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He wanted to strangle her. “Fine. If that’s what you want to believe, then yes. I promised your father you’d be safe with me.” Another reason, far more accurate, tried to rear its head, but he ignored it. He was not going to let her get under his skin.
Another silence. She was looking out her window, and she had to have realized he wasn’t headed for home by now, but she wouldn’t look at him or speak to him.
Finally he said, “Would you like to drive out to Saguaro Lake? We could rent a canoe and paddle around the lake. It’s not hot air ballooning, but it’s pretty and peaceful.”
She turned to face him then, and he could read surprise in her face. “That sounds lovely.”
“But I’m not bringing champagne,” he warned.
She gave him a small, smug smile. “I can’t stand the stuff. Never drink it.”
He shook his head. “You were just trying to rattle my cage back there, weren’t you?”
“Maybe a little,” she conceded. “May I apologize?”
“Only if you’ll accept one from a Neanderthal.”
She chuckled. “Done.”
“Tomorrow, in Scottsdale,” he said, “they celebrate the Parada del Sol. I’ll take you to it if you like.”
“Sol…sun? A festival for the sun?”
“Yes. The sun and wonderful climate have been good to Phoenix. The locals figure a little appreciation is in order. Did you know it’s the ninth largest city in the nation?”
Her eyes widened. “But it seems so…I don’t know. When I think of big cities, I think of London, New York. Everything here is golden and open, not gray and overpowering.”
He nodded, relieved that she’d accepted his olive branch. “There’s plenty of space here to spread out. And the climate can’t be beat.”
She laughed. “Growing up where we did, I suppose this is very appealing to you.”
He nodded, smiling. “No rain. None of any consequence anyhow. When I wake up in the morning and walk outside, I can be assured that the sun will be there to greet me.”
“You really like it here.”
He took his attention from the road to glance at her. “Yes, I really do. When I first came out here, my plan was to get as far away from my father as possible. Another state farther and I’d have been in the Pacific Ocean, so I figured this was far enough.”
“And has it been?” Her voice was quiet.
He sobered, reflecting. “No, not really. It’s amazing that the man can still try to manipulate me from across a damned ocean.”
“But you don’t allow it.”
“No.” He shook his head firmly, positively. “There’s nothing he can do or say that will affect me anymore.”
“You don’t say much about your mother,” she observed. “The Grand Duchess has been a guest at my mother’s ladies’ bridge game on many occasions. She’s a wicked player as I recall, having been suckered into playing against her more than once.”
Rafe nodded. “She always enjoyed those afternoons. Having no daughters of her own, I imagine she missed female companionship.”
He spent the rest of the drive to the lake pointing out native plants and animals to her. She was amazed to see the numbers of creatures that existed in the barren, dry world of the desert where there was no water for months on end. Phoenix itself, he explained, had grown from a village into a truly disreputable outlaw town by the end of the 1800s and it wasn’t until a couple of public hangings were conducted that the frontier town began to assume a semblance of civilization. After the Roosevelt Dam was created, significant power for industrial enterprise was generated, and the city began to grow and spread.
“How do you know so much about American history?” she asked him at one point.
Rafe shrugged. “Architecture is a field of study that often demands some knowledge of what came before in order to create a structure that reflects an area’s heritage. I’ve always enjoyed learning about new places, and once I’d decided to settle here I was doubly interested in learning about its past.” He chuckled. “If you were to ask me other questions about American history, you’d find me woefully lacking in knowledge.”
She snorted. “Somehow I doubt that.”
When they arrived at the lake, Rafe wasted no time in renting a canoe and taking her out on the water. But first he made her cover herself in sunscreen while he went into the little store and bought her a wide-brimmed hat. That creamy complexion wouldn’t stand up to the strong Arizona sun, and he would never forgive himself if he let her get sunburned.
