Kept by the Spanish Billionaire(19)

‘Now why do I get the feeling that there’s an undercurrent of sarcasm there?’

‘You’re not much like a gardener, are you?’ Amy teased, enjoying the moment.

‘I don’t know. Have you met a lot of gardeners?’

‘I’ve met a lot of…all types.’ Amy laughed.

‘You should be careful when you say things like that,’ Rafael said, flicking a glance in her direction. ‘Men might get the wrong impression.’

‘Well, they’d be wrong,’ Amy told him truthfully. She turned away and stared out of the window. While she had been engaged in conversation, the stunning scenery had been flashing past her. Now she took her time to drink it in and Rafael swiftly changed the subject. He really had no idea how their conversation had moved so quickly into personal territory, nor did he know why the hell he had made the decision to drive her into the town to get a pair of shoes. Since when did he ever go shopping with a woman? It simply was one of those pastimes he preferred to avoid. He knew nothing about choosing women’s clothing and cared even less. He had always found James’s interest in shopping, be it for himself or whatever woman he happened to be with, very amusing.#p#分页标题#e#

So why, he asked himself now, the unnecessary trip? He frowned and pushed the uninvited question out of his head. There was a lot to tell her about Long Island and he did. The beaches were spectacular, as were the pine forests with their quiet nature trails and the secluded freshwater ponds. What he had no need to mention, but what Amy saw perfectly well for herself, was that the place reeked of money. She had no idea how much a simple pair of sandals was going to cost, but she was pretty sure it would be beyond her modest budget and she awkwardly explained that to Rafael when they had eventually arrived at the quaint, perfectly preserved little town with its frighteningly expensive-looking boutiques.

‘I’ll take care of it,’ Rafael said, neatly parking the car and turning to look at her before he opened his door.

‘You can’t “take care of it”. And anyway, why should you?’

‘I washed the damn things.’

‘Which you had to do because I tramped miles across the estate and landed up in a tree.’

‘At least you seem to have cured yourself of your broken heart,’ Rafael told her, swinging away and letting himself out of the car before she had a chance to reply. ‘I thought,’ he carried on, leaning on the bonnet of the car as he waited for her to emerge, ‘I might have been dealing with a sobbing mess, but if all your emotions are focused on whether I should or shouldn’t pay for a pair of shoes for you, then it’s fair to say that you’re over your boss. Love is cheap, isn’t it?’ He raised one amused eyebrow and she could have belted him.

‘I…I…just didn’t want to bore you with my emotions!’ Amy spluttered. She’d spent many months cheerfully infatuated with James. There was no way she was going to be accused of being shallow, of getting over it all in a matter of seconds.

‘Oh. I suppose I should be grateful for that in that case.’ He slammed shut his car door and waited until she was standing by his side, barely reaching his shoulder with her high-heeled sandals off. He looked down at her bare feet. ‘We’d better get you some shoes quickly.’ Which brought her full circle, back to the distraction of trying to persuade him that there was no need to fork out—how much?—for a pair of shoes. Not when he was just a lowly worker like herself and she knew how much the passing overpriced purchase could hurt…even when the shoes in question were undeniably…she twirled one slender foot with appreciation…gorgeous. Flat, tanned and perfectly functional were it not for the tiny exotic row of diamond look-alikes across the straps. They would look perfect with trousers or a skirt and absolutely radiated femininity.

Rafael looked on as she tested them in the shop, pausing in front of the mirror for further, more detailed inspection. Unlike James, he was a mind man, a guy who liked what happened in a woman’s head rather than what took place on the outside, although it had to be said that he had thus far never had a problem finding women who were a happy mixture of both. This woman, whatever the hell happened or didn’t happen in her head, was the epitome of femininity, he conceded, from the blonde cloud of hair to the dainty ankles that were now being paraded in front of him for his inspection. He grunted.

‘I can’t get them unless we go halves,’ Amy said firmly. ‘They’re just way too expensive.’ Staring down at her feet, she missed the puzzled look Rafael received from the boutique owner and the quick shake of his head in response.