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‘I’ve booked us a suite,’ he interrupted, but his attempt to soothe only served to incense her.
‘Was I such a sure thing?’
Of course she was—Naomi knew that.
He reached for her arm but she shook him off. Naomi was trying to remember if she had money in her bag to get a cab, except with one bare foot and bare arms on a freezing night she was struggling to think. The frigid air delivered more than a cold slap. It was like the pain of stubbing her toe, except it ran the length of her body and did not abate, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to get warm.
‘Here...’ He held out his jacket but she declined it.
‘I want nothing from you.’
‘So you’re going to freeze to death to prove a point?’
And she very possibly might, because her teeth were chattering and her hair was going stiff, and she was no Cinderella as he pushed her down onto a bench and put his jacket round her shoulders and then pushed her less-than-dainty foot into the shoe.
And he was no Prince Charming because he was telling her off.
‘You just can’t run off in this weather,’ he snapped, making sure her foot was in the shoe ‘What the hell were you thinking? If you’re going to be with me, you’d better get used to being talked about and not always nicely, and not run off crying every time someone makes a disparaging comment about me.’
‘With you,’ Naomi sobbed. ‘I want to be as far away from you as possible, Abe. Did you sign another contract with her, with Candice?’
‘Not now,’ he said, and stood, but Naomi wanted answers.
‘Were you with her today?’
He didn’t respond. In fact, he didn’t breathe because the air didn’t blow white as he declined to comment.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ Naomi answered for him. ‘Are youkeepingher for another year? Agh!’ She revolted loudly at the end, for she hated that word, and hated that she’d been reduced to asking him, but that was what this man did—he kept women.
‘I was trying to be nice.’
‘Nice? You wouldn’t know nice...’ she attempted, but she couldn’t get the rest out. Naomi, who would never hurt anyone, had risen to her feet, and the only reason she didn’t pummel his chest was because she knew she might end up sobbing on it.
‘Let’s not do this here,’ Abe suggested.
And she should respond,Let’s not do this at all, as she had the first time he’d broken her heart, but all she wanted was to get back to the house, pull the covers over her head, and for this horrible birthday to be finished with.
For Christmas to be over and done.
To conclude this.
And so she let him lead her, but she threw off his arm and walked alone.
He called his driver to come over and as they waited, she watched all the beautiful people spilling out of the hotel, and heard shouts ofMerry Christmasas they climbed into the waiting cars.
It certainly wasn’t a merry one for her.
Abe said nothing. He just looked ahead, unable to believe how his meticulously planned night had panned out.
Where are we going?’ she asked as they sailed past his father’s home.
‘To my place,’ Abe said. ‘I don’t particularly want your fan club policing this.’
‘My fan club?’
‘Merida, Ethan, Barb, Bernard... You’ve got a lot of people in your corner, you know, my father included.’
And while she was grateful to have them, Naomi looked over at the one she wanted more than anyone in the world.
