Why Resist a Rebel - By Leah Ashton Page 0,41

of unprofessionalism.’

Ruby snorted most inelegantly. ‘My reputation is not lily white, I can assure you.’

Dev raised his eyebrows, but Ruby just shrugged as she flipped open a box of teabags and dropped one into each mug.

‘I told you the other night that I had a bit of a wild youth. Well, unsurprisingly, that type of behaviour generates gossip. A lot of gossip. Some of it accurate, a lot of it not. According to the local grapevine, it’s quite frightening the number of people I slept with as a seventeen-year-old.’

Ruby smiled as she reached for the boiled kettle and saw Dev’s expression. ‘Don’t look so shocked. I wasn’t as bad as people made out, but I did enough to deserve a good chunk of my reputation. I’m not proud of myself—but it’s done now. I was very young, very naïve. But I’ve learnt, moved on—I’m not the same person any more.’

‘You’re not the type of person who gets gossiped about.’

Dunking the teabags, she looked up, pleased he’d understood. ‘Yes, exactly. I had enough to deal with back then without the speculating glances, the whispers and the innuendo. In fact, gossip made my behaviour worse—I confused people talking about me with people actually giving a crap about me. Although, for a while, just being noticed was enough.’ Ruby paused, and laughed without humour. ‘And you know what? I was the one who figured out I needed to change, that I needed to grow up, and not one judgmental comment by some know-it-all busybody made one iota of difference.’

Too late she realised she’d raised her voice, and tea was now splashed in tiny droplets across the counter.

‘Oh,’ she said, in a small voice. Then stepped away, snatching up a tea towel and blotting ineffectually at the hot liquid.

Dev was now in the kitchen with her, and he reached out, taking the towel from her.

‘What happened?’ he asked.

She looked down at her feet, and wiggled her toes in her ballet flats.

‘I didn’t say anything happened,’ she said.

‘But it did.’

She looked up abruptly, her lips beginning to form the words and sentences to explain...

Then she realised she was standing in a two-and-a-half-star holiday apartment with peeling vinyl flooring with one of the most famous men in the world.

No, he really didn’t need to know about any of what happened.

So she remained silent.

For a long minute she was sure he was going to push—but he didn’t.

Instead he calmly picked up the coffee mugs and tipped their remaining contents down the sink.

‘We don’t really have any time for a drink, anyway,’ he said, his back still to her.

‘Why’s that?’ she replied, for a moment, confused. Then, in a flash, she remembered—the only possible reason why he was here. She swallowed. ‘The favour.’

He turned slowly, then leant his hips against the cabinets. Belatedly, he nodded.

‘Our plane leaves in just over an hour.’

Ruby knew her mouth was gaping open, but was helpless to do anything about it.

Dev smiled. A devilish smile that was becoming so, so familiar.

‘We have a party to attend. In Sydney. No time to drive so I chartered a plane.’

As you did.

‘A party?’ Ruby asked, when her jaw had begun functioning again.

‘It’s just casual, at a private home. A birthday party of a—friend.’

He said it as if that was all the information she could possibly need. When she stood, just staring at him, his eyes narrowed impatiently.

‘You really need to go pack.’

‘What if I have plans tonight?’ she asked.

He shrugged. ‘You agreed to the deal.’

‘I didn’t agree to put my life on hold at your whim.’

He grinned. ‘Lord, Ruby, I do like you.’

She shook her head, dismissing what he said. ‘I have plans tonight.’

Plans involving instant noodles and a small pile of romantic comedy DVDs, but still—plans.

‘Well, you should’ve thought of that at the time. Negotiated appropriate methods of notification of the favour or something—but, you didn’t. So—here we are. And I’d like to cash in my favour. Tonight.’

Ruby considered continuing her argument. Or just flat out refusing to go. He wouldn’t, after all, drag her out of her apartment against her will.

Maybe he saw what she was thinking in her eyes.

‘It’s just a party, Ruby. Nothing sinister, I promise. You might even have fun.’

But still, she hesitated. He was so brash, so sure of getting his way...

‘I really don’t want to go on my own.’

That sentence was said much more harshly than what had come before. But oddly, without the same self-assurance. Quite the opposite, in fact.

And so, somehow, she found herself packing her little