gave her a droll look. ‘What have you got against red roses?’
Violet gave a lip shrug. ‘I don’t know... I guess because they’re so obvious.’
‘Right, then I’d make sure we were alone because I don’t believe in putting a woman under pressure from an audience.’
‘Like your father did with wife number three?’
‘Number two and three.’ Cam’s eyes gave a half roll.
‘So no TV cameras and news crews?’
‘Absolutely not.’
Violet looked back at the party in the next room. ‘We should probably go and mingle...’
‘What’s your dream proposal?’ Cam asked.
She met his gaze but there was nothing to suggest he was asking the question for any other reason than mild interest. ‘I know this sounds a bit silly and ridiculously sentimental, but I’ve always wanted to be proposed to at Drummond Brae. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of standing by the loch near the forest with the house in the distance and my lover going down on bended knee, just as my father did with my mum and my grandfather did with my grandmother.’
‘Your would-be fiancé would have to have a meteorological degree to predict the best time to do it.’ Cam’s tone was dry. ‘Nothing too romantic about being proposed to in sleet or snow.’
Violet’s smile was wistful. ‘If I was in love I probably wouldn’t even notice.’
* * *
Half an hour later, Violet turned back to Cam after listening to a boring anecdote from one of her co-workers who’d had one too many drinks. Cam was staring into space and had a frown etched on his brow. ‘Are you okay?’ she said, touching him on the arm.
He blinked as if she’d startled him but then he seemed to gather himself and smiled down at her. ‘Sure.’ He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. ‘Did I tell you you’re the most beautiful woman in the room?’
Violet could feel a blush staining her cheeks. Did he mean it or was he just saying it in case other people were listening? She felt beautiful when she was with him. What woman wouldn’t when he looked at her like that? As if he was remembering every moment of making love to her. The glint in his dark eyes saying he couldn’t wait to do it again. ‘Don’t you feel a little...compromised?’
‘In what way?’
She glanced around at the partying crowd before returning her gaze to his, saying sotto voce, ‘You know...pretending. Lying all the time.’
He picked up her left hand and pressed a kiss to the diamond while his eyes stayed focused on hers. ‘I’m not pretending to want you. I do and badly. How long do we have to stay?’
Violet’s inner core tingled in anticipation. ‘Not much longer. Maybe five, ten minutes?’
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. ‘I’m going to get a mineral water. Want one?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘Hey, Violet.’ Kenneth from Corporate Finance came up behind her and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. ‘Come and dance with me.’
Violet rolled her eyes. She went through the same routine with Kenneth every year at the Christmas party. He always had too much to drink and always asked her to dance. But, while she didn’t want to encourage him in any way, she knew Christmas for him was a difficult time. His wife had left him just before Christmas a few years ago and he hadn’t coped well with the divorce. Violet turned and gently extricated herself from his beefy paw. ‘Not tonight, thanks. I’m with my...fiancé.’
Kenneth looked at her myopically, swaying on his feet like his body couldn’t decide whether to stand or fall. ‘Yeah, I heard about that. Congrats and all that. When’s the big day?’
‘We haven’t got around to settling on that just yet.’
He grabbed her left hand and held it up to the light. ‘Nice one. Must’ve cost a packet.’
Violet didn’t care for the clammy heat of his hand against hers. But neither did she want to make a scene. The firm had strict guidelines on sexual harassment in the workplace but she felt sorry for Kenneth and knew he would be mortified by his behaviour if he were sober. ‘Please let me go, Kenneth.’
He lurched forwards. ‘How about a Christmas kiss?’
‘How about you get your hands off my fiancée?’ Cam said in a tone as cold as steel.
Kenneth turned around and almost toppled over and had to grab hold of the Christmas tree next to him. Violet watched in horror as the tree with all its tinsel and baubles came crashing down, the snow-white angel on the top landing with a thud at Violet’s feet, her porcelain skull shattering.
The room was suddenly skin-crawlingly quiet.
But then Kenneth dropped to his knees and picked up the broken angel and held it against his heaving chest. His sobs were quiet sobs. The worst sort of sobs because what they lacked in volume they made up for in silent anguish.
Violet went down beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s all right, Kenneth. No one cares about the tree. Do you want us to give you a lift home?’
To her surprise Cam bent down on Kenneth’s other side and place his hand on the man’s other shoulder. ‘Hey, buddy. Let’s get you home, okay?’
Kenneth’s eyes were streaming tears like someone had turned on a tap inside him. He was still clutching the angel, his hands shaking so much the tiny bits of glitter and crystals from her dress were falling like silver snow. ‘She’s having a baby... My ex, Jane, is having the baby we were supposed to h-have...’
Violet had trouble keeping her own tears in check. How gut-wrenchingly sad it must be for poor Kenneth to hear his ex-wife was moving on with her life when clearly he hadn’t stopped loving her. She exchanged an agonised glance with Cam before leaning in to one-arm-hug Kenneth. She didn’t bother trying to search for a platitude. What could she say to help him recover from a broken heart? It was obvious the poor man wasn’t over his divorce. He was lonely and desperately sad, and being at a party where everyone was having fun with their partners was ripping that wound open all over again.
After a while, the music restarted and the crowd went on partying. Cam helped Kenneth to his feet while some other men helped put the tree back up.
Violet collected their coats and followed Cam and Kenneth out to the foyer of the hotel where the party was being held. She waited with Kenneth while Cam brought the car to the door and within a few minutes they were on their way to the address Kenneth gave her.
He lived in a nice house in Kensington, not unlike Cam’s house, but Violet couldn’t help thinking how terribly painful it must be for Kenneth to go home to that empty shell where love had once dwelled, where plans had been made and dreams dreamt.
Once they were sure Kenneth was settled inside, Cam led Violet back to his car. ‘Sad.’
‘I know...’
‘Did you see all the photos of his ex everywhere?’ Cam said. ‘The place is like a shrine to her. He needs to find a way to move on.’
‘I know, but it must be so hard for him at Christmas especially.’
He gave her hand a light squeeze. ‘Sorry for being a jerk about him touching you.’
‘That’s okay, you weren’t to know.’ She let out a sigh. ‘It must be terrible for him, seeing everyone else having a good time while he comes back here to what? An empty house.’
‘Does he have any other family? Parents? Siblings?’
‘I don’t know...but even if he did, wouldn’t being with them just remind him of what he’s lost? It’s hard when you’re