Page 189 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

“It’s been handled.” Adam retorted, arrogance pouring off his frame as he sauntered over to the floor to ceiling windows of his office.

The space was similar to Matt’s own office. Sleek, dark lines of furniture; very masculine, very daunting if you were summoned here. In a way both their offices mimicked their father’s, as did their management style. Matt focused on Adam as he continued his brotherly tirade.

“If she tries anything, we can easily imply a form of settlement was agreed prior to your upcoming divorce concerning her premises. If she tries anything, we could possibly claim part ownership of the building…force her to sell-”

“She’s not stupid,” Matt interrupted tersely. “That was the first thing she thought of. Look, Madi and I haven’t been married that long,”

“You haven’tknownher that long,” Adam mocked. “Marrying her was the most idiotic thing you’ve ever done.”

Exhaling slowly to rein in his temper, Matt resumed pacing across the carpeted floor. “Due to the short length of our marriage, it’s highly unlikely she’d be awarded anything substantial by the courts. And as I said before, she’s not the sort of person to-”

“She’s not the sort of person to cheat?” Adam taunted. “That’s what you thought, right? Until you found out that she did.”

Matt tossed his hands in the air, extremely frustrated. “I can’t have a conversation with you when you keep interrupting.”

“You don’t want to hear the truth,” Adam chastised. “Dad thinks-”

“You told him?” Matt’s low outburst rung full of betrayal as he levelled Adam with a scorching glare. “You bloody Judas. I asked you not to tell our family. I told you those things in confidence. It’s bad enough you ran your mouth to Nathan, now you’ve blabbed toDad.”

“Calm down,” Adam folded his arms across his chest. “I didn’t go into all the ins and outs of it,” He grimaced, a split between guilt and defiance. “Just that she betrayed you-”

“It seems I can’t trust anyone. Stay out of my business, Adam. We’re not children anymore and I don’t need you looking out for me. I’m more than capable of dealing with Madison DuMont.” Matt gaveAdam one last scowl before stalking out the office.

Fucking hell. How had his life descended into such a farce? Cheating wife. Annoyingly nosy family. Potentially suspect property deals. And an impending divorce. Things were spiralling out of control and he hated not being in control. Matt suddenly wished he had never met Madison DuMont. His dark beauty was more trouble than she was worth.

CHAPTER 23

I watched Danteout the corner of my eyes while sniffing loudly. The sniffing was my non-verbal way of communicating displeasure. The estate agent, Irene was her name, sent me a narrowed gaze as she extolled the benefits of hard wood flooring and the under-floor heating running throughout the open plan living space.

“Is that a water mark over there?” I pointed to the far-side of the room, hoping the play of weak sunlight against the wall fooled Dante. “Smells damp in here.”

Dante strode towards the wall, sending Irene a disappointed glance on his way.

She tucked her hands behind her back and beamed at my best friend. “There’s no evidence of damp throughout the property and the owners have recently converted the loft. I’ll show you once we get upstairs.”

I huffed under my breath and walked over to the front windows, scowling hard and feeling dread bubbling inside my stomach. This was the second property we’d seen today. “Hey, there are cracks over here.”

Dante spun away from the wall he’d just been inspecting and hurried over to my side. Irene was close on his heels.

“Subsidence, maybe?” I drawled and hid my pleased smile as Dante stretched up on his toes to observe where window met wall and the barely noticeable crack in-between. He grunted then sent Irene another look.

“There’s no subsidence,” she reassured him, chasing that commission no doubt. “The survey reports confirm the property is sound and-”

“Oh dear!” I interrupted her assurances with false alarm as I gestured out the gleaming windows. “Seems like a busy street.” Two cars drove by sedately, a nice safe distance between them. “Wonder if you’ll be able to get resident parking. We had to park all the way at the bottom of the street.” I gave him a little shake of head. “And it really smells damp in here.”

“Madi,” Dante murmured after Irene’s exasperated snort which she tried to over with a polite cough.

“What?” I groused, tightening the grip on my bag and saunteringover to the front door impatiently. “I don’t like it. These terraces look grotty. They’re not as nice as mine.” The frontage was actually quite nice, my words were nothing more than a concerted attempt to put Dante off another property. “And it’s going to add time on your journey to work.”

“Would you like to see upstairs?” It appeared Irene had had enough of me. The first property had been poo-pooed by me, so vicious was the negativity I spouted that Dante had walked out before she finished giving us the tour just to shut me up.

“Yes,” Dante agreed and my face fell. “If you don’t mind showing me.” He turned to me. “Wait here, we won’t be long.”

“Don’t you want me to come?” I asked in surprise. “I’m supposed to be helping you decide.”

“Uh,” Dante scratched his chin. “It’s ok. I’ll be quick.”

He spun on his heels and headed towards Irene, who shot me a triumphant smile. If she got him upstairs on his own, she might convince him to make an offer. No way was I letting that happen.

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