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CHAPTER NINE
RIO was up with the dawn, all dark shadows of the night thrown off as he showered and changed and spoke into two of his three phones while making the arrangements for the day.
Moving more slowly, Evie dressed and collected together the presents she’d bought for her grandfather. A soft cashmere scarf for his walks in the gardens of the home, a reading lamp and some of his favourite chocolates.
As Rio made the final preparations, she wandered back into the sitting room and stared wistfully at the decorations. How much courage had it taken, she thought, to adorn the Penthouse with the flavour of Christmas when the taste must be so bitter to him. A great deal of courage. Obviously, he wasn’t a wimp.
He was a real man.
‘Are you ready?’ He strode up to her and relieved her of the parcels and Evie took a breath.
No, she wasn’t ready. But she was never going to be ready for him to walk out of her life.
‘I’ve never been on a helicopter before,’ she said brightly. ‘Life with you has been one big new experience.’
He smiled and kissed her on the mouth with erotic purpose. ‘We’re not finished yet.’
No. They had today. One whole day.
Her heart skittered and jumped and she wanted to ask him what his plans were for the announcement, but he was already striding into the elevator, this time going up to the roof, to the helicopter pad.
And then they were flying across the snow-covered English countryside and Evie thought she’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Beautiful and poignant because the enforced silence made her mind focus on the fact that everything she did with him today would be for the last time.
By the time they finally landed in the gardens of the Cedar Court Retirement Home, she was barely holding herself together. Even the prospect of seeing her beloved grandfather couldn’t lift her sagging spirits. What made the whole thing even harder was that Rio seemed completely energized.
‘I am looking forward to finally meeting your grandfather, having spoken to him so many times on the phone.’
So many times? Evie frowned. She knew he’d called her grandfather twice, but she wasn’t aware of any other occasions. Before she could question him, the doors opened and she saw all the residents lined up in their finery. She saw Mrs Fitzwilliam with her hair newly styled and then there was her grandfather, dressed in his best suit and smiling proudly at the head of the line.
Within a second she was in his arms and kissing him, her tears mingling with his as they hugged and talked at the same time and he felt solid and safe and such an important part of her life that she wondered why on earth she’d ever thought she could live happily in London. Maybe she’d be all right, Evie thought as she closed her eyes and hugged him. Maybe she’d survive.
They spent precious minutes catching up and it was
a few moments before she realised that the entire retirement home had been transformed into a silver and white paradise, just like the Penthouse.
‘Your Rio has done us proud, that’s for sure. You found yourself a real man, Evie. I can see how much you love him,’ her grandfather said gruffly and Evie’s control almost cracked as she wondered how on earth she was going to explain to him when the time came to break it off. She cast a helpless glance at Rio but he merely smiled and turned to say something in Italian to Antonio.
Rio’s chefs had surpassed themselves but Evie barely touched her lunch, relieved when her grandfather finally rose to make a speech and she could give up the pretence of eating. He thanked the chefs, the styling team and most of all Rio. And then he looked at Evie, his eyes full of love.
‘Sometimes,’ he said quietly, ‘life doesn’t turn out the way you plan it. When Evie came into our lives, we became parents all over again and those years were the happiest I’ve known. Evie, I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I’ll always be proud of you. Not because of what you do, but because of who you are.’
His words cut the final thread on her control. Evie felt tears scald her eyes and she had the most awful feeling that her grandfather knew that her life had tumbled apart in London. Had he somehow discovered that she’d lost her flat and her job? Had he guessed that this whole thing with Rio was a farce? She took a gulp of the champagne Rio had provided, blinking rapidly to stop the tears from falling. She was so choked that she was relieved when Rio stood up.
And then she saw the serious look on his handsome face and relief turned to alarm. Oh, no. Please don’t let him decide that this was a good time to tell the truth. Not on Christmas Day.
She wanted her grandfather to have the very best day of his life—
Her anxious gaze met Rio’s and she mouthed the word don’t! but he simply smiled as he lifted his glass.
‘I agree with every word that has been spoken. Life certainly doesn’t turn out the way you plan.’ His voice was smooth and confident and it was clear from the way he spoke and stood that he was comfortable addressing large groups of people. ‘When I arrived in London twelve days ago, my plan was to sort out a complicated business issue and then spend the next few days blocking out the fact that it’s Christmas, because that’s what I do. Every year I try and forget it’s Christmas.’ A shocked silence greeted his words and Evie felt her mouth dry as she anticipated what he might say next.
‘But this year—’ he paused and a faint smile touched his hard mouth ‘—this year I met Evie and all my plans changed. Instead of doing deals, I was dancing. Instead of analyzing shares, I was building snowmen. When I arrived in London I had no plans to fall in love and certainly no plans to get married—’ he let the words hang in the air and a stunned silence spread across the room ‘—but that’s because I didn’t know that people like Evie existed.’
Nobody moved.
Evie felt as though she was going to pass out. She saw her grandfather beaming at her and several of the elderly women fanning themselves as they watched Rio standing there, tall and impossibly handsome. She felt a burst of hope, followed by a cascade of incredible joy, immediately tempered by caution because she was so terribly afraid she might have misunderstood.
Was this still pretending? Had he decided to take their charade one step further before shattering it for ever?
