Page 52 of His Last Gamble

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Charmaine brushed back the tears from her face as she folded away her last pair of shorts and zipped up her suitcase.

‘Hi, all set?’ Lucy walked in and grimaced. ‘Only the one case? You know for someone who designs such fab clothes, you sure travel light.’

Charmaine managed a laugh. ‘You should see the Jonniee cases, though. They could take up the whole hold of a jumbo jet all by themselves.’

‘I believe you. So any ideas yet on your wedding gown?’ her sister asked brightly, and Charmaine stiffened.

‘Oh, one or two,’ she said, deliberately vague. ‘And you — have you made up your mind what you want yet?’

‘I don’t know, sis, I’m sort of hovering between classic ivory, perhaps a short dress and a near invisible veil — or going really over the top with something in tartan,’ Lucy laughed gaily.

Charmaine grinned. ‘If you want over the top get Jo-Jo to do your wedding dress. He’ll do you proud. If you want more traditional, just let me know.’

She’d offered to design her sister’s wedding dress the moment Lucy had told her that Max was flying to England to meet their father, and that a spring wedding would follow as soon as his divorce was final.

She was also, ostensibly, supposed to be working on her own dress, but although Charmaine could picture it perfectly in her mind’s eye, she had no intention of putting pencil to paper and bringing it into reality.

After all, she’d never wear it, so why torture herself?

‘Right, I’d best get going. We don’t want to miss the flight,’ she said firmly.

‘Sure you don’t want me to come and see you off?’ Lucy pressed, but Charmaine was already shaking her head.

‘No, that’s fine. I’m going with the rest of the gang. We came together, so it’s nice to leave together as well.’

‘Hmm, but unlike the fulminating Jinx and the rest of the crew, you’ll be coming back,’ Lucy sighed blissfully. ‘It must be absolutely eating that red-headed witch’s heart out that you got your man. And such a man.’

Charmaine grimaced. ‘Oh, let’s not gloat.’ Especially, she thought sadly, since there’s nothing to gloat about.

As far as the rest of the island and the media was concerned, she was flying home to get her affairs in order, collect her pet, and start on her trousseau, before returning to the island for the wedding of the century in the autumn.

Only Charmaine knew that she would never be coming back.

She hoisted her case onto the floor, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was breaking, and looked around her room in farewell. She’d been happy here — if only briefly.

‘Next time you’ll be staying at the Palace,’ Lucy said, mistaking her look and the reason for it. ‘Not this place. The main suite is fantastic. I haven’t seen it,’ she hastened to add, ‘but I’ve heard rumours. Or are you and Payne thinking of buying a house now you’re going to be an old married couple? After all, a casino isn’t exactly the ideal place to raise kids is it?’

Charmaine bit her lip. She had no idea what Payne had in mind. And it didn’t matter now, did it?

‘Oh, we’ll see,’ she said vaguely, unable to take much more of Lucy’s cheerfulness while her whole world was about to come to an end. Of course, she could stay, but then she’d have to tell Payne the truth, only to watch all that love and trust in his eyes dwindle to something hard and bitter.

No, it was far better this way.

Lucy watched her, a worried frown creasing her forehead. ‘Not having second thoughts are you?’ she half-teased, half-probed. ‘About Payne, I mean.’

‘Oh no,’ Charmaine said truthfully. ‘Payne’s the love of my life, no doubt about it.’ And her life with him would never have been dull. But that was all over now. It had been over the moment she realised that Payne, once he knew the truth about her, would never want to marry her in a million years.

Lying in his arms, her whole body still throbbing after the intense pleasure of their love-making, she had suddenly realised that that was her last moment of bliss.

Other women might be able to marry a man and keep quiet about it, hiding such a secret without a qualm. But she knew herself well enough to know that she was not one of them. Besides which, she’d be cheating him, and for someone with his mindset, that would be the ultimate sin. He was a gambler, fair and square. Marrying him without telling him who and what she really was, was the action of the dirtiest cheater ever to cross his path.

If he found out about it after they were married, he’d hate her, and she simply couldn’t bear that. No, far better to get the pain over and done with now, and leave him free to find someone else.

Once she was safely back in England, she’d write him a long letter to explain everything, and return his ring. He wouldn’t ever have to see her again, something he’d be bound to be grateful for. And she would have spared herself the heartache of seeing his love and trust turn to indifference.

A bellboy took her case to the taxi, one of several that was waiting, containing Jo-Jo and the rest of the gang.

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