The Vasquez Baby

‘Now I’m really confused.’ A cheeky gleam in her eyes, Sofia laughed. ‘Are we talking about Raul or the stallion? Clearly Faith has a special way with difficult men, since she dragged you to the altar.’ Sofia slid her arm into Faith’s again. ‘And now, enough of this. Raul if you don’t feed me soon I swear I shall join the horses in your yard. They’re better cared for.’

CHAPTER NINE

THEY enjoyed a typical Argentine asado—a barbecue cooked over an open fire—and it was dark when Faith and Raul waved their guests off and walked back towards the Beach House.

Furious with him for hurting her and even more furious with herself f

or caring, Faith stalked ahead, her heels tapping on the path. She didn’t trust herself to speak for fear of exploding and she wasn’t sure whether she’d produce tears or anger.

‘When you’re angry, your neck seems longer,’ Raul drawled from behind her and she straightened her shoulders and increased her pace. ‘And that won’t work, either, because my legs are longer than yours and I can walk faster.’

She turned then, like a cornered animal ready to fight. ‘Do you really want to have this conversation out here? Think hard, Raul, because you probably won’t want an audience for what I’m going to say.’

Apparently unconcerned, he lifted a bronzed hand to his throat and loosened the top button of his shirt. ‘I thought we’d had enough conversation for one day.’

‘If you want to avoid conversation, don’t invite your ex-girlfriends to dinner without at least having the courtesy to warn me.’

Raul’s eyes narrowed defensively. ‘Given that you are the one wearing the wedding ring, you have absolutely no reason to be jealous.’

‘It isn’t about being jealous, it’s about courtesy.’ Faith kept her eyes on his, ignoring the dangerous shimmer in his eyes that warned her of the shift in his mood. ‘Let’s look at this another way—what would you have done if you discovered that I had invited an ex-boyfriend to dinner?’

‘Flattened him,’ Raul said in a cool tone. ‘But that’s entirely different.’

‘It is not different. I have feelings, Raul. It would be nice if you would remember that.’ Shaking so much she could hardly stand, she turned sharply and walked through the door of the Beach House. Dropping her bag as she walked, she went straight through to the bedroom and removed her earrings, dropping them on the bedside table.

‘I don’t understand your problem.’ He stalked into the room like a very angry jungle-cat and she clamped her teeth onto her lower lip to stop herself from crying.

‘I know you don’t,’ she whispered. ‘And that is the problem, Raul. You don’t seem to be able to stop yourself hurting me. You never think about my feelings and I promised myself that I wasn’t going to allow you to do this to me again.’ She kept her back to him, willing herself not to break down and sob.

‘That is a totally unfair accusation,’ he snarled, ‘Given that it was precisely to protect your feelings that I didn’t tell you.’

‘So in other words, you knew I would be upset.’

She turned and then wished she hadn’t because the physical impact of the man almost fused her brain. He was extravagantly, impossibly handsome, his features bold and masculine, his posture one of complete control.

Immediately on the defensive, his fabulous dark eyes narrowed to two dangerous slits. ‘I thought you’d behave like a typical woman, and you’ve just proved me right.’

Faith inhaled sharply. ‘She taunted me with your relationship. Waved it under my nose like a red flag. We have a word for him in Spanish—guapisimo.’ She mimicked the other woman perfectly and then glared. ‘Well let’s see how guapisimo you are when I’ve blacked your eye, Raul.’

‘You are behaving in a totally unreasonable fashion.’

‘You think it’s unreasonable of me to be upset?’

‘Frankly? Yes. She’s history.’

‘She couldn’t take her eyes off you!’

‘That’s her problem, not mine,’ Raul replied instantly. ‘And not yours, either.’

He didn’t have a clue!

‘Perhaps I am being silly but she knew a great deal about you,’ she breathed. ‘And I couldn’t work out whether she was being friendly or nasty. But I had the distinct impression that she wished she was the one who was married to you.’

‘She wouldn’t have been able to handle me in a million years.’ He yanked the tie from his throat with an impatient hand and Faith swallowed, transfixed by the hint of bronzed male skin and the tangle of dark hair at the base of his throat.

She wasn’t sure she could handle him.

‘She is very beautiful.’