Lucas continued to hold her hand. ‘I guess your gran isn’t one to splash compliments about. But she loves you and is enormously proud of you.’
‘I know...but there’s a part of me that feels unlovable. I mean, if my own mother couldn’t love me, who else could?’
‘It’s understandable you feel like that, given what you’ve been through.’ His thumb stroked the back of her hand in a soothing fashion. ‘But you can’t let your mother’s inadequacies as a parent dictate your life going forward. She might not have been capable of loving you, or anyone, but there are plenty of other people who are.’
But he wasn’t one of them, was he? He liked her, and he enjoyed her company, but he didn’t love her the way she wanted to be loved. Was it because of the way he’d seen love growing up? The way it had been expressed via his parents?
The sound of a mobile phone ringing sounded in the ensuing silence.
‘That’s my phone,’ Ruby said, reaching for her sarong. ‘I’d better answer it. It might be Gran calling.’
She got to her phone on the table inside the villa just in time to see it was Aerin on the line.
‘Hi, Aerin.’
‘I have good news and bad news—which do you want first?’
‘Let’s go with the bad news.’
‘Delphine wants to bring the wedding forward.’
Ruby frowned. ‘Forward by how much?’
‘She wants to get married next weekend.’
‘Next weekend?’Ruby’s response came out as a squeak. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Apparently there’s been a sudden change in the shooting schedule for the movie she’s filming, so the wedding has to be brought forward. It’s the only time she has available now. It’s going to be a nightmare to pull it off, but I think we can do it. Harper is okay with the change. And we don’t have any other bookings next weekend, so there’s no reason why we can’t rise to the challenge.’
Ruby had every confidence that Aerin would be able to pull it off, and Harper was always one to be prepared for a sudden change in plan. But would Lucas be okay with the change? She would have to fly back tomorrow to organise her catering team. Catering for a wedding was not as easy as putting a picnic together. There was so much planning and preparation to do before the event. And she would have to make sure the cleaning team had left Rothwell Park in tiptop shape...
‘So what’s the good news?’
‘Delphine insists on paying us a bonus for the date-change.’ Aerin named a figure that made Ruby’s eyebrows lift. ‘I told her I’d check with you first, before I confirmed it.’
‘We’d be crazy not to accept,’ Ruby said. ‘Tell her it’s a yes.’
She ended the call and glanced at Lucas, still lying on his back on the sun lounger out on the terrace, his hands propped behind his head, his eyes closed against the bright sunlight.
She walked back out to him and he opened his eyes and reached for one of her hands. ‘How’s your gran?’
‘It wasn’t my gran.’ She sat down beside him. ‘Lucas, there’s been a change of plan. Delphine wants to get married this coming weekend instead of next month. I’ll have to fly back tomorrow to get ready. I know we agreed on a week here together, but I have so much to do...’
Lucas sat upright and laced his fingers through her hair in a light caress that sent shivers across her scalp. If he was disappointed that their week was being cut short he didn’t show it on his face.
‘I’ll call Stavros to pick us up first thing tomorrow. Will you be able to do everything you need to do in such a short time?’
‘I think so. I’ve done a couple of big weddings at short notice before. And it will be easier doing it at Rothwell Park because I know the kitchen so well. But it’s still a huge challenge.’
He gave a crooked smile and stroked a lazy finger down the slope of her nose. ‘I’m sure you’re more than up to it.’
Ruby bit her lip. ‘Lucas...you know how we agreed that what happens on the island, stays on the island...? I’m sorry for cutting our time together short by three days, but—’
He captured her hand and entwined his fingers with hers. ‘We don’t have to cut it short.’
She blinked and swallowed. Could this mean he was keen to continue their relationship? Hope flared in her chest and she felt a bubble of excitement in her blood. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We can continue our arrangement.’