‘I mean, being around your boss…knowing that he’s got another woman, that he really hasn’t the time of day for you…’
‘Thank you very much.’
‘Especially when you’d invested time and energy spinning fantasies about getting him into bed…’ He didn’t like the image in his head of her in bed with his brother, not at all.
Amy was torn between indignation at his assumptions and sheepishness at how accurate they were. Yes, she had wasted time and energy spinning fantasies, not to mention a fair amount of money on a certain wardrobe that seemed intent on self-destruction. Probably fate’s way of making sure no one looked at her twice. Not even, she brooded, the gardener sitting next to her. Not once had she seen him give her that once-over that was the age-old sign of a man’s attraction to a member of the opposite sex. Not once!
‘I’m not that sad!’ Amy lied. ‘Anyway, there are lots of people around. It’s not as though I shall be forced to talk to him if I don’t want to.’
‘And would you want to…?’
‘Would I want to what?’
‘Talk to him. Or are you all over that now?’
She flushed. With the benefit of cruel hindsight and unfortunate, inevitable disillusionment, Amy could see all too clearly that, not only was she cured of her misguided infatuation, but that the infatuation had never been more than a temporary balm to her ego after Freddie. She had been dumped in the most mortifying way possible, never mind that she herself had been thoroughly fed up with him, and the occasional flirting with James had been a pleasant way of passing the time while she recovered her spirit. She had no idea what she might have done had James actually turned around and expressed a desire to get into bed with her.
‘Women don’t just get over broken hearts in the space of a few hours!’ she remonstrated, wriggling out of a direct answer.
‘Your heart wasn’t broken. Did you think of the man once during the course of the day?’
‘Of course I did!’ Not once! ‘Not,’ she emphasised, ‘that it’s any of your business!’
Rafael thought that she might well be surprised if she knew just how much of his business it was. ‘Because,’ he murmured, ‘I thought you might want to take a bit of time out and spend the day in Manhattan tomorrow…’
He dangled the carrot in front of her and watched her contemplate the tasty bait. She had never been abroad. This was the first time she had stepped foot outside the country. There had always been too many children for her parents to contemplate the expense. He had learnt all this during the course of the day.#p#分页标题#e#
‘Don’t be silly,’ Amy told him, dragging her mind away from thoughts of skyscrapers and Central Park, which she had seen on television a million times. ‘You can’t possibly just take time off whenever you want. I know you probably call the shots with your staff, but don’t you think your boss might be a bit miffed if he realises that you’re leaving them to their own devices for two days on the trot? You might just be pushing his generosity and I wouldn’t want to land you in any trouble.’
‘That’s very considerate of you,’ Rafael said, amused, ‘but there’s no need to concern yourself on my behalf. The boss and I have a very…amicable relationship. Of course, if you’d rather not…’ He found that he wanted her to. The realisation was short-lived but overpowering.
‘I suppose it might be a relief not to be in James’s company, knowing that I’ve made a fool of myself…’ She remembered that she was a woman of substance and still reeling with disappointment from Love’s Cruel Blow. ‘And it would be hard to see him, knowing what I know and yet still…wanting him…’
This was not what Rafael wanted to hear. ‘Still wanting him’ implied the possibility of ongoing pursuit the minute they were back in England and circumstances had reverted to their normal status quo. It would be evident that whoever had been at the receiving end of James’s attentions in the Hamptons would no longer be around and for all she thought that she had been an invisible presence, she might well be surprised to discover that that had not been the case. What normal, red-blooded male could fail to notice her understated appeal? She might not have legs up to her armpits or breasts that announced themselves minutes before their owner arrived, but her sense of humour was irreverent and infectious and her personality was vibrantly captivating. As far as James would be concerned, Rafael amended to himself. He liked fun-loving. The fact that this one came in a different, vastly more intelligent package could well make the difference between a passing affair and a marriage proposal. Rafael couldn’t think of that slim possibility without a surge of rage washing over him and an immediate and overwhelming determination to prevent it at all costs.