He stood up and the colour drained from Jamie’s face. She had enjoyed the free and easy way he had always had with her. It was all part and parcel of his unconventional personality, that curious, alluring mix of creativity, intelligence and self-assurance. Did she want to lose that? Did she want a boss who stuck to the rules and never teased her, or over-stepped the boundaries in asking about her personal life? That thought left her cold and she hurriedly got to her feet and reached out to put a restraining hand on his arm.
‘I’m sorry. I know how that sounded, but I have to look out for my sister. You see …’ She hesitated a fraction of a second. ‘Our dad died when I was six, and when Jess was sixteen Mum died after complications following an operation. It was horrible. I was left in charge. Mum made me promise that I would look after her. I was about to go to university, but I found myself having to get a job and look after Jess.’
‘That was a lot of responsibility for someone so young,’ Ryan murmured, sitting back down.
‘It wasn’t easy,’ Jamie agreed. ‘Jess was boy crazy and I nearly tore my hair out making sure she showed up at school every day and left with a handful of qualifications.’
‘What were you doing for a job?’ he asked curiously, and was even more curious when slow colour crept into her cheeks and she looked down.
‘Oh, just working at a vet’s. It wasn’t what I had expected to be doing at the age of nineteen, but I enjoyed it. The thing is …’
‘What had you expected to be doing?’
‘Huh?’
‘Your plans? Dreams? Ambitions? What were they before your life was derailed?’
‘Well …’ Jamie flushed and hesitated. ‘I wanted to go to university and study law. Seems like a lifetime ago! Anyway, that’s not important. The important thing is that I just wanted to warn you off her.’
‘Tough, having to give up on your dreams. There must be a part of you that resents her.’
‘Of course there isn’t! No one can help what life throws at them.’
‘Noble sentiment. Alas, not many of us are noble creatures.’
‘As I was saying …’ Jamie chose to ignore the invitation to elaborate. ‘I just wanted to warn you off her.’
‘Because she’s going to dutifully return to her husband and they’re both going to live happily ever after?’
‘Yes!’
‘Warning duly noted.’
‘What warning?’
Jessica was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, and with a sinking heart Jamie realised that she hadn’t vanished because she had been instructed to vanish—she had vanished so that she could have a shower and resurface in the least amount of clothing possible. She was kitted out in slinky lounging culottes and a tiny vest, worn bra-less, that left nothing to the imagination. She had a stupendous figure and every inch of it was available for inspection as she walked slowly into the kitchen, enjoying the attention.
Through the thin, grey vest, Jamie could see the outline of her sister’s nipples. Ryan would similarly be taking that in. Yes, he had told her that he would keep away from Jessica, but how strong was any red-blooded man’s will power when it came to a sexy woman who was overtly encouraging?
‘Well?’ Jessica paused and leaned against the counter, legs lightly crossed at the ankles, her back arched so that her breasts were provocatively thrust forward. ‘What warning?’
‘A warning,’ Ryan drawled, ‘that I’m not to interfere and try and persuade you to return to your husband.’
Jessica looked at her sister narrowly. ‘That true, Jamie?’
‘Why would he lie?’
‘So you don’t mind me staying with you for a while? Maybe until Christmas is over? I mean, it’s only a couple of weeks away. I could help you decorate the tree and stuff and by then I might have got my head together.’
Boxed in, Jamie had no choice but to concede defeat.
‘Hey, we could even have a party!’ She looked sideways at Ryan and shot him a half-smile. ‘I’m great at organising parties. What are you up to at Christmas, anyway?’
‘Jessica!’
‘Oh, don’t be such a bore, Jamie.’
‘I’m in the country,’ Ryan murmured. ‘Why?’ He had already received so many invitations to join people for Christmas lunch that he was seriously considering ignoring them all and locking himself away in his apartment until the fuss was over.
‘You could join us here.’
Adjacent to Jamie, he was aware of her look of pure horror at the suggestion. He nearly burst out laughing, but he managed to keep a straight face as he appeared to give the offer considerable thought.
‘Well …’ He hesitated. ‘I am in the unique position of spending Christmas day without my family.’
‘Where are they?’ Jessica strolled towards him, her thumbs hooked lightly into the elasticated waistband of the culottes so that they were dragged slightly down, exposing a flat, brown belly and the twinkling glitter of her pierced navel.
No wonder Jamie worried about her sister, Ryan thought. The woman was clearly a walking, talking liability to anybody’s peace of mind.
‘They’re in the Caribbean.’
Jessica’s eyes rounded into impressed saucers and her mouth fell open. ‘You’re kidding.’
‘I have a house there and this year they’ve all decided to spend Christmas and New Year in it.’
‘I don’t know why we’re having this silly conversation,’ Jamie interrupted crisply. ‘Ryan already has his own plans for Christmas.’ She rose to her feet and pulled open the dishwasher, which was her way of announcing that it was time for the impromptu evening to come to an end. But Jessica was in full flow, quizzing Ryan about his house in the Caribbean, asking him what it looked like, while he answered with just the sort of indulgent amusement that she was accustomed to getting. It had never mattered what boundaries Jessica had over-stepped; the world had always smiled and allowed her to get away with it. Whoever said that beautiful people didn’t lead charmed lives?
‘I’m open to persuasion,’ Ryan finished, leaning back and watching Jamie bang pans into cupboards, frustration stamped on her face, her mouth downturned and scowling. ‘What were you going to do, Jamie? Bit boring if you had been planning to stay in on your own.’
‘I would rather call it peaceful,’ she snapped. ‘And, besides, I had plans to go out for drinks on Christmas morning with some friends and I would probably have hung around for their alternative Christmas lunch.’
‘I want traditional,’ Jessica stated flatly.
‘What’s Greg going to do?’ Jamie spun round to look at her sister. ‘Does he know that you’re planning on abandoning him for Christmas day?’
‘He won’t mind. He’s on call, and anyway, his parents can’t wait to have him all to themselves so that they can tell him what a rotten wife I am. So …’ That technicality concluded, Jessica turned her attention back to Ryan, who looked as comfortable and settled in the kitchen as though he had been there a million times. ‘Will you come? Jamie’s never been into Christmas, but I’ll make her stick up a tree, and it’ll be festive with a turkey and all the trimmings!’
‘I’m