A Touch of Notoriety - By Carole Mortimer Page 0,63

a few hours with his father before learning Beth had been rushed to hospital, but it had nevertheless been long enough for the two proud Cordoba men to reconcile. A reconciliation he had wanted to share with Beth, only to telephone the apartment to instead learn that she was seriously ill. The drive back from his father’s estancia had been a nightmare as he feared for Beth’s very life.

A chilling fear, which had told him all that he needed to know in regard to his feelings for Beth.

He reached out and took one of her hands in his. ‘Beth, so much has happened in your life in such a short time. You have discovered that you are not who you thought you were, but someone else entirely. And that you have a family, a family you were not aware of, who love you very much.’

She eyed him uncertainly. ‘Yes...’

Raphael straightened to once again pace restlessly. ‘Now is not really the time for me to— I should not—this is much more difficult than I would ever have believed possible!’

‘Maybe if you were to tell me what it is I could help you out a little?’ Beth prompted curiously.

He gave a slightly impatient shake of his head. ‘Can it be that you are the only one who has not realised what I want to say?’

She looked at him blankly. ‘About what? I’m really pleased that you and your father have made your peace—’

‘Beth, this has absolutely nothing to do with my relationship with my father!’ he interrupted exasperatedly. ‘Well, maybe a little,’ he conceded impatiently. ‘I had to...resolve that part of my life, make things right with my father, before I could—’

‘Move forward with your life.’ She nodded. ‘Yes, you said that.’

‘Move forward with my life with you!’ Raphael’s voice rose and he ran his hand through his hair in his frustration. ‘Madre mia, woman, the whole of your family knows that the reason I have tried to see you this past week is because I need to tell you that I am in love with you. So very very much in love with you. That I realised this the night we spent together at the inn. That I wish, above all things, that you would love me, too. That I wish to ask you to become my wife. Once you are completely well again, of course.’ He frowned. ‘And once you feel that you could leave your new family. And—’

‘And after Grace and Cesar’s wedding. And after their first child has been christened.’ Her eyes glowed. ‘And man has settled on Mars—’

‘I do not understand...’ Raphael looked pained as he stood beside her chair looking down at her.

Beth gave a choked laugh as the happiness welled up inside her and threatened to totally overwhelm her. Raphael loved her. He wanted to marry her. All this time she had been suffering in misery, believing he would never feel the same way about her, and Raphael had been in love with her the whole time, too. To the point that he hadn’t felt able to protect her in the way he felt she needed to be protected. To a degree that he had decided to settle the long feud with his father, to resolve the rift between the two of them, before he asked Beth to marry him.

Raphael loved her and wanted to marry her!

She moved to stand up, needing to be in Raphael’s arms, only to sit back down again with a wince. ‘Ouch.’ She made a pained face. ‘Raphael, will you get down here and kiss me before I rip my stitches open trying to get to you?’

‘But—’

‘Now, please!’ she cried frustratedly.

‘You are a very demanding woman,’ he reproved as he moved to sit on the arm of her chair.

‘No, you stubborn arrogant man, I’m a woman in love,’ she corrected happily as she raised her face to his. ‘Very, very much in love. With you. And my ridiculous comments just now were because I have no intention of waiting for any of those things to happen before becoming your wife—my answer is yes now, Raphael,’ she assured him softly as he lowered his head towards hers.

He paused with his lips only centimetres away from hers as he looked down at her searchingly. ‘I have yet to ask the question...’ he murmured softly.

‘But you will. And when you do my answer will be yes,’ she assured him as she raised her hand and cupped his nape. ‘I love you, Raphael. So