The Last Heir of Monterrato - Page 43

He ran his hand over his eyes at the memory of the appalling     way he had behaved. But as he looked around at the unmade bed, the rumpled     sheets, the indentation on the pillow where her head had been, he knew that     Lottie was like a forbidden substance to him. She got to him in a way that no     other woman ever could. He didn’t know why, and much as he had tried to figure     it out, tried to deny it to himself, he now realised it was just an irrefutable,     indisputable fact.

But where the hell was she? Initial relief gave way to another     wave of anxiety. Supposing she had already done a pregnancy test and it had     proved negative. Had she taken herself off somewhere to lick her wounds? Was     that why she had disappeared?

Rafael knew just how much Lottie wanted this baby. He thought     back to when they had discussed it—when she had tried to explain about her     deep-rooted desire to be a mother, about wanting to do right all the things her     own mother had done wrong.

And how had he reacted? With compassion and understanding? Or     even with relief that here was a young woman who knew her own mind, who was     doing it for herself, not as some sort of twisted favour to him? No, he hadn’t     reacted in any of those ways. He had bitten her head off, snarled at her about     how he had feelings too. He could still see the look of hurt in her eyes before     he had turned away. What he didn’t know was when he had turned into such a     bastard.

Marching down the corridor, he checked his phone yet again, to     see if she had answered his messages. He could feel anger surging through him     now, pushing the anxiety to one side. It was an emotion he was far more     comfortable with, if he was honest. Jabbing at her number, he cursed when, after     a few rings, it went to voicemail. He heard himself bark, ‘Where the hell are     you?’ before returning the phone to his pocket and thundering out onto the     terrace.

Scanning the sun-rippled lake, he watched the traffic of     assorted boats weaving about on the water. With no particular plan in mind, he     started to descend the steps to the water’s edge, stopping with a jolt and a     thudding heart halfway down. The speedboat had gone. Fear gripped his heart and     a hundred different scenarios ran through his mind, each one worse than the     last.

What had happened here? Whatever had possessed him to leave her     alone last night? How in the name of God could he have been so selfish?

With panic and fear wrestling in his chest, clawing at his     throat, he ran down the remaining steps, pulling the phone out of his pocket,     punching in the number for his security team, already visualising the ransom     demands, the terrifying danger Lottie could be in.

A loud toot made him look up. A speedboat—his     speedboat—was heading towards him, with Lottie at the wheel, waving casually.     What the—? A new, but nonetheless urgent anxiety gripped Rafael; she was going     far too fast, she was using only one hand, and she was heading straight for the     moorings.

‘Slow down!’ Cupping his hands over his mouth, he screamed at     her over the roar of the engine. ‘Cut the engine!’

The boat did an erratic zig-zag as Lottie stood up to try and     hear what he was saying.

‘Cut the engine!’

Finally comprehending, Lottie gave him an okay sign and the     throaty roar stopped. But the momentum of its speed was still carrying the boat     far too fast as it cut through the water towards him.

‘Sideways on!’

He could see Lottie clearly now, cheeks flushed with the fresh     air, blonde hair streaming out behind her. At least she had both hands on the     wheel now.

‘Turn!’ Indicating with wildly flailing arms, he tried to get     her to understand what to do. ‘Turn the wheel. Come in sideways!’

There was a crunch, followed by a long scraping sound, followed     by a delicate, ‘Oops...’

Unscrewing his eyes, he saw his speedboat now indignantly at     rest against the far end of the dock. And Lottie, wobbling as she tried to     stand, calmly getting ready to disembark.

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