Enticed by His Forgotten Lover (Pregnancy & Passion #1)(31)

The mischievous tone in her voice wrung a smile out of him.

“Why do I get the feeling that I probably tried like hell to keep you at arm’s length and you were having none of that?”

She frowned. “Not at all. You seemed…” Her expression grew more thoughtful. “You were definitely open to what happened between us. You certainly did your share of pursuing. Put it this way. I didn’t have to try very hard to get past that stuffy exterior of yours.”

He shook his head. “I’m beginning to think I have a double running around impersonating me. I know I keep saying this, but the man you describe is so far out of my realm of understanding that he seems a complete and utter stranger. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I suffered the head injury before I arrived here. Not after.”

“Does it appall you that much?”

He jerked his gaze to her. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. It’s not that I’m shamed or angry. It’s hard to explain. I mean think for a moment of things you would never do. Think of something so not in line with your personality. Then imagine someone telling you that you did all those things but you can’t remember them. You’d think they’d lost their mind, not that you’d lost yours.”

“Okay, I can understand that. So it’s not that you can’t accept the person you were.”

“I just don’t understand him,” Rafael mused. “Or why.”

“Maybe you took one look at me and decided you had to have me or die,” she said impishly.

He leaned sideways until their mouths were hovering just a breath apart. “Now that I can understand because I find I feel that way around you with increasing frequency.”

She closed the remaining distance between them and found his lips in a gentle kiss. He kissed the bow of her mouth and then each corner in a playful, teasing manner, and every time she felt a thrill down to her toes.

“I have tea, but I can see you’re not that interested,” Mamaw said with a laugh.

Bryony pulled back and turned to see her grandmother standing outside the glass doors holding two tea glasses. “Of course I want your tea. It’s the best in the south.”

“Do I like it?” Rafael asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

Mamaw walked over and handed him a glass. “You sure do, young man. Said it was better than any of that fancy wine you drink in the city.”

He gave her a smile that would have made most women melt on the spot. “Well, then if I said it I must have meant it.” He took the glass and took a cautious sip.

Bryony took her own glass and sent Rafael an amused look. “It isn’t spiked. I promise. You’re looking at it like you expect it to be poisoned.”

He took another sip. “It’s good.”

Mamaw beamed at him as if it were the first time she’d heard the compliment.

“Have a seat, Mamaw. We came to see you, not to be alone.”

Her grandmother pulled up a chair and sat across from Bryony and Rafael. “Bryony tells me you were in a plane crash. That must have been traumatic for you.”

Rafael nodded. “I don’t remember much about the crash. I do have a few memories. Mostly of the aftermath and feeling relief that I was alive. But the rest is a blur. Including the weeks before the crash as I’m sure Bryony has told you.”

Mamaw nodded. “It’s a shame. Bryony was so upset. She was sure you’d pulled a fast one on her and left her alone and pregnant.”

Heat crept up Bryony’s neck. “Mamaw, don’t.”

“No, it’s fine,” Rafael said to Bryony. “I’m sure she has anger toward me just like you did. There’s no need for her to pretend differently.”

Mamaw nodded. “I like a man who’s honest and straightforward. Now that you’re back and are trying to work things out with my granddaughter, I think we’ll get along just fine.”

He smiled. “I hope so, Ms.…” He stopped in midsentence and looked to Bryony for help. “What do I call her? I don’t remember you telling me her name.”

Bryony laughed. “That’s because to everyone she’s just Mamaw.”

Mamaw reached forward and patted Rafael’s leg. “There now, if that makes you uncomfortable, you can call me Laura. Hardly anyone does. Just the mayor because he thinks it’s unseemly for a man of his position to be so familiar with one of his constituents. His malarkey, not mine. He’s a bit of an odd duck, but he’s a decent enough mayor.”

“Laura. It suits you. Pretty name for an equally pretty lady.”

To Bryony’s amusement, her grandmother’s cheeks bloomed with color and for once she didn’t have a ready come back. She just beamed at Rafael like he’d hung the moon.

“Are things okay with you, Mamaw?” Bryony asked. “How have you been feeling and do you need us to get you anything while we’re out?”

“Oh, no, child, I’m good. Silas came by while you were gone and took my grocery list to his nephew. He’s got a job delivering groceries now. Just got his driver’s license and he’s excited to get to be driving everywhere. I keep expecting to hear of him getting into an accident with the way he zips around these roads but so far nothing’s happened and not one of my eggs was broken, so I guess he’s got it under control.”