which in Gemma’s case was a slinky black knit dress that molded her spectacular figure, and Jimmy Choo black suede high-heeled sandals, and chandelier earrings.
“Okay, you win,” Rufus teased her, but he looked impressed. Her co-star had worn a silver dress that was just as sexy, but she looked a little like a Christmas angel on top of the Christmas tree. Gemma looked like a femme fatale. “How on earth have you escaped marriage?” he asked her, as they sat by the fireplace before dinner drinking the Cristal his crew had brought for the cast.
“I date unsuitable people,” she said proudly, smiling at him. “Married, confused, relationship-phobic, addicted to substances or bad habits, or my favorite, in love with someone else.”
“Do you do that on purpose?” he asked, and she laughed.
“Apparently. I’ve never placed a high value on marriage. And I never wanted kids unless it was a two-parent affair, and my partners have been even less suitable for that. I didn’t enjoy growing up without a mother, and only a father. I didn’t want to risk doing that to someone else. It doesn’t work so well. There’s no balance. I was lucky. I was my father’s favorite, but that’s not a pleasant role either, and it was hard on my sisters.”
“How do you know you were his favorite?” He was fascinated by her. She had given him some incredible performances that week and memorable moments on camera, she could pull nearly any emotion out of her gut and tear your heart out. She had even had him in tears twice, which almost never happened. And the cast was new to her. He couldn’t imagine what she would be capable of six months down the line. It couldn’t all be manufactured emotion. She was an actress, not a magician. There was someone very interesting in there, and he wanted to get to know her better.
“He told us,” she said about being her father’s favorite. “He never made a secret of it. He told all three of us that I was his girl, his favorite.”
“Did your sisters hate you for it?”
She shook her head. “No, we loved each other anyway. My younger sister hated him…or not hated, but didn’t like him, and resented him. I thought he was domineering. I battled with him constantly. My older sister just did whatever he wanted, to please him and win his praise, and never got it.”
“It’s amazing what we do to our children. I always worry about the influence I’ve had on mine, and the mistakes I made.”
“Being a parent seems very complicated to me. Being a human being is hard enough. My sister actually seems to be doing a good job with hers, though. It’s a full-time job. I like my job better,” she said, and he laughed. “It comes with better clothes. She’s looked like a housewife since the day she had them, and she’s a pretty woman. She just doesn’t care how she looks anymore. She’s about to get divorced.”
“How she looks is her husband’s fault. Women who feel loved are a lot more attractive than neglected wives. They stop caring about how they look. It always makes me sad for them.” Gemma nodded. She agreed.
They had dinner with the others, and they all played cards and parlor games and charades after dinner, which got hilariously funny. They were a clever crowd, and knew how to amuse each other. Gemma started a poker game and several of the men joined them, Rufus among them. She won fifty pounds from him, with glee.
“Where did you learn to play poker like that?”
“The ranch hands on my father’s ranch. Cowboys love to play poker. They taught me when I was about ten.”
“You’re a dangerous woman, Gemma Tucker.” And an irresistible one. He was reminding himself to be careful, and hoped it wasn’t too late. But one way and another, they managed to share a memorable Christmas, and Gemma didn’t mind being in Africa at all. She loved it.
* * *
—
Kate and Thad had followed all of their usual traditions on the ranch, but it was different this year without her father, and Juliette. She hadn’t had Christmas with her sisters in years. She thought Gemma would call on Skype, but she didn’t. She called Scarlett and they had a brief but loving conversation. Roberto was cooking pheasant for their Christmas dinner.
And she managed to talk to Caroline on Christmas Day. She sounded lonely and sad without the kids, but she was a