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Chris continued. “Should either Rex or Carmen decide to sell their share, I hope one of them will be able to keep the place going. It’s been our family home for centuries.” He paused and looked up, taking off his glasses for a moment. “Your father did not make this a condition of the will, however. It was a wish, not an instruction.”
Rex spoke then. “I’m sure Carmen and I can come to a mutually satisfying arrangement.”
It was time to make her move. “I’m ready to buy you out.”
She meshed her fingers together as she stated her intention.
Rex stared down at her hands before he responded. “We can share the playground, can’t we?”
Playground? That remark was typical of Rex Carruthers. Her skin prickled. “You’ve got no interest in the house. You haven’t even been back there in years—”
“True,” Rex interrupted, with a smile. “There was nothing to draw me back. Not until now…now you’re going to be there. Things could get interesting.”
Don’t let him mess with your head, she told herself.
It was second nature to him, teasing her. Well, she wasn’t a gauche teenager any more. She cleared her throat. Luckily she’d been over her proposal and his potential responses several times and the words were in her head. “You’ve got your business to oversee, why would you want to be in Burlington Manor now?”
He lifted his eyebrows, staring at her pointedly.
Damn him. Flirting with women was a game to him. As teenagers he liked to see her in a state, but then he’d go off with some other girl, leaving her squirming. How was it he could still do this to her? She was a grown woman and she’d quelled all her foolish desires for this man long ago.
He appeared to be amused by the set up. “We have to share. Would it be so hard?”
“Not at all,” she retorted. “It’s a big house. But we both know you don’t really want it, this is just a game to you.”
Rex gave a faux pained gesture, putting his fist to his chest above his heart. “It hurts you think so poorly of me.”
Her cheeks flamed. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She found herself silently begging for him to be reasonable and to move on, but he kept looking at her as if she was on the menu for dinner and he was considering how to cook and serve her up. Unable to stop herself, she glanced down at her clothing and adjusted the shirt so the line of the buttons was straight.
“I’m not willing to discuss terms right now,” Rex said. “We can talk about it when we’re at the manor together.”
Carmen felt increasingly light-headed when forced to consider what it would be like being alone with him at Burlington Manor. One look at the nonchalant posture of his attractive masculine body had her pulse racing, a nagging ache at her core reminding her she was a woman and she had needs. Dear god in heaven, how was he able to do this to her? I still want him. She couldn’t trust herself.
She crossed her leg higher on the thigh, attempting to quell the arousal there.
His gaze followed the movement, and his mouth gave a gentle twitch, as if he was restraining an idle remark. When their eyes met, electricity traversed the space between them. His handsome mouth sloped into an insinuating smile.
He wasn’t prepared to follow the norms like everybody else. She tore her gaze away. Well, she wasn’t going to sit there and let him make fun of her when she knew he had no intention of living in the house. He didn’t want it, never had. She should have let her lawyer negotiate with his. Annoyed, she rose to her feet, glancing at her watch. “Chris, do you need me for any other part of this?”
Chris frowned. “I can email you details of the transfer procedures. If you have any questions, get i
n touch.”
“Thank you.” She walked out of the office as quickly as she could, out the door and down the steps, heading across the pavement to where her Mini was parked on the street.
Rex was hot on her tail. He was determined.
Opening her bag, she snatched her keys. He reached out and clasped her wrist, drawing her to a sharp halt as she reached the car door.
“Come now,” he said, “we haven’t even started negotiations.”
She huffed a laugh. “Oh, so you’re willing to negotiate, now I’m walking away?”
“I didn’t want to air all my private thoughts in front of the family solicitor.”
He traced his finger along her jaw, setting her nerves tingling. “I’m looking forward to us spending some quality time together, Carmen.”
