Page 26 of Shock Marriage for the Powerful Spaniard
That, she thought, lay at the heart of Rafael’s devotion. Love, admiration, respect. Three powerful emotions. Cold as he was when it came to the business of love and marriage, he wasn’t an ice-man, though she wasn’t sure he would have agreed with her. He was far too fond of thinking of himself as infallible. He didn’t see that great love, even if it wasn’t of the romantic kind, made him as human as the next man.
Sofia frowned. ‘He was in Argentina...’
‘Taking over two hotels, turning them into something more visionary.’
Sofia thought that he must have been an extremely charismatic and dynamic guy, hence why her mother had fallen head over heels in love.
‘So...your father was close to him as well?’
‘My parents would have chosen David because they were probably in a hurry and needed someone to step into the role, if only to please my traditional grandparents. I suspect David worked as a godfather figure because he was based in the UK and available for babysitting duties while they busied themselves exploring anything and everything the universe had to offer. They were young, they were rich and they weren’t going to let a kid hold them back.’
Detecting a thread of bitterness beneath that flatly spoken statement, Sofia looked at him, her curiosity at fever pitch now. She felt as though, through a miniscule crack, she was seeing a sliver of this man that hinted at depths hitherto keep hidden, and that glimpse was sufficient to awaken a thirst to find out more.
She shouldn’t care, because they meant nothing to one another, but she found that she did.
The realisation filled her with a certain amount of unease, because curiosity was definitely not part of the package, but she couldn’t help herself.
‘So they travelled a lot,’ she murmured, in a voice that melded encouragement with mild interest. She smiled. ‘A bit like me, but I suppose the circumstances were slightly different. I expect they were probably travelling in style. Horse and carriage, where we were side-of-road and thumbs out.’
The grin returned. ‘You make me laugh, you know that? You’re also the master of understatement, Sofia.’
The lazy teasing in his voice brought colour to her cheeks and she smiled back at him. ‘Travelling in style would be a lot less arduous than taking pot luck wherever you happened to land.’
‘Oh, my parents travelled in style, all right.’
‘Did you enjoy the experience as much as I did?’ The sarcasm in her voice made him laugh.
‘I wasn’t dragged along in their wake, thankfully. They were about as responsible as a pair of kids without a care in the world, but they had the common sense to put me in a boarding school as soon as they feasibly could, and before that I was looked after, largely, by my grandparents.’
‘How old were you when you were sent to boarding school?’ she queried, unable to conceal her surprise.
‘Seven.’ Rafael’s dark eyes collided with her wide, green ones and he laughed with genuine amusement. ‘Are you about to tell me that you feel sorry for me? Don’t waste your breath. I was very happy there. I spent holidays with my grandparents and then, later on, with David after my grandparents emigrated to South Africa.’
‘And your parents?’
Rafael’s mouth thinned.
Was he even aware of the signals he gave off? Sofia wondered. Was he even aware of the message he was sending underneath the casual, indifferent front? She didn’t want to be sucked into his personality, the way she had been before she’d known who he really was, but she could feel her heart twisting when she thought about his circumstances as a child. In their different ways, they had both had to fight against the challenges they had been born into.
‘My parents were killed when I was thirteen. Light-aeroplane crash. My father had bought it and they were having fun up in the clouds when it went into a tailspin from which it couldn’t recover.’
‘I... I don’t know what to say. That’s awful. I’m so very sorry for you, Rafael.’
‘We’re here.’
Sofia glanced away from his stern, brooding face to see that they were, indeed, outside the sort of exclusive restaurant that barely had to announce itself because anybody who was anybody should know where it was.
The conversation had ended and she had no idea how to retrieve it, even though she wanted to.
He held her hand walking in, absently stroking her thumb with his finger, but she knew that that was just for effect because only David knew the truth. Everyone else had bought into the fairy-tale whirlwind romance. Sheknewthat but there was still a second when it feltreal, a realrelationshipwithrealhopes and dreams. She didn’t look at him but tentatively stroked his finger back and wondered whether she’d imagined it when he seemed to still for a fraction of a second.
Ahead of them, David had been positioned in his wheelchair at the long table and she saw, with a sinking heart, that there was an empty chair next to his, which she assumed was meant for her, with Rafael on the other side of her.
She barely had time to take in the rest of the people there. There was a handful. A couple of dozen at most. A no-fuss wedding which would have made complete sense to everyone there, given Rafael’s intensely private personality. A splashy affair, weirdly, would have had everyone peering through the net curtains and wondering what was going on.
Introductions were made. The room was entirely private so there were no prying eyes and Sofia knew that she was being assessed neutrally by everyone there: Rafael’s PA, three company directors, friends of David, several attractive, younger couples, friends of Rafael, and the pesky stepson, whose destiny was about to change thanks to this marriage of convenience.
Freddy’s blue eyes were narrowed and hostile but he didn’t say a word as she walked past him towards the chair that was waiting for her. So he had his doubts...? Would Rafael’s arm round her waist still those doubts? Did she look like a woman in love? Certainly, as Rafael’s hand sent heat pouring through her, she knew that she resembled a blushing bride, even if the blushing was for the wrong reasons!
