Unfortunately, she was still paralysed with nerves as he gently eased her from where she appeared to have taken root by the side of the wall. Fear and the yearning to flee were emotions that could be recalled without warning. It was easy to be driven back to a place in the distant past and Jess made a concerted effort not to find herself returning there now because she was confronted with just the sort of petite beauty who had once made her feel so ungainly and clumsy as a self-conscious teenager. She took a deep breath and steeled herself.
This was no polite gathering. Largely a young crowd, the noise levels reflected scores of slightly tipsy people talking loudly to make themselves heard. Everyone was beautiful. In truth, Jess had never seen a collection of so many glittering peacocks gathered in one room in her life before.
She slanted a sideways glance and was momentarily startled to see something very much looking like jaded cynicism on Curtis’s face, although when he turned to meet her eyes she had to wonder whether she had imagined it.
‘Deep breaths.’ He smiled reassuringly. ‘It’ll all be over in a couple of hours... Caitlin or no Caitlin...’
‘I’m very happy to leave before you—’ she hoped he would take her up on the offer ‘—if you want to stay longer and enjoy the company. Or not as the case may be.’ How would he feel about seeing his ex-fiancée? Was he as emotionally detached as he appeared to be or was that just an act? Surely he would feelsomethingin the presence of the one and only woman ever to have dumped him? And a woman he had cared enough about to want to marry. Jess didn’t think she could bear to see him chatting to Caitlin, reminding her of her own foolish, misplaced feelings.
Curtis killed that wild hope stone-dead. ‘Perish the thought.’
And then he was leading her through the throng and she was conscious of eyes on both of them, of heads turning as they walked towards John and Philippa, their hosts. She had to resist the temptation to tug her dress down or fiddle with the neckline and at the first opportunity she managed to swipe a champagne cocktail from a passing waiter. Dutch courage.
She was introduced to the groom and his bride-to-be and to his parents and she chatted and sipped her champagne and, at one point, became quite vivacious on the subject of skiing and the slopes she longed to try. That said, her ears and eyes were vigilant for Caitlin, ever conscious of the frailty of the confidence she had meticulously built up for herself over the years.
She had expected Curtis to leave her to her own devices so that he could mingle with friends he probably didn’t get a chance to see much of during the course of the year and she was surprised when instead he chose to stick to her side. Like glue.
There was no formal meal, no buffet with a rowdy queue snaking through the elegant living areas, but a constant supply of exquisite finger foods ferried through the party crowd by an army of uniformed waiters and waitresses. No glass was left unfilled for longer than five seconds.
She had almost forgotten about Caitlin, having made sure to stay put in a very small circle of people, when she heard a voice from behind and both she and Curtis turned as one to find the diminutive blonde right behind them.
Slightly the worse for wear, she tottered on her very high heels with a drink in one hand and her white blonde hair in some disarray. Even so, the woman, Jess thought grudgingly, was beautiful. She had naturally full, pouting lips and huge pale blue eyes and very straight hair that hung in a curtain to her waist. Despite the fact that it was the very depths of winter, she had a light golden tan that spoke of expensive holidays in the tropics.
‘Curtis—’ she dimpled ‘—I wondered whether I’d see you here!’ She looked up at Jess. ‘How lovely of you to bring your friend from the village.’
Jess wondered how it was that she had somehow found herself reduced to village idiot status.
‘Caitlin.’ Jess smiled politely. ‘How are you?’
‘You look different.’
‘Do I?’
‘I’m very well. Would you mind awfully if Curtis and I had a private word together?’
‘She really would.’ Curtis smiled, not unkindly, and, to Jess’s shock, he slipped his arm around her waist, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by the other woman, who narrowed her eyes to slits.
‘I had no idea you two were an item,’ she mused. ‘You kept that one under your hat, didn’t you?’ She laughed but there was a hard, hurt edge to her laughter.
‘There are aspects of my private life,’ Curtis said, ‘that are not for public consumption. Caitlin, it’s been nice seeing you. You look well. Now, if you’ll excuse us...’
‘Please, Curtis, I just want to chat to you for a moment...’
Next to her, Jess could sense him stiffening. Something about the scene playing out was at odds with the reality of a woman who had been the one to do the breaking of an engagement, but Jess decided that that was none of her business. Whatdidfluster her was that hand still securely circling her waist and sending her nervous system into freefall, and whatdidupset her was knowing that the only reason that hand was there was to say something to his ex.
‘I should say goodbye to John’s parents.’ She smiled and inched away from the red-hot branding iron of his arm. They had only just been talking to them but everyone had melted away with Caitlin’s arrival. Perhaps they’d all sensed a possible awkward scene in the making, although there was nothing embarrassing about their stiff exchange. No raised voices or muttered oaths or shouty recriminations. If anything, Curtis looked a little frustrated but strangely tolerant where she might have expected a little more anger and certainly a lot more reluctance to be cloistered with his ex, who had given him the boot in a very public manner over a year ago.
Before either could respond, Jess walked away, seeking out the older, amiable hosts who were chatting to a little group and instantly included her in the conversation.
If anyone thought it strange that she had left Curtis and Caitlin together whispering who knew what, no one showed the slightest curiosity.
This, she decided, wasexactlywhat she needed to cure herself of her foolish infatuation with him. Seeing him in his natural habitat, pursued by his ex and surrounded by just the sort of blonde bombshells he was so accustomed to dating.
She had no idea who the past girlfriends were but, from the high number of extraordinarily good-looking women present, they could have been any of them.
This was a world where Curtis moved with ease, sophistication and self-assurance. He was one of them—at home in billion-dollar properties where helipads werede rigueurand jewellery was kept in bank vaults only to be worn on special occasions. He might be a self-made billionaire, unlike many there who had been born into money, but he was so self-assured, so respected and feared in that complex world where big money was made, that no one would ever have questioned his right to be there.
They were good friends because they went back a long way, but the bottom line was...she was a teacher and very far removed from this glitzy crowd.
