His lip curled. ‘So I changed my mind? I thought women liked spontaneity.’
She glared at him. ‘And I’m just a woman? How romantic!’
He stared at her in exasperation. ‘It’s not meant to be romantic. This is a business arrangement.’
‘Fine! Then I don’t need this. Here!’
Reaching down, she tugged the ring off her finger and held it out to him.
He ignored her hand, his face hardening. She was impossible. Irrational. Ungrateful. He could have thrown her and her brother to the wolves, but instead he’d given her a second chance, just like his father.
Leaning forward, he thumped on the window behind the chauffeur’s head.
‘What are you doing?’ Daisy was looking at him, her eyes wide with shock.
‘I’m getting out. I need some fresh air.’
‘But you can’t just walk away. We need to talk.’
Her anger was giving way to confusion and fear.
But as the car slid smoothly to a halt he yanked open the door, an expression on his face that she couldn’t decipher.
‘There’s no point,’ he said flatly. ‘I really don’t think we have anything more to say to one another.’ And then, before she had a chance to reply, he was on the pavement, vanishing into the crowds as the car started to move forward again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
BACK AT THE APARTMENT, Daisy stared blankly around the living room, the tears she’d managed to hold back in the limousine burning her eyes.
What had he meant by nothing left to say?
But, recalling the flat finality of his tone, she felt her chest tighten and she knew what he’d meant.
He meant it was over.
And now her brother was going to pay the price.
Her mind began to race; her breath came fast and jerky, as though she’d been running.
She needed to warn David. She needed to be the one to tell him about the deal she’d made and wrecked. Her stomach shrank. And about what would happen next...
Panic crawled over her skin and, heart pounding, she walked dazedly upstairs. She would pack and then she would leave.
But if she left, there would be no going back. Shouldn’t she at least try and talk to Rollo again?
But as she pictured his cool, expressionless face, her hands began to shake, and abruptly she sat down on the bed.
Rollo couldn’t have made it clearer that he had nothing to say to her.
She lifted her chin, felt her heartbeat steadying. Then she would just have to do the talking—even if it was only to say goodbye.
He might be about to unleash hell, but she wasn’t a coward. And, although she knew she’d made mistakes, she wasn’t going to make herself look guiltier than she was by running away.
If only her hands would stop shaking.
Glancing down to where they lay in her lap, she caught sight of the ring and, stomach cramping, she slowly pulled it off her finger and laid it on the bedside table. She didn’t need it anymore and, whatever Rollo might think, she didn’t want it either. Even looking at it made her feel sick and helpless.
But staying to face him was her choice. And that meant she wasn’t helpless, and whatever happened next, she needed to remember that. Now though, it was time to pack. Not because she expected him back anytime soon—it was, after all, a working day—but because she simply couldn’t sit and wait for him. She needed to do something.