The Perfect Family

by Samantha King

  Dom hasn’t looked up from his laptop, and Aidan’s eyes are still glued to his DS. They’re oblivious to my presence. So I look at Dom, really look at him, at the man I have loved so much but who can no longer bring himself to look at me. His face is creased in a frown. Didn’t he used to be bigger? Has he lost weight? These last weeks and months will have taken as much of a toll on him as they have on me, I know. His face is leaner and he looks desperately tired, his blue eyes glazed over.

  And then I notice the little crinkle at the corner of his eyes and it takes me back, all the way back to the first time I met him.

  TWO

  “If your eyes get any wider, they’ll pop right out of your head.”

  “Excuse me?” I blushed as I noticed the tall, good-looking guy leaning against the A-to-C bookshelf of the serial killer section, his own blue eyes fixed on me. I had the sense he’d been watching me for some time.

  “You haven’t blinked for at least three minutes. Are you trying to break some kind of record? Or maybe you’re just a beautiful freak of nature. I’m Dom, by the way. Dominic Castle. And you are . . . ?”

  “Deeply offended. Freak? Gee, thanks.” I made a show of checking my watch even though there was a clock on the wall right in front of us. “Library closes soon. I’d best make a move.”

  “Without even telling me your name? But how can I spread the word about this extraordinary talent of yours, if I don’t know who you are? And I said beautiful, in case you didn’t notice. So don’t run away. I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to.”

  He strode towards the desk where I’d been camped out for the last two hours, staring at my psychology textbooks but really spying on Shay. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down next to me, grinning as he folded his arms behind his head. His black T-shirt strained across his broad chest and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

  “Sorry?” I said, even though I’d heard him perfectly.

  “I said pleased to meet you, Madeleine Hartley.” He thrust a big hand towards me.

  Heat surged through my body, already flushed from the balmy evening. London was collectively sweltering in the sultry oppressiveness of a late-summer heatwave, and I longed for the cool, crisp autumn days that surely lay ahead. I wanted to swap my jeweled flip-flops for soft suede boots, lacy vest tops for cozy cardigans; I wanted summer to end and my university days to be over.

  “How do you . . . ? Oh.”

  He abandoned the handshake offer I’d ignored and held up my Child Psychology binder, rubbing his thumb slowly over the name label. His fingers were lean and tanned; I wondered what it would feel like to be touched by them.

  “Are you a Madeleine, Maddie or, uh, just Mad?” he said, grinning again as he swiveled his body so that his legs were spread either side of mine, trapping me in my seat.

  “Depends.”

  Distracted by sudden movement in my peripheral vision, I glanced towards Shay. He hadn’t spoken to me for three whole days now, and revision tutorials for the exam resits started on Monday. It was going to be cringingly awkward sitting in the small lecture theater with just him and the two other students who, like me, needed to retake our final paper. I wished for the hundredth time that I’d spent less time daydreaming about my lecturer and more time concentrating on studying for my finals, then I could have graduated and moved on to my teacher training course and—

  “Depends on . . . ?” Dom queried, reaching out to pinch my chin lightly with hot, rasping fingertips, turning my head back to face him.

  I deliberately closed my eyes, resisting his command to make me look at him, but the image of his dark brows and sharp cheekbones remained imprinted behind my eyelids. He was far too cocky; he was probably laughing at my gawky shyness. Damn. With a huge effort I forced myself to open my eyes. I wasn’t going to let him see that his nearness flustered me.

  “Well, my mum used to call me Madeleine. Mostly when she was telling me off. My flatmate calls me Mads. Otherwise I’m just plain old Maddie.”

  “Nothing plain about you, Maddie.”

  “I wasn’t fishing for compliments.” I bravely held eye contact with him, despite feeling myself blush.

  “And what does he call you? Your man there?” He nodded abruptly at Shay.

  “He’s not my man. He’s my psychology lecturer, if you must know. Not that it’s any business of yours.”

  “Ah, I see.” His deep voice softened, and his big hands were surprisingly gentle as they took hold of mine and squeezed.

  “What do you see?”

  “Oh, nothing in particular. Just that it’s his loss. Definitely my gain.”

  There was the tiniest, sexiest crinkle around his blue eyes when he grinned. For some reason, that irritated me; I didn’t want to be charmed by this big, overconfident man invading my space uninvited. I pulled my hands away.

  “I’m not anybody’s to lose. Or gain. I’m not an object to be passed from one man to another. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is a university library. You know, for borrowing books? Not, uh, girlfriends.”

  I was being snippy, but mostly because I was annoyed with myself for finding the hint of possessiveness about him perversely exciting. I’d seen my dad lay down the law for most of my parents’ married life, and after his death I’d watched my mum flounder helplessly without the husband who had defined her. Bossy, controlling men held no appeal for me, and Dom struck me as exactly the kind of guy who liked to be in charge. I wasn’t sure why his arrogance was giving me butterflies; it was making me uncharacteristically prickly.

  “Not even on short-term loan? Shame. I’d better check out some textbooks instead, then. Nowhere near as fascinating or pretty to look at, though.” He cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow.

  “You do that. Since you’re so obviously here to study.” I glanced pointedly at the empty desk in front of him, then back to my own books.

  “You have amazing hair, by the way.” He lifted a strand and stroked it.

  I pulled back sharply. “Did no one ever teach you to ask nicely before you touch?”

  “Are you a natural redhead?” he said, ignoring my prickliness.

  “Strawberry blonde, actually. Anyway, I’m thinking of getting it cut.” I twirled a long strand around my finger, telling myself that I wasn’t flirting, just being friendly. Polite. Nothing more than that.

  “Don’t. It suits you long.”

  “I’m not asking for your permission,” I said, lifting my chin. “I go running a lot, as it happens, and it just gets in the way. And it’s too thick. Makes me hot. That’s all.”

  “You keep in shape. I can see that. Which means we have even more in common than where we choose to hang out on a Friday night.”

  My cheeks burned fiercely as his eyes wandered brazenly over my white gypsy skirt and sleeveless turquoise blouse. I wanted to hug myself to cover my pale arms that never seemed to tan, no matter how many hours my friend Gabrielle and I propped ourselves on the tiny balcony of our rented first-floor flat in Kew, bodies angled to catch every last ray of sun, yearning for our fair skin to turn golden brown. Her long, skinny legs had at least been toasted a more toffee-colored shade of pale, but all I’d achieved after spending almost my entire summer break sunbathing while pretending to revise was a freckled nose and sore, pink knees. At least running kept me reasonably trim, I thought, pulling self-consciously at the hem of my skirt as I saw Dom check out my legs.

  “Don’t you have something useful you need to be doing? Maybe a few sit-ups, checking your abs in the mirror . . .” I huffed and rolled my eyes.

  “Well, there is this thesis on the economic aftermath of globalization I need to finish. I guess I could be getting on with that.” He sat back, relishing my reaction.

  “Oh.”

  “Let me guess. You thought I was a trainee P.E. teacher, right?”

  “No, I just thought . . . I wasn’t expecting . . .” I trawled my brain for excuses but my mind emptied.

  “Currently working on my
MBA to top up my first-class Business Studies degree. First rule of dating Dominic Castle? Expect the unexpected.”

  I couldn’t believe he’d just said that; I should have laughed in his face. But I didn’t. I was young; I was impressionable. I swallowed every word.

  “Er, who said anything about dating?” I was so flustered that it was impossible to hide it.

  “This is our first date, right? I’m pretty good at reading people. Especially curvy strawberry blondes with huge blue eyes and cute freckled noses. I don’t generally misread the signs.”

  “Curvy!” I glared at him. “And I’m not giving you any signs.”

  “Oh, but you are, Maddie. Your body is sending out all kinds of exciting signals. Your brain just hasn’t caught up with them yet. But it will.” He leaned towards me and my mind spiraled off into a fantasy of him scooping me up off my chair in those strong arms of his, throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me off into the sunset.

  Shay walked past us on his way out; I didn’t even look up.

  THREE

  After that first meeting in the library, Dom and I spent almost every waking hour—and most of our sleeping ones, too—together in the very tiny attic room of the elegant four-storey Georgian house on Richmond Hill where he lodged, having charmed the landlord into giving a discount on his usual rent. We happily squandered time lying on his narrow single bed, talking late into the nights, his textbooks piled neatly on one bedside table, candles and wine on the other. He was the first person I’d ever met who, like me, had lost both his parents. I didn’t generally talk much about it, but it was easy to open up to Dom. He knew exactly what I meant when I described my life as walking a tightrope without the safety net of parents to catch me if I fell. He was the first man who’d really listened to me, and the feeling was intoxicating.

  Even though Dom was only a year older than me, he seemed a lot more grown up, and that was as seductive as his powerful body and the intense blue eyes that never left my face as I talked. About how I’d started running when my flatmate challenged me to take part in a half-marathon; about how studying child psychology had made me want to become a teacher; about how my parents being so aloof and career-obsessed had made me long to have a happier family of my own one day. I’d expected him to run a half-marathon of his own—in the opposite direction from me—when he heard that. To begin with I’d had him down as a serial flirt who would break out in hives at any mention of the word “commitment”; the wistful way he too spoke about wanting a family surprised me, until he opened up about his own upbringing.

  “My only real regret is that my mum and dad never got to see me graduate. Cancer has the worst sense of timing. They died before they got to see me make something of myself. Not many kids off our old estate go to uni. A lot don’t even finish school. My brother certainly didn’t.”

  “I’m sure your parents were incredibly proud of you, all the same.”

  “It’s not about pride. It’s about vindication.”

  “Sorry?” His choice of word surprised me; it was a cocktail of passion and fury.

  “I always told them I’d do it, but they had Max down as the clever one. He is too, I don’t deny that. First-class brain. Academic stuff came easy to him; he just never bothered. Spent most of his time at school telling teachers they were idiots, then walked out at fifteen and lied about his age to get a job laboring on London Underground.”

  “Sounds like he wasted his potential. What a shame.”

  “You think? Actually, it made Mum and Dad’s day. A son with a real job, bringing home an actual pay check, not dossing around as a student.”

  “No one gets a first dossing around,” I said, indignant on his behalf. “I always wanted a brother or a sister. Maybe I had a lucky escape after all. No sibling rivalry to contend with. They really should give parents a textbook in the maternity ward. With ‘Treating Your Children Equally’ as chapter one.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Can’t always blame the parents. Max was determined to rule the roost from the day I was born. It probably wasn’t his fault, either, to be fair. I came along ten years after him, so I guess the three of them had already formed their little club. I just didn’t fit in to it. The baby of the family who didn’t want to end up working on the trains like his dad. My brother isn’t a bad man. Just . . . lacking in self-awareness, shall we say. He’s rubbed plenty of people up the wrong way, not just me. I’ve tried to stick up for him. Got the battle scars to prove it.”

  “Scars?” I said faintly, hoping he never invited me to visit his old estate. “So when do I get to meet this intriguingly complex big brother of yours?” I snuck my fingers between the buttons of Dom’s shirt, enjoying the soft tickle of his chest hair.

  “We don’t see much of each other these days,” he said, suddenly sitting upright and hunching over.

  “Why not? He still lives round here, doesn’t he?”

  “Yep. Took over our parents’ council house tenancy after they died.”

  “Ah. That must be a bit weird for you.” I could see the tension locking his jaw and turning his body rigid.

  “I guess. He hogged pretty much all their attention the whole of his life, then he gets their home as well. Our home, I should say. I wasn’t exactly a cuckoo in the nest. But I know when I’m not wanted. Still, Dad left his savings to me. That’s something. Max just gets on with his life now, and I get on with mine. And that’s the way I like it.”

  “Well, whatever your parents thought, I’m incredibly proud of you. It’s amazing what you’ve achieved. My father was a judge; my mum was a lawyer. I had my own pony. And trust fund. But still I’m only just scraping through my degree. I wonder how many guys applying for jobs in the City had as tough a start in life as you did.”

  “Yeah, I bet most of them have more in common with you. Not too late to find yourself a nice posh Surrey boy, you know.” He finally relaxed and lay back on the bed, wrapping his big arms around me and pulling me close, confident of my response. But beneath his teasing I could hear the sting of sensitivity about our different backgrounds.

  “As if.”

  He grinned in reply, slipping a finger through a gap at the front of the 1940s-style tea dress I’d bought especially for our first properly official date, and tickled my ribs until I squirmed and laughed, then he worked his way downwards, flicking open more of the tiny pearl buttons, his big hands surprisingly nimble.

  “Ah, there’s the Dom I know and—” I stopped and bit my lip.

  “You were saying?”

  His fingers stilled and he pulled me on top of him so that I was lying full-length along his much taller body. I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as I waited for my blush to subside. Despite how intimate we were becoming I’d never told him I loved him. I hadn’t been close to my father, right up until he died of a heart attack when I was sixteen, and over the following two years my mother became increasingly distant, preoccupied by her own grief until she just seemed to give up on life. They were socially well-connected but emotionally distant people, and I’d grown up feeling shy about outward displays of affection. I was glad Dom’s relaxed, unselfconscious passion compensated for my natural reserve.

  I pressed closer against him, hoping he’d be able to read my mind as well as my body. “You know. Do I have to spell it out?”

  “Maybe you can mime it for me. That might be fun.” He winked and kissed the tip of my nose as I smiled up at him. “And I’m proud of you, too, honey. You’re going to be a fabulous teacher. Just as long as you don’t go running off with some smarmy PE hunk.”

  “Only if he’s tall, dark and handsome and turns out to be studying for an MBA.”

  Dom grinned. “I might know someone who can satisfy your requirements.”

  * * *

  As it turned out, both Dom’s MBA and my teacher training had to be put on hold. I finally managed to graduate, even though Shay never returned to the psychology department to coach the stragglers through ou
r resits, instead moving to Brighton to become a dinner-theater performer; I guess he’d never really given up on his real vocation in life.

  Nine months later, I discovered mine: I became a mother.

  Dom always swore that finding out I was pregnant with the twins was the happiest day of his life. It didn’t matter that we’d only been dating a few weeks; he’d fallen in love that very first night in the library, he said, and all he wanted to do was take care of me and make our shared dreams of a happy family home come true. Twelve weeks after we met, Dom borrowed a suit from his ever-obliging, clearly besotted landlord, scrounged every spare penny he could and booked dinner for the two of us at the Oxo Tower restaurant. With the exquisite, almost surreally beautiful London skyline as a backdrop, he proposed to me with his mother’s old engagement ring.

  “This is the life I want to give you and our babies,” he said, his arms spread wide, encompassing our plush surroundings, and I looked around at the white-clothed tables, chrome champagne buckets and well-dressed diners before gazing wistfully out at St. Paul’s Cathedral, lit up so majestically against the indigo night sky. It was a different world to Dom’s little bedsit.

  “It’s beautiful. But very expensive,” I cautioned.

  “Who cares? It’s only money.”

  “Easy to say when you’ve got plenty. Which we haven’t,” I pointed out.

  “It doesn’t matter if I have to work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, I’m going to give you the best of everything, babe. No more shared flats and poky attics for us. And definitely no more charity-shop dresses for you.”

  “I like my dresses,” I protested, laughing. Dom favored crisp preppy smartness whereas I adored a kookier vintage look. “But what about your MBA? There’s no way you can do a full-time job and still study so hard. I’ll pick up my teacher training as soon as the babies are settled, but till then—”

  “Where there’s a will there’s a way. And you’re looking at a man with a plan. One more meeting with the bank manager next week and Castle Consultancy will be born. Before our babies.” He grinned.