Ruby tried to be philosophical about it. But it was still disappointing. She’d been so looking forward to being in Sebastian’s arms again, to losing herself there and feeling what he alone could make her feel.
She sighed deeply at the realisation that her feelings had gone beyond lust now. Way beyond.
Oh, Lord. What to do?
Nothing, she accepted. She could do nothing. She couldn’t make Sebastian fall in love with her. He didn’t want that.
She could walk away, she supposed, before her heart was totally broken. Maybe she should. She would have to think about it. Ruby suspected, however, that she simply didn’t have the courage. Falling in love made you weak. If she couldn’t have Sebastian’s heart, she could at least have his body. For a while anyway. Until Georgia got back.
Meanwhile...
Ruby wished she had some housework to do to distract herself but there wasn’t any. The house was spotless, not a speck of dirt or dust anywhere. She supposed she could lie down and read a book, but, truly, what an anticlimax.
All the elation and anticipation Ruby had been feeling earlier had totally drained out of her. She’d been so looking forward to today. Not the party so much. Just Sebastian being back.
Okay, so he was tired, and obviously troubled. But that wasn’t anything to do with her. He could at least have smiled at her, given her a little kiss maybe.
Perhaps she would just lie down and check out Facebook. See what those brothers of hers were up to. Yes, that was what she would do. That was how she’d kept in contact with them these past few years, though it was their female partners who posted most of the pictures.
Strangely enough, after she’d been doing that for a while her eyes grew heavy and before she knew it she fell asleep. She was awoken by the sound of the house phone ringing and Ruby was startled by the identity of her caller. It was Zack.
‘Hi, Zack,’ she said, trying not to sound too surprised. Or too worried. Surely he wasn’t going to ask her out. She didn’t want to have to tell him to get lost.
‘Hi, Ruby. Look, I’ve been trying to get in contact with Sebastian but his damned phone’s turned off. Is he there?’
‘Yes, but he’s asleep. He said he needed a few hours’ rest before the party. I don’t think he slept on the plane, and I have a feeling that contract business in London didn’t go very well. He seemed worried.’
‘Did he? Well, it’s not about the business. That was all sorted out. Sebastian sent me a text. Look, he’s probably just tired. Seb’s not at his best when he’s tired.’
‘What did you want to contact him about? Maybe I can help. I wouldn’t dare disturb him.’
‘Okay. When he wakes up, tell him I might be a bit late for the party tonight. I will be there though. I promise.’
For such a laid-back kind of guy, Zack sounded somewhat stressed. Ruby couldn’t let it go. ‘Is there anything wrong, Zack?’ she asked.
‘Not really,’ he said, still sounding odd. ‘Just girl trouble. I wanted to ask Seb’s advice about something. But no sweat, I’ll sort it out myself. See you tonight.’
He hung up almost as abruptly as Sebastian did, leaving Ruby wondering what it was about men that they were compelled to be that way. Talkers, only occasionally. Confiders, rarely. Which was a shame because nothing good came of bottling up problems. If men shared more there would be less conflict between the sexes. Less mental illness as well.
Ruby glanced at the time on her phone. It was only one. There were still four hours to go before the caterers arrived, and at least three hours before she started getting herself ready for the party. She’d already decided not to go to town on her hair and face. Wearing that red dress was glamorous enough, so an hour would do. Rolling over, she picked up the novel she’d been trying to read all week, and started again at the beginning.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SEBASTIAN WAS ROUSED from his drugged sleep by a rather loud knocking on his bedroom door.
‘What?’ he said grumpily, his head still heavy from the sleeping pill.
‘Sorry to disturb you,’ Ruby said through the door. ‘But it’s gone seven o’clock and people will start arriving soon for the party. I thought you might want to be up and about to greet them.’
‘Damn,’ he muttered. ‘Seven, did you say?’
‘Actually, it’s ten past.’
‘Give me a few minutes and I’ll be there,’ he said, throwing off the quilt and lurching into the shower.
He started off with warm water, then turned it to cold, swearing under its icy spray until he was well and truly awake. He didn’t bother to shave, just cleaned his teeth and combed his hair before heading to his walk-in wardrobe where he pulled on a pair of pale grey trousers, which were lightweight and cool. He teamed them with a favourite navy-blue shirt before slipping his feet into comfy black loafers and hurrying downstairs.
There were other people in the kitchen besides Ruby—a young man and a blonde girl—who were busily setting up glasses on the breakfast bar. But he only had eyes for Ruby, who was wearing that sexy red dress. Despite her hair being up with little make-up adorning her face, she still looked criminally desirable.
Damn, damn, and double damn!
‘Hello, Mr Marshall,’ the blonde girl said with a bright smile. ‘I’m Marcie. We met last year, remember? And this is Josh, my partner in crime and catering.’
She and Josh both smiled at their in joke. Sebastian didn’t smile back, troubled that the decision he’d come to on the plane was about to be swayed by the hunger Ruby instantly engendered in him. He told himself it wasn’t Ruby herself he’d been missing, but the sex. He wasn’t falling in love with her. There was no need to panic. No need to tell her their affair was over after all.
But down deep he knew he was kidding himself. He was in danger of falling in love with her. And he simply couldn’t go down that road again. Not after what had happened with Jennifer.
‘So how are you feeling now?’ Marcie went on brightly, clearly undeterred by Sebastian’s lack of humour. ‘Ruby tells us you’ve just flown in from London and had to catch up on sleep.’
‘I’m fine,’ he said, thinking how typical it was of Ruby to chat away to these people as if they’d known each other for ever. Yet she would have only met this couple for the first time today. She was a very gregarious person. Gregarious and utterly gorgeous. Sebastian tried to keep his face impassive as he looked at her. Tried not to imagine reaching up and taking her hair down, then taking her to bed.
‘I’ll have coffee outside, Ruby,’ he said, and spun away.
‘Do you want anything to eat?’ she called after him. ‘You must be hungry.’