Calm, Aspen, she reminded herself, desperately trying to check her temper.
When the lift doors opened her eyes immediately fell on an immaculately dressed woman who looked like a supermodel.
For a minute she thought she was in the wrong suite, but deep down she knew she wasn’t.
‘I’m sorry...’ She frowned. ‘I’m looking for Cruz.’
‘He’s in the shower,’ the woman said.
Was he, now?
Aspen swallowed down the sudden feeling of jealousy. The woman was dressed, for heaven’s sake. ‘And you are...?’
The woman held out her hand. ‘I’m Lauren Burnside. Cruz’s lawyer. Would I be right in assuming that you’re Aspen Carmichael?’
The fact that his lawyer knew of her wasn’t a good sign in Aspen’s mind. ‘Yes. Would I be right in assuming you’re here about the sale of Ocean Haven?’
The lawyer’s eyes flickered at the corners and an awkward silence prevailed over the room. ‘You would have to ask Cruz about that.’
Cruz, not Mr Rodriguez, Aspen noted sourly. How well did this woman know him? And why did the thought of this woman running her hands all over Cruz’s naked body hurt her so much?
Because you love him, you nincompoop.
Aspen moved to the side table beside the Renoir and placed her hands lightly on the wood-grained surface. Memories of the last time she had stood in this exact position, with Cruz behind her, kissing her neck, murmuring tender words of encouragement to her, lanced her very soul. Yes, she loved him—and that just took this situation from bad to completely hideous.
‘His heart belongs to his horses and nothing else.’
Chad getting inside her head did nothing to stave off her temper either. But still she tried to convince herself that she didn’t know the facts. That she wouldn’t jump to conclusions as Cruz had done about her eight years ago.
‘Lauren. Aspen!’
Aspen turned as Cruz entered the room. Pleasure shot through her at the sight of him fresh from the shower in worn jeans and a body-hugging white T-shirt.
He smiled at her.
She looked away, but he had already transferred his attention to the other woman.
‘You have the contracts?’
‘Right here.’
Aspen turned and leant against the side table, blocking all memories of the intimacies they had shared, blocking the pain of his betrayal, her foolish feelings for him.
‘They would be the contracts to finalise the sale of my farm?’ she said lightly.
Cruz’s eyes narrowed and Aspen knew. She knew!
‘When were you going to tell me?’
Her casual tone must have alerted him to her state of mind because he didn’t take his eyes off her. ‘Can you excuse us, please, Lauren?’
‘Of course. I’ll leave the contracts on the table.’
She threw Cruz an intimate glance and Aspen felt her cheeks heat at having witnessed it.
‘So, here we are, then...’ Aspen strolled across the room and stopped beside the urn of flowers on the dining table. She stroked the soft rose petals and thought how impervious they were to the fact that she felt like hoisting them up and hurling them across the room.
‘Yes. And to answer your earlier question I was going to surprise you over dinner.’
Surprise her? Aspen’s mouth hit the floor and her temper shot through the roof. Surprise her!
‘Dinner? Dinner?’ She laughed harshly. ‘You filthy, gloating bastard.’
‘Aspen—’
‘Don’t.’ Disappointment coalesced into rage and she just needed to get away from him. ‘Don’t say a word. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear anything from you. I hate you.’
She whirled away and would have walked out of the room—no, run out of the room—but he was on her in a second.
‘Aspen, let me explain.’
‘No.’ She shoved against him and beat her fists against his chest in her anger. ‘You tricked me. You lied to me. You told me you weren’t trying to buy Ocean Haven any more but you were.’
‘Dammit, Aspen.’ He bound her wrists in one of his hands but she broke loose and tried to slap him. ‘Stop it, you little hellcat. Dammit. Ow! Listen to me. I left a message for Lauren to pull the pin on the sale but she didn’t get it,’ he said, breathing hard.
As suddenly as her rage had swept over her it left her, and Aspen felt deflated and appalled that she had hit him. She hated violence. ‘Let me go, Cruz,’ she said flatly.