Abby blinked hard at him several times before she laughed. He liked the sound of it. It wasn’t one of those high-pitched, girly giggles women thought men loved—it was deep and raspy. It was sexy as hell. It made him want to draw her to him and taste the lips that produced such a sound. It made him want to see what other sounds he could cajole out of her.
“How much do you want?” Abby pointed to the covered dish.
He paused. “That’s a trick question, right?”
“All of it. Got it. Grab a drink from the fridge and take a seat while I heat this up.”
Flynn intended to do as he was told. He could have sworn his feet moved towards the fridge for two whole steps before they detoured towards Abby instead. She froze, container of food in hand when he appeared in front of her.
“I want dessert first,” he said.
Her lips parted and her eyes darkened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve had all day.” He took the container from her hands and placed it on the counter behind her.
“Flynn…” The protest died on her lips as he stepped into her space.
There was something amazing about the way their scents mingled to produce something new and heady just for them. Flynn backed her against the counter, placing a hand on each side of her face.
For a minute, they stood there, staring at each other, sharing the same air. Anticipation curled around Flynn, intoxicating in its strength.
Slowly, he touched his lips to hers. A long breath left her lungs. Her fingers curled on his waist. Flynn intended to tease her, taste her, make the kiss last. Instead, it was like a match to kindling. One touch and reason was gone. He groaned at the taste of her, licking his path into her mouth, eager to devour. He felt Abby relax into him. Felt her cheeks heat under his palms. Heard her soft little moans as he deepened the kiss.
The moment broke when his stomach growled loudly. With a chuckle, he kissed her lips one last time. “Not my most romantic moment.”
Abby tucked her hair behind her ear, lowering her head slightly in a move he hadn’t seen her make before. “I’ll get your food.”
As she stepped away from him, he felt the distance increase exponentially. Facing the microwave, she cleared her throat.
“I’ve been thinking.”
His heart stilled. “Aye?”
“Now isn’t a good time for this.” Her dark eyes looked back at him, pleading for him to understand.
He did. But he sure as hell didn’t want to.
“My sister is here this week,” Abby rushed out. “I need to concentrate on her. And…” Her face flushed crimson.
“And if she sees you with me your chances of heading off a custody battle will be blown.” He clenched his teeth tight enough to make his jaw ache.
Abby turned towards him. “Maybe, after…”
“Aye, no problem.” Flynn recognised a brush-off when he heard one. He straightened his shoulders. “The food smells good.”
Abby bit her bottom lip. “I need to focus on this situation with Katy.”
“I understand.” He forced a smile, worked hard to make it charming. “Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s only for the week.” She shuffled in place. “I mean, if you want to, later, if you still want, you know…”
His eyes snapped to hers only to find her studying her feet. The tight feeling in his stomach released. He stepped into her space, put his hand on her cheek and made her look up at him.
“Damn straight I want.”
“So, maybe after Victoria leaves…” Her uncertainty brought a rush of anger.
“Definitely after Victoria leaves.” He gently kissed her lips, never closing his eyes. “We haven’t had our fill of each other. Nowhere near.”
“But we need to wait until after this week.”
“We can keep our hands off one another for a week.” As the words left his mouth, he felt they were a lie.
“Yes. Yes we can.” It was clear she wasn’t convinced.
Flynn wasn’t sure if her uncertainty comforted him or made him anxious. If she was half as desperate to touch him as he was her, they didn’t have a hope in hell.
17
“We didn’t underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought.”
Bobby Robson, former England manager
“I have a secret,” Katy said. Victoria’s face paled, making Lawrence chuckle. “You can’t tell Muma.” Katy looked towards the bank at the bottom of the high street where they’d left her mother to do her business. “You need to promise not to tell.”
“I promise?” Vicki didn’t sound so sure.
Katy cupped her mouth with her hands and whispered louder than she’d been talking. “Flynn bought me a swimming pool so I’d be well behaved in front of you. Am I being well behaved? It’s important to keep your end of a deal. Flynn says so.”
Lawrence laughed as he watched Katy undermine every effort Victoria made to keep the girl at arm’s length. They were wandering the high street under the pretext that Abby had to shop for Katy’s new school year—which was six weeks away. Lawrence suspected she just wanted to get them out of her house for an hour or two. She probably felt like she was under siege.
“I’m not supposed to tell you any more stories about other people’s business either,” Katy said. “Flynn said it isn’t nice to talk about other people. He said they might want to keep their business secret. He said you wouldn’t understand it anyway, because you don’t live in Invertary. He said the people who live in Invertary are weird and other people don’t always understand them.”
Victoria looked utterly helpless as Katy spilled all of her secrets. It was the most vulnerable he’d ever seen the woman, and the look suited her.
“Do you talk to Flynn a lot?” Victoria said.
Katy shook her head. “Only since Muma stabbed his swimming pool. Before that I wasn’t allowed to talk to him. Muma said he was a bad influence. But I watched him a lot. I can see his bus from my bedroom window and sometimes when Muma puts me to bed I get up and watch Flynn.” She scrunched up her nose. “You aren’t going to tell on me, are you, Aunty Victoria?” She batted her long lashes as she looked up at Victoria.
“No.” Victoria caved embarrassingly fast.
Katy gave her a smile so dazzling it required sunglasses. She put her tiny hand in her aunt’s and dragged her towards the shop selling toys. Victoria was so startled by the contact that she stared at the hand for a minute before clasping it tight. The sight made Lawrence’s heart ache.
“I asked Flynn to help me look for a daddy.” Katy was completely unaware her every move was breaking through walls her aunt had spent years erecting. “To get a new daddy, Muma has to marry a boy. I thought about Flynn, but I think he wouldn’t make such a good daddy. He isn’t really a grownup, he only looks like one.”
Lawrence burst out laughing. Out of the mouths of babes. Victoria frowned her censure at him and he held up his hands in surrender. If this was a battle, Katy was winning. He saw it in the way Victoria’s terrified eyes softened every time the child touched her.
“Flynn said he can’t help me find a boy for Muma. He said she needs to do it herself. He says she can’t marry someone unless she loves him. Do you think she loved my daddy?”
Victoria hesitated slightly. “Yes. I’m certain she did love your father.” Lawrence heard truth in her words, and wondered how she knew about Abby’s relationship. As far as he could tell, the Montgomery-Clarks cut off contact with the pair soon after they got together.
Katy nodded. “That’s what I thought. Flynn has lots of parties.” Following Katy’s conversation made Lawrence’s head ache, and from the look of it, Victoria was struggling to keep up too. “Every night there were lots of people in his garden. They made a lot of noise. Muma doesn’t like noise. She said it made her want to kill the man. I think she meant kill Flynn.” She thought about it for a minute. “Would Muma really kill Flynn?”
&
nbsp; “No,” Victoria answered instantly, looking slightly horrified. “It’s just something people say when they are very annoyed.”
“That’s good.” Katy visibly relaxed. “He might not be a proper grownup, but I think I like him. I’d like him more if he sat on the naughty step, but he’s going to buy me a pony so he can kiss Muma, so I guess that makes up for it.”
Lawrence was laughing so hard, he had to wipe his eyes. They stopped outside the little novelty shop that sold everything from real Highland souvenirs made in China to school supplies. Like all of the shops on the high street, it was an old converted house, whitewashed to make its crooked proportions blend in with the rest of the mismatched houses on the street.
“Maybe we should wait for your mother before we go inside.” Victoria looked back down the street towards the bank. There was no sign of Abby.
“She’ll catch up soon enough,” Lawrence said. The woman deserved her short reprieve from relentless scrutiny.
Katy tugged at her aunt’s hand, obviously annoyed about Victoria’s attention straying.
“Hurry up, Aunty Vicki. They have Barbie houses in here.”
As soon as they stepped into the tiny, overfilled shop, Katy dropped Victoria’s hand and ran in the direction of the toys.
Victoria slumped slightly beside him. Her stunned expression made Lawrence want to put his arms around her to comfort her. Maybe later. He suspected if he were to caress Victoria in public, she’d faint from the trauma.
“I don’t know what to make of any of this,” Victoria confessed.
“Just enjoy it. She’s five. She won’t always be like this.”
Such brutal, raw longing flickered in Victoria’s eyes it made Lawrence forget to breathe.
“You know, there’s no reason why you couldn’t visit regularly after this week is over. Get to know Katy properly. Spend time with Abby. Would you like that, Vicki?”
Yes. He saw it. A brief flash of desperate need. Then it was gone.
“Mother wouldn’t approve.”
“Your mother doesn’t need to know. You’re a grown woman. You can do what you want.”
She scoffed as though he were naive. “Not when she holds the purse strings. I am dependent on her for everything. Exactly how she likes it.”
“Then get a job. Become more independent. You have skills, I assume.”
“I know how to be a wife. It’s what I spent my entire life training to become. The perfect socialite wife.” Her smile was cold. “Ironic, considering I’m practically a professional spinster. Such a great disappointment to the family. A terrible waste of all that time in finishing school in Switzerland. I was supposed to marry well, keep home for my husband, sit on committees and lunch with the girls. Instead I spend my time catering to Mother’s every whim. What kind of job could I get with those skills?”
“Surely you have some money of your own.” Lawrence knew exactly how wealthy the Montgomery-Clarks were.
Victoria’s laugh was brittle. “Very little, I’m afraid. Our family doesn’t work on the principle of independent money. There are no trusts for the children. Charles has a job in the city, which affords him a tad more independence, but his house, his society parties and his wife’s indulgences are all paid for at Mother’s discretion. It’s been like that for generations. The parents hold the purse strings.”
“Abby broke away. You can too.”
“Abby had David. She had an education. She fought hard to be allowed to go to art college. Even then, Father only paid her tuition fees. He refused to give her any money to live on. It was his way of making his disapproval known, making Abby work while she studied. He thought she’d give in and run home after just a few weeks. Of course, she didn’t. In fact, it made her more independent. Abby worked several jobs while she was a student in order to pay her way. It wasn’t easy for her. I wanted to help, but Mother and Father checked all of our transactions. If I’d been married, there would have been more leeway. But as you can see, I’m terminally single.”
“I don’t get it.” Lawrence ran a hand over his face. “Why not just leave? I’m sure you could get work somewhere. You aren’t stupid. You’d manage fine. If it’s what you want, Vicki, you should go for it.”
“I learned a long time ago—I don’t get what I want. And wanting only brings pain. I’d rather not want anything at all. It’s much safer.” She gave Lawrence a tight little smile. “I’m not like Abby. I’m not courageous. I don’t have her confidence. I’ve tried to stand up to Mother in the past and it went terribly wrong. I learned my lesson. I shall just endeavour to do as I’m told until Charles is head of the family. I’m sure he won’t care to boss me around. He has his own concerns to occupy him.”
“That’s your plan? Wait until Millicent dies until you have a life you want? It’s not much of a plan, Vicki.”
“It’s not much of a life,” she whispered.
Before Lawrence could say anything else, Katy ran over to them, waving a bright pink Barbie car. “Look what I found. Do you think Muma will let me get it for school?”
Lawrence watched as Victoria’s face melted with longing. “I don’t think you need a Barbie car for school.”
Katy’s whole body slumped. It took Victoria all of three seconds to crumble.
“But it is the sort of thing an aunt can buy her niece,” she said.
Her reward was two small arms wrapped tight around her hips. “You’re the best aunty ever.” She squeezed hard before running back to the toys.
Victoria never took her eyes of her niece.
“Come work for me.” The words were out of Lawrence’s mouth before he knew they were coming.
Victoria’s head snapped up. Her shock was priceless and he knew exactly how she felt. He didn’t know who was more surprised by his offer.
“What?”
“Work for me.” He nodded. The words felt right. In fact, the more he thought about it, the better the idea became. “I’ll hire you. The firm will train you. You’ll earn a decent wage. I’ll help you to find somewhere to live. It’s the perfect solution. Work for me. Change your life. Do it, Vicki, before it’s too late.” He let out a sigh. “There are things in my life I regret. Things I should have dealt with, but waited too long. It’s how I lost my wife. I ignored my marriage and concentrated on building the firm. She wanted children, but I was too busy for them. Before I knew it she was gone, married to another man, starting a family with him. I don’t have children. I’m fifty-seven. The time for children is past. Don’t be like me. Don’t wait until it’s too late. You can change your life. You have no excuses now. If you want to work, if you want to move out from under your mother, then take my offer. Think about it.”
Lawrence left her to it and stepped out of the shop. Heavy clouds were gathering over the hills surrounding the town and the air felt balmy. Summer storm, he thought. Although June in the Highlands barely counted as summer. His hands trembled as he thrust them into his pockets. The past was too fresh in his mind. The mistakes he’d made were still there, raw and unforgiving. It wasn’t just the family he’d passed up on when he’d relentlessly chased his narrow-minded dream. It was a life he’d missed out on. His only friends were at work, and even then, they were more associates than friends. His family were long gone. His days were spent working. His nights spent lonely, locked up tight in his expensive box, looking out on a vista he never actually had the time to get out in and enjoy. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a holiday. It was all about work. And he was tired of it.
He looked around the small town that had welcomed them. Life in Invertary was different. Slower. People took time for each other. They knew each other. They enjoyed their town. As he said hello to a passing stranger, he thought about his words to Vicki. If it wasn’t too late for her to make changes, maybe it wasn’t too late for him as well. A small seed of an idea took root in his mind. His eyes fell on a sign in the empty shop facing him on the high street. And with a smile, he felt the seed begin to g
row.
18
“A football team is like a beautiful woman. When you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful.”
Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
It was a sign of how desperate Abby’s life had become that a trip to the bank was almost a holiday. When her business with the bank manager concluded, too quickly for her liking, she found herself dallying outside the bank in the hopes of stealing a few more minutes to herself. That was when she spotted him.
Flynn stood at the water’s edge facing out over the loch. He had on nothing but a pair of navy swim shorts, and his back rippled as he stretched his arms above his head. The sun caught the sheen on his skin, making Abby’s mouth water to taste him. She tried to pull her eyes away. She had to focus on her mother’s threat. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted by her libido.
Flynn dove into the cool water, making barely a splash. He sliced through the vast blue expanse, his strokes rhythmic, steady, powerful. Oh my…
“Here.” A tissue appeared under her nose, making her jump. “For the drool.”
Abby batted her best friend’s hand away. “Idiot.” It took serious effort to pry her eyes from Flynn to focus on Jena.
Her friend was decked out in work clothes—cut-off beige dungarees with a sparkly purple tee under them. She’d painted her nails to match the tee, and her hair was tied into a ponytail high on her head. She worked at the hardware store and had talked the owner into training her to become a handyman. She called it her apprenticeship, and she loved every minute of it. For a woman who looked like she belonged in a nail salon, Jena wielded a sledgehammer with glee.
“So you’re still kissing him?” There was no censure in Jena’s voice. No matter how annoying Flynn proved to be, if Abby wanted the man, Jena wouldn’t judge. Her friendship was a gift.
“No, we’ve stopped.” With a heavy sigh she pried her eyes from the loch. “We had a chat, decided now wasn’t the best time to get involved.” She thought about it for a minute. “Although I’m not sure we were getting involved exactly. Is three kisses enough to be involved?”
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