Page 32 of A Convenient Ring to Claim Her

“You did.” She was unable to keep the crack from her voice. “I revealed we were having an affair and you walked away cold turkey.” That still hurt. So much. Not a word.Over.

He turned another inscrutable expression on her. “Yet here I am, not gone anymore. Am I?”

“Don’t.” She scowled at her plate. “I don’t want to fall into a trap where we’re both feeling a sense of loss over Eden’s marriage to Remy so we glom onto each other, convincing ourselves there’s more between us than there is. I was never going to upend my life for you, Micah. I have plans. And what could you possibly want from me besides sex?”

“I don’t know.You?” he suggested.

Her heart turned itself upside down and inside out. Did he not realize this wasn’t anything anyone had ever wanted? Not really? Look at her.

She swallowed and said sincerely, “What we had was very good, Micah. We made some very nice memories and I’m glad we’re ending on good terms. That’s all anyone can expect from life, don’t you think?”

She made herself look at him, but her eyes were hot, her facial muscles tight beneath the blank expression she was trying to hold.

He was staring at her so hard, she felt it as a laser that penetrated to the pit of her stomach. It made her shift uncomfortably, giving her the most awful feeling that he was disappointed in her.

But didn’t that prove her point?

A firm, feminine voice sounded in the house, speaking Italian. The words grew in volume as they approached the open doors to the terrace.

Micah swore under his breath and rose. He took a step toward the doors, but a woman was already striding out and across the stone pavers, designer heels clipping in a way that meant business.

She was a stunning woman of sixty-odd years with coiffed silver-blond hair and a complexion like creamed honey. She wore a pastel green sheath with a matching green blazer trimmed in black.

“Aunt Zara,” Micah said, polite, but frosty. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Oh, snap. Quinn rose and pushed her company smile onto her face, certain this would be awful, but she wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Micah had never, ever let Eden meet any of his Gould relatives. Quinn was highly curious.

“You should have.” Zara offered her cheek for the buss of his, then sent a distinctly appalled look at Quinn’s taste in fashion. “And you have a houseguest. Micah should have included you in my invitation last night. Zara Von Strauss.” She held out her hand in a way that forced Quinn to come to her.

“Quinn Harper.” She shook the proffered hand, recognizing this particular air of passive-aggressive superiority. Recognizing that it was a blatant lie that she would invite a penniless orphan dressed like this to sit at her table with her family and friends. “Micah was helping me last night. I was in hospital.”

“How kind of him.” Her smile was a stretch of painted lips. Nothing more.

“Quinn is a close friend of my sister’s,” Micah said, sideswiping Quinn’s heart with that designation that distanced him from anything more personal between them.

She couldn’t really blame him, given all they’d been through lately, but it was hard to keep an unaffected look on her face.

Strangely, Zara seemed to stiffen in an effort to hold her own aloof expression as she turned back to Micah. “Here I thought you were evading your responsibilities to family.”

“When have I ever?” Micah asked mildly. “Would you like to sit? I’ll order coffee.”

“Another time, thank you. I won’t interrupt your lunch.” Another disparaging look was thrown at Quinn. “But we need to discuss a few things while you’re in town.”

“I’ll be tied up with Quinn, then I’m due in Berlin for the Innovation and Design Awards. I’ve sent tickets to your grandson. I’ll introduce him to our executive team. I’m sure more than one will be eager to coax him into their department.”

The boss’s grand-nephew? No doubt.

Zara struck Quinn as the type who liked to micromanage, though. She wasn’t entirely pleased that Micah was leaving her grandson to sink or swim, but she had to accept Micah’s action with a satisfied nod and a cool, “Thank you.”

“I’ve also told my property agent to touch base with yours, to review the assessment of the property you’ve recommended. You’ve never steered us wrong. I’m sure things will proceed in due course. Was there anything else?”

This was like a tennis match between greats, the undercurrents thick, statements served and volleyed with powerful returns.

“Someone I wanted you to meet.” Aunt Zara was not cowed by the flash of warning in Micah’s gaze. “You’ll need an escort for the award ceremony.”

“I never have before. Quinn will accompany me if she’s up to it.”

“Oh? How nice.” It was not nice. She was livid at the thought. “I won’t take up any more of your time. It was lovely to meet you, Ms. Harper.”

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