‘As well as spending the whole damn day with him.’ He gave her an angry glare. ‘Honestly, Stacy, I couldn’t have been more surprised if I’d been six years old and someone had told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus.’
She licked her lips. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean your going off with Weston like that. When he came back to the party last night without you everyone drew their own conclusions.’
That he had gone back to the party was news to her; she had presumed him to have gone up to his suite. But then the party had been in his honour—even if she hadn’t realised that at the time.
She met his gaze with clear green eyes. ‘Would you mind explaining yourself more clearly, Matthew? What am I supposed to have done?’
He snorted his disgust. ‘He came up to your room with you last night. It’s pretty obvious—’
‘Matthew!’ Juliet cut in. ‘You really have it all wrong. Stacy didn’t—’
‘Please, Juliet,’ Stacy interrupted wearily, ‘let him finish.’
Matthew flushed angrily. ‘I don’t think I need to bother. You know what everyone has been saying about you and Weston.’
‘I think so. You’re all under the assumption that Jake came to my room last night, made love to me, and then calmly came back to the party as if nothing had happened. Leaving me in my room to sleep it off, I presume? Is that what you think happened, Matthew?’
‘It isn’t important what I think, everyone else thinks it.’
Stacy sighed. ‘I’m not interested in anyone else’s opinion, I want to kno
w yours.’
His mouth was a thin angry line. ‘You were with him today too,’ he accused.
‘So you agree with everyone else,’ she said resignedly.
‘I’m not sure—’
‘Oh, be sure, Matthew!’ she snapped, rising unsteadily to her feet. ‘Excuse me.’ Her excuses were made generally, tears already blinding her vision.
She didn’t care about the curious looks of the people she passed, wanting only to be alone. She escaped out into the garden, the tears streaming down her cheeks. And they weren’t all for the pain Matthew’s mistrust in her had caused, some of them were for the fact that she couldn’t go out with Jake Weston again, not even if she wanted to. He was married and out of her reach.
She didn’t see the man standing a few feet away from her, didn’t know that he was looking at her, but she suddenly became aware of the smell of cigarette smoke. She hurriedly dried her cheeks before turning to look at this intruder into her pain.
Paul Forbes! She felt her heart leap nervously at this chance meeting with him, their first since she had refused to accompany him to the party the previous evening.
‘Stacy?’ He moved into the light to come towards her. ‘I thought it was you.’ He handed her a snowy white handkerchief. ‘Your cheeks are still wet.’
She hurriedly wiped her cheeks, putting the handkerchief away in her evening bag. ‘I’ll give it back to you when I’ve had time to launder it,’ she explained.
He gave a soft laugh. ‘And here was I thinking you were keeping it as a souvenir! But I should have known better, that sort of thing doesn’t interest you.’
She blushed and turned away. ‘I think I should go back inside.’
Paul Forbes put a hand on her arm. ‘No, don’t go. I wasn’t getting at you, you know. In fact, I admire you all the more for refusing me.’
She looked at him unflinchingly. ‘Is that why you had me sacked?’ she challenged.
He shook his head. ‘I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even realise you had been sacked until Payne started muttering something about Jake Weston’s interference in his decision.’
‘You really didn’t know?’ she asked uncertainly.
‘No. And I didn’t ask Payne to try and force you into going out with me either. He did that from his own initiative.’
‘Oh.’ She didn’t know whether or not to believe him. He sounded sincere, and yet …