I cannot,’ he said curtly. ‘Even when we were alone you maintained the act of attraction, carried it through to a most satisfying conclusion.’
She paled and a spike of guilt lanced at him. This was the one and only woman he’d wanted to get close to, get to know better, and yet he was emotionally pushing her away, wounding her with his words. It just proved he wasn’t a man who should settle down, who should be given the responsibility of someone’s heart, someone’s deepest emotions. Whether he liked it or not, he was far too much like his father.
‘I despise you, Raul—for everything you have done.’ She pulled herself free of his hold and began to march away.
‘Where are you going, Lydia?’
He watched the sway of her hips in the white jeans that hugged her legs allowing him to see and appreciate her. It also reminded him how it felt to have them wrapped around his body as he’d made her his—even if it was only for the weekend.
She turned and faced him once more, her pretty face set in the firm grip of anger. ‘Nothing would induce me to stay a moment longer in your company, Raul. I’m going back to London—today.’
For the briefest of seconds, he floundered, then control and coldness returned. ‘You agreed we would return together.’
‘I have things to attend to, Raul.’ The ice in her voice chilled him far more than the winter wind that had begun to sweep through the park.
‘What things?’
‘I have dress selections to make.’
‘Ah, but of course, the busy life of a socialite—shopping is your prime concern.’ He couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice as he walked towards her, closing the distance once again. Her green eyes glittered watchfully as he moved closer still. If he reached out now he could stroke the soft skin of her face, slide his finger beneath her chin, lifting it up, and then he would be able to kiss her.
‘That just proves you don’t know me at all.’ Her angry words halted the desire-driven thoughts of kissing her once more.
‘So, what is it you have hidden from me?’ Suspicion slipped over him and he narrowed his eyes as she continued to glare challengingly up at him. ‘Are you still the spoilt girl I first met, concerned only with parties and shopping?’
‘I was almost seventeen, Raul. It’s what teenagers do. Yes, I party sometimes, I’m also often out in London, but it is business, Raul. You of all people should know that necessity.’ A hint of satisfaction spread over her face, forcing her lips to stretch into a smile.
‘And what business would this be?’ Now he was intrigued. He’d always thought there was more to Lydia Carter-Wilson than she allowed people to see, but why had she hidden it from him?
‘I have several successful ladies’ fashion boutiques, one in London and one in Paris. I had thought to open one here in Madrid. I even made a useful contact whilst shopping for the silver dress I wore to the party.’
He couldn’t say anything; his mind had instantly gone back to Friday evening, to dancing so very close with her and then taking her home, where he’d removed the dress.
Lydia continued her self-satisfied attack as he struggled momentarily against the memory of that night. ‘But that would mean running the risk of seeing you again, so I will forget that idea.’
‘And why did you keep this from me as well as your ability to speak my language?’ Finally, he pushed the erotic memory to one side.
‘The truth?’
‘Yes.’
‘You hated me when we first met and it made me think my grandmother’s advice was right—to just be myself.’
His mind raced back to that moment at the dinner party when they’d first met. The way she’d made him feel, the effect her smile had had on him had shocked him and he’d covered it all up with a brusque uninterested manner.
‘So you learnt Spanish and formed a business because of that night?’ Guilt rushed at him.
‘I have worked hard to prove myself, to be my own person, and I was not about to allow my father, or you, to take that from me. As far as I was concerned his debts would be paid by the properties he’d hidden in my name and not my business. Of course now I know it would never have been enough.’
‘And what if marriage had become necessary? What if you hadn’t located my brother?’
‘Then I would have married you, if it meant saving the one thing I’d worked hard for. My life. My independence.’
‘So was this weekend a practice for the honeymoon?’
Fury leapt to her eyes; the smile that had lingered seductively on her lips disappeared. ‘This weekend was a mistake. A very big mistake. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to pack and book a flight to London.’
‘I have planned that we will go on my jet tomorrow.’
‘You are, but I’m going now—alone.’
THE GREY RAIN-FILLED sky of London matched Raul’s mood as he glared out of his hotel window at the skyline, impressive even in this weather. All last night he’d tossed and turned, haunted by the memory of one weekend with a woman who had changed his life far more than he cared to admit. Just as he refused to acknowledge that he missed her, that he hadn’t wanted to let her go.
Yesterday, he’d watched Lydia march off through the park not realising how serious she was about leaving Madrid until they’d returned in silence to his apartment where she’d promptly booked a flight. The temptation to stop her, to try and make her stay, had been almost too much for him—until he’d reminded himself that such ideas were a sign of total weakness. Not only did he not indulge in such emotions, but she was the woman who had kept secrets from him, secrets that had not been hers to keep.
She’d packed, left and within an hour he had been alone. Silence had hung heavy around him as he’d brooded over their weekend, his rational thoughts accepting it had been exactly as she’d claimed. A mistake. For both of them. He’d allowed her to get close, expose depths of his emotions he’d never intended to be shown, only to find she was as manipulative and cold as him. Hell, what else had she lied about? Had all that talk of her family, her childhood been to lull him into a false sense of security whilst she dug deeper into his past?
With an angry growl he turned away from the view of London, feeling more like a caged animal. Coffee and distraction were what he needed right now. He had to focus his mind, put Lydia totally out of it. He had to forget her. Especially today. He was to meet his brother, the son his father had truly wanted. With a feral oath slipping from him, he left the luxurious hotel suite, intent on seeking the company of unknown businessmen at breakfast and the normality that had left his life the moment Lydia had entered it.
The aroma of strong coffee focused his mind as he sat at breakfast, although food was the last thing he wanted. The bitterness of the black liquid spiked his senses, bringing the controlled man he’d become back into play. Exactly what he needed to be, today of all days. He couldn’t
