It would heal soon, though, when she took the Rosbel Group from him. With probate only weeks from being granted, she could be in a position to take it from him sooner than she’d hoped. She had an agreement in principle with Paul Haldron for the shares he controlled. Once they were in her name, she would own 45 per cent of the Rosbel Group. She was already sounding out wizards of the financial world to act on her behalf in hoovering up the smaller shares until she reached the magic 51 per cent for it.
Xavi was a barefaced liar who’d stolen her dreams and her future and broken her heart beyond repair, and now she was returning the favour.
There was nothing to feel guilty about.
Chapter Five
ASHORT WHILE LATER, and Beth had to work to maintain her smile when they drove through the wide, open arch of a stunning white-and-red Baroque building with turrets on its roof and came to a stop in an immaculate courtyard that edged sprawling lawns ringed with enormously high trees and a pond so big she wasn’t sure if it shouldn’t be called a lake.
It was exactly the kind of home she’d once dreamed of them living in, and she was glad she couldn’t cry because knowing Xavi had gone ahead and bought their dream home without her filled her with emotions it was hard to breathe through.
Luckily, the time it took for him to whisk her to the top floor in a private elevator that needed his fingerprint to operate gave her time to compose herself.
Inside, the vastness of the high-ceilinged open spaces came as no surprise—Beth’s months of living in Spanish opulence had inured her to what incredible wealth could buy you—but the tastefulness of it all did. Neutral walls were enlivened with an eclectic mix of artwork, the mass of dark leather seating richly inviting.
Hating to imagine Xavi consulting with a lover—Ellen? Appendage lady?—over the interior, she stepped out onto the living room’s balcony to breathe in the warm air, and soaked in the grounds from this new perspective.
It was hard not to sigh with wonder at it all, and just incredible to believe something like this existed in the heart of Madrid.
‘This place must have cost you a fortune,’ she commented when Xavi stood beside her at the balustrade.
‘It’s my most expensive piece of real estate, but worth every cent.’ She felt his gaze turn to her. ‘What do you think? Can you be happy here?’
She tightened her grip on the iron railing and fought her throat from closing.
Eight years ago, she would have been ecstatic. As amenable as the de la Rosas had been to her practically living with them, Beth had longed for her and Xavi to have a place of their own. As much as they’d spoken of buying a place just like this, she’d have been happy anywhere so long as it was with Xavi.
Eight years ago, she’d been a naive fool.
She brought a smile to her face and said, ‘Waking up to this view every day will make me happy.’
The glass door opened, and his housekeeper stepped out carrying a tray of coffee for them.
Taking a seat at the balcony table, Beth tried not to wonder how many other women had taken this very seat.
‘Is the whole top floor yours?’ she asked once the coffee had been poured and they were alone again.
‘The whole building is mine,’ he said. ‘I rent the other apartments out.’
‘You bought thewhole building?’ If she were judging it by London standards, she would estimate it could be divided into homes for a minimum of ten families, all living in plentiful space and luxury. By Manchester standards, twenty families.
A muscular shoulder lifted. ‘Why own a part of something when you can own the entire thing?’
‘You do have a thing about owning the entirety of things, don’t you?’ At his raised eyebrows, she added, ‘The primary reason you’re marrying me is so you can keep control of the entirety of the Rosbel Group.’
His shaded stare stayed steady on her. ‘Yes, keeping control of the company is my primary reason for marrying you, but that doesn’t make my other reasons redundant, and it doesn’t change that you’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted to marry.’
Rather than throw her coffee over him, she laughed and fixed her gaze back on the distant lake-size pond. Figures she thought looked small enough to be children were paddling in it. If their child had lived, it could have been one of those children. It would have just turned seven, and it never failed to hurt her heart that it hadn’t lived long enough for her to know its sex.
‘I mean it, Beth. No one else has come close to you.’
‘Gosh, I amhonoured.’ She would not give him the satisfaction of saying no one had come close to him, either…not that she believed him. Xavi would say whatever needed saying and do whatever needed doing until he had his ring on her finger.
‘You don’t believe me?’
She shrugged. ‘Does it matter when we’re getting married in two days?’
‘It matters to me.’
