Ludo’s compelling sapphire-coloured eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘So … you like being in charge?’

The comment instigated an unsettling sensation of vague embarrassment. Did he perhaps think that she was boasting? ‘Does that make me sound bossy and controlling?’ she quizzed him.

Her handsome companion shook his head, ‘Not at all. Why be defensive about an ability to take charge when a situation calls for it … especially in business? A going concern could hardly be successful if someone didn’t take the reins. In my view it is a very admirable and desirable asset.’

‘Thanks.’ Even as she shyly acknowledged the unexpected compliment it suddenly dawned on Natalie that Ludo had revealed very little about himself. Yet he had somehow got her to divulge quite a lot about her own life.

Was he a psychologist, perhaps? Judging by his extremely confident manner and expensive clothing, whatever profession he was in it must earn him a fortune. She realised that she really wanted to know a bit more about him. What sentient woman wouldn’t be interested in such a rivetingly attractive man? Maybe it was time she turned the tables and asked him some questions.

‘Do you mind if I ask you what you do for a living?’ she ventured.

Ludo blinked. Then he stared straight ahead of him for seemingly interminable seconds, before finally turning his head and gifting her with one of his magnetically compelling smiles. Her heart jumped as she found her glance irretrievably captured and taken hostage.

‘My business is diverse. I have interests in many different things, Natalie.’

‘So you run a business?’

He shrugged disconcertingly. Why was he being so cagey? Did he think she was hitting on him because he was wealthy? The very idea made her squirm—especially when he had displayed such rare kindness in paying for her train ticket. Not one in a thousand people would have been so generous towards a complete stranger, she was sure.

‘I would rather not spoil this unexpectedly enjoyable train journey with you by discussing what I do,’ he explained. ‘Besides … I would much rather talk about you.’

‘I’ve already told you what I do.’

‘But what you do, Natalie, is not who you are. I would like to know a little bit more about your life … the things that interest you and why.’

She flushed. Such a bold and unexpected declaration briefly struck her dumb, and coupled with the admission that he was enjoying travelling with her, it made her feel strangely weak with pleasure. The last time she could recall feeling a similar pleasure was when she’d had her first kiss from a boy at school she’d had a massive crush on. Her interest in him hadn’t lasted for more than a few months, but she’d never forgotten the tingle of fierce excitement the kiss had given her. It had been tender and innocently explorative, and she remembered it fondly.

Threading her fingers through her long, gently mussed hair, she lowered her gaze and immediately felt strangely bereft of Ludo’s crystalline blue glance. What would a kiss from his lips feel like? It certainly wouldn’t be like an inexperienced schoolboy’s.

Disturbed by the thought, she drew in a steadying breath. ‘If you mean my favourite pastimes or hobbies, I’m sure if I told you what they were you’d think them quite ordinary and boring.’

‘Try me,’ he invited with a smile.

Natalie almost said out loud, When you look at me like that I can’t think of a single thing I like except the dimples in your carved cheekbones when you smile.

Shocked by the intensity of heat that washed through her at the private admission, she briefly glanced away to compose herself. ‘I enjoy simple pleasures, like reading and going to the cinema. I just love watching a good film that takes me away from the worries and concerns of my own life and transports me into the story of someone else’s … especially if it’s uplifting. I also love listening to music and taking long walks in the countryside or on the beach.’

‘I find none of those interests either boring or ordinary,’ Ludo replied, the edges of his finely sculpted lips nudging the wryest of smiles. ‘Besides, sometimes the most ordinary things in life—the things we may take for granted—can be the best. Don’t you agree? I only wish I had more time to enjoy some of the pleasures that you mention myself.’

‘Why can’t you free up some time so that you can? Do you have to be so busy all of the time?’

Frowning deeply, he seemed to consider the question for an unsettlingly long time. His perusal of Natalie while he was mulling over her question bordered on intense. Flustered, she averted her gaze to check the time on her watch.

‘We’ll soon be arriving in London,’ she announced, reaching over to the window seat for her bag and delving into it for a pen and something to write on. ‘Do you think you could give me your full name and address now, so I can send you the money for my ticket?’

‘We might as well wait until we disembark.’

He bit into his sandwich, as if certain she wouldn’t give him an argument. She wanted to insist, but in the end decided not to. What difference could it possibly make to take his address now or later, as long as she got it? ‘Never a borrower or a lender be,’ her mother had always told her. ‘And always pay your debts.’

Instead of adding any further comment, Natalie fell into a reflective silence. Observing that she wasn’t eating her lunch, Ludo frowned, and the gesture brought two deep furrows to his otherwise silkily smooth brow.

‘Finish your food,’ he advised. ‘If you haven’t had any breakfast you’ll need it. Especially if you face a difficult meeting with your father.’

‘Difficult?’

‘I mean emotional. If his health has deteriorated then your discussion will not be easy for either of you.’

The comment made a jolt of fear scissor through her heart. She was genuinely afraid that her dad’s urgent need to see her was to tell her he’d received a serious diagnosis from the doctor. They’d had their ups and downs over the years but she still adored him, and would hate for him to be taken from her when he had only just turned sixty.

‘You’re right. No doubt it will be emotional.’ She gave him a self-conscious smile and chewed thoughtfully on her sandwich.

‘I’m sure that whatever happens the two of you will find great reassurance in each other’s company.’

The sudden ring of Ludo’s mobile instantly commanded his attention. After a brief acknowledgement to the caller, he covered the speaker with his hand and turned back to Natalie.

‘I’m afraid I need to take this call. I’m going to step outside into the corridor for a few minutes.’

As he rose to his feet she was taken aback to see how tall he was … at least six foot two, she mused. The impressive physique beneath the flawless Italian tailoring hinted at an athletically lean and muscular build, and she couldn’t help staring up at him in admiration. Concerned that she might resemble a besotted teenager, staring open-mouthed at a pop idol, she forced herself to relax and nod her head in acknowledgement.

‘Please, go ahead.’

As the automatic twin doors of the compartment swished open Ludo turned to her for a moment and, with a disconcerting twinkle in his eye, said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t run away, Natalie … will you?’

‘I ASSUME THAT all the papers are ready?’

Even as he asked the question Ludo rapidly assessed the detailed information he’d been given, turning it over in his mind with the usual rapier-like thoroughness that enabled him to dive into every corner and crevice of a situation all at once and miss nothing.

At the other end of the line, his personal assistant Nick confirmed that everything was as it should be. Rubbing a hand round his clean-shaven, chiselled jaw, Ludo enquired ‘And you’ve scheduled the meeting for tomorrow, as I asked?’