“She will, will she?”
“Absolutely. I’m sure that’s what I heard her just say.”
Larkin appeared in the doorway. “Kiko talks now?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “What? She doesn’t talk to you? Ever since you left this morning, I haven’t been able to get her to shut up.”
To his satisfaction, the final vestiges of distress leached from Larkin’s body. While she carried the last of the food to the table, he opened the cabernet and set it aside to breathe. Then he fed Kiko, who gave a contented grunt and settled down closest to where Rafe stood, no doubt hoping for another treat in the near future.
“You’ve corrupted her,” Larkin accused. “You’re going to make her fat.”
“I’m trying to keep from getting eaten. There’s another full moon tonight.”
“She’s not a wolf,” Larkin muttered.
“And you’re a lousy liar.”
“I’ll have to work on that.”
“Don’t.” A terseness drifted through the word. “I was married to an expert, so you have no idea how much I appreciate the fact that you don’t lie.”
For some reason his pronouncement had the opposite effect of what he’d intended. She shot to her feet and faced him with a desperate intensity. “You’re wrong. I am a liar. My being here is a lie. Our relationship is a lie. And I’ve told you any number of lies of omission. If you knew the truth about me, you’d throw me out right now. This minute.” She shut her eyes. “Maybe you should. Maybe Kiko and I should leave before this goes any further.”
Five
Larkin waited anxiously for Rafe’s response. To her surprise, he didn’t say a word. Instead, she heard him pour a glass of wine. The instant she opened her eyes, he handed it to her.
“I believe lying by omission is called dating,” he explained gently. “No one is completely honest when they date—otherwise no one would ever get married. All of that changes once you’re foolish enough to say ‘I do.’”
“Marriage equals truth time?” Is that what he’d discovered when he’d married Leigh?
“Let’s just say that the mask comes off and you get to see the real person. Since we’re not getting married, that shouldn’t be a problem for us. Relax, Larkin. We’re all entitled to our privacy and a few odd secrets.”
His comments were like a soothing balm and she sank onto her seat at the patio table, allowing herself to relax and sip the wine he’d poured. The flavor exploded on her tongue, rich and sultry, with a tantalizing after bite to it. “This is delicious.”
“It is, isn’t it? Primo got a couple of cases in last week and spread them out among the family to sample. It’s from a Dante family vineyard in Tuscany that belongs to Primo’s brother and his family.”
“Huh.” She went along with the drift from turbulent waters into calmer seas, even though her intense awareness of him followed her there. “And does his brother’s family have that whole Inferno thing going on, too?”
“I don’t know. It’s never come up in discussion. Though I suspect most of the Dantes are fairly delusional when it comes to The Inferno.”
Rafe settled into the seat beside her and stretched out his long legs. He was close. So deliciously close. Her body seemed to hum in reaction, flooded with a disconcerting combination of pleasure and need.
“You still don’t believe it exists, despite…” She held out her hand, palm upward.
He hesitated, shrugged, then cut into his steak. “That’s what we’re going to spend the next month or so figuring out.”
Careful and evasive. It would appear she wasn’t the only one being a bit cagey. “Are you just saying that so I’ll stick with the job?” she asked, tackling her salad.
“Pretty much.”
She couldn’t help smiling. “Devious man.”
A companionable silence fell while they ate their dinner, though she could also feel a distracting buzz of sexual awareness. It seemed to hum between them, flavoring the food and scenting the air. She forced herself to focus on the meal and the easy wash of conversation, which helped mitigate the tension to a certain extent. But there was no denying its existence or the gleam of awareness that darkened Rafe’s eyes to an impenetrable forest-green. It added a unique dimension to every word and interaction, one that teetered on the edge of escalation…or it would have if they hadn’t both tiptoed around the various land mines.