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‘Honestly, I’m fine. Not one bit bothered. Plain speaking never hurt anyone that I know of.’ Harriet angled an apologetic glance at Boyce and spoke very fast, in an instinctive attempt to prevent Rafael from saying something cutting and hurtful to her half-sibling. ‘I hadn’t got around to mentioning it yet, but Rafael and I are actually partners in the livery yard.’
‘Since when, sis?’ Boyce queried in open astonishment. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Why the secrecy?’
‘It didn’t seem important.’ Harriet could not meet Boyce’s scrutiny as she told that little white lie. She had concealed her difficulties because she had known that he would be offended that she had not approached him for financial help.
Having dismissed Davis with thanks, Rafael lounged almost indolently back up against the bonnet of the four-wheel-drive, his relaxation complete. He made no attempt whatsoever to join in the conversation. The blond guy staying with Harriet was not her ex, Luke. As soon as he’d seen the younger man he had realised that local gossip had got the facts wrong—for Harriet’s guest bore no resemblance to the photographs Rafael had seen. In fact it was obvious that her visitor, who shared the same fair skin and fine features, was a relative.
Unexpectedly Fergal came to Harriet’s rescue by reminding Boyce that his new friends would be waiting for him in the back room at Dooleys.
‘Seamus has got hold of a flute for me, and I’m trying a reel or two with the boys tonight,’ her half-brother volunteered. ‘Will you be home in time? I’d like you to come.’
Tense as she was, she was touched by his desire for her to hear him play, and she watched him depart with Fergal.
Crazily conscious of Rafael’s unusually silent presence, Harriet threw up her head, but still contrived to avoid his intent gaze. ‘I’ve got nothing else to say about the gate, I’m afraid,’ she stated, with an air of flat finality. ‘When I saw it last it was firmly closed.’
Rafael strolled fluidly forward, his steps crunching softly on the lush grass of early summer. ‘I don’t give a damn about the gate.’
Harriet was bewildered by that blunt dismissal of the contentious subject. ‘I’m sorry…I don’t understand…’
Rafael reached for her clenched fingers and straightening them engulfed her hands in the sure grip of his own. ‘For the past forty-eight hours I’ve believed that you were celebrating a cosy reconciliation with your ex at the cottage.’
‘My ex? You mean Luke?’ Harriet was astounded by that statement. ‘My only visitor right now is my brother. Why on earth would you think I had got back together with Luke?’
‘Popular report suggested that your guest was a lover. That I believed the story is really your fault.’ Stunning dark golden eyes liquid with teasing censure, he made that declaration smoother than silk.
It was hard to keep a grip on challenging dialogue with Rafael, Harriet acknowledged inwardly. There he stood, spectacular in terms of sheer dark good looks and raw charisma. He had the advantage of taking her breath away while at the same time saying the most outrageous things.
‘It isn’t my fault that you decided to believe some silly rumour about me!’ As the sting of that arrogant assurance sank in, Harriet pulled free of his hold.
His brilliant gaze narrowed with incisive cool. ‘You called me by his name in bed. That’s rather more substantial than a silly rumour. Next I hear you’re wrapping yourself round some blond guy at the airport and he’s moved in with you. You can’t blame me for adding two and two.’
‘I can blame you for a whole host of things!’ Harriet fielded in spirited disagreement. ‘You didn’t trust me. You made no attempt to check out what you were told. You didn’t even give me a chance to defend myself.’
‘Why are you making such a great big production out of this?’
Believe it or not, she was tempted to hurl back, being dumped is really not a fun experience. His glorious indifference to the reality of the hurt he had inflicted with his rejection infuriated her. Indeed, she was shaken by the tide of rage that had come out of nowhere to fire her up to a pitch her even temperament rarely reached. The detachment of his unemotional calm only inflamed her.
‘It was a big production for me. But I suppose I should be grateful that you showed your true nature so quickly.’
An ebony brow elevated. ‘Which means?’
Harriet flung her copper head back, blue eyes defiant. ‘You let me down.’
Rafael was incredulous at that accusation, and suddenly anger broke through his rigid self-discipline. No woman had ever accused him of such base behaviour. Men who let women down were cowardly, weak and untrustworthy, and he was proud of the fact that he was none of those things. ‘Where do you get off, saying that to me?’
‘I think it’s scary that you didn’t even mention that you’d heard Luke was with me.’ In spite of her attempt to match his cool, her voice shook slightly with the strength of her emotions.
His strong jawline clenched. ‘It was a misunderstanding.’
‘I’m too ordinary for you. You think fantastic dates, flash gifts and the bedroom stuff is all that matters. And, yes, you’re right—all that is terribly exciting. But I would’ve been much more impressed if you had cared enough to ask me who my guest was. That you just ditched me says it all, really. Image was more important. Everything was more important than me or my feelings!’
Rafael gazed steadily back at her, only the raw glitter of his bright eyes telling her that she was not saying anything that he wished to hear. ‘Whatever happened to your d
esire for a casual fling? That easy come, easy go attitude which you so admired?’
‘You happened…you’ve put me right off flings,’ she admitted with unhesitating honesty.
‘But I don’t do them…and I want you back.’
