He was as sexy as hell, Cairo acknowledged achingly. Even more so than he had been eight years ago, maturity having added another dimension to his already many-faceted personality, lines of experience now beside the deep blue of his eyes, his rare smile one of mocking challenge.
‘She’s a great kid, isn’t she?’ Rafe said as Daisy excused herself to go to the ladies’ room inside the restaurant.
‘Er—yes, she is,’ Cairo agreed abruptly even as she wrenched her gaze away from the moulded perfection of Rafe’s sensually curving mouth and her thoughts from the memory of how forcefully that mouth had claimed hers yesterday afternoon.
Rafe’s gaze narrowed on her flushed cheeks. ‘Have you ever wondered that if we had made it together, we might have had a daughter of Daisy’s age by now? Maybe a couple more, too?’
‘Certainly not!’ she denied firmly.
Rafe shrugged. ‘Just a thought.’
Thank goodness she hadn’t become pregnant during their three-month affair—that really would have complicated a situation that had ultimately proved heartbreaking enough when Rafe had become bored with her naïve adoration and secretly turned his attentions to another, much more experienced, woman.
But she couldn’t deny that at one time, in her naivety, she had inwardly, deliciously thought about becoming the mother of Rafe’s children….
‘I think I’ll just try giving Jeff a call while Daisy isn’t here.’ She took her mobile from her bag and put the call through to her brother-in-law, effectively putting an end to that conversation.
But if nothing else, it had served as a reminder that Cairo hadn’t been enough for Rafe eight years ago, and despite her earlier thoughts of how wonderful he was with Daisy—of what a good father he would make to his own children someday—Cairo knew that she wouldn’t be enough for him now, either.
Rafe took advantage of Cairo’s preoccupation to sit back and run a lazily sweeping glance over the busy square, aware that he still had that uncomfortable prickling sensation at the base of his nape, as if he was being watched.
Not that he had actually seen the driver of the blue car again.
But perhaps that wasn’t surprising after Rafe had shown him so clearly in the car park that he was aware of the other man’s interest?
Or maybe Rafe was wrong and it really was coincidence that he had seen that particular man in that particular car twice in one day?
Maybe …
He just didn’t happen to believe that strongly in coincidences—
‘Dammit!’ Rafe grated harshly even as he surged angrily to his feet and turned to stride towards where he had just seen Daisy emerge from the ladies’ room in the restaurant.
To where a man—the same man who had earlier been driving the blue car, Rafe was sure of it—had stopped her and engaged her in conversation!
CHAPTER FIVE
‘FOLLOW him, Rafe!’ Cairo cried anxiously behind him as the man saw Rafe’s approach and quickly broke off his conversation with Daisy to turn on his heel and hurry out through the back entrance of the restaurant.
Rafe didn’t need any encouragement—he had every intention of going after the other man.
‘Take care of Daisy,’ he instructed grimly, before hurrying out the back entrance himself.
But no matter how hard Rafe looked both ways up the street and in several shops, he couldn’t find him, the other man having apparently disappeared. He knew where the man’s car was, of course, and debated whether or not he should just go straight to the car park and hope to get there before the other man did.
But Rafe’s first concern had to be Daisy and Cairo, so he returned to the restaurant.
‘I lost him.’ Rafe scowled as Cairo looked at him, her face having taken on a greyish tinge, her hands trembling as she held Daisy tightly against her. ‘I’m pretty sure it isn’t what you think, Cairo,’ he added more reassuringly. ‘I’ll explain later.’ He shot Cairo a warning look before going down on his haunches beside the little girl. ‘Okay, Daisy-May?’ he prompted gently.
‘Can we have lunch now, Uncle Rafe?’ she asked hopefully.
He gave an appreciative chuckle. ‘Sure we can. Okay with you, Cairo?’ He looked up at her.
Cairo felt too sick with reaction to answer him immediately.
She hadn’t even realized there was anything wrong until Rafe had stood up and rushed into the restaurant and she had seen the man talking to Daisy.
A man who had seemed strangely familiar….
‘Fine,’ she answered distractedly, knowing from Rafe’s warning expression that he didn’t want either of them to alarm Daisy when she seemed to have taken the incident in her six-year-old stride.
Unlike Cairo.
It was every parent’s nightmare!
They had only taken their eyes off Daisy for a minute or so. What if—
‘It really isn’t what you think,’ Rafe assured her quietly, taking a light hold of her arm as they followed Daisy back to their table. ‘At least, I’m pretty sure that it isn’t,’ he added grimly.
‘You’ll have to give me a better explanation than that, Rafe.’ She gave an involuntary shudder. ‘What if he had taken Daisy? I would never have forgiven myself if—’
‘Don’t even think about it.’ Rafe squeezed her arm. ‘I would never have let that happen.’
Cairo believed him.
After all that had happened between them, the way Rafe had proved so unfaithful as a lover, Cairo still believed him implicitly when he assured her that he would keep Daisy safe….
Rafe wished he could be as sure of being able to keep his promise to Cairo as he sounded! But until he found out who the man in the blue car was, and why he had been following them most of the day, he really had no idea whom he was actually supposed to be protecting.
Daisy … or Cairo?
Daisy was the one to give him part of the answer. ‘I think that man was one of your fans, Uncle Rafe,’ she told him once she had eaten a piece of pizza.
‘Why do you think that, Daisy?’ he asked, at the same time aware that Cairo was picking at her salad rather than eating it, obviously still very shaken by what had happened. Even so, Rafe couldn’t help but admire the fact that she was trying to appear as if everything were normal.
‘He asked me if you were Rafe Montero,’ Daisy explained happily before picking up another piece of her pizza.
Rafe shot Cairo a frowning glance before answering the little girl. ‘And what did you say, Daisy-May?’
‘I said you were.’ She nodded. ‘Because you are, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ Rafe agreed with a smile. ‘For my sins, that’s exactly who I am.’
Daisy nodded. ‘Then he asked me the name of my mummy.’
‘Your … mummy?’ Rafe repeated slowly with a quick glance at Cairo.
‘Mmm.’ Daisy gave a mischievous grin. ‘I told him that her name was Margo. Because it is, isn’t it?’ she added with satisfaction.
‘Daisy—’
‘Don’t you see, Uncle Rafe, that man thought Aunty Cairo was my mummy?’ She giggled at the joke she had played on the other man.
Yes, Rafe did see—better than Daisy, in fact. As he knew that Cairo must.
‘He