‘Do you really mean that?’
He pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth. ‘I mean that.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
POPPY WAS WAITING outside the building where Rafe had his meeting when he came out. He had been expecting her to go shopping for the morning. He had even given her a credit card to use. She had slipped it in her purse without argument, but he had seen the way her lips had pressed together momentarily, as if she had felt compromised in some way. Her reaction had been completely different from any other woman he had been with. Some had barely contained their excitement at being given carte blanche. It was a refreshing change to think Poppy had not taken his generosity for granted.
She stepped up and slipped her hand into his. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I need a drink.’
‘That’s not always the best solution.’
He pushed a hand through his hair. ‘I know. I hate myself right now. I just sacked a man who has a wife and three little kids.’
She gave him a sympathetic look. ‘Was there no alternative?’
Rafe looked down at her heart-shaped face. She was so innocent, so unjaded. ‘He’s got a gambling problem. He’s ripped me off for hundreds of thousands of euros. It’s been going on for a couple of years. I should be pressing criminal charges.’
A little worried frown pulled at her brow. ‘But you’re not going to do that, are you?’
He let out a long, jagged breath. ‘No.’
‘There are programs, you know? For problem gamblers,’ she said. ‘What about if you offered to sponsor him through one? You could strike a deal with him. He has to do the program while you support his wife and kids, or he has to go to jail.’
Rafe gripped her by the shoulders and pulling her towards him, pressing a brief, hard kiss to her mouth. ‘You are absolutely brilliant. Do you know that?’
She gave him a shy smile. ‘I wouldn’t go as far as saying that.’
He took out his phone and started scrolling through his contacts. ‘Give me five minutes. Once I get this sorted, we are going to have a night to remember.’
* * *
It did turn out to be a night to remember, but for all the wrong reasons. Poppy was sitting in an award-winning restaurant with him when Rafe’s phone rang. She had seen him switch it to silent as they entered the premises, but even with the subtle background music the vibration of it was still audible. He gave her an apologetic look and took it out of his breast pocket.
His face dropped right in front of her. Her heart contracted in panic as she saw the way his features tightened.
‘Is he going to make it?’
Poppy felt her stomach tighten in dread. Whose life was hanging in the balance? Rafe’s face was pinched and white with shock. Was it his grandfather; one of his brothers or one of his friends; one of his employees?
‘I’ll get there as soon as I can.’ He ended the call and looked at her, ashen-faced. ‘My brother Raoul has had an accident whilst water skiing at Lake Como. He’s got suspected spinal injuries.’
‘Oh no...’
‘I have to go to him.’ He got up so abruptly the glasses rattled on the table. ‘I’m sorry about this week. I’ll have to cut it short. I’ll get my Paris secretary to organise your flight home.’
‘Can’t I come with you?’ Poppy asked as they left the restaurant. ‘You’ll need support and I can—’
‘No.’ The word was clipped and hard, intractable. ‘I want you to fly home. I’ll deal with this on my own.’
‘But surely it would be better if you—?’
He gave her a frowning glare. ‘Did you not hear what I just said? I don’t want you with me. This is about my family. It’s my responsibility, not yours.’
Poppy flinched. ‘I know you’re upset, Rafe, but—’
‘But what?’ he asked. ‘You knew this was how it was going to be, Poppy. I never said this was for ever. We both have our own lives. And mine just reared its big, ugly head.’
Her stomach dropped in despair as they made their way back to their hotel in a taxi. What did this mean? Did he mean it was over between them? She wasn’t brave enough to ask. She sat in a miserable silence, feeling his tension and worry in the air combining with her own in a knotty tangle that seemed to be pulling on her heart.
When they got back to their hotel, Rafe barely paused long enough to gather his passport and a change of clothes. Poppy felt so helpless. She wanted to reach out to him but it was like an invisible fortress had formed around him. He was closing off from her. She could see it in the tight set of his features, as if something deep inside him was drawing him away from her inch by inch.