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Santiago was excellent company. Interesting, funny and undemanding, but a portion of her brain was ticking over the depth of Guy’s hatred for her. The way he made it obvious, at every opportunity he got, that he resented her being there.
So why had he asked her to come? Surely he could have paid an actual actress, someone who would have played the part and then disappeared into her bedroom once they were back on the yacht? Why Addie, whom he would obviously never forgive?
Unless, deep down, he couldn’t forget what they’d shared? Unless there was a part of him that wanted to rekindle their affair? A small part, if his behavior was anything to go on, but was that enough?
It was sex and lies. His statement, his condemnation, sent a shiver down her spine.
“Are you okay?” Santiago, as attentive and observant as his grandson, turned to face her.
“Someone must have walked over my grave,” she said with a shrug, as though it didn’t matter. As though Guy’s coldness hadn’t chilled her to the bone.
Except, it wasn’t coldness.
Guy was motivated by passion. A deep, searing passion that was full of fire and flame. There was nothing cold about his anger.
“You make him happy?”
She noted that it was a question, rather than an observation. Addie needed to bring her acting A-game, but she was rattled. Understandably so. The argument with Guy had stretched overnight and she had no idea what to do next. The foolish hopes she’d had for this week lay in tatters about her.
“I hope so,” she said, shifting a little, pulling her sunglasses down so at least her expressive eyes wouldn’t give her away.
“He’s a good man, my grandson. But he is useless with his heart,” Santiago sighed heavily. “I suspect you know this, though.”
Addie’s own heart was rabbiting so loudly against her ribcage that she felt like Santiago must surely be able to hear it.
“The business with Maria hurt him, you know?”
Confusion held her silent.
“It was very hard for him to trust. For many years I thought he would never let another woman get close to him,” he sighed heavily. “It is a pleasure to discover I was wrong.”
Who was Maria? And what had she done to Guy?
She tried to cast back through her memory for snatches of conversation that might shed a little light – and she drew a blank. Guy had never spoken of anyone named Maria.
“He doesn’t know I know,” Santiago said, after another minute. “I understand why that is. He had to keep the relationship a secret. His mother would have a heart attack.” Santiago lifted his brows heavenward, and more questions fired inside of Addie.
“How did you find out?” She prompted, really just to buy for time.
“It’s impossible to keep any secrets from me.” He laughed, a crackly sound that boomed across the ocean. The boat was moving, but not at high speed, allowing for a leisurely inspection of the island as they went.
“I’m sure,” Addie nodded with the appearance of calm, but anxiety was spreading along her spine, forming a bundle of nerves at the base of her neck. She had no trouble believing Santiago would be a tough nut to fool and yet they were doing just that, weren’t they?
“There could have been a scandal,” he said after a moment. “I made sure there wasn’t.”
Addie frowned. She couldn’t imagine Guy needing anyone to clean up his mess – whatever mess that was.
“Anyway, it was a long time ago,” Santiago smiled, his eyes appraising Addie’s face – or what he could see of it beneath the sunglasses. “I haven’t seen him happy with a woman in many years. Perhaps not ever. And I like you.”
Warmth spread through Addie and for the briefest, most illicit moment, she allowed herself to imagine this was real. To imagine that she was meeting Santiago as a genuine girlfriend. As she’d been six months ago.
Her heart stuttered at the very idea.
“I like you, too,” she murmured thickly.
She bit down on her lip, her eyes scanning the horizon. She needed to speak to Guy, only now, the backlog of questions she had seemed to be tying her up in knots, so that she couldn’t see the forest for the trees. How could she force him to speak to her, to explain to her, what she needed to know? How could she get him to listen?
*
