‘And you could not talk to me about any of these things? I was not some uncaring stranger … I was supposedly the man that you loved!’
‘You were! I mean, you—’
His glance was withering. ‘I fear your explanations have come far too late, carino mio. You should know that nothing you can say to me now could ever regain you my trust or respect. Any feelings I might once have had for you have been crushed to dust by what you have done!’
Moving across the room, Pascual tried hard to clear his head. The rain outside thudded with force against the old-fashioned leaded windowpanes, echoing the sensation of pressure building up inside him. So many thoughts, regrets and painful feelings were crowding his mind and his heart that he almost could not stand it. But out of all the turmoil, one thought gripped him more than any other. He had a son.
Recalling how passionately his friend Fidel had felt about his only son, he was deluged by the strongest determination to make things right in that quarter at least. He might have not been present in the first four years of his child’s life, but by God he would be more than present in the rest of it!
Turning back to survey the lone slender figure standing in the centre of the room, he ruthlessly stamped out any fleeting feelings of sympathy that arose inside him. It was true what he had told Briana … her explanations had come too late. Whatever happened next … she had brought it all upon herself.
‘I do not want to discuss this any further tonight. I need time to think. It has come as the greatest shock to me to learn what I have learned … that I have a son. A son whose cold and selfish mother decided that I did not have the right to know about him! We will talk again tomorrow, after the polo match … By which time I will have come to some important decisions where both you and he are concerned.’
‘Any decisions about the future are not just up to you, Pascual!’
‘If I were you, Briana,’ he said, his furious glance utterly scathing, ‘I would not risk saying anything more on that subject tonight. You have already had everything your way for far too long. You should know that I do not intend to let that situation continue … believe me.’
Striding to the door, realising that a serious explosion of temper was imminent if he stayed in the same room with her for even a second longer, Pascual let himself out into the narrow dimly lit corridor and did not look back …
‘Rough night?’ Tina’s relentlessly cheerful tone almost made Briana snap when she joined her for breakfast in the kitchen the next morning. Her nerves were on edge as she poured herself coffee from the generous-sized cafetière on the ornate sideboard, and she threw the other woman a wry glance. ‘You could say that.’
Carrying her cup across to the sturdy oak table, she pulled out a chair and sat down. Reaching for the milk jug and sugar bowl, she absently added some of the contents of each to her drink. It was clear the dark shadows beneath her eyes must reveal she’d hardly slept a wink—but what woman could possibly sleep after that distressingly painful scene when Pascual had woken her from sleep in the middle of the night? And exactly what important decisions had he reached about her and Adán after he had left her? she wondered anxiously.
Last night he had been beyond furious, and a big part of her acknowledged that she deserved his condemnation. She should never have kept Adán a secret from him, no matter how scared she was of her future life repeating her mother’s. The tragedy was that she had loved this man so much—with all her being, in fact—and seeing him again she had shockingly realised that her love had not died. It had merely been lying dormant.
There had been a few moments during their unhappy confrontation last night when Briana had wanted to reach out to Pascual and beg his forgiveness … to ask him how she could start to make amends. But so fearful was she of what he might demand that she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it. Now she anguished over whether he might seriously contest her for custody of their son, and the icy tentacles of fear that were running in the back of her mind and in the pit of her stomach clutched at her even more. With his incredible wealth and powerful family Pascual had all the means necessary to take Adán from her, and there would be nothing Briana could do about it. In the light of this most worrying crisis of all going to court for an outstanding business debt couldn’t be less important!
Hardly knowing what to do about anything right then, she gazed despondently into the beverage, watching the curling wisps of steam from the delicate porcelain cup in front of her as if she was staring into a dark tunnel with little prospect of ever finding a source of light at the end. If only her father had not been so incapable of staying faithful to her mother—had put her and his daughter’s welfare above the snob value of class and money he had grown up with—then maybe Briana wouldn’t have found herself in the heart-rending situation she was in now with Pascual.
‘What’s the matter, Bri?’
As she dropped down into the seat opposite, there was genuine concern on Tina’s pretty face. Mindful of what the girl had unknowingly revealed to Pascual last night, Briana felt naturally reluctant to discuss anything personal. Her young colleague hadn’t meant any harm, she was sure, but she shouldn’t have been quite so free with her conversation.
‘I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep very well, that’s all.’
‘Our gorgeous Mr Dominguez was asking me about you last night. In fact every time I tried to turn the conversation around to something else he turned it back to you! I think he really likes you, Bri.’
‘It’s neither here nor there whether the man likes me or not. I’m just here to do my job and that’s all. And in future I’d be very grateful if you wouldn’t tell all and sundry about my personal circumstances. Especially not people I’ve been hired to work for.’
Appearing genuinely shocked at her boss’s uncharacteristic burst of temper, Tina shrugged apologetically. ‘I’m really sorry. It was just that he was being so charming, and before I knew it he’d got things out of me that I normally wouldn’t tell anyone under pain of death! About the business being in difficulty, I mean, and you being a single mum …’
‘I accept your apology. But trust me … if you want to get on in this business as well as in life, Tina, you need to learn to be a lot more discreet! Now, I’m going to finish my coffee and then we’ve both got things to get on with. And if Mr Dominguez asks you any more questions about me just tell him to come and ask me himself, will you?’
CHAPTER FIVE
HE’D sat up nearly all night mulling over events, thinking what to do. Finally, needing some air, he walked out of the still sleeping house and headed off—hands deep in the pockets of his trenchcoat—down one of the winding country lanes that led away from the house. Dawn was just breaking, and a silvery mist was draped over the trees and hedgerows like a diaphanous cloak. The air contained just enough frost in it to make Pascual shiver. The English countryside in the autumn was a sight to stir the heart, he silently acknowledged, his shoes flattening damp golden leaves deep into the gravelled lane as he walked, and he experienced the first real pleasure he had had since arriving.
Back home in Buenos Aires the temperature would be a predictable twenty-two degrees, warm and sunny. But strangely at that moment he felt no particular longing for the place of his birth. Where he was right now was perfect because that was where his son was, he realized—that was enough to make Pascual content to be there. What did he look like, this boy of his? Did any of his features resemble his father’s? What characteristics might they share? Feeling his throat tighten almost unbearably, he muttered something impatient into the frigid air.
How could she have done it? How could Briana have deliberately kept his child from him? Even if he had cheated on her with Claudia—which he most definitely had not—was he deserving of such unbelievable treatment? And just because her faithless father had had affairs, did it naturally follow that Pascual would do the same? He was a different kind of man entirely … an honourable, loyal man. If only she had seen that. And he was even l
ess likely to have an affair knowing he had a child to think of! How was it possible that he had once loved such an untrusting woman—a woman who had preferred to leave him rather than stay and hear his side of the story?
Preferring to focus on solutions rather than regrets, and for the moment determinedly putting the past aside, he concentrated on some of the decisions he’d reached last night about the future. When he returned to Buenos Aires in a couple of days he would be taking the boy back with him. No question about it. ‘When you become a father,’ his friend Fidel had once told him, ‘everything changes. In a way the path becomes much clearer. You are less concerned with your own needs and ambitions. Instead almost every waking moment is given over to this precious child you have helped bring into the world …’
Sadly, his friend had not lived to see his own child grow up. Having already missed out on Adán’s infant years, Pascual was determined that from now on it would be a very different story for him. And if Briana made it difficult in any way, then he would not hesitate to take a legal route to claiming what was his. But he hoped it would not come to that. Much better that she saw she had done both him and his son a grave injustice in keeping them apart, was ready to right a wrong rather than make that wrong even worse by obstructing him.
Taking a moment to expel a long, troubled breath, he continued on his journey up the winding lane. He almost stumbled when he remembered the kiss he had stolen last night—before he had found out about his son. Heat coiled in his belly with a fierce demand that shocked him. How could it be that she could still arouse such lust and need in him even after five years of being apart? Feeling betrayed by his own body, Pascual impatiently lengthened his stride. He would walk hard for a while and burn up some of the nervous heightened energy that throbbed through him, he concluded grimly. His treacherous and inconvenient desire would give him no peace if he did not.
And there was something else he had made a decision about. The planned visit to a polo match at one of Britain’s most elite sports grounds today no longer held any appeal for him, he realised—end of the season or no. No … He had far more important upcoming events commanding his thoughts—the first one entailed putting Briana in the picture about his plans, and the next was visiting his son …
Dumbfounded, Briana stared at her fresh-faced colleague. ‘What do you mean he’s decided not to go to the polo match? The others are all waiting outside in the car for him! What reason did he give you?’
Looking uncomfortable, as well as bewildered, Tina frowned. ‘He just said that he’d changed his mind … that something more important had come up and to send his apologies. He’ll meet the others at dinner tonight, he said. In the meantime …’
The younger girl hesitated, and Briana’s heartbeat quickened with apprehension. ‘In the meantime … what?’ she demanded, fear making her tone impatient.
‘In the meantime Mr Dominguez said he’d like to talk to you in private … in his room.’
The blonde’s curious glance spoke volumes, and inwardly Briana groaned. That was all she needed. Tina speculating that there was something going on between the gorgeous Argentinian and her boss! Then she remembered the slightly pink abrasion at the side of her neck—the parting gift that Pascual had left her with last evening—and her face and body briefly burned with self-conscious and guilty heat. Automatically she lifted her hand to tug the silk collar of her blouse closer to the skin there.
‘Well, then … you’ll have to go outside and repeat what you’ve just told me to our clients … Needless to say not the part about Pas—Mr Dominguez wanting to see me in his room!’
Feeling her face flame at inadvertently almost exposing herself even more, Briana turned abruptly away and reluctantly—feeling as though she had lead in her shoes—ascended the staircase to the landing where Pascual’s suite was situated.
Nibbling worriedly on her lip, she rapped smartly on the oak door.
‘Come in!’
Giving her a briefly cold look, his sensual mouth bracketed by distinct displeasure, Pascual held the door wide to invite her in. Clothed from head to toe in stylish black once again, his indomitable maleness projected the arresting package of a man used to giving orders and being in charge—and heaven help anyone who dared to obstruct him.
Briana’s anxiety went up several notches merely at the intimidating sight of him. Closing the door behind them, he followed her into the centre of the room. The maid had put fresh flowers into a huge white vase on the polished chiffonier, and the scent of lilies in particular lay on the air like an exotic and drugging perfume. It only took one glance into the disturbing midnight gaze before her and she knew she was in trouble.
Just the same she ventured, ‘Why—why don’t you want to go to the polo match?’
‘Because my priorities have changed … as I am sure you are well aware.’
Saying nothing in return, she sensed the atmosphere spark as dangerously as a flickering flame near a bale of straw.
‘You may well be silent!’ A muscle jerked briefly in the shadowed hard jaw. ‘Because I warn you that nothing you can say can alter the path I have resolved to take. When I leave for Buenos Aires in two days’ time you and my son are coming with me for an extended holiday—a holiday during which time a marriage between us will take place. The marriage that should have taken place five years ago!’
‘What?’
‘You heard me. And when you return to the UK it will only be for the purposes of winding up your business and closing it down.’
‘Closing it down?’
‘Sí. It is in trouble anyway, is it not? It can only be a relief to put it behind you. Once you are back in Buenos Aires, instead of running a business you will have to get used to fulfilling the role of my wife instead. Do not worry, Briana …’ Pascual’s dark-eyed gleam was deliberately provocative ‘… there will be plenty to keep you occupied as far as that position is concerned. And that includes sharing my bed, mothering our son, playing hostess at any dinner parties I may give and being my unimpeachable escort at any social functions we may attend as I attempt to integrate you into my world. The world you clearly despise so much you could not bear to entertain being a part of it! You can quickly forget any ideas you may have had about remaining a single mother and raising our child on your own in England. That was in the past. Today is a new day, and from now on things are going to look very different for you. You can count on it!’
Feeling as if a storm had just ripped off the roof of her house, Briana found the power of speech had temporarily eluded her. It was as though what she’d just heard had rendered her mute with shock.
‘Have you nothing to say?’ Pascual thrust his implacable jaw forward in annoyance.
‘Yes … I do.’ Her returning glance was wary. ‘I have plenty to say. But whether you’ll listen to it or not is another thing.’
‘I will listen. It does not mean that I will concur or change my mind.’
‘I understand that you want to be in Adán’s life, and that is your right as his father. But you can’t really be serious about us going back to Buenos Aires with you and the two of us getting married. We surely don’t have to go that far? And anyway … I can’t believe that you’d even want to marry me after what’s happened between us. It just doesn’t make any sense.’
He scowled. ‘Well, it is certainly not because I have found I cannot live without you, or anything as ludicrous as that! No. I am doing this purely for the benefit of my son. The son you have denied me for the past four years. You are his mother, and even though you have not shown me the least respect in any way I will accord you respect and not let him down. No … I intend to become the father to Adán that I should have been right from the beginning—and if that entails marrying his treacherous mother, then—’
‘Treacherous?’ Briana’s grey eyes rounded in protest. ‘I never cheated on you … ever! If anyone showed any tendency to be attracted to other people, it was you!’
‘You are still holding a grudg
e about that ridiculous scene with Claudia?’ Pascual sighed with impatience. ‘What can I say that will convince you of the truth? I swear to you that she was drunk. Because I had broken up with her and she was mad at me, she wanted to make me look bad in front of you. I had not even realised you saw what happened! If I had you can be sure I would have talked to you about it and explained. But you never gave me the chance to do that, did you?’
‘I was too upset and shocked!’
‘And apparently you believed that I was just like your father! The reason I call you treacherous is that you made me a promise that you would become my wife, Briana. You did not keep that promise. Instead you left and made me look like a fool in front of everyone I cared about, and then kept the fact that you were pregnant with my son a secret up until now. Disloyal, duplicitous, untrustworthy … Treacherous is as good a word as any in your English vocabulary to describe your actions … would you not agree?’
‘Even if you think that, you can’t really expect me to go along with your plans without protest and simply do everything you command, Pascual. We’re not living in the Middle Ages, here, and I’m not going to agree with everything you say simply because I feel bad about what happened between us five years ago!’
‘So you feel bad, do you? At last! Some indication of regret!’
‘Of course I feel bad about what happened. Every day … watching Adán grow … I’ve thought about what he’s missing by not having his father in his life. I truly regret what I did as regards to that. But I wasn’t being vindictive or cruel by not contacting you about him. At the time … considering the strain I was under … I just did what I thought was right.’
‘It is my view that you did not employ any thinking at all in the matter! You purely reacted! I knew you could be impulsive and I liked that about you … but I did not guess in a million years that that impulsive nature of yours would lead you to take the drastic steps that you took five years ago.’ His blistering glance narrowed. ‘I have a question. Did you ever plan to contact me about Adán at all? What if business had not brought me to the UK this week? What if you had not been providing hospitality services at the same venue where my meeting was being held? Would you have let more time go by? Perhaps not getting in touch until our son was a grown man? Maybe not even then?’
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