‘You were supposed to be honest with me.’
‘I have been honest with you.’
Roman’s voice had gained an edge. She should have taken it as a warning that the one thing that fired him beyond all others was to have his honesty questioned. ‘You were talking about how you persuaded me to stay.’
‘And you heard half a conversation, and on that basis alone you decide not to trust me?’ Roman shook his head as if suddenly something was very clear to him. ‘I don’t think you’ll ever trust me, Eva. I don’t think that whatever I do, it will ever be enough for you.’
‘You seduced me and kept me with you—’
‘And I didn’t hear you complaining.’
‘You kept me out of the way so I couldn’t cause any trouble at the mine.’
‘Is that what you believe? Surely you’re not still so lacking in confidence? I’m coming back with you. Isn’t that enough? Doesn’t my commitment to you and to the mine mean anything to you?’
‘Now the work is done you’ve got nothing to lose.’
Roman stiffened. ‘I can’t believe you just said that, Eva.’
‘You can’t tell me that your motives are completely innocent.’
‘I can. And I do,’ he insisted. ‘And I’m insulted if you think anything different.’
But now she’d started it all had to come out. ‘You used me—’
‘And you used me,’ he fired back. ‘Didn’t we both have our own agendas at the start of this relationship? Didn’t we change those agendas as we got to know each other? I know I did. And, guess what, Eva? We both have flaws. We’re not perfect, either of us. And if you can’t live with that—’ He turned away and made an impatient gesture. ‘I wanted you and I thought you wanted me, but now I wonder if I’m wasting my time.’
She heard everything he said and knew every word was true. She also knew her confidence was built on sand and it made her say things before she thought them through. ‘Is it time to go?’ she asked, wishing she could erase the past few minutes.
Roman was silent for a moment. She worried when he didn’t move. And with good cause, she realised, when he said, ‘Any time you like, Eva.’
‘What do you mean?’ Her voice was small. Her shocked words echoed eerily in the lofty hall. ‘Aren’t you coming with me?’
‘You leave Rome now,’ he said. ‘I’ll follow you to Skavanga—’ he shrugged as if it might never happen ‘—at some later date. It’s for the best, Eva. If I come with you now, you’ll always have that suspicion lurking. You’ll always wonder if I kept you with me just to suit my business purpose. Better you go now and get on with this job. I was serious when I said we need your input. And we need it now. This is a job you say you long for, and I want to know how things go—daily reports. Concentrate on that for a while.’
‘And then?’ She felt chilled to the bone as she waited for his answer. Had nothing changed for either of them? Was Roman still as cold deep down? Was she as defensive as ever? Had she ruined everything again?
‘I think you need time to decide what it is you really want, Eva. You can take the jet. It’s fuelled and ready. My driver will take you to the steps of the plane and you can fly to Skavanga and start working on the mining projects as soon as you like. And if you want we can pretend this visit never happened.’
That was the last thing she wanted—the very last thing. ‘Is that all it means to you?’ She spread her arms, lost for words to describe the enormity of the loss she was suffering.
‘We’re not talking about me, Eva. We’re talking about you. I want you to find out what it is you want out of life. I want you to take all the passion out of your thinking and coolly decide.’
‘You mean, leave without you?’ Her brain was barely functioning. She couldn’t throw herself at him and say this had all been some terrible mistake, and could they please get in the car now, because Roman was right, she did need to decide what she wanted. But he did too. She had believed she was on the cusp of something big with him, something special, but if he didn’t feel the same way—
‘You’ll be safe,’ he said, mistaking her hesitation for concern. ‘You’ll be accompanied by my people all the way, and I’ll let your sisters know you’re coming home so they’ll be waiting for you.’