stop Roque from finishing it. ‘Alex will not be left alone here in England to get into more trouble for the simple reason he will not be in England at all.’
She was staring at him now, in the grip of totalstillness, so concentrated on what he was saying that she couldn’t even draw in a breath.
‘We went together to speak to his college dean this morning,’ he went on to explain. ‘Alex is taking a gap year from his studies, effective as of now.’
‘S-so where is he going?’ Angie breathed almost indistinctly.
‘Brazil,’ Roque relayed. ‘To my ranch near Sao Paulo, to be exact.’
‘Brazil …?’ she whispered, as if he had not added the other details.
‘He is going to learn all about ranching, cattle farming, living off the land—’
‘Brazil? ‘ Angie repeated one more time, her voice rising to a shrill pitch. ‘You are sending my nineteen-year-old brother to the other end of the world for a whole year without my say-so?’
‘Alex is over eighteen. He is allowed to make these decisions for himself.’
That wasn’t the point. ‘You mean it was your decision! What were his options—Brazil or a prison cell?’
‘Sim,’
he confirmed, without flickering a glossy black eyelash. ‘He chose to work the next year, helping to pay back what he stole from me.’
The blunt use of the word
stole
had its effect on Angie, paling her face even further and closing up her throat. ‘S-so where is he now?’ she only just managed to utter.
‘As of right now—?’ With a smooth flick of a bright white shirt-cuff he exposed his gold wristwatch and gave his attention to it. ‘Experiencing the comforts of first-class air travel somewhere over the Atlantic,’ he answered. ‘On his way to Sao Paulo …’
For a whole thirty seconds Angie couldn’t seem to find a reaction. Pure shock was holding fast. She just stared at Roque, still standing there behind his desk like some lofty, unreachable lord and master, dark as the devil and cool as a long drink of iced water. He watched the emerald glow in her eyes slowly, slowly disappear, until the colour had turned pure bottomless black. Then she lowered her head to look down at her hands, still clutching her recovered possessions.
‘You took my phone,’ she mumbled.
Not understanding the relevance of the comment, Roque drew his eyebrows together in a frown.
She said it again, this time lifting those darkened eyes back to his. ‘You took away my phone so I couldn’t call him. You sent him away without allowing me to speak to him before he left … Why would you do that? ‘
For the first time since this had begun Roque’s voice revealed a hint of roughness. ‘I felt it would be easier on you if you had no input—’ ‘Easier on you, you mean.’
‘Alex needs to face up to his responsibilities,’ he persisted doggedly. ‘He did this a lot faster believing that you were out of the loop.’
‘You—you let him think I’ve turned my back on him?’
Roque released a sigh. ‘Angie—we agreed that I would take control of your brother—’
‘Just shut up about our stupid agreement! ‘ She would have screeched all of that at him if her voice hadn’t become muffled by the strangling blockage currently in control of her aching throat.
‘We need a breathing space to work on our marriagewithout your brother constantly tossing a spanner in the works!’
‘But I don’t
want
to work on our marriage!’
‘Then why are you standing here?’
The hard challenge shimmered over the full length of her taut figure. He dared to stand there, seemingly expecting her to turn into the perfect amiable wife because he had taken control of her brother and her life?
‘Why are you bothering to do this at all?’ she fed right back at him.
Roque lowered his dark head. ‘My family does not do divorce,’ he answered smoothly.
Angie had to suck in a long hard breath to control the ever-pressing need to tumble into the kind of wild weeping jag she had not
She was staring at him now, in the grip of totalstillness, so concentrated on what he was saying that she couldn’t even draw in a breath.
‘We went together to speak to his college dean this morning,’ he went on to explain. ‘Alex is taking a gap year from his studies, effective as of now.’
‘S-so where is he going?’ Angie breathed almost indistinctly.
‘Brazil,’ Roque relayed. ‘To my ranch near Sao Paulo, to be exact.’
‘Brazil …?’ she whispered, as if he had not added the other details.
‘He is going to learn all about ranching, cattle farming, living off the land—’
‘Brazil? ‘ Angie repeated one more time, her voice rising to a shrill pitch. ‘You are sending my nineteen-year-old brother to the other end of the world for a whole year without my say-so?’
‘Alex is over eighteen. He is allowed to make these decisions for himself.’
That wasn’t the point. ‘You mean it was your decision! What were his options—Brazil or a prison cell?’
‘Sim,’
he confirmed, without flickering a glossy black eyelash. ‘He chose to work the next year, helping to pay back what he stole from me.’
The blunt use of the word
stole
had its effect on Angie, paling her face even further and closing up her throat. ‘S-so where is he now?’ she only just managed to utter.
‘As of right now—?’ With a smooth flick of a bright white shirt-cuff he exposed his gold wristwatch and gave his attention to it. ‘Experiencing the comforts of first-class air travel somewhere over the Atlantic,’ he answered. ‘On his way to Sao Paulo …’
For a whole thirty seconds Angie couldn’t seem to find a reaction. Pure shock was holding fast. She just stared at Roque, still standing there behind his desk like some lofty, unreachable lord and master, dark as the devil and cool as a long drink of iced water. He watched the emerald glow in her eyes slowly, slowly disappear, until the colour had turned pure bottomless black. Then she lowered her head to look down at her hands, still clutching her recovered possessions.
‘You took my phone,’ she mumbled.
Not understanding the relevance of the comment, Roque drew his eyebrows together in a frown.
She said it again, this time lifting those darkened eyes back to his. ‘You took away my phone so I couldn’t call him. You sent him away without allowing me to speak to him before he left … Why would you do that? ‘
For the first time since this had begun Roque’s voice revealed a hint of roughness. ‘I felt it would be easier on you if you had no input—’ ‘Easier on you, you mean.’
‘Alex needs to face up to his responsibilities,’ he persisted doggedly. ‘He did this a lot faster believing that you were out of the loop.’
‘You—you let him think I’ve turned my back on him?’
Roque released a sigh. ‘Angie—we agreed that I would take control of your brother—’
‘Just shut up about our stupid agreement! ‘ She would have screeched all of that at him if her voice hadn’t become muffled by the strangling blockage currently in control of her aching throat.
‘We need a breathing space to work on our marriagewithout your brother constantly tossing a spanner in the works!’
‘But I don’t
want
to work on our marriage!’
‘Then why are you standing here?’
The hard challenge shimmered over the full length of her taut figure. He dared to stand there, seemingly expecting her to turn into the perfect amiable wife because he had taken control of her brother and her life?
‘Why are you bothering to do this at all?’ she fed right back at him.
Roque lowered his dark head. ‘My family does not do divorce,’ he answered smoothly.
Angie had to suck in a long hard breath to control the ever-pressing need to tumble into the kind of wild weeping jag she had not
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