His expression was tight, his eyes narrowed.
“You’re all pinchy,” she said, feeling suddenly cheerful. “Is it the thought of being forced to stay here or the knowledge that the little prince won’t be returning with you?”
“I am enjoying my time here with you,” he said, avoiding the question. “Daniel has an excellent seat.”
Not exactly a smooth change of subject, but that was okay. She glanced at Danny and saw he really did seem to have an instinctive understanding of how to ride.
“He must get that from you,” she said. “I don’t think a Marcelli has been on a horse in eighty or ninety years.”
“Then perhaps it is time. I could arrange for the three of us to go riding.”
“No, thanks. I think the pony is dangerous enough. I don’t want to see a real horse.”
“You are afraid?” he asked, his voice taunting her.
She refused to be trapped by threat of being called chicken. “Sensible. Very sensible.”
“I see. How is Kelly?”
She groaned. “You love that you were right, don’t you?”
“I’m glad she was able to tell her parents the truth and now she’s happy.”
“Oh, please. You’re desperate to do the happy dance,” Mia said. “You think you’re Mr. Sensitivity.”
He smiled. “I assure you, that title never crossed my mind. I meant what I said. I like Kelly.”
“You’re not fooling me, Rafael. I know all this pleasant chitchat is just part of your master plan. You’re trying to lull me into liking you again. It’s not going to happen.”
He glanced at her, then returned his attention to Danny. “Is it so impossible to believe I might regret what happened? That I now wish for a chance to make things right between us?”
“Yes. It is impossible.”
“Because I am so horrible?”
“It’s not about being horrible. It’s about being used to getting your way. You’re not used to regular rules. You don’t believe in them. Why would you play by them now?”
“Because they are all that is left to me.” He looked at her again. “You are right-I planned to steal your son from you. But in my mind, I didn’t take the idea any further. I did not consider that Daniel would be devastated by the loss. I would have, and then I would have realized we needed to come up with another way.”
“That’s it?” she asked, incredulous. “That’s all you got from this?”
“What is wrong with what I said? I have admitted I was wrong. I would have hurt Daniel and that was never my plan. I have also told you several times that I intended for you to be able to see Daniel, that I wasn’t going to keep him from you, but you choose not to believe that. So why would I continue to repeat myself?”
“That’s it?” she demanded again, even as she smiled and waved at Danny as he continued to circle the lawn. “That’s the best you can do?”
“What more do you want from me? Blood?”
“It would at least be a start.”
“Be reasonable, Mia. I cannot undo the past. What would make you feel better now?”
“There’s nothing,” she said between clenched teeth. How she loathed the man. How she wished he’d never seen that stupid picture, had never come here. If only-
“Change the law,” she said suddenly. “I was kidding before, but I’m not now. Change the law that says once Danny is on Calandrian soil I have no rights. Make us equals in Calandria law.”
“Will that be enough?” he asked, surprising her. She’d been so sure he would protest.
“It will be a start.”
“I will call the leader of parliament in the morning,” he said. “I give you my word.”
He held out his hand as if they were supposed to shake on it.
She didn’t want to shake hands with him. She didn’t want to touch him at all. Whenever she did, she was reminded how weak and rebellious her body could be. But there was no polite way to avoid the contact, so she braced herself and slid her hand against his.
The sparks were instant. Need exploded like a firecracker trapped in a box. There was light and heat, which she hated almost as much as his knowing smile.
“It’s just physical,” she snapped as she pulled back and stepped away from him.
“The body and the spirit are not so easily separated,” he said. “They influence each other.”
“Not in this case. Don’t go getting any ideas.” She glanced at her watch. “Your time is up. You need to leave.”
She expected him to protest. Instead he walked over to Danny and lifted him down from the pony. “You have done well,” Rafael told him. “I’m very proud of you.”
“I don’t wanna stop,” Danny said.
“It is time for me to leave.”
Danny’s lower lip thrust out. “No!” he yelled. “You stay. Mommy, tell Daddy to stay.”
“Danny, it’s time for Daddy to leave.”
She tried to gather him in her arms, but he pushed away and ran to Rafael.
“Stay, Daddy,” the boy cried. “I’m the heir and I say you stay.”
“Danny…,” Mia started.
Her son turned on her. “Why did you make him go away? Why can’t my daddy stay with me? I want him to stay. I want him to live with me. I’m the heir and I say so. I say so!”
The last sentence came out as a shrieking scream. Mia was stunned when her normally reasonable, rational, emotionally stable child threw himself on the ground and began kicking and yelling.
“Danny,” she said quietly. “It’s all right.”
“It’s not. It’s not.”
“Mia,” Rafael murmured.
She looked at him. “Just go. I’ll deal with this.”
“I will not leave you alone while he is like this.”
Which, in theory, was lovely. But in reality, the longer he stayed, the worse it would get. Still, she couldn’t force him to go.
She sat next to Danny and Rafael sat next to her. Danny cried himself out of his tantrum in about three minutes, then crawled on her lap. He put one arm around her neck and one around his father’s, forcing them to lean toward each other. Then he cried as if his heart were breaking.
Parts of words tumbled out. It took her a minute to figure out what he was saying, and when she did, her heart broke, too.
“I want a mommy and daddy at the same time.”
16
Mia stood by David in the hallway. He smiled at her and then said, “You look like hell.”
She fingered her hair and realized she was in desperate need of a trim and maybe some highlights, but she didn’t think that’s what he meant. The stress wore on her until she had arguments with Rafael in her dreams.
“Things have been better,” she admitted. “It could be worse. At least I don’t have classes. I don’t think I could deal with all this and tort law at the same time.”
He patted her arm. “I wish I could help. Want me to beat up Rafael?”
“Thanks, but Joe already called that one and I haven’t said yes to him yet.”
“I don’t want to stand in the way of Joe and a mission,” David told her. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Just being here with Amber helps,” she said. “Watching the two of you gives me hope. Not every relationship is destined for disaster.”
He smiled and she saw the love in his eyes. For a moment she felt a twinge-not because she wanted him to still be in love with her, but because just once she wanted a man to look like that when he talked about her.
“I got lucky when I met Amber,” he admitted. “Even more lucky when she agreed to go out with me. I couldn’t believe she didn’t have a serious boyfriend or wasn’t already married.” He chuckled. “I nearly proposed on our first date. I knew she was the one, but I figured if I said so, she would think I was crazy and disappear into the night. So I waited and played the dating game, but all the time I knew.”
Mia sighed. “Now you’re getting married.”
“I know some guys think of it as a loss of freedom, but why would I want time away from Amber? To do what? Meet other women and be disappointed? She’s the one. I want to wake up next to her every morning. I want to plan a future and have kids and curl up in the dark just breathing in the scent of her body.”