The Spanish Tycoon's Takeover

No! He refused to want this woman.

He made his voice sharp. ‘This story...it is not for your personal edification. I have no desire whatsoever to provide you with entertainment or amusement!’

The light in those lovely green eyes snapped off. ‘No, of course not. I’m sorry.’

But even though she’d apologised, he had a feeling she’d prefer to stab him through the heart with something sharp and deadly. He could hardly blame her. She’d done nothing to deserve his rebuke. Her natural effervescence, however—her sense of fun, her attempts to be generous and pleasant—chafed at him. He didn’t want her to be so congenial...so willing to approve of him...so attractive.

He didn’t want to like her!

‘The “story” as you so quaintly put it, is sordid and unpleasant, and it does your grandmother no credit!’

His teeth ground together. He had no right to tar Wynne with the same brush. If he were honest, he had no desire to hurt her either. He just wanted her...gone.

‘This has something to do with Aggie?’

Her overly polite tone made him clench his teeth harder. He had no one to blame for that but himself.

Tell her the story, tell her what you mean to do, and then accept her resignation. Wish her well and then you’ll never have to see her again.

Before he could start, however, she broke in. ‘It might be better to take this back to the conference room, don’t you think?’

He grew aware, then, of the rattling of the housekeeping cart in the hallway, and the fact that he and Wynne were wedged in the bathroom of the smallest room Aggie’s Retreat had to offer. It was a room Wynne didn’t currently use, due to an issue with the plumbing—the explanation of which he’d cut short.

He gestured for her to precede him out of the room. When they reached the conference room she stood aside to let him enter first. She didn’t take a seat until he ordered her to sit. Her sudden deference had him grinding his back molars so hard he’d need dental work by the time he returned to Spain.

Her face, when she turned to him, was smooth and opaque and so formally courteous he had to bite back another rebuke. What reprimand could he utter? She was simply behaving in the manner that he wanted her to—that he’d ordered her to. The fact that he hated it was not her fault.

Aggie’s past sins were not Wynne’s fault either. Even if she had unknowingly profited from them.

‘You were about to explain why you’d purchased Aggie’s Retreat.’

Straight to the point. That, at least, he could appreciate.

‘Did you know that Aggie won this establishment in a card game?’

‘So that was the truth, then?’ Luscious lips lifted as if they were unused to such rigorous restraint. They were garnered back under house arrest a moment later. ‘I always thought it was a story my grandmother spun for dramatic impact. She was fond of a tall tale.’

‘It was the truth.’

‘I see.’

If she had any curiosity, she didn’t show it. Xavier swallowed back the acid that burned his throat. ‘My grandfather—Lorenzo Ramos—was the other card player. It was his hotel.’

‘Ah.’ She stared at him for a long moment. ‘Was he in love with Aggie?’

His stomach clenched. ‘Why do you say this?’

‘When you’re next in the foyer, look at the portrait on the wall behind the check-in desk. It’s of Aggie when she was a young woman. She was very beautiful...and a free spirit in a time when that was unusual. She had a lot of admirers.’

Admirers? His grandfather hadn’t simply been an admirer. He’d loved Aggie. And Aggie had taken advantage of that. She’d taken Lorenzo’s heart and had run it through with her deceitful, conniving ways before tossing it aside as if it were...as if it were nothing!

And in his desolation and wretchedness Lorenzo had buckled to family pressure and married the coldest woman Xavier had ever met—his grandmother. Lorenzo’s heartbreak had led to the biggest mistake of his life, while Aggie had lived it up with her ill-gotten gains. Was there no justice in this world?

The smooth skin of Wynne’s forehead creased. ‘Has your grandfather held a grudge all these years? Because she bested him in a card game?’

She clasped her hands on the table, and the incredulity in her eyes burned through him.

‘Or is his grievance because he didn’t win her heart?’

‘He held a grudge because your grandmother cheated in that game of cards.’ Xavier shot out of his chair to pace the length of the room. ‘This motel should’ve been under the Ramos Corporation’s aegis all these years.’ He pointed a finger at her. ‘She manipulated him, made him fall in love with her, and then she...she cheated him.’

He paced some more.

When she remained silent, he spun back. ‘Are you not going to say something?’

She lifted one slender shoulder. He couldn’t blame her for feeling at a loss. ‘Your grandfather told you all this?’

‘On his deathbed.’

She stared, a frown gathering in her eyes. ‘Xavier, when did your grandfather die?’

He had to breathe deeply in through his nose and then let the breath out through his mouth before he could answer her. ‘Not quite five weeks ago.’

For the briefest of moments her gaze softened. ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

He nodded. ‘Thank you.’

A long silence ensued. All the while he was aware of her scrutiny. It was all he could do to feign indifference beneath it.

Finally she broke the quiet. ‘So... He asked you to...?’

Xavier lifted his chin. ‘Before he died he made me promise to buy the motel back.’

He had the penny piece and the Queen of Hearts card that Lorenzo had given him. He’d sworn to place them into Aggie’s hand himself. Apparently Aggie would know what they signified. He didn’t want to meet the woman who had caused his grandfather so much grief. But he had promised.

None of this is Wynne’s fault.

He took his seat again, biting back a sigh. ‘I am sorry if this gives you pain. I am sorry to be the one to reveal to you such an ugly truth about your grandmother.’

He waited for an outburst—protestations. Instead her gaze was removed from his as she stared down at the hands she’d pulled into her lap. From across the table he couldn’t tell if they were clenched or not.

‘You have nothing to say to this?’

‘Um... Congratulations? You’ve won?’

He stiffened. ‘I do not appreciate your flippancy.’

Her gaze lifted to his. She bit her lip, but it wasn’t pain that threaded through those extraordinary eyes. It might almost be...pity!