Sommersgate House (24 page)

And, Julia
decided, she could use reminding of rotten, selfish men who did
whatever vile thing they had to do to get what they wanted.

Everyone was
to gather in the library for drinks before dinner and when she
arrived, Douglas, Sam and Oliver were there as were all the
children.

“
You
look pretty!” Ruby shouted and Julia stopped to bend down and kiss
the top of her head as Ruby ogled her shoes. “I
love
your shoes,” she drawled out the word “love”
dramatically, giving it about five syllables and Julia
laughed.

“You can have
them when I’m done with them, Ruby-girl,” Julia promised her
niece.

“Wicked!” she
shouted Willie’s favourite word and the next thing she knew,
Douglas was pressing a martini in her hand.

“‘Pretty’ is
not the word I would use,” he said in her ear and she flashed him a
false courteous smile. “You smell lovely, something new?” he
inquired lazily, his amused grin telling her that he was on to her
game.

“
I’m not
surprised you like it. Sean used to buy it for me. He
loved
it. It seems you two have
things in common,” she drawled cattily and walked quickly
away.

But when she
made her escape and caught his eye, Julia saw he was watching her
and she could tell that he was not happy. She tried to tell herself
she didn’t care but she knew that comparing him to Sean was out of
line and she felt uncomfortably like a screaming bitch, mostly
because she’d acted like one. It was something Monique would say.
Perhaps they were playing games but she’d never been one to fight
anything but fair.

“When’s this
feast being laid out?” Charlie, upon entering, greeted the entire
room, making the children giggle. “I’ve heard about these American
holidays and I haven’t eaten for a week in preparation.”

And this
started a night that was surprisingly and welcomingly full of
laughter and teasing. Even Monique slipped only once, confiding in
a stage whisper to Charlie, “Ruby. I don’t know what possessed
them. Such a
common
name.”

Before
Charlie, who looked as if she’d just eaten something foul, or
Julia, who was about ready to jump out of her chair, could reply,
Douglas did.

“Obviously,
Mother, you’re unaware that it’s a family name on both sides. I
believe it’s Julia’s grandmother and also some distant ancestor of
Father’s who shared the name.”

Monique’s eyes
cut toward her son, glittering quickly with ire but then she shook
it off and again ignored the rest of the table in order to act the
lavish hostess to an indifferent Oliver and openly beleaguered
Charlotte.

Julia shot
Douglas a grateful look but he ignored it, most likely still angry
at her earlier comment and she had to admit, he was entitled to
it.

After dinner,
Monique didn’t retire to the billiards room with them because the
children did.

Once there,
Charlie and Julia walked directly to the couch in front of the warm
fire. Avoiding the rug of dead tiger hide lying on the floor in
front of it (complete with head), they tucked their feet underneath
them, settling in to finish the evening drinking wine and
gossiping.

The children,
Sam and the men engaged in boisterous games of snooker behind them
with the mortifying heads of dozens of dead stags staring blankly
over their heads. Julia liked this room, albeit not the dead animal
pieces hanging on the walls or lying on the floor. Unlike most of
the house, it was snug and welcoming, inviting you to stay awhile.
Someone had long since disposed of the billiard table and replaced
it with snooker and they were at it until it was time for Ruby to
go to bed.

“I’ll take her
up,” Sam offered. “I’m dead on my feet and don’t often get a
break.” She slid a comical look of accusation at Douglas who
completely ignored her comment except to raise one, arrogant brow
and his lack of response that nevertheless included a response made
everyone else laugh.

It didn’t make
Julia laugh. Instead, it made Julia’s inebriated mind fill with
thoughts of just how sexy he looked with that one brow raised.

Lizzie and
Willie were allowed to stay up later than normal due to the holiday
and loudly protested when the time was nigh for their beds.

And Julia
found it difficult to insist they go. Lizzie, that night, had
allowed her grief to crack and, although it was a slow process, it
eventually ruptured during the snooker games with her uncle.
Surreptitiously glancing their way, Julia had seen both of them
teaming up against the others and she couldn’t help but feel
immense relief that Douglas was making more overtures to their
niece. She saw him encourage her and even lift her gorgeous hair
off her cheek to tuck it tenderly behind her ear.

Upon
seeing that, Julia could almost have kissed him, if she was in such
a mood, which she, of course, was
not.

But she had to
insist they went to bed mainly because they’d be bears the next
morning. And when Julia’s insistence was met with the children’s
denials, Douglas insisted.

This, of
course, worked and Lizzie and Willie called goodnights and slunk
from the room.

“All right
then,” Charlie started, rising from the couch when they had the
room to themselves, “it’s time for me to wipe the floor with
you.”

Charlie and
Julia had been steadily drinking for the last several hours. Julia
had a martini before dinner and, since then, so many glasses of red
wine, she lost count.

When she rose
to join her friend, she felt light-headed and realised, belatedly,
that she was a little drunk.

This
made her giggle to herself until she noticed Douglas’s eyes on her
and
that
sobered her
immediately.

She made her
way gingerly to the snooker table as Oliver and Charlie argued
about the teams. Apparently Charlie was an accomplished snooker
player and also, clearly, quite competitive. Julia ignored them and
Douglas and sipped distractedly at her wine. All she hoped was that
she wasn’t on Douglas’s team.

“That’s
settled then, boys against girls,” Charlie announced to Julia’s
relief. “Jewel, do you know how to play snooker?”

“No,” Julia
replied truthfully. “You should have asked me before you chose
teams. I won’t be any help.”

“Never mind,”
Charlie replied airily.

“It’s kind of
like pool,” Oliver supplied helpfully.

“I’m rubbish
at pool too,” Julia explained on a grin. “But I’ll give anything a
go.”

“Come over
here, girl,” Charlie beckoned. “I’ve got a strategy.”

Julia
approached, Charlie whispered her outrageous strategy and Julia
laughed out loud when she heard it, even though she knew she’d
never carry out her part in it.

The “boys” won
the toss and Douglas broke. Julia had no idea how to play snooker
but it looked like it wasn’t such a good break, the balls barely
moved except one red one fell into the pocket.

Her face must
have betrayed her thoughts because Oliver leaned over and said,
“Not exactly like pool. That was a damned good break.”

Douglas went
ahead and accomplished a bunch of “potting” of balls while
Charlotte bugged her eyes out at Julia, wanting Julia to start the
strategy. Saving her from disappointing her friend, Douglas missed
a difficult shot and Charlie was up, showing she was nearly as good
as Douglas… just not quite.

When it was
Oliver’s turn, Charlie commenced her “strategy” and she was
shameless, sidling up to him as he made his shot and distracting
him with her hand on his bottom at the last minute, making the ball
fly wide.

“It’s going to
be like that, is it?” Oliver reared up and towered over her in mock
severity.

“Whatever do
you mean?” Charlotte asked, her hands out to her sides and eyes
wide with sham innocence.

Julia moved to
the table, did her best to line up her shot with Charlie’s coaching
and missed by a mile.

“You’ll get it
next time, tiger,” Oliver teased and Julia grinned at him but
Charlie reproached him good-naturedly.

“Don’t be
condescending, darling, it doesn’t suit you.”

Douglas
started again, ignoring the witty repartee and in no time he was on
another roll when Charlie came over to Julia and pushed her into
Douglas. Tipsy, she couldn’t right herself before she fell forward
and nudged his hip, jarring him and making him send the ball flying
in the wrong direction.

He slowly rose
and turned to her. She prepared herself for an unpleasant
confrontation but instead he simply lowered his cue and looked at
her with heavy-lidded eyes.

“I’m sure you
can think of some better way to distract me,” he goaded, his eyes
challenging her.

Her stomach
flipped at the look in his eye.

“I’m sure she
can!” Charlie took up the gauntlet for her with glee and Julia
nearly groaned. She bugged her eyes out at Charlie who just bugged
hers right back.

At that point,
the game descended into total farce. Oliver destroyed Charlie’s
shots, Charlie destroyed Oliver’s shots and when it was Julia’s
turn, Douglas approached a tense Julia, murmuring about “coaching”
her.

“I think I
should help my own teammate, thank-you-very-much,” Charlie barged
her way forward, slipped against Julia, who had lined up her shot,
sending the cue flying into the ball, which went off in a wild
trajectory across the table. Julia was too occupied to notice what
happened to her wayward shot as Charlie falling into her sent her
backwards, straight into Douglas. One strong arm closed around her
waist to steady her and she immediately became aware of his warm
body behind her.

“That’s her
shot!” Oliver crowed.

“It is not! It
was a mistake. She tripped.” Charlie went off to argue with her
husband and Julia pulled herself firmly, albeit it tipsily, away
from Douglas’s arm.

Therefore, she
stumbled again, cursing the drink as his hand shot out to steady
her.

“I’m fine,”
she said and thanked the Lord above there were no words to slur in
that statement. Then she turned and he dropped his hand.

“I can see
that,” he replied, amusement dripping from every word.

She lifted
narrowed eyes to him.

Douglas
was
amused?

“Are you
making fun of me?” Julia asked.

He didn’t
answer, he simply lifted a brow.

“
I hate
it when you lift that brow,” she outright lied. “It’s so
superior.
”

“That’s apt,
especially in snooker,” Douglas returned.

“We’ll see
about that!” she snapped, this time accepting his challenge
herself.

It was his
turn and as he lined up his shot, she got in front of him, as close
to him as she dared, and looked down on him as he bent over the
table.

“Oo, that
looks like a difficult one,” she remarked in a sugary-sweet tone
with false wide-eyed wonder. “Do you really think you’ll make
it?”

He lifted his
head to gaze at her levelly over his shoulder, turned back and,
within a split second, potted the ball.

Oliver hooted,
clapped and then shouted, “Well done, mate!”

Julia wanted
to stamp her foot in frustration.

Charlie was
having the time of her life.

“Don’t give
up!” she cheered from across the room.

Douglas chose
his next shot and, with a lot of wine-fuelled courage and Charlie’s
urging, she sidled up next to Douglas as he leaned over the table.
She bent over behind him and, as he pulled the cue back, she
screwed up her courage, leaned in deeper and blew in his ear.

The shot flew
wide and she straightened quickly, jumping up and down and clapping
her hands as Charlie came over and gave her a whirling, girlie
hug.

But her joy
faded when Charlie released her and Julia saw the set look in
Douglas’s eye.

The gloves,
Julia knew immediately, were off. She shivered at the knowledge but
she was unsure if her shiver was of dread or anticipation.

Oliver
practically tackled Charlie the moment before she took her shot.
Charlie yanked Oliver’s cue clean away from him before he took his.
And as Julia lined up hers, Charlie coaching her, she concentrated
on what Charlie was saying and not what Douglas was doing. She
didn’t know where he was, couldn’t see him at all and became so
flustered, she jumped several inches when his body settled in
behind, beside and above her, surrounding her, it seemed,
everywhere
. She
looked over her shoulder at him as his hands covered hers on the
cue.

“Let me,” he
whispered in her ear, “show you how it’s done.” Crack went her cue
and she potted the ball.

Charlie
shouted with glee.

Oliver
groaned. “You aren’t supposed to help them!”

Shot after
shot, Douglas showed her which to take, helped her line them up and
leaned over her, his body warm against hers, his arms around her
helping her hold the cue and snapping it against the ball as she
(well he, really), potted the rest of the balls on the table.

Charlotte was
in throes of ecstasy at “winning” and it was so infectious, even
Julia started jumping up and down. Charlie and Julia hugged.
Charlie hugged Douglas for helping and then she hugged Oliver for
good measure. Swept up in it all and having had way too much to
drink, Julia hugged Douglas and kissed him on the cheek.

Not one to
miss an opportunity, his arms came quickly around her and, grinning
down at her, he muttered, “You can do better than that.”

Having such a
good time for the first time in months, and more than slightly
tipsy, she lost herself and without hesitation threw her arms
around his neck and kissed him smack on the lips.