Billionaire's Defiant Mistress (15 page)

“Have you told Raul and his wife? Do they know we are married?”

“No,” he said without emotion.

Sarah took a deep breath. “But you said things were good between you now, shouldn't you let them know?”

Carlos was becoming irritated with her questioning – though her words were hitting home. “I was planning to let them know.”

“Oh? When were you planning to tell them?”

He gently rubbed his finger across the faint shadow underneath her deep blue eyes and could sense a quivering in her lips. She was exhausted emotionally. Her soft curves and her tender skin were pleading for his touch, but he forced himself to withdraw – persuading himself that he must temper his lust until the rouge had once again filled her cheeks. Her body needed rest more than it needed passion.

“We will go to Spain and can meet them together,” he said firmly. “What do you think to taking a honeymoon in Madrid, Sarah?”

Sarah tried to squash her faltering nerves as she glanced out of the window of the sleek black limousine. It was late afternoon and they were travelling through an outer suburb of Madrid on their way to visit Raul and Rafaela. Carlos remained silent and distant, almost like a statue, as he sat beside her.

For a new bride who was desperate to understand her husband by gaining a knowledge of his history, a honeymoon in Madrid should have been the cherry on the cake. Not only was she visiting one of the world's most beautiful cities, it was also a chance to meet his oldest, best friend and the woman who ditched him all those years ago.

But it didn't feel like an opportunity to get to know him better; it actually felt all wrong. In fact, Sarah had begun to think that her life was all wrong. Yes, she was surrounded by luxury and security but she was constantly facing the unknown with a man who had become a stranger since the day they had married. And today she would be face-to-face with the woman who broke her husband's heart, and that was something which would intimidate any young bride.

She kept going through the facts as she understood them. Carlos's best friend had married the woman who destroyed her husband's dreams along with his trust in women. Sarah would have to meet her, would no doubt be judged by her and all while she was having to accept an unpalatable development. The
development which threatened her marriage and her future life with Carlos.

Carlos had not made love to Sarah since they became married over a week ago
.

At first, she made excuses for his disinterest – he had been working on some business, and had played two soccer games in four days. But then he had always been busy, even when she had lived with him as his mistress, and it had never been like this. No matter how hard he worked, how hard he trained, or, how many games he had to play he had always been hungry for her when he returned home.

Now, he had developed the habit of keeping a distance between them – even when in the same room together they could have been a million miles apart. The uninhibited, passionate lover she had fallen for during the time of their affair was fast receding into a distant memory.

Even on their wedding night, she was asleep before he finally came to bed and in the morning she woke to discover that he was already awake and dressed. He had acted as though he were a doctor rather than a man spending the first twenty-four hours with his new bride. That morning he had presented her with a tray containing fruit juice, scrambled eggs and toast, then sat with her, a stern look on his face, to make sure she ate it all. When she reached towards him, trying to wrap her arms around him, he had pulled himself away telling her she needed to get some rest and recover.

But what was she supposed to be recovering from? She asked herself. He had left her lying there, in a state of bemusement, whilst he went downstairs to make some business phone calls and to have a session on his weights.

The sexual desert had continued for the past week. Any contact between them had been perfunctory and passionless. With no sense of being desired, Sarah could feel her confidence draining away. She was beginning to think he had tricked her into marriage – manufactured a cruel hoax and lured her into a relationship of emptiness. She couldn't decide if it was her pregnancy that made him lose his desire for her, or whether he was punishing her for ensnaring him. But she did know one thing for sure; he was only with her because of the baby. She would be foolish if she forgot that.

The journey to Madrid had been by private jet. Sarah hadn't felt the same sense of excitement she'd experienced when they'd flown to Venice. It wasn't new, there was no champagne and there was no intimacy with her husband. She had reflected on how quickly the trappings of wealth and luxury can lose their allure when packaged along with a vacuous relationship.

As they drove, the houses became further apart and grander, and the land was covered in olive groves and vineyards. Finally, the car turned into a gated road which disappeared over a small hill behind a field of small trees. As they continued along the driveway, Sarah caught sight of an enormous house in the distance. She couldn't keep back her questions any longer.

“When was the last time you came here?”

Carlos shrugged his shoulders lazily. “Probably five years, it might be six. I'm not really sure.”

“That's quite a long time.”

“It is, Sarah.”

She ignored his obvious reluctance to engage in conversation, instead turning to stare into the cold darkness of his eyes. “Is that because...?”

“It's because it is better that way,” he interrupted. He was irritated and was doing all he could to make that clear without doing or saying something which might hurt her. He thought he had told her enough about his past. Yet she continued to dig and dig despite him having told her more than he had ever intended. She knew about Raul and she knew about Rafaela. But the more he told her the more she wanted to know. He felt she was sucking him dry by questioning. When would she take the hint? “We tend to meet up once a year, but that's usually somewhere else, not here. And, I do see Raul more often when we have football matches, usually international games.”

Sarah was unsure what to think of his clear reluctance to engage in conversation on the subject of their hosts. Maybe this was not the right time to quiz him, as they were about to meet them. As she looked at the house they were approaching and the acres of land they had to drive through, she wondered if Carlos felt that all this could have been his – along with the woman who lived here. The woman she was about to meet. Playing safe, she changed the direction of the conversation. “So, tell me how old their daughter is.”

“Gabriella? She would be twelve now.”

“That's such a pretty name. So your best friend has been a father for twelve years.” She looked at him sideways. “And you are just about to become one.”

There was a few moments silence as Carlos felt that pain which he had carried deep in his heart for so long. He continued to stare out into the Spanish sky and the golden rays of wintry sun shimmering across the fields. He was about to become a father. It didn't seem possible – and he was yet to get used to the idea – he had just been blanking it out because the concept of fatherhood was beyond his comprehension. He knew nothing about babies and had never intended becoming a father. He had just been swept along with his own idea of what was the right thing to do while internally pretending to himself that it wasn't happening. And he was also worried. Because the part of him that wanted to be a father was all too aware of the dangers of miscarriage in the first three months. The thought of becoming a father filled Carlos with dread, the thought it might not happen worried him even more.

And each time Sarah mentioned the baby growing inside her or spoke of his impending fatherhood the idea flared in his mind like an explosion of reality. A baby. It all seemed so impossible – a miracle even, that something could come on him so unexpectedly. It was his own seed which had created a life. He thought back to a magazine article he had read and which contained a photograph of a scan of a baby in the womb. Out of proportion, with a giant head, and yet unmistakably the shape of a baby.

Carlos moved suddenly, reaching his hand across her stomach causing Sarah to give a little jump of surprise. “Have you felt anything yet?”

Sarah laughed and shook her head. “No, not yet.” She looked straight at him and gave him a big smile, aware that he was genuinely interested in the baby she was carrying for him. “I won't feel anything in the first three months, at least, so it will be a while yet.” She felt a warm glow through her body as she enjoyed the sensation of his hand there. It wasn't the feeling of love, which she wanted, but she did feel safe and protected which were pretty good substitutes. “Are we going to tell them we are expecting a baby?”

“It will only make things more difficult,” he said.

“You think it's going to be difficult?” she replied.

“Everything is in the past now, but don't expect us all to be hugging and laughing and joking together. We are friends, but distant friends.”

As she watched his lips move she couldn't help but expect him to tell her that she would only ever be second best. She already knew her place, but she'd rather keep in place her own stupid fantasies than have them smashed by an admission from Carlos. But as she watched his face and saw the unmistakable tension in his cheeks and on his brow she realised that he was hurting. Was this trip going to be unbearably difficult for him? And what could she do to ease his suffering? So she decided she wouldn't question him any further but instead would concentrate on presenting herself as best she could and make him proud of her.

“Quick reminder,” she said quietly. “It's Raul and Rafaela, the daughter is Gabriella? There are no brothers and sisters, just the one child?”

“That's correct, and here she is to greet us,” said Carlos.

Sarah looked out of the window expecting to see a twelve-year-old girl, because she knew what she was like at that age. When expecting a visitor she could imagine a young girl sitting at the window waiting and watching with excitement for the guests to arrive. But this was no young girl, this was a woman.

And this was some woman.

Tall, elegant, a perfectly proportioned figure and possibly the longest legs Sarah had seen on a woman. She had thick, shiny hair which cascaded over her narrow shoulders. Her skin was olive coloured whilst her eyes shone and stood out because of their deep green tincture. Her clothes were immaculate. She wore an exquisitely cut dress in an off-white tone - accessorised with ankle length leather boots which had a small heel. She was adorned with expensive jewellery. A narrow bracelet of sparkling diamonds dangled from her slender wrist and there were more diamonds attached to her ear lobes. But the biggest diamond of all was the solitaire wedding ring on her finger. On anybody else, Sarah thought, so much jewellery would look showy. But Rafaela exuded so much confidence she could probably get away with wearing anything.

Sarah's heart sank as she felt herself to be insignificant in comparison to her husband's former lover. She felt pale, her skin was too fair, her hair all wishy washy and blonde. She painfully reminded herself that this was the woman Carlos had planned to marry – no shotgun involved. This was the woman who, when Carlos needed her most, had chosen to dump him and run-off with his best friend. Sarah suddenly realised just what a blow to his pride and his heart her leaving must have been to her husband.

“Is that Rafaela?” she said softly.

“That's her.”

“She's very beautiful.”

“Yes, she is,” said Carlos, as his face widened into a smile.

Sarah's heart plummeted. She could see that Rafaela was a beautiful woman and her husband would be a liar if he had denied it. But she felt so insecure all she wanted was for Carlos to tell her that she was a hag and that he had never loved her.

There was no time for more thoughts or for more conversation as Rafaela was upon them bringing with her a heady scent and those unique, sparkling, green eyes which she pointed directly at Carlos.

“Carlos,” she said, placing her hands on his shoulders as she kissed him on one cheek and then the other. “So good to see you, it's been a long time. Was it in Paris last year, when we had dinner?”

“I think it was,” he said. “Time goes so quickly.”

“But you still had time to get married, and you never even told us!”

“You know I like springing surprises,” he said dryly. Pulling himself away from Rafaela's arms and the overbearing scent of her perfume, he placed his palm gently to his wife's waist. “And this is my wife, Sarah.”

“'My wife! Now there are two words I thought I would never hear you say. I'm so pleased to meet you, Sarah.”

Sarah felt awkward and was hoping that Carlos would do something significant like kiss her, or declare his deep love for her. Anything that would put Rafaela in no doubt that he was engrossed by his new bride. She wanted it in spite of it being untrue, even though she knew Carlos wouldn't make such an empty gesture in order to gloat in front of his ex-lover. But without such a sign from Carlos, Sarah felt excluded due to the shared history and dark undercurrents that had passed between them.

“And I'm pleased to meet you,” she said, bravely burying her nerves.

“Now I understand this all happened very quickly,” said Rafaela as she hooked her arm through Sarah's as if they were life-long friends. “I want to know all about it. How did you capture the heart of a man for whom all women go crazy? So many have failed where you have succeeded, you must tell me your secret.”

Sarah felt she was being reminded that there was only one woman who had captured Carlos's heart. Or was she insinuating that Sarah was not the kind of bride she was expecting. A young, unsophisticated country-girl who worked as a shop assistant. She may be wearing expensive clothes and carrying a designer handbag but Sarah thought the clothes wore her, rather than the other way round.

“That's a question for Carlos, I think,” said Sarah deflecting the discussion. They walked through a brick archway, continuing into a courtyard on their way to the main living quarters.