She stood with her back to him, staring out the French doors that led onto the deck. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her chest and when she turned, he could see the barricade she’d erected as surely as if it were a tangible shield.

“Did you know about the construction? Did you order it to begin?” she asked.

He sighed. “Do you want me to lie, Bryony? I won’t. I’ve been nothing but truthful to you. Yes, I ordered construction to begin. I would have started much sooner but my accident delayed me significantly. My investors are anxious. They want to see progress in return for the money they’ve shelled out.”

“You promised,” she choked out.

He ran a hand through his hair and wished he could make this go away. At least until they had matters between them sorted out.

“You know I can’t remember,” he said. “As far as I knew, the land was bought, the deal closed, the property to do with as I liked. There was nothing in the contract that stipulated how I could use the land. I wouldn’t have signed such a contract. The land is useless to me unless I develop it.”

Damn it. Why couldn’t he remember? Surely he wouldn’t have made her such a promise. It defied all logic. Why on earth would he have bought the land and promised not to develop it?

He closed the distance between them and slid his hand over her shoulder. She flinched and lifted her shoulder away, but he kept his hand against her skin.

“Bryony, again, I’m not doing this to hurt you. I don’t remember. You say I made you a promise, but I have no proof of that. What I do have is proof of sale. I have your signature on the closing documents as well as a copy of the bank draft issued to you from my bank.”

She turned to face him again, her eyes red-rimmed. She looked to be fighting tears with every bit of her power.

“I made it clear from the start that I wouldn’t sell to you unless you promised it wouldn’t be developed on a large scale. Obviously I can’t control what a new owner does with the land, but I’d hoped for something in keeping with the integrity of our community here. You looked me in the eye and you promised me that you had no such plans. That was a lie, Rafael. It’s an obvious lie because clearly you had investors lined up, plans drawn, a schedule planned. You yourself just said that your accident delayed the groundbreaking significantly.”

Rafael swore because one of them had to be lying and he didn’t want it to be him. He didn’t want it to be her.

“Damn it, Bryony, I refuse to feel guilt for something I can’t remember.”