going shopping with her until she came back outside, so I think she was simply snooping. She's a stunning woman, but I don't trust her."
"Neither do I, but maybe she's afraid Santos is too fond of you."
From Ana's tearful warning about her brother, she knew it to be a possibility. "Well, at least you've been repaid."
"Which was unnecessary. Maybe I'll leave it on your dresser."
"Then I'll leave it on yours." As the light darkened in his gaze, she wondered if he'd ever worked as an escort. He had the dashing good looks to attract wealthy women and the physical talent to satisfy them. She wouldn't ask the obvious question, because some mysteries were best unsolved.
"Did you and Santos agree about tomorrow?"
"Yes, we want to get it over with early in the morning. Ana knows how to use the video camera, and we'll watch the video to make certain it's acceptable before we leave so we won't have wasted our time here."
She thought they'd put their time to extraordinarily good use, and that stung. They were talking about two different things, but still, it hurt. "What will you do if it isn't good?"
"We'll do it again with another bull. I want every chance to convince Miguel I'm ready to fight on Sunday."
"In that beautiful black suit." She wondered if a matador was ever buried in his suit of lights. Would her father want to be?
"Yes, that's what it's for. Now come into my room. I want you to sleep in my bed."
Rather than follow him through the connecting bathroom, where her lace panties and bra were hanging to dry, she went out into the hall and knocked at his door.
He opened it wide, and his dark eyes lit with amusement. "Yes, may I help you?"
She twisted slightly to swing her full skirt. "I don't know, can you?"
He pulled her into his room and lifted her off her feet in a welcoming hug. "Sit with me on the balcony and tell me about your life." He took her hand to lead the way to the padded wicker chairs that matched those on the porch below. He waited for her to sit and pulled his chair close so he could still hold her hand. "You're looking for Augustin's memoir. What will be in yours?"
She crossed her legs and bounced her foot. "You'd definitely deserve more than a footnote, but up until now, my life's been so predictable it wouldn't make for entertaining reading."
"Were you a happy child with a room painted pink and dozens of dolls?"
"No, I was the studious type with more books than toys. I was into nature, and my room was a pale green."
He brushed his thumb across her palm. "I preferred books to my fellow inmates' company and read every volume in the prison library. The prison doctor liked me and brought me bags of more books to read. Did you have nice friends, little girls as pretty as you?"
"I did have friends," she assured him, without describing them as a cluster of brainy girls the popular crowd shunned. "I have two younger half sisters, and belonged to Girl Scouts, so I was seldom alone either at school or home."
"Tell me a secret," he whispered invitingly.
"I don't know what it is you want to hear. I never met a Gypsy in Minneapolis, so my life was quite uneventful compared to now."
"Then why would you want to go home?"
He had such a marvelous voice, and sitting together at night, he sounded even more seductive. For a moment, she forgot the question. "I own a nice condo and have a job I love. I never meant to stay here."
"But you didn't know what you'd find, so you could change your plans."
She bit her lip rather than laugh. "Rafael, we met on Saturday, and it's only Tuesday night. If you never plan more than a week ahead, why should I?"
With an easy lift, he scooped her up, carried her into his bed and dropped her in the center. He grabbed her foot and unbuckled her shoe. "You're right. There's only tonight, and I ought to concentrate on giving you something memorable for your memoir."
She laughed and leaned back on her elbows. "You could try, I suppose."
He bit her big toe but not hard enough to hurt. "Only try?"
She regarded him with an enigmatic smile. "You thrive on a challenge, don't you?"
He unbuckled her other shoe, then pulled her off the bed and turned her toward her room. "Go hang up your new