Page 51 of Ace My Heart

“I wasn’t sure if you would have brought any evening wear, so I got you these – it’s only fair, considering I sneaked this whole dinner thing on you.” Ben handed me a garment bag and a shoe box through the door with a grin. “I hope it all fits.”

He closed the door behind himself, and I tried to swallow down the panic threatening to overwhelm me. I was in a worse conundrumthan before – I could either wear what I had brought and risk offending Ben, or I could wear what he had bought me and risk him getting totally the wrong impression about us.

I unzipped the garment bag and staggered back in shock.

The gown was cream, with a delicate gold pattern through it. Floor length and mermaid cut, it was semi-modest at the neckline, with little capped sleeves.

It lookedveryexpensive, and that shocked me. But the thing that scared me the most was that it looked like aweddinggown. What was Ben thinking? I couldn’t wear this!

But then I looked down at my black pants and blouse splayed on the bed, and I realised that I had no idea where Ben was taking me, so I’d be stupid not to wear what he’d chosen.

I swallowed down the panic and started undressing.

When I was clothed again and my hair pinned up on top of my head, I slipped on the gold kitten heels that I’d found in the box. Everything fit perfectly, which only creeped me out more; had Ben gone through my luggage to check my size? I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Joel was walking past as I stepped out. He froze, took a step back, and I watched the look on his face with dread as he took in what I was wearing.

“Wow,” he muttered under his breath. I felt my skin get hot all over. But then he cleared his throat and quirked his lips. “You scrub up okay, Stink!”

I tried to smile sarcastically back at him, but I was so nervous it mustn’t have looked right, because his own face softened in response.

“I look alright?” I asked shakily.

He grinned at me, nodding. “Ben’s not going to want to let you go home so easily after seeing you like that.”

The smile fell from my face. That was exactly what Ididn’twant to hear.

Joel was wearing a sand-grey suit, with a light cream shirt, gold tie and a pair of cream snakeskin shoes. He gestured for me to walk out in front of him, and I did so nervously. I actually felt like a brideon her way to the church. Except this was an arranged marriage and I was being bought with a pretty dress.What have I gotten myself into?I wondered in growing terror.

Ben was waiting by the lift, and the smile he threw my way exposed every single white tooth in his skull.

“You look stunning, Mel!” he gushed, taking my hand and kissing it. I tried not to grimace. For once I was actually glad that Joel was there with me. I needed the buffer he could provide between Ben and me.

“Okay, did I miss the memo about the colour scheme tonight?” Ben asked jokingly, pointing to Joel’s cream shirt and gold tie. Ben himself was wearing a navy suit with a blue striped shirt and darker blue tie – he looked so conservative next to Joel.

I laughed nervously. Joel turned to me with a question in his eyes, but Ben didn’t seem to notice the edge of hysteria in my giggle. He wrapped a gold pashmina around my shoulders.

“It gets very cool in the air conditioning where we’re going,” he explained, taking me by the elbow and leading me into the lift. Joel followed, lips twitching like he was holding in a laugh.

I don’t know what part of the rest of the night was the most surreal for me. It could have been the virtual submarine ride from the foyer of the restaurant to the actual dining area.

It could have been the enormous circular aquarium in the centre of the room, around which all the tables were aligned. Brightly coloured tropical fish darted around a forest of water plants, the lighting of the restaurant shimmered, all combining with the giant fish tank to make me feel a bit like Ariel inThe Little Mermaid.

Or it could have been the way that Ben insisted that I taste the wine, and that I take the first bite of each of the five courses that were brought out to the table. That each time he spoke to me he touched my hand gently, caressing it with his fingers.

Only Joel smirking across the table at me stopped me fromcompletely flipping out, even as his enjoyment of my discomfort fuelled my frustration.

Ben clasped my hand in his across the enormous back seat of his chauffeur driven car as we returned to the apartment. Joel spun around from the front and winked at me. I sneered back. I wished I could just pull my hand out from under Ben’s, but that seemed ungrateful. It wasn’t just the dress … I’d gotten a glimpse of the bill that he’d paid in its entirety, without even blinking. Splashing that sort of money around without a second thought on a single meal horrified me.

Joel disappeared inside his room as soon as we got back. I wished he wouldn’t leave me alone with Ben, but that was childish. I had to face the mess that I’d made for myself.

Ben took my hand and led me out onto the pool terrace, seating me in one of the chairs nestled around a table. He disappeared into the house and reappeared with two glasses of sparkling wine, a strawberry in each. He passed one to me and settled into the other chair, smiling over at me.

He clinked his glass to mine and took a sip. I glugged down more than I should have in one gulp, catching the strawberry in my mouth and chewing it viciously.

“Now you don’t have a game to prepare for, I’d like to spend some quality time with you tonight.” He leaned across to kiss me on the cheek. I flinched involuntarily away from him, and he stiffened, moving back.

I bit the bullet. “Ben, listen. I like you – you’re lovely,” I tried to smile at him, “but I just don’t think it’s right for me to … give myself to you again, when there’s really no future for us.”

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