The Spanish Consultant (Westerling)

Katy was digesting the full implication of his words. ‘No wonder you were so upset when you thought I was having an affair.’

He gave a wry smile. ‘As I said, querida, for me faithfulness is the minimum requirement in a relationship.’

And she could understand why.

He’d grown up with the knowledge that his whole family had been destroyed by the actions of his mother.

For the first time she saw those photographs as he must have seen them.

As the ultimate betrayal.

For a man with such a shocking secret buried in his past, was it really surprising that he’d overreacted?

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘I understand now why you reacted so strongly when you saw those photographs.’

He gave a twisted smile. ‘As you pointed out, your father was a master at manipulation. He knew exactly how to extract the maximum response from me.’

Numb with despair, Katy looked around her, aware of the calm beauty of her surroundings and yet barely seeing it. ‘I’m really so very sorry about everything. And I’m sorry about what my father did to your mother.’

She felt mortified. Embarrassed and horrified at this latest example of her father’s utter ruthlessness.

‘Your father was very thorough,’ Jago observed, the expression in his dark eyes veiled by thick lashes. ‘He didn’t want me involved with you and he was prepared to go to any lengths to prevent it.’

‘He succeeded,’ Katy said sadly, reflecting on the utter devastation that his actions had caused.

‘Maybe not. We seem to have found e

ach other again.’ Jago stepped towards her and cupped her face in his hands. ‘You know that you can’t marry Freddie. He is wrong for you, and if you’d loved him you never would have slept with me.’

Katy almost smiled at the irony of that self-satisfied statement. Only a week ago he had believed her capable of exactly that. But now she understood his sensitivity in that area.

‘I’m not going to marry Freddie,’ she said quietly. ‘I ended it that night you came to the flat.’

There was a long silence and when he finally spoke his voice was hoarse. ‘You did end it? But you didn’t tell me—you let me think…’ He broke off and dragged a hand through his dark hair. ‘Why?’

She swallowed. ‘Because I wanted to keep you at a distance.’

He gave a groan and hauled her against him. ‘Have you any idea what I went through, thinking that you were still going to marry him? It was torture. And it’s never going to happen again.’ He let go of her suddenly and cupped her face in his lean hands, his eyes fierce. ‘I want you to marry me.’

Katy stilled, convinced that she must have misheard him. ‘Pardon?’

‘Perhaps I’ll rephrase that.’ His voice was low and velvety. ‘You are going to marry me.’

Her heart stampeded against her chest wall. ‘But why? Why would you want to marry me?’

There was only the briefest hesitation on his part. ‘Because you and I are good together.’

Katy swallowed back her disappointment. He’d made no mention of love. Clearly what he’d meant had been that they were good together in bed.

‘Good sex doesn’t guarantee a good relationship, Jago.’

He frowned. ‘I’m not just talking about the sex. There has always been something between us.’ He looked at her warily, clearly out of his depth and struggling to express himself, and she loved him all the more for it.

He was so utterly hopeless at talking about his feelings. And perhaps that was understandable. After such an awful childhood it was hardly surprising that he’d come to rely very much on his own resources.

And he might not love her but she loved him.

Couldn’t that be enough?