‘How is she?’
Sam considered the question for a moment. ‘I know you need to know, so I’ll tell you. Just this once because I’m not going to be a go-between.’ She paused, looking for Ross’s assent, and he nodded.
‘She’s well. Her hip is in really good shape and she’s getting back to full fitness now. She’s working every waking hour, just as you are...’ Sam shot him a knowing look. ‘I see the same thing in both of you. Whatever happened between you broke both your hearts.’
Ross nodded. Sam was looking at him expectantly. Taking a deep breath, he said, ‘She told me she loved me, that she wanted us to try to build a relationship together.’
Sam smiled sadly. ‘And you said no.’ It wasn’t a question. He nodded again. ‘Why?’
‘Because I can’t do it again, I can’t be responsible for ruining someone else’s dreams.’
‘You weren’t responsible for ruining Alice’s dreams, Ross. She was wrong to put that on you. But you’re wrong to push Laurie away. Clearly she knows about your fertility issue and yet she still wanted to be with you. You’re denying yourself a chance at happiness—don’t! Opportunities like this don’t come along every day, when it’s there in front of you, telling you you’re loved and wanted? That’s when you grab it with both hands. Now, the question is, what are you going to do about it?’
Ross stared dumbly at Sam, who was a little pink-cheeked now. Clearly this had been on her mind for a while, and now she’d put it into words Sam rose from her seat and walked out of his office.
He stood, looking out at the lake. It was the same view that usually helped him think through any difficulty that arose, but right now it wasn’t helping.
He’d accepted what life had offered him and made the best he could of it. Now he had to go out on a limb to get what he really wanted.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LAURIE LOOKED WONDERFUL. She was wearing a cream, silky blouse with dark trousers, and the flaming red of her hair lifted the outfit from sensible to incredibly sexy.
She was nervous, though, Ross could see that. Even from this distance, right at the back of the auditorium, it was obvious that she was reading a prepared statement about the new initiative and she stumbled a couple of times. But Sam was magnificent. She gave Laurie an excited smile and asked the question that Ross had primed her with, the one he knew that Laurie would want to answer. Then Laurie started to loosen up a bit.
He mentally ticked off the points she made in his head. When she missed one, Sam came to the rescue and asked an appropriate question. All the work that he and Anita had done with Sam had been worth it.
The presentation finished to loud applause, and people began to crowd around Laurie. He should go. But Ross didn’t move from his seat, wanting to see her at the centre of everyone’s attention for just a little while longer.
He saw Sam scanning the audience as the lights in the auditorium went up. The look on her face and the impatient movement of her hand signified that he should be down on the stage, congratulating Laurie. Ross shook his head. Now wasn’t the time.
But Laurie had turned, looking at Sam and then following her gaze. Her head tipped up towards him and for a moment they were the only two people in the crowded space. Then that cool, emotionless look that told Ross that Laurie was struggling with her emotions as much as he was.
He really did have to go now. He should leave her there, in the limelight, to do what she’d come here to do. Ross dragged his gaze away from the stage, looking for the nearest exit.
* * *
Ross was here. Laurie felt sick with excitement and then horrified that he’d got up from his seat and left the auditorium as soon as she’d seen him. It wasn’t like him to turn away from a confrontation, however awkward, and Laurie tried not to go through all the reasons why he might have done and concentrate on the conversations she was having with the people around her.
It all took a while. There were questions, expressions of support, and a few pleas for help. The contact sheets they’d drawn up were filling fast, and that was exactly what she and Sam had hoped for. There was no way Laurie could have followed Ross, and even if she had, she didn’t know what to say to him. Tell him about the pain of being apart from him? That she loved him? Or just lie to him and tell him that she’d succeeded without him and that she didn’t need him?
Finally, it was just her and Sam, standing on the stage together, watching the outside broadcast team pack up their equipment. Laurie hugged Sam, and they walked back to the reception area of the hotel that was hosting the conference, where Jamie was waiting with Timothy. Laurie made a smiling excuse when Jamie asked her to join them for a spot of lunch and retreated to the lift, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors closed, leaving her alone.
She needed time to think. Ross was here and that had to mean something. Her hotel room on the fourteenth floor had the dual advantage of being somewhere to consider her next move and also somewhere that he could find her if he wanted to...
Laurie kicked off her shoes, deciding that she wouldn’t explore the possibility that Ross would ask in Reception for her room number. He’d left the auditorium when she’d seen him, and he clearly wasn’t in any hurry to see her. She dialled room service and ordered coffee.
‘That was quick...’ The knock had sounded after only a couple of minutes and Laurie had pulled the door open, expecting to see the room-service waiter outside.
Ross. Looking just as deliciously handsome as ever. More so. Laurie wasn’t a connoisseur of men in suits, but he wore his very well. Darkly immaculate and thrillingly dangerous sprang to mind.
‘You’re waiting for someone?’ The gesture of his hand indicated that he could go away and come back later.
‘No! Well, yes, but it’s only room service.’ If she had to grab him and strong-arm him into the room, she was prepared to do it.
But that wasn’t necessary. His gaze met hers, and that gorgeous synchronicity of movement that they’d always shared kicked in. She stepped back from the door at the same moment that Ross stepped forward. Nothing else mattered now, just that they were both breathing the same air.
‘The presentation was great. Inspiring. You’ve worked hard.’