by Iles, Jo
Holly was surprised, to say the least. She’d been unable to read Stephanie earlier in the day, and was stunned that she now seemed to be coming to her rescue. If that was what she was doing.
Holly had already had a rifle through the wardrobe and drawers in the room—as was the prerogative of any houseguest—but she’d got completely bored when all she’d found were a couple of Daniel’s old suits and a ski jacket. When Stephanie pulled out a selection of five long evening gowns from the furthest recess, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
‘Whose are those?’ Holly asked incredulously, as Stephanie hung the exquisite dresses up side by side.
‘Don’t you remember?’ Stephanie replied, lifting an eyebrow in disbelief. ‘They’re yours.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Holly said automatically. These kinds of dresses were a far cry from the life and wardrobe she lived nowadays. But then again, once upon a time, some years ago, when she’d had posh events to go to, and posh people to impress, she had owned a few dresses, she remembered.
‘Oh my God. They are mine. I totally forgot,’ Holly gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, remembering back to a different life.
‘Why did he keep them?’ she asked as she began to look at the dresses more carefully, feeling their texture and studying their cut.
‘You’d have to ask Daniel that,’ Stephanie replied plainly.
‘Stephanie,’ Holly said firmly, getting a hold of her senses and stepping away from the beautiful dresses. ‘These are lovely, and thank you for digging them out. But they’re a little over the top, don’t you think?’
‘Absolutely not.’
‘But they’re not going to fit me now,’ Holly protested. ‘I had a baby.’
‘Nonsense,’ replied Stephanie in a matter-of-fact, say-it-like-it-is tone.
‘But these aren’t me anymore,’ Holly said feebly. ‘I’m not even sure they were really me when I bought the damn things.’
Stephanie shot her a warning look and nodded in Harry’s direction, clearly admonishing her for her choice of language in front of the little boy.
‘Well, tell me this. Would you rather go downstairs in your current… look,’ Stephanie began, gesturing at Holly’s getup, ‘and feel totally uncomfortable, or would you like to look a million dollars and feel confident enough to hold your own amongst Daniel’s friends and business associates?’
‘I don’t want to do either when you put it like that,’ Holly sulked. ‘We should never have come,’ she added sadly, sinking down onto the bed. ‘We—no, I—don’t fit in this world. I tried to once before, but I didn’t back then, and I’m certainly not going to now. They’re all money, breeding, and class and I’m… well, just, ordinary.’
‘I tell you what,’ Stephanie said kindly, crouching down to Holly’s eyeline and touching her knee in sympathy. ‘Will you at least humour the old housekeeper and try a couple on? For me. Please.’
‘Go on, Mum,’ Harry suddenly encouraged as he draped himself around Holly’s shoulders and began to smother her in butterfly kisses.
‘Okay, okay, I will,’ Holly eventually conceded. ‘But just to see what they look like. And if they actually fit.’
* * *
Holly had thought the party would just be a few people over for drinks and snacks. She was wrong. Very wrong. As she and Harry headed down the stairs, hand in hand, they followed the direction of voices, laughter, and glasses chinking. The noise led them through to a thus-far-unexplored section of the house that was connected via a wide passageway to a temporary marquee. It was huge, and must have housed around a hundred people. There was a bar, a jazz band, and waiters flying about the room expertly carrying trays one-handed. It looked more like a wedding than a birthday party.
Thankfully, Holly didn’t feel one iota overdressed. Thank Christ Stephanie had talked her into trying the dresses on and then talked her into coming down in one of them. The general consensus between the three of them had been that the strapless slinky black gown looked the best. If she’d gone down there in her jeans and spangly top, she would have died from sheer fashion faux-pas embarrassment.
‘Where are the kids?’ Harry asked, unable to hide his disappointment. Clearly this was not his idea of what a party should be.
‘I don’t know, darling. But let’s see if we can find your daddy so you can give him your present,’ Holly said soothingly into his ear and squeezing his little hand in hers.
‘Okay, Mum,’ he said, giving her a nervous little smile. ‘I hope he likes it.’
‘He’s going to love it—because it comes from you,’ Holly reassured him as she led him over to a corner. She was pretty sure it was Daniel’s back she’d spotted from across the room. Whoever it was, he was holding court in a little circle of men and women. Holly gestured for Harry to give the man’s jacket a little tug.
After quite a few tugs, Daniel eventually turned around to see who was disturbing him.
‘Harry,’ he cheered as he scooped up his son and held him in his arms. Holly felt her breath catch. God, he looked good. It was like he’d literally just stepped off a GQ magazine shoot or something. He was all designer tuxedo, designer stubbled sheer sexiness and sophistication. And the arrogant bugger absolutely knew it as he stood confidently and clocked Holly’s eyes, which were wide like saucers. Then a look of appreciation settled on his face as he checked out Holly’s appearance. He looked at her with the undisguised look of a hunter eyeing up its next dinner. His eyes seemed to keep returning to her bustline for some reason. Holly cleared her throat when his staring began to make her feel even more self-conscious than she did already.
‘How rude of me,’ Daniel said, shaking his head and returning to his circle, still holding Harry in his arms and making room for Holly. ‘Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Holly and Harry. And Holly and Harry, this is Steve, Jake, Michael, Olivia, and Miranda.’ Everyone gave polite nods and the men shook Holly’s hand. ‘I think you and Miranda have met before,’ Daniel added, to complete the introductions.
‘Oh yes,’ began Miranda. ‘How are you, Holly?’ she said, narrowing her eyes at Holly and swooping in for some air kisses.
‘Fine, thanks,’ Holly replied with a fake smile. ‘You?’
‘I couldn’t be better,’ she said, looking over at Daniel and Harry.
‘How nice to meet you finally, Harry,’ Miranda said, stepping across Holly and grabbing his hand. ‘I’ve heard so much about you.’
Miranda hadn’t changed a bit. She had always been desperate to bask in Daniel’s glory and had always followed him around like a little lost lamb. The rational part of Holly’s brain knew that she was Daniel’s personal assistant and that it was her job to follow him around like a little lost lamb—but it didn’t mean she had to like the woman. Now, it seemed to be no different. Daniel was holding Harry, so Miranda had to impress her boss and ingratiate herself with Harry. That was just how she worked.
To Holly’s delight, Harry seemed none too impressed with the strange lady who was clasping his hand, and he wriggled it expertly free and began whispering things in his daddy’s ear, taking up all of Daniel’s attention.
‘Excuse us,’ Daniel said to his circle of party guests. ‘We’ll be right back,’ he added as he turned on his heel, pulling a surprised Holly with him. Holly just managed to catch a glance at Miranda’s put-out-of-joint face. It was priceless.
Daniel took them off to a concealed curtain area where the waiters were loading up their trays with canapés and champagne.
‘Harry said he had a present for me, but wanted to give it to me in private,’ Daniel explained to Holly as he set the little boy down.
‘That’s right,’ Harry said confidently as he went over to the gift bag his mum was holding.
‘First, here’s your birthday card. Only it’s not really a birthday card. It’s actually a picture,’ Harry babbled as he dug in the bag and pulled out his somewhat crumpled artwork and shoved it under Daniel’s nose.
‘Thank you,’ D
aniel laughed as he inspected the picture, trying to figure out what it was.
‘And here’s your present,’ Harry said, handing the bag to his daddy. ‘You’ve got to be very careful with it and promise not to lose it or break it. It’s very expensive, and only boys are allowed to touch it.’ Daniel stifled the urge to laugh, and gave Harry a solemn look, signifying his understanding of the immense responsibility that had been bestowed upon him.
‘Oh, wow! A ball!’ Daniel said as he reached into the gift bag and pulled out a bright blue ball. ‘Maybe we can play tomorrow—if you’re free?’
‘Cool, Daddy,’ Harry said, and launched into a huge yawn.
‘I think we have a tired little man,’ Holly said as she stepped in and picked up Harry, who automatically wrapped his arms and legs around her. ‘I’d better take him to bed.’ She gave Daniel an apologetic smile.
‘But you’re coming back?’ Daniel said quickly. Holly couldn’t avoid a slight grimace. Part of her wanted to take Harry to bed and stay upstairs with him. Limited as it may have been, she wasn’t all that keen on the company she had endured so far at the party. But a small part of her wanted to stay with Daniel. Especially if it was just the two of them. Just then, Stephanie appeared from the wings, right on cue.
‘Let me take him,’ Stephanie said, reaching out for Harry. Holly hesitated, then kissed Harry on the hair, unpeeled him, and gave him to Stephanie, who whisked him away before Holly could change her mind.
‘Have you had a boob job?’ Daniel asked her in a low, intimate voice, close to her ear. It made the hairs on her neck stand to attention, and she felt all too aware that her dress was strapless—and that for once she had her cleavage on display.
‘Jesus, Daniel. No, I have not. That would be a combination of childbirth and the dress,’ Holly said, rolling her eyes at him, unable to suppress a smile. ‘You’re unbelievable.’
‘I like ’em,’ Daniel said, giving her chest an appreciative look. With a hand on the small of her back, he gently guided her back to the party.
‘I was thinking…’ Daniel said, leading her over to the bar area and handing her a glass of bubbly.
‘Oh yes,’ Holly replied, lowering her eyelashes at him as she took a sip of her drink. She was absolutely clueless as to what he was going to say next. He could start talking about split custody of Harry, or he could suggest they go and rip each other’s clothes off in the coat closet. She had literally no idea.
‘I was thinking about a partial redesign of the house. The interiors, more specifically,’ Daniel began, then watched her closely for a reaction.
‘Oh,’ was all Holly could manage, looking blank. She wouldn’t have predicted those would be the words to come out of his mouth in a million years, and she couldn’t for the life of her fathom why he would be discussing such a thing with her.
‘I’d really like to hear what your ideas would be to make it less cold and more homely in here,’ Daniel explained.
‘I… guess I could do that,’ Holly said eventually. She was unsure in what capacity she would be making these suggestions.
‘I’d pay you for your work, of course. I wouldn’t expect you to do it as a favour,’ Daniel said quickly, sensing her uncertainty.
‘Sure,’ Holly said, smiling brightly, now understanding that Daniel wanted to hire her services in a professional capacity. She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that it was only in a professional capacity that he wanted her and not as anything more. ‘I could probably fit you in in about three months. Would that work?’
‘Fine,’ Daniel replied—a tad abrasively to Holly’s ears. She wondered what he really expected. Did he expect her to drop everything at the drop of a hat for him?
‘Daniel! There you are,’ crooned Miranda as she sashayed towards them gracefully. ‘I think Steve wanted to discuss something with you urgently.’
‘Please excuse me,’ Daniel said to Holly in the same abrasive tone, then appeared to hotfoot it away from her as fast as humanly possible. Holly wondered how he’d managed to communicate to Miranda that he wanted an excuse to leave. Miranda’s timing seemed to be just perfect. Maybe he was wearing a wire, Holly thought to herself. Now Holly had the unenviable prospect of Miranda’s company.
‘Thank you for coming,’ Miranda began smoothly. ‘I know it means a lot to him—to see Harry,’ she finished.
‘I never wanted to get in the way of Harry and his father,’ Holly said truthfully.
‘Yes, perhaps. But now that Mrs Madison is gone, you can’t stop Daniel from getting what he wants,’ Miranda said, picking an imaginary piece of lint from her dress.
‘Excuse me. Mrs Madison is gone?’ Holly asked, shock permeating through her. She’d half expected to see the old matriarch that evening. She’d even mentally prepared what to say to her about her keeping Harry and her whereabouts a secret all these years.
‘Why, yes. Didn’t you know? I thought Daniel would have told you,’ Miranda said, clearly revelling in Holly’s ignorance.
‘No, I didn’t know,’ Holly whispered, feeling the colour drain from her cheeks.
‘She died six weeks ago. Cancer,’ Miranda said coldly, without a trace of sadness or emotion. ‘But if you ask me, it was for the best. She was in a lot of pain.’
‘How can you speak so unemotionally about her?’ Holly spluttered, feeling her own emotions well up to the surface, as she blinked furiously to keep the tears at bay.
‘That woman was a control freak. She kept Daniel from seeing Harry all those years ago. I assume you know about that,’ Miranda replied, with narrowed eyes.
‘Yes, but she’s dead, Miranda. Whatever she may or may not have done, she was Daniel’s mother and Harry’s grandmother. That’s a grandmother Harry’ll never get a chance to know,’ Holly said sadly. Holly looked across the room and locked eyes with Daniel, who’d glanced up from his conversation with Steve. Some part of her wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around him and kiss him all better. However strong Daniel professed to be, a loss was still a loss. And this was his mother. It must have hurt, and must still hurt a great deal. Daniel shot her a look of concern that lasted all of a nanosecond before he returned to his urgent conversation.
‘As you can see, Daniel is fine. More than fine, in actual fact,’ Miranda said, not having failed to notice the meaningful looks which had crossed the room.
‘And how would you know that?’ Holly asked, rounding on Miranda, unable to disguise her frustration with this irritating woman.
‘I see,’ Miranda said with a thin smile. ‘Something else you don’t know. It seems to me, Holly, that you’re one of the least well-informed people in the room. Let me see if I can go about and do something to enlighten you,’ she added snidely before slithering off in the direction of the stage.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Miranda began, grabbing the microphone at precisely the same moment that the song seemed to magically come to an end. There was a communal shuffling and hustling as the crowd assembled to get a better view of Miranda, holding court up on the stage.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to wish the man of the moment, Mr Daniel Madison, a very happy birthday.’ She halted only briefly to allow for a round of applause. ‘As some of you may know, the past few months have not been easy on Daniel, but he has coped with the strength and fortitude of a great man. I, for one, have been eternally impressed with his kindness and patience during this difficult time,’ Miranda said. There was a general hum of agreement as she paused, making a big deal at dramatically seeking out Daniel in the audience.
‘Daniel, won’t you come up here and join me on the stage?’ Miranda asked. Daniel began striding through a sea of people, all of them wanted to clap him on the back or shake his hand, slowing his progress up to the stage.
‘Whilst Daniel is taking his time in getting here,’ Miranda went on, ‘we’d also like to share with you, our dearest friends, some more positive news this evening.’ Holly was watching Daniel struggle through the nev
er-ending congratulations—and on hearing Miranda’s last words, he seemed to kick it up a gear and plough through the remaining sea of people in a bid to get to Miranda. But he was too late. The words were out of her mouth before he could stop her.
‘We’re getting married!’ Miranda shouted at the top of her lungs, laughing loudly. Then there was a pop, and a ton of sparkly confetti floated down from the ceiling. After a momentary pause, during which the partygoers seemed to process her words, the cheering and applause began. Daniel finally mounted the stage and stood beside his beaming fiancée. He stood there and smiled, but didn’t appear totally natural or at ease. For once in his life, Daniel looked a little lost.
Holly was dumbstruck. She’d seen the whole thing play out before her eyes like a horrific car crash that she was powerless to do anything about. She felt numb. Absolutely and totally devoid of all feeling. Daniel was getting married. To Miranda. It was all just too incomprehensible for her to believe, much less take in.
Slowly, Holly’s senses began to return. She spied an exit nearby and walked slowly out into the cool night. The breeze was refreshing, and although she wasn’t at all drunk, it served to sober her up anyway. She still couldn’t really believe what she’d just heard, but her brain started to function as it dawned on her what Daniel’s reappearance in her life was really all about.
He obviously wanted a divorce.
Subsequently, a little voice in Holly’s head started working overtime. If a divorce was all he wanted, then why did he sleep with her? Twice? Why had he brought up the subject of her redesigning his house? What kind of twisted revenge game was Daniel playing with her now? One thing Holly did know for sure was that she didn’t know a thing about this man anymore. Perhaps she never really had.
It was some time later before Holly realised she wasn’t alone in the garden. She’d been so lost in her thoughts as she stared out across the grounds that she hadn’t heard whoever it was approach. Of course, she had a fair idea who it was. Most likely it was Daniel, probably with a wedge of papers from his solicitor’s for her to sign. Holly spun round and was surprised to find him standing right behind her. So close. She scanned his hands quickly and saw no papers.