The Gold Collection. Maggie Cox

is not a suitable time for private discussion,’ Ramon ground out tensely—apparently forgetting that he had initiated the discussion, Lauren thought darkly.

      ‘I think you should know—’ she began, but he swung round and strode away before she could continue, leaving her staring angrily after him.

      ‘Oh, dear! Do I sense trouble in paradise?’

      Lauren stiffened at the sarcastic comment, and turned to see Pilar Fernandez step out from an alcove by the window. It was plain from her satisfied expression that the Spanish woman had overheard her spat with Ramon, but good manners prevented Lauren from accusing Pilar of eavesdropping.

      ‘Everything is fine,’ she lied, and knew from the arch of Pilar’s perfectly shaped eyebrows that the beautiful model did not believe her.

      There was no escaping the fact that Pilar was absolutely stunning, she thought dismally as she made a lightning inspection of the other woman’s scarlet silk dress, which fitted her fabulous figure like a second skin. She already knew the Fernandez family had been close friends of the Velaquez family for several generations, and Pilar had been at school with Valentina. Ramon had explained this when Lauren had questioned why Pilar had been included on the guest list for the christening party. Her father, Cortez, had suffered a stroke six months ago, and since then had become a recluse who never left the Fernandez home, Casa Madalena.

      And so Pilar had attended the party alone—and had spent most of the day flirting with Ramon, Lauren brooded, recalling the sharp knives of jealousy that had stabbed her insides when she had watched the two of them laughing and chatting together.

      ‘The trouble is that you do not understand a man like Ramon,’ Pilar drawled.

      Lauren’s hold on her temper was close to snapping point. ‘And I suppose you do?’ she said tightly.

      ‘Of course. We are from a similar social background. I am aware that Ramon takes his responsibilities as Duque seriously, and he requires a wife who is suited to the role of Duquesa.’

      ‘Are you suggesting that you would make Ramon a better wife?’ Lauren demanded, deciding that bluntness was the only way to deal with Pilar’s sly insinuations.

      The Spanish woman shrugged. ‘Only Ramon can decide that.’ She inspected her long, perfectly manicured fingernails and said obliquely, ‘Do you know where he spends every Friday afternoon?’

      ‘He drives out to inspect the vineyards with his estate manager.’ Lauren frowned at the curious question. ‘Why do you ask?’

      ‘No reason.’ Pilar’s smile was reminiscent of a smug Cheshire cat’s, but she sashayed gracefully back across the room before Lauren could ask her what she meant.

CHAPTER NINE

      LAUREN was furious with Ramon, and avoided him for the rest of the party. By the time the last guests had departed she had a splitting headache, and was grateful when Cathy offered to give Matty his bath.

      ‘Go and lie down in the quiet for a while. I always find that’s the best remedy for a headache,’ the nanny said kindly.

      But when Lauren walked into the bedroom and found Ramon packing a suitcase her heart slammed against her ribs.

      ‘You’re going away?’ she queried sharply.

      ‘Something has come up at the Madrid office which needs my urgent attention.’ Ramon glanced at her tense face and his jaw hardened.

      He still felt bitterly angry with her, but seeing her looking so dejected made him want to pull her into his arms and make love to her. There were never any misunderstandings between them in bed. It was the once place they communicated perfectly.

      ‘We’ll talk when I get back,’ he told her grimly.

      ‘There’s nothing to talk about,’ she said flatly. ‘I didn’t take that job. I tried to tell you earlier, but you wouldn’t listen.’

      ‘But you were tempted to take it.’

      ‘Yes, I was tempted.’ She wasn’t going to deny it. ‘I worked for Pearson’s before I went to PGH. I kept in contact with the MD there, and he emailed me out of the blue with an offer of some consultancy work. I let James Pearson know I was interested, but when he sent me more details and I realised I would have to be away from Matty I turned the offer down.’

      Ramon slammed the lid of his suitcase shut. ‘I don’t know why you want to go back to work,’ he said, his frustration tangible. ‘I give you everything.’

      Not the one thing she really wanted from him, Lauren thought dully. She had felt they were growing closer, but this argument proved that on an emotional level they were miles apart. She crossed her arms defensively in front of her. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’

      ‘Then make me understand.’ He caught hold of her shoulder and spun her round to face him. ‘If our marriage is going to work, you have to trust me, Lauren.’

      ‘It’s not easy to trust when your trust has been broken,’ she muttered. And yet if her relationship with Ramon was ever going to develop didn’t she have to try?

      ‘What happened?’ he asked grimly. ‘Did some guy let you down?’ He raked his hand through his hair until it stood on end. ‘I need some help here, because I can’t work you out.’

      ‘I told you my parents are divorced,’ she said abruptly. ‘They split up when I was fifteen—after my father left my mother for a twenty-year-old exotic dancer and disappeared to Brazil with her. He cut off all contact with me, and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.’

      Ramon heard the bitterness in her voice. Fifteen was such an impressionable age, and he sensed that she had been deeply hurt by her father’s actions. ‘That must have been tough,’ he murmured. ‘Did you have a good relationship with him before he left?’

      ‘I adored him, and I thought he loved me—but presumably I meant nothing to him.’ Lauren swallowed.

      Even after all this time her father’s desertion still hurt, and her sense of abandonment was as strong now as when she had been a teenager.

      ‘The day he left was the worst day of my life,’ she said bleakly. ‘Dad was a barrister, and he worked long hours, but he always made time for me, and I was closer to him than to my mother. He taught me to play chess, pretended to like the music I liked, and most weekends he would drive me to gymkhanas so that I could compete on my pony.’

      She stared down at her hands, ferociously blinking back her tears. ‘He was my world, and I still can’t believe he went away and left me. I’ve never even received a birthday card from him. It’s as if I never existed to him—but I don’t understand why. Even if he didn’t want to be with Mum any more, why did he reject me?’ She swallowed. ‘I guess the truth is that he just didn’t love me enough to want to keep in contact.’

      ‘Did you have any idea that there were problems in your parents’ marriage?’ Ramon asked gently.

      ‘No—they seemed perfectly happy to me. Mum was always busy with the WI and her bridge club—and, as I said, my father spent a lot of time at work. But they used to hold dinner parties and things, and people used to comment on what a strong marriage they had. I found out afterwards that it was all a façade,’ she said heavily. ‘Apparently Dad had been unfaithful for years, and had had dozens of affairs before he went off with his Brazilian pole-dancer. My mother put up with his infidelity because she was terrified that if she objected Dad would divorce her, and she would lose the house and the wealthy lifestyle she was used to. In the end that’s what happened anyway. Unbeknownst to Mum, Dad had remortgaged the house, and he took all the money from their joint bank accounts before he jetted off to South America.’

      ‘It must have been hard for your mother to suddenly become