‘Why not?’
‘Because you could fall off!’
‘I won’t fall off.’ He stroked the stallion’s satin-like neck. ‘This is the perfect solution. I have four good legs instead of two bad ones.’
Lily gave him and the flighty horse a doubtful look. The stallion looked edgy and temperamental. Raoul was flirting with danger if he thought he could ride again as if nothing had changed. If he fell off he could damage his spine even more. The thought of him being injured further made her stomach curdle. Hadn’t he had enough to deal with without looking for more tragedy?
‘You’re mad. You’re asking for trouble. It’s too soon. You could end up worse off. If you fall off and break both your legs, don’t come running to me.’ She blushed when she realised the absurdity of what she’d said. ‘I meant that figuratively...of course.’
‘Of course.’ He grinned as he held out the mare’s reins. ‘Then supervise me. Come with me and make sure I’m being a good boy.’
She gave him a telling look. ‘You and that stallion of yours are about as far away from good as it’s possible to be.’
His eyes glinted at her. ‘He looks mean and he acts mean, but he’s a big softy underneath all that bluster.’
Lily took the mare’s reins after a lengthy hesitation. The smell of leather and horse took her back to a time in her life when everything had been settled and in order. Happy. She stroked Mardi’s shoulder as she prepared to mount. ‘Good girl. Nice girl. Steady. Steady.’ She managed to vault into the saddle without going over the other side like a circus clown, but it was a very near thing.
‘You have a good seat.’
‘Let’s hope I keep it,’ she muttered.
It didn’t take her long to find her rhythm. The mare was as gentle and quiet as a lamb and her gait steady and sure. Raoul’s stallion was anything but. He pranced and snorted but Raoul didn’t appear to be having any trouble in keeping his seat. If anything he seemed to be enjoying himself. He looked relaxed and happy, his smile making him appear younger and more carefree than she had ever seen him. Looking at him now, no one would ever know he was unable to walk. He looked utterly gorgeous; fit, strong and devastatingly handsome.
He was the most wonderful, decent, honourable man she had ever met.
Hadn’t the last two weeks confirmed that? He’d kept a polite distance, respecting her decision that night in the pool to refrain from committing to a physical relationship. He hadn’t pressured her to talk about her past. He had simply given her the space to be herself.
He made her feel safe.
Her heart gave a little squeeze at the thought of going back to her life in London when this appointment was over.
Back to her female clients.
Back to her lonely nights watching something inane on television to fill in the hours until it was time to go to bed.
Back to reading books describing experiences she would never experience first-hand.
Like falling in love.
Lily gnawed at her lip. Maybe she wouldn’t have to rely on books for that. Didn’t she already feel a little bit in love with Raoul?
It was sheer and utter madness, of course. Deluded wishful thinking. Lunacy.
He wouldn’t have looked twice at a girl like her if he hadn’t been stuck with her at his château as a physical therapist. She had searched on her smart phone for a photograph of his ex-fiancée, Clarissa Moncrieff. Beautiful didn’t even come close to describing the slim blonde woman with endless legs and a toothpaste-commercial smile. Looking at that photograph had made Lily feel like a small brown moth coming face-to-face with an exotic butterfly.
Sure, Raoul had kissed her a couple of times, but that didn’t mean anything. Why would it? He’d kissed hundreds of women. He probably would have slept with her, too, if she’d given him the go ahead. He was used to having flings. Up until his relationship with Clarissa he hadn’t spent more than six or eight weeks with the same partner. His interest in Lily had more to do with propinquity than anything else.
And she had better not forget it.
‘Do you fancy a canter to the copse and back?’ Raoul’s voice pulled her out of her miserable mind wandering.
‘Does Mardi have that particular gear?’
‘If you give her plenty of encouragement.’
She gave the mare a gentle squeeze with her thighs and after a slow start the horse went from a trot to a lovely smooth canter. It was exhilarating to feel the breeze against her face as she rode towards the copse of trees. It brought back happy memories of a time in her life when things were hopeful and positive.
Raoul kept his stallion at a sedate pace but after a while he let him open out and stretch his legs. Lily watched as the horse’s satin-clad muscles bunched and fired as he shot past. Raoul looked in his element, like a dark knight riding his finest steed.