For One Night Only (18 page)
‘Ruben, that’s crazy. You can’t possibly keep this from her. You will have to attend for testing and, if you are the father, how do you tell her then?’
Ruben waved a hand, as if swatting away the argument. ‘That won’t happen.’
Byron shouted then, frustration causing his voice to rise. ‘Ruben. Condoms break.’
He stared back at him wordlessly, unable to argue with the logic. Balling the paper in his hand, he threw it at the wall, before slamming the door behind him as he went into the bathroom.
Leaning his head against the cool tiles, he tried to damp down the panic rising in his stomach. He waited for Byron to leave before walking aimlessly back out into the dressing room, stopping in the middle of the room to ask himself what the hell he was going to do.
* * * *
The small nightclub, just off the Plaza Major in
The clientele were a wealthy mix of businessmen and tourists—all of whom seemed to be looking for women to spend some time with.
She had only agreed to go along in order to placate Martha, who was beginning to get suspicious about her unwillingness to get too close to Ruben. Women like her just couldn’t understand those who did not run at him—screaming hysterically—whenever he appeared.
The incident earlier had been a perfect example. Ruben had appeared, unexpectedly, at the venue’s stage door. She had been there and bored beyond belief, but using the opportunity to at least make friends with some of the local fans.
They’d been taking her and Martha down an alley to show them where the back exit of that evening’s concert was when it had opened suddenly. Ruben had stepped right out into the alleyway before noticing the girls, stopping dead in his tracks when he was greeted by a cacophony of ear piercing screams. He’d turned on his heel and walked straight back through the door, irritation marring his handsome face.
His sudden appearance, combined with the reaction of the fans—fans that seemed insane compared to the ones she was used to—had jangled her nerves. Pretty sure he hadn’t seen her amongst the crowd, she had no time to think on it when Martha turned to her, face flushed with excitement. Asked if she had seen him, she nodded and smiled, trying to mirror her enthusiasm.
Martha had turned away after giving her the weirdest look—something obviously on her mind, but choosing to keep quiet. Later, she’d pursued it, asking her why she never seemed pleased to see Ruben. Eventually, the answer that she was just naturally shy and didn’t like to be too forward, satisfied the woman, or at least, satisfied her for the moment. The questioning had unsettled her, making it clear she wasn’t blending in as well as she should. So, she’d readily agreed to the night out when Martha had suggested it, resolving privately to act more like ‘them’ in future, to avoid further suspicion. Apparently, it was a nightclub the Spanish girls said the band members always used, even Ruben had been seen there once or twice over the years.
The club’s interior was shabbier then she had expected although it had a wonderful ambience and an impressive dance floor. After spending a couple of boring hours fending off lecherous advances and dancing listlessly with the increasingly intoxicated group of women, she began to question the accuracy of the information she and Martha were receiving from the local fans.
Separating herself from the group, she’d been about to leave them to it, when she spotted a few band members congregating around a table in one of the darker corners of the club. The other women had noticed too and reacted in the usual way, huddling together to talk in excited whispers.
She kept her place at the bar, watching them with an amused smile on her face. The musicians seemed fully aware of what was happening, but they didn’t appear to react. One or two of them scanned the group—looking to see if anyone was worth their effort, she guessed. About to turn away from the display of arrogance she always found sickening, she noticed one of them was staring straight at her.
He wasn’t one of the regular band members. She didn’t know his name or much about him except that he was Cuban by birth. Dropping his gaze, she turned back to the bar, smiling secretly to herself.
Why not?
The guy was cute—handsome in the dark, strong-featured way typical of his countrymen
. He was no Ruben though.
One night with a hot guy could be a welcome distraction from her problems
, she mused.
She would never give up on her quest to re-unite with Ruben, but at the moment he seemed farther away than ever
—thanks to that whore Bethany—
who seemed to go everywhere with him.
Maybe, once they were all back on home territory, she could put some more effort into making her life very uncomfortable if she hung around. Her foray into Bethany and Ruben’s empty hotel room earlier that afternoon had been a taste of just how much she could get away with if she were audacious enough. She’d been disturbed before she could do much damage except scrawl the word ‘bitch’ in lipstick across the bedroom mirror. She’d heard a key in the lock and toyed with the idea of waiting to see if this was her opportunity to get
Martha reappeared at her side, flushed from dancing and full of excitement about the guys who had left their table to join the group of girls on the floor. Tugging on her arm, she tried to drag her towards the group of men, begging her to join in. Shaking her head fiercely, she was about to tell Martha exactly what she thought of her behavior, when she was saved by the intervention of the young guitar player.
Introducing himself as Jose, he offered her a drink. Pulling up a chair to sit beside her, he tried to make small talk, asking her where she was from and why she was visiting
She allowed him to flirt outrageously with her, initially enjoying the attention of a young, handsome guy, before his childish enthusiasm began to annoy her. Downing her drink, she got up and began to excuse herself, saying she needed an early night. Latching onto the one thing he thought would interest her—in a desperate attempt to stop her leaving—he asked how long she had been a fan.
The guy was keen to impress and she realized that blowing him off too easily would be a wasted opportunity to get some valuable inside information on Ruben and Bethany. Retaking her seat, she smiled at him encouragingly, slipping on the veil of seduction that she knew from experience made men open up to her.
An hour later, her mood had worsened considerably. Jose had talked openly and explicitly about Ruben’s relationship, all the while plying her with more alcohol and moving ever closer.
Sometimes, ignorance was bliss,
she thought to herself as he had rambled on and on about how in love they were, and how nobody had ever seen the boss so happy. Laughing, he told her that Ruben and Bethany’s sex life was an open joke amongst the band—the frequency of their lovemaking becoming obvious to all during the long hours they often spent locked together in Ruben’s tour bus. The guys had even coined a catchphrase about it apparently—‘If the bus is a-rocking, don’t come a-knocking’. Jose slapped his leg in juvenile hilarity, barely able to speak for laughing.
Staring at the giggling imbecile in absolute fury, she waited until he raised confused eyes to hers before slapping the dirty smirk from his face and throwing her drink at him.
* * * *
’s bullshit detector was on full alert, but she couldn’t put a finger on what was bothering her. Ruben’s explanation that he had to fly back to the States for a couple of days didn’t ring true. Pacing around the frankly ugly, minimalist designer hotel room in
‘It’s just work…nothing important. I will meet you in
She persisted. ‘Well, I would love to come home too. I could visit my sister and her family. I haven’t seen them in ages.’
‘Beth, you can’t come. Just drop it will you?’ Ruben’s sudden explosion of temper made her jump. She sat in stunned silence for brief seconds before dropping her gaze to hide the threatening tears. Ruben was instantly apologetic. ‘Baby, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to shout.’
She shunned him initially as he tried to take her into his arms, but gave in, unable to resist his warmth or the gentle pull of his voice. ‘I have been under a lot of stress lately and I shouldn’t take it out on you.’ Lifting his thumb to brush the tears from her cheek, he kissed her. ‘I will be back before you know it,’ he smiled. ‘Will you miss me?’
‘No,’ she replied petulantly.
‘Well, I will miss you.’ He smiled, slipping easily into the role he knew she liked him to play from time to time. ‘And I will miss this…’ he said, gliding up under her sweater to clasp a breast. ‘And this…’ he said, as he popped the button on her jeans, grazing her abdomen with the back of his hand.
Beth pulled away.
Maybe she didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t going to distract her so easily.
Ignoring his look of surprise, she straightened her clothing. ‘You can’t miss me that much or you would take me with you.’
‘Since when did you become so needy?’ The coldness in his tone surprised her. ‘Did I act like this when you had to stay over in
‘That was different and you know it.’
‘No, it wasn’t. You had to work and I didn’t question you on it. I trusted you…’ He left the accusation hanging.
walked away, unable to argue with him.
Maybe she
was
being unreasonable.
He had done nothing, but show her love and respect since day one. Hell, he’d even confessed to snooping into Simon’s life in an attempt to be totally honest with her.
Sure, it was his stubborn streak stopping him from explaining his trip, but she didn’t want to push it, not at that moment. He’d only just gotten over the fight they’d had at the party, convinced that she didn’t want to be with him anymore. The last thing they needed was another issue to divide them.
‘You’re right, Ruben. Darling, I am sorry.’ She slid onto his lap, running her fingers through his hair the way he liked her to. ‘I do trust you…implicitly.’
He stilled her hand, bringing it down to his lips. Opening his mouth as if to speak, he stared at her for the longest time before closing his eyes on a groan. ‘Thank you,’ he said finally, an unreadable expression on his face. ‘That means a lot to me.’
She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.
What the hell was wrong with her these days?
All she seemed to do was cry.
A hand on her hip brought her attention back to him and she looked down to find his finger sliding slowly over the fly of her jeans, following the seam down to where it disappeared between her legs. Grateful for the opportunity to stop thinking and simply feel for a few brief moments, she gave in to him, pushing the doubts to the back of her mind.
Later, as they lay in a tangle of clothing and limbs,
Regardless of the fact that Ruben was a far better man than Simon, the basic truth was, he had no time to cheat on her. She was with him almost constantly. Work kept them apart for brief periods, but they were few and far between and never planned in advance. His life was exhausting. Even during the days with no public appearances planned, he would often spend hours on the telephone conducting one interview after another. When all that was done, he always turned to her.
She knew he loved her. Ruben had spoken of his childhood and
Giggling as she wriggled out of the rest of her clothing, she stretched out on the leather sofa, luxuriating in the feel of it against her skin as she waited for him to return.
* * * *
A week later, Ruben walked into the bedroom of their
