Читать книгу Modern Romance Books September Books 5-8 - Кэтти Уильямс, Annie West, Cathy Williams - Страница 15

WHERE THE HELL was she?

Rafael looked at his watch again. So far, she was half an hour late and counting, and he was beginning to think that he should have taken control of this final big step. Should have insisted that he bring her here to the Register Office himself. At the very least, get his driver to collect her from the house in the country where she had been spending the past week, bar that one day when she had shopped in London at his suggestion.

But then what was the chance that she would have allowed herself to be chivvied into doing what he wanted?

Rafael grimaced, mentally acknowledging that when he had set off on his mission to make her acquaintance the last thing he’d expected was to discover someone with a will as stubborn as his own.

She had turned down all offers from him to get someone—his PA or one of his other, trusted employees—to show her around London.

‘I learned how to be independent a long time ago,’ she had said flatly. ‘I can manage just fine on my own.’

She had openly scoffed at his concerns that she might find herself in an unsafe situation because she had no idea where the no-go areas were.

Her one worry—and he knew this from the shadow that flitted across her face when he mentioned it—was meeting her father, but she had been spared that because David had not been able to see her after all. A series of gruelling tests had left him depressed and, once again, hospital-bound. He had been discharged the day before but he was still in a wheelchair.

Rafael glanced down at his godfather, patiently waiting for his daughter to appear bounding up the steps of the impressive Town Hall.

David Dunmore looked his age. He was no longer the sharp-eyed, rotund father figure of old. He had lost a substantial amount of weight, something Rafael was noticing for the first time, and his face was weary and drawn. He looked fragile. For a man who had once been so vital, so energised, so big, this fragility was a sucker punch to the gut.

Rafael cursed softly under his breath because the last thing his godfather needed was for Sofia to decide that she couldn’t go through with the deal after all.

And how did he know that that wasn’t exactly what had happened?

She already had a huge amount of cash in her bank account. Nothing like the amount she could expect to land eventually, but enough to hightail it back to Argentina and set up camp to a very high standard indeed.

He had trusted her to sign on the dotted line and follow through, because his gut instinct told him that she was trustworthy, but there was always a first when it came to gut instincts going wrong.

On the verge of whipping out his mobile phone and calling her, a hurrying figure caught the corner of his eye and he half-turned in its direction.

And there she was.

The breath left him in a rush, as if he’d been punched in the gut.

In the warmth of a mild-mannered spring day, with crowds scurrying all around, she was a vision of such unparalleled beauty that he was forcibly and unpleasantly reminded of just how tempting a creature she was. From the first time he’d laid eyes on her his libido had started misbehaving, and it was misbehaving now, even though he had already told himself that the best course of action was the very one he had taken: to keep things purely on a business level, thereby avoiding unnecessary complications. He’d stated his case and made sure that she was on the same page...

But, hell...when a woman looked the way she did...

She had forgone white or cream, or any variation thereof, and was wearing a figure-hugging lilac dress that somehow managed to be extremely proper and outrageously sexy at the same time.

He had only seen her informally dressed and she hid her assets well.

Not so now. Her generous breasts made a mockery of the high, prissy neckline, just as her shapely legs made a mockery of the knee length cut of the dress. The single string of pearls around her neck sent his mind screaming off in all sorts of inappropriate directions.

He wondered what they would look like against her naked, latte-coloured body.

Her long, streaming hair was neatly tied back and his fingers itched to unravel it from its restraints.

Irritated with himself for a physical weakness he didn’t seem able to control at all, Rafael placed both hands on his godfather’s shoulders and leant down to draw his attention to the hurrying figure.

For the moment, it was simply the three of them, with his loyal, middle-aged PA there to sign as one of the witnesses, but after the brief ceremony they would be joined by a small selection of friends, and of course Freddy, where a late lunch would be had in the private room of one of the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants in the City.

Expression veiled, Rafael watched the bounce of her breasts and wanted nothing more than to scrap the expensive lunch, take her to a hotel room and bed her.

It was a crazy, wayward desire that he clamped down with iron determination.

‘You’re here,’ was all he said when she was finally standing in front of him. ‘I was beginning to wonder whether you’d make it at all. Sofia...meet your father...’

* * *

Sofia’s heart was beating so fast she felt she might pass out at any moment.

She was nearly forty minutes late. There had been no need for her to be late at all because she had left herself plenty of time to make the trip to the Register Office, even though she hadn’t done herself any favours by turning down the offer of Rafael’s driver.

Pride.

But somehow everything had been just a little bit delayed, from having to hunt down the pearl necklace, which hadn’t been where she had thought it was, to stupid little glitches with transport.

But here she was.

She felt sick.

The old man looking up at her from a wheelchair was far more frail than she had expected. Was she supposed to launch into excited babble? Start a long-winded conversation? Put on a show of filial excitement?

Sofia felt like doing none of those things because this was the guy who had dumped her mother, sending her into a downward spiral from which she never really recovered.

‘Hello,’ she said neutrally, stepping back and pointedly not offering an outstretched hand.

‘My dear, dear girl. You’re even more beautiful than I could have expected. I cannot tell you what a joy it is to have you here.’

Sofia glanced down, intensely uncomfortable, and even more so when she noted the glimmer of tears in his eyes.

She immediately looked up at Rafael, then wished she hadn’t, because she just couldn’t seem to see him without her heart doing all sorts of stupid things.

This was not a traditional wedding and they had both interpreted that glaring fact in their own way. She by wearing a simple lilac dress that could multi-task, so it wouldn’t end up hanging in her wardrobe never to be worn again, and he by wearing a pair of linen trousers and a white shirt which was loosely cuffed to the elbows. He looked so spectacular that her mouth instantly went dry and she felt in desperate need of a glass of water.

‘Apologies if I’ve kept you all waiting.’ She turned to his PA, whom she’d briefly met on her one and only day spent shopping in London, and made some idle chat, but not for long because they were on a timetable that was threatening to be scuppered by her late arrival.

No time, thankfully, to address that emotional greeting from David, even though she could sense him looking at her as they entered the building. She wanted to look back at him, see if she could spot any resemblances to her, but at the same time she didn’t want to show interest. A lifetime of writing him out of her life was tailoring her responses.

No time to get lost in Rafael, which only ended up leading to the sort of edge-of-seat nervous tension that infuriated her because she knew just the sort of guy he was.

Just enough time to be dimly aware of the words that united them, then he was slipping the ring on her finger.

She stared down and her heart thumped and her head emptied of all thought. He tilted her chin so that she was gazing up at him and for a few seconds the whole world shrank to just the two of them. Then his lips grazed hers and she thought, this is just for show, for the PA who doesn’t know the situation... But those lips were awakening all kinds of responses in her. He darted his tongue into her parted mouth and her breathing quickened. She wanted to clutch the material of his shirt. Instead, she pulled back. He released her immediately and the moment was gone as she turned and the watching faces came back into focus as she walked towards them.

She felt the dry, light touch of David’s hand covering hers and she stole a tight-lipped look at him, hearing him murmur how pleased he was to finally meet her.

Sofia quietly removed her hand and offered a stiff smile, not quite knowing what to say.

‘And I’m sure,’ Rafael murmured smoothly, ushering her out of the room by the elbow, ‘that the feeling is returned. Isn’t it, Sofia?’

‘Of course,’ she said dutifully, not bothering to conceal her insincerity, and ignoring Rafael’s frown of disapproval. She was here but that didn’t mean that she was obliged to wipe the past out and pretend that everything was hunky dory.

Outside, two Range Rovers were waiting to ferry them to the restaurant. She stood politely while her father was helped into the first one, with Rafael’s PA, and then she and her newly acquired husband were in the back of the other, and Rafael immediately turned to her and said, sotto voce, ‘Not going to do.’ How was it that for a fleeting moment in time he’d actually forgotten what this sham was all about?

‘What isn’t?’ Her eyes drifted to his mouth and then, embarrassed, she looked down to the taut pull of trousers over his muscular thighs.

‘You know what I’m talking about, Sofia. David wants to forge a connection with you.’

‘What if I don’t want to forge a connection with him?’

‘Then you’re going to have to make a sterling effort to pretend.’

‘What’s the point of doing that, Rafael? I know I’m being well paid for the job, but pretending to feel something for someone I don’t know from Adam isn’t part of the brief.’

‘Oh, but it is, cara.’

Sofia shivered because this was delivered with just a hint of silky threat.

‘What do you mean?’ she quizzed tartly.

‘Here’s what I mean. You’re not going to avoid seeing David or treat him with disrespect. In any way, shape or form.’

‘I wasn’t doing that.’

‘He’s asking you questions. You’re going to answer them, and you’re going to do a damn good job of answering them with a smile on your face as opposed to the grimace of someone swallowing shards of glass.’

‘But I...’ She dragged her eyes away and stared straight ahead to the other Range Rover in front of them. ‘You don’t understand.’

‘What don’t I understand?’

‘My mum and I were a team. I can’t say that I enjoyed moving around, and I can’t say that I had a lot of time for her falling in and out of love with good-looking guys who used her and then walked away, but we managed—and we managed without David Dunmore on the scene because he’s never been on the scene. You can’t just fabricate interest in someone because you happen to find out that you’re related to them. That’s not how it works.’

‘Maybe not,’ Rafael unbent sufficiently to say quietly. ‘But look on this as a humane gesture. My godfather, your father, has been through the mill with his health. A further barrage of tests this week has reduced him to a person I scarcely recognise. He’s holding on to the prospect of getting to know you like a drowning man clinging to a lifebelt. It’s in your power to alleviate some of his depression by, at least, being civil. Can you honestly tell me that you’re so selfish that you won’t do that?’

Sofia flushed darkly and wondered what he would say if he knew that the depressed elderly man had once been an arrogant forty-something who had not hesitated to dump her mother, having strung her along, eventually making her pregnant. Not, in all fairness, that he had known about the pregnancy, although if he had known would the situation have been any different?

‘Why do you care so much?’ she asked, curiosity forcing a way past her resentment.

Rafael flushed. ‘He’s my godfather. Of course I care.’

‘There’s no of course about it,’ Sofia returned drily. ‘And somehow I can’t see you as the sort of person who shows affection for someone because other people expect it.’ But she could sense that when it came to David all was not as clear cut as for other people. When it came to his godfather, Rafael was vulnerable, and that realisation softened something inside her, endearing him to her in ways she couldn’t define.

Rafael relaxed, his lean, intensely aggressive features softening into something approaching a smile.

‘What are you trying to say?’ Dark eyes glanced over to her as he sat sprawled against the door, his long legs eating up the space between them in the back of the car, as though too big to be comfortable in any restraining space.

‘That you don’t care what anyone thinks. You’ve told me so yourself.’ She hesitated. It would be easy if she could see him as a one-dimensional cardboard cut-out, but she couldn’t, and the second she tried to she was ambushed by all sorts of conflicting feelings because he was simply so complex. ‘So why are you so...close to David? How is it that he’s your godfather?’

‘You ask a lot of questions.’

‘I’m your wife,’ Sofia was quick to respond. ‘And, if you can tell me what to do and how I should behave, then the least I should be able to do, by way of returning the favour, is to try and find out a bit about my husband.’ She looked at him with arched eyebrows and he grinned, then laughed appreciatively.

‘Whatever our marriage is,’ he drawled, ‘boring it won’t be.’

‘Because I have a mind of my own and I’m not afraid to speak it?’ She sniffed, disarmed by that smile.

‘Amongst other things.’

‘Well?’

She twisted the rose-gold ring on her finger. It felt so odd.

She was married to this big, powerful guy...a guy who commanded attention wherever he went. Eyes followed him whenever he entered a room—people wondered whether they should recognise him because he stood out... Even as a lowly gardener he had commanded her attention. Here, in his stamping ground, he was the king of the jungle.

‘Well, if you insist on the back story, David was my grandfather’s closest friend. They went to university together. Neither had much to speak of but David was the first to secure a bank loan and he used some of it to lend a hand to my grandfather, who then went on to do great things in import and export. David opened up a small hotel on the outskirts of the university town they both went to. Fill a gap, was David’s reasoning. Something small but classy for relatives visiting kids at the university. He’d studied economics and figured that that was the most lucrative way to put his degree to good use.

‘Roll on ten years and that one small hotel had expanded into a healthy dozen or so, at which point he began diversifying, going into different areas...exploring boutique hotels in far-flung places not yet on the tourist radar, dabbling in computer technology before computer technology had taken off. All from one small idea.’

Rafael shook his head and Sofia detected admiration in his dark eyes. ‘He’s always been the finest example of how to work your way to the top on your own merit. You could say that this is the stuff that mentors are made of.’ He shot her a crooked smile but she saw past that. Rafael wasn’t being ironic. He was being utterly truthful. In all aspects, David was larger than life to him, had been there for him in more ways than one.

That, she thought, lay at the heart of Rafael’s devotion. Love, admiration, respect. Three powerful emotions. Cold as he was when it came to the business of love and marriage, he wasn’t an ice-man, though she wasn’t sure he would have agreed with her. He was far too fond of thinking of himself as infallible. He didn’t see that great love, even if it wasn’t of the romantic kind, made him as human as the next man.

Sofia frowned. ‘He was in Argentina...’

‘Taking over two hotels, turning them into something more visionary.’

Sofia thought that he must have been an extremely charismatic and dynamic guy, hence why her mother had fallen head over heels in love.

‘So...your father was close to him as well?’

‘My parents would have chosen David because they were probably in a hurry and needed someone to step into the role, if only to please my traditional grandparents. I suspect David worked as a godfather figure because he was based in the UK and available for babysitting duties while they busied themselves exploring anything and everything the universe had to offer. They were young, they were rich and they weren’t going to let a kid hold them back.’

Detecting a thread of bitterness beneath that flatly spoken statement, Sofia looked at him, her curiosity at fever pitch now. She felt as though, through a miniscule crack, she was seeing a sliver of this man that hinted at depths hitherto keep hidden, and that glimpse was sufficient to awaken a thirst to find out more.

She shouldn’t care, because they meant nothing to one another, but she found that she did.

The realisation filled her with a certain amount of unease, because curiosity was definitely not part of the package, but she couldn’t help herself.

‘So they travelled a lot,’ she murmured, in a voice that melded encouragement with mild interest. She smiled. ‘A bit like me, but I suppose the circumstances were slightly different. I expect they were probably travelling in style. Horse and carriage, where we were side-of-road and thumbs out.’

The grin returned. ‘You make me laugh, you know that? You’re also the master of understatement, Sofia.’

The lazy teasing in his voice brought colour to her cheeks and she smiled back at him. ‘Travelling in style would be a lot less arduous than taking pot luck wherever you happened to land.’

‘Oh, my parents travelled in style, all right.’

‘Did you enjoy the experience as much as I did?’ The sarcasm in her voice made him laugh.

‘I wasn’t dragged along in their wake, thankfully. They were about as responsible as a pair of kids without a care in the world, but they had the common sense to put me in a boarding school as soon as they feasibly could, and before that I was looked after, largely, by my grandparents.’

‘How old were you when you were sent to boarding school?’ she queried, unable to conceal her surprise.

‘Seven.’ Rafael’s dark eyes collided with her wide, green ones and he laughed with genuine amusement. ‘Are you about to tell me that you feel sorry for me? Don’t waste your breath. I was very happy there. I spent holidays with my grandparents and then, later on, with David after my grandparents emigrated to South Africa.’

‘And your parents?’

Rafael’s mouth thinned.

Was he even aware of the signals he gave off? Sofia wondered. Was he even aware of the message he was sending underneath the casual, indifferent front? She didn’t want to be sucked into his personality, the way she had been before she’d known who he really was, but she could feel her heart twisting when she thought about his circumstances as a child. In their different ways, they had both had to fight against the challenges they had been born into.

‘My parents were killed when I was thirteen. Light-aeroplane crash. My father had bought it and they were having fun up in the clouds when it went into a tailspin from which it couldn’t recover.’

‘I... I don’t know what to say. That’s awful. I’m so very sorry for you, Rafael.’

‘We’re here.’

Sofia glanced away from his stern, brooding face to see that they were, indeed, outside the sort of exclusive restaurant that barely had to announce itself because anybody who was anybody should know where it was.

The conversation had ended and she had no idea how to retrieve it, even though she wanted to.

He held her hand walking in, absently stroking her thumb with his finger, but she knew that that was just for effect because only David knew the truth. Everyone else had bought into the fairy-tale whirlwind romance. She knew that but there was still a second when it felt real, a real relationship with real hopes and dreams. She didn’t look at him but tentatively stroked his finger back and wondered whether she’d imagined it when he seemed to still for a fraction of a second.

Ahead of them, David had been positioned in his wheelchair at the long table and she saw, with a sinking heart, that there was an empty chair next to his, which she assumed was meant for her, with Rafael on the other side of her.

She barely had time to take in the rest of the people there. There was a handful. A couple of dozen at most. A no-fuss wedding which would have made complete sense to everyone there, given Rafael’s intensely private personality. A splashy affair, weirdly, would have had everyone peering through the net curtains and wondering what was going on.

Introductions were made. The room was entirely private so there were no prying eyes and Sofia knew that she was being assessed neutrally by everyone there: Rafael’s PA, three company directors, friends of David, several attractive, younger couples, friends of Rafael, and the pesky stepson, whose destiny was about to change thanks to this marriage of convenience.

Freddy’s blue eyes were narrowed and hostile but he didn’t say a word as she walked past him towards the chair that was waiting for her. So he had his doubts...? Would Rafael’s arm round her waist still those doubts? Did she look like a woman in love? Certainly, as Rafael’s hand sent heat pouring through her, she knew that she resembled a blushing bride, even if the blushing was for the wrong reasons!

It was almost a relief to sit, even though it was next to her father, and, with the conversation gradually resuming as waiters entered and began doing their thing, she reluctantly began paying attention to the guy with whom her mother had fallen crazily in love.

‘Just ignore the lot of them,’ he whispered, leaning towards her, and she was forced to lean towards him just to pick up what he was saying. ‘And, if you’re nervous, then the champagne is exquisite. Best money can buy. Well known for its calming qualities. I would be sampling some myself, but unfortunately my consultant has been gloomy in his warnings.’

Sofia sipped some champagne and sneaked a glance at her father, who was formally dressed in a suit and tie. He looked gaunt but his eyes were sharp. She could see the powerhouse behind the diminished exterior.

‘I don’t want to be here,’ she muttered, well aware that Rafael couldn’t hear a word she was saying, because he was distracted by the woman next to him. Instead of recoiling, David leant even closer towards her.

‘I know, my dear. It saddens me to think that the only reason you’re occupying that seat is because you have been generously paid to do so.’

Sofia flushed, knowing how that made her sound.

‘I’m no gold-digger,’ she interjected, leaning into him to make herself heard.

‘No one ever said you were, my dear. Money is always handy and, believe me, I don’t blame you in the slightest for taking what was on offer. You’d rather not have anything to do with me, I realise that, but I hope very much that you’ll give it a go.’

She had his nose. Straight and small. And she had the same shape of face—oval, where her mother’s had been girlishly elfin. Even without analysing it too much, she could see the strength of her father’s features in herself and it was disconcerting.

‘I’m only here because I didn’t have a choice,’ she said in a low, defensive tone, hating the fact that this man might think that she was just another money-grabbing stranger happy to do something she resented because she wanted money in her bank account. That she was willing to sell her pride for the sake of hard cash.

‘My godson can be very persuasive.’

‘Your godson is a pain in the ass.’ She pictured that dark, sinfully seductive face and scowled. Next to her, David wheezed with sudden mirth and then promptly drank some water to subdue the resulting coughing fit.

‘Tell that to his face, and he might die of shock because no one will ever have said that to him before.’

‘That’s a shame,’ Sofia retorted tartly, finally paying attention to the delicate titbits on her plate, a selection of mouth-watering tiny pastries with exotic fillings. ‘If someone had, then maybe he wouldn’t be so...so...arrogant and infuriating.’ She flashed a sideways glance at her father who looked right back at her, speculatively.

‘So you’re not here because of Rafael’s powers of persuasion...’

‘My aunt needs financial assistance,’ Sofia confessed. They were in a huddle. Heaven only knew, they must look like long-lost friends to outside eyes. ‘My cousin, Miguel, was injured in an accident when he was sixteen and she’s never had the money to properly care for him. That’s why I’m here. That’s the only reason I’m here.’ She dug into the food. Yes, she had been harsh in stating the truth, but life was harsh.

‘I didn’t know,’ David murmured mildly.

‘Why would you? Oh, yes, I remember. You had me checked out.’

She slanted a sideways glare at him, ready to go into battle with this guy she had no time for, even if it meant rousing Rafael’s displeasure, but David was once again smiling.

‘Best thing I ever did.’ He chortled. ‘You’re a tonic, my dear girl, a tonic.’ He turned to face the assembled crowd and banged his fork sharply on the table until everyone fell silent.

‘To the married couple,’ he toasted, raising his glass. ‘I dare say a sip of champagne for the toast won’t kill me! And I thankfully don’t have my consultant here to argue the point.’ Laughter greeted this and Sofia couldn’t help smiling. He looked at her slyly and winked. ‘Let’s raise our glasses to my very dear Rafael and his beautiful wife and my daughter, Sofia, away for too long but here now to stay. Long may they be happily united!’

Sofia tried not to choke on her champagne and when she caught Rafael’s eye it was to see that he was trying hard not to burst out laughing.