Never Say No to a Caffarelli

‘Of course,’ he said. ‘It’s not as if I’ll be using it.’

Poppy worried her lower lip again. ‘I know you said you’d make your own arrangements about food...’

‘You don’t have to cook for me,’ he said. ‘I won’t be here for much longer in any case. I have other projects to see to.’

Poppy wondered if his other projects were female. She pushed her feelings of disappointment aside. It wasn’t as if he was the man of her dreams or anything. She didn’t even like him. Well, she hadn’t up until last night, when he’d been so gallant at rescuing her, putting his own safety at risk to get her out. The way he’d held her in his arms and comforted her had made her feel so safe and protected...

She gave herself a good, hard mental slap. She had no right to harbour such whimsical thoughts. He was a player, not a stayer. Even if he did agree to a fling with her it wouldn’t last more than a week or two. He had made it abundantly clear she wasn’t his type. If he did happen to sleep with her, it would be for the sheer novelty of it. He’d probably joke about it with his brothers or friends in the future. How he’d found a home-spun village girl who’d never had sex before.

But then, why wasn’t she his type?

It rankled that he had dismissed her so easily. She was female, wasn’t she? Sure, a top modelling agency wouldn’t be calling her any time soon for a photo shoot, but as far as she was aware she hadn’t broken any mirrors just lately. What was his problem?

‘What about rent or payment for board and expenses? How much do you—?’

‘I don’t want your money, Poppy.’

What do you want? The question was left unspoken in the silence.

Rafe undid a spare key from his keyring and handed it to her. ‘I have a meeting in London this afternoon. I might not make it back until tomorrow or the next day. Make yourself at home.’

Poppy took the key and closed her fingers around it as he moved past her. ‘Hey, guys,’ she called out to the dogs who were slavishly following Rafe. ‘Remember me? The owner who loves and feeds you?’

Their toenails clicked on the polished floor as they came back to her with sheepish looks and wagging tails.

‘Traitors,’ she muttered as she bent down to tickle their ears.

* * *

‘I’d love to have you and the dogs stay, but Mum’s allergic to dogs,’ Chloe said at work an hour later. ‘Anyway, why are you so against staying at the manor? You lived there with your gran for years and years.’

‘I know, but it’s different now.’

‘Yes, because you’ve got the world’s hottest, most eligible bachelor sharing it with you,’ Chloe said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

Poppy frowned as she put on her apron. ‘It’s not what you think. Anyway, he’s not going to be there much longer. He’s off to London this afternoon. He has other fish to fry.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ Chloe asked. ‘Anyone can see you two have a little thing going on.’

‘We do not have a little thing going on,’ Poppy said. ‘I don’t even like the man. He’s too arrogant for my liking.’

‘That’s confidence, not arrogance,’ Chloe said. ‘He knows what he wants and goes out and gets it. And I reckon it’s not just the dower house on his acquisition list. You’re right up there at the top of his must-have items.’

Poppy shrugged off Chloe’s comment. ‘I don’t think so. I told you before, I’m not sophisticated enough for the likes of him.’

‘Ah yes, so you keep saying, but I was watching him when he came to see me this morning,’ Chloe said. ‘He was so concerned about what happened to you last night. I could see it in his eyes. I think he’s more than halfway to falling in love with you. He just doesn’t realise it yet. Maybe that’s why he’s heading back to town. He’s trying to get his head around it.’

Poppy choked out a scornful laugh. ‘Men like Rafe Caffarelli don’t fall in love. They fall in lust and they just as quickly fall out of it, too.’

‘Call me a hopeless romantic, but I think you’re exactly the sort of girl a hardened playboy like him would fall for,’ Chloe said. ‘He hasn’t been seen with anyone else since he met you. That’s a bit of a record, since he usually has a new lover every week or so.’

‘I bet the papers tell a different story tomorrow,’ Poppy said. ‘He’ll probably have a couple of wild nights of sex with some glamorous starlet or model. He won’t give me a second thought.’