‘Not to my father. He didn’t dare risk having you anywhere near me because he knew you’d find out what he’d done.’ It was almost as if she was talking to herself and he felt maximum discomfort for the part he’d played in the destruction of their relationship eleven years previously. ‘He was determined to keep us apart.’

Jago found himself unable to argue with that. Even he was stunned by the level of manipulation to which her father had stooped and he thought of himself as a fairly cynical guy.

Katy stared at him in disbelief. ‘You accepted money from him in return for an agreement not to see me again.’

He stiffened. ‘That’s not true. Your name was never mentioned in connection with the money. That was a business issue.’

‘You’re deluding yourself.’ Her eyes glistened with hurt. ‘He paid you off, Jago. And you took the money.’

‘There seemed no reason not to.’

‘You were already rich, Jago. I know that. How much money was enough?’ she said shakily. ‘How much did it cost him to get you to walk away from me?’

Jago swore softly in Spanish. ‘It wasn’t like that.’

‘My life fell apart when you left but you were so self-absorbed, so wrapped up in your own emotions and feelings that you didn’t stop to think about me even for a minute. You took the money and ran. Literally.’

Aware that the warmth of the atmosphere had plunged several degrees below zero, and extremely disconcerted by her less than flattering interpretation of the facts, Jago attempted to salvage the situation.

‘We were having a pleasant evening before we started talking about your father,’ he said calmly. ‘Can we just forget it?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Her breathing was rapid and she lifted her chin. ‘You’ve just reminded me why I shouldn’t have said yes to going out with you tonight. You are arrogant and selfish and we don’t share the same beliefs and values. Goodnight, Jago.’

Reaching the frustrating conclusion that women were definitely from another planet, Jago made an abortive attempt to prevent her from leaving but she was too quick for him, heading for the door as fast as she could reasonably manage in Libby’s ridiculously high-heeled shoes.

CHAPTER NINE

STILL sniffing back tears, Katy slid out of her skirt and dragged off the clingy blue top that she’d put on with such breathless anticipation. Feeling in need of a warm drink, she ordered from room service and then padded into the bathroom in her underwear to run herself a bath.

Of all the men on the planet, she’d chosen to fall in love with someone so totally wrapped up in himself that he didn’t even know there was a world around him.

She emptied the entire contents of the miniature bubble bath bottle into the water and watched while it frothed.

Jago could be so charming when he wanted to be, but it was all part of his strategy for getting her back into his bed. And she’d nearly fallen for it.