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‘How could you?’ Rosie was on her feet, quivering with outrage as soon as her father was safely out of earshot. ‘You’ve just made huge fools out of us both. Nobody does that ridiculous formal stuff!’
Straddle-legged, he thrust his hands into his trouser pockets, his left eyebrow arching upwards, his slight smile as sultry as his voice. ‘I got him on my side, didn’t I?’
‘So? What good will that do you? I’ve already turned you down.’
‘Why?’ He advanced a pace. Rosie retreated. The palms of her hands itched to slap him.
‘Marry me, Rosie. You know you want to.’ A long stride forward.
He was really close now. She could touch him if she wanted to.
She didn’t. Or only with a heavy brick!
Frozen to the spot by his sheer audacity, she could only fling her head back on her slender neck and treat him to her fiercest glare, impressing, finally, she hoped, her, ‘No!’
‘Why?’
Persistent devil! Those lancet-silver eyes were boring holes right through her. Outrage flowed away as suddenly as it had arisen, leaving her feeling horribly empty. She knew, to her abiding shame, that if he took her in his arms, held her, he would have won. She would take him on any terms at all because life without him would be unbearable.
But she was made of sterner stuff, wasn’t she? Besides, he made no move to touch her, which the weaker part of her regretted very much indeed. But at least it meant she could still fight her corner, give him the answer he was seeking, the reason why any woman on the planet would turn down the catch of the decade!
‘You proposed marriage only because Terrina told you you should. I might fancy you rotten—well, you know that, or should do,’ she mumbled, lowering her head because she was suddenly overcome with shame over how sordid it all seemed.
‘But I won’t marry you just because you think my father will disinherit you and leave everything to me.’
She risked a quick upward glance. His dark brows were knotted irately. Because his true motivations had been pushed under his nose?
Her battered heart twisted violently inside her with pity. How dreadful to be so hooked on money you had to scheme and play dirty to get even more of the stuff. I wouldn’t worry about it too much,’ she offered in wobbly-voiced consolation. ‘Marcus has known and loved you all of your life. He’s only known of my existence for a day and a bit. Besides,’ she added earnestly, because that frown showed no sign of lightening, ‘I’ve already told him I want nothing from him except the right to call him my father.’
‘Rosie—’ A muscle jerked at the side of his tough jawline. His hands shot out to pinion her narrow shoulders. ‘You’ve been talking to Terrina.’
‘A bit,’ she admitted sadly. How strange; she didn’t hate him, after all. She felt so sorry for him she could feel the tears of sympathy well up behind her eyes. Being found out must be hard for a proud man to swallow. ‘She did ask me to get you away from here because she was afraid you were trying to split her and Marcus up. If they married, she said, her husband’s property would go to her and not to you. Though, personally, I think it’s pretty sordid to think of things like that when you’re in love with someone and planning a wedding.’
Groaning something in his own language, Sebastian gave her a melting smile. ‘Querida, you are something else! Not a mean or sneaky bone in that beautiful body or a nasty thought in that lovely head. That was what made me fall in love with you.’
Rosie’s eyes glazed over and her heart bumped around inside her chest. She said sorrowfully, ‘You don’t have to use the “love” word.’ She would have given anything to believe that he meant it, but she couldn’t fool herself. She didn’t want to hurt his pride any more than it already was, but it had to be said.
‘There’s more. I overheard your conversation the night before she left. You told her she had to go. I think you were giving her money. It sounded as if you were blackmailing her. And I heard her telling you to put a ring on my finger to make sure you didn’t lose out on your inheritance. And then you said that was what you intended to do. And I think that’s just horrible!’
‘Ah.’ A speaking silence and then a whirl of activity as he swung a chair round from the table, sat down, and pulled her on to his knee. ‘I had to get rid of her. Not on my account. Marcus is a wealthy man, but my family could buy him out many times over. Besides, I’d far rather have him around than receive anything he might or might not leave in his will! But the Terrinas of this world don’t think like that. She obviously translated her own greedy motives on to me. As far as I was concerned, she could have had everything if she could have made him happy.’
Staunchly fighting the impulse to cuddle closer, lie against him in the haven of the strong arms that were just lightly enclosing her, Rosie demanded, ‘How do you know she wouldn’t have made him happy’?’
A long finger traced the quivering outline of her mouth. Rosie’s insides quivered in sympathy as she quelled the desire to take that same ravaging finger between her lips.
‘Because she lied to him,’ Sebastian spelt out heavily. ‘She wheedled her way into his affections—I had to watch it happen. Telling lies about her desire to have a family when I know for a gold-plated fact that she can never have children.’ His voice roughened in disgust. It’s a small world, Rosie, uncomfortably small sometimes. Terrina was trawling the circuit—doing the rounds of all the “in” places,’ he added by way of explanation, ‘long before she met Marcus on the golf course. A few years ago, a friend of mine had the misfortune to get tangled up with her. He wasn’t husband material—not nearly rich or important enough—but he was useful to take her to places where she could hopefully cast her net to catch bigger fish. She got pregnant. Much to my friend’s distress she went for an abortion. As I’ve said, if he’d been loaded she’d have had the baby, used it as a bargaining chip. But he wasn’t, so the baby had to go. Something went wrong. It left her unable to have children.’
He closed his eyes, and the look that crossed his face wasn’t what Rosie would call comfortable. She touched his face with the cool length of her fingers, her darkened eyes understanding as he turned his head and put a kiss in her palm. I’m not proud of what I had to do. Pay her off. Unfortunately for her, I was one of the few people who knew the truth. I couldn’t stand by and let Marcus be led by the nose. She’d got him believing that she was dying to present him with a nursery full of babies. He might not have loved her, but he did become fond of her because she flattered him and gave him the belief that he had a second chance to have a family of his own.’
‘You did the right thing!’ Rosie was horrified to think how badly that dreadful woman could have hurt and disappointed her father. ‘But,’ she added thoughtfully, ‘she must be a very unhappy woman, so we mustn’t blame her too much.’ She framed his face with loving hands, consoling him. ‘Your mother said Marcus wasn’t upset. He was more relieved than anything when Terrina left him. So you mustn’t worry about having to blackmail her. And maybe she’ll have learned her lesson and one day she’ll meet someone she can love for himself. And if they want children, they could adopt, couldn’t they?’ she queried brightly, already dreaming up a happier future for the woman who could have hurt her father so badly.
Silver eyes narrowed. ‘I can understand you being sorry for Terrina—you’re that sort of woman. But you’re sorry for me, too!’ He sounded as if that happening was utterly outrageous.
‘Yes, of course I am.’ Rosie tilted her blonde head on one side and gave him a small, sorrowful smile. ‘You might be wildly handsome, and huge in the wealth department, but you are only human. And human beings have consciences, and yours is probably uncomfortable
right now, so—’
Silencing whatever she might be coming out with next with a blistering string of Spanish oaths, Sebastian shot to his feet, planting her firmly down in front of him. Then, after a withering silence, he gave her an unreadable look.
