Finally, he wandered back out and into the kitchen. It too was white with expensive looking stainless-steel appliances breaking up the expanse. He nosed about in a couple of cupboards, finding them fully stocked with non-perishables, pans and dishes. Whether any had ever been used was another story. He noticed a pile of takeaway menus on the counter and flicked through them. By the looks of things, these had been well used instead. Nick’s stomach growled loudly. Rupert had said that Hero wasn’t due back for a couple of days anyway. He was so tense – in fact he found it hard to remember the last time he hadn’t felt tense. But he was here now, and soon he’d find out whether he had lost her forever.
Right now, he needed a hot bath and then he’d order in some food. His body clock was all over the place, but he knew he needed to try and get some sleep. If he was to get a second chance with Hero, he wanted to make sure that this time he at least had a clear head.
Returning to the bathroom, he set the taps to full flow and tipped in some of the salts that sat on an inset shelf. Straightening, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He wondered now why Rupert had agreed to see him at all. Perhaps it was a good thing he hadn’t been able to see Hero straight away, looking as he did. If she did agree to see him, turning up looking like some sort of wild bushman wasn’t exactly the image he wanted to project.
Nick washed off the last few bits of soap and ran a hand over his jawline. Much better. Shrugging off the clothes that he felt he’d been wearing for a week, he stepped in the bath, the water washing over his tense, taught muscles. Laying back, he closed his eyes, thinking of Hero.
Feeling at least clean if not relaxed, Nick pulled out a T-shirt, boxers and a pair of stone-coloured cargo pants Hero had bought him on a trip to the city and put them on. Sitting on the bed, he knew he really ought to go and order some food, try and get his body in sync with the new time zone. Just five minutes. He’d close his eyes for five minutes and then he’d definitely get something to eat.
Hero shifted position in the back of the cab. Her stomach was grumbling, and she frowned again at the fact that Rupert had stood her up. She knew it was unfair, not to mention ungracious to be cross at him, but she was tired and hungry, and that was never a good combination.
‘I’m really sorry, sweetheart,’ Rupert had said as he came out of his office to meet her, ‘Something’s come up and I can’t put it off. Would you mind terribly if we did this tomorrow night?’
Hero was stalled. She had made her decision. She was going to go back, to see Nick, to see if she was too late to salvage the best thing that had ever happened to her. And Rupert had helped her come to that decision – a decision that had made her happier than she had been in months. She desperately wanted to take him out to dinner instead of just getting takeaway to thank him. To thank him for not giving up on her.
Rupert had never given up on her. He had cared for her and loved her. It had taken Hero a long time to believe that Rupert saw beyond her looks, that he spent time with her because he enjoyed her company. He did, however, freely admit all those years ago that when she accompanied him to a function, he knew all the other men were as jealous as hell, and that was, apparently, ‘great for a chap’s ego’.
She knew she owed Rupert more than she would ever be able to repay him. After the accident, Rupert had been the one to deal with the agency, the press, and the apartment. But, tired and hungry, she was still cross at being packed into a cab, and told to order something in, with Rupert saying he would call her tomorrow. Now she was decided, she desperately wanted to share that with him, and take that first step back towards the station – and Nick. That was, if she hadn’t left it too late.
The cab began to slow in front of a sleek, glass fronted building.
‘Here we are, Miss.’
Hero thanked the driver, handing over the fare and tip as a doorman moved to assist her with the luggage. She smiled at the concierge, letting him know that she would be staying in the Thorne-Smith Holdings apartment for a few days. Just until she could get a flight back to Adelaide. The concierge nodded, advising he had been told to expect her. The porter took her luggage, placing it on a brass luggage trolley and proceeded into the lift. Hero smiled. Slight overkill, she thought, looking at the little case sitting forlornly alone on the trolley, but she had learned long ago, so much was about style, and how things looked rather than substance or practicality.
People paid a fortune for these apartments and part of that was to get the right address, and service to impress. It suited Rupert’s company perfectly, increasing in value enormously. She had done well. No, Rupert had done well for her – as he always had. This apartment actually belonged to Hero, another of the investments Rupert’s friend managed for her. Thorne-Smith Holdings leased it from her on a permanent basis.
The lift gave a soft ping and the doors slid noiselessly open. Stepping from its mirrored interior into the corridor, the porter indicated the direction with his hand and followed. Hero checked the numbers and then slid the key into the bottom lock. It didn’t turn. Hero frowned, before trying the top lock which opened silently. She stepped into her apartment, surveying it for the first time since it had been purchased.
‘Where would you like your case, Miss Scott?’
‘Just there’s fine. Thank you.’
As she closed the door behind her, her eyes swept over the lock. She must remember to mention to Rupert that the bottom one hadn’t been thrown. It was likely just an error by a busy cleaner, but she knew he’d want to know everything was being done just so.
Walking across to the huge window, she gazed down on London, beautiful as it twinkled in the twilight. It had been a long time since she’d seen it like this. The years of parties and functions and the whole of her crazy, busy modelling career seemed a lifetime ago. She wondered, had the accident not made the decision for her, how much longer she would have gone on, burning herself out a little more every day. Her mother’s words that day had imprinted themselves onto her brain. They’d resented the expense that came with this unwanted addition and she’d worked and worked, never feeling it was quite enough. She’d been determined to support herself, always. Never again would she be made to feel a burden to anyone. That thought was always in the forefront of her mind. Crouching there, loitering. Reminding her. The only time it had left was when she was out in Australia. With her sister, her family. The man she loved. She should have stayed. She knew that now. Talked it out. But she hadn’t, and she couldn’t change the past. All she could do was hope to change the future.
Turning away, she took in the furniture and the décor. It was classy, exuding style and luxury, but it wasn’t homely. It was more like a hotel room, which in a way it was. So Hero did what she always did in hotels and went to check out the bathroom. Which was when she saw that the towels had been used and there was a wash bag next to the sink.
‘Oh my God!’ Her hand flew to her mouth in case whoever was here heard her. Should she find them and apologise for the mix up? The thought filled her with horror. No, best just to sneak out quietly. How could Rupert have forgotten that someone was already using the facilities? She felt her face flush with embarrassment as she backed out of the bathroom. Glancing around as she hurried back to the door, she caught sight of the open door to the bedroom. And Nick lying on the bed.
Hero gripped the doorframe to steady herself. Maybe it just looked like Nick. But she knew before she had even finished the thought that it was him. She didn’t know why, or how long he’d been here, but what she did know was that Rupert knew the answer to both those questions. Hero took a step closer. Nick’s breathing was deep and even. She took another step, so close now that she could touch him. He was dressed in a white T-shirt and the stone cargo pants she had bought him on a trip into Adelaide last year with Juliet and Gill.
She sat lightly next to him on the bed, and then bent and kissed him just as lightly on the lips as tears flowed silently down her face. His face was clean-shaven and he smelled of soap and
warmth and Nick. She sat back, watching him sleep, not wanting to take her eyes off him, drinking in the sight of him and overwhelmed at the shock and absolute relief of being near him again. In his dream, Nick frowned and then slowly opened his eyes to see the woman from his dreams sitting next to him on the bed.
He lay there looking at her, afraid to move in case he was still dreaming, in case he woke and she wasn’t there anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time. And then Hero leant forward and kissed him again and Nick knew he wasn’t dreaming anymore and he wrapped his arms around her so tightly that Hero had trouble breathing and it felt wonderful.
‘How long have you been here?’ Nick asked when he finally released her enough to look into the beautiful face he had missed so much.
‘Not long,’ Hero replied, running her hand through his hair. She opened her mouth to say something and closed it again. Then she smiled that smile that always sent Nick into a spin. ‘I don’t even know where to start.’
Nick looked back at her, his eyes shining with emotion. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’ His voice was hoarse and raw and soft, and the sound of it sent a shiver of pleasure through her body.
‘I’ve been miserable ever since I left. I thought I could forget. That I would get over you, but every day it just got worse. And the longer I was away, the more I thought that it was too late, that you would find someone else—’
‘There hasn’t been anyone else,’ he interrupted, taking her hands in his. ‘I don’t want anyone else, Hero. I want you.’
Hero looked at him, saw the taught muscles in his arms, and his hair that needed cutting, and his light brown eyes fringed with thick lashes, and her heart felt so full with the strength of her love for this man.
‘I want you too.’
It was all the prompt he needed. Nick pulled her down onto the bed, kissing her hard and hungrily until the only thing she knew was him.
Chapter 22
‘Can I ask you something?’
They were snuggled together on the sofa that looked out onto the city, wrapped in matching white towelling bathrobes, fresh from the shower. Nick was stretched along the length of the couch and Hero sat between his legs, resting against him. Empty Chinese food cartons were scattered on the table.
‘What’s that?’ Hero said.
‘How did you know there were condoms in the bedside cabinet?’
Hero adjusted her position so that she could meet his eyes.
‘Forget it. I shouldn’t have asked. I—’
‘Rupert made a point of telling me, saying that I should order some food in, and that there were condoms in the bedside drawer if I felt the urge to jump the delivery guy. Sneaky sod.’
Nick laughed, snuggling into the curve of her neck. ‘He’s a pretty decent bloke, isn’t he?’ he said, in between placing tender butterfly kisses on the soft skin, ‘Rupert, I mean.’
Hero took a deep, contented breath. ‘Yes. He is. I owe him a lot.’ She leaned into Nick and he cuddled her closer. ‘Even more so now.’
‘I owe him a lot too. I wasn’t sure he would help me.’
‘Rupert knows you make me happy. Happier than I’ve ever been.’
‘But I stuffed up.’
‘Yep,’ she teased. ‘You did. Big time.’ He looked pained and she kissed him to soften the blow. ‘But I should have stayed. Talked it through, worked it out. Forgiven you for being such an idiot.’ Hero looked up through her lashes at him.
Her smile softened the words.
They sat for a moment in the silence, just enjoying the nearness of each other again, until Nick broke the silence.
‘Hero?’
‘Mm-hmm?’
‘Can we start again?’
Hero took a deep breath, rolled her hip across Nick’s leg and stood up. She walked to the window, gazing down on the night skyline. Behind her, Nick sat up and waited.
‘I don’t want to start again, Nick.’
Nick felt something in his throat contract. So that was it. It was over. Forever. He’d found her only to discover he really had lost her. When he didn’t say anything, Hero turned. Seeing the look on Nick’s face, she returned to him, taking his hands in hers.
‘So, I really did stuff up then?’
Hero leant her head so that his fingers touched her cheek. Nick wanted to pull them away, to grab his clothes and just leave. Why do all this? Why hold him and make love with him if she was just going to tell him to rack off anyway? A brief thought that this was Hero’s payback entered his mind, but he shoved it away. He knew her. No matter how much he had hurt her, she didn’t have it in her soul to be callous.
‘I don’t want to start again,’ she repeated. ‘I’d really like to just pick up from where we left off.’ His smile broke as he pulled her towards him once more.
‘When do you have to be back?’ Hero asked Nick, as she lay sated in his arms watching dawn break across London.
‘When I get there,’ he replied, sleepily.
Hero shuffled round, lying on her stomach looking up at him. ‘Do Pete and Juliet know where you are?’
Nick rolled his head from side to side a couple of times. ‘Nope. I left a note saying that I was going to stay with a friend.’
‘So, nobody knows you’re here.’
‘Paul knows. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up if I couldn’t see you or if you told me just to rack off.’
‘That makes sense.’
Hero pushed against Nick’s chest and sat back, one leg tucked under her, the other, less flexible, resting against the side of the couch.
‘So.’
‘So?’
‘So, what happens now?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘With us.’ Hero watched Nick’s expression and then made to push away from the couch, but he caught her wrist.
‘Oh no! You’re not running away from me again.’ He smiled but Hero saw the uncertainty in his eyes. She leant forward and kissed his lips.
‘I don’t want to …’
‘But?’ Nick took a deep breath to keep the panic at bay. He was not going to lose her again. He couldn’t.
‘But,’ Hero repeated, ‘I need to know that you trust me. I’m not asking you to change. I know you have a jealous streak – I think we all do. When Rupert said about the possibility of you being with someone else, I couldn’t bear to think of it. But I love you, Nick. Nobody else. I won’t go through all this again and have you look at me again like you did that day – so coldly. I can’t do that. I won’t.’
Nick sat up on the couch, moving Hero with him. He caught her chin with his hand and looked steadily into the bright, green eyes.
‘I trust you.’
***
‘Do you have a coat?’ Hero asked as they left the apartment building. Return flights had been booked, Rupert had been thanked and also told what a devious mind he had, and there was still a day left for sightseeing. Hero had a whistle-stop tour planned. Nick shrugged into the summer-weight jacket he had brought in his rush.
‘Is that the only one you brought?’
He nodded.
‘Aren’t you cold?’
‘Bloody freezing,’ he said as he hugged Hero to him for warmth.
She was wrapped in an ankle-length woollen coat with a scarf tucked across her face, a hat pulled down to her eyes and mittens warming her hands. Her outfit had the dual benefit of keeping her warm and preventing recognition.
‘But considering I haven’t really been out of bed for the past three days,’ Nick continued, ‘it hasn’t exactly been a problem until now.’
Hero’s eyes smiled up at him as she wrapped her arms around his body, trying to transfer some of her own heat to him. Without even seeing the rest of her face, Nick knew she was blushing, and he hugged her closer. The taxi ordered by the concierge pulled up and Hero leant forward.
‘Oxford Street, please.’
Having first equipped Nick with more suitable attire, and filled up on a breakfast of soft croissants, He
ro then led him down into the depths of the Tube. Purchasing two Oyster cards and credit, they tapped through the barriers and headed for the escalator that stretched away in front of them, taking them deeper under the city.
‘What do you think?’ Hero asked as they sat in the slowly moving bubble of the London Eye.
The weather couldn’t have been better for Hero to show Nick the city that had been her home for so long. Crisp, cold, and bright, the views were spectacular. As they moved slowly in their circular route, Hero sat within his embrace, pointing out some of the more well-known landmarks of London, as well as a few of her own. Nick listened as she told him about a show she’d done for one of the big fashion names at Tate Modern, and some of the clothes she’d modelled for it.
‘Does anyone really buy that stuff?’ Nick asked, half laughing as she described a dress that had a huge funnel neck collar so tall she could barely see over it.
‘Some. It really depends on how wearable things are. But you’d be surprised at what does sell.’
Nick shook his head, studying Hero for a moment, rather than the stunning views. ‘Do you miss it? Any of it?’
‘No. It was a different part of my life. I’ll always be thankful to it for bringing Anya and Rupert into my life which was so much richer for having them in it. But I’ve moved on now to a different place, and that’s where I want to be now.’
He gave a little nod, before she turned back to the scenery and snuggled closer, her back to his chest. Dropping a kiss onto the top of her beanie hat covered head, he sat content looking out at the city, the woman he loved within his embrace.
They’d decided to stretch their legs and take advantage of the weather to stroll along the riverside near Tower Bridge, watching as the Victorian engineering went into action, lifting the road in order for a huge cruise liner to pass under. They waited as it docked next to HMS Belfast.
Second Chance At the Ranch Page 30