The Ruthless Gentleman(49)

The road opened up into a small square with trees in the middle and tables from the cafés dotted between them.

“Coffee?” he suggested.

I nodded, and we found a spot in the shade.

“Due caffè americano per favore,” he called to the waitress as he held out my chair for me.

“You trying out your Italian to impress me?”

“Is it working?” he asked, leaning back in his chair, regarding me intently as if he were a painter and I was a bowl of fruit.

I narrowed my eyes as the waitress set our drinks down. “Are you fishing for compliments?”

He tipped his head back and laughed from deep in his belly. “I wasn’t, but it did sound a little needy, didn’t it? I can order a coffee and a glass of wine but that’s about where my Italian begins and ends. The UN isn’t going to be calling me up to offer me a career as a translator any time soon.” He stroked his jaw with his knuckles. “You’re feistier on solid ground.”

“This is me. My uniform’s back on the boat.” I took a deep breath, then I held out my hand. “Avery Walker, nice to meet you.”

To my surprise, instead of shaking it, he held it in his and didn’t let go. “Hayden Wolf. What you see is what you get.” Was he jibing me, accusing me of being a fake?

“My job requires me to be professional, to not always say what I think, to suck it up when guests annoy the crap out of you. That’s just life.”

He didn’t respond right away, just stared at me as if he was taking it all in. “I know. I just like Avery Walker better.”

I smiled. “Me too. But I do what I need to in order to succeed at my job. You should understand that—you’re in the middle of the ocean for two months to be good at yours.”

He raised his arm, resting it on the back of the empty chair next to him, and stroked his thumb across the wooden slat. “I hadn’t thought about it like that. I guess it’s just a different kind of sacrifice.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, being on a luxury superyacht traveling down the Italian Riviera is such a sacrifice.”

He smiled, and the way he scanned my face showed he was smiling because I was laughing, as though he took pleasure from my happiness rather than because I was teasing him. Joy bloomed in my chest.

“You sound like my brother,” he said. “And it’s definitely beautiful, but it’s always a sacrifice when you’d rather be somewhere else, doing something else.”

I blinked and turned away. I didn’t want to talk about sacrifice or what I’d rather be doing—the life I’d thought I’d have before my brother’s accident. “Is he like you, your brother?”

“No, not at all. He’s the brawn. I’m the brain.”

My gaze darted down to his muscled arms, strong thighs and tight abs covered by his white linen shirt. “If you’re the brain, I’d like to see his brawn.”

“Did you just ogle me?” He sat forward in his chair, his eyes narrowing.

I lifted a shoulder. “Bite me. You said it—it’s my day off. You’re not my guest today.”

He chuckled and sat back.

“So your brother didn’t end up like you in a corporate job?”

Hayden shook his head. “I guess he wanted a worthier life.” He paused and squinted, vulnerability flashing across his face, though I wasn’t sure where it came from.

“That’s a huge sacrifice,” I said.

“Absolutely.” He nodded. “I could never do anything like that. Landon’s special, built for duty and honor.”

Real adoration passed through his voice. In my experience, it was unusual for anyone rich to value anything but wealth, yet Hayden understood there were more important things.

“All I do is make money, but I try to . . .” He winced, and I sat forward, resting my chin on my hand, wanting to hear what he said next. “It sounds ludicrous, but I try to act honorably. Like a gentleman. In the City, business is generally full of snakes. People wanting to make money out of depriving other people, or getting one over on others.” He slid his long legs out in front of him. “I don’t believe it has to be like that. I think that if you look after people, your employees, you get much better results than if you treat them like shit. If you respect people, generally you get the same back.”

I smiled at him. What was he? Some kind of ethical corporate tycoon? Did such a person really exist?

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m no angel. I’m shrewd, I’m demanding and ruthless when I need to be. But I don’t break my promises. I reward loyalty and I don’t lie. And I never work with those who do.”

His jaw tightened, and I could tell his mind had shifted to something else. I couldn’t help but focus on the man in front of me. The guy I’d judged as being another spoiled millionaire but was anything but. He respected, even idolized, his brother who’d served his country. Hayden was someone who wanted to do the right thing and make money.

I’d thought he was just a hot piece of ass, when really, he was so much more.

He swept his thumb across my cheekbone. “For the record, you can objectify me any time you want.”

My pulse danced in my wrist. He was acting like this was a date, as if we were lovers. Was it? Would we be? Though today was my day off, Captain Moss wouldn’t draw such a clear distinction between on-duty and off-duty behavior, but the more time I spent with Hayden, the more the line between us blurred and faded.