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Another man hovered, requesting permission with a look at Ruy to step in to partner Suzy. Ruy wanted to say no but he was mindful of the occasion and reluctant to act possessive, even knowing that he was hellishly possessive when it came to Suzy. He backed to the edge of the floor, taking the chance to watch her dance, appreciating the fluid grace of every movement, her perfect synchronisation with the music. His replacement moved in with a great deal more panache than Ruy had in the dance department and a wry smile curved his sardonic mouth.
‘Who is he?’ he asked his brother as he drew level with him.
‘Don’t you recognise him?’ Rigo said in surprise. ‘Jorge’s a professional...stars in that dance show Mercedes adores on Channel—’
‘I don’t watch dance shows. Do you think she needs rescuing?’ Ruy interrupted, his entire attention glued to Suzy’s animated face.
‘I don’t and maybe you need to let her have some space,’ Rigo murmured thoughtfully, turning to study his twin. ‘Never thought I’d see you being clingy with a woman.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Never thought I’d get married again either though,’ his twin continued as if Ruy hadn’t spoken, a relaxed note to that admission that impressed Ruy. ‘But I don’t need pills or booze to get through the day with Mercedes around. She lights up my world.’
‘Congratulations. I’m very happy for you both.’ Ruy breathed in deep and slow, suddenly appreciating how important such an exchange was with his long-lost twin, opening the possibility of a closer, more normal relationship. It heartened him, made him realise how much Suzy’s presence had lightened the atmosphere between him and his brother.
At the same time, Rigo’s words had made Ruy reluctantly recall his world pre-Suzy. It had been very well organised, and every moment had been scheduled to maximise efficient productivity. He had fallen off that relentless train, however. He didn’t think that way any more because Suzy had driven a coach and horses through his schedule. Only now was it dawning on him that in less than twenty-four hours Suzy was leaving and he would be returning to that rigorous cult of maximum efficiency. The prospect was not enticing, not the way he had dimly assumed it would be. She had changed him...somehow she had contrived to change him in a fundamental way...and Ruy was no fan of change or innovation. He was much more likely to fight it off than embrace it.
‘Maybe we could meet up for dinner some evening once we get back from our wedding trip,’ Rigo said hesitantly. ‘Mercedes was very taken with Suzy. ‘
Ruy was still struggling to deal with the awareness that Suzy would no longer be around the following evening. ‘That...that would be good, great,’ he stressed, endeavouring to express his gratitude for that invite with greater warmth.
Rigo swung away to greet an older man who had grabbed his arm to get his attention. Ruy strode onto the dance floor to reclaim Suzy. She and her partner had gathered an audience with their display and he judged it time to intervene, not because he objected to her dancing or attracting attention, but because he intended to make the most of every moment he had left with her.
‘Gosh, that guy was very intense,’ Suzy hissed, breathing heavily from her dance moves but visibly grateful to leave her partner. ‘He wanted me to audition for some television competition show and he was so pushy. I’m not good enough for that sort of thing.’
‘I’m no expert but I think you probably are good enough,’ Ruy overruled.
‘But it’s not me. I’m not a performer. I never was. I like teaching kids. I like dance as an exercise but I’m never comfortable with people watching me when I do it,’ she whispered. ‘It drove my teacher mad when I was a teenager when I wouldn’t apply for stuff but that’s the way I am.’
‘Nothing wrong with that...’ Ruy looked askance at her as she pulled away from him.
‘I’m hot. I need to freshen up. I won’t be long,’ she told him, walking off into the crush.
The overpowering plush opulence of the large cloakroom made her roll her eyes. Emerging from a stall to wash her hands at the vanity counter, she jerked in surprise when she saw an older blonde woman seated in a chair in the corner and staring at her. ‘Sorry, I didn’t see you,’ she muttered in taut Spanish.
‘I wanted a closer look at the woman Ruy Valiente is planning to marry,’ the blonde informed her, rising from her seat. She was so thin she was almost emaciated, the bones of her chest visible through the glittering diamond necklace she wore.
‘Why?’ Suzy asked baldly as she dried her hands, rather creeped out by the suspicion that she was being ambushed on purpose.
‘Only a very confident woman could attend this wedding with Ruy and still hold her head high.’
‘And why’s that?’ Suzy enquired, removing a lipstick from her clutch.
‘A decent woman would have been too embarrassed to show her face so boldly. After all, Ruy slept with Rodrigo’s first wife and she killed herself when he dumped her. It took his brother a very long time to get over that betrayal.’
Suzy was so shocked she was frozen in suspended animation with her lipstick tightly caught between her fingers. The blonde departed with a malicious smile. In a haze of disbelief, Suzy renewed her lipstick and stared into space, blank with shrinking horror at what she had been told. Was it true? It couldn’t be true! That could not be the reason that Ruy had a troubled relationship with his brother! Ruy could not be guilty of such an indefensible act, she reasoned in consternation.
And yet...and yet he had been unwilling to admit the story behind the gossip she had mentioned. Surely only a man ashamed of his past behaviour would behave that way? Rigo’s wife had killed herself? After having an affair with Ruy and being ditched? Suzy was appalled at that claim. But she also knew that gossip, even cruel gossip, was often based more on entertainment than fact. She was leaving the cloakroom when Mercedes approached her.
‘I saw Elisa Torres coming out looking smug,’ she said anxiously. ‘Did she speak to you?’
‘The skinny blonde with the diamonds?’ Suzy checked and nodded. ‘She didn’t seem friendly.’
‘No, she wouldn’t be. Elisa’s daughter, Fernanda, made a big play for Ruy last year, probably with her mother’s encouragement.’ Mercedes grimaced. ‘There is no man in Spain more likely to be more turned off by a woman chasing him than Ruy and he froze her out. Seeing him engaged to another woman will have enraged Elisa. Did she say anything to you?’
‘She said something in Spanish, but she spoke too fast and I didn’t catch it. The look on her face was sufficient warning,’ Suzy fibbed for the sake of peace, because she knew she could have asked Mercedes for the truth but she had sufficient consideration for the bride’s feelings on her special day to swallow her nosy questions. The brunette would not wish to be drawn down that path and it would make her uncomfortable, not only because it was intensely private stuff but also because she had only just met Suzy. In such circumstances, silence was golden.
‘That’s good, because Elisa is usually critical rather than pleasant,’ Mercedes confided, accompanying Suzy back to the main reception room.
