She had no one to blame but herself, not that that was any consolation.
She had no idea when he came to bed but, despite tossing and turning and thinking that there was no way she could ever fall asleep—not when her nerves were all over the place—she must have nodded off because when she woke the following morning there was an indentation where he had lain, although he was nowhere to be seen.
Downstairs, she thought, ensconced in his office, catching up on all those important deals that suddenly needed sorting out. Anything to spare himself the embarrassment of having to face her because he’d seen that she had wanted to carry on a fling that had reached the end of its lifespan.
His case was by the front door, and she was looking at it when he emerged from the direction of the office at the far end of the villa.
‘I should go and get my bag,’ Abby said, half-turning.
‘No rush. I’ll bring it down when we’re ready to go.’
‘I... I wasn’t sure what to do with the clothes you bought for me here,’ she told him. ‘So I’ve left them in the wardrobe.’
‘Why?’ Gabriel looked at her, arms folded. ‘What am I supposed to do with a collection of women’s designer clothes?’
‘Don’t know,’ Abby told him with cool self-control. ‘I don’t honestly care, Gabriel. I wore them here to play a part but they’re not my style.’
‘Well, my grandmother will be startled if she opens the cupboard and finds that you’ve left half the stuff you’ve been wearing behind.’ He thought of that little bikini coming off, the pale green dress he had lifted so that he could get to her knickers, his whole body on full throttle, so hot for her that he’d scarcely been able to control himself. He clenched his jaw and looked away.
‘Well, it might provide a good opportunity for you to break the sad news of our break-up.’ She glanced at her finger where the engagement ring still glittered and gleamed. She would remove it just as soon as they were on their way back to reality. Right now, though, the twinkling diamonds were a mocking reminder of her foolishness.
Gabriel shrugged. ‘Fine. I’ll dispose of them.’ He paused, then stared at her with narrowed eyes. ‘I hope this episode isn’t going to alter our working relationship, Abby. Things happened, but I’m sincerely hoping that you’ll be able to put it all behind you.’
Abby noted that, by inference, he had already put it all behindhim.She also wondered whether there’d been a threat implied by that bland remark. Was he implying that he would have to let her go otherwise?
Pride slammed into her and she returned his stare with one that was equally controlled. ‘Absolutely,’ she said. ‘Whatever mistaken impression you may have got, the whole episode, as you call it, is already behind me.’
CHAPTER NINE
Book me a table at my usual restaurant, Abby.
Two people.
Corner seat.
ABBYSTAREDDOWNat Gabriel’s distinctive writing. He’d left a note while she’d been out to lunch and she knew that he wouldn’t be back in until the following morning—meetings all afternoon.
Indeed, she had barely laid eyes on him since they’d returned from Seville ten days previously. True to his word, he had returned to spend the weekend with his grandmother. She had arranged his private jet. What had transpired? Had he told Ava that their engagement was no more? Abby didn’t know, because he hadn’t said a word about it, and that had made her unreasonably angry because damn it, she’dlikedhis grandmother, hadbondedwith her.
It was as though the minute she’d left Spain she’d left behind everything relating to it, so updates on how Ava was doing were no longer relevant.
They’d boarded the plane to London, she’d handed him back the engagement ring and that had been that.
Back to normal. Back to routine. Back to work.
He was once more her boss, except now there were subtle changes in their relationship. Of course he still relied on her to get everything right, and to do whatever overtime was needed. And he still trusted her enough barely to check the work she did. But gone was the lazy banter and that easy familiarity which she was only recognising, now that it was gone, had been there for ever.
He was polite but she knew that they were circling one another like strangers and it was killing her.
Was it likewise killing him?
No chance. She looked at the scribbled note and knew exactly what it meant. He was back in the dating game. That restaurant was his restaurant of choice when it came to dining out with a woman and the corner table was his preferred spot.
Abby took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. She would book the table but this was the end of the road for her. She’d thought she could do this, could carry on working for him, putting things into perspective. She’d thought that the minute he started seeing other women it would be a resounding reminder of the sort of guy he was, deep down. Yes, he was a thousand things, a complex mosaic of personality traits that would turn any woman’s head, but primarily he was a commitment-phobe and a commitment-phobe was the last thing she needed.
Where a soul should be, was a block of ice. In the end, she’d counted for nothing.
She picked up the phone and dialled the special number she used that would ensure a corner table just as he liked it...
