Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss (32 page)

“
Ruby isn’t right,” Alex
said, throwing her purse onto the seat near the
entrance.

“
How is Ruby not
right?”

“
She seems sad or
something. It’s like something is missing. She’s not
herself.”

“
Maybe she’s just tired
and really does miss home.”

“
I guess,” Alex said, but
she was not convinced of it.

“
Come here,” Jay called.
“How’s my wife and baby girl doing?”

Alex came over, and Jayden
wrapped his arms around her waist before kissing her slightly
swollen tummy.

“
How’s my sweet girl
doing? You’re not tired today, right?” he said to the
tummy.

“
Why are you asking an
unborn child that question? You should be asking me,” Alex remarked
teasingly.

Jay looked up at his wife
and chuckled. “I need to know before I do something.”

Alex frowned. “What
something do you plan to do?”

He pulled her down to him.
Before Alex understood what he meant, he kissed her gently, but
passionately.

* * *

“
What do you think?” Alex
asked.

Ruby turned and saw Alex
holding up a lovely, white-laced, one-shouldered gown. It was
really beautiful, and Ruby wondered how on earth she could afford
that. It was the type of gown movie stars wear in Hollywood, to the
Oscars.

“
Do you think?” she asked,
a sudden panic rising up in her chest. “I don’t think I can afford
it. In fact, I don’t think I can afford anything in here, not even
this glove.” She held up one white glove and peeked at the tag
again, nearly freezing in place just seeing the price.

Alex chuckled. “Oh come
on. Don’t be a wuss. I don’t think; I know. Now, come on, let’s try
it on.” Alex pulled her friend by the arm and led her into the
changing room.

Hanging the gown on the
hook, Alex looked at her friend seriously. “You don’t seem yourself
lately, Ruby. I mean, it’s like you’re sad. Surely, you don’t miss
your wallet that much.”

Ruby wanted to laugh.
Her wallet?
She
hadn’t seen the damn thing since that day in Edinburgh when Alec
picked her up. A rush of overwhelming sadness coursed through her,
and she wanted to cry. She cleared her throat, avoiding Alex’s
eyes. “I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”

“
You know you can tell me
anything,” Alex commented, sensing something was deeply amiss. But
of course, she couldn’t force it out of her friend. That was
overstepping the boundary.

“
Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just
tired. I guess I’m ready to go home.”

Alex looked at her friend
suspiciously. Perhaps whatever happened this time, it cut very deep
and was really personal.

Ruby turned to touch the smooth fabric of the gown, gently
signaling for Alex to go. Alex understood. “Okay. I’ll be just
outside. Come out when you’re done.”

“
Okay.” Ruby
nodded.

Alex shut the
door.

Ruby continued to feel the
soft fabric in her hands, biting her lower lip, tears filling her
eyes. Could she really tell Alex what was on her mind? Could she
really tell Alex about Alec? About how he kidnapped her, imprisoned
her, and stole her virginity and her heart? Her friend would think
that the whole thing was a joke, and probably laugh at her. But
then again, that was not Alexandra. She knew Alex would understand
and comfort her. But at the moment, she just didn’t feel like she
was ready to tell anyone about Alec yet. And maybe never would.
Maybe it was better to pretend nothing happened. Pretend Alec
didn’t exist. Pretend she never met him. Yes, perhaps that was the
best thing she could do.

Ruby sighed and turned to
look at herself in the long mirror. Yes, she noted that she did
look a bit too pale and her eyes were sunken. Then the image of
Alec appeared in her mind. Unshed tears stung her eyes. God, she
missed him. She missed the way he looked at her, the way he touched
her, and the way he called her “my lady.” She even missed his
Scottish brogue.

She took off her jersey and jeans and picked up the gown
and tried it on. Seeing herself in the mirror, she thought it
didn’t look at all too bad, like she initially thought it
would.

“
Are you ready?” Alex
asked.

Ruby came out, smoothing
the soft fabric about her flat tummy.

“
Oh! Whoa!” Alex grinned.
“You look really good in that, Ruby.”

Ruby turned to look at
herself once again in the full-length mirror. Yes, she had to admit
she did look good in it. Then her stomach did a flip. She wanted
Alec to see her in the dress. She wanted him to see how beautiful
she looked. But that would never happen because, well, it just
could never happen because she would never see him
again.

Once Alex paid for the
dresses with her credit card, Ruby thanked her friend
whole-heartedly.

“
Honestly, Alex, I feel so
awful. I could have bought the dress myself.”

Alex chuckled. “What? My
husband is a billionaire, and if I can’t afford to buy my friend a
designer dress after I begged her to come to a charity ball with me
because I won’t know anyone there and need company…”

“
Well, it’s not like
that,” Ruby said defensively. “I just—”

Alex chuckled. “I know
what you mean, Ruby. Now, come along. We’re meeting my husband for
lunch. He’s supposed to be finished with his meeting half an hour
ago. He must be waiting for us.”

Ruby nodded, and they
headed out the door of the boutique.

Again, Jayden looked
at his new business partner, Alec Hasting, across the study desk,
noting the handsome man’s paleness. There were dark circles under
the grey eyes that told him the man must’ve had many a sleepless
night and he wondered what could have caused it. Surely, not the
new company they were building together. Everything was going
according to plan.

After both sides signed on
the dotted lines, Jay shut the folder.

“
The room has a great
view, by the way,” he said, noting again the lapse in Alec’s
concentration, as the man had a faraway look in his
eyes.

Alec blinked for a moment
and turned his attention to Jay. “I knew you’d like it. And your
friend in the other room? He’s enjoying the view, too?”

“
Actually, he’s a she,”
Jay corrected him.

Alec cocked his head to
one side, speculating. But of course, it was none of his business
what his new partner was doing.

Jay chuckled, knowing what
Alec was thinking. “She’s my wife’s best friend, here on her OE
trip, as the Kiwis call it. In fact, I think they’re having a fine
time right now, spending my money. Alex is pretty good at doing
that lately.”

Alec chuckled. “Women,” he
commented.

“
Yes, Alex is a handful.
But she’s amazing.”

Alec’s heart hammered in
his chest. The look Jay had on his face pretty much said how the
man adored his wife. Alec wondered if he also looked like that when
he thought about Ruby. Thinking of her now, however, evoked a
series of sad images rushing through his mind. He gritted his teeth
and his face contorted with the turmoil of conflicting emotions.
But it only lasted for a flash second, as he knew he shouldn’t have
been showing how he felt in front of other people.

“
You just got back from
the Highlands?” Jay asked.

“
Yeah, but no excuses for being tired,” Alec muttered under
his breath. There were other reasons for his lapse of
concentration.
Ruby.
Bloody hell! He couldn’t stop
thinking about Ruby and why she left him.

“
You’ll meet them at the
charity ball,” Jay said.

Alec jolted back to
reality. “What?”

“
You’ll meet them at the
charity ball,” Jay repeated. “Actually, I’m meeting them for lunch
now. Would you like to join us?”

Alec thought for a moment,
but shook his head. “A meeting with the Mrs. Clarity, the charity
organizer.”

“
Ah, of course,” Jay
replied as he stood up. “Very well then.” He extended his hand, and
Alec shook it. “See you at the ball.”

“
I’ll escort you back,”
Alec said, leading Jay to the door. Along the great hallway, and
going down the lift, they talked of the weather in London. When
they came out of the lift, Alec said, “See you at the
ball.”

“
Yes, see you then,” Jay
replied.

Alec headed the other
direction and Jay watched him go. Just as Alec disappeared from
sight, he turned to the foyer and saw Alex and Ruby coming through
the door.

He grinned at his wife,
who seemed all too happy to see him. From the logos on the bags she
and Ruby were carrying, their shopping expedition must have gone
very well.

Jay grabbed his wife in
his strong arms and kissed her on the lips in front of Ruby. “Did
you find Ruby a nice dress for the ball?”

“
Of course I did,” Alex
said. “It’s very pretty. You just wait and see.”

“
Come along then. I’m
starving,” Jay said.

“
Did you not invite Mr.
Hasting to come to lunch?” Alex whispered to her
husband.

“
I did, but he’s
busy.”

“
Oh, that’s disappointing.
I was hoping to meet him.”

Jay knew she was not
disappointed about meeting him. She was disappointed that Ruby
didn’t get to meet Alec Hasting. After Alex found out that his new
partner was single and very handsome indeed, she devised a plan to
match-make the two.

“
You’ll meet him soon enough, my love,” Jay said, leading
the two girls to the door.

* * *

The soapy water was so
cozy and warm that Ruby closed her eyes and drifted off into her
own dreamland. There she saw Alec, tall and handsome, waiting for
her. It was as if he were beckoning her to come to him. Oh, how she
wanted to go to him, but she knew she couldn’t, and wouldn’t. She
turned her back on him and began to walk away. When she looked
behind, he came running after her, and before Ruby could do
anything, she was in his arms.

“
You can’t run from me, my
lady,” he said softly, and then…

Ruby woke up with a jolt. She blinked several times to
clear her head, finding she was still in the tub. She touched her
forehead, sensing a headache approaching. She sighed and cursed
herself for thinking about Alec once again. God, when would she
finally forget about him?
Why
was love so damn hard?

The phone rang, and Ruby
scrambled out of the tub, putting on a robe, and rushing into the
bedroom. She picked up the receiver and said, “Hey.”

“
Ruby? The makeup artist
and hair stylist are here. We’ll come over now; is that all
right?”

Shit!
She forgot all
about them. “Yeah, okay.”

“
Okay,” Alex said, and
Ruby terminated the call.

Ruby rushed back into the
bathroom and pulled the plug. Then she returned just in time to
open the door for her friend and the other two women to come
in.

“
Ruby, this is Michelle,
the makeup artist, and Lena, the hair stylist.”

“
Hi,” Ruby greeted
them.

The women put their
equipment on the bed and proceeded to get ready.

“
So, what do you want done
first? Hair or makeup?” Alex asked excitedly.

“
I’ll go for hair,” Ruby
replied.

“
Okay,” Alex
said.

Ruby sat, trying very hard
not to think about Alec while Lena did her hair. When, half an hour
later, she was done, Ruby looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair
was now full of curls piled high on her head. She looked rather
lovely. By that time, Michelle was also done with Alex, and they
swapped. It was an hour later when Ruby stood gazing at herself in
the bathroom mirror. With her dark hair styled high on her head, a
beautiful rose on the left side, near her ear, her face made up
flawlessly, and her white, one-shouldered gown on, she looked
absolutely, well… gorgeous, and she couldn’t believe her own eyes.
She bit her full ruby-red lips, a fluttering feeling beginning in
the pit of her stomach.

“
Hey, what are you doing
there?” Alex said from the door.

Ruby turned, a nervous
smile on her pretty face. “I was just looking at
myself.”

“
Well, you look amazing. Heads are going to turn tonight.”
Then she silently added
, I
hope Mr. Alec Hasting will take one look at you and fall
head-over-heels in love with you.

“
Not likely,” Ruby said.
“But I do look forward to it. I mean, I’ve never been to a charity
ball before. What is it like?”

“
I’m not sure. I’ve never
been to one either,” Alex said seriously. “That’s why I’m glad
you’re coming with me.”

“
It’s a good thing then,”
Ruby said, linking arms with her best friend.