Her New Worst Enemy

by Christy McKellen

  “Ellie’s really got to you, hasn’t she?”

  He smiled at her uncanny ability to see straight through him. “I made a real mess there, Penny.”

  “I suspect she’ll give you another chance if you ask her.”

  He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Maybe. But I’m not sure I can give her what she needs right now.”

  “You’d be great together, Gideon. Paul really leached the confidence out of her, but that weekend at your house she was more like the old Ellie than I’ve seen her in a long time.”

  “I don’t know if I want children right now though, and she’s set on it. I’m used to only taking care of myself and I guess I’m a bit selfish with my freedom.”

  Penny nodded thoughtfully. “Well, only you can decide whether she’s worth giving up your lifestyle for.”

  He snorted. “My lifestyle. When you put it like that, it makes me sound like a total dick.” He sighed and shook his head. “I think I’ve got a bit too used to keeping things surface level. It’s a culture shock for me to even consider a serious relationship. I’ve become a bit blinkered in my old age.” He gave her a wry smile.

  “Haven’t we all. Look, I know she’s a pretty intense person and getting her to step back and relax is virtually impossible, but if anyone can do it, it’s you.”

  She smiled at him, and the lead weight he’d been carrying around in his chest lifted a little.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” he said, sitting up straighter in his seat.

  “Fire away.”

  “If I offered my house in the Cotswolds for your wedding reception, would you be interested in using it?”

  Penny raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  “Are you serious? We’d love to get married there. We’re having real trouble finding a suitable venue at such short notice and your house would be perfect for what we had in mind.”

  “I need to fill that place with happy memories before I can live in it again. I’ve let my past take over my life for too long, and it’s time I exorcised it.”

  “Well, we’d love to exorcise it for you.”

  “Good.”

  “We were hoping to get married pretty quickly, so I’m not too tired to enjoy it.”

  “Not a problem, name your date.”

  Penny nodded thoughtfully.

  “I’ve asked Ellie to be my maid of honor. It might be a bit awkward if you two aren’t talking.”

  The thought of seeing her again made his insides clench, but he shoved the unease away. They would have to face each other again at some point, and maybe doing it whilst surrounded by distractions and a friendly crowd would be the perfect time. “I’m sure we can be adults about it.”

  Penny gave him another sad smile that he chose to ignore.

  • • •

  It was a week before Penny broke the news about the venue to Ellie.

  “How very generous of him,” was all she managed to struggle out when she heard. Just the mention of Gideon’s name tapped into the sinking feeling she’d been trying to conquer for days now.

  “Oh Ellie, you’re so mean about him. Why do you do that? He’s been nothing but nice to you,” her friend chided, giving her a light, reprimanding tap on the arm.

  “Nice. Yuck. I can’t stand the way he uses women, them casts them aside like litter. He’s always done it. He can never stick with one woman; he’s convinced the grass is greener in the next acre.”

  “Why do you care so much?”

  Ellie swallowed hard before answering. “It’s the principle, Penny. I hate playboys, and he’s one of the worst I’ve ever met.”

  “I know how you feel about him,” Penny said quietly.

  “What do you mean? I don’t feel anything for him. Except annoyance.”

  “Ellie … ” Penny gave her a withering look. “Don’t talk crap.”

  “What do you mean?” Her heart raced at the realization her secret was out. Had Gideon said something to her?

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You and Gideon. You two are having a thing. Am I right or am I right?”

  “You’re not right, Penny.” Perhaps she could still bluff it out. Maybe her friend was just taking a stab in the dark about a hunch she had. She didn’t want to burden Penny with more of her angst right now and cast a shadow over her friend’s happiness.

  “But you were, the weekend at the house. You two could barely tear your eyes away from each other. And all those suggestive comments you both kept making. You didn’t really think we wouldn’t notice, did you?”

  Ellie was flummoxed. “I thought we were being discreet.”

  Penny laughed. “Ellie, I didn’t think the word discretion was in your vocabulary.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s over now,” she said, looking away from her friend’s concerned gaze and trying to keep the pain out of her voice.

  “Are you sure? I was only saying to Will today what a terrific couple you’d make. You’re so funny together, and he’s a pretty good catch, Ellie.” She wiggled an eyebrow, and Ellie gave her a reluctant smile.

  Penny frowned at her lack of reaction to the joke. “What’s wrong? Did it end badly or something?”

  “You could say that. I had to take the morning after pill.” She stared down at her hands and twisted them together in her lap as tears filled her eyes. Damn it. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry over him again.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Penny asked, looking her in the eye.

  “No. It’s time I moved on. He made it pretty clear he’s not interested in anything serious. Anyway, I’ve decided it’s time to get back out there. I’m giving internet dating a go.”

  “I’d bet my inheritance you won’t be single for more than two weeks,” Penny said.

  “You might regret placing that bet.” She rubbed a hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears that clung to her lashes. “At least this whole thing with Gideon made me realize what a lucky escape I had getting away from Paul. Trying to please him turned me into a loony. I got obsessed with the idea that having a child with him would miraculously turn him into a nicer person, but it would have been a disaster for everyone involved.”

  “Yeah,” Penny said, putting a comforting hand on her arm. “It’s a shame things didn’t work out for you and Gideon, but you never know, the man of your dreams might be at the wedding.” She raised a speculative eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” Ellie said, “maybe he will.”

  In fact, she knew he would be. The wedding was going to be held in his house.

  Chapter Nine

  A month later Gideon stood in the grand hall to his home, watching as the teams of caterers and florists busied about transforming his house into Penny and Will’s wedding reception.

  He liked the idea of the house filling with happy memories now, to banish the loneliness and inadequacy he’d associated with the place when his grandparents still lived here. It gave him a sense of satisfaction that he was now on the road to exorcising those demons, and this wedding was going to be a huge step on the road to recovery.

  He was so glad he could do this for the two of them. He liked Will. The time he’d spent with him recently had been an eye-opener, and he was really pleased that he and Penny had been able to work things out.

  He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. If only he were able to work out his own love life so successfully.

  He hadn’t seen or heard from Ellie since he’d watched her speed away in the taxi and, if he was totally honest with himself, he was nervous about seeing her today.

  Penny had invited him as one of the guests to the wedding, but he’d declined to come to the service out of respect for Ellie. He knew his presence there would be too disruptive for her peace of mind when she was supposed to be focused entirely on Penny. He would be at the reception though, and he was now in the process of mentally steeling himself to see Ellie again.

  Her words about him making a terrible father had rung in his ears for the last few weeks until
he thought he’d go crazy with it. He’d tried to dismiss the accusation, telling himself she was angry when she said it and it wasn’t true, but deep down he was afraid she was right.

  It had occurred to him that he should just call up one of the women he’d dated recently and take her to bed to obliterate the thought of Ellie, but he couldn’t do it. Not only was he sure it would prove futile, but he couldn’t bring himself to use the other woman in that way.

  Ellie’s distain at his previous attitude to dating had worked its way into his head, and he could almost feel her disgust at his idea, which transformed into disgust with himself for even considering it.

  She’d really done a number on him.

  When he’d thought about it, it occurred to him that despite the wide circle of friends he’d cultivated, he didn’t feel comfortable enough with any of them to talk about what had happened. Not even Gareth. He’d kept himself so emotionally removed from other people he’d completely isolated himself.

  He realized with a shock that he was lonely. The time he’d spent with Ellie had opened up a whole mess of feelings he’d been repressing for a very long time. Feelings he’d been afraid of. But when it came to it, letting himself be happy with her had been exactly what he needed to help him move on from the sadness that had plagued his life up until now.

  She’d challenged him and allowed him be himself and still hadn’t walked away, but she didn’t trust him — not that he could blame her. He’d not given her any reason to.

  His total self-involvement up until now pretty much proved her right — but he didn’t want to be that man. He wanted more than that, now he knew what it felt like to be in love with someone. Because he was in love with her.

  His heart squeezed in his chest as he finally allowed the truth to break into his consciousness.

  There was a commotion outside as the bridal party arrived. He mentally shook himself, taking a deep breath and forcing the cascade of feelings into the dark recess of his brain, as he made ready to receive them into his house as the gracious host. This wasn’t the time to try to deal with the fall-out of his revelation.

  Penny and Will were first through the door, and he moved forward to hug each of them in turn and offer his congratulations, only looking up at the last second to see Ellie standing on the doorstep, her hand closed tightly around the arm of a tall, blond man who was looking down at her with a pathetically soppy smile on his annoyingly handsome face.

  • • •

  Seeing Gideon standing in the doorway to his house, looking elegant and relaxed and so devastatingly handsome in his perfectly tailored tux, was a lot harder than Ellie had anticipated. Her heart raced so fast she thought she might pass out and had to clutch on to her date’s arm to keep herself steady.

  Even though they’d been seeing each other for two weeks now, she still wasn’t sure if the chemistry was right between her and Toby. She’d dithered about inviting him today but finally decided to go for it in the hope that something would finally click. And perhaps he’d help shield her from the nerve-wracking panic of having to act normally around Gideon.

  On paper Toby had everything she wanted; he was charming, smart, attentive, not bad on the eye, and most importantly, he was looking to settle down and have children. She should have been delighted to be dating him, but there was something missing.

  She was so nervous about walking back in to the manor house and seeing Gideon, she hung on to Toby’s arm for dear life, barely registering his bemused smile as she shook in her ludicrously high heels next to him.

  After an uncomfortable pause, Gideon moved forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek and she thought her heart might explode in her chest as his familiar spicy scent assaulted her senses.

  “Ellie, you look beautiful.” His deep voice reverberated around her head.

  Keep it together, Ellie.

  She took a deep, steadying breath as she pulled away from him, determined not to let her insecurity and pain show on her face.

  “This is Toby,” she said, gesturing toward her companion and saw a flash of something unreadable on Gideon’s face before he turned to give her date a cool, welcoming smile. She tried to decipher his reaction. Was it anger? Disapproval? Jealousy? Something flipped in her belly at the thought.

  “A pleasure to meet you, Toby,” Gideon said, holding out a steady hand, which Toby shook firmly. “Welcoming drinks are in the drawing room,” he said, nodding to one of the many doors that led off the entrance hall.

  “Thanks,” Toby replied, giving Gideon a dazzling smile before dragging Ellie off with him to the door he’d been directed to. “So that’s the guy who’s turned you into a nervous wreck,” he whispered, giving her a stoic smile.

  Ellie stared at him, flabbergasted, before pulling herself together. “How did you know?”

  Toby shrugged. “That was quite a grip he had, and you’ve been jittery all day. I figured an ex-boyfriend would make an appearance at some point.”

  Ellie nearly corrected him before stopping herself. There wasn’t any point. After he’d been so sweet to her, she couldn’t in all good conscience string him along now.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I was hoping I wouldn’t bump into him. I wanted to forget … ” Her voice broke before she could finish her sentence, and Toby put an arm around her and pulled her close, allowing her to fold into his body.

  “Hey, it okay,” he said against the top of her head. “I knew this probably wasn’t going anywhere.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought I’d be okay, but I’m really not. I feel awful. You’re such a nice guy, but I don’t think it’s going to work out. I can’t believe I’m saying this at the start of the evening.”

  “Ah, don’t sweat it. I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but it’s better to know now if there’s no life in this. Hey, at least we’re surrounded by free booze.”

  Ellie laughed into his shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m letting you go. Whoever gets you is going to be one lucky lady.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “No hard feelings?”

  “None. As long as you point me in the direction of the nearest single bridesmaid,” he said with a grin.

  After introducing Toby to a few people, Ellie tried hard to concentrate on the conversations going on around her and stop herself from wondering where Gideon was. She was hating every minute of this. Not the wedding, per se, but the feeling of being in some sort of haunted house where Gideon was the phantom and she had no idea where or when he might pop up.

  She cursed him again for offering his house to Penny and Will. Trust him to inadvertently make it impossible for them not to cross paths again. If she hadn’t known better she’d think he’d done it to taunt her.

  But she did know better. It probably hadn’t even occurred to him it would make her uncomfortable. She was just one of his many passed-over conquests after all. He’d probably thought he was doing a good thing at the time. That was the major problem; he always came off looking like the good guy in front of everyone else. Well, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he’d messed with her head.

  From this moment on, she would be an aloof, cool, ice-queen.

  • • •

  Gideon stared at the doorway that Ellie and her date had disappeared through, his blood boiling in his veins. The guy even had the nerve to give him a cocky, knowing smile as he sauntered off with Ellie on his arm.

  Had she told him about their fling? Probably not judging by how comfortable the guy seemed next to her. The thought of him snaking his arm around her back, maybe leaning in to kiss her, made his skin prickle.

  He was frustrated by how off-balance he felt.

  He glanced over to where Penny and Will stood outside the front door, receiving their guests. They both looked so happy. Penny was positively glowing with joy — pregnancy obviously suited her. Her eyes were full of life and her body language animated as she talked quietly with her
new husband. Will obviously brought out the best in her. Gideon stamped on the sudden flash of jealousy that came out of nowhere and decided to go and find a strong drink to help him get through the rest of the evening.

  Will glanced over as he moved away from them and strode toward him, giving Penny a “just a second” wave.

  “Gideon, how are you doing? Not regretting your generous offer already I hope.”

  Gideon smiled at his new friend. “Not at all. I was off to find myself a drink before the hordes descend and drink us dry.”

  “A wise move,” Will said, giving him an amused smile.

  “Are you and Ellie getting on okay now?” Gideon asked nodding toward the door she’d disappeared through.

  “After a rocky start.” Will said dryly. “I think she’s just about forgiven me for messing Penny around so much. She’s here anyway,” he said, a sardonic eyebrow raised, looking at the door Gideon had pointed to.

  “Yeah, I see she’s bounced straight back into dating losers,” he said.

  Will gave him a knowing smile. “He seems like a good guy. She’s only been seeing him for a couple of weeks, so who knows.”

  “Right. Good.” Gideon was aware of his voice rising a few notches and he coughed to cover his embarrassing slip.

  Will gave him a steady, searching look, obviously unconvinced by Gideon’s attempt to appear unconcerned. “Listen, you gave me some pretty good advice about Penny, and I’m really glad I listened to you, so let me do the same for you. Stop being such a dick and go and sort things out with her. She may be slightly mad, but she’s loyal and trustworthy and from what Penny tells me, pretty perfect for you. Don’t let her get away.” He gave Gideon one final, cursory nod before going back to join his wife and greet more guests as they arrived at the door.

  It took Gideon a few moments for Will’s words to fully sink in before he shook himself down and took himself off to the library for a stiff drink and a good hard think.

  He knew he couldn’t go back out there and watch Ellie as she worked her way from group to group, laughing and being generally entertaining and adorable.