Lucas could hear the sarcasm in her tone and imagined the pert tilt of her chin and the flash of her toffee-brown eyes. ‘You’re welcome.’
He moved up another step, and he sensed her on the one above him. He could smell not just her perfume but the fragrance of her hair—an apple and vanilla scent that teased his senses all over again. He could hear the soft sound of her indrawn breath and pictured her blinking at him with those wide puppy dog eyes. The desire to touch her shocked him to the core of his being. He had to tighten his hold on the balustrade and keep his other hand pressed against his right side.
‘Excuse me. I want to go upstairs to bed.’ He spoke through tight lips.
‘Lucas?’
Her hand came down on his arm and a wave of heat travelled through his body in a blood-tingling current.
She took her hand away, as if she too felt that electric charge.
‘It’s way too early to go to bed. You need to have proper nutrition and exercise. And regular exposure to daylight so your circadian rhythms don’t go out of whack. I can help you with that.’
‘If you think your playing nursemaid is going to change my mind about the wedding, think again.’
He brushed past her but he heard her following him, her footsteps light but determined.
‘Forget about the wedding for now. I’m doing this for Gran. I had no idea she wasn’t keeping up with things the way she used to. I should’ve come back before this to check on her. I shouldn’t have relied on phone calls. I should have come in person.’
Self-recrimination laced her voice, and it triggered his own gut-clawing guilt.
Lucas stopped walking up the stairs and turned in Ruby’s direction. ‘It’s not your fault. If it’s anyone’s, it’s mine. But with my operation and all, I just—’
‘You mustn’t blame yourself. Gran is a stubborn old goat who wouldn’t listen until I told her the arm was likely to be amputated if the infection got any worse.’
‘It won’t come to that, surely?’
‘Let’s hope not.’
‘It seems your visit was timely.’
‘Yes...’
Lucas knew how much Beatrice missed Ruby, although she never let on. It wasn’t the housekeeper’s way to wear her heart on her sleeve. But he was feeling a little uncomfortable that she hadn’t told him about her injury. Her loyalty was admirable, and her stoicism something he had always admired, but he was her employer and ultimately responsible for her welfare.
He hated it that he was unable to conduct his life the way he wanted. This loss of control was anathema to him. It reminded him of the chaotic rollercoaster of living with his parents as they fell in and out of love with each other repeatedly. One minute they would be passionately in love and all would be well, and then the fights would start. Horrible fights, with cruel insults hurled and doors slammed and voices raised. Then, after his father had moved out—or his mother, depending on who had had the latest affair in order to wound the other—the cycle would begin again.
Sometimes the peace had lasted for so long he’d lower his guard. He’d be lulled into thinking that this time they were going to make it and all would be well. But of course he was always disappointed.
Lucas had learned the hard way not to trust their passion or their promises. A cynical crust had formed around his heart and he longer believed in lasting love. He went into his short flings with his eyes wide open and his guard up.
And that wasn’t going to change any time soon.
CHAPTER THREE
RUBYWATCHEDASLucas climbed the stairs to his suite of rooms, torn between wanting to follow him and needing to keep her distance. At least he’d agreed to let her stay the week, but his stubbornness over her helping him in any way was beyond frustrating. It was also imperative she got him to agree to host Delphine’s wedding, but how could she change his mind?
She might not like him much, but she’d have to have a heart as hard and cold as marble not to feel empathy for his situation. He had always struck her as a bit of a loner. He was not like his extroverted parents in any way other than having the same good looks as his father. She didn’t even know if he saw his father these days. His mother had died of a brain tumour a few years ago, and his father had remarried within a couple of months and promptly created a new family with a much younger wife in Brazil.
Ruby sighed and went back down to the kitchen to see about dinner. Cooking for her was not just work or even a hobby—it was her happy place. Preparing ingredients, using her creativity to develop new tastes and flavours, brought her immense satisfaction. Her busy life running the wedding business with her friends left little time for a social life, but she didn’t let it worry her. She liked the security it gave her to know she was earning her own money and not being dependent on others as her mother had been.
Which was why securing Rothwell Park for Delphine’s wedding was of paramount importance to her right now. Convincing Lucas to allow it to go ahead was going to be a big challenge, but never let it be said that she had ever backed down from a challenge.
The bigger the better.
A couple of hours later, Ruby set up the smaller of the two dining rooms for Lucas’s meal. She went up the stairs to the master bedroom and rapped her knuckles on the door.
‘Lucas? Dinner is ready downstairs.’