‘All of it.’
‘Your girlfriend is definitely here,’ Giselle insisted.
‘Once and for all, she’s not my girlfriend, and if she is here, I wasn’t aware she was coming.’Bloody hell, this is all I need, he thought.
‘Why did Claire tell your estate agent that you’re getting married?’
‘She didwhat?’ Taken aback, he said, ‘You must be mistaken. We arenotgetting married.’
‘And apparently you’re waiting for the castle to be sold so you can buy a house together. Oh, and she doesn’t like the sea glass picture you bought to hang in your new house, so you might have to rethink where you’re going to put it! I can suggest a few places.’
‘We are categoricallynotbuying a house together,’ he growled through clenched teeth. ‘And neither am I selling the castle. I want to keep it. I’m going to livehere, not London, and do you know why?’ He was shouting now, boiling with rage. Claire’s machinations astounded him. ‘Because I love you, Giselle.You– not Claire. I know you don’t feel the same way about me, but I’ve said it –I love you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an estate agent to turf off my property.’
Furious, Rocco pushed past the woman he loved and stormed towards the castle, and when he entered the castle’s impressive hall, the receptionist’s jaw dropped open.
‘Avril, do you know where Claire Wallace is?’ he snapped.
‘Er, Rocco, Mr Moore, um, hello. We didn’t expect— I believe she’s in the parlour,’ the woman stuttered.
‘Thank you,’ he called over his shoulder as he strode off.
He didn’t bother knocking on the parlour door, and when he pushed it open, both Claire and the man with her jumped. They were seated at the polished wood desk, a tablet propped up in front of them, a laptop at Claire’s elbow.
‘Rocco? Why—? What—?’ Claire recovered quickly. ‘You should have told me you were coming; we could have travelled up together.’
‘Sorry, could you excuse us, please?’ he said to the estate agent. ‘I’d like a word with Claire in private.’
The man glanced at Claire, as though seeking permission to leave.
Claire said, ‘Rocco, this is Kurt Fuller from Jermyns. Kurt, this is Rocco Moore, the castle’s owner. I don’t believe you two have met. Kurt will handle the sale personally. In fact, we were just discussing that very thing, so it might be more beneficial if he stayed.’
‘In private, please,’ Rocco insisted.
‘Very well. Kurt, would you mind?’
The man got to his feet with obvious reluctance and picked up the tablet. ‘I’ll be in the lounge,’ he said, casting Rocco a doubtful look. ‘Pleased to meet you, Mr Moore.’
Rocco tightened his lips and gave the man a brief nod.
As soon as the door snicked softly shut, Claire rounded on him. ‘That was incredibly rude.’
‘I’ll apologise later, and recompense him for his time.’
‘No need. It’ll come out of the commission on the sale.’
‘There won’t be any sale.’
Claire’s chin came up. ‘Excuse me?’
‘I’m not selling the castle.’
‘You have to.’
‘No, I don’t. I’m going to live here and run the castle and the craft centre as a going concern.’
‘But what about the company? And Beverly?’
‘That’s between my mother and I.’ He should never have involved Claire. The castle and his personal finances were none of her concern. ‘Why are you giving people the impression we’re together?’
