by Kay Thorpe
‘If you want to be,’ she said.
‘I think that goes without saying.’
He slid an arm across her shoulders, turning her towards him, face lit by the security light on the wall behind him. Gina met his lips in some relief, resolved to keep her possessiveness in check from now on. They were both free agents. If she wanted to be with him at all, she had to accept it.
Meryl rang after breakfast to say thanks for a great evening.
‘Thought I’d catch you before you left,’ she said. ‘Assuming you’re downtown today?’
‘Actually, I’ve backed out.’ Gina kept her tone neutral. ‘I know the company history from the bottom up, but it doesn’t make me of all that much use when it comes to the running of. I’ve joined Elinor on her charity committee.’
‘You know your own mind.’ Meryl hesitated. ‘About this trip back to England…There’s nothing wrong, is there? With you and Ross, I mean. I know the marriage was more or less forced on you both, but you seemed to be making a real go of it.’
Now was the time to admit that the trip had never been a serious proposition, Gina acknowledged, but it was going to sound so anti-June.
‘It seems such a long time since I saw my parents,’ she said, thinking that was true enough at least.
‘Well, don’t stay away too long, will you?’
Was there a warning in that last? Gina wondered, replacing the receiver. Did Meryl know something she wasn’t prepared to say up front?
She cut the speculation right there before it could expand into something she’d vowed to leave well alone.
Ross had gone back upstairs to get his briefcase. ‘What’s on your agenda today?’ he asked when he came down again.
‘Nothing,’ she said. ‘I might laze around.’
‘Why not?’ There was no censure in his voice, but no particular interest either, his mind obviously on other matters. ‘We’ve a reservation at Spago’s tonight. Seven-thirty. I’ll give you a call if I’m going to be late, and you can meet me down there.’
Gina steered clear of the question of what might hold him up, concentrating instead on the fact that he’d made the reservation before they’d made up their differences last night. A small comfort, but a comfort nevertheless.
His parting kiss left her yearning. Not just for more of the same; she’d have been happy to settle for his company alone.
Left to her own devices, she took a book down to the pool deck, discarding it after reading a few paragraphs. Shaded by the wide spread of the umbrella, with a light breeze playing over her body, she had to acknowledge that most people would give a great deal to be doing what she was doing right now. She would be able to do very much whatever she wanted to do for the rest of her life once this was all over. There were other men in the world. Somewhere out there she would find one to take Ross’s place, however long she had to wait.
She must have dozed off, waking with a start when someone said her name. Roxanne regarded her with open contempt.
‘Enjoying the life you stole from me?’
‘Hardly stole from you,’ Gina rejoined, gathering her resources. ‘You lost it.’ She sat up, regarding her sister-in-law with unthrilled eyes. ‘Are you alone?’
‘If you mean, did I bring the man I was shacked up with, the answer is no,’ she said. ‘I ditched him a week ago. Where’s my mother?’
She obviously didn’t know about the switch. It was, thought Gina wryly, going to be another bad shock for her.
‘You’ll find her down at the Beverly Harlow,’ she said. ‘We swapped homes.’
‘You did what?’ Roxanne looked stunned.
‘Your mother’s idea—well, Ross’s to start with, but she was all for it.’
‘This place, for an apartment!’
‘With appropriate financial adjustment, of course.’ In actual fact, Gina had no idea what adjustment, if any, had been made, but she wasn’t about to let Roxanne know that. ‘She’s had the whole place revamped, of course. You won’t recognise it.’
‘You scheming…’ Roxanne broke off, teeth clenching. ‘You think you’ve got it made, don’t you?’ she bit out. ‘All this, and Ross too! Just don’t imagine you’ve got him hog-tied in every direction!’
‘I don’t imagine anything.’ Gina was having great difficulty hanging on to her temper. ‘I think you’d better leave.’
‘Oh, don’t worry, I’m going.’ The tone was scathing now. ‘Ross would do whatever was necessary to secure the damned company, but you’re no match for Dione, believe me!’
She didn’t wait for any response, turning about to head for the steps leading back to the upper levels. Not that Gina had a response ready anyway.
She got up from the lounger and plunged into the pool, swimming end to end half a dozen times in an effort to blank out her sister-in-law’s vitriol. It didn’t work, of course. All Roxanne had done was underline what she already knew.
The day wore on. Elinor rang mid-afternoon to say Roxanne had paid her a visit.
‘It wasn’t exactly a mother-daughter love-in,’ she observed ruefully. ‘How did I manage to bring two such disparate children into the world? I understand she called on you first. I hope she didn’t upset you.’
‘Not to any degree.’ Gina kept her tone level. ‘Did she say where she’s living at the moment?’
‘She still has her apartment in Glendale. Oliver bought it for her when she left Gary. At least, she’s no longer with the man Ross spoke to. I asked her about the money she’s supposed to owe. She said it was taken care of.’
By her, or by Ross? Gina wondered. If there had ever been any truth in the story to start with.
‘I’m glad she’s at least back in touch,’ she said. ‘You must have worried about her.’
‘Something I can’t help doing, even when it’s unappreciated. I’m just thankful not to have the same concerns over Ross.’ Elinor briskened her voice. ‘How about lunch after tomorrow’s committee meeting?’
‘Love to.’ Gina could at least say that in all honesty.
‘See you down here at half after nine, then.’
There was no call from Ross to say he’d be running extra late. She was out of the shower and ready dressed for the evening when he arrived at six-thirty.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were planning to go back to England?’ he asked without preamble. ‘Why leave me to hear about it from someone else?’
‘It was just a spur-of-the-moment idea to stop June from going on about joining them on this cruise they’re taking,’ Gina protested.
‘If that was true, you’d have put Meryl right this morning when she called you.’
Green eyes sparked. ‘She had no right to call you about it!’
‘She’s concerned. She thinks things might not be all that good between us.’
‘I’m sure you reassured her on that point. Assuming you still don’t want anyone else to know what we’ve got planned.’
‘It’s no one else’s business,’ he said brusquely. ‘I’ve no objection to you taking a trip back home, just to you not discussing it with me first. I’ll make the arrangements.’
Gina swallowed on the sudden hard lump in her throat. Talk about hoist with one’s own petard! ‘I might think about it in a week or two,’ she said, ‘but there’s too much coming up right now.’
‘Fine. Just let me know when you are ready.’
So he could plan his own itinerary, she thought as he turned away to start undressing. With her out of the way for a while, he’d be left with a clear field. He might even bring Dione back here.
He’d booked Spago Beverly Hills, not the Sunset Boulevard arm. Gina hadn’t been before. For star-gazing, it was reputably among the best in the city. She spotted at least three familiar faces on the way to their table.
It was only after they were seated that she saw Dione across the room. Ross had his back to her, but Gina was sure he was aware of her presence. Though she doubted if it had been a deliberate arrangement, the chances
of the woman being here had to be pretty high. Her co-star, Mark Lester, was with her.
She shifted her gaze as the other woman looked across, studying the menu handed to her without taking in a word. She was more than half prepared for the arrival of the maître d’ at Ross’s elbow with an invitation for the two of them to join Miss Richards and Mr Lester at their table, feeling her heart miss a beat when he politely declined without so much as a glance in Dione’s direction.
Could she possibly be wrong after all? she wondered. Would he really treat a woman he had feelings for in such a cavalier fashion?
Unless she’d done something to displease him. Dining with Mark Lester, for instance—maybe sleeping with him too. Snubbing her in public the way he just had was the biggest insult he could offer a star of her magnitude. It could mean the affair was over.
Even if it did, it made no difference to his feelings for her, Gina warned herself, but her spirits lifted regardless.
‘I’ll have the salad to start,’ she said on an upbeat note. ‘Then the rhindsgulasch mit spatzle, whatever that is.’
‘Austrian beef stew on pasta.’ Ross regarded her speculatively. ‘You sound very animated!’
‘Hunger,’ she claimed. ‘I only had fruit at lunch.’
‘Not dieting, I hope?’ he said. ‘You don’t need to.’
‘Not dieting,’ she confirmed. ‘I just didn’t feel like anything more at the time.’
She wasn’t lying about the hunger. Still choked up from Roxanne’s visit, she hadn’t actually eaten anything at all at lunch. Buoyed up the way she was at present, she felt she could tackle anything put in front of her.
Dione was still at table when they left the restaurant. Gina couldn’t resist glancing her way, to be met by a gaze that fairly glittered with malice. Not that she gave a damn. Ross couldn’t be making his indifference clearer. That was what mattered. Right now, it was all that mattered.
He took the surprise birthday party she arranged in good part when it came to the crunch. The beautifully restored E-type Jaguar she had had delivered on the morning drew covetous comment from the men.
‘You might try having a word with my wife,’ one said to her. ‘The best she ever came up with was a bucking-bronco ride for the gym. Nearly broke my back first time I tried it out!’
Ross had received the present with a pleasure allied to some other emotion she’d been unable to deduce. He maybe thought it a bit over-the-top, considering their situation, but she refused to regret the gesture.
He waited until the last guest had left before springing the news on her.
‘It’s lucky I was here for this. I’m off to New York first thing in the morning. Union problems.’
‘Do you have to handle it yourself?’ she asked with constraint.
‘I’ll be taking a couple of people with me, but there are times when it’s necessary to bring in the big guns before things blow up out of all proportion.’
‘How long do you think you’ll be gone?’
‘As long as it takes to come to some agreement. A couple of days, maybe more.’
I could come with you, it was on the tip of her tongue to suggest. She beat the impulse down with difficulty. Even if he’d proved amenable, which was doubtful, she had commitments of her own.
‘Why don’t you spend a couple of nights down at the apartment?’ Ross suggested. ‘I know Mother would love to have you.’
‘I’ll be fine here,’ she said, determined not to have him think she couldn’t manage without him for a few days.
He took an eight o’clock flight, due in at Kennedy at four-thirty New York time. Allowing him a generous couple of hours to get to the hotel, Gina hoped for a call mid-afternoon—if only to say he’d arrived safely.
It hadn’t come when Elinor called at six to suggest she came down to dinner rather than spend the evening on her own. She’d be damned if she’d hang around waiting any longer, she thought irately. He could reach her on her mobile if and when he got round to it.
‘A man all over!’ her mother-in-law observed, on learning of the omission. ‘Oliver was just the same. I remember one time he was gone two whole days before he got round to calling. Could never understand what all the fuss was about.’
They were eating out on the apartment balcony, surrounded by aromatic candles to keep any flying stock at bay. Gina sought a change of subject.
‘Do you ever have regrets about leaving Buena Vista? You must miss the view from up there at times, if nothing else.’
Elinor smiled. ‘The view from here isn’t bad either. This place suits me wonderfully. Big enough to entertain in, and easy to maintain. Needless to say, I rarely use the kitchen. In fact, Maurice has persuaded me to have it taken out and the whole area opened up.
‘You should use him yourself when you do get round to making some changes,’ she added. ‘He’s the best there is!’
The most expensive, for certain, Gina reflected. She hardly need concern herself with costs, it was true, but it was a difficult habit to break. In any case, there was no point in making changes to a house she wasn’t going to be in for all that much longer.
They’d finished the meal and were relaxing over coffee when her mobile finally rang. Ross came through loud and clear.
‘I tried the house. Where are you?’
‘With your mother,’ she said. ‘It must be late there.’
‘Eleven-forty,’ he confirmed. ‘I’ve been tied up since I arrived.’
Gina caught back the first words that rose to her lips. ‘So, how’s it going?’ she substituted.
‘None too good so far. It’s going to take a lot of talking to find a meeting point. Are you staying down there after all, then?’
‘No.’ Gina paused, listening. ‘What’s the noise I can hear in the background? It sounds like someone laughing.’
‘It is. The GM’s wife came to dinner with us. We’re having a nightcap before turning in. I take it you’ll be home if I call again in the morning, then?’
‘Yes. Just remember the time difference though. I don’t fancy being woken at the crack of dawn.’
‘I’ll make every effort,’ he said drily.
He’d rung off before she could say anything else. Not that there was anything else to say. Elinor looked at her expectantly as she put the set down again.
‘Bad news?’
‘They’re having difficulties,’ Gina told her.
‘Problems, problems, always problems!’ Elinor sounded sympathetic. ‘Like Oliver, he has to be there in the thick of it. You’ll have to start putting your foot down. There’s absolutely no need for him to handle everything personally.’
‘I can imagine his reaction if I tried it,’ Gina commented, eliciting a chuckle.
‘I said start. It took me years to make any real impression.’
Years she wasn’t going to have, Gina thought, descending into depression again.
She made the lengthy drive back to the house without incident. The caller display showed just the one call received at eight thirty-five, minus any message. Ross had called her mobile number at eight-forty-—eleven-forty, as he’d said, New York time—and he’d been on line less than five minutes. It had taken him more than five hours to find a slot in which to make those calls.
But then, he’d had far more important things to do with his time.
It was the first night she’d spent alone since the wedding. She slept fitfully, waking at seven feeling far from refreshed. There was a luncheon in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Association today. She didn’t feel like going, but, having taken all this on, she wasn’t going to start crying off.
Due to leave the house by ten, at nine forty-five, with no call as yet from Ross, she could no longer hold out. The hotel number was on file. She asked to be put through to Mr Harlow’s suite.
There was a lengthy pause before the man came back on line. ‘I’m sorry, Mrs Harlow,’ he said courteously,’ Mr Harlow isn’t in the hotel at present. Do you wish to leave a messa
ge?’
Gina declined and rang off, angry with herself for having given way in the first place. It was evident that Ross hadn’t given her a thought since last night.
The luncheon went off smoothly, raising a substantial sum. Gina had left her mobile switched off during the meal. Switching it on again afterwards, she saw there was a message on her answer phone. Ross sounded remote:
‘I tried to reach you at home earlier, but you’d already left. I’ll try to speak to you later.’
‘Something wrong?’ Elinor asked, seeing her expression.
Gina donned a smile. ‘Nothing at all. How about doing Rodeo while we’re in the area?’
It was gone seven when she finally got home. Michael had fetched the mail in from the box, leaving it stacked on a hall table. Gina went through it swiftly. Most of it was for Ross, but there was one envelope addressed to her for personal attention. Delivered by courier, it appeared.
The single sheet inside proved to be a photostatted copy of a New York newspaper gossip column, with one item marked:
A little bird tells me a certain recently married but still hot-as-they-come hotelier was in town with a starry old flame last night. Can it be that the spark has reignited—or did it never go out?
How long Gina stood there gazing at the cutting, she couldn’t have said. It was referring to Ross and Dione, of course. It had to be! The woman she’d heard laughing last night hadn’t been the GM’s wife at all. Ross had made the call on his mobile, not the hotel landline, as might have been expected. He could have been anywhere.
Whatever his reason for giving Dione the elbow in Spago that night, he’d obviously got over it. Whether she’d discovered he was going to be in New York, and gone there with a view to making up, or had been in the city already, there was no way of knowing. It might even have been arranged, the union meeting a blind. However it had happened, the rift was obviously healed.
With New York over three thousand miles away, she would have known nothing about it if someone hadn’t seen fit to send this through. It must have been faxed to a courier office as soon as the paper was published, then brought straight out. The three-hour time difference allowed for it.