Right. Sorry.”
“Yeah, I know, you don’t remember.”
This time her tone lacked the patience and understanding she’d exhibited until now. There was an undercurrent of hurt that cut into him and pricked his conscience.
Hell. He’d once have argued that he didn’t have a conscience when it came to business. Business was business. Nothing personal. Only now … it was definitely personal.
“Come on,” she said. “We need to get all this luggage inside.”
He put his hand on her arm. “You go in. I’ll bring in the luggage. Don’t argue. Go get something to drink or eat if you’re hungry. I’ll be in in just a moment.”
She shrugged and walked to the steps leading onto the porch. A moment later, she disappeared into the house, leaving Rafael standing in the driveway staring at his surroundings with keen eyes.
So this is where he’d spent so many days and nights. This is where his life had supposedly undergone such a drastic change. He didn’t feel anything other than that he was distinctly out of his comfort zone and in way over his head.
He carried the luggage in two trips to the front porch and then propped her door open and began lugging the bags into the living room.
As he stepped in, he stared around, absorbing the look and feel of the place Bryony called home. It reflected her personality to a T. Sunny, cheerful, a little cluttered, as if she were always in too much of a hurry to keep it spotless. It looked lived-in, nothing like his sterile apartment, which a cleaning lady made spotless every day regardless of whether he was in residence or not.
She stood with her back to him, staring out the French doors that led onto the deck. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her chest and when she turned, he could see the barricade she’d erected as surely as if it were a tangible shield.
“Did you know about the construction? Did you order it to begin?” she asked.
He sighed. “Do you want me to lie, Bryony? I won’t. I’ve been nothing but truthful to you. Yes, I ordered construction to begin. I would have started much sooner but my accident delayed me significantly. My investors are anxious. They want to see progress in return for the money they’ve shelled out.”
“You promised,” she choked out.
He ran a hand through his hair and wished he could make this go away. At least until they had matters between them sorted out.
“You know I can’t remember,” he said. “As far as I knew, the land was bought, the deal closed, the property to do with as I liked. There was nothing in the contract that stipulated how I could use the land. I wouldn’t have signed such a contract. The land is useless to me unless I develop it.”
Damn it. Why couldn’t he remember? Surely he wouldn’t have made her such a promise. It defied all logic. Why on earth would he have bought the land and promised not to develop it?
He closed the distance between them and slid his hand over her shoulder. She flinched and lifted her shoulder away, but he kept his hand against her skin.
“Bryony, again, I’m not doing this to hurt you. I don’t remember. You say I made you a promise, but I have no proof of that. What I do have is proof of sale. I have your signature on the closing documents as well as a copy of the bank draft issued to you from my bank.”
She turned to face him again, her eyes red-rimmed. She looked to be fighting tears with every bit of her power.
“I made it clear from the start that I wouldn’t sell to you unless you promised it wouldn’t be developed on a large scale. Obviously I can’t control what a new owner does with the land, but I’d hoped for something in keeping with the integrity of our community here. You looked me in the eye and you promised me that you had no such plans. That was a lie, Rafael. It’s an obvious lie because clearly you had investors lined up, plans drawn, a schedule planned. You yourself just said that your accident delayed the groundbreaking significantly.”
Rafael swore because one of them had to be lying and he didn’t want it to be him. He didn’t want it to be her.
“Damn it, Bryony, I refuse to feel guilt for something I can’t remember.”
“We should get some sleep,” she said dully. “There’s little point in arguing over this when we’re both tired and I’m upset. I’ll show you to the guest room. It has its own bathroom. There are towels and soap, everything you should need.”
And just like that, she was dismissing him. She’d withdrawn and he was treated to the cold, angry woman she’d been the first night in New York when she’d confronted him at his event.
He drew in a breath, feeling like a fool for what he was about to say, but it rushed out before he could think better of it, before he could question his sanity.
“I’ll put a temporary halt to construction. Tomorrow. I’ll go to the site myself. Until we sort things out between us and I regain my memory, I’ll halt the groundbreaking.”
She blinked in surprise, her mouth forming a silent O. From all appearances it was the last thing she’d expected him to say, and he was suddenly glad of it. Fiercely glad that he’d caught her off guard.
“Really?”
He nodded. “I’d go tonight but no one will be at the site and I have no idea where they’re staying, but if I’m there at dawn in the morning, I’ll make sure nothing is done until I give the okay to begin.”
Once again she surprised him by launching herself into his arms and hugging him so tight he struggled to breathe. For such a small woman, she possessed amazing strength.
“Every time I think you’ve let me down, you do something to completely change my mind,” she whispered fiercely. “Every time I think I’ve lost the Rafael I fell in love with, you do something to make me realize he’s still there and I just have to find him again.”
He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. As if he was some sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hell, maybe he was crazy. It was the only explanation behind the past few months of his life.
Most men bought a flashy sports car, had an affair or hooked up with a girl barely out of school in their midlife crisis. Apparently he did bizarre things like fall in love and throw away a multimillion-dollar deal.
Ryan, Dev and Cam were going to kill him.
“You did what?”
Rafael held the phone away from his ear and winced at the string of expletives that flooded the airways.
“I’m coming down there. We all are,” Devon said. “This is precisely what I was afraid of happening. You get down there and she has you by the balls. Make me the bad guy. I don’t care, but construction has to begin immediately. We’re already months behind schedule.”
Rafael paced back and forth over the slight bluff overlooking the beach while Bryony waited in the car. The crew hadn’t been happy that they were being asked to stand down, until Rafael informed them they’d be paid full wages during the temporary layoff. He’d stressed temporary and hoped like hell that he would have this resolved in a few days’ time.
He didn’t offer that little tidbit to Devon. Devon would really lose his composure if he knew Rafael was footing the bill for a crew of construction workers to sit around and enjoy beach life for the next few days.
“You stay your ass in New York,” Rafael said. “I don’t need you and Cam and Ryan to babysit me. It’s the right thing to do, Devon. Until I know what the hell I promised or didn’t promise or whatever else happened while I was down here the first time, the right thing to do is wait.”
“Since