to compromise. She’d vowed to be different, a vow lost in the jet stream, to be replaced by anxiety and exhaustion. Right now, a kindergartener stood a better chance of winning a debate with this enigmatic stranger than she did. Making decisions when her brain wasn’t functioning would only make matters worse.

“I’ll think about your offer to meet your investigator.”Just go away now.

“Your father has reserved a room for you at the Grand Excelsior Hotel for a week.”

Lela sank back onto the chair. Her last-minute search for hotels had thrown up the Grand Excelsior. Decadent luxury and 180-degree water views were beyond the budget of teenage runaways, so Lela hadn’t considered the hotel useful in her search for Sophie and her boyfriend. Now Papa had dealt it in.

Dealt them and MacGregor in.

“Your hotel?”

“I use it when I’m here,” he agreed.

Papa’s obsession with control would dictate that she be under the eye of his hatchet man. Or, another possibility popped into her head, and she knew she’d guessed right. Papa expected her to dutifully fall in with his plans, to accept his assessment of his granddaughter’s best interest and to help the lawyer.

Not this time.

There were no answers to be found in the preposterous shamrock green of MacGregor’s bland gaze. The colour alone bewitched, the intelligence and patience adding to his power. Men werenotsupposed to have green eyes, not unless they came from Iceland. And she was in a bad way when a trivial fact could pop into her mind, while she struggled to form whole sentences.