‘Giving them a taste of their own medicine,’ Alejandro responded to her question.
She walked from one scroll to the next, her breath catching when he followed. ‘You know your brother’s here in Kyoto. What if they decide to go with him?’
He shrugged. ‘Then I would’ve lost.’
Elise frowned. ‘After all the effort you put in?’
A distant look entered his eyes. ‘This is a battle I never wished to be drawn into in the first place. Winning at all costs may appear romantic on the big screen, but I’ve never been a fan of pyrrhic victories.’
She gazed up at him. ‘What about compromises? Are you a fan of those?’
Narrowed green eyes speared hers. ‘Explain.’
‘Have you thought about sitting down with your brother and hashing this out?’
His mouth firmed. ‘It won’t work.’
‘Why not? Because you tried before?’
‘No.’
‘Alejandro—’
‘Leave it alone, Elise.’
Her gaze dropped for a second. ‘You both want the same thing. Has it occurred to you that you can have it if you relent a little bit?’
His jaw clenched. ‘I don’t do well with family. I never have. I never will.’
She knew she ought to let it go, but the words poured out nevertheless. ‘You didn’t do well in the past. But now you’ve met Gael again—’
‘For a handful of minutes in my office.’
‘Bite my head off if you want, but I’ve seen you two together. You can salvage this if you would just—’
‘Basta! Enough.’ He linked his hand through hers and started up the slope of the shrine. Elise fell silent, partly because their surroundings were too beautiful to spoil with an argument. And partly because she liked him holding her hand. A little too much.
Later that afternoon, he stood looking out onto the lotus-flowered landscape beyond the window.
The resort was situated north of Kyoto, built beside a meandering river and extending from a central villa said to have once been the private residence of an emperor. Its natural beauty was stunning and the contemporary design blended with traditional floor-level seats and indigenous decorations.
But she didn’t see any of that beauty now, her attention absorbed wholly by Alejandro.
He sensed her behind him and turned. Her heart lurched at the contemplative look on his face.
‘About our earlier conversation. I don’t know why you think you know enough about me to present these opinions,’ he drawled, his tone gruff. ‘But let me give you a brief background about us before you think playing happy families is in any way an option for us.’
‘I didn’t say that—’
‘Gael is a product of an affair my father had with his mother when I was three years old. When I was old enough, I found out there’d been affairs before I was born, and my father had no intention of stopping after I came along. But Gael’s mother was the most...turbulent of all, probably because she was the only woman who managed to convince my father to leave my mother. And he did. For a short time, at least. He went to play happy families with Gael’s mother. Gael was born, and then suddenly my father was back home. My mother hated herself for taking him back. To her, his previous affairs had been meaningless and easily overlooked.
‘But it was different with Gael’s mother. Perversely, she felt as if he’d broken her trust. They fought day and night. You know what it’s like living with a parent who falls apart every time my father is five minutes late coming home? You know how many times she dragged me from my bed and into the car so she could go in search of him to make sure he wasn’t in another woman’s bed? Gael’s mother did that to my family.’ He turned from the window, prowling across the floor until he stood before her. ‘Do you think, coming from that, that there can be any peace between us?’
‘I’m sure Gael didn’t exactly escape unscathed, either.’
‘I know,’ he breathed, shaking his head. ‘But when you’re caught in this...powder keg, rationality goes out of the window.’
Let it go, Elise. Your own family situation is far from a bundle of laughs. Let it—