High-Powered, Hot-Blooded

He was a whole lot less convinced. “She’s a good actress, Annie. Don’t let yourself get too caught up in her pain. It’s mostly for show.”

“It’s not. She’s your wife.”

“Ex-wife. It’s been three years.”

“Can you honestly say you’re not in love with her? That she doesn’t matter, that she never mattered?”

“Of course I thought I loved her when we got married,” he said, frustrated. “I was a fool.”

“You owe it to her and to yourself to hear her out.”

He stood up and crossed to the window overlooking the atrium below. Folding his arms across his chest, he faced Annie.

“She got to you.”

Annie stood. Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked them away.

“She begged me to get out of the way and that’s what I have to do. I’m not going with you tonight, Duncan. Take Valentina instead. Give her a chance.”

“We have a deal.”

“It’s nearly over anyway. What does it matter if we stop things now?”

He’d known his relationship with Annie was finite. He’d designed it that way himself. But until now, he hadn’t been willing to look past the holidays, to the days after. When she would no longer be with him.

She was leaving. Just like they all left. Her excuse was noble, but the outcome was the same. She would be gone and he would be left here, without her.

They all left. No one could be trusted. No woman could be trusted. Anger burned hot and bright, but he knew it was merely a shield to something else that would taunt him for a very long time.

“Our contract is clear,” he told her coldly. “You walk out now and I throw your brother in jail.”

He braced himself for the anger, the tears, the threats. Instead she smiled.

“Oh, please, Duncan. We both know you won’t. You’re not that guy.” The smile quivered a little, then died. “Do you think this is easy for me? It isn’t. I love you. But look at you and your life. I don’t belong there. I’ve had a wonderful time and you’re a great man. You deserve every happiness. That’s why it’s important for you to give Valentina a second chance. You loved her once. Maybe it was just the wrong time for the two of you.”

Once again she was speaking the truth as she knew it. Duncan thought he understood Annie, but he’d been wrong. She loved him and she wanted him to be with someone else? The ridiculousness of it made him even more angry.

“If you loved me, you’d stay,” he said, his voice practically a growl. “Next you’ll tell me you want to be friends.”

She winced, as if he’d slapped her. “You’re upset.”

“You’re playing a game. I expected better. If you want to leave, then go. Don’t give me any bullshit about it being for my own good. That’s crap and you know it.”

Now the tears fell, but unlike those in other women, these tears seemed to burn him. He felt the searing all the way down to his heart.

“You’re everything I ever dreamed about. You’re strong and gentle. You’re giving and funny. I want to spend my whole life with you. I want to sleep in your arms and have your children and love you and worry about you. I want to spend fifty years with you and have the neighbors say things like, ‘Those Patricks have been married forever.’”

She wiped her face with her fingers. “But it’s not just about me. There’s Valentina. So I’m doing the right thing. Because that’s important. But all it would take is one word, Duncan. I’m not fighting this because I didn’t think there was a point. I didn’t think you loved me back. Tell me it’s totally over with her and that you love me. That you want me to stay, and I will.”

He finally knew her end game. To trap him. “I’d be a great meal ticket,” he said. “And I’ll give you points for originality. That was quite a speech.”

She stiffened as the color faded from her face. She wiped at her tears again, then picked up her purse.

“There’s no winning, is there?” she asked quietly. “You told me and told me and I didn’t listen. Maybe you’re right about Valentina and maybe I am. I hope you take the time to find out. As for me, if you can say those words, if you can really think I’m here because you’re wealthy and successful, then you never knew me at all. And I guess I never knew you. Because the man I love can see into my heart and my soul. He knows who I am. And that’s not you. Goodbye, Duncan.”