CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER TWELVE
E LODIE HAD FASTENED the diamonds around her neck and checked her appearance. She’d opted for black, not wanting to draw additional attention tonight. She actually wanted to look appropriate . When he’d first mentioned the gala she’d been reluctant but she would go there for him. She wished Ashleigh was here so they could catch up but Bethan had taken her to Edinburgh for a long weekend as a surprise treat. Her friend was truly the best.
‘Going for the black widow look?’ Ramon teased when he walked up behind her. ‘My relatives would adore you if you followed through on that.’
She turned. He looked sharp as ever in the dark dinner suit. ‘I don’t think they’d want me to kill off the man responsible for their gravy train.’
But as they walked out of the house a shiver of trepidation rippled through her.
‘Nervous?’
‘Why would I be?’ She drew on her old confident armour. ‘I’m not scared. I like a party.’
‘Such bravado, Elodie,’ he jeered softly. ‘It’s the family that scares you.’
‘Yeah, well, you have to admit they were pretty fearsome in Cornwall.’
‘Don’t worry, tonight is too public for much drama. They’ll all act as if everything is just fine.’
But she looked at him more closely and saw he was paler than normal. Was he nervous too? She wouldn’t blame him. Ramon was even more alone than she’d imagined. What he’d told her was shockingly sad but she was deeply touched that he’d trusted her enough to share something so personal and painful. Maybe she could— should —be more honest with him too. But she knew Ramon better now—knew he was honourable and protective, and if he found out she wasn’t as worldly and as experienced as she’d made out, he’d definitely be bothered about their fake marriage deal. He felt bad about enough already—his father’s treatment of his mother, her isolation and emotional abandonment of him, the awful mess of his aunt and his father and his unacknowledged half-brother. She didn’t want to add to that. But honestly, she was mostly afraid that he would end their affair immediately, and now it wasn’t that she wasn’t ready for that yet , but that she might never be ready to let him go.
She shivered again.
‘You sure you’re okay?’ Ramon wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a bear hug.
Pure safety, security, support. She knew she could step back at any time and he’d release her, but instead she leaned even closer against him. She didn’t want to escape. Didn’t want to be alone. Not anymore. She drew on his strength and wistfully hoped that somehow he too drew on something from her.
‘I’m good,’ she whispered.
He pulled back with a devastatingly tender smile and held the door for her. Her heart somersaulted in her chest and she suddenly knew she had to talk to him. Had to be honest. Her heart compelled it for herself. She didn’t want to hold back anything from him anymore. She would be brave and tell him everything . But she would face his family with him first. That was the one thing he really needed from her now.
Ramon couldn’t get his head around the fact that he’d been married to Elodie for more than a month because it had truly passed in the blink of an eye. But he knew she couldn’t resist ice cream. Her preference for green tea over black. Her enjoyment of detective shows. Her other ‘tells’ had become more obvious too. He knew when she was thinking about kissing him, when she was about to come, when she was nervous—like when jumping from those rocks. She’d awed him when she pushed through with courage then and it was what she was doing now—looking stunningly dangerous in that black evening gown despite desperately snuggling in to him only moments ago. He ached to draw her back into his arms. She’d given him a comfort he hadn’t felt in years and she’d helped him face his past. Maybe he might even resolve that mess properly soon.
But for now he enjoyed watching her gracefully enter the car. She had that aloof, unattainable but sexy air down pat. Her enigmatic focus intrigued him. She liked to set puzzles and throw red herrings everywhere but actually was a puzzle herself. She could be flirtatious, confident, brash yet in the next moment blush awkwardly, flustered and jittery. She could hold men at arm’s length. And did. Including him sometimes. In short, she fascinated him and he wanted to know more. Should know more. But he’d not had the stomach to ask about her past lovers. It had suited him to think of her as being as bulletproof as him. It had made his own plan palatable.
But no one was bulletproof.
He’d been lazy and frankly jealous. He’d chosen not to question the nuances of her first marriage. What had happened? Her father had to have approved it and didn’t want her divorce, so had he bullied her into it like he’d just tried with her younger sister? And where was the ex in all this, why hadn’t the jerk had Elodie’s back?
Ramon had been so blinded by lust he’d not stopped to discover the subtleties. He thought back to those party photos on her social media. Maybe it was all wishful thinking, but he was sure there hadn’t been the sparkle in her eyes that there was when she was out with him. She’d posed—performative. Had it all been a front to hide heartbreak?
Now he wanted to know why, to understand everything. Why had she embraced such overt hedonism? Had she felt so oppressed she needed to discover herself?
She was loyal to her friends. To her sister. Even to him. Yet she’d apparently cheated on her husband. The Elodie he’d seen, the one he’d touched, the one he knew , didn’t seem likely to do that. Although she’d admitted that she wasn’t the same person she was when she married the first time. So what happened to make her walk out on him?
Ramon had tested her only once with a stupid question about her husband letting her go, but she’d said nothing. Had her silence been another demonstration of her innate loyalty?
So somehow, as they were driven through the heart of London, he voiced his deepest worry out loud. ‘Did you fall in love with him?’
She shot him a confused look. ‘With who?’
‘The man you left your first husband for.’
‘I...’ Colour scalded her skin, only to ebb as violently quickly, leaving her waxen. ‘I don’t think now’s the right time to talk about that.’
Yeah, rubbish timing. His impulse control had completely gone. He bit the inside of his cheek. Because even if she’d loved the guy, it obviously hadn’t worked out and she’d then dated a string of others. Which shouldn’t—didn’t—matter. The double standard of sexual desire should be left in the last century and maybe he shouldn’t be wondering about her past. It was irrelevant to now, right? To his future.
Their future.
Yeah, there was the bother. He wanted more with her and somehow the facts she’d presented about her past needed scrutiny, because he really had the feeling she was holding back on him. His father had kept so much from his mother for so long and he hated the idea that he might not know Elodie properly—not in the way he thought he did. He couldn’t bear to be blindsided by anyone.
He gritted his teeth as they entered the gala. The place went fully silent for a second as literally everyone stared. Because she was beside him—his unbelievably beautiful wife. Yet something felt off-kilter. He tensed even more, sensing threat. It was probably just in his head. Honestly, he didn’t know who he was anymore—couldn’t believe the impulsivity that he couldn’t control. Since when did he travel with anyone? Take not just hours, but whole days to his own leisure? Since when did he let anyone in his life for longer than a meeting? When did he hang out with anyone? And since when did he strike her with inappropriately personal questions at the worst possible moment?
Her tension was obvious too and he mentally kicked himself. As if this evening wasn’t going to be stressful enough? But there was music playing and a few people were on the dance floor.
‘Shall we?’ He gestured to the too well-lit space. ‘It’s safe on the dance floor, right?’
But this wasn’t arms-in-the-air free-form fun, this was formal, and she didn’t relax.
‘I’ll be back in a moment.’ She pushed away from him after only a few minutes, disappearing in the direction of the rest rooms.
Ramon picked up a drink from a tray and prowled to the edge of the room, unwilling to engage with his wider family yet. He’d wait for her return. While he didn’t want to be alone in facing them, he didn’t want her to be either.
‘Why would you want to dance with her when so many other men already have?’
‘Pardon?’ Ramon turned, unable to believe his ears. He didn’t recognise the belligerent-looking man who’d appeared beside him. ‘And you are?’
‘Callum Henderson. Elodie was my wife first.’
Ramon gaped. What on earth was her ex doing here? How had he got in? He glanced across the room and even from this distance saw Jose Ramon’s moody defiance and Cristina’s glittering gaze. His guts twisted. This was too much.
He hauled his wits together and faced Callum. ‘You think that entitles you to pass comment on her now?’
‘Take it from someone who knows her well. She’s never satisfied.’
Something purely animal ran through Ramon. ‘Maybe in your company. Not mine.’
Callum flushed. Good. He was a jerk. Treating Elodie as a possession. A prize. Not a whole person. And maybe Ramon’s reply had bought into it but he’d been stunned into snapping back.
Now Callum’s gaze turned nasty. ‘Yeah, well, she won’t give you the heir you want.’
Ramon almost choked. He didn’t want an heir. But of course, that side of the family thought he did. Heirs and assets. It was all that mattered to them. Yet suddenly the image of a sweet little girl with fire-engine-red hair popped into his head—disarming him completely. Goosebumps peppered his skin as his wayward imagination fed him another future child—a son. More red hair. Smiles. Playfulness. Elodie would have such fun playing games with them and he would have such fun joining in. And he just wanted to grab her and get the hell out of here because he really needed to talk to her.
‘But you already know she’s probably infertile,’ Callum added venomously. ‘All that time with women’s troubles.’
‘What?’ Ramon responded before thinking. ‘What?’
Callum’s features sharpened as if he’d sensed a chink in Ramon’s armour. And yeah, there was a chink. A huge one. Did Elodie have health issues she hadn’t told him about?
‘You have no right to discuss my personal business, Callum.’ Elodie’s voice came from behind him.
Ramon turned, immediately shocked by her pallor. Her sapphire eyes were sharp as blades, but she couldn’t hide the pain in their depths. Not from him. He chilled, then menace filled him. He was wild with Callum, but even more horrified that he might have hurt her somehow and he didn’t know.
‘What are you doing here?’ Elodie asked her ex-husband bluntly.
Ramon whipped his head and watched the way Callum looked at her. He knew then. He just knew . Callum couldn’t drag his attention away from her. Couldn’t hide the wild emotion in his eyes. Ramon knew the feeling. Jealousy burned as he saw how much this man still wanted her. Hell, he probably still thought he loved her. And how had he shown that—by not wanting to let her go? By getting angry because he couldn’t control her? If his current behaviour was any indication, when Callum couldn’t get what he wanted he got ugly about it.
‘I wanted to see for myself,’ Callum said roughly. ‘I’d heard you finally landed a wealthy one. The husband of your dreams. Are you happy at last?’
Bile burned the back of Ramon’s throat. The jerk thought she was a money-hungry predator? She wasn’t the predator. She’d spent most of her life surrounded by controlling men.
‘Yes,’ Elodie replied in a brittle, bored tone that sounded nothing like her. ‘Ramon’s able to satisfy my every need.’
There was the same inflection in her answer that he’d put in his—the stamp of their sexual cohesion. He felt that animal emotion rush on him again but quickly quelled it. Because Elodie put on a show. She masked her hurt. This was vixen Elodie up front and centre and suddenly he wasn’t sure what to believe.
She turned and walked away from them both, her head high and her fiery hair gleaming in the light. Ramon swiftly stepped to match her pace. Confused. She’d said nothing to him about her health. Nothing. And he was furious.
She turned the corner, drawing them from the line of sight.
‘Is that why you asked me about leaving him earlier?’ She whipped round to face him the second they got behind a tall column. ‘Because you knew he’d be here?’ She tossed her head. ‘Why would you—’
‘Of course I didn’t invite him,’ he interrupted. Doubly furious she’d even think it possible. ‘I think Jose Ramon brought him. Wanted to create drama.’
Wanted to create chaos. Spoilt and petulant, he’d wanted to wreck Ramon’s perceived happiness.
‘What?’ Elodie gazed up at him and the anger in her eyes bloomed into something he didn’t want to see from her. Pity.
‘He’s that angry...?’ She shook her head sadly. ‘He must be really hurt.’
‘You feel sorry for him?’ Right now Ramon was feeling sorry for himself.
‘I do.’ She sighed deeply. ‘It must be impossible to be compared to you. And won’t Cristina have put him up to it anyway? The poor kid doesn’t stand a chance.’
She reached for a glass from a passing waiter and pasted on a smile. Ramon paused, momentarily in awe of her self-control. He just wanted to smash something. What should have been a boring, slightly tense evening had rapidly descended into one of the worst nights of his life. He lasted barely ten minutes more before grabbing her hand and sweeping her from the room. He saw the looks of consternation on the guests’ faces as they left but he didn’t give a damn about what anyone thought. He wasn’t waiting a second longer before demanding the truth from Elodie.