by Alexia Adams
He rocked back on his heels as though thrown off balance by the force of the woman. “Yes, hello, I’m Simon Lamont.” The warmth of the friendships engulfed him. Although a stranger, he could feel that all he had to do was smile and he’d be welcomed into their group. Being cold and aloof around these people wasn’t going to be an option. The melting he’d experienced when Helen had spoken of companionship in the car doubled in rate. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be a sodden mess before he managed to escape back to New York. But the lure of friendship and support Helen obviously enjoyed was very tempting.
“Welcome, Simon. Please excuse Mandy. She should come with her own weather warning.” The woman with the light brown hair approached him, holding out her hand. “I’m Lorelei. This is my husband, Liam.” She beamed when she said the word “husband.”
Liam approached and shook hands, then the apron-clad man nodded from across the room. “Yo, I’m Jason. You hungry?” It seemed the standard greeting for the chef.
“First he has to change,” Mandy said. “Business suits remind me of work. Can’t relax around them.”
“We’re a pretty casual bunch,” Lorelei added. “Why don’t I show you to your room, Simon? Helen, you’re in your usual spot.”
“When you’re ready, we’ll be in the front room,” Liam called out as Lorelei preceded Simon from the room.
“You have a beautiful home,” he said as they mounted the massive oak stairway. He carried his bag and Helen’s; she had stayed in the kitchen.
“Thank you, although I had nothing to do with it. Liam designed and decorated it all himself.”
“Really?” Simon had never thought of designing his own dream home. He was happy living in his flat in Manhattan; he was rarely there anyway. But he could see how having a place like this to come to would be the ultimate in stress relief and relaxation. It wasn’t even his home and it was already having that effect on him. He took a deep breath, wanting to expunge the nasty taste in his mouth when he thought of the effect his actions would have on the Bertram employees. It was business, but it was starting to feel personal.
“You can put Helen’s bag in here.” Lorelei indicated a door to the left. “And this is your room. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. I hope you’ll be comfortable.” She pushed the door open to reveal a massive room, with desk and printer, an en suite bathroom, and a small deck overlooking rolling hills covered in neat rows of grapevines. There was even a small sofa and fireplace on the far wall. It was nicer than any hotel room he’d stayed in lately. “Helen said you were leaving in the morning, but we’re all here for the weekend, so please don’t feel the need to rush off tomorrow.”
“Thank you, that’s kind, but I do need to get back to New York.” Although, did he? There was no one waiting for him, no reason he couldn’t spend another day with these warm, friendly people, except he’d been brought up on the ideology of never imposing on anyone. Even his mother hadn’t wanted to inconvenience him by asking him to return home. Instead she was going to stay the weekend in Scotland and visit some sights up there while his father removed all evidence they’d ever been a family.
Lorelei’s soft voice brought him back to the present. “Well, think about it, you’re most welcome to stay. New York will still be there on Sunday. I’ll leave you to change. As Liam said, we’ll be in the front room, bottom of the stairs, turn left.”
“I’ll be down soon. What time is David expected?”
“Any minute now. I hope he isn’t going to announce he’s bought the property next door and is going to start llama farming.” She laughed and then closed the door.
Simon changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He hadn’t brought a lot of casual clothes with him. A part of him wanted to forget business for the weekend and just enjoy the warmth and companionship that had enveloped him as soon as he’d stepped into the kitchen.
He ran a hand over his face. Too much soul-searching was only going to lead to trouble. The morning’s revelation about his father had started the crack that Helen, with her laughter and genuine concern for others, had widened to a crevice. He was happy being alone, wasn’t he?
The door across the hall clicked open and closed, then opened again a minute later. There was a soft knock on his door.
Helen stood in the hallway, wearing the same dress as earlier, holding a plastic-bound report in her hand. She blinked when she saw him in his casual outfit.
“Too late, I’m dressed already,” he teased, trying to recapture the easiness of earlier.
“Damn, I shouldn’t have stopped to ask Liam if he’d heard from David,” she quipped. He’d noticed her visibly relax as soon as she’d entered the room with her friends. “But if you’re ready, we can go down together. I wanted to give you this to read when you have a minute.”
He took the proposal from her and flipped through a few pages. “Want me to read it now so we can discuss it after dinner?”
He glanced up to find her staring at him. Her eyes searched his, and he drowned in their blue depths. What would they look like simmering with desire, blazing with passion? When she first opened them in the morning after a full night of lovemaking? The plastic-covered document in his hand protested the death grip he had on it.
“No, it’s all right. Relax now—you can read it later.” Her sexy voice had dropped another octave, as though she’d read his mind. Her gaze swept up and down him again, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to pull her into the room and taste her full lips, which were parted ever so slightly, as though waiting for him to kiss her.
“I’ll read it before I go to bed. Promise.” With dirty thoughts running through his mind, he was going to need something dull to help him get to sleep.
“Wonderful.” The smile that lit her face was miraculous. In a second she went from burdened engineer to beautiful ingenue.
He was beginning to feel like an ass for putting her in that position.
…
Helen walked side by side with Simon down the stairs and into the sitting room. She shoved her hands in her pockets to resist the urge to take his hand. Among her friends, in this warm, comfortable home, it was becoming difficult to remember he was the enemy. In fact, he was about to become her boss. She tried to imagine that he was Harold Bertram. But she couldn’t replace the tall, fit, handsome man next to her with the pudgy, greedy one who was probably clearing his desk and half the office supplies right at this moment.
“What can I get you to drink, Simon?” Liam asked as he walked over to a liquor cabinet at the far end of the room.
“A beer would be great,” Simon replied.
“And for you, Helen? Your usual?” Liam called out as he popped the cap off a beer.
“Actually, I think I’ll try a red wine today. Something full-bodied.”
Liam blinked, then poured her the glass of wine. He passed it to her before handing Simon his beer. “I like the new look, Helen. Very nice,” Liam said after another moment looking at her. His eyes darted between her and Simon as though trying to determine how much influence the man had on her transformation.
“Thank you,” she replied, slightly embarrassed.
“Help yourself,” Jason said as he placed a selection of appetizers on the coffee table.
She put her wine down on the side table next to the love seat and picked up a plate, trying to choose those bites she could eat most elegantly. A flake of pastry would inevitably go down her windpipe and she’d end up coughing bits of canapé all over the place.
As she returned to her seat, she realized the other couples had arranged themselves so that the only place left for Simon was right beside her. Heat radiated off his thigh, enhancing the light scent of his aftershave. She took a big gulp of her wine.
“So, we’re taking bets as to what David’s big announcement is,” Liam said. “Lorelei thinks he’s taking up llama farming. I’ve got my money on NASCAR racing.”
“NASCAR? Have you ever driven with him? I think de
molition derby is more appropriate,” Jason said.
“What’s your guess, then?” Mandy asked her fiancé.
“I think David has discovered his spiritual side and decided to become a Buddhist monk.” Jason’s suggestion was met with laughter.
“At least he wouldn’t have much hair to shave,” Helen added when she caught her breath. As each moment ticked by she was becoming more and more anxious about what her brother had in store. At least with her friends’ outrageous suggestions, she realized there were a lot of possibilities, not all of them bad.
“So, Mandy, what do you think?” Liam asked.
“I think he’s going to sail around the world,” she declared.
“No, he gets sick on the ferry to Alcatraz,” Helen said.
“Simon? What’s your guess?” Helen turned the attention on her guest, hoping to delay the moment when her friends asked her to reveal her worst fear.
“I’ve never even met the man. How can I make a reasonable guess?”
“Trust me, even knowing David for the past fifteen years, I don’t have a clue what he’s got in mind,” Liam stated.
“Maybe he’s decided to hike the ancient spice trail.” Simon accompanied his statement with a rueful smile.
“Is that something you’d do?” Helen stared at the man next to her. His green eyes appraised her for a moment.
“In another lifetime, maybe. But we pirates prefer to stay close to the water.” The crooked smile Simon gave her sent a flame of desire shooting through her body. She dragged in a deep breath, trying to calm her heart, which had suddenly decided to race.
Liam’s voice reminded her there were others in the room. “Nah, I don’t think that’s something David would do. He complains when he has to walk from the office to the restaurant around the corner.”
“So, Helen. You know him best. What do you think we’re here for?”
Helen took another gulp of her wine before staring out the dark window. “I really don’t know what he has to say. I guess with David, anything is possible. I just hope he hasn’t decided to join my parents.”
Silence encompassed the room for a moment. Helen studiously avoided looking at Simon, although she could feel his stare.
“No way. Can you imagine David going without electricity for more than four hours? Last power cut he wanted me to get a generator for the building,” Liam said.
“Well, we won’t have much longer to wait,” Lorelei said. “I think I hear his car in the driveway now.”
Sure enough, a couple minutes later the front door clicked open. Helen raised worried eyes toward the entryway, barely aware Simon had taken her hand and given it a gentle squeeze.
David strode through the doorway. She appraised her brother, looking for some clue as to why he’d called them all there. The first shock was to see him dressed in designer jeans, a light blue button-down shirt, and a black leather jacket. And was he wearing cowboy boots? David had become trendy. Was that his big announcement? He was going to join mainstream society? Helen gave it three days, tops.
While she was staring at her brother, he caught sight of Simon, holding her hand. David narrowed his eyes and asked, “Who are you?”
Before she could respond, Simon said, “My name is Simon Lamont, and your sister invited me.”
Helen waited for him to explain they had a professional relationship, not personal. Mind you, she’d seen more of Simon’s body than strictly fit the business model, but her brother didn’t need to know that. Simon kept quiet.
“David, leave Helen alone, she’s a grown woman.” Liam interrupted the stare-down that David and Simon were engaged in. “Why have you called us all here?”
David appeared to pull himself back to the moment.
“Oh, yeah. The reason I’ve asked you all here is to introduce you to someone. Alina!” He called out.
As though rising for the arrival of the queen, everyone stood as a very tall blond woman entered the room. David moved over to the doorway, where she stood hesitantly, and put his arm around her waist. She was at least four inches taller than him.
“Alina, these are my friends and my sister, and some random guy. Everyone, this is Alina, my wife.”
Chapter Four
“Your wife?” Helen’s strained voice was drowned out by everyone, except Simon, repeating the same words.
The room spun and went black for a second and she grabbed for the tall man next to her. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his hard, warm body. The room spun again, but for an entirely different reason.
Simon’s deep chuckle filled an awkward silence. “Well, I guess we were all wrong. I don’t think anyone had money on marriage,” he said.
His words unglued the group from where they stood staring at the new arrivals. Liam and Lorelei rushed over to congratulate the new couple. While Helen was still trying to process the word “wife,” Simon leaned down and whispered in her ear, “She’s your new sister-in-law. Congratulate her and we’ll deal with the emotional fallout later.”
We? Since when are we in this mess together? She was as confused by Simon’s words as she was by David’s announcement. Somehow her brother had persuaded this poor, deluded woman to marry him? Alina was going to need a friend.
“Welcome to the family, Alina,” Helen said.
“Spasibo,” Alina murmured, as Helen gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Russian. That answered a little; she obviously didn’t understand David.
“Well, I guess this calls for champagne,” Liam declared.
“I’ll come with you and get the glasses,” Lorelei said, then followed him from the room.
“I should check on dinner,” Jason added and trailed after the other two.
Mandy shot another startled glance toward David and Alina before muttering something about helping Jason before she, too, fled the room.
Simon slid his arm from around Helen, as though he was going to leave as well. She caught his hand before he could go and held it tight. What was the expression, any port in a storm? Even the enemy’s hand in hers was better than facing the implosion of her life alone.
Unless she could convince Simon otherwise, she was about to lose her job. Now she’d also need to find a new place to live, as sharing an apartment with David and his new bride would be awkward to say the least. Which meant she couldn’t just pop across the hallway to hang with her friends… Yup, total lifestyle cave-in.
His gaze caught hers and the pleading look she sent him must have registered because he gestured toward the room.
“Why don’t we sit down and you can tell us about yourself, Alina.” Simon seemed the only one with any sense left, so she followed him dutifully and sat once again on the love seat, not caring any more that their thighs were touching.
“Yes, please, tell us about yourself, Alina.” Helen hoped she sounded gracious and not completely freaked out.
The tall woman perched herself on a chair that David pulled from a desk in the corner. He then took up a stance behind his wife, his hands on her shoulders.
Helen’s eyes flickered between the two of them, trying to see some hint of love or companionship. Her new sister-in-law was quite pretty. She didn’t look comfortable, though, being the center of attention. Blond hair flowed almost to her waist, and the woman’s brown eyes stared at the floor. She had a slim figure and legs that went on, and on, and on. Helen judged Alina to be in her early thirties.
Helen shook her head. David had done some stupid things in his life. However, marrying a woman on the spur of the moment was at the top of the pile. She glanced again at her brother; pride and awe were now written across his features. Maybe he did feel something for Alina. Helen would try her best to be friendly and not think of all the consequences this marriage would have on her own life.
“I am from Minsk, Belarus. I am very happy to meet David’s family and friends,” Alina replied in halting English.
“We met online,” David added, as if that would clear up a
ll the mystery of his sudden marriage.
“When did you actually meet in person?” Helen held her breath.
“Wednesday,” David answered, as though it were the most logical thing in the world to meet a woman and be married to her the next day. “The online thing worked so well for Liam, I thought I’d give it a try,” he said as Liam entered the room carrying two bottles of Bollinger.
Liam put the bubbly on the table before relieving Lorelei of her tray of champagne flutes, placing it next to the bottles.
“I never recommended my approach, David. It very nearly cost me the woman I love,” Liam said as he took Lorelei in his arms, as if to reassure himself she was real.
“Yeah, well, I modified your method a bit. Less hacking, more chatting.” David leaned down and kissed his bride on the cheek. She gave a shy smile to her new husband and gripped David’s hand, which still rested on her shoulder.
The canapé Helen had eaten earlier threatened to come up. She definitely needed to find a new place to live. She wasn’t going to be able to stomach watching her brother kiss his wife on an hourly basis.
She grabbed the glass of champagne that Liam handed her and downed half the contents in one go. The bubbles caught in her throat and set off a coughing fit. Fleeing from the room to cough her guts out in private, she waved aside Lorelei’s attempt to follow her. “I’m okay,” she gasped out, tears streaming down her face.
…
Simon stood as Helen fled the room, waving off Lorelei as she was about to follow. Thinking she needed a few minutes alone, he sat again on the mini sofa. Without her next to him, it felt cold, lonely. If Helen wasn’t back in five minutes he’d go and find her. He couldn’t believe the insensitivity of David in not giving his own sister advance notice of his wedding. Helen had said they were close. But then until this morning he’d thought his parents were close, too. You really couldn’t trust anyone.
He took a deep breath, careful to keep the neutral smile on his lips. For a man who hated emotional scenes, he was surprised he was becoming so personally embroiled in this one. He should be setting sail on his pirate ship, with a mental note never to visit these tainted shores again. Instead, he was contemplating going after the damsel in distress and offering her comfort.