by Katie Dowe
He left as soon as they landed without saying anything to her.
“You okay?” Reginald asked her as they made their way to their vehicles.
“I am fine,” she said with a forced smile. “I am just a little tired.”
“It’s cold as a bitch out here. You should go home and cozy up by the fire.”
“I have an electric heater.”
“Even better. See you next week.”
“Bye, Reginald.” She waved at him and went into her vehicle. She sat there for a little bit staring off into the almost empty lot. His car had already gone and she wondered if he had taken Candace back to his apartment!
******
She made the journey to her father’s place and turned off her phone. She had called and told him that she was coming over to spend the night and he had welcomed her with pleasure. Peter could go to hell!
“Hey, baby girl! It’s good to see you.” Daniel enveloped his daughter in a bear hug and she clung to him tightly. Suddenly and without warning, she burst into tears right there in his arms. He held her without saying anything and when she had finished he took her hand and led her into the living room where a fire glowed softly “Ready to tell your old man what’s going on?”
Leah shrugged a little, embarrassed at her emotional outburst. “Chalk it down to the holiday season.”
“Try again,” he told her firmly.
“I am seeing someone.”
“And?”
She told him everything including what happened today. “This Peter asked you to marry him?”
“I told him we need to get to know each other first.” She looked at him and interpreted his expression correctly. “I know that you are going to say he is out of my league-”
“I was going to say that maybe you are too good for him,” he told her gently.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“How about forgetting him for the time you are here and coming and helping me in the indoor garden?”
“Sounds like a very good idea.”
Chapter 9
He left her several messages.
He had acknowledged that the unfamiliar emotions churning inside him had been pure and undiluted jealousy! Something he had never experienced before! When he had returned on board and she was not there, he had felt the acute disappointment inside him and after he had waited for her and she had hurried in looking breathless and flushed he had been furious! Then she had said she had coffee with a friend and he had immediately thought that she was seeing someone else! He paced inside his apartment, a heavy frown on his brow. He had spent the journey with Candace in complete silence barely acknowledging her conversation. She had invited him to come up to have a nightcap with her but he had refused.
His phone rang just then and he rushed to answer it. “What do you want, Peter?”
“I would like you to come over.”
“I would like to be sunning myself in the Caribbean right now, but I suppose that none of us will get what we want now,” she told him coolly.
“I can make that happen,” he told her softly.
“Don’t do me any favors.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“So talk.”
“I overreacted.”
“You think?”
“I am not used to feeling this way and when you said you were having coffee with a friend-”
“What? All that attitude because I said that I was having coffee with a friend? Do you think you own me?” she asked him incredulously.
“I did not know what to think,” he said defensively.
“Did you have sex with her?”
“You know I would not do that.”
“That’s the point, Peter. I don’t really know you, do I? And you don’t know me either. I would never see another man while I am seeing you.”
“Please, Leah, I need to see you.” His deep voice was soft with persuasion and Leah felt her heart skidding! It was the first time he had called her by her given name.
“It’s too late-”
“I will send a car for you. Please.”
“Okay, and, Peter, what happened on that flight will not happen again.”
“Just come over.”
******
Virginia decided to take matters into her hands. Candace had called and told her that she was getting nowhere with Peter and she did not know what else to do. Virginia had tried calling him. After that argument they had had at home, he had not been back to see her. He had called and talked to her, but the conversation had been stilted and polite. She need to get things out in the open once and for all.
She knew where he was when he was in town and decided that she had better pay him a visit. Maybe they could have dinner somewhere and have a decent conversation as a normal mother and son should. But there had never been anything normal about their family! She had been so caught up in her miserable marriage and unrequited feelings that she had never paid much attention to the only child she had. She had spent the time trying to win the love and attention of her husband that she had forgotten that her son existed. When he was old enough, they had shipped him off to boarding school where he only came home during the summers. And when he did he would go to work at the company to learn the ropes. His childhood had been warped by both of them and it was not something that she was proud of. He was almost thirty-one now, she wondered if it was too late to make amends!
******
He was waiting for her at the door when she came. He had changed into loose sweatpants and black t-shirt that stretched across his chest tautly. Leah ignored the thumping of her heart on seeing him and walked past him into the foyer. She shrugged off her coat and he took it silently, hanging it on the coat hanger.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her politely and Leah rolled her eyes silently. They had a lot of inroads to make.
“I just ate.” She stood there without making the first move.
“I was just going to open a bottle of chardonnay. Would you like a glass?”
“Thank you.”
He stood there staring at her for a moment as if wondering what to say next before turning to go into the kitchen. Leah followed him in and sat on one of the stools. He opened the bottle of wine quickly and efficiently and poured two glasses, handing one to her. He did not sit but stood at the counter sipping the wine. Leah allowed the silence to stretch, refusing to be the first one to bring up the incident. “I was jealous,” he said abruptly.
Her gaze flew to his. “I gathered that. Why?”
He shrugged restlessly and emptied the glass before pouring some more wine. “I have never been jealous before,” he admitted. “It’s an emotion that I was never privy to.”
Leah felt the warm glow of delight at his words. “You have nothing to be jealous of.” She tilted her head and looked at him impishly. “An eighty-something-year-old man does not stand a chance over you.”
He looked at her puzzled and she told him about Edward. “I met him on one of our trips to New York when I went to see a movie. We started talking and we kind of hit it off.”
He looked sheepish. “I feel like a fool.”
“I am buzzed that you are jealous.” She hopped off the stool and went over to him. She had taken off her boots so she was at a distinct disadvantage where height was concerned. He towered over her!
“I am sure you are,” he told her dryly as he put his glass away to pull her into his arms. “I thought I had lost you when you did not answer my calls.”
“I thought you were the biggest jerk and I went straight to my dad’s and cried in his shirt.”
“I am sorry,” he muttered, feeling awful for hurting her. “He must hate me.”
“He told me that you were not good enough for me. I agreed.” She wrapped her hands around his waist.
“I am going to have to make it up to both of you.”
Her heart jumped at that. “Are you saying you want to meet my dad?”
“I am not a great fan of dads,” he to
ld her lightly as he pushed back her thick hair from her face. She had left it loose and he loved it that way.
“Tell me about yours,” she urged.
He was about to tell her no then he decided against it. “It’s a long and sad story.”
“I will get the popcorn.” Her tone was casual, but he saw the concern and something else there.
He laughed and Leah stared at the transformation.
“I am afraid I am all out.”
“Wine will do.” She released him and went to get her glass, passing it to him. He poured the wine and some more for himself. She noticed that he remained standing even when she sat back down.
“My father married my mother for her money.” His voice was emotionless. “Her parents had the money and they saw a German immigrant who had an idea and a lot of ambition. Franz Schulz came from war-torn Germany with his brother who did not make it, he died along the way. He worked hard and before he could send for his parents they died, so that made him into an even harder and bitter man. My mother looked good on his arm and was good for business. In the public eye, they appeared to be the perfect couple. She was fair to his darkness and she was schooled in the society he wanted to belong to. At home it was a different matter.” He drank down the wine as if to quench his thirst. “They were strangers who barely spoke to each other. When I came along, I was an asset that completed the perfect picture. I had nannies who took care of me from the time I woke up until I went to bed. My mother was intent on going everywhere my father was having a business dinner or even lunch. She did not have time for her only child.” His expression was so bleak that it broke her heart and made her angry at parents who put their innocent child through so much! He lifted his head and his dark blue eyes were so flat that she knew he had turned off all emotions. “I was shipped off to boarding school when I was twelve years old and did not come home until summers and then I was shipped off to the company to learn the ropes. I used to hope that the fact that my dad wanted me to be there meant we would get close. I was wrong. He would take me there and hand me over to the staff and told me to learn the ropes. I learned from when I was very little not to depend on anyone emotionally again.” He put the glass down and smiled at her grimly. “I told you it was sad.”
“Not long though,” Leah said huskily as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She put her glass away and got to her feet. She knew now what she was up against and knew that it was going to take a lot for him to really love and trust her but she was prepared to fight for this seemingly cold and unfeeling man because she was in love with him!
She stood in front of him and ran her fingers over his taut chest. “I did not know my mother,” she said conversationally as she lifted the ends of his shirt and went on her toes to lift the shirt over his head. She ran her fingers over his flesh and felt the muscles contract. “She died while giving birth to me. My father loved her so much that he never looked at another woman ever since. He took care of me all by himself and was never bitter that I lived and his beloved died. I look like her and I know that every time he sees me it is a reminder that he lost the woman he loved. But he never gave me the impression that I was a burden or a sad reminder. He is an amazing man and I think he is going to like you.”
“How do you know that?” he asked her huskily. She was tormenting him with her touch.
“Because I like you. I more than like you,” she whispered. She bent her head and nibbled at his taut flesh causing him to shudder.
“Leah,” he groaned.
“Hmm.” She reached into his loose pants and searched and found his warm flesh which was already semi-erect. She found the tip of him and passed her nail over it.
“Christ!” he whispered. Peter lifted her up into his arms and cradled her. “I need you.” His tone was so intense that it sent a shiver up and down her spine.
“I need you too,” she whispered as she wrapped her hands around his neck.
With an oath, he strode with her to his suite and into his bedroom!
******
“I’ll get it!” she called out as she dashed from the bedroom wearing one of his shirts, this time the one he had just taken off, a pearl grey wool that smelled like him. “It might be the pizza guy.”
She pulled the door open without looking who it was. She knew that strangers were buzzed up to him before they were sent up. Her heart stuttered as she saw the tall coldly beautiful woman standing there wrapped in an expensive sable.
“What are you doing here?” she asked her coldly.
Before she could say anything she heard Peter’s voice behind her. “Is it the pizza?” He stopped abruptly as he saw his mother standing just inside the doorway.
“Mother?”
“It seems like I have come at a bad time. I never knew I would live to see the day when my son is screwing the help.” Her voice was as cold as the weather outdoors!
“How dare-”
“Go into the bedroom, Leah. I will deal with this.” Peter’s voice was grim as he stared at his mother. Leah hesitated a moment, and then giving the woman a heated stare, she turned and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
“Come in, Mother.”
Virginia came inside and closed the door behind her. She followed him into the living room. “You should have called,” he told her coldly as he stood against the mantel and looked at her.
“And you would have refused to see me,” she told him, feeling the anger swamping her. “And no wonder you broke poor Candace’s heart! She is a stewardess, Peter! What on earth are you thinking or are you doing any thinking at all?” she asked scathingly. “Men have a tendency to go after cheap tarts, your father was a perfect example! But at least he had the good sense to marry a woman of class and screw the help discreetly.”
“Are you done?” Peter was barely holding on to his anger and he had to remind himself that this was the woman who had carried him inside her womb for nine months even if she had little else.
“I am not going to apologize-”
“And I don’t expect you to.” Peter’s voice was cold and distant. “You have no say in who I see. You were never a mother to me so please don’t insult me in thinking you want to play the part now. I am seeing Leah because I have feelings for her and I will not have you or anyone else belittle what we have. If you cannot talk to her with respect, then you will not be seeing me again. You have no say in my life, Mother, and I prefer it that way. Now if you don’t mind I would like to go back to being with the first person in my life who makes me feel as if there is some sort of happiness in the world. She makes me feel alive and treats me like a normal person, something I never felt in my entire life!”
Virginia sat there staring at her son in shock and a feeling of despair! She got to her feet on trembling legs and realized that she had blown what she had set out to do. “I am sorry-”
“I would like you to leave.”
She stood there looking at him for a moment and then turned to leave. Peter stood there at the mantel, his expression dark and brooding. Leah hesitated at the doorway before deciding to approach him. He looked up and saw her and her heart almost failed her at the hardness on his handsome face. Damn her, she thought in despair. “Want me to beat her up for you?” she asked him lightly as she came towards him. She did not know if he wanted her to touch him, but she was not going to wait to find out.
He did not answer and she went up to him and put her arms around his waist. He stiffened but she held on. “She was not the mother she should have been with you, Peter, but she is your mother,” she said softly. He still said nothing and he did not hold her back. “I am sure she is suffering right now for what she did. She made a lot of mistakes when you were growing up but eventually she is going to realize that she is missing out.” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “Hey!” He looked down at her. “It’s going to be okay. We are going to get through this together.”
“You think you know what I am going through?” he asked her sardoni
cally.
“No,” she responded, determined not to let him get beneath her skin. He was hurting and he was lashing out at her. “But I know you need me and I am here, baby. I want to be here for you through everything you are going through.”
“In other words, you want me to cry on your shoulders?” he asked her.
“Something like that,” she said lightly. His voice sounded brittle as if it was something that would break.
“I cannot do this.” He eased her away from him.
“Can’t do what, Peter?”
“This.” He gestured to them. “I was fooling myself that an actual relationship would work. I lived in a house where the silence was deafening. You want me to tell you that we are going to fall in love and get married and have children, like a normal couple, but it is not going to work.”
“Why not?” she demanded.
“Because I have seen otherwise.” He pushed his fingers through his hair. “I am sorry I asked you to come over. I will call the driver to take you back to your place.”
“I am not leaving.” She folded her hands over her breasts with a determined look on her face. “I am not going to allow you to do this to us.”
He laughed shortly, causing her to look at him in surprise. “You are mistaking what we shared, Leah. I wanted a tumble in the sack and I have to admit, you are a great lay, but that’s it for me. You want marriage and I am not into long term, so I would like you to get your things and leave.”
Every single hateful word he threw at her stung her so much that she felt as if she was falling to the carpeted floor. “You don’t mean that-”
“Just go!”
*****
He threw the bottle of expensive brandy into the flames and watched in satisfaction as it caused the flames to increase. He had watched her leave with the tears on her cheeks and had wanted to take her into his arms and begged her to stay but something had stopped him and he had let her go. He had convinced himself that it was for the best. He was not able to give her the happiness she obviously deserved because he was a broken shell of a man. His expression was bleak as he stared into the mesmerizing flames. He had relished the thought of spending the night with his arms wrapped around her petite frame and making love to her over and over again! His mother had ruined everything! Or was it you? The voice snaked into his head and filtered into his brain. With a groan of self-loathing, he went to the cabinet and grabbed a bottle of scotch. He turned to go into the kitchen to get a glass but decided to have it straight from the bottle. He went towards his suite and stopped as he came into the bedroom. The sheets were rumpled giving an indication of what they had done earlier. He took up the shirt she had discarded when she put on her clothes and put it up to his nose to sniff. Underneath his subtle expensive scent, he smelled her flowery one and felt the grief hit him like a boulder. She made him laugh! Something no one had been able to do. She had tickled him and he told her to stop, but she had persisted until he had switched positions and entered her swiftly. “Punishment,” he had told her softly.