‘What are you going to wear tonight?’ He tugged at her top, trying to distract himself from the emotion threatening to overwhelm him. ‘That train-steward skirt is cute, but it’s not appropriate for a formal celebration, and as far as I can tell you only have jeans...’ He unfastened those jeans.
‘I’ll figure something out.’ She shrugged.
He wondered about that. He could ask Linda if she could find something. But Violet stopped him as he reached for his phone.
‘Don’t,’ she said. ‘I can sort this.’ Concern entered her eyes. ‘Unless you don’t want me to mix with the guests? I promise I’ll be good. You don’t need to worry about me.’
‘You’ll be wonderful. They’ll love to meet you. But you don’t have—’
‘Don’t think you have to give me a makeover. I can figure something out. I can be creative.’
‘Creative?’ He grinned at her. ‘Prove it.’
Violet looked up into his eyes but she didn’t smile back. ‘I’m sorry this is such a difficult day for you, Roman. I’m sorry you have to suffer alone through all of this.’
Her words sliced him open and he suddenly couldn’t speak. But he wasn’t alone right now. He was with her. And he didn’t want to see that look in her eyes. It wasn’t sympathy. It wasn’t pity. It was something else. Something he refused to recognise yet couldn’t resist.
He pulled her into his arms. But it wasn’t like the times with those other women years ago—when sex had purely been about avoidance and orgasm. Violet’s touch was too soft, then too firm. She held him so close, so tight. And he had no choice but to close his eyes. He had to bury his face in her neck and breathe that citrusy scent as she swept her arms around him in an embrace like no other. And he lost himself, completely lost himself, in the safety of her hold.
Three hours later Violet stood in the bathroom attached to one of the guest bedrooms, trying to hold her leaking heart together. It was spilling bits of empathy everywhere but Roman didn’t want that. He wanted to be alone. And that was fair enough. She would totally respect it. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap that her mother had—wanting to make everything all better for someone. That wasn’t possible. It was Christmas Eve, she was going to have some fun for herself and that was okay.
She twisted to the side and executed a little shimmy jump to get the zipper of her dress done all the way up. It was long and silver and she really quite liked it. The only shoes she had were the ballet flats that she’d folded up in her small bag—her emergency evening shoes. They would have to do. She’d done what she could with the sparse make-up supplies she had with her, but then she’d shamelessly taken her time with her hair. She hadn’t seen Roman since she’d left him in his room that afternoon, and honestly she rather wished he could see her right now. She thought she’d done okay pulling together an outfit for a fancy Christmas ball last minute.
A knock on her door made her heart leap but, when she opened it, it was Linda.
‘I thought you might like to borrow these.’ Linda held a small box. ‘If you wanted to add a little sparkle.’
The diamanté drop earrings were fabulously theatrical—a chain of stones in an almost architectural Art Deco style. They’d be a perfect contrast against the simplicity of the silver dress they’d found this afternoon.
‘Oh, I couldn’t.’
‘They’re inexpensive crystals,’ Linda said briskly. ‘Please wear them. They’ll go so well with your dress.’
Violet took in the green silk caftan Linda was wearing, the diamond-studded tennis bracelet on her wrist and the gold rings on her fingers. This was a bling event. This was Christmas Festive.
‘Are you absolutely sure?’ she double-checked.
‘Yes.’ Linda watched Violet put the earrings in and smiled. ‘You look lovely.’
‘So do you.’ Violet smiled back and then laughed. ‘Thank you so much for including me in this.’
She walked downstairs with Linda, blinking when she saw the crowd in its elegant evening wear. She’d not realised so many guests had arrived already.
‘They arrive on a big coach all together,’ Linda explained as she took her arm. ‘Now, come on with me. You need to meet my Dennis.’
CHAPTER TEN
ALMOSTTWOHOURSLATER, Violet was chatting with the local vet, who was entertaining her with tales of Linda’s cats. She was sipping lemonade from a cut-crystal glass and chuckling with delight when she realised there was someone standing in the far doorway. Someone was watching. He was half in the shadow and he wasn’t smiling. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but suddenly it was impossible to breathe. She’d seen him in a tuxedo the first night they’d met, but this was different. So very different.
She excused herself from the conversation and quietly walked towards him, meeting him in the shadowed entranceway.
‘Roman.’ Her concern grew when she saw the sharp edges in his face. ‘You didn’t have to come down.’
She couldn’t quite tell if his response was a smile or a grimace.
‘I’m okay,’ she added. ‘You didn’t need to check on me. I can handle this.’
‘I know you can. But I...’ That expressionless mask suddenly dropped to reveal stark desolation in his eyes. His shrug was small.