Lydia. You have nothing to fear from being here with me.’ The brusqueness of his voice backed up his words and she tried not to be disappointed as a small reckless part of her wanted him to kiss her again—and much more. She pushed that woman aside. She had to remain strong and as detached as he evidently was. It was the only way.
‘So we are here purely to see your mother?’
‘Sí. Did you think I had ulterior motives for bringing you here?’ Raul’s dark eyes fixed her to the spot, but the haughty façade she lived behind served her well.
‘Only to increase your wealth.’
He stepped towards her, but she stood firm, retained her cool composure. ‘All I want, Lydia, is for you to find my brother. Then I can secure the future of the company by settling the extortionate debts your father has run up and move forward in my life.’
Before she could register his words, he turned and walked towards the door of the villa. Deep within her, hidden expertly away, she trembled with shock. It might be her father’s debts he wanted repaid, but he’d just confirmed he was no better than either his father or hers. This was all about greed.
He opened the door and stepped back for her to enter the villa, which was not at all what she’d expected of this hard and dominating businessman. This was more like a home. It was comfortable and welcoming, not a sleek modern angle in sight. It was the kind of place she would choose, the kind of place to finally put down roots.
Her early years had been spent moving from one house to the next. She’d never had time to settle, time to make friends before the family was on the move again. Then, if that wasn’t unsettling enough, her mother had left her with her father. Luckily her grandmother had stepped in and her father had been all too ready to allow her to live with her grandmother, the only time she’d felt she belonged.
She pushed away that yearning need to make a place a home, to actually belong somewhere, and focused her attention on the reason for being here in the first place. To ensure her grandmother didn’t find out just how low her own son had sunk.
‘Then I suggest the sooner I can speak with your mother, the better. Time is ticking away and as I have no intention at all of marrying you in three weeks’ time I want my father’s debt settled.’ She tried to hide her see-sawing emotions and appear as calm as he was, watching as he moved around the villa, looking out of place in his smart suit. The ruthless businessman she’d come to know didn’t fit here at all.
‘You will not ask her anything directly.’ Raul’s firm voice snapped in the air around them like the first clap of thunder as a storm broke.
‘Then how am I supposed to fulfil my part of the deal?’ What was he trying to hide or, more to the point, what didn’t he want her to know?
‘My parents’ marriage was an arranged one and even as a young child I sensed the undercurrent of dislike between her and my father. They barely tolerated one another.’ Each word was emotionless and matter-of-fact. Exactly how she would describe her childhood and attempt to hide the hurt emotions of the child that still remained. Was Raul hurting too? Could it be that he was more capable of emotions than he wanted her to believe?
‘That is a scenario I am familiar with.’ She dropped the words in casually as she looked around the villa, liking it more with each passing second.
He looked at her as he walked across the room and opened doors to the terrace, the cool air of winter rushing in, fresh and stimulating. When his eyes met hers seconds later, that mask of indifference was well and truly in place. ‘My father led a double life, Lydia. For eight years he had two families.’
When she didn’t speak he continued, ‘I was sent to boarding school from a very young age and never knew family life. When I came home it was to hostilities and stand-offs. Then one day he was gone. So although I assume my mother knows all about the affairs my father had after that, as well as the mistress he’d lived with and had a family with alongside ours, I would rather she didn’t have to face it head-on.’
‘Fine,’ she said as she watched him, tall and powerful against the backdrop of the rural room of the villa. ‘I will find a way to enquire about Max without being too obvious.’
‘You will also leave her in no doubt that we are lovers. I don’t want her to find out what my father has done—ever.’
‘Why did he do it? Set the terms of his will like that?’
‘He obviously thought I was like him and that I would not tolerate sharing the success of the business with anyone. I suspect he thought I would find an enforced marriage more preferable.’ The bitterness in his voice was clear, but deep down she didn’t believe he was like that.
He looked at her, his eyes locking with hers for a moment, then walked out through the open doors onto a terrace that boasted a pool, covered now for the colder winter months, and, beyond that, stunning views of the countryside.
She watched as he walked across the terrace, saw the tension in his shoulders when he stood with his back to her, rigid and upright; sympathy filled her. She knew what it was like to grow up in a home where parents didn’t even know the meaning of the word marriage, let alone love. Such an upbringing had made her yearn for love and happiness, a desire that had led to one disastrous relationship and now this, a fake engagement. Would she ever find love? Did it really exist?
‘Won’t it hurt your mother more when she finds out our relationship is fake?’ She walked out onto the terrace, the chill of the afternoon making her shiver. Or was it the coldness coming from the man who’d kissed her so passionately she’d nearly gone up in flames?
‘That is a risk I am prepared to take.’ He turned to face her, the set of his jaw hard and angular. ‘I’d rather she thinks my engagement failed when we go back to our lives than learn the full extent of my father’s deceit and treachery.’
‘As you wish.’
‘It goes without saying that whatever you discover must never become common knowledge, something which you agreed to adhere to in the contract.’ He turned to face her, hard lines of worry on his brow. He still didn’t trust her, even though she was doing this to clear her name and her father’s debts.
‘You don’t trust me at all, do you?’
‘I never trust anyone, Lydia. Trust is like love—an empty word that people pretend to believe in.’
‘Do you really believe that?’ She couldn’t believe the venom of his words.
‘I do, but I have no wish to discuss it.’ He walked from the room and she knew he meant it; the discussion was over. She only hoped his mother was easier to talk to. The sooner she found out the name his brother might be using, the sooner she could walk away from Raul and his unyielding presence.
* * *
By the time they had finished the meal with his mother later that evening, Raul was beginning to think that maybe he could trust Lydia. For the entire evening she’d put on a brilliant show of being his fiancée. She’d acted to perfection the part of a woman who loved him and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. She’d even convinced his mother that their chance meeting just a short while ago was lovers’ fate as she’d excitedly shown her the engagement ring.
‘I never thought I would see the day my son fell in love.’ His mother’s words, said in heavily accented English.
