‘Of course I don’t. I see Albert every day after all.’ Intent dark eyes rested on her anxious face and softened. ‘I want to sign over my half of the livery yard to you. You deserve it—’
‘No, I don’t…don’t be ridiculous. If we’re not partners any more I’ll not even have an excuse to see you!’ Belatedly registering what she had let drop, Harriet went bright pink and clamped a hand to her mouth. ‘Whoops…’
‘Since when did you think you needed an excuse?’
‘I don’t know where I stand with you any more.’
‘Are you still in love with Luke?’
‘My goodness—how can you ask me that? I sent him packing!’ Harriet reminded him with pride.
‘That doesn’t mean you don’t still love him. L
uke has haunted me ever since I met you.’
‘How?’
‘When I met you, again were still in love with him, and all you wanted with me was a fling…you shameless hussy, you!’
Her face flamed. ‘I just thought about it. I didn’t actually intend to do it…’
‘And you didn’t want to be photographed with me at Leopardstown,’ Rafael enumerated.
‘I explained why not—’
‘But I wasn’t convinced. And when you lay in my arms and called me Luke, any sense of security I had in our relationship was destroyed.’
Harriet was wincing double-time now. ‘That was the most awful mistake. I know it was dreadful, and I still don’t know how it happened—’
‘But it did, and I believed you were on the rebound. Then in Italy you told me that I wasn’t marriage material, which again led me into making unhappy comparisons.’
‘Oh, that serves you right.’ Her blue eyes sparkled. ‘You went to great trouble to make it clear that you weren’t up for marriage, so what did you expect?’
Rafael groaned out loud. ‘You still haven’t told me how you feel about Luke.’
Harriet collided with spectacular dark golden eyes that were distinctly anxious. ‘I haven’t loved Luke since I fell much more in love with you.’
Rafael looked stunned. ‘Do you mean that?’
‘I think it started the night of the bonfire…though of course I fancied the socks off you before that…’
‘You love me?’ His charismatic smile flashed out and he pulled her close and held her so tight she could hardly breathe. ‘I was planning to propose on the flight home. I had the champagne all ready, and the ring, and you fell asleep…how could you?’
‘You were going to propose? My goodness, Rafael, you should’ve woken me up!’ she told him in reproach.
He laughed with rich appreciation. ‘I am crazily in love with you, a mhilis.’
‘But you said you didn’t do love…’
‘Then you ran across the lawn in those funky pyjamas and I went into hot pursuit. I’ve never felt like that in my life before. Everything with you was special…and Italy was magical. I didn’t want to leave.’ He looked down at her with tender intensity. ‘But I didn’t understand that I was in love with you until I thought I couldn’t have you any more.’
‘Eva’s lie…the brother-sister thing…’
‘I thought I would go insane. I never felt emptiness like that. I couldn’t even trust myself near you at first. That’s when I realised I loved you.’
‘So you hit the brandy. Don’t you ever do that again.’
‘Is there anything you don’t know about my flaws?’