One Night in Buenos Aires: The Vásquez Mistress

‘It’s really that important to you? Any chance that you’ll tell me why at some point?’

He didn’t answer her question, and when she glanced towards him he was staring down the long driveway at an approaching car. Gone was the lazy, sexy smile that had made him so approachable. Now he just seemed cold and intimidating.

The car came to a halt in a cloud of dust and a man heaved himself awkwardly from the driver’s seat, a sheen of sweat visible on his brow as he negotiated the heat and the demands of his own excessive body-weight. Faith guessed him to be in his fifties but it was obvious that he was holding on to his youth with grim determination. His shirt was open at the neck and strained over his thickened waist, his thinning hair artfully arranged to conceal the onset of baldness.

‘Vásquez—I hear congratulations are due.’

‘Pedro.’ His hand outstretched and his tone cool, Raul strode forward and shook the man’s hand and Faith watched while the other door opened and a woman slid elegantly out of the passenger seat.

Suddenly Faith understood why the man was so grimly determined not to be parted from his youth. The woman was stunning. She somehow managed to be both slender and curvaceous at the same time and the coal-black hair that hung straight over her bare shoulders shone like polished agate. Apparently undisturbed by the heat, she slowly removed the oversized sunglasses from her exquisite face to reveal almond-shaped eyes of surprising warmth. A friendly smile on her glossy mouth, she walked over to Faith, hands outstretched.

‘So Raul finally took the plunge,’ she said cheerfully, leaning forward and kissing Faith on both cheeks. Then she linked arms with her, as though they were firm friends, rather than total strangers. ‘Half of Argentina is ready to kill you—the female half, of course. The male half are probably incredibly grateful. Finally they can sleep easy in their beds without feeling they need to lock up their wives. I’m Sofia.’

Confused by the other woman’s direct approach and unsure how to respond, Faith glanced towards Raul but he was listening to something that Pedro was saying, his dark glossy head tilted because he was so much taller. Realising that he wasn’t paying her any attention, Faith turned back to Sofia and froze.

The other woman was staring openly at Raul, a look of naked sexual appreciation in her eyes. Then she looked at Faith and grinned sheepishly. ‘Oops, sorry. Caught red-handed.’ She gave herself a mock smack on the wrist. ‘Naughty me. But you have to admit that he is indecently handsome and I don’t get to look at men like him very often. I’m sure you’re used to women gazing at him. Being with Raul is a bit like owning a very rare and valuable painting—everyone wants to stare at it.’

Shocked and surprised by the hot spurt of jealousy that pumped through her veins, Faith struggled to stay polite. ‘And your husband doesn’t mind?’

‘I can’t imagine he’d be thrilled, but he has nothing to worry about. Raul and I were quite unsuited.’

Were?

For a moment Faith thought she had misheard, and then she looked into the other woman’s eyes and her entire world shifted.

‘You know him well?’ Why was she asking that question when she already knew the answer?

‘Pretty well.’ Sofia looked at her. ‘Oh dear. Me and my big mouth. Obviously the two of you haven’t discussed his past. Very wise. If I was with Raul, I can’t say I’d want to know about his past, either. One of the disadvantages of being with an extremely rich and handsome man is the knowledge that every other woman wants him too.’

‘Sofia …’ Raul’s voice came from directly behind them and Sofia turned, her eyes dancing with laughter.

‘Darling—no need to use that tone. I’m just pleased you finally found someone willing to put up with your domineering, macho ways on a permanent basis. How are you? You’re looking good, but there’s nothing new in that.’

Before Raul could respond, Pedro approached. Apparently unaware of the byplay, he was mopping his brow. ‘Shall we get out of the heat?’

‘Of course. We’ll have drinks on the terrace.’

Pinned to the spot by shock, Faith looked at Raul in disbelief.

That was it? That was all he was going to say?

Tact and sensitivity wasn’t his strong suit and she, more than anyone, was well aware of that—but still she couldn’t quite believe that he’d intentionally invited his ex-mistress to join them for dinner without at least warning her.

It must have been an unfortunate coincidence.

She desperately wanted to believe that he hadn’t known the woman was with Pedro—that any minute now he was going to throw her off his property. Because the alternative to that was to acknowledge that once again her feelings had been bottom of his agenda.

‘It’s cooler on the terrace,’ Raul said smoothly, nothing in his body language suggesting that he considered anything to be amiss.

Faith flinched as though he’d struck her.

So that was it, then.

Clearly he expected her to smile and chat to his ex, while he concentrated on his business deal.

No wonder he hadn’t told her what was expected of her.

He’d obviously known that she would have been on the first plane out of Buenos Aires.

Raul strode across the courtyard, Pedro by his side, nothing in his manner betraying the slightest hint of awkwardness.

Deprived of the opportunity to claw his impossibly handsome face, Faith wanted to turn and stalk in the opposite direction, but she was unable to do that either because the other woman tightened her hold on her arm.

‘We have a word in Spanish to describe someone like him,’ Sofia murmured, her voice like rich honey. ‘Guapísimo. It means “indescribably handsome”. I haven’t been here for a while,’ she confided, as they moved onto the sunny, vine-covered terrace where several staff were poised ready to serve drinks. ‘You must show me what Raul has done. This place is the talk of the international polo-circuit.’

Faith didn’t bother replying—she was too busy planning ways to kill Raul—but first she turned some serious anger onto herself.

You fool, she chided herself. You stupid fool.

He said he wanted the marriage to work and that was all it took for you to run back to him.

He’d hurt her so, so badly but had she learned her lesson? No, she’d come back for more.

Was he being deliberately cruel? Was he reminding her once again that she’d driven him into a marriage, when in fact that wasn’t what he’d wanted?

Was he was telling her that marriage wasn’t going to stop him living his life the way he wanted to live it?

Was that what was going on here?

A wave of dizziness washed over her and for a terrifying moment she thought she might faint in front of him yet again.

Gritting her teeth with determination, she took several deep breaths and took a glass of champagne from one of Raul’s staff. Deciding that it would be kill or cure, she drained it in several gulps.

Dimly aware of Raul’s disapproving and slightly startled gaze, she raised the empty glass in his direction. ‘To us, darling. And to all those little things you do for me that show just how much you care.’

His eyes narrowed, but whether or not he would have responded to her subtle jibe she had no idea because Pedro dutifully lifted his glass.

‘To the pair of you. May you have a long and happy union.’

Faith was deeply regretting the fact that she’d downed the champagne. Her head was swimming again, and now she wasn’t sure of the cause.

‘So what is it that you do, Faith?’ Pedro was blunt and straightforward but Faith was spared the need to reply by his wife’s intervention.

‘She’s married to Raul,’ Sofia murmured. ‘Which means her time is totally occupied in the pursuit of looking gorgeous.’ Her gaze lingered speculatively on Faith’s newly cropped hair and Faith flushed.

‘I’m a vet. I specialise in horses. Raul has an interesting breeding programme so I chose to come here and work.’ And never left. But she would now. Any moment. She was going to walk out of the door and not look back.

As soon as she could be sure that her legs would hold her.

‘Breeding? Well if there’s anyone who could use some advice in that area, then it’s Raul.’ Sofia laughed. ‘Breeding is probably the only area of life in which he has absolutely no experience. I never could quite see him changing a nappy.’

Faith glanced at Raul and found him looking at her. ‘Faith is exceptionally talented. Especially with the animals themselves.’

Did he even realise that she was upset?

Deciding that she wasn’t going to inflate his ego still further by showing him how much his careless behaviour had upset her, Faith stood her ground.

Apparently unaware of the dangerous shift in the atmosphere, Pedro took a mouthful of his champagne. ‘One of my stallions is misbehaving—kicking out his box, biting his groom—the product of an extremely difficult early life, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s born vicious.’

‘No horse is born vicious.’ Faith’s years of training made it impossible for her to stay silent. ‘It’s the way they’ve been treated that makes them that way. If he’s vicious then he obviously feels he needs to defend himself from something.’ Her eyes still held Raul’s. ‘All of us have the potential to be vicious if the provocation is sufficient.’

Raul’s eyes narrowed but Pedro simply nodded, his mind clearly still on the problem of his horse.

‘You could be right. To be honest, I have no idea what’s in his past. My stud groom rescued him from somewhere or other. Thought he had potential. I’m not so sure. I think he needs to be taught who’s boss.’

A bubble of laughter rose in Faith’s throat. ‘In my experience a display of macho domination rarely achieves the desired effect. I’ve always found that people respond better when you aim for a partnership of trust and respect.’

‘People?’ Pedro looked at her quizzically. ‘I thought we were talking about horses.’

‘Horses, people.’ Faith shrugged. ‘The principles are the same. The foundation of a good relationship is trust and respect.’ She emphasised both words and Raul shot her a warning glance, which she interpreted as meaning: be careful. This deal is important to me.

And suddenly she wondered if he really did care about anything other than the acquisition of wealth.

Why else would he have chosen to flaunt his previous relationships in front of his wife?

Still apparently oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around them, Pedro drained his champagne. ‘You’re letting a woman dictate how your horses are handled, Vásquez?’

‘I employ the best.’

Pedro frowned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met a female vet before.’

Faith took a sip of orange juice. ‘Well, we’re pretty much the same as the male variety, only we’re usually a little smaller because our bodies don’t have to make room for the ego.’

Sofia laughed with delight. ‘I absolutely adore the English sense of humour.’

Pedro reached for a handkerchief and mopped his brow. ‘I know it isn’t considered politically correct to say so, but I still don’t believe that a woman can do everything a man can do.’

‘I completely agree.’ Faith took another sip of her orange juice. ‘No matter how hard I try I simply can’t behave in a callous, insensitive fashion. Fortunately that major defect in my character hasn’t affected my ability as a vet. Generally animals respond very well to a woman’s touch.’

Finally alerted to the fact that the atmosphere wasn’t all it should be, Pedro glanced at Raul who displayed a characteristic lack of concern.

‘As you can see, my wife is as spirited as the horses she loves so much. Faith is extremely well qualified.’

Pedro’s eyebrows shot upwards. ‘If she’s that well qualified, why doesn’t she have her own practice?’

‘She met me,’ Raul murmured. ‘And I derailed her career.’

‘Postponed,’ Faith corrected him sharply. ‘I can return to my career any time I choose to do so.’

Sofia smiled. ‘So you fell in love.’

‘Who wouldn’t love Argentina?’ Faith deliberately chose to misunderstand her. ‘It’s a fascinating and beautiful country. And the perfect place to practise equine medicine.’

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