“It’s generous, but the last thing I need is money.” He faced her, outwardly calm though his insides were seething. “I’m staying put.”
“I didn’t realize you were so attached to the place.”
Oh yes, this place was filled with frigging happy memories. He’d gladly give it away, but that would be admitting he wasn’t good enough to live here.
“You’ll get your house back,” he said to Crystal. “Eventually.”
Crystal’s hands jittered, her bloodred talons like claws. “Why are you doing this to me?” she fumed.
“Because he wants his revenge,” Paige said.
“Revenge for what?” Crystal appeared astonished.
“For the way we treated him.” Paige turned her gaze on Owen. “I led him on, and then rejected him. I went to the school dance with Eric, and when he gate-crashed, he was thrown out.”
“But that’s ridiculous. That happened so long ago, and of course you couldn’t go to the dance with the pool boy. Everyone would have laughed at you.”
Owen rubbed his sternum where the python was back crushing his lungs. “If you’re trying to butter me up, you’re not doing a very good job.”
In the bristling silence, a man stepped into the conservatory whom Owen instantly recognized as Paige’s father.
“Edward!” Crystal beckoned at him urgently. “You won’t believe what’s happened.”
Paige’s father drew closer, looking mildly puzzled. He listened, poker-faced, as his wife filled in the details. “He refuses to move out.” Crystal threw up her hands. “Can you believe the nerve of him?”
Edward Kerrigan, always the dry and dispassionate character, looked calmly at Owen. “As you can see, my wife’s very keen to get our house back. Is there no way to change your mind?”
“No,” Owen bluntly stated. “No way.”
Crystal looked as if steam might blow from her ears. “This is my house,” she raged. “You don’t belong here.”
Shushing her, Edward drew his wife away. “I warned you this might be a waste of time.”
Crystal waggled her finger at Paige. “Come along, Paige. You can’t stay here.”
But Paige remained, her glare fixed on Owen. “You’re doing this because of me, aren’t you? Because of what I said to you before my mother turned up.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I just wanted the princess in my bed, and now that it’s done, I can get on with more important things.”
She flushed a dull red, his barb finding its mark but giving him equal pain.
“Glad we’re on the same page.” Tight-lipped, she pulled her towel closer to her body.
“Paige!” her mother barked from the door.
Owen took a deep breath, his ribs aching. “I guess this is where I say ‘You’re fired’ and you answer ‘No, I quit.’”
She lifted her chin, the flush fading from her cheeks, and once more, despite her mussed-up appearance, she was the immaculate, untouchable Paige Kerrigan. Forever out of his reach.
“Good-bye, Owen.”
She spun on her heel and, head held high, glided up beside her mother, who grabbed her by the wrist.
“Come on,” Crystal commanded. “I’ll help you pack your things. I can’t believe he dumped you in the caretaker’s cottage. The nerve of him. Never mind. We’ll get you out of here in no time.”
Owen stood, silent and unmoving, until he was all alone. Then he let out a frustrated roar that echoed around the empty conservatory and thumped deep in his chest.
“Honestly, Paige, I can’t believe you’ve sunk this low,” Crystal declared as she stood in the bedroom while Paige packed her suitcases. Her father, engrossed in some phone call, had chosen to wait outside the cottage.
“What exactly are you referring to?” Paige asked, knowing she’d regret the question.
“This.” Crystal waggled her fingers at their surroundings.
“You should have seen ‘this’ when I first moved in. I’ve done wonders with the place. I think it’s rather cozy and inviting now.” She grabbed an armload of underwear and dumped it into the suitcase. There was no time to fold anything; she wanted to be gone from here as soon as possible.
“I mean stooping to be that man’s housekeeper. How could you do that?”
“Easy.” Paige slammed shut the empty drawers and moved on to the hanging closet. “I had no money, no job, no place to live. And I couldn’t contact you. I tried your number and Dad’s several times but it always went to voicemail. I left messages, but you never called back. What happened to you? Why did I have to find out about you renting out the house from Owen? Why didn’t you tell me first?”
Crystal looked discomfited at the interrogation turning on her. She sucked in her cheeks and began toying with Paige’s hairbrush. “Oh, I don’t want to talk about that. It’s all over now, thank God.”
Her mother had always brushed off uncomfortable questions like this, but Paige was tired of being treated like a kid. “So the rumors I’ve heard aren’t true? You weren’t dumped by Channel Four?”
The blood drained from Crystal’s face. “Who told you that?” she demanded.
“Never mind that. Is it true or not?”
“What’s gotten into you?” Crystal tossed aside the hairbrush. “Oh, very well. It’s true. The network executives said the ratings weren’t growing, and they needed fresh blood.” She grimaced fiercely. “Fresh blood. I know what that means—some young tart with bazookas out to here. That’s all they care about, those damn TV executives. Doesn’t matter if she’s any good at her job as long as she’s under thirty-five.”
The bitterness in her mother’s words made Paige reach out and squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry. But I still don’t understand why you had to rent out this place. It’s not like you’ve ever been short of money.”
“Bad timing. Just as I lost my contract, your father took a hit on some investments of his. Don’t ask me the details because I don’t know them, and I don’t want to know. The upshot was, we suddenly needed a lot of money quickly to service the debt. Your father wanted to sell the house, but I couldn’t bear that, so I persuaded him to rent it out for as much as we could get. At the time, I was surprised it got snapped up so quickly, but now I realize why. That Bellamy boy was all too eager to get his hands on my home.” Her mouth became grim again.
“But why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t up to telling anyone, and I thought you were still in London.” Crystal played with her heavy rings, avoiding Paige’s eye. She was ashamed, Paige thought with a burst of clarity. That was why she and Dad had vanished. “Your father and I have been staying in a villa in Bali.” Crystal shrugged. “It’s cheap to rent there.”
And also far from their usual social circles. “But now you’re back, and your money troubles are over. What happened? Did Dad’s investments come good in the end?”
“No, I’ve landed a new contract with Channel Ten. Two years and better money.” Crystal smiled and flicked her fingers through her impeccably groomed hair, once more the polished TV star.
“That’s great.” Her mother was difficult and cold at times, but she’d always worked hard, and she deserved a second chance.
“I’ll show those pigs they can’t keep me down. Which is why I need my house back.”
Paige lowered her gaze. “You heard Owen. He doesn’t want to move, and as long as he keeps paying the rent, there’s no way you can evict him.”
“Whose side are you on?”
“No one’s.” Paige returned to her packing. There wasn’t much more to do, and then she would be ready to leave. She bundled more possessions into her suitcase, but the silent accusation emanating from her mother was too strong to ignore.
“How long have you been sleeping with Owen?”
Grimacing at her mother’s bluntness, Paige brushed past to the tiny bathroom beyond. “Only once.” She swept her toiletries into a cosmetic bag, returned to the bedroom, and tossed the bag into the suitcase.
“Once too often, in my opinion. Did you really have to sleep with him?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” A pair of sneakers lay on the rug. They were her favorite shoes for cleaning the house. She wouldn’t need those anymore. She kicked them under the bed.
“I mean he’s rough and uncouth and you could do so much better.”
“So much better?” Heart aching, she turned on her mother. “Like Seth was so much better?”
“Seth deceived us both, but next time we’ll be more careful.”
“We?” Her head pounded. “I don’t need your help choosing my boyfriends.”
“Obviously you do, or you wouldn’t be in this predicament.” Crystal glanced around with undisguised distaste. “Are you all packed? I have to leave—the thought of that lout putting his feet up in my house is giving me ulcers.”
Paige pressed her hand against her stomach. If only the pain in her was just ulcers, but it was so much more. It felt like acid stripping her nerves and scorching her heart. It felt like something she’d never recover from. In a moment of weakness, her jaw trembled and moisture prickled behind her eyes. Damn, she wasn’t going to cry. She’d wasted enough tears in her life. She wasn’t going to weep over a man anymore.