His mood darkened. That was a reminder he did not need. He liked and respected Cord, but Aliah’s marriage to him had caused a great deal of trouble. “Yes, but until she was married, Aliah was under my patronage.”
Brianna laughed. “Patronage?”
He nodded.
“That sounds archaic.”
“Perhaps, but it is Munir’s custom for a brother to be responsible for his sister.”
She lifted her chin. “Good thing I don’t live there.”
Rafe made no comment, as tempted as he was to point out that she lived under the protection of Cord, and that in many aspects their cultures were not so vastly different.
“I’m not sure I’ll be here for dinner,” she said after a brief silence. “I may be meeting friends in Bridle.”
“All right.” He did not believe her. She was testing him, seeing if he would question her. “I have some work I must do for my meeting in Dallas. I would have preferred your company, but I understand.”
She seemed to relax. “I didn’t say I was going for sure. In fact, no one’s called yet so I probably won’t.” She eyed his empty glass. “I’ll fix you another drink if you want.”
He handed her the glass, their fingers brushing in the exchange. “The scotch, if you will. But just half. I need to keep my wits about me.”
He deliberately sought her gaze, and she stiffened, her eyes growing wide. The innuendo had not been lost. But he had meant only to tease her, not frighten her. She truly was naive, a child in many ways.
Bri quickly got up. She was glad for the excuse to go to the living room for the drink. He made her so darn nervous and had her thinking all kinds of crazy thoughts. That dark sexy look he gave her made her imagination go a little nuts.
Plus, she’d heard a lot about him from Allie. He was quite a ladies’ man, although Allie claimed he never took advantage of the fact that women were drawn to his looks and power. Bri didn’t know what exactly it was about him, but something sure got her all hot and bothered. The feeling was both unfamiliar and a little frightening.
She wasn’t worried, though. Not about his intentions. And it wasn’t just because of Allie’s glowing praise of her brother. Bri put more stock in the way Rafe treated Allie, in the way they interacted.
Watching Allie and Rafe say their goodbyes yesterday had made her a little wistful. The way they could give each other one look and smile in understanding, or the way he unabashedly hugged and kissed Allie. Even though Rafe still had to be hurt and angry over the way she had tricked him into leaving her in Texas, the love and acceptance he’d shown his sister warmed Bri in a way she couldn’t describe. It made her like him.
But it also made her envious. Rafe and Allie had a long history together. Not like her and Cord. They’d only known each other for a short time. If she were to suddenly move back to New Hampshire, Cord would miss her, she felt sure, but it wouldn’t devastate him.
She found the bottle of scotch and poured a small amount into Rafe’s glass. It crossed her mind to have a little wine, but she had the auction paperwork to handle and a stack of invoices to pay and payroll to prepare and…
The truth was, she didn’t trust herself to indulge in anything mind-altering. God only knew what she’d blab if she got too relaxed. She grabbed a bottle of diet cola instead and as she turned to go, nearly stepped on Mittens.
Allie’s kitten let out a wail and Bri nearly dropped Rafe’s drink as she jumped back. “Oh, you poor thing, I’m so sorry.” Bri set the glass of scotch and bottle of cola on the bar and stooped to cuddle the kitten, but the little thing scurried out of the room.
“Are you all right?” Rafe appeared almost instantly. He grabbed her upper arms as she straightened, his concerned eyes probing hers.
“Fine.” She cleared her throat. “It was Mittens. She got underfoot and we sort of scared each other.”
He glanced around.
“She’s probably halfway to the stables by now.”
His hands tightened slightly around her arms and he studied her face with unnerving closeness.
“What?” Bri tried to take a step back.
“Have you ever been alone before?”
She laughed at the irony. “I’ve been alone plenty, believe me. Besides, you’re here, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he said so patiently it annoyed her. “And if you need anything—”
“I won’t.”
He nodded, but his condescending expression irked her. True, she hadn’t been in charge of the ranch before, but two of the hands had been with the Flying Ace so long they didn’t need her. Ty Thomas and Joe Piedmont had started right after Cord’s father had bought the ranch.
Her father. The thought stopped her. Even after hearing Cord’s stories and seeing all the pictures, she still couldn’t think of Gerald Brannigan as her father. She did wish she had met him, though. But he’d died unaware of her existence.
“Of course, you can always call Cord on his cell phone.”
She glared at Rafe. “I will not.”
“Because he is on his honeymoon? Business is business. Cord understands.”
“So do I. But a honeymoon is a honeymoon, and if he doesn’t understand that, I’m sure Allie will help remind him.”
A hint of a smile lit his face. “I am sure you are quite right. Subtlety is not my sister’s strong suit.”
“Subtlety has nothing to do with it. Now that they’re married, priorities have changed.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “You are a romantic.”
“No, I’m not.” Why did she sound so defensive? If she were a romantic, it wouldn’t be a crime. “Marriage is important.”
“I agree.” He gave a curt bow. “It is much like business.”
That stopped her. Marriage was personal. It was about love and respect between two people who couldn’t bear to live without each other. But of course Munir royalty didn’t share that opinion. Allie had explained about duty to family and country coming before personal desire. Maybe having no family wasn’t so bad after all.
“I see you do not agree,” Rafe said when she stayed silent. “Americans do not understand. American women in particular do not—”
She put up a hand. “I wouldn’t finish that thought if I were you.”
“As you wish.” His dark eyes watched her with such intensity it was as if he could see more than he should. “Where are you going?”
“To my office.” She took the glass from the bar and handed it to him before she headed out. “I have a lot of work to do.”
“Brianna. Wait.”
She hesitated, but didn’t actually turn around, torn between curiosity and the need to rush to the safety of her office.
“Brianna?”
Curiosity won. She turned to him.
“Will you run from me the entire week?”
AFTER DINNER, Rafe sat outside in the patio, sipping his coffee while Brianna cleaned up the kitchen. She had declined his offer to help but promised to sit with him later. But only after he had nearly badgered her into agreeing.
She was a puzzle, that one. Perhaps by the time Aliah and Cord returned, he would understand the shy blonde more. Why she blushed so easily and seemed to