Page 38 of Strictly Friends
Ruby shook her head. ‘You really are a hopeless romantic, MissIda! Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you but Griffin and I have been best friends since we were kids.’
‘Can’t say as I know many friends who’d pick up and travel all this way just to surprise you. Calling me up to book a room and all.’
‘It does sound hard to believe when you put it like that,’ Ruby giggled, ‘but that’s typical Griffin. We have a bond that is hard to explain to people. Neither of us has siblings, and growing up we were in and out of each other’s house all the time. I was really close to his mum and, after she died, Griff was a mess for ages.’ Ruby paused. ‘In some ways, he’s still a bit lost.’
‘And you’re the one he turns to?’
Ruby drew in a sharp breath, unsure of how much to reveal. But MissIda was someone Ruby instinctively knew she could trust.
‘Yes, I am,’ she said. ‘When his mum got sick, she made me promise that I’d always be there for him because – well, Griffin’s mum was rich. Like, properly,seriouslyrich. But the thing is, no-one, including Griffin, knew about the money. Marilyn’s fatherbuilt a massive international property portfolio, but he was also an out-and-out racist. Marilyn was his only child, but when she went against his wishes and married Griffin’s dad, who was from Kenya, her old man cut her out of his life and never spoke to her again. But, as it turned out, he never actually carried out his threat to disown her and he left her everything when he died.’
MissIda’s brown eyes were as wide as saucers. ‘Oh my!’
Ruby chewed on her lower lip as she remembered her shock the day Marilyn had confessed the truth, dragging Ruby into the one secret she had never revealed to Griffin.
‘When Marilyn was diagnosed with cancer, I helped take care of her, and I was there when her doctor told her there was nothing more they could do. When I tried to phone Griff to come home, she stopped me and then just broke down and told me the whole story. Griffin was only five when his father died, but Marilyn refused to tell her old man. She said she didn’t want a reconciliation because she couldn’t trust him around Griffin. Mostly, though, she wanted to get away from the family fortune. She’d seen what that kind of money did to people, and she didn’t want that for her son. When she found out her father had died and left it all in trust to her, she felt like he was still trying to control her, and so she refused to use the money and appointed a lawyer and a firm of accountants to manage the trust. I begged her to tell Griffin the truth, but she was scared he’d hate her for lying to him and she passed away before she could pluck up the courage to tell him. We were just eighteen at the time and Griffin only found out when Marilyn’s lawyer came to the house on the day of her funeral and blurted out that Griff was the sole heir to a multimillion-pound fortune.’
Ruby felt her eyes moisten again as her mind went back to that fateful afternoon. In between serving drinks and canapés to the well-wishers crammed into Marilyn’s living room, she had kept a constant lookout for Griffin, relieved that he was at leastpretending to listen to the earnest expressions of condolences from those attending the sombre gathering. Although he had fixed a faint half-smile on to his face since leaving the cemetery, Ruby could tell from his tight jaw and rigidly held body that he was holding on to his emotions by a thread.
Finishing her circuit of the living room, Ruby’s eyes instinctively sought out Griffin who, at six feet and four inches, was hard to miss. When she spotted him standing outside the doorway of the living room talking to a broad-shouldered man in a dark suit, the placeholder smile camouflaging Griffin’s grief had vanished, replaced by a stricken expression that froze Ruby in her tracks. The man in the suit had not been at the church, or among the mourners at the cemetery. She would have noticed the unusual wheat-blond hair combed back from a high forehead and the pinch-thin nose. Which meant he must have walked in after she’d tired of answering the doorbell and left the door on the latch.
Griffin was shaking his head, his hands raised as if pleading with the man to stop talking. All at once, Ruby knew who the man was – or at least why he was here – and her heart dropped hard and fast into the pit of her belly. By the time she reached her friend’s side, the man in the suit had handed a business card to a visibly shell-shocked Griffin and was heading for the front door, leaving Ruby fighting back guilty tears.
‘I had so desperately wanted to tell Griffin,’ Ruby sighed, ‘but it hadn’t been my secret to share. Anyway, after that day, Griffin decided everything was his fault.’
‘But why would he think that?’ MissIda exclaimed. ‘His mother chose to keep her secret because she wanted to protect him, surely?’
‘He was angry because she’d worked so hard to keep a roof over their heads when she hadn’t needed to. In his mind, the only reason his mum sacrificed a comfortable life was because she didn’t trustthe boy she’d raised or have faith in him to grow into a decent man who wouldn’t be spoiled by money. It really hurt him to believe his mum thought so little of him.’
‘The poor, beautiful man,’ MissIda lamented. ‘It just breaks your heart! He can’t be angry with his dead mother because he loved her so much, but he also can’t forgive her – or forgive himself – if that’s how he still feels.’
Ruby sat in silence, absorbing MissIda’s words. ‘I’d never thought of it like that,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve tried for years to get him to accept that his mum only wanted the best for him. After he learned the truth, he didn’t want the money either. He’s always hated the idea of one person having so much when so many people are struggling. After everything his grandfather had put his mum through, Griffin detested the idea of his life being defined by the man’s fortune and, at first, he was adamant he didn’t want the burden of managing it or even deciding how to give it away. He’s taken a more active role in the past few years, just so he can keep an eye on what the lawyers and accountants are up to, but he’s still trying to find something meaningful to do with it all.’
‘It’s sad how so many folks dream of making millions when money doesn’t buy happiness,’ MissIda said softly.
Ruby nodded. ‘A lot of people would love to have his problem, but inheriting so much money really threw Griff’s life into a loop. He’s incredibly smart and has the kindest heart but the money has cast a huge shadow, and he can’t seem to settle. It doesn’t help that every woman he meets falls over herself to be with him! I have no idea what sorcery he works on the poor things, but they take one look at him and within weeks they’re picturing themselves living with him in his riverside penthouse apartment.’
‘Everywoman – but not you?’ MissIda probed.
Ruby laughed and shook her head emphatically. ‘I think I’m the only female in London who’s immune to his charms – whichis probably why we’ve stayed friends! Besides, I’m not his type. Griffin’s girlfriends are all supermodel-gorgeous, petite, dainty little things.’
‘I see.’ MissIda nodded slowly, her gaze moving into the distance as if trying to grasp a fleeting idea.
Ruby smiled. ‘To be fair, Griffin has always been there for me too. After my parents died, he picked up the pieces and he always puts me and Jake first. He’s like my anchor and I don’t know what I’d do without him. I can honestly say I trust him with my life because we’re one hundred per cent honest with each other and I know he would never let me down.’
‘Then you’re a very lucky woman,’ MissIda said gently. ‘But, sweetheart, I hope you open up to love again. You’ve had your share of heartache, but love is waiting for you if you give it a chance. My late ma used to say that life is like being on a trapeze. If you don’t forgive and let go of your hurt, you can’t ever reach for your happiness.’
Glancing at the jewelled clock on the wall, she stood up and walked around her desk, bending to give Ruby’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.
‘I need to check on Narita. Thank you for your hard work and I can’t wait to see what the website looks like when it’s done.’
‘It’ll be brilliant, I promise.’ Ruby stood up and followed MissIda out of her office, clasping the laptop to her chest.
27
One of the few downsides to life on Sorrel Island was its dodgy phone connections, Ruby decided, as she waited for the call to reconnect.
‘Hi... can you hear me?’
