cared for him.
They’d all met last year, when Edward had brought Lauren to see where he’d used to live in England, and Abby recalled how she’d hoped that the two men would hit it off. Her relationship with Ross had still been in its initial stages at that time, and it had seemed a good idea to get the two men together.
It hadn’t worked. Ross had considered Edward selfish and immature, and her brother had resented the occasionally patronising attitude Ross had adopted. She’d tried to explain that Ross was used to dealing with recalcitrant teenagers, but that had only exacerbated the situation. Edward had accused her of implying that he was no better than one of Ross’s students, and in her efforts to placate him she’d inadvertently offended Ross, too. The whole affair had been a nightmare, and she should have known better than to mention her fiancé now.
However, before she could think of some way of defusing the situation, Edward spoke again. Scuffing the toe of his canvas shoe against the polished floor, he lifted one shoulder in a conciliatory gesture.
‘Anyway,’ he mumbled, barely audibly, ‘you’re right. I didn’t ask you to come out here just because of the accident.’
Abby’s brows, which were considerably darker than her hair, drew rather warily together. ‘You didn’t?’ she asked carefully, as if she hadn’t been implying as much for the past few minutes. ‘So why did you ask me to come?’
Edward blew out a breath. ‘I—well, I needed to talk to you about Lauren. I think she’s having an affair.’
ABBY was stunned. ‘You’re not serious!’
‘Why not?’ Edward, who had been staring moodily at the rug he had displaced with his toe, now looked up. ‘Don’t you think any man would want to have an affair with her?’
‘Don’t be silly.’ Sometimes Abby was inclined to agree with Ross’s assessment of the younger man. ‘That has nothing to do with it.’ She hesitated. ‘What I mean is, I can’t imagine why you would think such a thing.’
Or could she? Unwillingly Abby remembered how Lauren had behaved towards Alejandro Varga. Even if their relationship allowed for some familiarity, Abby had noticed that she’d been inordinately pleased to see him.
Edward scowled now, his next words shocking her out of any lingering sense of complacency. ‘What am I supposed to think when she takes every chance she gets to spend time with Varga?’ he demanded. ‘And now that I’m half crippled with this leg, I don’t even know where she is half the time.’
Abby’s jaw had dropped as he spoke, but now she hurriedly rescued it. ‘You’re not implying she’s having an affair with—with Alejandro?’ she exclaimed disbelievingly.
‘Why not?’ Edward’s pale eyes challenged hers.
‘Well, because—because he’s married?’
‘Not any more.’
‘Not any more?’ Abby blinked. ‘You mean, he’s—divorced?’
‘It happens,’ said Edward bitterly. ‘I always knew Maria was too good for him.’
Abby didn’t know what to say. The last thing she wanted was for Edward to imagine she was still interested in Alejandro. All the same…
‘Are you saying that Lauren had something to do with him getting a divorce?’ she ventured incredulously, and Edward hunched his shoulders.
‘No.’ He was impatient. ‘That happened a while ago. He and Maria were having problems before we even got married.’
‘They were?’
Abby tried to hide her reaction from him. She clearly remembered Edward giving her the impression that Alejandro and his wife were happy together. That Dolores had been devastated when Maria had suffered a family emergency and hadn’t been able to attend the wedding.
What emergency had that been? Her impending divorce?
Aware that Edward was watching her rather suspiciously, Abby realised that her face was far too expressive. Raising defensive eyebrows at him, she opted for a casual enquiry. ‘What?’
‘You tell me,’ he said. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘Like what?’
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know.’ Edward was resentful now. ‘I bet you were thinking that that wasn’t what I said before.’
Abby chose to be obtuse. ‘What wasn’t what you said before?’ she asked, refusing to make it easy for him.
‘That Varga and his wife were having problems,’ he retorted. ‘Okay, I admit it. I wanted to put you off him. I could see you were attracted to him, and I didn’t want someone like him involved with my sister.’
Abby stared at him. ‘So, what are you saying? That you told lies about him?’
‘Not lies, no.’ Edward was defensive. ‘I just exaggerated the truth a little, that’s all. No big deal.’
Abby shook her head in disbelief. ‘And what gave you the right to interfere in my life?’
‘Oh, let’s not get carried away here,’ protested Edward insensitively. ‘The chances of you and Varga getting it together weren’t exactly likely, were they? I mean, I know you were flattered when he offered to take you sightseeing and all, but you have to understand that’s what these guys are like. Coming on to a woman—any woman—is second nature to them, and Varga more than most. I never liked him. I hoped that when the wedding was over he’d crawl back under his stone.’ He scoffed. ‘Some chance!’
‘Edward!’
‘Well…’ He was unrepentant. ‘I assumed he was just a distant relative. I had no idea he’d become such a constant presence in our lives. Do you know, he’s a major shareholder in Luis’s company? This new leisure complex they’re hoping to open next Christmas is being financed by Varga. He and Luis are partners. Partners! How do you think that makes me feel? I’m Luis’s son-in-law, not Alejandro.’
Abby was stunned—as much by the fact that Edward had lied to her as by his obvious envy of the other man. She didn’t know what she thought of his suspicions about Alejandro and Lauren. She would reserve judgement. But after what he’d told her, how dependable was anything he said?
She was so glad now that she’d never confided her own feelings to Edward. Though perhaps it would have been easier if she had. Surely then he would have thought twice about involving her in his present problems. Yet, knowing Edward as she did there were no guarantees.
Feeling her way, she said cautiously, ‘I still don’t see what you’re saying. All right. I accept that—that Alejandro is a regular visitor to the house. But you and Lauren don’t live here. You have your own apartment, don’t you? In Coconut Grove.’
Edward gave her an exasperated look. ‘You don’t know much about Cuban families, do you?’ he snorted. ‘Well, let me tell you, they stick together. Like, living in each other’s pockets, if you know what I mean? Sure, we have our own place, but Lauren’s hardly ever there. When I’m at work she’s more often here. Or somewhere else, if you get my drift?’
‘Somewhere else?’ Abby suspected she knew what he was getting at but she decided to let him go on.
‘Yeah.’ Edward scowled. ‘Making nice with—Alejandro.’
He pronounced the other man’s name just as Lauren did, and Abby’s stomach tightened unpleasantly. ‘But he’s her cousin,’ she protested. ‘Cousins don’t get involved with one another in this country. I read it somewhere. It’s considered too close a relationship.’
‘Tell that to my wife,’ retorted