but she decided it was none of his business, especially in light of his ongoing affair with Candy. She refused to bring the other woman up since the last thing she wanted was for him to think that she cared. Which she didnât.
âBruno is shooting in Rome and this is where I want to be. I love it here. Iâve always loved it here and the only reason you didnât agree to let me have this place during the divorce was because you knew how much I wanted it. For spite, you were intentionally difficult.â
âThink whatever you like. Iâm leaving to catch the last of the polo matches. I want you gone when I return.â
âIâm not leaving, Matthew.â
His expression turned from stony to inexplicably weary. âIâm not going to waste my time arguing with you, Carmen.â
âThen donât.â
They stood there staring at each other, anger bouncing off both of them. Then, without saying another word, Matthew turned and walked out. Carmen held her breath until she heard the front door slam shut behind him.
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Matthew decided not to return to the Seven Oaks Farm for the match. Instead, he went for a drive to clear his head and cool his anger. Carmen was being difficultâshe hadnât behaved that way since the early days of their courtship.
He had pursued her with a single-minded determination he hadnât known he was capable of, and she had put up a brick wall, refusing to let him get close. But heâd known the first moment heâd laid eyes on her that he not only wanted her to star in his movie but he wanted her in his bed and wouldnât be satisfied until he got both.
Sheâd gotten the part in the movie, earning it fair and square. Getting her into his bed had proven to be difficultand before he got her there, heâd realized he had fallen in love with her. He wasnât certain how it had happened, but it had. Heâd loved her so deeply, he knew he wasnât capable of ever loving another woman that way.
Sheâd stood before him in that church and promised to love him forever. So what if he worked long hoursâdidnât âtill death do us partâ mean anything to her? And if he hadnât worked so hard, he would not have earned the reputation of being one of the countryâs up-and-coming film producers.
A throbbing warmth flowed through his chest, which was immediately followed by a rush of anger that was trying to consume him. He had wanted so much for them and she had done something so unforgivable it hurt him to think about it. He had been absolutely certain she was the one person who understood his drive to build something of his own, the one person who would never let him down. His father had let him down by not marrying his mother when sheâd gotten pregnant, and then his mother had let him down when she married Charles Murray, the stepfather from hell. Carmen had restored his faith that there was someone out there who wouldnât disappoint him. So much for that.
Matthew parked the car on the side of the road and just sat there, gazing at the beach. Walking into the bedroom and seeing her barely clothed had been too much. For a moment, lust had overshadowed his common sense and he could only think of how her breasts felt in his hands, how they tasted in his mouth.
With the sunlight streaming through the window, her nearly transparent robe had revealed the darkened triangle between her legs. It had taken all his strength not to cross the room, toss her on the bed and bury himself deepinside her body the way he used to after theyâd argued and made up.
And theyâd had to make up a lot since the amount of time heâd spent away from home had always been a bone of contention between them. But theyâd always worked through it. What heâd tried so hard to figure out was, what had made the last time different? Why had she felt like throwing in the towel? Sheâd known his profession when