temper so badly, making him restless and ill at ease so that he couldn’t concentrate on anything.
If he closed his eyes he saw her face. If he sat at his desk he was sure that he could scent her perfume on the air, feel the silken slide of her long black hair against his face. And once, when he answered the phone and heard a woman’s voice, he was sure that it was her on the other end of the line.
But it was only Mercedes, ringing up to tell him about a trip to England she was planning. For perhaps the first time ever he couldn’t bring himself to give his younger sister the indulgent attention he usually showed her and he could tell that she was annoyed and upset when she finally hung up the phone.
Just what the hell was wrong with him? Ramón asked himself, picking up a file and trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing with it.
Did he really have to ask that question? Didn’t he know already just what the answer would be? The two words that summed up everything that was preying on his mind, driving him to distraction.
Estrella Medrano.
The conversation they had had that night in his flat played over and over in his head until he felt that he was going insane.
‘You want me to marry you?’
‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because you weren’t going to ask me when my father wanted you to. You walked out on the deal you wanted…’
‘And this…’
The memory of just what ‘this’ had meant made his body clench his blood heat, his pulse run wild.
He’d told himself to let her go. To forget her. Who was he trying to kid?
He couldn’t forget her. He wanted her.
He wanted her so badly that it hurt.
‘And is there nothing else that would give you the same satisfaction?’
‘Nothing else that matches it.’
Another snatch of conversation from the night he had spent with Estrella floated into his mind, making him shake his head in despair at himself. He had thought that the deal with her father was what mattered to him. He had wanted that deal, had planned, schemed, negotiated, worked his butt off to get that deal.
Only now did he see that it came in second place, if that. A long, long way second.
He’d wanted the deal. He’d wanted the television station—he still did. Wanted them so much.
But he wanted Estrella Medrano so much more.
‘Infierno!’
In a fury of restlessness he tossed down his pen and stood up, yanking his jacket from where it hung on the back of his chair. If he kept this up he would go completely insane!
He was just going to see her, he told himself. Just see her and talk to her and…
His mind wouldn’t go beyond that point.
He didn’t know what was beyond that point. The real question didn’t dawn on him until he was in his car, with the engine running.
He wasn’t really thinking of marrying Estrella Medrano after all—was he?
Estrella’s head was aching brutally. She had hardly slept all week, and tonight was positively the last straw. When her father had announced that they were expecting a guest for dinner, she had actually taken a few minutes to register quite what he meant.
But then she had seen the look in his eyes, the harsh set to his mouth, and she had known.
It was not just any casual visitor, not some friend of her father making a social call. He had found another possible suitor for her.
‘ Papá —please don’t do this…’
It was some time since she had tried to fight. But after the humiliation and the embarrassment she had endured with Ramón Dario, she knew she had to try. She just couldn’t go through it all again.
Her arguments, her pleading fell on deaf ears. Alfredo was totally determined, and nothing she could do would sway or change his mind.
‘If you hadn’t dragged the Medrano name in the dust, playing around with a married man, ruining a fine woman’s life—not to mention those two poor children—then you wouldn’t be in this situation. But I warn you, my girl, I’m coming to the end of my
If he closed his eyes he saw her face. If he sat at his desk he was sure that he could scent her perfume on the air, feel the silken slide of her long black hair against his face. And once, when he answered the phone and heard a woman’s voice, he was sure that it was her on the other end of the line.
But it was only Mercedes, ringing up to tell him about a trip to England she was planning. For perhaps the first time ever he couldn’t bring himself to give his younger sister the indulgent attention he usually showed her and he could tell that she was annoyed and upset when she finally hung up the phone.
Just what the hell was wrong with him? Ramón asked himself, picking up a file and trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing with it.
Did he really have to ask that question? Didn’t he know already just what the answer would be? The two words that summed up everything that was preying on his mind, driving him to distraction.
Estrella Medrano.
The conversation they had had that night in his flat played over and over in his head until he felt that he was going insane.
‘You want me to marry you?’
‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because you weren’t going to ask me when my father wanted you to. You walked out on the deal you wanted…’
‘And this…’
The memory of just what ‘this’ had meant made his body clench his blood heat, his pulse run wild.
He’d told himself to let her go. To forget her. Who was he trying to kid?
He couldn’t forget her. He wanted her.
He wanted her so badly that it hurt.
‘And is there nothing else that would give you the same satisfaction?’
‘Nothing else that matches it.’
Another snatch of conversation from the night he had spent with Estrella floated into his mind, making him shake his head in despair at himself. He had thought that the deal with her father was what mattered to him. He had wanted that deal, had planned, schemed, negotiated, worked his butt off to get that deal.
Only now did he see that it came in second place, if that. A long, long way second.
He’d wanted the deal. He’d wanted the television station—he still did. Wanted them so much.
But he wanted Estrella Medrano so much more.
‘Infierno!’
In a fury of restlessness he tossed down his pen and stood up, yanking his jacket from where it hung on the back of his chair. If he kept this up he would go completely insane!
He was just going to see her, he told himself. Just see her and talk to her and…
His mind wouldn’t go beyond that point.
He didn’t know what was beyond that point. The real question didn’t dawn on him until he was in his car, with the engine running.
He wasn’t really thinking of marrying Estrella Medrano after all—was he?
Estrella’s head was aching brutally. She had hardly slept all week, and tonight was positively the last straw. When her father had announced that they were expecting a guest for dinner, she had actually taken a few minutes to register quite what he meant.
But then she had seen the look in his eyes, the harsh set to his mouth, and she had known.
It was not just any casual visitor, not some friend of her father making a social call. He had found another possible suitor for her.
‘ Papá —please don’t do this…’
It was some time since she had tried to fight. But after the humiliation and the embarrassment she had endured with Ramón Dario, she knew she had to try. She just couldn’t go through it all again.
Her arguments, her pleading fell on deaf ears. Alfredo was totally determined, and nothing she could do would sway or change his mind.
‘If you hadn’t dragged the Medrano name in the dust, playing around with a married man, ruining a fine woman’s life—not to mention those two poor children—then you wouldn’t be in this situation. But I warn you, my girl, I’m coming to the end of my
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