certainly revelled in her husband’s luxurious lifestyle, and it would appear as if nothing had changed with his second wife.
As if sensing his intense regard, his sister-in-law turned now and saw him. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. Cruz’s anger spiked. She could still turn it on. Even now. When he knew her real capabilities.
She faced him in that provocative dress and her luscious body filled his vision and made his blood thrum with need. He hated her for it. She moved towards him almost hesitantly, the slippery satin material moving sinuously around her long legs.
He called on every atom of control he had and schooled his body not to respond to her proximity even as her tantalising scent tickled his nostrils, threatening to weaken him all over again. It was all at once innocent, yet seductive. As if he needed reminding that she presented one face to the world while hiding another, far more mercenary one.
‘Trinity.’ His voice sounded unbearably curt to his ears, and he tried to ignore the striking light blue eyes. To ignore how lush her mouth was, adding a distinctly sensual edge to her pale blonde innocence.
An innocence that was skin-deep.
‘Cruz...it’s nice to see you again.’
Her voice was husky, reminding him vividly of how it had sounded in his ear that night. ‘Please...’
His dry tone disguised his banked rage. ‘You’ve come up in the world since we last met.’
She swallowed, the long, delicate column of her pale throat moving. ‘Wh-what do you mean?’
Cruz’s jaw tightened at the faux innocence. ‘I’m talking about your rapid ascent from the position of nanny to wife and stepmother to my nephews.’
That brought back the unwelcome reminder that he’d only been informed about the low-key wedding in a text from Rio.
I have you to thank for sending this beautiful woman into my life. I hope you’ll be very happy for us, brother.
The news had precipitated shock, and something much darker into Cruz’s gut. And yet he hadn’t had any reason at that point not to believe it was a good idea—in spite of his own previous experience with Trinity, which he’d blamed himself for. Rio had been a widower, and he and Trinity had obviously forged a bond based on caring for his nephews. Cruz had believed that she was a million light years away from Rio’s glamorous hedonistic first wife. Then.
The fact that he’d had dreams for weeks afterwards, of being held back and forced to watch a faceless blonde woman making love to countless men, was something that made him burn inwardly with shame even now.
Trinity looked pale. Hesitant. ‘I was looking for you, actually. Could we have a private word?’
Cruz crushed the unwelcome memory and arched a brow. ‘A private word?’
He flicked a glance at the crowd behind her and then looked back to her, wondering what the hell she was up to. Surely she wouldn’t have the gall to try and seduce him under the same roof she had before, with her husband just feet away?
‘We’re private enough here. No one is listening.’
She flushed and then glanced behind her and back, clearly reluctant. ‘Perhaps this isn’t the best time or place...’
So he’d been right. Disgust settled in his belly. ‘Spit it out, Trinity. Unless it’s not talking you’re interested in.’
She blanched, and that delicate flush disappeared. Once her ability to display emotions had intrigued him. Now it incensed him.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know very well what I mean. You tried to seduce me in this very house, and when it didn’t work you transferred your attentions to my brother. He obviously proved to be more susceptible to your wiles.’
She shook her head and frowned, a visibly trembling hand coming up to her chest as if to contain shock, disbelief. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about...’
Disgust filled Cruz that she could stand here and so blatantly lie while her enormous rock of an engagement ring glinted at him mockingly. All he could see was her and her treachery. But he had to crush the recriminations that rose up inside him—it was too late for them now.
Rio had revealed to Cruz on his return to the UK a few days before that he was on the verge of bankruptcy—his huge inheritance all but wiped out. And Trinity De Carrillo’s name was all over nearly every receipt and docket that had led his brother further and further into the mire. The extent of how badly Cruz had misread her was galling.
An insidious thought occurred to him and it made his blood boil. ‘Your innocent act is past its sell-by date. I might not have realised what you were up to—more fool me—but I know now. Rio has told me how you’ve single-handedly run through almost every cent he has to his name in a bid to satisfy your greedy nature. Now you’re realising his fortune isn’t a bottomless pit, perhaps you’re looking for a way out, or even a new benefactor?’
Before she could respond he continued in a low, bitter voice.
‘I underestimated your capacity to play the long game, Trinity. You lulled Rio into a false sense of trust by manipulating his biggest vulnerability—his sons. I’m very well aware of how my actions pushed you in the direction of my brother, and that is not something I will ever forgive myself for. Needless to say if he requires financial help he will receive it, but your days of bankrupting him are over. If you’re hoping to bargain your way out of this predicament then think again. You’ll get no sympathy from me.’
Trinity was so white now Cruz fancied he could see the blood vessels under her skin. A part of him wished she would break out of character and get angry with him for confronting her with who she really was.
Her hand dropped back to her side and she shook her head. ‘You have it all wrong.’
‘That’s the best you can come up with?’ he sneered. ‘I have it all wrong? If I “have it all wrong” then, please, tell me what you want to discuss.’
Cruz could see the pulse at the base of her neck beating hectically. His own pulse-rate doubled.
‘I wanted to talk to you about Rio...about his behaviour. It’s been growing more and more erratic... I’m worried about the boys.’
Cruz let out a short, incredulous laugh. ‘Worried about the boys? You’re really trying to play the concerned stepmother card in a bid to deflect attention from the fact that you’re more concerned about your lavish lifestyle coming to an end?’
Bitterness filled Cruz. He knew better than most how the biological bond of a parent and child didn’t guarantee love and security. Far from it.
‘You’re not even related to them—you’ve just used them as pawns to manipulate your way into my brother’s bed and get a ring on your finger.’
Trinity took a step back, her eyes wide with feigned shock. He had to hand it to her. She was a good actress.
Almost as if she was talking to herself now, she said, ‘I should have known he’d protect himself somehow...of course you’d believe him over me.’
A
