Not easy with the past so abruptly shunted into the present. Studying the two men as they stood chatting, she could see there was a vibrancy to Ransom that was missing in Alex, for all his youthful buoyancy. Or perhaps it was just that her vision was being coloured by her emotions.
With their greetings over, Ransom had his first opportunity to take a closer look at Alex’s companion, and she braced herself for the blow. What started out as a lazy male inspection soon turned into something altogether different when he recognised her. Blue eyes met grey, and became inextricably locked. Her composure held, but Sam’s nerves jolted violently at the power his gaze had to move her still, and at the same time she saw shock fill those dashing grey depths.
It ought to have been no more than that. Shocked recognition should have been followed by a swift recovery for each of them. After all, they had both moved on. Not so. The passing of time had allowed their guard to drop to dangerously low levels. Sam was stunned to discover it was like their first meeting all over again, when out of a clear blue sky something unexpected and purely elemental had passed between them.
It happened now with equal force, revealing the potent attraction they had shared had in no way diminished in the intervening time. The air about them seemed to be positively charged, and in the blink of an eye each knew they were still vitally aware of the other on a physical level. It was a potentially devastating revelation, given their present circumstances. Sam knew she had paled, and she witnessed Ransom’s smile fade from his eyes, turning them steely. Both knew they had just reconnected in the most basic way.
For Sam’s part it was the very last thing she needed. She had worked so hard to lock her feelings for him away in the recesses of her heart and mind because torturing herself over what might have been was a fruitless exercise. Her feelings for him hadn’t and wouldn’t change. She loved him. Being aware of him brought to the surface things that were better left buried.
From the tension in his jaw, it was the same for Ransom too. He wouldn’t want to feel anything for the woman who had favoured marriage to a wealthy older man over marriage to him.
Oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around them, Alex turned to Sam, saw her shock and mistook the reason for it. ‘Hey, it’s not what it sounds like. We were talking about boats. Ransom sails boats for a hobby. Races them, too,’ he explained.
‘He’s pretty darn good at it. He’ll make the Olympic team one day,’ Karl added proudly.
Ransom slipped his hands back into his pockets, producing a smile, though, attuned as she was to his every nuance, Sam could see it didn’t touch his mesmerising eyes. ‘Knock it off, the pair of you. I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear about that.’
Sam knew she had to say something in response, and was so glad she had learned to hold her own in all circumstances. ‘I’m afraid I know very little about boats. I’ve never been on one in my life,’ she said politely, with a cool smile of her own, relieved to hear that she sounded calm. Ransom had wanted to take her sailing, but by that time it had been too late.
Alex didn’t let her comment pass. ‘We can remedy that. You must let Ransom take you out whilst he’s here. You’ll absolutely love it, I can guarantee that,’ he declared enthusiastically.
Sam very nearly groaned aloud. She didn’t want to go anywhere with Ransom, least of all on a small boat. ‘I’m really not that bothered, Alex. Besides, Karl and his friend might have other plans.’ She tried to head Alex off at the pass. Unfortunately, she was about to learn that he didn’t give up easily.
Something Ransom was clearly aware of too. ‘I’m sure she would rather you went with her,’ he demurred at the same time, and his and Sam’s gazes locked again long enough for her to see the mockery in his eyes before moving away.
‘Don’t be daft. I’m no sailor.’ Alex rejected that instantly. ‘I’m a firm believer in getting the best person for the job, and that’s you, Ransom.’
Sam fully expected Ransom to utter a firm refusal, wanting nothing to do with her. However, for a man who had just come face to face with the woman who had made a fool of him, he looked remarkably relaxed. ‘I’m sure…?’ He glanced at the two men, eyebrows raised, seeking a name, and she knew everybody would be convinced he didn’t know her. Which, though it stung, was fine with her, because what they had had was in the past. There was no point in telling anyone what they didn’t need to know.
Alex suddenly fell in. ‘Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. This is Mrs Samantha Grimaldi, a family friend,’ he obliged, turning to smile at her.
‘And this handsome devil is my old friend from university, Ransom Shaw,’ Karl completed the introduction.
Handsome devil fit the bill all right, for he was handsome, and how well she knew his eyes could hold a devilish gleam. A look like that had set her heart racing and her nerves tingling many a time. That look had led to touching, and recalling her reaction to that made Sam decidedly reluctant to follow up the introduction in the normal way. Good manners, however, left her no choice.
Sam found her heart was thundering like crazy as she reached out to take the hand Ransom offered with a mocking glint in his eye. Don’t react, she said to herself. Whatever happens don’t react. Wise advice, for the result was as she had feared. The second their hands touched, it was as if she had been plugged into the mains.
‘Pleased to meet you, Mr Shaw,’ she managed to say pleasantly enough. Even maintaining a courteous smile despite the electric sensation that stole her breath away.
Something flashed in those silvery eyes, and his lips twitched as he inclined his head in response. ‘Likewise, Mrs Grimaldi.’
As he released her hand his thumb trailed over her palm, and, despite all she did to prevent it, her breath hitched in her throat. Determined not to show how unsettled she was, Sam kept her smile in place. ‘Won’t you call me Sam, like everyone else?’ she invited, rubbing her tingling hand against her thigh surreptitiously.
‘Only if you reciprocate and call me by my name,’ he rejoined, his gaze daring her to do it. Sam had no intention of backing down.
‘Ransom it is, then.’
‘And what of Mr Grimaldi? Can we expect him to join you?’ Ransom enquired. It sounded like merely polite conversation, but there was a nuance in it that Sam recognised as a charge of her playing away from home. She bristled inwardly but remained calm.
‘My husband died six months ago,’ she told him stoically, and knew by the glint in his eye that he knew he had struck a nerve by asking about Leno and was pleased.
‘That must have been upsetting for you,’ he said solicitously, but she knew better than to take his words at face value. He was as good as telling her he didn’t believe she was upset at all.
‘Leno was a good man. I miss him.’ It was true. She had become used to being his wife.
Ransom nodded sombrely. ‘I’m sure you were heartbroken to lose him.’
Her stomach twisted as she detected the hard edge to his words. ‘We were happy. You must interpret that how you like,’ she advised him, looking him squarely in the face, so he would know she was aware of what he was thinking. She didn’t doubt that he believed Leno’s fortune had softened the blow.
He smiled faintly. ‘I’m sure a beautiful woman such as yourself would know how to treat a man’s heart well,’ he added ironically, firing off a shot with deadly accuracy.
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