Her heart skipped a beat. ‘Until when?’
His expression gave nothing away. ‘Let’s leave it open-ended for now. The sale of Rothwell Park will be finalised in the next few weeks, so I’ll be moving out. And you’ll have to head back to London in any case.’
Her hope lost some ground, sinking back down to reality with a painful thud.
‘You’ll have to head back to London in any case.’
She’d be going alone.
Lucas was only offering her an extension on their arrangement. An extension was good, but the timeline was still in place—a definitive timeline that left her wanting more. Aching for more.
She looked down at her hand, encased in his large one, and something in her chest tightened like a vice. ‘And where will you go?’
‘That depends.’
She glanced up at him. ‘On whether you regain your sight?’
‘Yes...’ His tone was weighted, and a flicker of worry passed over his features.
Ruby stroked a hand down his jaw. ‘You mustn’t give up hope. It might not return as soon as you want, but hopefully itwillreturn.’
His smile was not quite a smile. ‘I’ll just have to wait and see.’ His mouth twisted further, and he added with unmistakable irony, ‘Or not.’
Ruby was relieved to find, once they got back to Rothwell Park, that the cleaning and gardening teams had done a brilliant job. The castle sparkled from top to bottom, and there wasn’t a weed or blade of glass out of place in the expansive gardens. Even the weather had brightened. There were no gloomy clouds on the horizon, no threat of rain, and while the air was still cool, the sun was out in a clear blue sky.
Her gran had left hospital and was staying with a friend in the Lake District, seemingly enjoying her new, quieter pace of life. Ruby’s team were arriving the following day, as well as Aerin and Harper, which left only tonight for her to be truly alone with Lucas before all the frenetic activity began.
She was still blissfully relieved about him extending their arrangement. She had been so sure he would stick to his plan ofWhat happens on the island, stays on the island.Could it mean he was developing feelings for her? More lasting feelings? It was hard not to cling to hope, for he made love to her with such exquisite attention to her needs.
Their physical chemistry was unquestionably divine, but his companionship was also something she found increasingly enjoyable. Their chats over dinner or on their long walks had opened her up to his world of landscape design, and the worries he had about resuming his career if his sight didn’t return. His willingness to share such moments of vulnerability with her made her feel closer to him than she had felt to anyone else—even, to some degree, her two best friends.
Ruby was finding it impossible to imagine going back to her single life now that she had experienced being in a fulfilling relationship, even if it had only been for a few days. It was a world apart from any relationship she’d had before, so how could she not hope it would continue, perhaps for ever?
Lucas had taken himself off to the library to make some phone calls to his staff a couple of hours ago, so Ruby set a tea tray and took it in to him. The door was ajar, so she nudged it further open and carried the tray over to the windows, where he was standing with his back to the room. He turned and faced her, a smile relaxing his features.
‘Tea for two?’
‘Yes, because tomorrow this place will be crawling with people.’ Ruby set the tray down and picked up the teapot. ‘Thank you for being so good about the sudden change. And about allowing us to use Rothwell Park. It’s a dream come true for us to host such a big celebrity event.’
His smile became twisted. ‘As long as you don’t expect me to make an appearance. Weddings bring me out in hives.’ He stood next to one of the chairs and she handed him a cup of tea. ‘Thanks.’ He took the cup and waited for her to take a seat before he too sat.
Ruby picked up a teaspoon and stirred her own cup of tea. She put the spoon down again and took a sip, watching him over the rim of her cup. A frown was carved on his forehead and one of his fingers was tapping the side of his cup in a restless manner.
She put her cup on the table between them. ‘Is everything okay?’
He blinked and reset his features into a less brooding expression, but she could still see shadows moving behind his gaze. ‘Just work stuff. A project that needs my attention. But what can I do?’ He let out a sigh of frustration. ‘Clearly nothing at the moment.’
‘Oh, Lucas, it must be so frustrating for you. I wish there was something I could do to help.’
‘You’ve already helped more than I can say.’ He let out a long sigh and leaned forward to place his own cup on the table. He sat back and continued in a wry tone, ‘Patience was never one of my strong points.’
Ruby stood and went over to stand by his chair, stroking his ink-black hair, her body pressed close to his side. One of his arms came around her waist and a thrill went through her at his touch.
He pulled her down to his lap, one of his hands cradling the side of her face. ‘You’re very good at distracting me.’
‘Am I?’
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. ‘You know you are.’