LITMIR.BIZ

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for the champagne.

      Suki turned her head, met the newly gleaming gaze Ramon turned on her. ‘Is it? Is it settled?’ she hissed.

      One corner of his mouth quirked, as if now his brother had explained he found the whole subject amusing. ‘I got the wrong end of the stick, it seems, gatito.’

      ‘Is that supposed to be an apology?’ she snapped.

      A fleeting expression darkened his eyes. ‘Permit me some time to find the right words.’

      Considering Ramon Acosta was lauded worldwide as possessing the Midas touch with every venture he turned his hand to, she found it impossible to believe he was lost for anything.

      He’d single-handedly turned his parents’ half a dozen Cuban-based hotels into the world-renowned Acosta International Hotels chain while pursuing a private but deeply passionate artistic talent. When Svetlana Roskova had accidentally on purpose let slip during an interview that she was a muse for, and involved with, an artist, the media had clamoured to know who had won the heart of the Russian beauty.

      After several sources had speculated that it was indeed Ramon, he’d given a single exclusive interview confirming himself as her lover and the man behind the wildly successful Piedra Galleries. Overnight, his already highly sought after paintings and sculptures had become priceless collectors’ items, with commissions from monarchs and world leaders placed on a waiting list that stretched into years, according to Luis.

      But the man Suki had placed on a lofty pedestal was far removed from the one now watching her with wild, unsettling eyes. A fact his own brother noted as he peeled the foil off the champagne cork.

      ‘You seem wound up tighter than normal, Ramon. I can virtually see the smoke curling from your ears. It’s quite a sight to behold,’ Luis observed dryly.

      Ramon’s mouth tightened. ‘Is this how you wish to spend the rest of your birthday, lobbing jokes at me?’ he asked without taking his eyes off Suki.

      She suppressed a shiver, wondering what was going on behind the hooded green eyes.

      ‘I was just trying to lighten this heavier than normal mood, seeing as it’s my birthday and I can do what I want, but if you’re not going to explain yourself, at least answer that damn phone that’s been buzzing in your pocket for the last five minutes?’

      Ramon shifted his gaze from her long enough to flick his brother an impatient look before reaching into his jacket. Extracting the sleek phone from his pocket, he barely glanced at it before powering it off.

      Luis’s jaw dropped. ‘You’re actually turning off the power source to the empire? Are you unwell? Or are you ignoring someone specific?’

      ‘Luis...’ His voice held patent warning. One his younger brother didn’t heed.

      ‘Dios, is there trouble in paradise? Has the great Svetlana tripped over her stilettos and fallen from grace?’

      Ramon Acosta’s face iced up, his eyes turning a shade of turbulent green. ‘I was waiting until later to share the news, but if you must know, as of this morning, I’m no longer engaged.’

      He was no longer engaged.

      As if his words had caused the planet to stop turning, silence descended on the booth. The three of them remained frozen in place, even as the words ricocheted through her brain.

      He was no longer engaged.

      Suki jumped at the sound of the cork forcefully ejecting from the bottle. Frothy, expensive liquid spilled. The sounds and smell of the pub roared back into her consciousness. But still the words pounded through her head.

      Ramon was no longer committed to another woman.

      She frowned at the giddy relief swirling through her, then started as a flute of champagne was thrust into her hands.

      ‘Drink up, little mouse. Now we have two...no, three reasons to celebrate,’ Luis said, eyeing her with even deeper resolution.

      ‘I’m glad my broken engagement brings you such sublime joy, hermano,’ Ramon replied, his voice arctic cold.

      Luis sobered. ‘I chose to respect your relationship, but my views on your engagement never changed. She was the wrong woman for you. Whether the move to end it was hers or yours—’

      ‘It was mine.’

      Luis’s smile returned. ‘Then either celebrate with me or drown your sorrows. Either way, we’re finishing this champagne.’ He poured two more glasses.

      Ramon waited a beat, then raised his glass and recited another clipped birthday toast before tossing back the drink. Luis, his point made, proceeded to drink most of the bottle, while Suki sipped hers.

      All the while tension reigned, heightened even further by the looks Ramon kept casting her way.

      She breathed a sigh of relief when Luis rose just after midnight, his predatory gaze on a stunning redhead smiling at him from two seats away.

      ‘Time to make a significant start on my second quarter-century.’

      Suki pushed away her half-finished glass. ‘I think I’ll head home—’

      ‘Stay,’ Ramon said. Before she could reply, he turned to his brother. ‘My limo is outside. Have the driver deliver you wherever you want to go.’

      Luis clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘I appreciate the offer but I’m going to tread delicately with this flower. We don’t want her overwhelmed and bolting at the sight of all those Acosta billions before I get the chance to close the deal, now, do we?’

      Ramon’s jaw tightened before he shrugged. ‘Very well. I’ll leave you to serenade your paramour on the night bus.’

      ‘Dios, everything is such an extreme with you, isn’t it? There’s such a thing as a black cab, you know? And even with the lowly salary you pay me as junior marketing executive, I can still afford one.’

      ‘If you say so. Either way, I expect you to report to the office sober and whole on Monday morning.’

      ‘As long as you promise to deliver Suki home, safe and sound.’

      She shook her head, grabbing her handbag as she rose. ‘There’s no need. I’ll be fine getting home by myself.’ Although she would be relying on the maligned public transport, the reason to keep a close eye on her spending casting a sudden grey shadow on her birthday. Her phone hadn’t rung in the four hours since she’d called the hospital to check on her mother so she must be having a relatively restful night. At least she hoped so.

      ‘Sit down, Suki,’ Ramon drawled, his tone throbbing with implacable power. ‘You and I aren’t finished.’

      She ignored him. Or at least she tried. She cast a desperate look towards Luis, but her friend merely reached across the table and hugged her close, murmuring in her ear, ‘It’s your birthday, Suki. Life’s too short. Give yourself a break and live a little. It’ll make you happy, and it’ll make me infinitely ecstatic!’

      Before she could respond, he was headed for the redhead’s table, smiling that smile that made women trip over themselves.

      ‘I said, sit down,’ Ramon pressed.

      There was no way to leave the booth while he blocked her exit. With Luis’s words ringing in her ears, she slowly sank back into her seat. ‘I can’t imagine why you’d want me to. I have nothing more to say to you.’

      His gaze gradually defrosted from arctic cold to heated green as he scrutinised her face with that unnerving intensity. ‘I think we established that I owe you...something.’

      ‘An apology. Is that a difficult word for you to say?’

      He shrugged and opened his mouth, just as raucous laughter fuelled by hours’ long hard drinking erupted from a group nearby.

      Distaste crossing

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