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Matt wouldn’t want her to stay at a hotel, Sophie had insisted, although Joanna had seen the curiosity in her sister-in-law’s eyes. Which begged the question, what had Matt told his parents about their break-up? Surely, he’d explained to his family why Joanna was trying to contact him now?
It seemed not.
Whatever, Joanna had known she wouldn’t be welcome at the house in Coral Gables whether Matt was there or not. Yet if Matt’s mother knew why she’d been trying to get in touch with her son, why hadn’t she told him? Bearing in mind the length of their separation, Joanna was surprised she hadn’t persuaded her son to apply for a divorce himself.
Sophie, of course, had jumped to her own conclusions. She’d assumed her sister-in-law was here to heal the breach. ‘I know you and Matt have had your problems,’ she’d said, aware that Joanna and her brother had been living apart for the past eleven months. ‘But I’m sure you’ve both had time to realise you need one another. Matt’s been pretty down ever since he came back from Venezuela.’
Which would be the result of the infection he’d picked up, Joanna had reminded herself firmly. It was unlikely his depression had anything to do with her. But Sophie had always been her friend and she’d been loath to upset her. And perhaps the sooner the confrontation was over—if there was to be a confrontation—the better.
Matt’s eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, and, despite her nerves, Joanna couldn’t help noticing that he had lost weight. Yet, at thirty-eight, he would still draw women’s eyes wherever he went, she conceded bitterly. She’d always thought he was the sexiest man she’d ever known.
But she wasn’t here to conduct a one-woman lust-fest, she thought irritably. Looking at him now, she felt sure the emails she’d sent must have reached him. Surely, he hadn’t been so ill that he couldn’t read his mail?
Despite his loss of weight, he looked reasonably fit. And just as disturbingly attractive as before. There was a brooding sensuality about his dark countenance that had always caused a pleasurable buzz inside her. And despite everything that had gone before, she was unhappily aware that that hadn’t changed.
Some people might say that his eyes were too deep-set or his mouth too thin, but she knew better. Matt’s looks were too sensual to be ignored. Which was why she’d sent the emails in the first place; why she’d hoped he wouldn’t contest her request for a divorce. She’d fought against having to see him again. She’d known how vulnerable she still was where he was concerned.
It was infuriating, but she couldn’t deny the way her breathing hitched when he came towards her. Don’t touch me, she thought, panicking, and felt a totally ridiculous urge to flee.
‘Jo,’ he said, pulling off his sunglasses, his deep voice scraping like sandpaper over her tortured nerves. ‘How good of you to come.’
Was that sarcasm in his voice? Joanna couldn’t be sure, but when he held out a hand to her, she pretended not to see it. She didn’t want him to detect the crazy tattoo of her heart or the heat that swept up her throat from her chest at his nearness. But she was unhappily aware that the hollow between her breasts revealed a betraying trace of moisture to his narrow-eyed gaze.
‘Sophie says you’ve been ill,’ she said quickly, sensing his appraisal and wishing she hadn’t unfastened her shirt on the trip from the airport. The vest below the shirt was adequate, but hardly modest. ‘I’m sorry. Are you feeling better now?’
Matt’s hand dropped to his side and he regarded her through puzzled eyes. His dark lashes narrowed his gaze, but she sensed she’d said—and probably done—the wrong thing. Didn’t he know that no one had thought to inform her of his state of health?
‘I’m surprised you took so long to get here,’ he responded, unknowingly answering her question. And Sophie, sensing that all was not as it should be, broke in.
‘I found Joanna at the airport,’ she exclaimed, evidently trying to divert the conversation. ‘She’d just flown in from New York this morning. She was planning to book into a hotel, but I persuaded her to come with me instead.’
‘Really?’ said Matt, and from his tone Joanna sensed he definitely wasn’t pleased. His eyes impaled her. ‘Why were you planning on staying at a hotel?’
‘I thought it was wise.’ Joanna tried to sound casual. ‘After all, this is your parents’ house and I hadn’t warned anyone I was coming.’
‘Did you feel you had to?’
‘Obviously,’ she said, not really understanding where this was going.
‘But you got the emails my mother sent you, I assume,’ said Matt impatiently. ‘I have to admit, I’d expected a more—what shall I say? —sympathetic response?’
Which was when Sophie evidently decided to leave them to it. With a rueful wave of her hand, and a ‘See you later’, she slipped away into the house.
But as far as Joanna was concerned, the older girl’s departure only heightened the tension between them and she took an involuntary step backwards. What emails was he talking about? Evidently not her own.
Shaking her head, she went on, ‘Believe it or not, when I flew down from New York, I knew nothing about your illness. If I had, I’d have got in touch with you sooner. When I found out you weren’t at the New York office, I could only guess where you might be.’
‘Didn’t my father tell you?’ Matt asked impatiently, and then realised that if Oliver had seen Joanna—or spoken to her, for that matter—he’d have let his son know.
‘I didn’t speak to your father,’ said Joanna uncomfortably. ‘I wanted to speak to you.’
‘Am I to understand that you’ve had no word from me?’
‘Yes.’ Joanna squared her shoulders. ‘Why would I lie?’
‘Why indeed?’
Joanna was indignant. ‘If you’d bothered to read any of my messages, you’d know why I’m here.’
‘Your messages?’ Matt looked bemused and Joanna felt a sense of disbelief.
‘This is ridiculous,’ she exclaimed. ‘We’re talking at cross purposes here. I’m talking about the half-dozen or so emails I’ve sent you in the past few weeks.’ She steeled herself to meet his gaze. ‘I can’t believe you haven’t read any of them.’
‘I haven’t.’ Matt returned her stare. ‘First of all, I’ve been in hospital in both Caracas and Miami. And afterwards, I let my mother deal with any correspondence.’
Oh, why am I not surprised? thought Joanna bitterly, as comprehension dawned. What a golden opportunity for Adrienne to drive another wedge between them this had been.
If there hadn’t been one there already, she appended bitterly.
‘That’s why my father’s in New York.’ Matt lifted his shoulders in a dismissive gesture. ‘As soon as he realised I’d need some time to convalesce, he insisted on taking over. I suspect retirement was getting boring. Whatever, he couldn’t wait to get on the plane.’
Taking over was something the Novaks were very familiar with, Joanna thought grimly. But when Oliver Novak had had a mild stroke two years ago, his doctors had advised him to give up his job as CEO of NovCo.
That was when Matt had taken over, and because Joanna hadn’t wanted to leave her father, who’d just been diagnosed with lung cancer, Matt had agreed that he should divide his time between the New York hub and the London affiliate.
A double-edged sword, Joanna admitted now. Her and Matt’s relationship had already been strained by their inability to conceive, and her unwillingness to discuss her feelings with him. It hadn’t helped at all to hear about Matt wining and dining male and female investors, even though that had always been part of his job.
It had never bothered her before, she conceded. In those days, she’d believed Matt loved her, and she’d trusted him implicitly. But being unable to conceive had made her vulnerable, in ways she’d never considered before.
‘I had no idea what was going on,’ she declared now, looping the strap of her bag over her shoulder and straightening her spine to face him. ‘I’m not without feelings, you know.’
But she suspected she now knew what had happened to the messages she’d sent Matt. If they’d passed through his mother’s hands, Adrienne must have read them. But that didn’t really explain why she hadn’t passed them on.
Nevertheless, her reasons for being here hadn’t changed. She wanted a divorce. It was as simple and as complicated as that. Simple, because all Matt had to do was agree not to contest it; and complicated, because when her father sold his small company to the Novak Corporation, Matt had made her a shareholder in NovCo.
Not that she wanted any part of the organisation now. But the legal aspects of the situation would have to be gone through. She had hoped that after this interview Matt might come to London, which would have made things easier. But she was here now and she had to accept the situation as it was.
She should have taken David Bellamy’s advice, she thought ruefully. Her boss at the art gallery, where she’d been working when she met Matt and where she was working again now, had warned her she should leave any communication between them to a solicitor. David had never liked Matt. He had been of the opinion that a man like Matthew Novak was used to women falling at his feet, and he’d been convinced their marriage wouldn’t last.
And it hadn’t.
‘You know what he’s like,’ David had said on more than one occasion. ‘He believes he can twist you round his little finger. And if he thinks I’m involved in your decision, he’s bound to be suspicious. Do you really want to give him the chance to change your mind?’
‘Matt couldn’t do that,’ she’d retorted at once, the distance between them convincing her she was right.
And she was right, she silently insisted. She had only to think of her father, and the torment he must have suffered during his last illness, to know there was no going back.
Of course, that was months ago now, and her father was dead. But the bitterness she’d felt towards Matt had never gone away. She’d even convinced herself that the love they’d shared had been only a mirage. She was an independent woman these days and she wanted to keep it that way.
Ergo, the divorce.
Even so, she hadn’t been prepared for learning that Matt had been ill. When Sophie had first told her what had been going on, her reaction had made a mockery of everything she’d claimed.
She’d truly believed she was immune to Matt’s dark attraction; that she’d be able to look at him and speak to him without feeling the pull of his sensuality.
But once again, she’d been wrong...
CHAPTER TWO (#u6d9af615-42d8-5a39-a8f0-e4c88b3ee088)
YET WHAT DID that mean? That she was having second thoughts? But no, Joanna assured herself severely. She was merely reacting to the sexuality of the man, not to any lingering emotions she might feel.
Matt was regarding her with brooding eyes. Clearly, he was as bemused by the situation as she was. But he evidently had his own agenda, and, gesturing towards the chairs, he said, ‘Why don’t you sit down? I’ll order some refreshments. If you didn’t come to find out if I was still alive, why are you here?’
Joanna hesitated. Did she really want to behave as if this were just a social visit? Yet what else could she do in the present circumstances?
So, ‘All right,’ she said offhandedly and a snap of Matt’s fingers brought one of the household staff to the patio.
He ordered both coffee and a jug of iced tea, and then suggested that Joanna should take the lounger beside his own.
There were several chairs set in the shade of a striped awning and, resigning herself to the situation, Joanna took the one he indicated. But she couldn’t help stiffening when Matt seated himself beside her, lowering the footrest and turning his chair sideways so that his bare knees were only inches from her own.
They were alone, and Joanna put down her handbag and smoothed her hair back from her face. It had been tumbled on the ride from the airport, and she wished she’d had time to use a comb. Sophie’s car was a convertible, and, endeavouring a compromise, Joanna looped several errant strands behind her ears.
Matt, watching her, couldn’t help noticing how silky her hair was and recalling how soft her skin used to feel beneath his hands. It had been too long since they’d been together and he was impatient to tell her that, whatever had gone before, he was sorry they’d been living apart.
But would she be any more inclined to hear it now than she had before?
Meanwhile, Joanna was wishing she hadn’t run into Sophie at the airport. A phone call to the Novaks’ house would have surely elicited the information that Matt had been ill and she might well have waited until tomorrow before contacting him. She was not without feelings, but if she’d been able to invite Matt to the hotel, she would have felt a little more in control.
‘So...’ Matt regarded her enquiringly, arching a dark brow. ‘Do I take it you have not forgiven me?’
Joanna pressed her lips together. His words were so unexpected. ‘Did you think I would?’
‘It has been nine months since your father died,’ declared Matt quietly. ‘I regret that whole incident, but it wasn’t my fault.’
Joanna stared at him. ‘Yes, so you said,’ she declared coolly. ‘Nevertheless, my father trusted you.’
‘And I trusted him,’ he said harshly, unable to prevent himself, ‘which shows what a fool I was. Angus Carlyle trusted no one. Even your mother realised that.’
‘Leave my mother out of this,’ exclaimed Joanna tersely. ‘She was hardly a role model. She had an affair with another man.’
‘Not while she was married to your father. Glenys met Lionel Avery after she’d asked for a divorce,’ declared Matt flatly. ‘I hope you haven’t continued to hold that against her.’
‘My relationship with my mother is no concern of yours.’
‘No.’ Matt conceded the fact. ‘But Angus was a jealous man, Jo. He resented the fact that she was happy. He resented our marriage, as well.’
‘That’s not true!’
‘Of course, it’s true. You were his little girl. He wanted to keep you that way. I’m surprised he let you work at Bellamy’s gallery. He can’t have known the guy was in love with you, too.’
Joanna’s jaw dropped. ‘That’s ridiculous! David doesn’t love me.’
Matt shrugged and expelled a weary breath. Reaching for her hand, he ran his fingers sensuously over her knuckles. ‘Let’s not talk about Bellamy or your father, Jo. The past is the past. I prefer to think about the future.’
Joanna had felt as if she were frozen until he touched her, but now she snatched her hand away. ‘We have no future,’ she said abruptly. ‘You have to know that.’
Matt’s expression darkened once again. ‘I know nothing of the kind,’ he replied, though there was a trace of bitterness in his tone now. ‘Are you going to let your father’s lies ruin your whole life?’
‘My father didn’t lie to me,’ she declared stiffly. ‘He told me the truth.’
‘His truth.’ Matt gazed at her with frustrated eyes. ‘I love you, Jo. Tell me what I can do to make things right.’
It was an actual effort, but Joanna dragged her eyes away from his. ‘I haven’t come here to try and mend our differences.’
Matt’s lips twisted. ‘I had guessed that.’
‘So, you must have realised—’
But she didn’t get to finish her sentence. Before she could blurt out that the only reason she was here was because she wanted a divorce, the man who had taken Matt’s order for refreshments returned.
And he wasn’t alone. An older woman, dressed in grey silk lounging pants and a matching grey smock, emerged from the villa behind them.
‘Matt,’ she began, her drawling voice revealing her discontent. ‘What is this Aaron tells me about you having a visitor? Someone Sophie brought back from the airport?’
And then, she saw Joanna, and her lips tightened angrily.
‘My God,’ she exclaimed, involuntarily Joanna was sure.
‘I—what are you doing here?’
* * *
A couple of hours later, Joanna was surveying her reflection in the long bathroom mirror adjoining one of the guest suites.
God, she thought incredulously. How had she got herself into this mess? She’d had no intention of staying at the Novak house any longer than was necessary. Yet here she was, committed to having dinner with Matt and his family. Committed to spending an evening fighting off Adrienne’s hostility and Matt’s magnetic appeal.
But only an evening. When Matt had suggested she should stay at the villa, she’d reminded him that she’d booked a room at the Corcovado already. Otherwise God knew what Matt might have expected of her. To share his suite of rooms, perhaps? She couldn’t deny an involuntary shiver at the thought.
It was all Adrienne’s fault, she decided. The way Matt’s mother had reacted when she’d seen her daughter-in-law had put Joanna’s nerves on edge. The woman had obviously never expected her to come to Miami. And why not? Matt was usually based in New York.
The situation hadn’t improved when Matt had accused her of interfering. ‘I believe you knew Joanna was trying to get in touch with me,’ he’d said harshly, getting to his feet. ‘When were you planning on telling me about that?’
And, when she had evidently been lost for an answer, he’d continued, ‘Oh, and what happened to the messages I asked you to send to Joanna? Can I assume they didn’t make it either?’
‘Don’t be sarcastic, Matthew!’ Adrienne’s face had become even redder than when she’d first seen her daughter-in-law. ‘I didn’t want you tearing off to London when you’d been so ill. I can assure you, anything I’ve done has been with your best interests at heart.’
Well, at least that explained why she’d said nothing, Joanna conceded. And perhaps, in the circumstances, she’d had a point.
