Her body could no longer control itself if Evan was in the room, she thought, pressing a hand to the pounding behind her sternum. “How long do I need to wait before I can ask for a divorce?” she made herself ask.
When he looked at her, his gaze was sardonic, self-mocking, and something in her ached at having caused it.
“Don’t anticipate it should take more than three months. As I said, we will take care of your trust immediately. I will need several weeks to get things in order before I can have the distillery’s ownership reverted to me.”
“But isn’t it a wedding gift? Wouldn’t your father, learning of your marriage, automatically be alerted to start the process?”
He smiled, but it was sinister.
“It’s not quite as simple as that, but it won’t take long.” He had the demeanor of one who readying for bloody battle. “I will have a retinue of lawyers working to get everything in place to pass the ownership to me. In the meantime, you’ll need an office and a solicitor to help getting Caña Brava legally established. Perhaps some help assessing the viability of the cordials venture. I’ll facilitate all of that.”
She wanted to reach for that offer like a lifeline, to snatch it and not let go. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’d rather take care of my affairs on my own.”
He pinned her in his sights for a second, then surprised her with a sharp, icy laugh.
“Whatever suits you,” he said with cutting indifference. “If you ever require my help, you are only to ask. These are my conditions, Luz Alana. That we marry at Braeburn, and that you live in my home for the first ninety days. Your sister and your cousin are welcome, of course.” That last bit he managed to inject some warmth to. “Otherwise, you will be free to do as you like.”
“Can I live in my house on Heriot Row after the ninety days?”
He shot her one of those long, scrutinizing looks.
“If that’s what you desire. I plan to move my residence permanently to the Braeburn once things with the deed are settled. You can continue to live in my town house on Queen Street or use yours. It’s up to you.”
Another of those benign smiles that made her want to scream.
Dread swirled in her at the prospect of that house she’d never seen. The idea of being there on her own with just Clarita and Amaranta felt...desolate.
“Any more requests from you, Luz Alana?” He set the papers aside, clearly done with her.
“I have two of them.”
“So many requirements.” He was amusing himself by teasing her, and she didn’t like this side of him, brittle and impervious.
“This is not the kind of arrangement one goes into without setting some parameters.” He nodded in concession and gestured for her to go on, which made her temper flare. She forced her face into a neutral expression when she finally spoke.
“I ask that you don’t keep information from me, as you did regarding your title. I don’t like to be kept in the dark.” She was expecting another cold look or a chilly smile, but for a second he seemed...wary? It was gone in a flash and quickly replaced by that now-familiar—and infuriating—sardonic expression.
“I did not lie, I just didn’t reveal a certain part of myself. I can’t say that I’m very attached to the title. It has very little to do with who I am.”
She could only gape at him.
“You are telling me that being born into the British nobility, one of the most ruthless, violent and powerful systems to have ever existed, has no bearing whatsoever on who you are?”
He opened his mouth to say something, then apparently reconsidered.
“Fair,” he conceded. “I can promise that anything that I am at liberty to say, I will relay to you.”
She retorted with an anticlimactic “Thank you.”
“And your last request?”
What she intended to ask next had not been part of the plan she’d arrived here with, but suddenly she could not hold it in. The question made her blood churn and her guts twist, but she’d gotten this far, and she would not waver now. Luz clasped her hands on her lap and forced herself to lift her eyes to his face. She’d been attracted to men before; she could recognize when one was interested in her in that way. She’d even reciprocated with a spark of interest now and then. But she’d never felt so aware of another person before. If Evan was in the room, her body hummed with the need to get closer to him. Her skin pulsed and tingled in places, days after he’d touched them.
She wanted more of that, of him. Luz had no interest in entanglements that intruded on her life or her plans. Of affairs that could hinder her ability to be a proper guardian to Clarita and a good steward to her family’s legacy. But she craved what Evan made her feel. And shewasmarrying the man.
“Luz Alana?” Her name on his lips made a delicious shiver crawl up her spine.
“I’d like for us to—”
