‘Oh, yes?’ she enquired politely and he frowned at her, unimpressed with that hint of mild boredom in her voice.
‘Take yourself, for example.’ Oh, yes, that did the trick. He could almost see her begin to bristle. ‘Here you are, hating every minute of this party, dragged along by Lily who, in her own sweet way, is as stubborn as a mule—’
‘I’m not sure where you’re going with this. I’ve already told you that this isn’t my sort of thing—’
‘And you would love to put yourself firmly above everyone here, but I’ll just bet you feel awkward and gauche. Am I right?’ Since when did a woman find his company boring? It was inconceivable.
‘No. No, I don’t…’ She should never have worn this black, shapeless dress. Tall, skinny people could pull off shapeless because everyone would know that, underneath, they had rangy, slender bodies. And, yes, she did feel awkward and gauche, but there was no need to have the fact pointed out to her. ‘Anyway, why did you ask me along if you knew that I wasn’t going to enjoy myself? If you’re such a brilliant reader of people, you must have known that I wouldn’t fit in with this crowd.’
‘It’s always good to face your fears.’
‘Oh, so you are doing me a favour, in other words.’
‘And I notice you aren’t suitably grateful.’
Rose downed the remainder of her wine and snorted in an appropriately unfeminine way. She picked up the champagne that he had left on the table and swallowed a mouthful, drawing in her breath as the bubbles went down. The little glittery black bag that she had borrowed from Lily, and which she was clutching in her left hand, seemed a ridiculous accessory. Her skin crawled at the thought that he was laughing at her, finding her awkward and gauche. The champagne seemed to be finished and she seriously contemplated another drink.
‘I’m going to have to circulate now.’
‘Don’t let me stand in your way.’
‘Oh, but you are,’ Nick drawled smoothly. Two glasses on the trot had brought a pink flush to her cheeks. ‘I’m running this show and it’s my duty to make sure that no one is left standing next to the wall on their own, quietly drinking themselves into a stupor.’
Rose felt the colour crawl into her face as her role loomed before her in all its unmistakable hideousness. She was Lily’s chaperone and her host’s burden. He would fob her off on one of his guests or else deliver her back to her sister because he thought that if he didn’t, she would end up making a fool of herself. Mortification replaced the light headed sensation induced by the wine and champagne and brought her crashing back down to the reality crowding around her.
‘I’m not going to drink myself into a stupor,’ she snapped. ‘You needn’t worry that I’m going to embarrass you in front of your glittering guests.’
‘Embarrass me?’
‘By drinking too much and falling into a heap on the floor.’
‘Why would I be embarrassed if you make a spectacle of yourself?’ He sighed impatiently and led her to one of the bar stools at the table closest to them. The woman was difficult and tactless and of course he shouldn’t concern himself with her, but he felt an irrational need to take her under his wing. Because, he told himself, she was Lily’s sister and while he might not be embarrassed if Rose got drunk and made a fool of herself, her sister almost certainly would. So, gentleman that he was, he would forgo his duty to circulate and spend a little time with her instead. No hardship. The crowd seemed to be doing splendidly without his input. The wonders of limitless alcohol, he thought. And of course the seduction of preening and strutting in front of people who counted. He had been keeping a watchful eye on Lily. Next to some of the more seasoned networkers, she was holding her own and drinking, he noticed, remarkably little. A wise head on young shoulders.
‘I thought you were going to mingle with your guests,’ Rose said, then, as if giving things a second thought, she sighed into the glass of orange juice that had mysteriously appeared in front of her. ‘I’m not being a particularly nice person, am I?’
Nick shook his head, relaxing and slinging one arm over the slatted back of his bar stool.
‘Well, nor are you!’
He smiled and raised his eyebrows. ‘That’s the worst apology I’ve ever heard.’
‘It wasn’t meant to be an apology.’
‘Oh. You mean you were just making an observation about yourself.’
Rose decided to change the subject altogether. When he looked at her she felt simultaneously incredibly self-conscious, which was maddening, and resentful of him for making her feel that way.
‘It’s a very nice place you have here.’
‘Oh, don’t tell me you’re going to go all polite on me now.’ This happening party of his seemed to be a long way away.
‘How on earth did you make so much money?’
‘Ah. That’s more like it. Crashing through those flimsy barriers called tact and really speaking your mind without bothering to gift-wrap anything.’
‘You did tell me not to be polite.’ Rose, who was not accustomed to flirting, was uneasily aware of a certain undercurrent between them that was thrilling and frightening at the same time. As were those amazing eyes of his, resting thoughtfully on her face. She knew that she was just being stupid but her heart was thudding inside her like a hammer and everything, all her senses, seemed heightened, stretched taut like a piece of elastic.
‘So…?’ she persisted.
‘Worked my way up.’ Nick nodded to one of the waiters who were invisibly collecting empty glasses and asked him for a whisky and soda.
‘Up from where?’
‘This is really a very boring story.’
‘You mean you don’t like other people observing you under their microscope even though you enjoy observing them under yours.’
Meaning that personal confidences were not part of his routine when it came to women. However, his history was no secret. Anyone could access its bare bones from the thousands of entries to be found on him on the Internet. Where was the harm in saving her the bother of looking him up, if her curiosity got the better of her?
‘A simple tale of a Greek immigrant who fell in love with an English beauty,’ he said casually. Did anyone know how his parents had sustained him? Had faith in him? ‘They worked all the hours God made to make ends meet and to put me through private school.’ Well, that was no big confidence. It was there in his profile somewhere.
‘That’s wonderful.’
‘Is it?’
‘Of course it is.’ She rather thought that he would have done just fine whatever school he had attended, but, compared to her background, it must have been marvellous to have had parents who would have been willing to do whatever it took for their child to pursue a proper education.
‘Where are they now?’
‘No more. They both died a long time ago.’ He looked away, annoyed because this was all in the past and why the hell was he talking about it anyway?
‘I’m sorry.’
‘And I do need to actually mingle with the people I have invited here.’ He stood up and looked down at her. ‘I can introduce you or I can leave you here on your own. Take your pick.’
So that brief truce between them was over. Rose was quietly relieved. Just then, she had felt something sneak up on her, something unwanted that had made her feel giddy and out of control.
‘I’m fine,’ she told him with a distant smile. ‘You go mix. I’ll have a hunt around for Lily. Sorry for having taken up too much of your valuable