His Paris Affair (The Albury Affairs) (18 page)

“Albury,” she quickly cut him short, “I’m his wife. Melody
Sinclair-Albury—I’m a hyphenate,” she finished with a nervous laugh. She could
feel Ruiz tense up behind her and she was glad they had a crowd around them.
“It’s nice to meet you all, certainly an upgrade from the old staff.”

“
Excusez-moi
,” a
woman Melody’s height called with a raised hand.

“
Oui?
Anything you
would like to ask?” Melody encouraged.

 
She looked
around at the others nervously before turning back to Melody. “We heard you are
the wife of the old manager, Antonio Otorion.”

Melody gave her a well learned fake chuckle that only those
who knew her or went to the same debutant school would know. Ruiz hated on the
lifestyle but some of those lessons had helped her out of some hairy
situations. “Oh, he liked telling people that. He took advantage of the fact I was
pregnant and indisposed, and my husband absent opening another hotel in another
part of the world to run this place to the ground. That creature was never my
husband. Any other questions?”

 
Her face fell
and Melody realized she wasn’t asking out of curiosity sake, she had her eye on
Ruiz! Melody stepped back and tucked her hand into Ruiz’s massive one. He
looked down at her with a raised brow, shook his head and snorted before he
faced the group again. “We’ll pick this up later after I’ve had a word with
my wife.
”

Melody held herself from flinching at how he said ‘my wife’
and hoped the bitterness had escaped the others especially the one who had her
eyes set on him. She grinned widely at them and bade them goodbye as they
dispersed, “
Bienvenue dans les
Red
Roses
famille
!”

“Yeah right,” Ruiz mumbled walking away and pulling her
behind him in a run. His grasp on her hand was so tight she couldn’t yank her
hand away, instead she held onto his wrist with her other hand, running after
him as he stomped away muttering to himself.

“Ruiz, you’re giving me a workout!”

He suddenly stopped, turning around and she ran right into
his chest. He let go of her hand and grabbed her arms to steady her then set
her away from him. “What was that about?”

“What?” she asked innocently.

He made an impatient groan, turned away and began walking.
“I don’t have time for your games Melody, what do you want?”

“Your mother is here,” she yelled after him. She watched in
fascination how fast his feet stopped moving. He stood there, as still as a
statue for a moment before he turned around and charged back to her.

“Please tell me you didn’t just say—”

“That your mother is here,” she finished sweetly. “You
always said she was testy but you never told me what a sweet disposition she
has,” she finished with a sarcastic smile.

Ruiz chuckled, “Her
sweet
disposition
wouldn’t have anything to do with the way you are dressed,
would it?”

She couldn’t deny that her mother-in-law’s critical comments
didn’t have anything to do with her digging through her once in a blue moon
cloth pile. Those clothes were all designer and stuffy like the silk shirt,
printed scarf she’d tied around her neck and cashmere pants with nice dress
shoes that she now wore. And of course her hair was held in a twisted ponytail
and she had very light makeup to finish the sophisticated look. She even had on
her wedding and engagement rings.

 
Melody pouted.
“She said I was the hotel maid when I was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.”

“Poor you,” he said with a bored tone, walking towards the
elevators.

Melody ran after him. “You wouldn’t believe what she said
next!”

“What would that be?” he asked once they were in the
elevator and he leaned past her to press the button to their floor.

“That you are as ambitious as your father, that you married
me for my hotels and money. Can you believe her?”

Ruiz rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Yes I can.”

Melody crossed her arms over her chest and pouted even more
when she didn’t get the reaction she wanted. “She probably thinks you knocked
me up to make sure I married you. You know, because I wouldn’t want to be
socially shunned as an unwed mother.”

Ruiz drew his hand away from his eyes and stared at her as
if she’d grown a second head, “They still pin scarlet letters on unwed mothers
and adulterers?”

Melody knew he was making fun of her again but she didn’t
give in to her normal reaction of giving him the silent treatment, probably
what he was banking on. “Laugh all you want Ruiz Albury, but you can’t change
the social circle your mother and I are associated with. But your mother, she’s
just plain mean!”

“Why weren’t you mean back? It’s not like you to hold your
tongue.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I was tempted, but it’s not right to be
rude to ones mother-in-law especially on the first meeting.”

“Learned that from your debutant classes did you?” He
sighed. “Well, lucky for you she won’t be your mother-in-law for long,” he
groaned when the elevator doors opened. “I really didn’t need her drama right
now.”

Melody was rooted to the ground by his comment. She knew a divorce
was on the horizon. He had said it, she’d felt it but she never truly
believed…she chewed on her lower lip as she struggled to keep the pain in her
heart from flowing out of her eyes.

“Are you coming?”

She jumped at his booming voice. “I don’t have much of a
choice,” she rushed out of the elevator to catch up to him before he reached
their door. “Ruiz wait.”

“What?”

With a shaky hand she pulled his ring out of her pocket, “I
thought we’d have more of a defense against your mother if you wore this. Show
a united front.”

He looked at her open hand with his ring laying there and
back to her face and she hoped she had masked her feelings well. She wanted him
to wear it because he wanted to not because of the lame excuse she’d just
given. If he did wear it out of his own accord it would give her some hope,
stupid and unrealistic as it may be but it was still some hope.

He picked it up and slipped it onto his ring. “This doesn’t
change anything,” he declared before opening the door and stepping into the
suite to his mother standing where Melody had left her. “Mother, what are you
doing here?”

* * * *

I really don’t need
this right now,
he thought as he stepped aside to let Melody in before he
closed the door behind her. It surprised him when she held out his ring. He’d
shoved it into his drawer after Cheri broke the clasp after pulling it from
around his neck. He believed the broken clasp was a good thing because if he
couldn’t wear it around his neck anymore. No longer having it close to his
heart, it would help him get over Melody faster. But now he wore it on his
finger to keep up pretences for his mother and it was scorching the skin under
it. Why was he even going along with Melody’s charade?

“What kind of question is that? I haven’t seen my only child
in close to two years and now I know why,” she glared at Melody before she
turned back to him with a sweet smile.

Ruiz wasn’t sure who got it worse, Melody with the glare or
him with the smile. The glare was genuine and the smile was as fake as all the
smiles he’d received from her growing up. It hurt then when he realized his
mother didn’t care for him as much as it hurt at that very moment. Sometimes he
wondered if she could even stand his presence in her house let alone the mere
sight of him near her. She despised his father and he got the distinct feeling
that what she despised even more than having a child by the man who used her was
the fact that Ruiz looked just like him.

Ruiz preferred to think he looked just like his big brother
and ignored the rest, like where Reno got his looks.

“Mother, we both know that’s not true, what do you want?” he
asked with more bite than he intended. He didn’t want to expose his hurt to
either Melody or his mother.

“A welcoming hallo and a kiss on the cheek would be a
start,” she chastised turning up her cheek.

With a tired sigh Ruiz went to his mother and kissed her
cheek. “Welcome mother, now, tell me why you invited yourself to our temporary
home and how you found me.”

She slapped his chest. “Ruiz! I see you’ve lost your manners
along with your concern for your poor lonely mother. This wouldn’t be her
doing, would it?” she asked with a sneer and dismissive wave in Melody’s
direction.

Ruiz gave Melody props for not letting the smile on her face
slip even though her eyes reflected how livid she truly was. She was right, she
and his mother were made from the same type of cloth just not cut from the same
rim. Melody would never be so openly rude to anyone—except him of course.

“No, Mel is all about manners or you would be receiving a
tongue lashing of your own and a boot out the door for your rudeness. Don’t let
her docile smile fool you.” Melody smiled at that and he couldn’t help, but
think it was her way of saying ‘thank you’ to him.

His mother scoffed. “She has manners? If she did she would
have introduced me to my grandchild already.”

Melody’s smile slipped as she stared fearfully at him, and
with good reason. “Your grandchild?” he repeated feeling that familiar anger
build inside him.

“I’ll just go get her,” Melody announce before scurrying
away into her room like a frightened mouse.

He rubbed his fist over his mouth. “Unbelievable!”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Hell he needed a drink, a strong one. But if he poured
himself one right now his mother would ask more questions he wasn’t willing to
answer.

Melody walked out of her room with the baby held over her
shoulder and his heart tugged again at the sight of the baby. He didn’t
understand what it meant. God knew he’d tried explaining it to himself a number
of times and when he couldn’t come up with an answer he’d down play it but…what
explanation could he give as to why his heart soured each time he saw her, why
his arms itched to have her in them, why he had this insane craving for her
that sometimes made him think he was losing his mind. For the past two days,
every time he heard her cry he would go and stand by Melody’s door and he just
listened to Melody calm her down. It was at those times he found himself
wondering what awing image they portrayed as Melody nursed her. Would he fit in
that picture? Would they look like his family? He found himself wanting to do a
number of things with that sweet little girl that he normally did with his
niece and nephews.

Melody turned her in her arms so that she faced Ruiz and his
mother. The baby stared at them with big beautiful brown eyes, as she suckled
on her fist in her mouth.

“Clarissa, I’d like to present to you our daughter, Esmeralda
Mélodie Albury.”

“What?” Ruiz blurted out.

“You sound surprised dear? Why is that?”

Ruiz caught the tone in his mother’s voice. His reaction
made her suspicious and she was never crueler that when she thought there was a
secret to reveal. Melody looked worried, scared even.
As she should be
.

“Yes, I am. Melody, you never told me you named her after
yourself,” he said with complete control even though he felt anything but.

She smiled hesitantly. “Well since I did all the work I
didn’t see why not. Men barely do anything, but have sons named after them.”

“Mélodie. Well, it does sound prettier with a French
accent,” his mother commented dryly before her tone got harsher. “What I would
like to know is why you named her after your nanny, Ruiz?”

Yeah, I would like to
know that too.

“Oh, I did that too. Ruiz has told me so much about her and
how much she means to him that I was under the impression she was his
grandmother?” She turned an accusing lifted brow in his direction.

He fisted his hands tightly.
How dare she? She’s the one who has a lot to explain.

“No, she was just his nanny and advanced in age, like your
nanny. I couldn’t have his father being attracted to the help. I see we are of
like minds when it comes to that.”

Father? Ha! He was tempted to ask which one she was
referring to out of spite. None of the men she married, including the man who
sired him acted like his father. They all treated him like a pest, something to
put up with to stay in his mother’s good graces. If they paid enough attention
they would have noticed she didn’t care a lick about him except in the eye of
her wonderful social circle. God forbid they shunned her for being a bad
mother.

Jackie marched forward clearly offended by his mother’s
remark and Ruiz couldn’t blame her. She took baby Esme from Melody and left the
room as she mumbled in French. He wasn’t fluent, but he caught a few words and
Melody’s wide eyed stunned expression was all the translation he needed for the
rest. He pressed his lips together to keep from chuckling out loud. This trip
to Paris was turning into worse of a nightmare than anticipated.

Ruiz didn’t know if his mother spoke or understood French
but she was clearly offended when she screeched, “I believe she just insulted
me. Ruiz, do something!”

“Yeah. Mel a word.” He grabbed Melody’s arm and led her to
his room. Once the door was closed trapping her alone with him, he turned on
her. “What the hell was that Melody?”

She shrugged. “Jackie was just upset. She didn’t mean—well
she probably meant—”

“Not about that and you know it!” he hissed cutting her off.

“Oh.” Her face blanched then she quickly added. “I don’t
know what you mean.” She nervously backed away from him her fists opening and
closing at her sides.

He kept advancing on her. “Don’t play dumb with me.
Esmeralda Mélodie Albury, my daughter? What kind of bull is that?”