She flinched at that anger in his voice, the barely concealed disgust.
‘No, I just think it’s something that’s not super common, and as such, wouldn’t have killed you to tell me.’
‘It never occurred to me to mention it. I bought it as an investment.’
She pulled a face. ‘You bought an island as an investment?’
‘The former owner got into financial difficulties, and needed to sell it quickly and quietly. I had the cash, so I bought it.’
‘In cash.’
‘Annie, you grew up surrounded by wealth, yet you seem totally baffled by the fact I have these things, like an island, and a private jet,’ he said, gesturing to the plane. Before she could answer, a flight attendant in a smart grey suit strolled down the aisle, a tray balanced skillfully on one hand. She removed a flute of champagne, only half filled, and a mineral water, giving the latter to Theo and the former to Annie, before placing a tray of cheese and crackers in front of Annie.
‘We’ll be taking off shortly, sir,’ she directed to Theo, then smiled at Annie before retreating. If she thought it strange that the newlyweds were sitting separated by an aisle, so what? Annie was tired of playing the part of the loving wife—it had been a long day and night, and she wanted to let the mask drop, just for a little while.
‘You always hated status symbols,’ she said, when they were alone again.
‘This is not a status symbol, it’s a practical necessity. I have operations all over the world. I travel frequently, often on short notice. I choose to do so in comfort and privacy.’
‘And the island?’
‘Is worth triple what I paid for it,’ he said nonchalantly.
She shook her head, something still not adding up for Annie. Then again, how well had she really known Theo? Back then, she would have said she knew him better than she knew even herself, but it turned out, he was nothing like she thought.
‘Do you go there often?’
‘No.’
‘So you have a private island—where exactly?’
‘Off the coast of Italy.’
‘Right, okay. So you have a private Mediterranean island, but you don’t even use it?’
‘What’s your point?’
She couldn’t say, exactly, only it sounded both sad and wasteful. ‘Why don’t you go there?’
‘I don’t have the time.’
She knitted her brows together. ‘Because you work so much?’
‘You sound skeptical.’
‘No, I’m not, I always knew your work was important to you.’ It was true. He’d acted like he had a monkey on his back, and building himself the biggest and best business empire in the world was the only way he’d ever shake it off.
His eyes glowed when they met hers, and she felt the fierce determination that was like iron in his veins.
‘You have an active social life, though,’ she said, as the engines began to roar to life and the plane accelerated along the tarmac.
His smile was laced with knowing cynicism. ‘Social life, or sex life?’
Her stomach seemed to flood with acid. She glanced away, her finger running up and down the slender stem of her champagne flute. ‘I guess sex life, if you have to be crude about it.’
‘And how would you know that, Annie?’
She jerked her gaze back to him, hating that he sounded so triumphant, like he’d caught her out in admitting she was basically his stalker.