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‘Oh, I’m sorry, that must’ve been really tough for you.’ Her mother might drive Tasha round the bend and back again, but she wouldn’t be without her for the world. And suddenly the pieces dropped into place. ‘You think his new wife will want to take over?’
‘Well, it is her right to do so.’
‘I imagine that’s not going to be easy, stepping aside after all this time.’
Lydia nodded. ‘Yes, exactly. She’s a nice enough woman, but she won’t want me peering over her shoulder all the time.’ She gave Tasha that rueful smile again. ‘And I know myself well enough that I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut, so it’s best if I make myself scarce.’
Tasha found herself warming to the other woman. When she dropped the haughty attitude, she was a much nicer prospect. ‘Have you tried looking at it a different way? Instead of pushing you aside, your new sister-in-law is releasing you from a responsibility you never asked for.’
Lydia took a sip of her coffee, her perfectly sculpted brows drawing together. ‘I’d never thought of it like that.’
‘You’re free now, Lydia, to do whatever you want with your life.’
‘But what else would I do? Running a house is all I’ve ever known.’
Tasha shook her head. ‘I don’t know, I’m not exactly a careers expert.’ She grabbed a notepad and pen and thrust it across the table at Lydia. ‘Make a list of all the things you’re good at.’
‘Like what?’ the other woman scoffed. ‘Knowing how to throw a good party?’
‘Exactly that kind of thing! My God, there are people out there who would pay you a small fortune to help with stuff like that. Especially in London.’ She thought about Simon and his desperate need to try and hide where he came from. What wouldn’t he give to have someone like Lydia hosting for him? ‘And your family has a title, I take it?’
‘Daddy’s an earl.’ She said it as if it was no big deal, and Tasha supposed it wasn’t if you’d grown up with it but, God, didn’t that make Lydia a lady or something?
‘Well, there you go, you’d bring a real touch of class to any event.’
Lydia picked up the pen and tapped it thoughtfully against her lips. ‘A touch of class… I like the sound of that.’
The café door opened, and a man in a suit looked around. Tasha nudged the notepad closer to Lydia. ‘Write it down. Look, I’m not saying you have to jump on the first random idea someone throws at you, I’m just saying you’ve got options. I’d love to brainstorm this with you some time, but my appointment is here, and I have to go.’
‘Oh no, that’s fine.’ Lydia waved a hand, the slight dismissiveness of the gesture making Tasha want to laugh and grind her teeth at the same time. An earl’s daughter, indeed.
‘I’ll find another table, then?’ But the sarcasm was wasted as Lydia was already scribbling notes on the pad.
‘Lydia Caster-Hardwicke, a party planner?’ Rhys laughed as they lay in bed together later that evening and she related her bizarre encounter with the woman.
‘I don’t know if she’ll actually do anything about it, but at least she was thinking of herself as something other than a commodity to be traded from one family into another.’
Rhys tucked one arm behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. ‘True. I hope she finds what she’s looking for in the end because she’s a good person at heart.’
Like someone poking a sore tooth with their tongue to check that, yes, it still bloody hurt, she couldn’t quite leave the subject alone. ‘You have to admit that marrying you would’ve been a good outcome for her – for both of you, if you were ruthlessly honest. She’s got experience running an estate and she’d happily pop out the requisite number of babies to secure the next generation. Plus, think how much easier things would be with that kind of financial cushion beneath you.’
The next thing she knew a pillow landed on her face. Laughing, she sat up and chucked it back at Rhys, who was glaring at her. ‘I’m just saying.’ She tried to make her voice teasing but knew she’d let her own insecurities show.
‘Well, don’t.’ She could tell from his tone as much as the steely look in his eyes that she’d seriously offended him. Before she could apologise, he spoke again. ‘I don’t want to do things the easy way. I want to do them the right way, and with the right person by my side.’ He sat up, the quilt pooling around his waist to reveal a very distracting expanse of bare chest. ‘Are you listening to me?’
Feeling a blush heat her cheeks, Tasha jerked her gaze up to his face. ‘Yes, of course. I really was only making a joke about Lydia and her money.’
His expression softened as he reached out to cup her cheek. ‘I know, but some things, like our future together, are too important to joke about.’
Had she heard him right? ‘Our future?’
‘Yes, Tasha. Our future. You’re it. You’re the one for me. I know it’s only been a few weeks but you fit like you’ve been here forever. You fit the estate; you fit my family; you fit me. With you by my side there’s no end to what we can achieve.’
This couldn’t be happening; he couldn’t possibly mean it. They were just having fun together, making hay while the sun shined. He couldn’t mean it, because if he did then she was in serious trouble here. ‘You’re just saying that because you’re high on all the amazing sex we’ve been having.’
‘Don’t do that,’ he said, holding her gaze until she felt as if he was looking so deeply inside her he could see every fear and every flaw and none of them mattered one bit. ‘Don’t deflect when I’m here baring my heart and soul to you. I know Jonny hurt you, but I’m not him. I’m like Samson, remember? Responsible and protective of those that matter to me. And you matter, Tasha. You matter more to me than anyone else in the world.’
‘I’m scared,’ she admitted, though not for the reasons he probably suspected. He was the embodiment of all the dreams she’d given up on and she wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and tell him he was everything to her too, all her fairy tale longings come to life.
