of her. Though she looked out on a calm ocean, all she saw was a pair of fathomless black eyes staring at her with a mixture of agony to think it might have claimed his daughter…and shock to think the woman he’d disliked without ever having met her, had plucked his Apolonia from its watery grasp in time to save her.
“Ms. Ellis?”
Mallory had heard that low, gravelly male voice earlier today. With heart pounding, she turned around.
She’d only noticed his eyes before.
Now she saw the whole man dressed in black swimming trunks and a blue T-shirt. He must have been planning to join his daughter in the surf when he’d heard she was in trouble.
Physically she saw nothing that nature could improve upon. His Mediterranean heritage gave him his olive skin. The arrangement of striking male features beneath vibrant black hair and brows created someone fascinating as well as unbelievingly appealing.
He had height and breadth in perfect proportion to his long powerful legs. Such an unforgettable face and strong, cut body could well inspire any artist to immortalize him on canvas.
To say he was an incredible-looking man would be an understatement.
“How’s your daughter?” she asked tremulously.
She heard the ragged breath he took. “Right now they’re giving Apolonia warmed fluids intravenously. So far she’s holding her own. The doctor says if she doesn’t develop additional symptoms in the next five hours, she’ll be able to go home.”
“That’s wonderful news!” she cried. Mallory couldn’t have been more thrilled if Apolonia were her own flesh and blood.
Those black eyes, eloquent with emotion, bore into hers. “You saved my daughter from drowning,” his voice shook. “How does one person thank another for the gift of life?”
Mallory could hardly breathe. “You just did,” she said in a quiet tone. “Would it help if I told you a lifeguard once saved my life when I was about Apolonia’s age and thought the ocean was my friend?”
His eyelids closed tightly for a moment. Perhaps he was thinking Mallory’s thoughts. That if she’d died, she wouldn’t have been here to save his daughter.
But Mallory knew that if she hadn’t come to Portugal, Apolonia wouldn’t have gotten into trouble in the first place.
“A big part of our thanks needs to go to Brianca. She screamed your daughter’s name loud enough for me to hear, and she kept screaming until she got my attention. That enabled me to return the favor the lifeguard did for me and my family by reaching Apolonia in time.”
His features hardened. “Another few seconds in that water and she would have drowned,” he whispered, still reliving the agony.
“But she didn’t,” Mallory said gently. “Seeing you like this, I now know what terror my parents must have experienced when the CPR didn’t seem to be working on me. I was their only child too.”
“Por Deus.” His dark head reared back in more anguish. “I told her I would swim with her this morning. But she left my room before I did because I received a call from one of my hotel managers in Cabo Espichel I had to take.
“I was still talking to him in my bedroom upstairs when one of the maids burst in and told me to come quick. By the time I reached the beach, you were already giving her CPR.” He paused. “I’ve only known pain like that once before…”
Mallory knew he was talking about his wife. If she could steer his mind away from the worst—
After a slight pause, “I met your daughter last night. She’s very precious.”
A visible tremor passed through his body. He cleared his throat. “She hasn’t stopped talking about you. When Lianor walked in the hospital room alone a few minutes ago, Apolonia begged me to come and find you.”
Mallory bowed her head. “Will the doctor allow her to have visitors yet?”
“Only if it’s the woman who restored my daughter to me. He feels it will aid in her recovery. So do I,” he said in a husky tone.
CHAPTER THREE
MALLORY felt Rafael’s hand on her waist, urging her forward. The touch was purely impersonal, but its warmth seeped through her body.
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