she answered distractedly, knowing from Rafe’s warning expression that he didn’t want either of them to alarm Daisy when she seemed to have taken the incident in her six-year-old stride.
Unlike Cairo.
It was every parent’s nightmare!
They had only taken their eyes off Daisy for a minute or so. What if—
‘It really isn’t what you think,’ Rafe assured her quietly, taking a light hold of her arm as they followed Daisy back to their table. ‘At least, I’m pretty sure that it isn’t,’ he added grimly.
‘You’ll have to give me a better explanation than that, Rafe.’ She gave an involuntary shudder. ‘What if he had taken Daisy? I would never have forgiven myself if—’
‘Don’t even think about it.’ Rafe squeezed her arm. ‘I would never have let that happen.’
Cairo believed him.
After all that had happened between them, the way Rafe had proved so unfaithful as a lover, Cairo still believed him implicitly when he assured her that he would keep Daisy safe….
Rafe wished he could be as sure of being able to keep his promise to Cairo as he sounded! But until he found out who the man in the blue car was, and why he had been following them most of the day, he really had no idea whom he was actually supposed to be protecting.
Daisy … or Cairo?
Daisy was the one to give him part of the answer. ‘I think that man was one of your fans, Uncle Rafe,’ she told him once she had eaten a piece of pizza.
‘Why do you think that, Daisy?’ he asked, at the same time aware that Cairo was picking at her salad rather than eating it, obviously still very shaken by what had happened. Even so, Rafe couldn’t help but admire the fact that she was trying to appear as if everything were normal.
‘He asked me if you were Rafe Montero,’ Daisy explained happily before picking up another piece of her pizza.
Rafe shot Cairo a frowning glance before answering the little girl. ‘And what did you say, Daisy-May?’
‘I said you were.’ She nodded. ‘Because you are, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Rafe agreed with a smile. ‘For my sins, that’s exactly who I am.’
Daisy nodded. ‘Then he asked me the name of my mummy.’
‘Your … mummy?’ Rafe repeated slowly with a quick glance at Cairo.
‘Mmm.’ Daisy gave a mischievous grin. ‘I told him that her name was Margo. Because it is, isn’t it?’ she added with satisfaction.
‘Daisy—’
‘Don’t you see, Uncle Rafe, that man thought Aunty Cairo was my mummy?’ She giggled at the joke she had played on the other man.
Yes, Rafe did see—better than Daisy, in fact. As he knew that Cairo must.
‘He was a reporter!’ Cairo spoke for the first time since they had returned to the table, anger starting to replace her emotional turmoil as she realized Daisy hadn’t been in danger, after all; she had simply been pumped for information about Cairo and Rafe.
‘I had a suspicion that he might be, yes,’ Rafe admitted grimly.
Cairo’s eyes widened. ‘You had a—? He was at the supermarket this morning!’ she breathed incredulously as she suddenly remembered why the other man had seemed so familiar to her a few minutes ago. She also remembered Rafe’s distraction earlier as he’d watched the reporter getting into his car!
Her mouth tightened. ‘How long have you known he was following us?’
‘Not now, Cairo!’ he snapped, a nerve pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw.
‘But—’
‘I said not now,’ he ordered harshly.
Cairo clamped her lips together as she continued to glare at him from behind her sunglasses.
Rafe had known that man was following them. He had known, dammit, and he hadn’t so much as warned her….
‘For God’s sake, calm down,’ Rafe told her impatiently an hour or so later as the two of them sat on the golden-white sand amongst the rocks in a relatively private cove, Daisy off building sandcastles nearer the water.
‘Calm down!’ Cairo repeated furiously as she turned to face him. ‘You knew that man was following us. You knew, Rafe, and yet you said nothing!’ She breathed agitatedly.
‘Because I knew you would react like this,’ he retorted. ‘Look, don’t worry about it, okay? I’ll make a couple of calls when I get back to the villa, and—’
‘Oh, you’ll make a couple of calls,’ Cairo repeated sarcastically. ‘That’s all right, then. The arrogant Rafe Montero will just “make a couple of calls” and everyone can once again sleep safely in their beds—’
‘Not everyone, Cairo,’ he cut in.
She scowled at him. ‘I’m really not in the mood for your innuendos just now, Rafe.’
‘Then what are you in the mood for?’ he challenged softly.
Her eyes widened as she saw the intent in his. ‘Don’t even think about—’ She broke off abruptly as Rafe reached out to remove her sunglasses and throw them down on the towel before his mouth came down fiercely on hers.
Cairo kissed him back just as fiercely.
Furiously.
All the emotions of the last couple of hours were in that kiss.
The absolute terror when she had seen that man talking to Daisy.
The relief when she’d reached Daisy’s side and was able to hold the little girl to her protectively.
Followed by this burning, almost uncontrollable rage towards Rafe for not even telling her he had thought they were being followed.
How dared he?
How dared he!
She wrenched her mouth free of his to put her hands against his chest and push him away from her. ‘I thought I told you there would be no repeat of—of this sort of thing!’ she snapped fierily.
‘What sort of thing would that be, Cairo?’ he jeered.
Cairo drew in a ragged breath. ‘I’m sure your lethal charm usually silences a woman, Rafe,’ she scorned, her cheeks flushed, eyes fever-bright. ‘But—’
‘Is my charm really lethal, Cairo?’ he interrupted.
‘Not to me!’ she denied, continuing to glare at him as she sat with her arms wrapped protectively about her knees.
His
