he admitted, letting out a ragged breath. “Are you still angry at me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “Because I’m tired of being angry.”
“I shouldn’t have shouted. You scared me, Sophia.”
“I scared myself.”
She risked a look up at him then. His eyes were dark with concern again and she marveled at it—why should he care about her? Who was she to him? But she wasn’t about to argue. At the moment, sad as it was, he was all she had.
He turned from her and they began walking towards the house again. Sophia’s legs felt like jelly after the kiss, but she forced one foot ahead of the other.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier when I mentioned going riding?”
“I didn’t want you to know.” She raised her chin. “After the way I showed up yesterday, and then my overreaction this morning … I didn’t want you to think I was some vapid female who couldn’t handle as much as a broken nail. I didn’t expect to be racing across the pampas, either.”
She wouldn’t look at him, but to her right, she heard a soft chuckle. “You are very stubborn, Sophia Hollingsworth.”
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
This time he really did laugh, and the sound reached in and expanded inside her. She knew it was ridiculous. She had made a miscalculation and now she was limping back to the house, dirty and with dented pride claiming that stubbornness was an attribute and not a fault.
“I didn’t foresee that happening. I was a very poor tour guide today. If nothing else, I should have asked you about your experience instead of assuming.”
“And what would you have done differently? Stop blaming yourself.” She stopped and put a hand on his arm. His solicitousness was lovely, but it wasn’t required. “It was the wind, that’s all.” Her body warmed as their kiss was still foremost in her mind. “And … about what happened before … I don’t want you to fix things, Tomas. I came on this holiday to be my own solution. Please don’t take this as an insult. I’m coming to understand I have spent far too long being at the mercy of other people. I need to prove to myself that I am capable, too.”
“And just what did this afternoon prove?” He raised an eyebrow, challenging.
They were at the house now and Sophia paused with her hand on the door.
What did it prove? Perhaps that the appreciation she had for Tomas had blossomed into full-blown attraction. And it had proved that the feeling was mutual. The potential in that stopped her in her tracks. It was an exhilarating, terrifying thought.
She took a careful breath. “It proved I am in dire need of a hot bath. And perhaps a glass of wine.”
“I think the Vista del Cielo can handle that.”
But Tomas waited a moment before backing away. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can call a doctor.” His hand rested on her shoulder and she tried not to like the heat of it there—but she did anyway. She could protest all she wanted, but it felt good to be cared for, taken care of, even just a little. The simple touch made her wonder what it would be like if he came inside with her, maybe kissed her again. Would it be as good the second time? Better?
“Truly, I’m fine, thank you.” She didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to see him smile, and feel the way his gaze fell on her, warm and approving in the Argentine sun. She wanted him to touch her cheeks with his lips again and maybe slide that small distance to her mouth. Her gaze fell unerringly on his lips too and then back up to his eyes. She’d give up her soak in the bath for that.
“I will see you later. I must look after the horses if you are all right.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She wasn’t going anywhere, not yet. But in another week she would be on a plane headed back to Canada. That much would not change no matter how enamored she became of her surroundings. She took one last approving look at his retreating figure. All of her surroundings.
CHAPTER FIVE
“WHAT are you doing?” Tomas asked, stepping into the kitchen. He’d spent a long time in the barns, avoiding Sophia after their kiss. Needing to clear his mind. It hadn’t worked. The taste and feel of her stayed with him until there was no more tack left to polish. He’d put things off a little longer by having a quick shower. Now he’d come to the kitchen to scrounge something to eat, never expecting to find Sophia there. He’d figured she’d be exhausted from her eventful day.
“Making dinner. You were busy in the barn, and I was cleaned up, so.” she broke off the sentence, turning around to face him as she wiped her hands on a towel. “I didn’t know what sort of food you were used to, so I put together a cold meal. I hope that’s okay.”
Tomas stepped forward, just enough to catch the perfumed scent of her skin. She should have been dead on her feet after the extraordinary day they’d had. Instead he found her here looking like an ad in a magazine. She wore a dress that managed to hug her figure yet appear elegant, drawing his gaze to the soft curve of her hips. Her hair was up in some sort of twist that looked simple and casual and that he expected took a great deal of talent to arrange. Silver and amethyst earrings dangled at her ears. And the shoes were back. Lower heels this time, but he raised his eyebrows at the sandals that blended shades of pink, lime green and turquoise. They should have been garish. Instead, they complemented everything, making her look young and stylish.
Like the woman who had arrived yesterday. Tomas knew he should be relieved. It was easier to distance himself from her when she looked like this—foreign and out of his league.
But he missed how her eyes had glittered up at him from beneath her campero and how cuddly she’d appeared in his coveralls. “You didn’t have to make dinner.”
“But you said everyone pitches in. I ditched you earlier—literally. And my bath was very refreshing. I fear today’s activities have left me starving.”
She smiled up at him and he felt his breath catch. This was wrong. It was purely physical. But it was just attraction. Nothing more. He could handle it. Another few days and she’d be gone. Just a blip on the libido radar until things got back to normal.
“How is your hip?” he enquired politely, ignoring the way his pulse had quickened and moving to help with the preparations. She’d already laid out a selection of cold meats from the fridge, as well as cheese and sliced vegetables. The food was placed strategically on a platter, in sections and precise layers that made it a work of art.
“Sore, but the bath helped, and the scented salts, too. They are a lovely addition to the room, Tomas. It should be mentioned to Maria. A nice touch.” She put the last few slices of tomato in place and stood back. “There. All that is missing is slicing the bread.”
“I can do that. You should get off your feet.” Tomas felt off balance at the change in their conversation. In some ways it felt polite and distant, and yet there was a comfortableness to it that made it seem that they’d known each other far longer than a couple of days. And then
