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"There is no connection point to the main utilities if they do not have access to your parcel to lay the connecting lines and pipes."
"Okay, then why not buy it from me? He had to realize I'd have no idea of its value and be willing to sell."
"As to that, I think we covered it with my first statement."
Cyrus was so caught up in his own machinations, it hadn't occurred to him to simply try to buy the land from her.
"With the development in the offing, that piece of land is worth millions."
"If it will get him to leave me alone once and for all, I'll give it to him and good riddance." Marveling, she looked up into Lysander's handsome features. "I can't believe you figured this all out so quickly."
She was sure Cyrus had done his best to cover his tracks and his motives. Rowan would never have thought to even look into the assets she'd gained in the divorce, happy to leave that to her lawyer and accountant.
"My people are good."
She loved that Lysander didn't feel the need to take all the credit.
"Well, they have an amazingly astute boss."
His smile flashed and then he kissed her. Right there in the middle of the dance floor. And she loved it.
Uncaring of what others at the charity gala thought, Rowan kissed him back.
"You aren't giving that land to my half-brother."
Looking deliciously befuddled from the kiss that left him hard as a rock, it took Rowan a beat to focus and parse Lysander's words.
He waited.
Her brows drew together in a frown. "Why not? Is there something legally binding in the pre-nup that says I can't?"
"No."
"Then, Icangive it to him. You just don't want me to."
"Why wouldyouwant to?" he asked, furious at the thought of Cyrus taking advantage of Rowan like that.
"To get him and my family off of my back?" she asks, like it should be obvious.
"One, you can sell the property to the developer yourself which will quash my brother's interest in reconciliation." If our father's heir was only after the parcel of land. Maybe he had figured out too late what he had in Rowan and now wanted her back. "And two, curtailing Cyrus's interest in you will not stop your parents from blaming you for the breakup."
She sighed, her lips twisting with discontent. "You're right about that. And from a financial viewpoint, your first suggestion makes sense."
"Is there a viewpoint it doesn't make sense from?"
"The one where I don't need Cyrus holding a nasty grudge against me. I escaped my marriage relatively unscathed, but I'm not naïve enough to believe that Cyrus couldn't make my life here untenable if he wanted to."
"I will never allow him to hurt you." He'd been protecting her for ten years. He wasn't about to stop now.
"That's sweet, but eventually, you'll end this thing between us." She grimaced. "Or I will. And when that happens, you won't be standing as a barrier between me and your half-brother. He holds grudges."
"Never does not have an expiration date," he assured her.
He didn't know why it was so important to protect this woman, but it was a course he had committed to years ago.
She was looking at him like she had back at the table. Like he was some kind of hero. He wasn't. He was a ruthless businessman.
Having those pretty blue eyes fixed on him with that expression felt good though. So, he didn't remind her of the darker side of his nature. She'd been unwilling to see it thus far anyway.
