To Wear His Ring Again by Chantelle Shaw Page A

there,
fast
, but his feet were already carrying him swiftly across the dance floor in Isobel’s direction.
    * * *
    Was David somewhere in the ballroom watching her? Isobel could not dismiss the thought as her mind replayed the stalker’s unnerving phone call. During the Stone Ladies’ performance she had managed to forget about him, but her tension had returned when she’d left the stage and joined the party guests. She told herself she was overreacting. The stalker had not actually threatened to harm her. But she could not shake off her feeling of unease, and she had stayed close to Ryan all evening.
    â€˜Don’t look,’ he murmured in her ear as he guided her around the dance floor, ‘but an extremely dangerous-looking man is heading our way.’
    Isobel’s heart lurched. ‘What do you mean? What man?’ Was David going to reveal himself? She gripped Ryan’s arm.
    â€˜It’s Constantin, and I get the distinct impression that he’d like to tear me limb from limb. I thought you said it was all over between the two of you.’
    â€˜It is...’ The words died on Isobel’s lips as she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and she was spun round to find Constantin’s darkly handsome face looming above her. The fear she’d felt when she had believed she was going to be confronted by the man who had been terrorising her with phone calls was replaced by a different kind of tension as Constantin stepped between her and Ryan.
    â€˜Excuse me, Fellows,’ he drawled in a deceptively soft voice that resonated with menace. ‘It’s my turn to dance with my wife.’
    Ryan looked uncertain. ‘Is that okay with you, Izzy?’
    It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she would rather walk over hot coals than dance with Constantin, but the determined gleam in her husband’s eyes made her swallow her words. She did not want to cause a scene, especially as she knew that members of the press were at the party and would love to report a fracas on the dance floor. Anyway, she had no time to appeal to Ryan for help because Constantin clamped his hands on her waist and whisked her away.
    â€˜What the hell are you playing at?’ she demanded, but the asperity in her voice was muffled as he slid his arms around her and drew her towards him so that her face was pressed against his chest. Beneath his crisp white shirt she could see the shadow of his dark chest hairs, and the heat from his body and the spicy scent of his aftershave intoxicated her senses. It had to be at this moment that the upbeat disco music changed to a slow ballad, she thought despairingly.
    She tilted her head so that she could look at him. ‘Why are you here?’
    â€˜I accepted an invitation to support the fund-raising event for a worthwhile charity.’ His eyes met hers, and the glitter in his cobalt gaze sent molten heat surging through Isobel’s veins. ‘I also knew that you would be here,’ he admitted. ‘Your visit last week made me re-evaluate our situation and I concluded that you were right when you pointed out that there were many good things about our relationship.
    She stared at him in confusion. ‘So, what are you saying?’
    â€˜I’m saying that I’ve changed my mind about the divorce. I think we should give our marriage another chance.’
    Isobel’s shock gave way to anger. ‘Just like that, you’ve
changed your mind
? You’ve got a nerve, Constantin.’ It was typical of Constantin not to give an explanation but to expect her to simply accept his decision, and no doubt welcome him back into her life with open arms. ‘Last week you were adamant that we should divorce. What happened that brought about this miraculous change of heart?’ she asked sarcastically.
    As she’d climbed into a taxi and driven away from the house in Grosvenor Square a week ago, she had vowed that her tears were the