Lucy laughed and pinkened. ‘Absolutely.’ She tiptoed and kissed him demurely on his cheek. Tessa’s heart, which was in full plummet, fell even further. ‘I never thought when I came home tonight that I would end up meeting someone who could turn out to be so good for me!’
From where he was standing, with his hand on the door, he smiled, and Tessa squeezed her eyes shut very tightly, fighting back the tears of self pity.
‘But not a word to your sister. Not yet. I thought of saying something when I said goodnight to her, but let’s just see where we’re going with this before…before, well, we say anything…’
‘I agree.’
‘And I’ll see the both of you on Boxing Day!’
Tessa didn’t wait to hear the remainder of the damning conversation. She crawled back to her bedroom, hobbled to the bathroom and practically sprinted to her bed before Lucy could make it up the stairs and discover that her sister was still up.
Although, Tessa thought bitterly, no girlish sharing of confidences would be forthcoming. Not when there was so much to hide…
One thing she knew for sure…she would not be going to spend Boxing Day with him. No way was she going to witness Lucy and Curtis flirting surreptitiously with one another while she skulked in the corner with various assorted relatives, pretending that everything was fine and dandy!
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHRISTMAS DAY was a miserable, protracted affair that involved a great deal of jaw-aching jollity as Tessa pretended that everything was all right. In the absence of any other family members, they had always made a big thing of Christmas lunch, making sure that all the trimmings were there, from the traditional turkey to the mince pies. With her foot still too sore to handle the cooking, Tessa watched as Lucy took over, displaying nerve-jangling cheeriness as she flitted across the kitchen, keeping up a steady stream of conversation. It would have been too much if there had been just the two of them over the Christmas lunch, but thankfully three of Lucy’s friends, all Australians who were over for the duration of the course, joined them for lunch and, from the relative safety of onlooker, Tessa felt free to observe her sister undercover.
Was it her imagination or did Lucy seem to be over-bright? She was like a wind-up toy into which new batteries had been inserted. Tessa thought that her sister could have continued for days, chattering and laughing and brimming over with gaiety. It was infectious. At least for the guests. Never flat at the best of times, the Australians were positively bursting with good cheer.
At seven, Tessa could stand it no longer and made her excuses. A headache, she apologised, avoiding Lucy’s probing, concerned eyes. As excuses went, it was pretty feeble, but it could prove useful in the morning when she pulled it back out of her hat and produced it as a reason why she couldn’t possibly go to any Boxing Day thing at the Diaz residence.
Purely to avoid a confrontation on Christmas Day, Tessa had allowed her sister to assume that their little outing on Boxing Day was a foregone certainty. A so-called headache accompanied by a weak smile would at least give her some warning that ill health was destined to make an appearance first thing in the morning.
‘I’ll walk you up.’ Lucy shot to her feet, all worried concern.
‘No need. You…you stay here with…your friends. I’m more than capable of making it up some stairs without hurtling down backwards!’ She gently tried to prise her arm out of her sister’s grasp. Just the feel of those treacherous fingers on her made her want to recoil in misery.
But none of this was her sister’s fault. She had told herself this over and over again. Lucy had had no idea that she and Curtis were involved. As far as she was concerned, she wasn’t treading on any toes. Curtis was up for grabs and he had clearly not seen fit to enlighten her. The blame lay fully at his door.
Still…Tessa couldn’t bring herself to look at her sister so she remained staring glassily at the assembled trio still sitting down, who stared back at her with varying degrees of intoxication.
‘What on earth is the matter with you?’ Lucy hissed, tugging her towards the door, one hand around her waist. ‘You’ve been acting very strange today.’
‘Have I?’ Tessa muttered. She wondered how Lucy would react if she started pouring out what was in her head. Of course, she wasn’t going to do that. Not now, not ever. Opening up those particular dam gates would be a very bad idea. For a start, she would end up having to confess why it hurt so much, having to admit that she had fallen head over heels in love with a man whose feelings towards her were casual at best. Her sister would be horrified. God, she would probably join the Pity Crew, of whom Curtis Diaz was a platinum-card member!