Page 27 of Their Diamond Ring Ruse

‘I did. I know boeuf bourguignon isn’t the fanciest French dish I could have prepared, but it’s just so good.’

She reached for a carafe filled with chilled iced tea, but he beat her to it, pouring the cold reddish gold drink into their glasses, then setting it aside.

He picked up his cutlery and hesitated. She’d cooked for him. It shouldn’t mean anything. It didn’t, he told himself. So what if the last time a woman had prepared him a meal he’d been fourteen and dressed in thrift store clothes? It wasn’t a big deal.

But as he looked into his bowl his mind was taken to a small table under a fluorescent light, with a nervous, scared, happy woman who shared his eyes. The person he’d loved the most and hadn’t been able to save.

‘Is everything okay?’ Lily asked from across the table, watching him carefully.

‘Fine.’ He took a sip of his drink, bringing life back to his parched mouth, and then set about eating this meal that was definitely not making him feel anything. ‘This is good. You’re very skilled.’

‘Was there ever any doubt? Did you not have one of my cinnamon rolls?’

He could see that she fully expected him to say no, but what fun would that be? She had him off balance tonight. It was time he returned the favour.

‘I did.’

‘You did?’

‘Yes. All of them.’ He smirked.

‘A-all of them? I didn’t expect... I didn’t think you had much of a sweet tooth.’

‘I don’t, but as my fiancée personally delivered them to me the least I could do was eat them.’

Lily laughed. Not politely, the way someone would expect of her, but a deep belly laugh. ‘Just when I think I have you figured out...’

‘You shouldn’t think that. Ever.’

No one ever got close enough to him to do so, and no one ever would. He dictated who entered and left his life, and he was quite happy for the only person who stayed in it to be Henry. As attracted to Lily as he was, he couldn’t allow her in.

‘A man of mystery.’ She tried to hide her smile by taking a bite of her food.

‘Don’t you think mystery is important?’

‘No,’ she answered honestly. ‘It means keeping secrets, and secrets ruin everything. Having to keep the truth of my relationship with Lincoln a secret cost me my friends, and a great deal of my happiness. So, no, I don’t care for mystery. Give me honesty, let me understand you, and I’ll never betray your trust.’

Julian agreed with her. But the truth required more faith and trust in people than he was capable of giving. And he hadn’t been happy for a long time. Most of his life. At the very best he had snapshots of it when he was younger. A taste of what he couldn’t hold on to. Something to crave and miss and make him bitter.

‘When did your father make this deal with Harrison?’

‘When I was nineteen. I was in France when Arthur died, and when I came back for the funeral my father told me what he had done. Lincoln seemed thrilled with the idea. I pleaded with my father to undo it, but I didn’t want to displease him. I never did. Anyway, I went back to France to complete my studies...’

‘You escaped.’

‘I did.’ Lily nodded. ‘I was really grateful for the time I had left on my course, and the apprenticeship after that. I loved France, and I think I appreciated it even more after going back.’

‘Do you miss it?’

‘So much. On cold days we would all find a warm bistro and complain about the chefs at the school.’ She chuckled with a faraway look in her eye. ‘When it was warmer, we would fill up a pavement café.’

Julian couldn’t help feeling caught up in her memories. The smile she wore now shone brighter than any other he’d seen her wear.

‘Things felt simpler there,’ she went on. ‘I wasn’t Lily Barnes-Shah. I didn’t have to live up to anything or fulfil anyone’s promise. I could just cook.’ She looked up at Julian, her sadness evident now. ‘I love being here. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Crème is my life. But I sometimes wish I could go back to Paris. Pretend I’m still in a time when my father was alive and not arranging a marriage I didn’t want. When my mother was still willing to be there for me. When Devan and I were closer. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?’

Julian pushed his empty bowl away, leaning forward on his folded elbows. ‘It’s not ridiculous to wish things were different. It just doesn’t help you to deal with what’s actually in front of you.’

‘Have you ever wished that?’

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