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“I’m your man,” she corrected him swiftly. “Well, woman.”

“You’re my woman?” She didn’t miss the catch in his voice.

“Yes. And I don’t mean that you won’t be a vital part of getting The Parthenon back on its feet, for I think you will have some very valuable input. I just mean that, well, your first responsibility is toward me.”

“As my star turn?”

“As your wife,” she corrected him, and he fell silent. “You see, I need you here with me, Clem. By my side. It is not that I cannot, but that I will not do without you. Not when we should be together.”

*

Theo was not at all sure she was getting through to him now. He had responded so nicely when she had prodded his jealousy. Now that she was appealing to him reasonably, he seemed to have gone all stubborn again.

She took a deep breath. “You hurt me very much when you said that we should go our separate ways—”

He made an involuntary noise in his throat and twisted his torso. “You don’t understand,” he said breathing hard. “It’s—well—better all-round if we part altogether, just make a clean break of it.”

The words cut through her like a cruel blade. “Better?” she echoed, staring at him. “For us to part?” She felt a heaviness overwhelm her chest that had not been there before. It pressed down so hard she found it suddenly hard to draw in a breath.

“Yes, damn it!”

“How could that be?” she faltered, feeling utterly lost.

“Better than me ruining your whole entire career, everything you’ve worked so hard for and dreamed of all your life!” he answered angrily. “Do you know how tempted I was to tell Howard that no, he could not have you for his damn production? That on top of that, I forbade you leave London? To tell him you were not permitted to leave my side. I nearly did it, Dora. I nearly destroyed your dream to appease my own damn feelings!” He closed his eyes. “The worst thing is, I would have done it without reproach,” he said bitterly. “I could have sabotaged your whole life as though it were my perfect right.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” she said with conviction.

He gave a harsh laugh. “Oh, believe me, it was a close-run thing. Ultimately, I decided I would be the better man and cut you loose.”

“Is that what you are doing?” Theo felt a spark of anger. “Being the better man, by breaking my heart?”

“Better I broke your heart than your dream,” he said stubbornly.

“Why could you not simply joinme in my dream?” she practically yelled. “Is that so hard? To be my manager first and foremost.

His expression grew rigid. “And be a kept man like my father?” he asked tensely.

“What are you talking about? You’re a successful businessman and entrepreneur in your own right. You discovered me!”

“Discovered you?” he scoffed. “You presented yourself to me on a platter. I did nothing.”

“Believe me, no one else would have accepted that platter. Why can you not see it?” she despaired, walking across too the opposite side of the room and facing away from him as terrible doubts began to assail her.

“Where are you going?” he asked sharply.

“Nowhere,” she whispered, wiping her sleeve across her eyes. “Home.” Her stomach lurched with sudden sick conviction. “If you—” She broke off her words and sucked in a painful breath, stumbling to look out of the nearest window. “Clem, will you be honest with me? Did I misread everything between us?” she asked, her voice wobbling. “I thought … but perhaps you do not. Perhaps I’m making an utter fool of myself and you’re just trying to … to be gallant about it.”

“Turn around!” His voice was harsh. “Dora, let me see your face.”

She shook her head as tears coursed down her cheeks. Oh God. She had felt so sure that this was just some stupid misunderstanding, but what if the simple fact was, he did not love her? What if he was tired of her? Tired of it all. After all, The Parthenon was sinking fast, and for all his scheming, Clem had shown precious little interest in it. What if he wanted to be free of her and his bad investment and she had stupidly failed to read the signs?

When she really looked at it, this was the only solution that made sense. She barely heard him cross the room. The next thing she knew, Clem’s arms were around her.

“Don’t sweetheart, don’t cry,” he said gruffly. “I’m not worth these tears.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t mean to hurt me,” she said blankly. If only she could stop trembling. She must look such a pathetic creature and she wanted to be brave and bold and—well, Dora Dabney. But underneath it all, she was still the same woeful creature she had always been. “It is just one of those things,” she said numbly. “We haven’t ruined each other’s lives or anything of that nature. We can just—”

“What the hell are you talking about?”