‘We’ll have lots of finger food ready shortly,’ Marcie added.
‘Just coffee for now,’ Sebastian threw over his shoulder.
Ruby carried a mug of coffee out to where Sebastian was sitting at the outdoor table, glancing up at the lights. They were already turned on but wouldn’t show to advantage until it got darker. She’d turned them on for a while last night and they’d looked fantastic.
Of course, old grumpy probably didn’t like them. Truly, he’d try the patience of a saint at times. It pained her that she still found him so damned attractive, even when he was being a grouch. How she’d fallen in love with him she had no idea, though she suspected it had started the day he went shopping with her.
‘The lights look good, don’t they?’ she said as she put the coffee down in front of him.
‘Yes,’ he surprised her by agreeing. ‘They do, actually. But not as good as you.’
Ruby might have taken pleasure in his compliment if it hadn’t been delivered so ruefully.
‘Thank you,’ she bit out.
‘Would you sit down, Ruby? I need to talk to you about something before people get here.’
Ruby swallowed, knowing instinctively that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. The hardness in his eyes rather gave the game away.
‘Talk to me about what?’ she asked tensely.
‘Just sit down,’ he bit out.
She sat down.
He sighed and shook his head at her.
‘Well?’ she prompted when he remained silent. ‘What is it? People will be here soon. Or some of them will. And before I forget, Zack rang and said he’d be late. He tried to ring you but your phone was turned off.’
‘Fine. Did he say why?’
‘Some kind of girl trouble.’
‘Of course.’ His tone was dry, the implication being that Zack was always having girl trouble. It wasn’t anything new.
‘What did you want to talk to me about?’ she went on when he didn’t speak. He just sat there, drinking the coffee.
He finally put the mug down, pursing his lips before spearing her with a narrow-eyed gaze.
‘I’ve had time to think whilst I was away,’ he began firmly.
‘About what?’ she asked. But she had already suspected what was coming, her stomach flipping over before contracting tightly.
‘Our arrangement,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to work.’
‘Why’s that?’ Ruby said, her chest tightening as well. ‘I thought it was what you wanted.’
His laugh was cold. ‘I thought so too.’
Ruby tried not to panic. Tried to keep calm. ‘What do you want, Sebastian? Do you even know?’
‘I know what I don’t want,’ he bit out. ‘I don’t want to fall in love again. The trouble is, you’re the sort of girl a man falls in love with, especially once he starts sleeping with her.’
Ruby felt both flattered and frustrated. ‘Is it so bad, falling in love again?’ Quite the ironic statement, considering she’d once decided not to go there herself. But it was too late; she was already there.
‘Yes,’ he said firmly. ‘I vowed not to fall in love again after Jennifer died and I mean to keep that vow. I’m sorry, Ruby, but I can’t keep on—’
The front doorbell broke their conversation off at that critical point, leaving Ruby hanging. What had he been going to say? she agonised as he abruptly stood up and strode away. Clearly, she soon came to realise, she wouldn’t be finding out until this party was over. People started pouring in, surprising Ruby that they’d turned up so early. She thought people were always late for parties these days.
Not this party, obviously. They all knew each other, which was logical. They all worked for Harvest Productions. She met so many new people during the next hour that she couldn’t keep their names straight in her head. Still, she was glad she was wearing her lovely red dress because all the women were done up to the nines, some of them very beautiful and glamorous. They were all nice though, which came as a surprise. She’d thought they might all be up themselves but they weren’t.
The DJ arrived and set up in the dining room from where the music could flow through the house and outside as well. The music he chose was a mixture of old and new, with some Christmas favourites thrown in occasionally. He was a big hit with the partygoers, if their dancing and singing along was any guide.
The lights were a big hit as well, several guests commenting on the festive spirit.
Ruby didn’t feel very festive, despite having downed a few glasses of champagne as she chatted away to the guests. The alcohol didn’t help her agitation at all. Or her depression. When Zack finally arrived, Ruby struggled to put a smile on her face. But she managed. Somehow.
‘Hi,’ she said after she opened the front door.
‘Hi to you too,’ Zack returned, giving her the once-over but without ogling. ‘Wow, don’t you look stunning? Red suits you.’
‘And black suits you,’ she said with her first real smile of the night.
‘True.’ He grinned. ‘Sounds like the party’s in full flow.’
He walked into the house—and the party—with his usual easy-going confidence, looking like a typical bad boy dressed all in black. Black jeans. Black T-shirt. Black belt and shoes. Even his tats were black. If she hadn’t known he was a famous actor, Ruby would have thought he was a biker.
‘Zack!’ Sebastian exclaimed when he saw his friend. ‘You made it.’
‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘Just. Did Ruby tell you I called earlier?’
‘She did,’ Sebastian replied with a swift glance her way. ‘So what’s up?’
‘Nothing. Everything’s sorted. What I need is a drink. A real drink,’ he added when a waiter approached with a tray full of champagne and wine.
‘Come with me to the study,’ Sebastian said, steering Zack away, leaving Ruby standing there staring after them. Annoyed, she swept another glass of champagne from the waiter’s tray and lifted it to her lips, telling herself she really should eat something as well. It wouldn’t be a good look for Sebastian’s housekeeper to get drunk.
Such thinking had her heading for the kitchen, and the finger food. It was all delicious and very addictive. Ruby tasted just about every selection before heading back to the party, her heart lifting when she saw Zack and Sebastian had left the study, with Zack nursing a large whisky. Sebastian, however, surprised Ruby by choosing an orange juice from a passing waiter. He spotted her raised eyebrows and briefly raised his own, their eyes meeting across the room. It was a strangely intimate moment, one which could only happen between people who knew each other well.