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.” He gave her a wry smile.“Haven’t we all.Look, I know she’s a pretty intense person and getting her to step back and relax is virtually impossible, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.”She smiled at him, and the lead weight he’d been carrying around in his chest lifted a little.“I wanted to ask you something,” he said, sitting up straighter in his seat.“Fire away.”“If I offered my house in the Cotswolds for your wedding reception, would you be interested in using it?”Penny raised her eyebrows in surprise.“Are you serious? We’d love to get married there.We’re having real trouble finding a suitable venue at such short notice and your house would be perfect for what we had in mind.”“I need to fill that place with happy memories before I can live in it again.I’ve let my past take over my life for too long, and it’s time I exorcised it.”“Well, we’d love to exorcise it for you.”“Good.”“We were hoping to get married pretty quickly, so I’m not too tired to enjoy it.”“Not a problem, name your date.”Penny nodded thoughtfully.“I’ve asked Ellie to be my maid of honor.It might be a bit awkward if you two aren’t talking.”The thought of seeing her again made his insides clench, but he shoved the unease away.They would have to face each other again at some point, and maybe doing it whilst surrounded by distractions and a friendly crowd would be the perfect time.“I’m sure we can be adults about it.”Penny gave him another sad smile that he chose to ignore.• • •It was a week before Penny broke the news about the venue to Ellie.“How very generous of him,” was all she managed to struggle out when she heard.Just the mention of Gideon’s name tapped into the sinking feeling she’d been trying to conquer for days now.“Oh Ellie, you’re so mean about him.Why do you do that? He’s been nothing but nice to you,” her friend chided, giving her a light, reprimanding tap on the arm.“Nice.Yuck.I can’t stand the way he uses women, them casts them aside like litter.He’s always done it.He can never stick with one woman; he’s convinced the grass is greener in the next acre.”“Why do you care so much?”Ellie swallowed hard before answering.“It’s the principle, Penny.I hate playboys, and he’s one of the worst I’ve ever met.”“I know how you feel about him,” Penny said quietly.“What do you mean? I don’t feel anything for him.Except annoyance.”“Ellie … ” Penny gave her a withering look.“Don’t talk crap.”“What do you mean?” Her heart raced at the realization her secret was out.Had Gideon said something to her?“You know exactly what I’m talking about.You and Gideon.You two are having a thing.Am I right or am I right?”“You’re not right, Penny.” Perhaps she could still bluff it out.Maybe her friend was just taking a stab in the dark about a hunch she had.She didn’t want to burden Penny with more of her angst right now and cast a shadow over her friend’s happiness.“But you were, the weekend at the house.You two could barely tear your eyes away from each other.And all those suggestive comments you both kept making.You didn’t really think we wouldn’t notice, did you?”Ellie was flummoxed.“I thought we were being discreet.”Penny laughed.“Ellie, I didn’t think the word discretion was in your vocabulary.”“Yeah, well, it’s over now,” she said, looking away from her friend’s concerned gaze and trying to keep the pain out of her voice.“Are you sure? I was only saying to Will today what a terrific couple you’d make.You’re so funny together, and he’s a pretty good catch, Ellie.” She wiggled an eyebrow, and Ellie gave her a reluctant smile.Penny frowned at her lack of reaction to the joke.“What’s wrong? Did it end badly or something?”“You could say that.I had to take the morning after pill.” She stared down at her hands and twisted them together in her lap as tears filled her eyes.Damn it.She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry over him again.“Do you want to talk about it?” Penny asked, looking her in the eye.“No.It’s time I moved on.He made it pretty clear he’s not interested in anything serious.Anyway, I’ve decided it’s time to get back out there.I’m giving internet dating a go.”“I’d bet my inheritance you won’t be single for more than two weeks,” Penny said.“You might regret placing that bet.” She rubbed a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears that clung to her lashes.“At least this whole thing with Gideon made me realize what a lucky escape I had getting away from Paul.Trying to please him turned me into a loony.I got obsessed with the idea that having a child with him would miraculously turn him into a nicer person, but it would have been a disaster for everyone involved.”“Yeah,” Penny said, putting a comforting hand on her arm.“It’s a shame things didn’t work out for you and Gideon, but you never know, the man of your dreams might be at the wedding.” She raised a speculative eyebrow.“Yeah,” Ellie said, “maybe he will.”In fact, she knew he would be.The wedding was going to be held in his house.Chapter NineA month later Gideon stood in the grand hall to his home, watching as the teams of caterers and florists busied about transforming his house into Penny and Will’s wedding reception.He liked the idea of the house filling with happy memories now, to banish the loneliness and inadequacy he’d associated with the place when his grandparents still lived here.It gave him a sense of satisfaction that he was now on the road to exorcising those demons, and this wedding was going to be a huge step on the road to recovery.He was so glad he could do this for the two of them.He liked Will.The time he’d spent with him recently had been an eye-opener, and he was really pleased that he and Penny had been able to work things out.He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair.If only he were able to work out his own love life so successfully.He hadn’t seen or heard from Ellie since he’d watched her speed away in the taxi and, if he was totally honest with himself, he was nervous about seeing her today.Penny had invited him as one of the guests to the wedding, but he’d declined to come to the service out of respect for Ellie.He knew his presence there would be too disruptive for her peace of mind when she was supposed to be focused entirely on Penny.He would be at the reception though, and he was now in the process of mentally steeling himself to see Ellie again.Her words about him making a terrible father had rung in his ears for the last few weeks until he thought he’d go crazy with it.He’d tried to dismiss the accusation, telling himself she was angry when she said it and it wasn’t true, but deep down he was afraid she was right.It had occurred to him that he should just call up one of the women he’d dated recently and take her to bed to obliterate the thought of Ellie, but he couldn’t do it.Not only was he sure it would prove futile, but he couldn’t bring himself to use the other woman in that way.Ellie’s distain at his previous attitude to dating had worked its way into his head, and he could almost feel her disgust at his idea, which transformed into disgust with himself for even considering it.She’d really done a number on him.When he’d thought about it, it occurred to him that despite the wide circle of friends he’d cultivated, he didn’t feel comfortable enough with any of them to talk about what had happened.Not even Gareth [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]