‘The reason I sold the company was to have the time to prove to you—conclusively and forever—that you married the wrong man, Natalie.’ The low throb of passion in his voice gathered a deep soul-shaking conviction as he added, ‘The man you should have married was me. Not Brett. Me!’
CHAPTER TWO
MARRIAGE? To Damien?
Natalie felt as though she had been pummelled in the solar plexus. Her mind was blown into whirling confusion. She stared incredulously at Damien, struggling to connect what she knew of him to the words he had spoken. He held her gaze, relentlessly reinforcing what he’d said with compelling intensity.
She supposed she should feel flattered a man of his many attractions wanting her. She wondered what influenced his choice. He hadn’t mentioned love. She wasn’t the first woman he’d wanted, and wouldn’t be the last. So why her?
Natalie’s shell-shocked mind finally grasped the motive behind Damien’s statement.
Brett.
She felt sick.
And angry.
She leaned forward, her eyes a golden shower of blistering sparks. ‘Even now, with Brett in the grave, you can’t help competing with him, can you? You can’t let go. You want to take me over to prove to your insatiable ego that you were the better man.’
He grimaced in frustration. ‘That’s nonsense! Why are you avoiding the obvious?’
‘The obvious is that Brett’s still on your mind,’ she retorted. ‘You began and ended your ridiculous claim with Brett. After I’d specifically asked you never to mention him to me again.’
‘So it still hurts that much, does it? Goddammit, Natalie, I’ve waited long enough! Will you recognise me for what I am?’
‘That’s the problem, Damien. I do recognise you for what you are. You told me straight out that you sold the company because it wasn’t any fun without Brett. It was something you shared. So what’s the new project? Me. Something else you can share with him in some tormented, twisted, perverted way.’
‘I’m not sharing you with anyone,’ he declared indignantly. ‘When I saw you today...’
‘You thought the fun could begin.’
From somewhere inside her came a billow of outrage. It activated a burst of adrenalin. She reached down, snatched her shoulder-bag from the floor, opened it, and grabbed her wallet.
‘I thought you had finally put your grief behind you,’ Damien continued.
‘I will not be beholden to you for anything, Damien.’ She found a twenty-dollar note and slapped it on the table. ‘That will pay for our drinks. I don’t want to eat with you. I don’t want to be with you. I will never, in any circumstance, sleep with you. Do you understand what those words mean?’
‘So the brave new front is just a charade,’ he mocked angrily. ‘You can’t face up to a different reality.’
‘What’s different?’ She returned her wallet to her bag and stood up, casting him a look of contempt. ‘If you want to prove you’re a better man than Brett, you can run after all the women he had on the side.’
‘What?’ He looked astounded, incredulous. ‘You knew?’
‘Of course I knew. And your part in it, as well.’
‘I played no part in it...’
‘Don’t lie to me, Damien. You covered up for Brett. He deceived me. You betrayed me.’
Disdaining to glance at Damien again, Natalie set off down the length of the dining-room to the exit of the restaurant.
‘Natalie...’ It was both a protest and an appeal.
She ignored it. She heard Damien coming after her, brushing past hovering waiters, but she neither turned her head nor slowed her pace. She felt utterly deflated and cast down. She should never have trusted the feeling that he meant well by her. It was a sham so he could win out in the end. Against a dead man.
As she stepped into the reception nook outside the restaurant, Damien caught her arm, forcibly halting her. She gave him an intimidating stare of icy rejection.
‘What did you want from me that I didn’t give?’ he demanded. ‘Tell me one thing.’