Page 65 of Strictly Friends
Painfully conscious she was staring, Ruby made to go past, and he reached for her arm again.
‘Ruby, wait!’
She stopped and turned, but found herself unable to look at him. They were standing in the middle of the pavement, and he gently steered her to the side and out of the way of the passing pedestrians before he released her.
Desperate to escape a conversation she wasn’t prepared for, Ruby cast around and then looked at her watch to avoid meeting his gaze.
‘I can’t stop. I’m running late already and...’ Her voice tailed off as she failed to come up with an excuse. She sighed and looked up, and as they gazed into each other’s eyes, she was startled to see the tiniest glint of humour.
‘Did you get the invitation I sent to your office for the foundation launch?’
‘Yes,’ she said awkwardly, taken aback by his calm, almost friendly tone. She tried to keep her voice steady as she added, ‘You’ve done an incredible job with the foundation. It must have taken a lot of work to get it up and running so quickly.’
He shrugged. ‘Having a portfolio of properties and a ton of money on tap can speed things up enormously. Seeing the impact of what Diego and his bandmates were doing for the kids at Ocean House inspired the idea, and after that it was easy enough to convert some of the trust’s buildings into music therapy centres.’ He paused and then said wryly, ‘Besides, I know Mum would have got a kick out of seeing some of those luxury apartments being used to help regular folk. But the best part for me is bringing tried and tested therapies for trauma victims to a lot more people. So, just as you always said, the moneycanbe used for something worthwhile.’
Ruby nodded, unsettled by his proximity and gnawing so hard on her lip that she was surprised it didn’t bleed. ‘You should feel proud, Griffin. You’re changing the lives of a lot of people.’
He studied her silently for a moment and then remarked with a tentative smile, ‘Fi says you’ve been promoted to ahead ofposition. That’s brilliant.’
Suddenly it was all too much for Ruby, and she stared down at the pavement. For months she had clung to so much pain and anger that she had no idea how to let go.
‘You know, I’m really pleased that you’ve found your path and I wish you all the luck in the world with the launch,’ she said stiffly, her jaw tight with nerves. ‘But I can’t stand here exchanging small talk with you as if the past six months never happened. Goodbye, Griffin.’
Once again, she made as if to leave, but he stepped in front to block her path. ‘Ruby, please. I know I let you down and—’
The pain from the months of heartache, intensified by Jake’s recent revelations, turned to overwhelming sadness as Ruby clung on desperately to her hurt. ‘This wasn’t a case of you arriving late for a movie or forgetting to pick up ice-cream for Jake. Griffin, you willingly lied to me for years, and if that wasn’t enough, you left me in no doubt how utterly undesirable I am, and why even the father of my child wouldn’t fight for me.’
Griffin stared at her, horrified. ‘That’s not true! How can you even say that? You’re beautiful...stunning, and I’vealwaystold you so.’
‘Just not stunning enough to keep a man, right?’
Griffin blew the air from his cheeks and shook his head, his hand visibly trembling as he ran it over his hair. ‘Rubes, you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I never meant you weren’t good enough for Kenny. Christ, it was the other way round, if anything! I am so incredibly sorry I hurt you and I’m begging you to forgive me.’
Ruby was also trembling. It was surreal that someone she had known for so long could cause her this much emotional turmoil, and she wondered how she had gone for years without recognising how he could make her feel.
‘Ruby,’ he said softly. ‘Talk to me. You gave Kenny another chance, so why can’t you do the same for me?’
She backed away from him until she found herself up against a wall. Closing her eyes for a moment, she breathed in deeply and let the breath out in a long sigh. ‘I don’t even know why you’d want to talk to me after the vile things I said.’
‘Because—’ Griffin started, and then gestured helplessly. ‘We’ve been through so much together. I can’t bear us not being friends.Please, Rubes.’
‘I want to forgive you,’ she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. This wasGriffin! Everything in her wanted to say yes, every cell in her body was clamouring to welcome him back into her life.
But when his face lit up and he took a step towards her, the agony of knowing he was now with Shirlee was unbearable, and she held up a hand to stop him. There was no way she could go back to simply being friends and watching him build a life with someone else. She had survived the anguish of the past few months and she couldn’t afford to lose herself again, but for as long as she remained connected to Griffin and harboured even the faintest possibility of being with him, she would never find her balance.
Griffin took a step closer, his eyes desperately begging her not to say what he clearly sensed was coming. ‘You promised Mum you would always be there for me. What happened to that?’
Ruby could feel the pain of her heart shattering into pieces, but she couldn’t risk giving in. Steeling herself against the torment in his eyes, she shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, Griffin. I wish I could pretend none of this had ever happened.’
‘But?’ His voice was flat, and his face ashen.
‘But Ican’t. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.’
46
With summer approaching, Mac’s infectious confidence had transformed Ruby’s apprehension about the trip to New York into excitement. Although it wasn’t for months yet, and she still felt nervous about the media interest Mac had warned about, she couldn’t wait to see the portrait – now varnished and drying in a secure location – in person. Mac and his team were preoccupied with preparations for the high-profile exhibition, which was precisely why – as Mac gloomily explained to Ruby on a video chat one evening – Estella had chosen to invite him as her plus one to her client’s California vineyard wedding.
‘She knows I’m in meetings all day with curators, organisers, event marketers and even the friggin’ designers setting up the lighting,’ he groused. ‘So, of course, she picksthistime to ask me to travel across the country to San Fernando Valley for the wedding of some woman she’s never even mentioned before! Estella’s only doing this to test whether I’ll put her first.’
