‘So you worked together, you and Roman?’
‘Initially I thought we made a good team. Until he left.’
And now he was a man shouldering all the responsibility, Gwen thought. ‘You miss him.’
His eyes slid from hers and she could almost see him retreating from her as he sketched a quick smile. ‘We have never lived in one another’s pockets or finished each other’s sentences.’
‘So what made your mother leave your father in the end?’
‘Actually this house was the final straw. It had belonged to her family and she’d inherited it. In the early days we came here on holidays regularly, but then my father took against it simply, I think, because she loved it, and then he arranged the sale of it behind her back and he told her to sign on the dotted line.’
Gwen watched as a thoughtful expression drifted across his face as though he was reliving a moment in the past.
‘She said it was like waking up after a long nightmare. She ripped up the contract, grabbed us and, the way she tells it, a bag of knickers, phoned the best divorce lawyer she could and brought us here. The rest is history. Oh, and the lawyer will be one of the guests at the party. They are a pretty eclectic bunch but I think you’ll like them.’
‘I assumed that you were going to cancel...’ She stopped. ‘I’ll still be here, will I?’
‘It seems the ideal opportunity to introduce you to the people who matter to me, and Ellie, of course.’
‘You’re going to go public about us?’
The brow on the uninjured side of his face lifted. ‘I considered sliding down my seat in the car and hiding from it all but...’
The teasing reminder of what she’d done at school to avoid those parents made her flush.
‘Perhaps,’ Rio said, watching her closely, seeing the wariness in her eyes, ‘I should be asking you if you’re all right with going public.’
‘Would it matter if I said no?’
‘Yes, of course it would.’
His response looked as if it surprised her.
‘I’m not ashamed I’m a father. I’m proud of Ellie and of you for making such a good job of it.’ Her flush of pleasure at this unexpected praise hadn’t subsided when he added, ‘But you’re not alone any more. I’m not asking you to marry me.’
The colour seeped from her cheeks, leaving just two circles of pink on each cheekbone as her lashes came down. ‘I didn’t think you were.’
‘I really doubt if I could fulfil your criteria for one half of a good marriage.’ He’d be very surprised if any man could, but he found he really didn’t want any man other than him trying. ‘But I want to be part of your and Ellie’s lives.’
Gwen knew he really meant just Ellie. She was only included because they came as a package deal. She ignored the heavy weight that had taken up residence behind her breastbone and said nothing; the aching lump in her throat would have made it hard anyway.
‘I think we should live together for Ellie’s sake.’
Gwen’s expression hardened. She half rose but he caught her hand and after a moment she subsided. ‘Live a lie, you mean,’ she said numbly. Everything in her was repelled by the idea of taking the first step on the road her own mother had chosen.
‘No lies, just an open and honest relationship. We both have Ellie’s best interests at heart and I don’t want to be an every-other-weekend dad.’
‘By open, do you mean—?’ She found she couldn’t even finish the sentence.
‘As it is I really don’t want to sleep with another woman, but I don’t want to make any unrealistic promises to you that I might not be able to keep. I respect you too much for that.’
His matter-of-fact confession of possible future infidelity sent a cold chill through her body, but Rio seemed oblivious to her reaction and continued to outline his plan in more detail.
‘I own a house in London, and the one next door has just gone on the market. It has a lovely walled garden and there is a fantastic school close by. You could move in and we could see how things go, and who knows? We might end up getting on so well we knock down the partition wall.’
‘Or you might move your girlfriend in next door,’ she said flatly, fighting the childish impulse to stamp her foot and yell,I don’t want your respect. I want your love, you stupid man!
She had dreamt of receiving proposals but not this one!