Swallowing, I bit back my smile and nodded. “They’re delicious. You’d be an excellent chef if you weren’t a businessman,” I answered truthfully.

Relief washed over his features as he relaxed in his seat. Wait, was I hallucinating? Was that pink tint I was seeing on his cheeks?

Achilles Valencian was blushing! Oh shit! I should have clicked a picture of it!

Noticing my wide eyes, he cleared his throat, and put back on his confident expression.

This time I couldn’t hide my smile. “You were blushing.”

“I wasn’t! Now eat your food. They’re getting cold,” he said, filling his own plate.

“Here, try some spaghetti. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“You were blushing. I saw it!” I argued, teasing him. “It’s okay to blush, you know. It’s normal.”

He cursed under his breath.

I snickered. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. No one will ever know that Achilles Valencian blushed.”

“Rosebud!” he warned, his gray orbs formed into a scowl. “Eat your food.”

Biting my lip, I finally decided to leave him alone and concentrate on my food. As we silently ate, my eyes fell on his knuckles again. None of the movements of his hands seemed to bother him, even if they were black and blue. He didn’t even wince once.

My hands itched to drag him inside and put some ointment on them. But I knew he wouldn’t let me until the date was over.

“When did you buy this place from Tobias’s friend’s family?” The way the guard outside greeted him, staff working for him here, and the way he planned everything said that he owned this house and the private beach.

He didn’t have to look up at me as he already was watching me. He was watching me more than he ate his food, not letting me eat comfortably. How could I when his hawk-like eyes were watching me?

Annoying man!

“Three years ago. They didn’t want to sell it at first, but I convinced them.”

“How?”

His shrug was casual. “By offering them triple of the actual price of this property.”

My eyes widened. “Triple? But why? You could just buy any other property, much bigger than this.”

Again, the intensity was back in his gray pools. “Those didn’t remind me of my Rosebud.”

My heart caught at my throat as I stared at him.

He-he brought this beach house for me? First that company, then that canvas, and now this.

I was out of words. I didn’t know what to say or react. So dumbfounded, I went back to my plate.

Once we finished the dinner, he stood and gave me his hand.

“Dance?” A slow music hummed in the background.