His Irresistible Darling - Sarah Randall Page 0,90
her bedroom door was edged open again and George, the family Labrador, popped his head in before sensing he was needed and jumping up on the bed, acting as a comforter. Pip petted his head before grabbing the remote to turn off the film.
“It will get easier, Pip,” her sister-in-law promised earnestly, leaning over to rub George’s head. He switched his head between the two of them as if fully understanding their conversation. “Just give it some time. I—” Ana dropped her head but had clearly been about to say something else.
“What?” Pip encouraged.
“I should have said something to you at the time or at least before you left for Dubain. I mean, back when Jumal visited that December.”
“About what?” Pip asked, confused. Had Jumal said something to her?
“I don’t mean this as it sounds, but…” She paused again, as if giving careful thought to her next words, and finally looked up again before continuing. “I saw the way he looked at you.”
“Who? When?”
“Jumal. The way he looked at you when we went to meet them in the stable, you know,” she said, nodding at her, “when the foal had been born and Jumal went to see him with Matt.”
“Yeah,” Pip replied, nodding. “So?”
“Well, I’m used to men staring at me, my body. It was just part of the job and all. But with Jumal, I saw him watching you and I’d like to think I can tell the difference between a look of lust and—”
“And what?” Pip was now kneeling up on her bed—almost screaming at Ana.
“Love, adoration, like you were the air he needed to breathe, whatever. Just more than simple lust,” Ana clarified.
Pip stared back at Ana, before tilting her head to the side. “Really?” she asked. “Are you joking?”
Ana shook her head emphatically. “No, no, seriously, Pip. I mean, well, apart from Matt—” she waved her hand dismissively “—he was just playing hard to get. I remember seeing vividly the way Jumal looked at you. I do, because I remember thinking that I hoped Matt would look at me like that someday.”
“Yeah, well,” she huffed, slumping back down on the bed against the piles of pillows and scattered cushions, “he must have changed his mind pretty damn quick. I mean, the man was engaged. Oh no, I’m sorry.” She stopped herself and held hand up. “Let me remember it correctly. He had a ‘mutually convenient and beneficial arrangement’ in place by the time I arrived on Dubain a few months later. He must have practically asked her as soon as he left Yorkshire.” She shook her head and waved her hand. “And then, even after he dumps her and more or less has me move in—” she let out a short laugh “—well, let’s just say that I clearly wasn’t enough for him. Not sophisticated enough to be a sheik’s girlfriend.” She took a deep breath. “And you know what,” she asked, turning her head to face Ana who had joined her lying down on the bed. “I hate that I feel like this.” She clutched her hand to her chest. “This isn’t me—sitting around moping about a man. I don’t do pining!” she said emphatically. “I’d be telling him what an idiot he was for letting a catch like me go,” she chided sardonically.
Her sister-in-law smiled over at her, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, before leaning over and popping a kiss on her cheek.
“You are a catch, honey, and if Jumal is too short-sighted to see it and too caught up in family politics then well, him.”
Pip gasped at Ana’s crude curse as George raised his ears and tilted his head to one side.
“Wow, Mrs Darling. You’re learning some new words from my brother—and you,” she said, tutting, “a new mother,” she teased.
“I know,” Ana said, giggling like a schoolgirl as she covered her mouth.
I missed this, Pip thought.
“Come on,” Ana said, grabbing Pip’s hand and pulling her up. “Mrs H has just taken some shortbreads and scones out of the oven, and then I think we deserve a trip to the pub.”
The pub was packed to its low rafters with the usual odd box of regulars. A folk band played in the back room. The delicious smell of pub meals wafted throughout the small nooks and crannies, which made up the popular country pub.
Pip jumped as someone came up behind her at the bar and squeezed around her waist. “Hey Pip Squeak.” James.