Page 149 of Bitter Secrets

He eyed her thoughtfully. “Maybe you can, but old habits die hard.”

When she narrowed her eyes, he spread his arms wide.

“Can you blame me for being suspicious?”

She glared at him. “I’m not an idiot.”

“You’re too soft,” he muttered as he hugged her. “Come on, Min,” he complained when she didn’t return his embrace. “I said I was sorry.”

“You really think something’s wrong with me?” she whispered.

He opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was going to say was lost when Roth interrupted.

“Caruso.”

Lyle stiffened. “Roth,” he said curtly as he released her.

When Roth held out his hand to her, she went on tiptoes to kiss Lyle’s cheek before she went to Roth, who tucked her into his side.

Lyle looked like he wanted to say something, but shook his head, and slipped his hands into his pockets instead. “Where are you two headed?”

“Berlin,” Roth said.

“And after that?”

“If nothing comes up, back to London, and then New York.”

“Thanksgiving’s coming up,” Lyle said stiffly.

“We should be back in time.”

Lyle nodded and focused on her as he said, “I’ll see you then.”

When she nodded, he went to Johnny and Aleixo to say goodbye.

She looked up at Roth. “We’re going to Berlin?”

He nodded. “Unfinished business.”

As Lyle took his leave, they went over to Johnny and Aleixo to say their farewells. Johnny had a fit when he found out she was leaving. Only when Roth promised to bring her back within five months did he calm down. Johnny and Aleixo looked a little stunned when Roth offered to let them use the jet to visit them in New York.

“That was generous,” she told him as they settled in the back seat of the car Mo was driving.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said.

But it was. She patted his thigh before she leaned against the window and took in her last glimpse of Portugal. She wished she had more time here, but seeing how much Polara had grown made her a little homesick. She propped her chin on her fist. What would Lyle report to her family? She hoped he was satisfied. If he challenged Roth, it would undermine her deal with him and make things more complicated than they already were. Did her sisters know Lyle was going to ambush her? She had been sending them pictures throughout the day. Is that how he tracked her down?

She glanced at Roth. His face was illuminated by his phone, which she hadn’t seen all day. She felt a twinge of disappointment, but knew he couldn’t stay unplugged forever. At least they had today. Seeing Roth interact with her friends gave her hope. He proved that he could compromise. He could bend his strict time constraints and rules, and even his stance on no one touching her. Today, he relaxed his guard and went with the flow instead of trying to control everything. Even though her day had been plagued with drama, it stilled ended on a high note.

Roth raised the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”

She held her breath so she could hear who was on the other end, but there was nothing but a distant buzz. They were flying to Berlin, where she had been a handful of times. It was a great city, but no match for Lisbon. Roth grunted and then rattled off a string of numbers that made no sense to her. How the hell did he remember a sequence that long? Did this have something to do with his unfinished business in Berlin or one of his other holdings?

She shook her head. If Lyle discovered she was alone in Lisbon while he was in Berlin, there would have been hell to pay. She straightened as an echo of Lyle’s words came back to her.It’s too convenient.Her heart thudded in her ears. What were the chances that Roth arrived hours before Lyle did? It had to be a coincidence… But when it came to Roth, there was no such thing.

Even as she tried to slam the brakes on her overactive imagination, she turned the day over in her mind. It wasn’t like Roth to leave a meeting, much less fly to another location when there were deals on the table. Why had he gone along with their agenda and allowed her to spend time with Johnny and Aleixo if he wanted to get laid?

Roth didn’t hang up, but switched to the next call. He was back in business mode, as if the man who explored Sintra with her had vanished into thin air. Her stomach iced over.

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