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“Do you follow politics?” he said, surprised.
“Not at all. But generally if you just start the ball rolling, the other person’s happy to take it and run. At that point, all you have to do is make sympathetic noises.” She rubbed the back of her neck and yawned again. “I’m exhausted. This must be what it’s like to act in a play all night. The role of trophy wife.”
“You closed a multi-million-dollar deal, Belle.”
She frowned. “What?”
“The McVoys...”
She brightened. “Oh, the guys from Calgary? They were hilarious. They were talking about this action movie they saw last night, with that Spanish movie star, you know, the famous one...” She rolled her eyes. “I think they have a crush on her. She’s married to some kind of prince already, but I told the guys it never hurts to dream.” She gave a sudden grin. “Movie stars get married and divorced dozens of times, don’t they? And you never know. She might decide what she really wants next is a middle-aged Canadian with hockey skills.”
Santiago’s body felt like ice. He cleared his throat. “I’ve been negotiating with the McVoys for weeks, trying to buy their company.” His voice was still a little hoarse. He forced his lips into a smile. “They just agreed to the deal only because of you.”
“Me?” she said, astonished.
“They said any man you love couldn’t be all bad.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks went red as she said quickly, “I never told them I loved you.”
“I guess they just assumed, since we’re getting married and all,” he said dryly. “Turn around.” Reaching out, he started massaging the back of her neck, her shoulders, brushing back the dark tendrils of her hair. As she leaned against his hands, he breathed in the scent of her, like vanilla and orange blossoms.
She leaned back, looking at him over her shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”
“You’ll ask it, whether I say yes or no.”
“You’re right.” She flashed him a sudden grin, then grew serious. “What turned you against the idea of love?”
His hands stilled on her shoulders.
“I told you about my parents.”
“That wasn’t all, was it? There was something else. Someone else.” She took a deep breath, and raised her eyes pleadingly to his. “You know about my sad romantic history, but I know nothing about yours....”
“You’re right,” he said slowly. “There was a woman.”
Belle sat up straight. He saw that he had her full attention. He wasn’t sure why he was telling her this. He’d never spoken about it to anyone.
“When I was a teenager, I met a girl in the orphanage. She was blonde, beautiful, with violet eyes...” He tensed, remembering how he’d felt about her as a boy. “She was older than me. Street-smart. Brave. We both had such big dreams about the future. We were both going to conquer the world.” He gave a humorless smile. “At fourteen, I asked her to marry me. She told me to ask her again after I proved myself. So I did.”
“How?”
“I earned a billion-dollar fortune. For her.”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
Santiago turned away, his jaw tight. “It took me sixteen years, but when my company went public five years ago, I went to Spain with a huge diamond ring.”
His eyes fell unwillingly to Belle’s left hand, but fortunately she didn’t notice. Sitting across from him on the bed, she was staring at him with wide eyes.
“What happened?” she breathed.
His lips twisted at the edges. “I came too late. She wanted more than I could give her. She’d just gotten engaged to my brother.”
Her expression changed to horror. “Your brother?”
He gave a crooked half grin. “She told me that she’d been attracted to Otilio in part because he reminded her of me. An upgraded version of me.” His voice held no emotion. He’d had a lot of practice at showing none. Feeling none. “I couldn’t even begrudge her choice. Marrying into the official Zoya family meant she would not be merely rich, but famous and powerful across Europe, and someday, after my father is dead, a duchess.”
“Of all men on earth—your brother!”
