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Think—think She wasn’t going to allow hiht not feel like it at the moment, but it was Xavier as on the back foot Her inheritance was safe She could fight for the islanders for the rest of her life, and there wasn’t a da he could do about it But he had to produce an heir If she didn’t e now, then she deserved to lose the island Her enda was sorting out her current predicament Maybe there was a spare waitress’s uniform she could borrow?

‘So, Señorita Resourceful?’ Xavier pro to do now?’

‘More than you suppose,’ she tossed back at him

‘Oh?’ There was amusement in his eyes, but also a neariness had crept in

‘You think you’ve got it all covered, don’t you?’ she said ‘You can walk out of here with a knowing smile, while I’m left to do the walk of sha you think this introduction to high society will put rateful, even—to accept your pay-off, and go to live quietly, while you move your bulldozers in’

‘You have an extreination, Señorita Clifton’

‘Do I? I think you see this as the start of returning things to how you i and folding

Xavier frowned ‘What do you mean by that?’

‘You ive me a job as a housekeeper on the island, if I’ her head, satisfied she had done the best she could with the dress, she saw Xavier’s jaw clench, suggesting she was right ‘The Del Rio fa in your world will have returned to how it should be—in your eyes,’ she finished grimly

‘You know nothing about my family’ His tone was ominously quiet

‘I can hardly believe you’ve got one My theory is that you were raised in a petri dish and then planted on top of the gold at the end of the rainbow’

‘I have as much a family as you do,’ he said

‘We both had Doña Anna,’ she argued

He was quiet for a ed ‘If you’re upset about the dress, I’ll buy you another’

‘The dress is the least ofsubtly, or not so subtly, to driveAnywhere,’ she spelled out ‘That’s the last ti to do about that?’