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“Are you insane? I gave up my education, my dreams and the life I knew to follow through on that unholy contract between you and my father.”
“And that contract stipulated a child.”
“It stipulated what was to happen if there was a child, not that one should exist.”
“The expectation was implied.” He shifted on the bed, as if he wanted to move away, but he stayed where he was.
“But not spelled out.”
“Is that how you plan to explain it to my grandfather?”
“Why should I explain it to him?”
“He’s the reason I made that bargain with your father. My grandfather wanted great-grandchildren.”
“And you set about getting them for him in the only way you knew how. Through a business deal.”
“It was the most honest way, at least on my part.”
Wow. He did sanctimonious almost as well as arrogance. “I wasn’t dishonest with you. I never said I wouldn’t use birth control.”
“You never said you would either.”
“You never asked.”
“The contract implied—”
“Right, like you’d allow any supposed implication in a contract dictate your actions in business. You’d do what was best for you and your company and you know it.”
“You are saying you believe not getting pregnant with my child was best for you?” Something moved in the depths of his eyes, but he wasn’t letting it surface enough for her to read what it meant.
“I was twenty, gaga over a man who considered me part of a business deal and resentful of my father’s manipulations and the sacrifices I’d been forced to make for a company that had brought nothing but grief to me and my mother before me.”
“You are in much the same situation now. Why agree to these terms yet again?”
Again, wow. He hadn’t even reacted to her admission that she’d been crazy about him and had as good as implied he knew she still was.
She tugged the sheet higher and looked past him, toward the bedspread piled on the floor, left there the night before when they’d been frantic to get to the bed. “They aren’t the exact same terms, though, are they?”
“You will not use birth control this time.”
“I said I wouldn’t.” That wasn’t the only thing different, but he didn’t need her pointing out the nuances of his proposition.
“Because it was spelled out as part of the deal,” he mocked.
“Precisely.” And he wasn’t going to make her feel bad about her past choices.
She had enough of her own regrets on that count.
“And you will not attend boring business dinners with me.”
“I might … if you ask nicely.”
“You have changed.”
“Having your heart broken will do that to a person.”
“Who broke your heart?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
“Who do you think?” He really had no clue how much she’d loved him.
Because to him, she had been nothing more than part of a business deal. She still was, only one he’d spelled out more precisely.
Something she’d do herself no favors forgetting.
“Are you trying to imply it was me?” he asked with a full measure of disbelief.
“My father had his own fair share of the responsibility in that regard, but yes, you.”
“How did I break your heart?”
“Losing you hurt. A lot.”
“But you walked out.”
Because she’d felt she had no choice. “Because you saw me as nothing more than a business asset.”
“No, I did not. However our marriage came into being, it was a marriage. I treated you with respect and consideration as my wife.” His tone dared her to deny it.
She couldn’t and didn’t want to. If his words hadn’t been true, she wouldn’t be agreeing to this new deal, not even for the sake of the sister she loved so much and hundreds of faceless employees that relied on her family’s company for their livelihood.
He brushed his fingers along the edge of the sheet again, heat filling his azure gaze. “I do not think you can blame me for your broken heart.”
He was right. She was the one who’d walked out. She just hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to do so—and to stay away, or how much she’d been hoping he’d come after her. He finally had, but not in a way she could have expected.
Though she probably should have.
Ariston was no knight in shining armor, seeking the heart of a fair damsel. He was a pragmatic tycoon with his own agenda and unique sense of honor.
“So, the movers are coming tomorrow,” she commented, rather than continuing a discussion that would only lead to revelations she had no desire to make.
