The Ring The Spaniard Gave Her - Lynne Graham Page 0,50

Ruy last year, probably with her mother’s encouragement.’ Mercedes grimaced. ‘There is no man in Spain more likely to be more turned off by a woman chasing him than Ruy and he froze her out. Seeing him engaged to another woman will have enraged Elisa. Did she say anything to you?’

‘She said something in Spanish, but she spoke too fast and I didn’t catch it. The look on her face was sufficient warning,’ Suzy fibbed for the sake of peace, because she knew she could have asked Mercedes for the truth but she had sufficient consideration for the bride’s feelings on her special day to swallow her nosy questions. The brunette would not wish to be drawn down that path and it would make her uncomfortable, not only because it was intensely private stuff but also because she had only just met Suzy. In such circumstances, silence was golden.

‘That’s good, because Elisa is usually critical rather than pleasant,’ Mercedes confided, accompanying Suzy back to the main reception room.

For the remainder of their time at the reception, Suzy kept on smiling and trying to behave normally. But the whole time she was stealing stricken glances at Ruy and wondering. Did he? Could he have? Could she have fallen in love with a man that immoral, disloyal and seedy?

And the moral of that story was that she had once agreed to marry Percy Brenton, crediting that he was, at heart, a decent enough older man worthy, at least, of her respect and trust. How could she ever have been that gullible about a man who had literally blackmailed her to the altar? Events had proven her to be badly wrong in her naïve assumptions when it came to Percy, she reminded herself painfully.

How much did she really know about Ruy? And did it even matter if he was guilty as charged when their brief affair was virtually over? Why would she confront him now with such explosive accusations? Their relationship as such was already almost over, bar her final departure. Was there any point in stirring up such sordid unpleasantness? Particularly when, with Ruy’s stake in her father’s pub, she might well be forced to see him again in the future. No, she would keep her lips firmly sealed and endure her curiosity. What else could she do when Ruy had already refused to discuss the gossip she had questioned? Obviously, he didn’t want to talk about such sleazy stuff, not now when it was all over. And why would he even want to discuss it with Suzy when he had already made it clear that his past was none of her business?

‘You did really well today,’ Ruy told her on the drive back to the palacio after midnight. ‘Thank you.’

A tense smile curved Suzy’s mouth. ‘Well, that appearance was what I was here for,’ she reminded him quietly.

‘You were very convincing,’ Ruy continued.

‘I must be a better actress than I ever appreciated,’ Suzy demurred, relieved that she had less than twenty-four hours left to spend in Spain. Stepping back from Ruy and the level of intimacy they had indulged in was a challenge and to behave normally while accomplishing that feat was an even bigger one.

Her feet were killing her. She wondered if it was a rule that new shoes always had to pinch, but even if she had been warned she would have picked them because they had been the perfect match for her dress. In the marble hall, she kicked them off and lifted them to pad barefoot upstairs.

‘I could carry you,’ Ruy proposed with amusement.

‘Not required.’

She got ready for bed quickly. From below lowered lashes she covertly watched Ruy undress, marvelling at how familiar his every move had become to her. He was so organised, so methodical. Everything had a place, and nothing got lost because it always went back in the same spot. She was the exact opposite but sharing a room with Ruy had made her tidier, not only because that was his preference, but also because she was now mortifyingly aware that in the palacio, if she left something on the floor, someone else had to pick it up.

The mattress gave a little with Ruy’s weight. The lights went out. He reached for her and she tried not to freeze.

‘Er...we can’t,’ she muttered, cheeks burning as she brought out the excuse she needed. ‘It’s that time of the month.’

The heat of his lean, powerful body spread slowly through the chill that gripped her.

‘Not a problem,’