by Iles, Jo
But something was familiar about the place. It niggled in the back of Holly’s mind as she looked up to admire the architectural details and the sheer scale of the impressive house. And yet she was certain that she’d never stepped foot here before in her life. Then it dawned on her. When she’d left Daniel, she’d been drawing up what she considered to be her dream house. Their dream house, for their dream life together. And when it had all gone pear-shaped between them, she hadn’t bothered to take her sketches and the beginnings of her working drawings with her. What would have been the point? They would only have been reminders of what she’d left behind, and it wasn’t like she would ever have the funds independently to realise such a project. But here her project was. Standing right before her eyes. It wasn’t exactly a true and faithful representation of her original sketches, but the essence was definitely there—that much she could see. This building was bigger though, and the general proportions had been augmented to a much grander scale.
Holly found herself dumbstruck as she tried to take it all in. He’d built her house. Daniel had gone and put into being her dream house. That must have been why he’d sounded so much more knowledgeable with regard to her work back at her office. He must have taken an interest in the process of building his home.
‘Mum,’ Harry called, tugging her hand. ‘Come on, Daddy will be waiting.’ Holly couldn’t even remember helping him out of his car seat, she was so dazed.
‘Okay,’ she replied numbly. ‘We’ll collect our stuff from the car later,’ she added as she walked over the gravel driveway and headed for the front door with Harry in hand.
Holly studied the complex-looking keypad on the wall by the door. It was like something from the Millennium Falcon, and not at all intuitive. This had not been in her architectural plans. Holly was not an electronic-gadgety-aficionado-type person. But Daniel was. This had Daniel written all over it. Holly gave up trying to decipher the little symbols next to the numbers and randomly started stabbing buttons.
‘Bingo,’ she said, as the door started to open. She looked down at Harry and gave him a reassuring wink. Holly felt a wave of butterflies start doing their butterfly dance in her stomach. She was nervous at what was about to come, and if she was totally honest, a little excited about the prospect of seeing Daniel again, and being able to deliver her earlier security-bot message in person.
‘Hello and welcome,’ an attractive woman in her early forties said in a well-educated-sounding English accent. ‘You must be Mrs Madison. And this must be Harry,’ the posh lady continued, as she beamed a megawatt smile down in Harry’s direction. Holly was stunned. She hadn’t been expecting this yummy mummy to open the door to Daniel’s house in a million years. She’d expected Daniel to be there, and for them to continue their awkward verbal dance around each other in front of Harry before he whisked her off to bed. Holly suddenly realised that she knew nothing about this man anymore—she was effectively starting from scratch. All her old information was apparently defunct. This was a warning for her to tread carefully, she told herself.
‘That’s right,’ Holly eventually managed as she fought to put a smile on her own face, albeit a rather forced one.
‘Please, call me Stephanie, and do come in and make yourselves at home,’ posh lady said as she ushered them into the reception hall.
‘Daniel was expecting you a little earlier, and is currently otherwise engaged,’ Stephanie explained with the barest hint of disapproval in her voice. Holly couldn’t tell if this was directed towards her for being late, or towards Daniel for his absence. ‘Would you care for some light refreshments on the terrace whilst you wait for him?’ Stephanie offered, recovering herself and smiling brightly.
‘That would be lovely,’ Holly replied, and she followed Stephanie through the house, absorbing as much of the place as she could.
Unfortunately for Holly, it seemed the full house tour would have to wait, as Stephanie quickly whisked her and Harry outside again via a side entrance. From what she did see, the place was huge, cavernous, and consisted of hard white surfaces, reflecting light from every angle. It was also perfect. There wasn’t a piece of furniture out of place and literally zero clutter. Daniel definitely didn’t live with a five-year-old, that was for sure, Holly found herself thinking.
Stephanie settled them in the garden with homemade lemonade while she excused herself to attend to some party arrangements. Holly was alone with her thoughts—of which there were plenty—whilst Harry explored the garden. At the top of Holly’s list was the relationship between Daniel and Stephanie. Were they together? Was she his new wife? No, that wasn’t possible, Holly told herself. Legally she was still married to him. But she’d called him by his Christian name. Security bot had referred to his boss as Mr Madison. Holly was confused. Who was this Stephanie?
More to the point, what the hell was she doing letting herself get emotionally entangled with this man about whom she knew nothing anymore. If not Stephanie, then maybe someone else. He could have just been fooling around with Holly, thinking she was an easy option. Holly now wholeheartedly regretted having slept with him. Twice. She knew she shouldn’t have done it. For all she knew, Daniel could be seriously committed to someone else. He could even have more children, she thought—and had to catch her breath. The thought had never even crossed her mind previously. But this house was plenty big enough to house a nursery full of children and still keep the reception areas free of child paraphernalia.
Harry’s shouting roused Holly from her sad reflection on the mess she found herself in.
‘Daddy Daddy Daddy!’ he called. He ran as fast as his little legs would carry him towards his father’s tall figure, which was confidently striding towards them.
Daniel effortlessly scooped him up and spun him round, much to Harry’s delight. To Holly’s critical eye, Daniel seemed to be a natural with the little boy. Either that, or he’d been getting some practice on some other children in the past five years. Daniel proceeded to completely ignore her as he carried Harry round the garden looking at this plant and that tree, all the while Harry chatting ten to the dozen.
Holly observed the pair closely. Daniel was looking particularly nice. There was no denying it. He was working his sunglasses, jeans, and casual shirt combination with his usual gusto. It seemed to Holly that it didn’t much matter how he stood, he always seemed to make his physique appear to its best advantage for the rest of the world to see. Even carrying Harry around, he looked like he was posing on a magazine shoot. Oh, to be that naturally good-looking all the time, Holly sighed to herself.
Harry had his arms wrapped around Daniel’s neck, and Holly couldn’t help but feel guilty that maybe she hadn’t tried hard enough with Daniel when Harry was born. She felt that Harry had missed out on so much of this kind of father-son relationship, and that she was to blame. She’d always told herself that she was parent enough for Harry… but seeing the way he was now looking at Daniel with such unconditional love and sheer awe—she wasn’t so sure.
Finally Harry decided he wanted to regain the use of his legs, and he wiggled out of his father’s arms and ran off to the opposite end of the garden, her hyper-excited little boy once again. Daniel casually made his way over to where Holly was sitting and sat down lazily beside her, watching Harry run out his excited energy. He didn’t say anything.
‘Happy birthday,’ Holly said quietly, fiddling with the straw in her drink.
‘Thanks,’ he replied, finally acknowledging her. Silence.
‘Nice house,’ Holly offered, not sure why Daniel was being so uncharacteristically quiet. He normally had plenty to say for himself. Small talk was his speciality. She’d seen the evidence first-hand in her office with her staff.
‘Thanks,’ he replied, and poured himself a lemonade. They sat in an uncomfortable silence—from Holly’s perspective—for a few minutes, watching Harry burning off his excess energy by rolling around on the grass.
When Holly couldn’t stand being ignored any long
er, she stood up abruptly and began walking back to the house.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ came Daniel’s quick response.
‘To ask Stephanie where we should put our things,’ Holly snapped back at him, surprised by his sharp tone. It reminded her of how her father used to speak to her when she was a teenager.
Daniel exhaled loudly and made a big show of standing up.
‘I’ll show you,’ he said, as though it were some great effort.
‘Thanks,’ Holly replied tersely, giving him a glare that she hoped he was receiving clear as day through his sunglasses.
But she couldn’t tell if he did; he just walked right on past her, making sure he didn’t come close enough to touch her.
‘Leave Harry here. I’ll send Stephanie out to watch him,’ he added without turning around. Holly huffed, but she did as she was told. She wasn’t sure how she felt about a woman she hardly knew supervising Harry, but she bit her lip.
Chapter 7
‘I thought you’d be happier if you were in the same room together,’ Daniel said as he dumped their overnight bags on the floor of a very spacious double bedroom. Once again, the colour palette for this room was overwhelmingly white.
‘Thanks,’ Holly replied, her bad mood now somewhat dissipated. Although they’d barely said a word to each other since collecting the bags, she’d at least glimpsed some more of the house, which had forced her mind to occupy itself with other things, rather than how much she disliked Daniel right at that moment.
‘Party starts at eight-thirty downstairs,’ he said brusquely, and turned to leave. He was almost out the door when he changed his mind, turned abruptly, and was up in Holly’s personal space in a split second. He’d taken his sunglasses off, and Holly could see a vein in his temple clearly starting to throb.
‘What’s the matter, Mr Madison? You seem a little angry,’ Holly heard herself taunting him. That wasn’t exactly how she’d planned to open up a discussion, but it was too late now.
‘You just had to do it, didn’t you?’ Daniel spat at her with disgust.
‘Do what?’ Holly replied with genuine innocence. For the life of her, she didn’t think her crimes were so very great.
‘Undermine me to my staff. First, you won’t get in the damn car I went to the trouble of sending for you, and then you go and pull a stunt like kissing Perkins. And to top it all off, you drive all the way over here with my son in that death trap,’ Daniel fumed.
‘Good, he passed on my message then,’ Holly replied sweetly. She knew Daniel would always be able to shout and scream longer and louder than she could, but she knew her facetiousness would rile him. It would serve him right for slighting her little car. A death trap, indeed.
‘For Christ sake, Holly. Are you trying to make me jealous?’ he asked, stepping away from her, obviously exasperated.
‘No,’ Holly snapped back quickly. The thought had never even crossed her mind.
‘I just wanted to get your goon off my back and give him something to do. He wasn’t taking no for an answer, and we weren’t ready. By sending him you forced my hand. You can’t control everything we do, Daniel.’
‘Is that what you think I’m doing?’ he asked—not exactly gently, but at least he wasn’t shouting anymore.
‘Of course you are,’ Holly exclaimed. It was her turn to sound exasperated. ‘You send a car to collect us so that we’ll definitely be here to fit in with your plans and schedule. Well, being a parent means not everything always goes neatly to plan, I’m afraid.’
‘But you kissed him, Holly. Why would you do that?’ Daniel asked, looking across at her with a hurt look in his eye.
‘Seriously, Daniel. I don’t know what the big deal is. It didn’t mean anything. I was just proving a point to show you that you don’t and you can’t control me anymore. If you’re going to play a part in Harry’s life, then you have to realise this,’ she answered, giving him a don’t-mess-with-me look. ‘Plus—I’m allowed to kiss whomever the hell I please. Even your precious Mr Perkins,’ she added, unable to stop a smile from escaping her lips.
‘Don’t you ever do that again, Holly. I won’t be made a fool of in my own household,’ Daniel warned, sounding like something out of a Jane Austen novel.
‘Oh, grow up!’ Holly exclaimed, plonking her hands on her hips. ‘Don’t be so bloody childish.’
‘Childish? You’re calling me childish?’ Daniel asked, clearly surprised by her choice of vocabulary. ‘I’m not the one flinging my affections around all over the place with the staff!’
‘Look. What’s done is done. I can’t undo the past. I’m sorry you’re so mortified by a little kiss. I never had you down for such a prude, but there you go,’ Holly said, deliberately goading him.
‘You’re unbelievable,’ Daniel retorted, and he stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
Holly smiled to herself. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t meant to antagonise him, but it had just been too easy. There was something fun about watching Daniel get all hot and bothered and angry at her. Back when they were together, she’d been the peacemaker and had pretty much always backed down. Apparently, having Harry had given her some gumption to stand up for herself, whether she was in the right or wrong. And it felt good.
‘Take that, Daniel Madison,’ Holly said to herself as she unzipped her bag to inspect and attempt to smooth out her outfit for the evening. Then she stopped, hearing something. A small, quiet knocking sound. She looked around the room, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Her hearing and eyes zeroed in on the door. There was a very faint tapping, like someone was drumming their figures quietly on the other side. Holly crept silently to the door and slowly opened it, fully expecting to see a mischievous little boy standing there.
It wasn’t Harry. It was Daniel. Standing there with a hungry, lustful look that was a million miles away from a little boy’s look. Their eyes met, and then he was on her in a rush, kissing her as though his life depended on it. He slammed her back against the open door and passionately kissed her like she hadn’t been kissed in a long, long time. And she kissed him back with the same fervour that their argument had ignited.
Holly’s body began to long for him to scoop her up and carry her to the bed and do more intimate things to her. Just as she thought he was about to comply with her silent wishes, he suddenly stopped his tongue assault and held her still at arm’s length. Both of them were breathing heavily, but only Holly was wearing a confused expression, seeing as she was utterly clueless as to why he’d stopped. Daniel appeared to be quickly regaining his composure as he fixed her with an unreadable look.
‘I’d better go,’ Daniel said quietly. ‘Party’s at eight-thirty.’
‘Is is Stephanie? Is that why you stopped?’ Holly blurted out.
‘What? Stephanie as in—Stephanie? Are you serious, Holly? She’s my housekeeper!’ he exclaimed, laughing loudly. ‘Did you seriously think we were together?
‘I don’t know, Daniel, do I? I’m in the dark where you’re concerned,’ Holly snapped at him, feeling sheepish for asking him.
‘But now you come to mention her, she is a good-looking woman. Maybe I should try my luck there.’
‘And fling your affections around with the staff. Never,’ replied Holly, trying to hide her embarrassment behind the banter.
‘You’re probably right: don’t want to set a precedent. But Stephanie’s really not my type. She’s far too docile and accommodating. I like my women a little more fiery and argumentative,’ he said, giving her a wink as he strode out the door, leaving Holly flustered—and wholly unsatisfied in the physical department.
Chapter 8
‘You look beautiful, Mum,’ Harry said from his comfortable sprawled-out-on-the-big-bed position.
‘Well, thank you, kind sir,’ Holly replied, giving him a twirl followed by a quick curtsey. ‘You look lovely too, but then you’re the best-looking young man in the world,’ she added, giving him
a kiss on his nose. Harry giggled his five-year-old giggle, which reassured Holly that although he was growing up fast, he was still her baby boy. Not a total man, just yet.
‘Right, I guess we’ll just have to do,’ Holly said, making a final adjustment to her hair in the mirror. ‘Let’s head on downstairs for your father’s party.’
It was well past Harry’s bedtime—not that Daniel had even asked. After their argument-cum-moment-of-passion earlier in the afternoon, Holly had let Harry take a nap in the hope that it would give him an extra boost until the end of the day. She hoped he’d be able to get through an hour or so of the party before he got grouchy and in need of a proper sleep.
There was a gentle tap at the door, and Holly’s stomach did little leaps at the thought that Daniel was coming to take them down to his party. How gentlemanly, Holly found herself thinking as she opened the door with a natural smile lighting up her face.
‘You look… nice,’ Stephanie said, giving Holly a full top-to-toe appraisal in less than a nanosecond.
‘Stephanie, hi,’ Holly replied, surprised to see the housekeeper—formerly thought to be Daniel’s love interest—standing before her.
‘Are you… ready?’ Stephanie asked tentatively, as she cast another all-seeing critical eye over Holly’s skinny jeans and sparkly top.
‘Yes,’ Holly replied slowly as Stephanie’s disapproval of her wardrobe choices finally registered. ‘Is there something wrong with the way I look?’ Holly asked, trying to read the other woman’s face. ‘Please be honest with me. I don’t want to look foolish down there.’
‘I knew he hadn’t told you this was a black tie shindig,’ Stephanie sighed, grabbing Holly’s wrist and pulling her back into the bedroom. ‘Men,’ Stephanie huffed as she walked directly over to the built-in wardrobes. She slid open a door and began rifling through a bunch of clothes covered in dust bags. ‘I don’t think he did it deliberately, mind you. He just didn’t think,’ she added, giving Holly a quick reassuring wink over her shoulder.