One Night in Buenos Aires: The Vásquez Mistress

‘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.’