Tyler let out a guffaw of genuine amusement. ‘And if you believe that, I have some beachfront property I want to sell you in—’
‘What are you talking about?’ Nico demanded through gritted teeth, swivelling to face the man, his fingers clenched around the fragile stem of his champagne flute so tightly, he thought it might snap. It felt as if he were tumbling back through time to that night when he’d been so naïve, stunned into submission by sheer shock. Phillip Boxall had explained the reason for his arrest while they’d been handcuffing him, but Nico had only been able to shake his head in mute, shocked denial.
He’d been so stupid, sofoolish, and now he felt so again—but this time it was even worse. Had Ashley been lying to him all along? Was he going to learn the truth from a virtual stranger, and not from her?
‘You mean you really don’t know?’ Tyler asked. He looked pleased to be the bearer of such information. ‘I thought it was common knowledge. Ashley Woodward set up the company right after her father went to prison and, even though she didn’t know anything about business, somehow this dubious start-up got a sudden influx of however many millions. Everyone knew her father had squirrelled some money away in offshore accounts. Laundering it through his daughter’s company seems alittleobvious, but then butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, and it’s such a worthy enterprise, no one wanted to question it openly. And as far as I know, no one has.’ He shrugged, dismissive now. ‘They say Woodward might be released soon, so I guess he wants his money.’
Nico turned and walked away from the man without another word. He was reeling, both emotionally and physically, memories pounding through him of the last time he’d been so blindsided, along with a fresh and terrible realisation that it had happenedagain.
Ashley Woodward had lied to him again. He’d asked her where the funding had first come from, and with hindsight he realised how obviously and blunderingly she’d prevaricated, simply talking about an anonymous, generous investor. Had she been lying to him this whole time? Trying to keep him sweet, to see if there was any way she could get some of her father’s money out of the company before he noticed? Or maybe she was trying to get him to change his mind so she could keep it for herself. He’d paused making any decisions about the future of Infinite Innovations until he was more certain in his mind about what he wanted to do. Was that what she’d been hoping for, with her endless dramatics—fainting, spraining her ankle, having that ridiculous little breakdown? Good Lord, but the woman was a failed actress and he’d fallen for it all!
Just like before, Nico’s fury masked a far deeper shame. How could he have fallen for it? Waseverythingshe did a lie?
For a second, he forced himself to stop and think calmly. One stranger’s gossip should not make him doubt everything about Ashley…and yet it did. Because, he realised, he’d never known her that well at all. And the investment into her companywasdubious—something she’d never explained.
And the last thing Nico everwanted to do was be made to feel like a stupid dupe again by the same woman—and this time it was much worse because he’d thought he was in love with her! He’d been going to tell her about Roberto. He’d been thinking of baring his whole heart, offering it to her on a platter.
No longer. His heart, which had become so shamefully soft and pliable, hardened right back up, and it felt like a relief. He’d been right all along: keeping up his guard was the only sensible and sane thing to do. After all, he’d always known never to trust a Woodward.
His iron-hard gaze tracked the woman he’d almost fallen in love with across the ballroom. She looked like an emerald flame in her deep-green dress, a column of silk that clung to her lithe figure, hugging every slender and sinuous curve.
He was tempted to march over there, drag her out of the ballroom and let her know they were finished. But he’d played that card before and, he decided, he was not going to add to the drama. No, he’d tell her tonight, after the ball. He’d exult in letting her know the jig was finally, for ever, up, and then sending her packing. His heart would be intact, and Ashley Woodward would be gone.
It would be revenge, he thought bitterly…but it was anything but sweet.
Chapter Sixteen
NICO SEEMED VERYquiet in the car, Ashley thought as they drove back to the hotel. It was after midnight, her feet ached and her mind was spinning from a little too much champagne. She thought the evening had gone well, and she’d certainly chatted up Infinite Innovations but, looking at Nico’s closed expression now, she wondered if he felt the same.
‘I thought tonight went well,’ she ventured, and Nico’s jaw tightened.
‘Oh yes,’ he said tonelessly, his gaze trained straight ahead, his expression completely veiled. ‘Very well.’
‘Nico…’ Ashley wasn’t sure what to say. He looked and sounded as he had the first day she’d met him, all leashed fury and deep bitterness, hidden by a deliberately bland expression. Was she being paranoid, or had something happened that she didn’t know about? And, if so, why wasn’t he telling her? ‘Is everything okay?’ she asked, and he bared his teeth in a smile that made unease shiver along her spine and settle in her gut.
‘Oh yes,’ he said again, his voice now silkily lethal. ‘Everything is absolutely fine.’
Ashley stared at him for a moment, trying to work out his mood. She realised he was acting the way he had the morning after they’d spent the night together—deliberately putting a distance between them, doing his damnedest to be cold and aloof—and it both frustrated and frightened her. Was she always going to have to dance to his tune, play to his moods? That wouldn’t be a relationship; that would just be another version of the dysfunction she’d had with her father, trying to please a man who refused to be pleased.
She didn’t want the same with Nico. She wouldn’t play his games, she decided with a surge of certainty. Not this time. Not ever again.
Ashley turned back to the window, staying determinedly silent. Neither of them spoke until after they’d reached the hotel. The blow came as soon as she’d walked into their suite, slipping off her heels with an audible groan.
‘You can change,’ Nico told her matter-of-factly as he shrugged out of his jacket. ‘And then you can go. Let no one say I’m not generous—you can keep the gown and the earrings.’
The tone was cold, even cruel, as if he wanted to hurt her. After all they’d shared together, it felt particularly callous, and Ashley steeled her spine, determined not to beg the way she once might have.
‘You want me to leave?’ she asked slowly. ‘Tonight?’
‘The concierge will call you a cab.’
‘And that’s that?’ she asked, lifting her chin as she stared him down. ‘No explanation?’
‘I don’t think one is necessary.’
‘And you don’t think, after the last few days, you could have the courtesy of at least speaking to me politely instead of kicking me to the kerb?’ Ashley was glad her voice didn’t shake. She was hurt, yes, but she was also angry. Did he really think she deserved to be treated like this?
‘How is giving you a gown and a pair of very expensive diamond earrings kicking you to the kerb?’ Nico challenged in a dangerously quiet voice.
