“You might as well sit down if you’re not
going to leave.”
He took his customary seat and regarded her
with a sympathetic smile. “Sometimes it helps to talk.”
“And sometimes there’s nothing to say.”
“It’s Derian, I already know that. You’ve
been miserable since the day she left.”
“Coincidence.”
“Really, and I look like I was born under a
mushroom?”
“Ron,” Emily said gently, “I don’t want to
talk about Derian.”
“Fair enough, then how about talking about
you? We can pretend that the other party is…Woman X.”
“Oh, and that’s going to work well.”
“All right, you don’t talk about her, and I’ll just guess.”
Ron took a deep breath and tapped his chin. “Okay, you’re harboring a secret
crush on Woman X, and now that she’s gone, you regret that you didn’t jump her
the way I told you to.”
“This is not going to work.”
He waved a hand. “Okay, let’s try that again.
You did jump her, like I told you to, but in an uncharacteristic Derian
Winfield fashion—whoops, sorry—Woman X declined your offer.” He frowned and
shook his head. “Really, though, I never took her for a fool, so even I don’t
believe that one.”
“Ron,” Emily said in a threatening tone.
“No, I’ve got it. You did jump her, she
accepted, and she was absolutely terrible in bed.”
“Derian is wonderful in bed,” Emily said,
almost amused when Ron’s mouth dropped open. If she’d had any fiber of her
being left that wasn’t miserable, she might have laughed too. “I don’t remember
who jumped who, but believe me, there was nothing to complain about.”
“I’m sorry,” Ron said. “You don’t strike me
as the one-night stand type, and I know Deri—”
“No,” Emily said, “you don’t know. No one
does. Derian is nothing like her reputation.”
“You’re right, sorry. She made a really good
impression with everyone while she was here. But you knew it was only
temporary.”
“Oh, I did. Unfortunately, I seem to have
forgotten that somewhere in the process of taking off my clothes.”
Ron laughed wryly. “I’ve been there and done
that. Are you sure it’s just temporary?”
“She’s gone, isn’t she? And there was never
any discussion of it being any more than that, unless you count the part where
she asked me to marry her.”
Ron stared. “You’re not serious.”
“Actually, I am, and this does not go any
further than here. I mean it.”
“I swear.” He crossed his heart. “Derian
Winfield asked you to marry her? And you said, what, no thanks?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m missing a few steps. Like the whys and
the wherefores.”
Emily sighed. Maybe if she said it all out
loud she’d stop torturing herself with the endless replays. Maybe she’d
convince herself she’d been right in sending Derian away. “Derian thought it
would solve everyone’s problems—I’d become a permanent resident, and voilà, no more
visa problems. I’d be in a position one day to ensure that Winfield’s continues
with its mission, and presto, Henrietta’s legacy is preserved. All that and
Derian manages to not only infuriate her father but gain the upper hand in
their long-standing private battle.” She dusted her hands. “Everything taken
care of all neat and tidy, as long as you don’t consider the fact that she and
I would be legally bound to one another.”