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When she attempted to surreptitiously hide the fact that her nipples had peaked to blatant points beneath the sheer silk, he set his wine glass down and decisively drew away the arm she was attempting to use to hide her body’s reaction.
‘We’re alone, Suki. Stop hiding yourself from me.’
Her lips twisted in a tight grimace. ‘This dress was a bad idea.’
‘Only as a test of fortitude and patience, belleza. But we will persevere,’ he replied drolly, although she noted the tightness of his jaw and the way he shifted in his seat every few minutes when his gaze dropped to her chest.
He waited until she’d returned to using both hands to tuck into her spicy chicken and sautéed potatoes served with a mango and avocado sauce before he returned his attention to his own food. Pleading with her body to calm down, she attempted to be content with the fact that wherever her appetite had gone it was coming back with gusto.
Ramon, on the other hand, ate less and drank more, his jaw clenching and unclenching until she resolutely set down her cutlery.
‘Either my dress is bothering you more than you want to admit or something’s wrong. Maybe something that involves you smashing up your studio?’ she enquired boldly.
He tensed further. When he didn’t reply immediately, she thought he meant to ignore her. But then he shrugged. ‘I’m an artist. I’m allowed a temperamental outburst every now and then.’
‘I suppose, except you look like you want to have another one right now. So I’m guessing it wasn’t cathartic?’
His eyes narrowed on her, but he answered, ‘I get that way when my vision and my process don’t converge as they should.’
‘Artist’s block?’
He grimaced, his gaze sweeping her body before he glanced away. ‘I prefer...frustrated.’
‘How long has it been?’ she asked, then mentally kicked herself. With all he’d suffered, was it a surprise?
‘I drew my last painting eight months ago. My last sculpture has been even longer.’
Before his devastating loss. But after his break-up with Svetlana?
The food in her mouth congealed. Had the break-up affected him to the extent his art had suffered? As she watched him gulp back another mouthful of red wine, his features set, Suki’s chest tightened.
Silence reigned while he took another sip.
‘Since we’re sharing intimate subjects, which of your parents decided to name you Suki?’ he asked.
She looked up, a little startled at the unexpected question. Then, glad for the change of subject, she smiled. ‘My mother. It was her favourite teacher’s name. She decided from a young age that she would name her daughter that.’
‘And your father didn’t raise any objection?’ he asked.
The pleasing memory of how she got her name disappeared. Her gaze veered off him, a sudden interest in her meal meant to disguise the mingled anger and anguish that flashed through her each time she thought of the father who’d chosen to ignore her existence.
‘I didn’t have the privilege of meeting my father for the first decade and half of my life. He decided to do a runner after being with my mother for one night,’ she said. ‘When she found out she was pregnant and eventually tracked him down, it turned out he’d lied about his single status. And, surprise, he wasn’t interested in the child he’d helped conceive.’
An expression passed over Ramon’s face, almost curiously resembling fury. Although why he should be furious on her behalf was puzzling. Or maybe it was directed at her?
‘And you’ve never sought him out all these years?’
‘Not in the past ten years, no. I attempted to when I was sixteen. I skipped school one day and went to his office. Perhaps it wasn’t the best place to confront him, but what the heck do I know? Anyway, he didn’t want to know me. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in engaging with me on any level. So I drew a line under that.’
‘Perhaps things might be different now.’
‘Perhaps. But he knows where I am. He’s always known where I was. He’s not been inclined to seek me out. That says it all, really.’
His expression turned inward. A little bleak. A lot serious. Again his mouth tightened with a hint of fury. ‘Such a waste.’
Something moved in her throat. Her hand found the back of his before she’d fully registered the move. He gave a sharp exhalation, his gaze dropping down to their touching hands before returning to her face.
‘Don’t take this the wrong way. Your family was a close-knit one so you may think my not knowing my father was a waste, but I don’t think I missed a great deal by not having him around,’ Suki said.
