CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
B ACK IN L ONDON , Elodie was touched by Ramon’s kindness towards Ashleigh. He put a chauffeur and car at her disposal, inquired about her favourite food, arranged tours of tertiary options and offered every possible comfort, giving her freedom, security, funding. He was unquestioningly generous. Elodie returned to work, energised by the astonishing reality that she owned not just the business but the whole building.
Bethan pounced on her the second she walked in, wanting to know all. Her friend was an incurable romantic, but Elodie couldn’t open up to her about Ramon. Their deal was confidential and besides, he was far more complicated than she’d first thought. His arrogance was partly a protective facade. He’d been hurt—his father’s infidelity, his mother’s heartbreak and the burdens that had been put on him. No wonder he kept those who remained at a distance when he’d been let down by the people who should have protected him. She understood how that felt. Her father hadn’t truly cared for her, while Callum had been full of it. He’d told her he loved her, that he would stand up for her, that he’d be patient. But the Elodie he’d wanted had been a figment of his imagination—one he’d got fixated on. He’d wanted little more than a decorative accompaniment and in the end he’d tried to dictate her life every bit as much as her father had.
She almost wished she could tell Ramon the truth about her break-up with Callum, but he had enough on his plate. She was already testing his generosity by having Ashleigh to stay. And would he even be interested? This was only a temporary agreement—all physical, not emotional. The only sort of affair he ever had and the kind he thought she had all the time too. If she told him she actually didn’t, then he might wonder why she’d agreed to their fake wedding so easily in the first place. Might worry she wouldn’t be able to really handle it—that she was somehow more vulnerable because of her inexperience. He was arrogant enough to think she’d catch feelings for him and she knew he’d run from that in a flash.
And the thing was, she didn’t want things to change at all from how they were now. She relished this—night after night of banter, their verbal jousting, the foreplay before they made intensely physical demands of each other. So she’d keep quiet. She’d make the most of it while it lasted. Because it was going to end.
A few nights later Ramon returned home so late Elodie was already in bed, reading. She caught the moodiness in his eyes. ‘Something wrong?’
‘I have to travel tomorrow.’
‘I thought you liked travelling.’
‘I also like sleeping with you.’
She felt a shiver of risk but couldn’t resist. ‘You don’t see a solution?’
‘I see a very obvious one.’ He sat on the edge of the bed beside her with a wry smile. ‘The question is whether you’re willing to endure more time in an airplane?’
Pleasure washed through her but she didn’t want to give away her complete excitement at the prospect of accompanying him. ‘How long?’
‘We’d be away about ten days. A whirlwind visit of a few of our hotels. I need to check in on them.’ He took the book from her and set it on the bedside table. ‘You could check out all the escape rooms in the cities, call it a research trip.’
She couldn’t answer. Her heart was beating too fast. She wanted to say yes too much, too easily—wanted time with him—more than she should when this was only supposed to be temporary . Which was exactly why she couldn’t deny herself.
‘Bethan did a good job of running the place last week.’ He stroked a strand of her hair and made that heat lick through her. ‘Ashleigh might want to help her out on the front of house—would be something to occupy her while she works out which course she wants to enrol in. She could invite a friend to stay here, an assistant could move in too—she wouldn’t need to be lonely. You’ll call her lots. She’ll be safe.’
‘Are you managing my business for me?’ she teased breathlessly.
‘Your business is my business.’ His finger traced down her neck and drew a little circle in that space between her collarbones.
Right now—for now—he wanted her to come with him and she couldn’t say no.
‘Mi casa es su casa.’ His finger dipped lower, a direct line down between her breasts.
What’s yours is mine . He had all the expressions and used them well. She reminded herself again that this was merely banter, just the light tease that they’d fallen into so easily from the start. But buried in a secret chamber deep in her heart was the burgeoning wish that he actually meant it.
‘You should pack your bikini.’ His eyes twinkled as he played his trump card and took a side detour to her straining nipple.
Elodie grabbed hold of his marauding hand and tugged him down to the bed with her. ‘You mean you’re finally letting me loose on a beach?’
The next morning—having laughed at Ashleigh’s wholehearted reassurance that she was living her best life ever and Elodie could definitely please go —Elodie was surprised to see an additional twelve or so people board his plane with them. Personal assistants, alternate bodyguards and business analysts, apparently. All of whom were top-level Fernandez employees.
Seated in the private front cabin with Ramon, Elodie was fascinated to watch their interactions with him throughout the flight. They came solo or in small groups for short, sharply efficient meetings. Unfailingly professional, they offered Elodie a polite smile before briefing Ramon on various issues with laser-like focus. Unlike her father, Ramon actively listened, in fact he demanded intelligent input and robust debate before issuing instructions. There was no personal chat before the employees then headed to the rear cabin to work on Ramon’s directive. Elodie thought they seemed nice, but none were actually friendly with him. Not even the loyal Piotr seemed to have that status.
It struck her as somewhat sad. Ramon was surrounded by all these people who shielded him from everyone else. Yet they were distant from him themselves. Was it just so he could focus on work—as if he was some high-performance professional? Really, she increasingly thought he was a man who had only half a life. Ramon would laugh at her if she suggested it. He thought he had it so very together— he loved his work and he had everything he wanted.
But maybe he didn’t have all he really needed .
Paris, France
‘Are you going to spend all my money at the shops?’ Ramon knew she wouldn’t, he just couldn’t resist provoking her.
‘Every. Cent.’
‘Liar,’ he mocked.
‘Enjoy your meetings.’ She blew him a kiss and sauntered out the door.
Indeed, the only money she spent was entrance fees to various galleries, museums, attractions for her and the bodyguard he’d insisted accompany her. She filled her day happily—returning late in the evening with shining eyes. But he’d paced the hotel room, impatient for her return, concentration shot. He hadn’t seen half the galleries she mentioned. Didn’t like missing out. So the next morning he pushed out a meeting so he could go with her to an escape room, which took far too long given both of them were useless, with only basic school-level French.
Then he took her back to the hotel and endured meetings that went on far too long. He raced back to their suite the second he could. She was working on a puzzle on the sofa. He couldn’t resist sinking beside her and sliding his hand into her pants—he’d been dreaming of that all afternoon. Her little moan was magic and he leaned in to steal the kiss he probably should have started with. He slowed down, teased her, making her come before he lifted her to ride him. Her hair was a tangled mess of fire, curtaining them both in an insanely hot world until their orgasms tore through them and they tumbled into a heap of limbs.
‘Bed,’ he murmured sleepily. ‘We have an early flight tomorrow.’
Rome, Italy
‘Come on, let’s go out for dessert.’ Ramon hauled her to her feet when he got back to the suite after another day of long meetings. But he was challenging himself to delay their dive into bed and now, knowing Elodie had a weakness for ice cream, he had the urge to please her in a way outside of the bedroom.
‘You’re actually going to have something?’ she marvelled.
Walking in the warm evening, her joyous appreciation of the architecture made him smile. Then the gelato bar had her drooling, but she frowned when he didn’t order one for himself.
‘I thought you were going to have something sweet?’ She licked her rapidly melting treat.
‘I am.’ He leaned close and licked her lips. ‘Very sweet.’
It was disarmingly easy to flirt with her. Her blushing responses were growing more adorable—indeed her shyness seemed to be growing, which was the oddest thing. She didn’t always pin him with that fearless gaze. Often times now her glance skittered away as if she couldn’t bear to look at him too long. Naturally that only made him tease her more.
Vis, Croatia
‘You promised a beach .’ She looked at him balefully.
‘I’m told it’s a beautiful beach,’ he assured her firmly. ‘We just have to jump down to get to it.’
‘Jump off a cliff .’ She shuddered. ‘Have you not been down there?’
He shook his head. ‘One of my army of assistants recommended it.’
She’d teased him about the number of people in the back of the plane that they’d barely seen in the last two days—because he’d been avoiding work on a scale utterly unlike him. But now she knew the extent of his assistants and bodyguards and it seemed she wasn’t so much impressed as amused.
With a sigh Elodie swept her hair up into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic. He couldn’t resist running his hand down the length of it.
‘Not so bad tied up?’ She turned her head archly.
‘You. Tied up. Yeah, definitely not so bad,’ he drawled.
Colour whipped into her cheeks, but his laugh became a cough when she shed her shorts and tee.
‘Scarlet bikini?’ he gasped.
Scarlet and skimpy and she was going to give him a heart attack.
‘People tend to stare at me so I might as well give them something to really look at.’
‘Why do you think they stare?’
‘I think it’s the red hair.’ She shook her ponytail ruefully. ‘Loud and out of control. I guess they think I’m like that as well.’
‘I think you’re very in control. Most of the time.’ He winked at her. ‘I think you give people what they expect. You play up to it.’ Her past had hurt her, so she’d toughened up. He didn’t blame her in the least. ‘What’s real and what’s the armour, Elodie?’ He jerked his head towards the cliffs. ‘How brave are you really?’
‘You like to challenge me,’ she muttered.
‘I like seeing you enjoy yourself.’ He held out his hand. ‘Do it with me.’
She held his hand painfully tightly. He gripped hers as hard back and grinned. Twelve long seconds later they surfaced.
‘My bikini slipped.’ She giggled as she grabbed her top before it could float away and eyed him accusingly. ‘Which is what you wanted!’
Buenos Aires, Argentina
‘You really like dancing,’ Ramon murmured.
She’d been entranced by the tango display but now the performance was over and the club’s resident DJ had taken to the decks. Revellers were crowding the floor and Ramon ached.
‘Yes, I do.’ Elodie sipped her drink and nodded. ‘No lie. It’s liberating. I like being alone in a crowd but knowing we’re all feeling the same beat. It’s the safest place to express myself. It’s sexy.’
She was sexy.
‘Go on then,’ he dared her huskily.
She disappeared into the crowd but soon enough he spotted her in the middle of the crowd. She had such sensual physicality—in tune with her body, dancing unconditionally, unreservedly, and he could only stare. But eventually she came over, the tease obvious in her eyes.
‘You only like to watch?’
Her cheeks were flushed and there was a sheen to her satiny skin and how could he resist?
‘You like to challenge me,’ he growled, echoing her words from the other day.
She smiled. Remembering. He’d known she would.
‘I like seeing you enjoy yourself.’ She held out her hand. ‘Do it with me.’
Which is how Ramon, who hadn’t gone dancing in more than a decade, found himself in the middle of a packed-out club floor. Liberated and laughing. Until he wasn’t laughing and he could hear nothing but the music, feel nothing but the beat and the heat—driving him to move closer to her. It was more than two hours later before they made it back to the hotel. To a cool shower. Then long moments more—dancing of a different kind.
‘Is this liberating?’ he breathed as he buried deep inside her. ‘Sexy?’
‘Si,’ she sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘Look, fluent in my first language already.’
Somewhere over the Atlantic
The less than two-week trip had spilled into three when Ramon extended the trip in South America, purely because she’d never been there before and he’d been enjoying her wide-eyed enthusiasm. But there could be no more prevaricating, he had to fly back to London. Duty called. But he sprawled next to her on the wide sofa, his safety belt loosely fastened in his lap. He ought to be working but simply didn’t. It wasn’t that he was too tired, he was too relaxed . A very different thing.
He idly watched her scribble in the spiral bound notebook that had been new at the beginning of this trip. It was fat now—filled with ideas, pictures, postcards. She was industrious and if that small smile on her face was to be believed, happy. So, he realised with a warmth unlike any other, was he. They were both quiet—no drama between them, no playful banter even. Just peace . She sketched and he watched, oddly content when he was effectively being the laziest he’d ever been in his life—letting his mind rest.
But his mind never really rested. Being back in London meant work would ramp up. And other responsibilities were pressing.
‘It’s the annual Fernandez Family Foundation gala tomorrow night.’ He finally admitted the event that was forcing their return. ‘It’s a good opportunity to introduce you to the rest of them.’
She stopped sketching. ‘Surely I’m not sticking around long enough to need introductions to everyone.’
He tensed. Not around long enough? What did she mean by that?
She avoided meeting his gaze. ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate.’
Well, that was ridiculous. ‘You’re not that much of a provocateur, Elodie,’ he said dryly. ‘So you’ve been to a few nightclubs? You’ve not got any kind of criminal record. How awful for a young person to have had some fun in her life. If they’re going to judge you for that then they need to take a long look in the mirror.’
‘I thought I was a gold-digger. Only with you for money. I don’t have a heart.’
‘That’s why you offered yourself as a replacement bride for your younger sister,’ he drawled. ‘The one with a missing heart is me.’
‘But if you have no heart, why did you accept my offer?’
‘Because I’m greedy.’
‘You’re paying . You’re the one losing.’
‘It’s not money I’m greedy for.’
She sat back. ‘You could get sex anytime you want.’
Yeah, but it wasn’t sex he was talking about. Not entirely. Not anymore. And even if it was, he didn’t want that with anyone else either. He wasn’t going without her and he suddenly didn’t know what to say. Because none of this he was willing to admit when she was only using him for hot sex. Right?
‘I thought I was supposed to be their worst nightmare,’ she added in his silence.
Defensiveness—protectiveness of her—rose in an unstoppable wave.
‘Because you’re not afraid to call out bullshit when you see it,’ he snapped. ‘Not because you might have partied hard when you finally got your personal freedom. I would’ve done the same if I’d been stifled by my family my whole life.’ He shook his head at the stupidity of her concerns. ‘No one’s expecting a nun.’ He growled. ‘And I’m sorry if this comes as a shock but I wasn’t a virgin on our wedding night either.’
Her eyes widened and she lost colour.
He gritted his teeth. She’d said she’d cheated on her first husband, and he knew too well the damage infidelity inflicted. Cheaters were selfish. But what he couldn’t wrangle his head around was that Elodie didn’t seem that all selfish now. Seeing Ashleigh so quiet and compliant was sobering because the thought of his fiery Elodie ever being like that appalled him. And while he couldn’t stand to imagine the details, had never thought he could ever understand someone cheating, he had to acknowledge that she’d been young. Maybe she’d felt trapped. Maybe he couldn’t judge what he didn’t know, but his stomach ached and he sucked in a breath and shoved those thoughts away.
‘We’re married ,’ he said, trying to haul himself back together. ‘It’s made it to the society pages. Which means it’s a little late to keep it a secret.’
‘And too soon to reveal the truth?’ she asked.
That wave of protectiveness morphed into panic. Did she mean end their marriage? Absolutely too soon. He hadn’t done a thing about resolving the future of that island. He’d had no problem organising the contracts for the wedding, for purchasing the escape room, but as yet he’d done nothing about amending that damned trust. He couldn’t yet—he justified—Cristina might think his marriage a fraud if he made changes now and he really didn’t want to meet with her and Jose Ramon to find another way through. It would be much better to maintain the marriage for the full six months he’d rashly suggested and consolidate his occupancy rights that way.
‘Sometimes the truth makes things worse,’ he said, avoiding answering Elodie directly.
‘So what’s your solution?’ she asked. ‘If the truth is too painful, the secrets too devastating, how do you work around that? Do you live with lies?’
Funny that she asked that when she was the self-confessed liar. But he knew the answer. ‘You don’t let anyone close enough to hurt you that badly again.’
He saw her immediate withdrawal and tensed.
‘Isn’t that what you do now?’ He defied her wistful expression. ‘With your friends and your vows to be free forever? That’s a pact to protect yourselves. Staying single keeps things simple.’
‘Then why do you want me to show up to this gala as your wife ?’
Because he wanted her with him! Because he didn’t want to face them alone! But realising both those facts made him bristle with rejection. He grasped for another reason. ‘It’s the trust.’
‘The island you can’t stand?’ she said sceptically.
‘I can’t let Cristina destroy that as well.’
‘As well as what?’
He couldn’t stand Elodie’s direct gaze, but he couldn’t seem to break the hold she had over him. The bitterness had been building inside him for years and as he stared at her the poison spilled suddenly, stupidly easy. ‘As well as destroying my mother’s life when she told her that Jose Ramon is my father’s other son.’
Elodie gaped. ‘What?’
‘My father had an affair with my mother’s sister.’ He folded his arms tightly across his chest. ‘Jose Ramon is their child.’
‘But your aunt Cristina is quite young—’
‘I know ,’ he groaned. Younger even than Elodie had been when she’d entered that unhappy marriage. ‘She was eighteen when she had Jose Ramon. She never said who the father was. Never married.’ Ramon’s guts twisted. ‘I know she was a victim. I know she’d felt overshadowed by her older sister. My mother was high-achieving and beautiful and I can only think resentment damaged Cristina, because she exposed the truth just after his funeral.’
He shrivelled inwardly, remembering the horror of those moments. His mother had been frantic. Disbelieving. Near hysterical she’d turned to him—begged him to tell her it wasn’t true—because his father would never have cheated on her. But Ramon had been too shocked to be able to respond. And he couldn’t reassure her, he couldn’t confirm his father’s fidelity because he’d known about the others . But not that one. He’d been so sickened by Cristina’s revelation he’d been stunned to silence. And no matter what he said from then on, no matter how many times he tried, his mother never believed that he hadn’t known it all, all along. She’d never forgiven him for saying nothing. She’d left for the island later that day and never returned. Ramon had lost both parents that day.
‘I never understood why Cristina waited until then to say anything,’ he said huskily. ‘It wasn’t to punish my father—he was dead. It could only have been to hurt my mother. Cristina wanted revenge and took it in the cruellest moment.’
Ramon couldn’t forgive her for that, even when he knew how complicated the entire mess was. That ultimately it was all his father’s fault.
‘And now you’re paying her back for that by not letting Jose Ramon have this island.’
‘Does he really even want it?’ Ramon flung back defensively. ‘Or does Cristina just want to destroy the last thing that was precious to my mother?’ He stared at Elodie, not wanting to see judgement in her eyes. ‘Do you blame me for wanting to stop her? You wanted revenge on your family.’
She shook her head. ‘I wanted to save my sister.’
He drew breath. Yes. That had fascinated him. Elodie’s ready willingness to sacrifice herself to help her sister was so different to his family dynamic. But surely there’d been more to her choice to marry him. ‘Not only that. You knew turning up with me on your arm, that your father would be furious to be thwarted at the missed opportunity to form a valuable connection with me.’
‘Is that your ego talking again?’
‘Be honest. You liked it.’
‘I liked it,’ she agreed. ‘But not because it was revenge.’
‘No?’
She looked at him intently. ‘What I liked was that for the first time I didn’t have to face them alone .’
Ramon tensed his arms to stop himself softening. But that was how he’d felt too. ‘You don’t count Ashleigh?’ he asked gruffly.
‘I had to protect her. I don’t have to protect you, you’re strong enough to fight alongside me. You’re stronger than all of them.’
He shook his head. He didn’t want to accept that she was more noble than he. ‘But you didn’t want me to bail him out financially. You wanted him to see you thriving in a world of wealth while he lost his precious deal. Is that not revenge, Elodie?’
‘You make me sound horrible.’
‘You’re human. He hurt you. Isn’t it natural to want to strike back?’
‘Maybe I was wrong not to let you help him. Maybe if he doesn’t have to struggle, he won’t hurt anyone else.’
‘Unless he’s greedy,’ Ramon said heavily. ‘Unless he has a bottomless appetite for accumulating things and not caring about anyone in his way. That was my father. That is my aunt. And if your father’s like either of them then you have a problem because it’ll never be enough. He’ll never stop.’
‘You don’t think he’ll ever change?’
‘Does anyone? People remain fundamentally the same. Their flaws can’t be miraculously fixed.’
‘People can grow. Learn from their mistakes. Get better.’ She straightened proudly, her gaze falling just short of his. ‘I’m not the person I was when I married Callum.’
‘No?’ A terrible regret built inside him. ‘You wouldn’t let yourself agree to a marriage you don’t really want?’
She turned on him fiercely. ‘I asked you.’
‘But—’
‘This is different . I get something I want out of this.’ She threw her shoulders back. ‘I have an element of power. Of choice .’
He was silent because more than anything he wanted her to keep choosing him, and that was doubly shocking.
‘We’re all shaped by our experiences, right?’ Her voice softened. ‘Sometimes we can grow beyond hurt and thrive but maybe some people can’t get past the damage and end up stunted. I think revenge only perpetuates the problem. It all becomes a never-ending cycle of pain and payment. An eye for an eye only hurts everyone.’
She was naive, wasn’t she? Or—horrible doubt bit—was she right?
‘So you would have me turn the other cheek to Cristina?’ he swallowed tightly.
‘I don’t know. Maybe she’ll never get over the past. But Jose Ramon is young, maybe all this bitterness doesn’t need to infect the next generation.’
‘She wouldn’t let me anywhere near him.’ Arms still crossed, Ramon curled his hands into fists and pressed them more tightly into his sides. ‘Said I was too much like my father and she didn’t want my influence on him. I was so angry anyway, so busy getting the company on track that I stayed as far away from them both as possible. I just made sure she got the money they were both owed. He doesn’t need the island. He should find his own project,’ Ramon muttered. ‘Shake off the family interference. He’s old enough—’
‘But he might not be secure enough. Not everyone is as independent as you,’ Elodie said.
‘You are,’ he countered. ‘You survived, totally on your own once you ran away.’
‘Not totally alone. I have friends who support me.’ She frowned. ‘ You’re the one who’s totally alone.’
‘I have an army of highly skilled assistants.’
‘Do they offer emotional support?’ she challenged. ‘Or do they help you keep everyone else at a distance?’
‘I don’t need emotional support.’
‘ Everyone needs emotional support.’
‘Okay, fine,’ he snapped grumpily. ‘Emotionally support me then. Come to this damned gala. I would like you there with me!’
He stared at her, stunned by his own outburst. What was he doing ? Since when did he ask anyone for touch, for company, for comfort the way he asked her? It had slipped out of him unbidden, yet so easily.
But before he could pull back, she was there—soft and warm, her lips an inch from his—as she promised, ‘Of course I will.’