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Wondering why he was still sitting opposite her when the conversation topic was so hugely distant from his comfort zone, Rafael tapped his fingers on the table. ‘You’re talking nonsense because you’re upset about your father.’
‘Maybe. And it’s time I faced up to what needs to be done. Will you arrange for your plane to fly me back to London tomorrow?’
Appalled at the prospect of her leaving, Rafael frowned. ‘I need to be in London in two weeks’ time on business; you can come with me then. We’ll see your father together.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘This is something that I need to do by myself. And I have to do it now. I don’t want to wait any longer. I won’t be able to sleep, worrying.’
Rafael drummed his fingers on the table, wondering why he found her request so disturbing. Never in his life had he felt remotely protective about a woman. ‘You’re not seeing your father on your own.’
‘I have to.’ Her chin lifted and he gritted his teeth, contemplating the amount of work that awaited him.
Work that he’d ignored since the moment Grace Thacker had landed in the rainforest with her high heels and her shiny blonde hair.
‘All right.’ Reluctantly he agreed. ‘You can go home to London. But my plane is going to wait for you at the airport. You see your father, have the conversation you need to have and then come straight back here.’
Surprise lit her eyes. ‘You mean that?’
‘Yes. I want you to come back.’ Why was she looking at him like that? Why wouldn’t he want her to come back when the sex was so incredible?
CHAPTER TEN
TRYING not to be overawed by the luxury that surrounded her, Grace settled into her seat on Rafael’s private jet for the long flight from Rio de Janeiro.
Once the staff had settled her onto the comfortable leather sofa, they presented her with a glass of champagne and a small package, elaborately wrapped, together with a note.
Her hands shaking, she opened the note first. ‘You won’t take gifts or money from me, but I hope you’ll accept this. R.’
“This” turned out to be a tiny tape recorder, small enough to fit into her pocket and with an earpiece. Intrigued and more than a little baffled by his choice of present, she switched it on and heard Rafael’s voice summarising every nuance of the accounts. He covered everything they’d discussed, everything she needed to know and she felt the hot sting of tears behind her eyes as she realised just how long it must have taken him to record it and what such a gesture meant.
Maybe he didn’t love her, but he certainly cared. He had to care, otherwise why would he go to so much trouble to help her?
Resolving to see her father so that she could return to the rainforest as soon as possible, she memorised everything on the tape and then slept for the remainder of the flight.
When they finally landed in London it was dark and drizzly and she immediately wished she could climb straight back on the plane and return to the colour and richness of the rainforest.
Leaving the protection of his jet, she was ushered through a private section of the terminal reserved for VIPs and was enjoying the novelty of not having to elbow her way through throngs of stressed-out passengers, when something caught her attention.
Her face.
Staring out of the front of a newspaper.
For a moment she just stood, staring in silence at the picture of herself, and then she gave a soft moan of disbelief.
Appalled, she grabbed at it, reading the caption ‘Cordeiro’s new jungle love—see page 4 for full story.’
Full story? What full story?
Her heart thudding against her chest, she rifled through the pages until she came to the page she wanted.
Brazilian bad boy and billionaire Rafael Cordeiro has been playing jungle games with busty blonde businesswoman Grace Thacker, owner of Café Brazil, a chain of coffee shops with outlets across London and the South East. A recluse since his costly divorce from actress Amber Naverin, Cordeiro was once quoted as saying that women were like garlic: ‘nice at the time but left a bad taste in your mouth the day after.’ Now he seems to be eating his words as he gets close and personal with yet another shapely blonde. According to her father, Patrick Thacker, Grace’s small business is struggling so she’s probably hoping for a generous cash injection from her new lover.
Unable to read any more, Grace stood for a moment, horror engulfing her in great, greedy waves.
Her father had sold the story to the Press. But what story? There was no story. She’d visited Rafael in the rainforest. What else was there to say, what else could they possibly know? Nothing. They’d been on their own, away from everyone. Wasn’t that why he lived there, to escape this sort of thing?
Feeling sick, she forced herself to read the whole article and dropped the paper. Knowing nothing hadn’t stopped them making wildly inaccurate claims designed to sell papers. But since when did anyone care about that?
A hot burst of anger gave way to horror and anxiety. Poor, poor Rafael. Would he think she’d been part of it? Maybe, maybe not, but it was exactly the sort of thing that he hated—part of the reason that he was so disillusioned. The thought that she’d been part of hurting him, even inadvertently, sickened her.
