Close Your Eyes (54 page)

‘It doesn’t
m
att
er anyway
.’ S
he shook her head
and looked
down at their hands. ‘I really treated him badly, Ry. He must be mad as hell.’

‘I am not so sure
.
’
Ry
an
grinned
cheerfully
.
‘
He
was very hurt, whatever you did or didn’t do,
Meg
. But he spent this month telling me like a hundred times he would just give you some space before coming after you and making you see sense, whether you liked it or not. That’s not
the
plan of someone
who’s
really mad, if you ask me.’

‘I can’t talk to him yet
.’ S
he was still whispering
. Her
voice crack
ed
. ‘I can’t.
To
think
of the two of us
somewhere calm and private just terrifies me.
I think I ruined our friendship, no
matter
what you say.
What if he just tells me to go to hell?’

‘Honestly
,
there is no need to be so gloomy.’ Ry
an
laughed pleasantly
. His
deep
voice
was
painfully
familiar. ‘But you’re in luck,
Megs
.
If you want to ta
lk to
Matt
with
the safety of having many people around,
you should
come to our party tomorrow.’ He watched her blank expression and grinned
, baring his impossibly white teeth
. ‘Rosemary had this wonderful idea for a fundraiser for our local library. Since it’s a historical monument dating back all the way to King James’
s
times, she figured she’d throw a party in true
renaissance
style, donations going to the restoration fund. The idea was welcomed very warmly
,
and tomorrow is the night. There will be music, food,
dancing,
and
,
of course
,
costumes.
She’s
invited a whole bunch of friends from her charity in London
,
plus
anyone from town who is interested.
If you count all the people my family invited
,
it should be a rather packed event.
’

‘I can’t really imagine the town dressing up like that.’ She grinned back
with cheer in her eyes
. ‘
Even
your dad and your cousins?’

‘Even Amelia and Rose
mary
.
’
H
e nodded, his voice playfully serious. ‘
We
were pulling cards
for
who is going to be what
,
and they got the ladies in waiting parts. Amy promised to keep her mascara safely in her purse for the occasion, and Rose
mary
didn’t mind at all. Dad wasn’t very keen on dressing up, I admit. Instead
,
he tried to wiggle out by offering his services as a
DJ. After all
,
he knows more about history th
a
n the whole lot of us put together
, including what music is appropriate
.
’

‘And you?’ S
he felt better already, remembering what
a
riot those
kind
of events usually turned out to be. The
Harper
s knew how to throw a party
that lured
visitors from far and near. ‘
Who
are you?’

‘A monk
.
’
His cheerful reply was followed by her
guffaw of laughter. ‘
Okay
, laugh all you want, but
Matt
got it even worse. He will
probably
have to wear a full suit of armor, being a knight and all. He had been digging up some of those in the attic today.’

‘I don’t know
.
’
S
he hesitated, torn between her wish to come and fear
of stepping
into something
where
she wasn’t really welcome. After all
,
the
Harper
s knew her as Ry
an
’s girlfriend
. T
heir breakup
would have made
her persona non grata.

‘
Don’t
worry about anyone
.
’ Ry
an
must have been reading her mind
. His
eyes reassur
ed her
. ‘
They
all like you very much. Even
G
randfather was rather miffed that things didn’t work out between us. But then he looked at
Matt
and understood that not all is lost yet. But no, don’t feel pressed at all.
And since it is a
n open
event
,
we don’t need to worry about invitations. Though I think if needed, you
could
get one delivered today.
’
His voice light again, h
e laughed at her expression.

‘I can’t tell
you what it means to me that we can talk like this again,
Meg
. I missed you terribly.’ He kissed her cheek.
His lips were warm and soft.
‘
I mean, whatever happens, we have enough history together to last a lifetime. I just truly hope that we can remain friends.’

She let him tell her all the details about the party, even though she doubted she’d go. He looked so hopeful and upbeat that she didn’t have the heart to damp
en
his spirits.
Finally
,
the rain came to her rescue
as
the first heavy drops put an end to their conversation. She refused Ry
an
’s offer to walk her back to the car
. She hoped that her smile and promise to show up
at the party
if she could
had
softened
her determined refusal.

She watched him ride away
. G
raceful and strong, the black horse
obviously enjoyed
the run as he galloped back to the stables.
Only when he disappeared from her sight did
Meg
wake up from her
daydream
.
The
cold drops
of rain were
thickening and finding
their
way in
to
the space between her lowered hood and her neck. She pulled her jacket closer
. Her
hood offer
ed
her warmth and dryness as she rushed to her car. Deep in her
thoughts
,
she barely noticed
when
the rain turned into a downpour
. H
er
W
ellington
s
splash
ed
in the fast
-
forming puddles. The storm outside was no match for the one
raging in her heart.
T
he low rumble of thunder
made her shiver
.
Matt
was here, and if she wanted
,
she would see him tomorrow. The question
remained
:
did he want to see her? She could only hope and see.

Meg
wasn’t sure if she would
go
to the party
un
t
i
l
that
evening. At least
that
was the official version
she told herself that gave
her some kind of control over what was supposed to happen. On a purely subconscious level
,
she had made the decision
the moment Ry
an
mentioned it to her
.
T
he fact that she didn’t even think of calling
Matt
the whole following day
made
it
self-
explanatory. She didn’t need to call him because she’d see him,
no matter how
unprepared she felt for their actual conversation. She could
hardly
start with an apology for making him have sex with her
. T
he pure technicalities of what
had
happened and what
had not were
irrelevant. They
had been
as close as humans
could
possibly
be
,
and
her blatant invitation
had been
the trigger for
an
avalanche of events.