A deal that would end as soon as they’d slept together.
A deal that could still go wrong if her uncle decided that he needed the money Cruz was willing to part with to turn Ocean Haven into a horrible hotel.
Trying not to dwell on that, she rolled her eyes at herself when she realised she’d changed her hairstyle five times. She looked at the spiralling mess. All her fiddling had turned her hair to frizz. Great.
Salvaging it as best she could, she stomped back into the bedroom and spied the offending gown she had flung onto the bed. Even skewed it rippled, and dared any woman not to want to wear it.
And given the contents of her suitcase what choice did she really have? None. And she hated that because she’d had so little choice in what had happened to her growing up on Ocean Haven. After Chad she had vowed she’d never be beholden to anyone again—especially not a man. But one night with Cruz didn’t make her beholden to him, did it?
Once he’d lent her the money and she’d paid him back, as she would the other investors, they would be back on an equal footing. She exhaled. One night, straight up, and then she was home free.
Why did that leave her feeling so empty?
She looked again at the dress. Grimaced. Trust him to have such superb taste.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘ARE YOU EVEN listening to what I’m saying?’
Cruz glanced at Ricardo, who was debriefing him on who was attending the formal dinner that night and how impressed the Chinese delegation were with the facilities. The Sunset Bar, where they had decided to catch up for a drink before the evening proceedings, was full to bursting with excited players and polo experts from all over the globe.
‘Of course,’ he lied. ‘Go on.’
Ricardo frowned, but thankfully continued working his way through the list.
Cruz studied it also, but his mind was elsewhere. More specifically his mind was weighing up how he was going to steal The Farm out from under Aspen’s gorgeous fingertips when he now knew the truth about that fateful night.
He took a healthy swig of his tequila. He’d been so sure she had done him wrong eight years ago he’d been blind to any other possibility. Tainted, he realised belatedly. Tainted by his own deep-seated feelings of inferiority and hurt pride.
Hell.
He couldn’t escape the knowledge that seeing Aspen again had unearthed a wealth of bitterness he hadn’t even realised he’d buried deep inside himself—resentments he’d let fester but that no longer seemed relevant.
What is relevant to you?
Hell, that woman had a way of working her way inside his head. But as much as he hated that he knew in good conscience he couldn’t take Ocean Haven away from her. He’d never be able to face himself in the mirror again if he did. But what to do? Because if he also let her continue with her foolhardy plan to borrow thirty million dollars to keep it she’d be bankrupt within a year.
Of course that wasn’t his problem. She was an adult and could take care of herself. But some of that old protectiveness he had always felt towards her was seeping back in and refused to go away. He wanted to fix everything for her, but she was so fiercely guarded, so intent on doing everything herself. It was madness. But so was the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. That he even wanted to fix things for her in the first place.
Realising that Ricardo was waiting for him to say something, Cruz nodded thoughtfully. ‘Sam Harris is playing tomorrow. Got it.’
‘Actually,’ Ricardo said patiently, ‘Sam Harris is sick. Tommy Hassenberger is taking his place.’
‘Send Sam a bottle of tequila.’
‘I already sent flowers.’
Cruz shook his head at his brother. ‘And you think you need a wife?’
Normally his brother would have returned his light ribbing, but to Cruz’s chagrin he didn’t this time.
‘What’s up?’ he said instead.
Cruz rubbed his jaw and realised he should have shaved again. ‘Nothing.’
‘You’re a million miles away. It wouldn’t have anything to do with Aspen Carmichael, would it?’
Bingo.
‘If I say no, you’ll assume I’m lying, and if I say yes, you’ll want to know why.’
Ricardo shook his head and laughed. ‘Dios mio, you’ve got it bad.’
Cruz dismissed Ricardo’s comment. He wanted her badly, yes, and he was happy to admit that, but he didn’t have it bad in the way his brother was implying.