been born into it.
‘I still don’t understand why that means I have to dress like a doll.’
‘You don’t have to “dress like a doll”,’ he said, his jaws clamping together. ‘I really don’t understand what the problem is. You loved dressing up when we lived together before.’
He remembered the light in her eyes after that first shopping trip with Marta and their personal shopper and Charley’s bursts of laughter as she’d carefully taken each item out of its box for him to look at and comment on. Her happiness hadn’t been fake, of that he was certain.
The corners of her lips curved into a whimsical smile, the closest thing to a real smile he’d seen all week, although there was nothing happy about it.
‘I did at first, yes. But what twenty-year-old wouldn’t love being let loose in one of the most exclusive shopping arcades in Europe with an unlimited credit card?’
‘So you admit, you did marry me for my money?’
She shook her head, her blonde hair brushing over her shoulders. ‘I won’t lie; your wealth turned my head. Your whole lifestyle did. But I would have married you if you’d lived in a shack.’
He laughed humourlessly. ‘It is lucky your nose is not like Pinocchio’s or it would be sprouting leaves as we speak.’
Her eyes held his. ‘If I’m such a gold-digger, why did I walk away and leave it all behind?’
‘You left with ten million euros.’
‘Money I never asked for,’ she pointed out. ‘And you know as well as I do I could have asked for a whole lot more.’
‘And you know as well as I do that until our divorce is final, you still can.’ He reached out a hand and traced a finger down her cheek, not liking the disquiet prodding at him.
She was right. She hadn’t asked for his money. He’d given it freely.
Nor had she asked for the credit cards and everything else he’d given her when he’d wanted nothing more than to see that smile from her first shopping trip replicated.
None of that mattered any more. The only smile he wanted to see on her face now was the smile of pleasure.
One more night of sleeping on his own and she would be his again.
‘It is hardly coincidence that you returned to my life when the money had almost run out,’ he pointed out.
She made to speak but he cut her off by rubbing his thumb over her lips. ‘If you play your cards right over the next four months, you will find my generosity knows no limits. Play your cards right and I will give you so much money it would take you a lifetime to spend it.’
She slapped his hand away, angry colour heightening her cheeks. ‘Once the centre has been redeveloped, the only thing I will want from you is my freedom.’
‘Your freedom will be guaranteed.’ Unable to resist dropping his face into her neck and inhaling that musky vanilla scent that turned him on so much, he added, ‘And so will mine.’
CHARLEY WAS OUT of the centre before Raul’s watch registered her being even one minute late. She hurried to the car, her excitement tangible. She’d been the same that morning, unable to keep still for a second, downing coffee as if it were going out of fashion but unable to eat a morsel of the eggs his chef had cooked for them.
She pulled the passenger door open. ‘Is it done?’
‘Yes.’
She punched the air. ‘Thank God.’
‘You’re welcome. But Raul will suffice.’
She pulled a face at him and laughed. ‘Right now, I’m so happy and grateful I’ll call you anything you like.’
He bit back the quip forming on his tongue, not wanting to break the moment. Seeing the delight on her face lightened his blood.
It had been a long time since he’d seen that smile.
A skinny, balding man poked his head out of the building. Abandoning Raul, Charley hurried over to him, hurled her arms around his waist and kissed his cheek. The man disappeared back inside with a beaming grin of his own.
She rushed back to the car, jumped in, shut the door without slamming it and yanked out the band holding her hair in a ponytail. Tidying her hair with her fingers, she looked at him, her eyes bright with excitement.
‘Who was that?’ he asked in as nonchalant a voice as he could muster. Watching his wife throw her arms around another man had felt...disturbing, like having pins stuck into his flesh.
For the first time, he confronted the possibility that there had been another man in her life since they’d parted.
Two years was a long time to be alone.
‘Seve—he runs the centre. He’ll be sharing the good news with the others.’ Charley’s happiness was so infectious even the car seemed to react to it, an upbeat song playing out from the radio.
But what was she so happy about? Raul’s purchase of the building? Or the fact she’d spent most of the day with Seve?
‘I hope they enjoy the moment.’ He killed the radio and put the car into gear. It was only three p.m.; if traffic was kind, they could be back in Barcelona within a couple of hours. His helicopter pilot was primed for take-off.
‘I’m sure they’ll celebrate all night.’
‘Do you wish you were celebrating with them?’
‘I would love to.’ The longing was clear in her voice.
If she was hoping he’d relent and let her stay in Valencia for the night, she was doomed to disappointment. They’d made a deal. From this moment on, Charley was his.
‘This Seve, he is a good friend of yours?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is that all he is to you? A friend?’
She twisted in her seat to stare at him. ‘Are you trying to find out if Seve and I are lovers?’
‘Are you?’
‘He’s married.’
‘And so are you.’
Her cheeks tightened. ‘I wouldn’t be if you’d signed the divorce papers when you’d first got them, but even if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t mess about with a married man.’
‘And what about single men? Have you “messed about” with many of them since you left?’
She was silent for a moment before answering, her voice as taut as her
