Close Your Eyes (15 page)

There was something warm and
non-pretentious
about her
. Her vivacious face and voice compensated many times over for her
lack of
superficial
beauty. Ry
an
had
told her his father was planning to remarry next spring
to
Rosemary
, who had been
his constant companion for the last few years.

‘Thank you
.
’
Meg
smiled gratefully as her eyes swept around the room with what she hoped to be an inconspicuous interest.
Knowing that he had returned from his internship in the States, Megan
wondered where
Matt
was.
He didn’t really care to join into the official part,
Ry
told her regretfully, his last moment return from abroad giving him the perfect excuse to avoid any active involvement. Meg knew he abhorred that part of being a Harper anyway. Speeches and pompous events weren’t really high on Matt’s list, not now and not ever. She did hope he would turn up at all, she thought, imagining his grandfather’s anger if he didn’t. Whether he liked it or not, it didn’t matter. Duty was certainly one of Henry Harper’s favorite words and he took it very personally if anyone in the family failed to live up to his high expectations.

‘God
,
I hope the speeches will be over soon and we can eat
.
’ Amelia’s exasperated voice
broke into Meg’s thoughts
. ‘I’m
positively
starving.’

‘I’m pretty sure you will survive without food for another hour or so.’ Henry’s icy words
, carrying a note of disdain,
cut through the silence
.
‘Actually
,
it could do you some good, Amy.’

T
he girl flush
ed
angrily, her pink lips opening and closing without a sound coming out.
Meg
felt for her, even though the girl didn’t strike her as
good material for a friend.

So what if she was a bit on the chubby side?
The rest of the
Harper
clan seemed to have this inborn ability to be thin and tall
;
comparison
s
to race horses or hound dogs
seemed
perfectly suitable to describe them. Still, it didn’t give them the right to put
down Amelia.
Meg
fumed inwardly, making a mental note to mention it to Ry
an
later
. He
seemed
on good terms with his granddad
.
Maybe he could put
in
a good word or two on behalf of his rather round cousin who
was now looking miserable
and
playing
with her silver fork
. H
er feisty exuberance from just a minute ago
had gone
completely.

‘So you decided to come after all
.
’ Henry’s voice, cool
,
but unmistakably pleased
,
made her look up
.

Megan found
herself staring straight into
Matt
’s
a
mused
face. Their eyes met
,
and he winked at her conspi
ra
torially, his
usual
sense of humor taking off the edge of discomfort.

‘I’m really sorry about being late
.
’
H
is voice, serious
and
serene
,
was accompanied by an apologetic grin
, and his
teeth flash
ed
in the light of the low
-
hanging lamps. ‘
We
got stuck in the traffic
on our way
from Sonia’s place.’

Yes, it
is
Sonia
,
all right.
Meg’s
unexpected wave of hostility
for
the slim, pale
-
blond girl with
a
perfect face and
the
body to match
surprised her
. In her silver, slightly
risqué
dress and
sky-high
heels
,
Sonia
oozed confidence and sex appeal.
Meg
’s mouth tasted
bitter as she compared
Sonia’s
outfit to her own conservative sheath.
In that instant
,
Meg no longer felt pretty
. She
had
dressed to please Ry
an
’s
family
, choosing
something pretty
,
yet traditional, with
out
a
risky design or plunging neckline. The sapphire
-
blue dress with a square neckline and capped sleeves fell
perfectly
into this
category. Paired with a pair of simple navy blue sandals and a
gossamer-
fine shawl wrapped around her slim shoulders
,
it
had
definitely met Ry
an
’s approval when he
had come
to pick her up for the evening.

She knew that there was only one seat left at the table. Ry
an
had
told her about his grandfather
’s
strict directive for
Matt
to come without his
on-and-
off
girlfriend.
Sonia
hadn’t been
invited to join this private family affair
because
her provocative beauty and love of partying
were
not qualities the
Harper
s cared for.
Matt
had obviously chosen to ignore
this order
,
and
Sonia’s presence
sent
a gust of icy coolness around the table.

Not tha
t she
seems
to mind
,
either
,
Meg
thought sarcastically, noticing the other girl’s bright smile
. She listened
to
Sonia
telling everyone who cared to listen how glad she was to be here.

In the end
,
Matt
settled the issue with his usual panache
by
grabbing a chair from a nearby table and adding it to
the main table
. A
flustered waiter hurr
ied
to add
another setting
to the pristine tablecloth.
In the
true
Harper
spirit
, the family got over their unpleasant surprise with light
ning
speed
. However, the
glacial expression on Henry’s face
left
little doubt
as to
how he felt about this unexpected addition.

‘I’m sorry about all this fuss
.
’ Ry
an
lean
ed
close
to her, his whispered words tickling her ear. ‘I didn’t plan for you to see our family in action like that. I’ll have a word with
Matt
after the speech. He shouldn’t have pushed
G
randfather’s buttons today
.
I don’t know what got into him.’
His gaze wary, h
e looked up across the table at his younger brother.

The next half an hour proved to be much more difficult than she would have expected.
Meg
thought
of her parents and her friends
and how delighted they were to hear about her invitation to dine with the Harpers. However excited they had been,
the evening
wasn’t nearly as much fun as anyone was convinced it
would
be.
She could sense
plenty of
tense
undercurrents
among the family and guests
. H
er sensitive nature
made
it impossible for her to fully relax. It did help that Ry
an
proved to be an excellent companion, his attention and warm encouragement helping her to get over her shyness and trepidation.
She listened to Henry addressing the crowd, followed by
Rupert
. This year, Ryan would join them
. H
is involvement in the family business
had increased
since he had finished his postgraduate studies and was
now
ready to take over some of the family’s extensive projects.
She felt positively
bereft
as he had to leave her to give his speech
. Her
arms crav
ed
his warm, reassuring touch
, the air suddenly much cooler
.