‘Obviously I tried to, but you were engaged, and then Tony said it didn’t matter—he could discuss it with me. Which was when he informed me that he will make a delivery of super-special pizzas on the twenty-second of December. Explained how happy he is to support such a worthy cause and how much he admires your plan to give these teens in care a wonderful time over the Christmas period. So there you go—message delivered.’
With that she swivelled on one black-booted foot and headed for the door.
That wasn’t just anger that radiated off her—there was hurt as well.
‘Ruby—wait.’
A heartbeat of hesitation and then she turned to face him. ‘Yes.’
‘I should have told you.’
Her shoulders lifted. ‘It’s your business—you don’t have to tell me everything.’
‘No. But I should have told you this.’
‘So why didn’t you?’
‘We have been and will be working full-time until the ball. I figured you’d deserve a break—those days will be pretty full-on. Plus the kids will be here from the twenty-second to the twenty-fourth, and I know you have Christmas plans. I didn’t want you to feel obliged to cancel them, or to feel guilty. It’s no big deal.’
All the truth—though nowhere near the complete truth. But it was difficult to explain his utter disinclination to let her see the full extent of his charitable activities.
Her expression softened as she studied his face, though a small frown still nipped at her wide brow. ‘Your idea of what is a big deal and mine is different. But you’re right—you should have told me. Now I know, I would like to help.’
Bad idea... The previous night had amply demonstrated that a break would do them good. ‘No need. I have it all covered here. There is nothing for you to do—so go and enjoy yourself.’
‘Ethan, I don’t want to go and enjoy myself. I know I can help. Why don’t you want me to? Is it because...?’ Her voice faltered for a second and then she met his gaze full-on. ‘Because of what happened last night.’
‘No. I don’t want you to help because I don’t want you to get burn out. There is a huge amount of work to be done in the next few days. You’ll need a break. I’ve got it covered.’
Ethan could feel the grooves in the floor where his heels were dug in. Instinct told him that if they weren’t careful, complications would abound.
‘I bet you haven’t.’ Her chin angled, pugnacious. ‘Tell me your plans and if I can work out how to improve them I get to help. Deal?’
Great! Instinct had made another express delivery—this was über-important to Ruby and it went deep, though he wasn’t sure why.
Expelling a sigh of pure exasperation, he shrugged. ‘Fine. I wanted to do it all actually on Christmas Day, but that didn’t work out. So...a busload of teenagers will arrive here on the twenty-second. They are all either in children’s homes or in foster care and they’ve all got a chequered history. We’ll have a pizza, DVD and games night. I’ve ordered a billiards table and a darts board. On the twenty-third I and a few surf instructors will take them out for a day of water sports. We’ll come back and I’m having caterers in to serve up a Christmas dinner. Another relaxed games evening, then to bed. Another morning’s water sport on Christmas Eve and then they head back.’
There—you couldn’t say fairer than that surely? So who knew why Ruby was shaking her head?
‘What you have scheduled is brilliant, but I can make it better,’ she said flatly.
‘How?’
‘Can I sit?’
Once he’d nodded she lowered herself onto a chair, rested her elbows on the desk and cupped her chin.
‘I think you’ve missed something.’
‘What? Another game? A...?’
‘The magic of Christmas. You’ve mentioned Christmas dinner, but otherwise it could be any weekend. This is about the spirit of Christmas even if it’s not actually Christmas Day. So what about a tree?’
‘I thought about that and I figured the last thing they’ll want is a tree and lots of schmaltz. These kids are tough and they’ve been through the mill. They’ll want to obliterate Christmas—suppress the tainted memories it evokes.’
‘Maybe some of them think like that—maybe that’s what they need to think in order to get through Christmas. Dissing Christmas is their method of self-defence. But deep down they are still kids, and they deserve to be given a real Christmas—to see that Christmas doesn’t always have to suck, that it can be wonderful and magical. It could be that what they’re going back to is dismal, or lonely, or grim, so this two days you give them has to be something precious. Maybe to help them dilute those tainted memories.’
Her words strummed him... They spoke of a deep, vibrant sincerity and an underlying genuine comprehension, and Ethan knew that such empathy could only come from one place.