Raul's Revenge

n was a happy family home; to Penny's chagrin she had not the heart to disappoint the old lady.

Not yet, anyway, she qualified in her head while answering Ava in her own language. 'Just coffee, please, Ava, and can we leave the discussion until later? I want to join James in the pool.'

Her answer seemed to please Ava even more, as with a wide grin Ava said, 'Of course. It is wonderful you miss your men so quickly.'

Never mind missing, she wanted to murder one par­ticular male. Raul! she thought venomously as she strode across to the swimming pool. How dared he tell Ava they were getting married? Dear heaven, what if he had told James? No. She shook her head, dismissing the worry as she walked around the trellis.

'Bonns Doss, Bonns Doss____Mamma.' James's ex­cited cry had her eyes flying to her child to the exclusion of everything else.

Penny held out her arms and watched as James dashed up to her. He looked so cute stark naked and slightly sunburned. 'Hello, darling.' She swept him up in her arms and planted a swift kiss on his grinning face.

'No, Mamma. Bonns Doss, Bonns Doss.' He wriggled to be put down, and, bending, Penny set him back on his feet, a puzzled frown on her face.

'Bonns Doss?’ she repeated quizzically. Usually James was an excellent speaker.

'Buenos Dias, Penny.'

At the sound of Raul's voice she slowly straightened up. He was standing very close and she was treated to a view of long, sinewy legs planted slightly apart, brief black swimming trunks that did nothing to hide his mas­culine attributes, and acres of muscular chest. Her face was flushed by the time she raised her eyes to his.

'I have been teaching James Spanish. Bonns Doss...is his version of buenos dias.' And Raul grinned. 'Not bad for a first attempt, hmm?'

She wanted to be angry, but instead she found her lips twitching in the beginning of a smile. ‘I should have guessed. Trust you to waste no time.'

'I've wasted too much time already,' Raul said, and she thought she saw a flicker of pain in his dark eyes before his usual control blanked his rugged features.

'You certainly have not with Ava,' Penny tossed back, suddenly reminded of her reason for facing Raul. 'How dare you tell her to arrange a wedding?'

'Not in front of the child. Wait here,' he said curtly, and, picking James up, strolled off towards the house.

She had never in her life met a man with such a penchant for rapping out orders, Penny thought mutin­ously. She had half a mind to follow him, but she hes­itated. She needed to talk to him, and if they were out in the open there was less chance of her ending up in his arms.

She flopped down on a convenient lounger, and, drawing up her legs, hugged them. Resting her chin on her knees, she stared moodily out over the swimming pool.

After James had been abducted she had sworn never to let him out of her sight. It was ironic that she had hardly spent any time with him in the past two days. But worse, she realised sadly, James was happy, and as well if not better looked after by Raul and his staff and the protection his money could offer. Penny could not hope to compete.

Compete. The word lingered uneasily in her mind. Did she want to compete with Raul for her son's love? Par­enting should mean that the mother and father were equally concerned and caring for the child, and yet, to her shame, she had positively gloated over the past few weeks, because she'd thought she had won over Raul. There was no winner when a child was deprived of a parent.

Years ago she had loved Raul and asked him to marry her, and because he had not leapt at the chance she hadn't told him that she was pregnant. It had been pain and pride that had prevented her telling him the truth. She had been young and idealistic about love; now she realised that there were many shades of love. She loved James desperately, she loved Amy deeply, and she loved Raul hopelessly.

Her last thought shocked her to her soul. She jerked upright, swinging her legs to the ground. Where had it come from? And her heart answered—last night in Raul's arms, when she'd accepted that there would never be any other man for her, only Raul.

'Penny for your thoughts, Penny?'

She jumped as Raul straddled the lounger facing hers. 'Really, Raul, not that hoary old joke.' She grimaced. Blinking, she looked across at him. He had slipped a short-sleeved shirt over his broad shoulders, but hadn't bothered to fasten the buttons or change out of his swimming trunks. She swallowed hard and mumbled, 'Is James all right?'

'Ava is busy feeding him and will then put him down for his nap; you have nothing to worry about. Relax and enjoy the sunshine, the freedom.'

'What freedom?' she mocked.

His jaw tightened and she could tell that he was curbing his anger, unusual for Raul. 'Please, Penny, can you cut out the sniping and try to listen calmly to what I have to say?' The 'please' was a surprise.

She shrugged. 'OK.'

'I know I brought you here under false pretences; perhaps I could have arranged things differently, but at the time I was furious. I have never been so enraged in my life.' He stared accusingly at her. 'You should have told me you were pregnant.'

'And you could have called me after I walked out. A simple check to make sure I got home all right wouldn't have hurt.' It still rankled Penny that Raul had not once tried to get in touch with her.

'If I had would you have told me?' Raul asked seriously.