by Kate Hardy
‘Fair enough. How do you think he’ll react?’
Luce thought of Ben recounting his life rules over dinner in Chester, his explanation of the one-night rule, and said, ‘Badly.’
Really, who wouldn’t? Yes, he’d asked if he could call her when he got back from his business trip, but that wasn’t the same as having a lifetime tie to another person and the responsibility of a baby thrust upon him. Of course he was going to react badly. It was what he did next, once he’d calmed down, that mattered. How would he try to fix her life this time? Because if his answer was to throw money at the problem, rather than time or love, she was done with Ben Hampton.
‘Then he’s an idiot. Clearly having you in his life would be the best thing to ever happen to him.’
Luce looked up, astonished. ‘Thank you.’
‘And, anyway, it doesn’t matter what he says. Auntie Dolly will be here to make things brilliant every step of the way.’
To her surprise, Luce found that made her feel a whole lot better.
* * *
Ben stared up at the building of the Royal Court Hotel, the February wind whipping down the cobbled streets and through his coat. How the hell was he going to look at this place objectively, think about changing anything, without thinking about Luce? Hell, she was all he’d thought of for over a month. In every Hampton & Sons hotel he’d visited there’d been something to remind him of her. A bedspread or a cushion in the same soft fabric she loved. A gin and tonic at the bar. Shining dark hair glimpsed across a room. She was haunting him, and he couldn’t even figure out why. Was it because he’d left her as broken as he’d found her? Maybe more so? Or was it as simple as a bruised ego? He’d offered to break his rules for her and she’d turned him down.
He’d considered finding someone else—someone to prove the validity of his one-night rule—but none of the women he’d met seemed to appeal. Nothing did. Not the New Year’s Eve party he’d found himself at in New York, nor the cutting-edge restaurant in Sydney. And as the jobs dragged on and delays crept in all he wanted was to be back in his cottage. With Luce.
He’d even thought about calling, asking her to join him, but he couldn’t bear to hear her say that she couldn’t leave her family, her job, whatever else it was that mattered more than he did.
The woman might think she wanted to settle down, find true love, but until she cut those ties—or at least slackened them a little—no man stood a chance.
Besides, it wasn’t as if he was looking to settle down anyway. His job—his life—still involved travelling the world, getting out there, and what woman would put up with that long-term?
She could come with me. Write on the road... Except she wouldn’t. And so he wouldn’t ask. Even if the thought of waking up next to Luce Myles every morning was incredibly tempting.
Shivering, Ben pushed open the door at last, and memories made him grit his teeth at the sight of the lobby. The desk where he’d first seen her. The bar where he’d stolen her diary. And, upstairs, the suite where she’d taken that long, long bath. God, knowing what he knew now, he wished he’d just walked in on her then. All that time wasted...hours and hours when he could have had her in his arms and hadn’t.
And even more of them ahead.
‘Mr Hampton!’
The blonde behind the reception desk beamed at him and Ben tried desperately to remember her name.
‘It’s so wonderful to have you back so soon.’
Which meant that the entire hotel staff were panicking about why he needed a repeat visit, and wondering if it was a sign that their jobs were in danger. Great. ‘It’s lovely to be back...’
‘Daisy.’
‘Daisy. Right.’ Ben rubbed a hand over his aching forehead. ‘Sorry—long flight.’
A look of carefully schooled concern settled onto her face. ‘Why don’t we get you checked in, then, sir? I’ve put aside the King James Suite for you again, if that’s okay?’
‘Wonderful,’ Ben said, taking the key. Not a chance in hell of getting any sleep there without Luce beside him. Great.
Even the walk to the lift was full of memories. Ben distracted himself by watching the other guests instead, trying to observe them in a professional manner, figure out their wants and needs and how the hotel could meet them.
The businessmen by the bar were easy; Ben’s father had known exactly what they needed. A comfortable room, with a desk or table to work at, all-night concierge and room service, meeting rooms and wireless internet access, a business centre with photocopiers and fax machines, and admin assistants they could hire by the hour. A well-stocked bar and well-served restaurant. All done. The Royal Court had them covered. Of course so did every other business hotel in every city.
But what about the couple canoodling by the pot plant? What did they want?
Well, if they were anything like him and Luce...privacy, a sturdy bed, champagne in the mini-bar, a big, deep bath. Maybe a romantic restaurant for dinner, breakfast from room service. Nothing unusual. And, honestly, the couple by the plant were so wrapped up in each other that it didn’t look as if it mattered where they were, as long as they had each other.
Which just left him wondering why he and Luce had never managed that. Which was depressing. Time to move on.
But the family waiting by the lift, with two huge suitcases and a small boy with an oversized rucksack... They didn’t look happy.
The father was in a suit, tie knotted tightly, jacket still on, briefcase in hand. This wasn’t a man who’d left work and gone straight on holiday with his family. This was a man who was still working. And, from the frown creasing his wife’s forehead, she wasn’t too happy about it. The boy just looked miserable.
Ben knew that look. That was the another day, another hotel look. The will I get to see my dad between meetings? look. The did I bring enough books to read? look. That boy knew his family weekend was going to be spent watching his parents arguing, then his mother putting on a brave face while his father disappeared to yet more meetings.
Ben had been that boy. And Ben knew what would happen when the mother couldn’t take any more.
He couldn’t change another family’s future—couldn’t explain to every father dragging his wife and kids to business hotel after business hotel instead of actually taking a holiday what could happen and how it felt. But maybe he could make it a little more fun for the families waiting for their husbands, wives, mothers or fathers to finish their meetings.
Pulling his mobile from his pocket, he called his brother. ‘Seb? That new style of hotel you wanted? I’ve got an idea.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
IT HAD BEEN eight weeks. He’d said he’d be away for a month, and now it was nearly two. Luce dropped her bag by the front door and collapsed onto the sofa, preparing herself for another evening of not hearing from Ben.
Damn him.
She should have known better than to believe him when he said he’d call. Hadn’t he made it perfectly clear what they were? One night only. He wasn’t going to call again.
But eventually she’d have to call him. He deserved to know.
Her head ached, her body was exhausted, and constant low-level nausea left her weak and miserable—and, damn it, she wanted to tell him! Wanted the secret off her shoulders. Wanted to share it with someone else.
Dolly knew, of course, and had been more wonderful than Luce had imagined possible. Her little sister had grown up unexpectedly, and Luce loved seeing this new, responsible side to her. Having her onside made things bearable. But soon she would have to tell other people—her boss, her mother, Tom. God, she’d even have to tell Dennis eventually. But Ben had to know first.
She’d have to call him. If he wasn’t back soon she’d have to tell him over the phone. Except then she wouldn’t be able to see his face, his reaction, the truth about
how he felt. She’d imagined it a dozen different ways. Sometimes, if she was feeling excessively romantic, he fell down on one knee and proposed instantly. Most of the time he looked shocked, stunned and slightly horrified. That was okay. She expected that. But sometimes, after that, her imagination had him take her in his arms and tell her they’d figure it out together. And sometimes it had him walk out without looking back.
She’d cope, whatever his reaction—she knew that. She just needed to know what it was. If he wanted to be involved in his child’s life or not. Then she could start making plans. Until then...this horrible limbo persisted.
Time to move the action back into her own hands. Take responsibility. Take control. ‘If he doesn’t call tonight I’ll phone him.’
‘You’ve been saying that for weeks,’ Dolly said from the door.
Sad, but true. ‘Yeah, but now I’m desperate. I’ll do it.’
Dolly sighed, shut the front door behind her and came to sit on the sofa, lifting Luce’s feet to rest them on her lap.
‘Has it occurred to you that you might be better off without him? I mean, he’s basically disappeared off the face of the earth for two months now, Luce.’
‘I know. And it has.’ Luce sighed. ‘Chances are he’ll run like the wind when I tell him anyway. But he needs to know. And I need to know.’
‘This is all because you can’t write your “To Do” list before you tell him, isn’t it?’
Luce chuckled. ‘Partly.’
Dolly tilted her head to look at her. ‘Are you in love with him?’
Rolling her eyes, Luce gave her sister a shove to the shoulder. ‘You’ve asked the same question every day for two months now. What on earth makes you think my answer might have changed? No, I’m not in love with him. But he’s the father of my child, and the responsible thing is to let him know that and have a conversation about whether he wants to be involved. That’s all.’
Dolly’s smile was sad. ‘I think you’re getting less convincing every time you say that. Come on—I’ll make us some tea.’
The worst thing was Dolly was right. As ridiculous as Luce knew it was to have fallen in love with someone based on three days in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, she was starting to be very afraid that was what had happened.
She missed him. More than she’d thought she possibly could. When he’d called that first night she’d hoped that maybe they’d speak again while he was away. Then, when he hadn’t called, she’d been grateful for a while—after she took the pregnancy test and realised she had to tell him in person. She hadn’t been sure she could keep it from him if they spoke.
But now? Now she just ached to see him. She fell asleep wishing she had his arms around her and woke up missing his morning kisses and the way, the one morning they’d woken up together, the first thing he’d done was pull her closer, kissing her neck. She missed the way he told her she had to stop working sometimes, to relax and have fun.
And she really wished he was around to help her figure out what to do about Tom.
Dolly brought the tea tray back to the coffee table: thick slices of ginger cake on a plate next to the teapot, milk jug and cups. ‘I picked this up from the deli down the road. They said the ginger should be good for nausea.’
‘Smells wonderful.’ Luce picked up her plate and took a slice. Still warm.
Once she’d poured the tea Dolly settled into the armchair on the other side of the armchair. ‘Okay. Now that you’re fed and watered we need to talk.’
‘Look, Doll, I’m going to tell him. But—’
Dolly put up a hand to stop her. ‘Not about that, for once. We need to talk about Tom.’
Luce sank back against the cushions and ate some more cake. ‘I know we do. I just—’
‘Don’t want to. I understand.’ Dolly took a deep breath. ‘I think you need to tell him about the pregnancy.’
‘How on earth would that help?’
‘He’s talking to Mum about how he and Vanessa should have the house. Since she’s got kids already and they need the space.’
Luce blinked. ‘But it’s my house. Grandad left it to me. And besides, they’ve been together—what?—three months? And they’re already talking about shacking up in my home with her kids?’ Luce could hear her voice getting higher and squeakier as she talked, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.
‘Okay, you need to calm down. Think of the baby.’
Luce rolled her eyes, but settled back obediently against the cushions. ‘As if I think about anything else.’ Except the baby’s father.
‘Look, I don’t know if he’s just testing the waters, or what. But Mum’s so happy to see him settled with someone that I think she’ll go for anything that keeps him that way.’
‘But it’s my house,’ Luce repeated, calmer this time.
‘I know. But you’ve always given in to them before. To me, too.’
‘You make it sound like I’m a doormat.’
‘It’s not that. It’s just that you’re always working so damn hard to make sure we’re all happy and okay.’
‘And that’s a bad thing?’
‘Not in itself, no. But Mum and Tom...they expect it now. They can’t imagine it any other way.’
Everything Ben had ever said about giving in to her family, about giving up her life for them, came back in a rush. He was right. He’d been right all along. This was her life, and she needed to live it for herself. And she’d have someone else even more important to live it for when the baby came. She’d have her own little family to be responsible for. She couldn’t let her mother and brother run her life any more.
‘You honestly think they expect me to give up the house?’
Dolly shrugged. ‘Mum and Tom both treat this place like it’s theirs anyway, when it’s convenient.’
‘Not when the roof almost caved in or the stairs needed replacing.’ Funny how they’d been nowhere to be seen when she’d needed money or time to help fix the place up.
‘Exactly.’
‘Exactly...what?’
‘They have no idea what they’d be taking on. But Tom’s so used to you doing whatever he needs I don’t think it’s crossed his mind that you won’t just happily move out into some little flat somewhere while he moves his instant family in here.’
‘That’s crazy!’
‘Luce...’ Dolly put her cup and saucer back on the tray, and leant forwards. ‘You’ve never said no to him before. No one has—except Hattie, and look what happened then.’
‘So you’re saying I should give him my house to avoid his mental breakdown?’
‘Hell, no!’ Dolly shook her head violently, her long dark hair flying across her face. ‘I’m saying it’s time you did say no. Unless you want to get the hell out of this crumbling museum before the baby comes. In which case, make him buy it from you.’
Luce looked around her at the antique furniture, the threadbare rugs and the splintering floorboards. Yes, the place was falling apart. But it was her home—would be her baby’s home. It was all she had left of her grandfather. He’d left it to her, not to Tom or Dolly or their mother, and he’d done that for a reason.
No way in hell she was parting with it.
‘No. It’s my home. I’m staying.’
‘Fine. Then we need to make that clear to Tom. And then we need to go and buy some yellow paint for the nursery.’
Dolly clapped her hands together with excitement. Luce wasn’t sure whether it was the painting or the standing up to Tom that was filling her with glee. It didn’t matter.
‘There’s something else I need to do first,’ she said. ‘I need to tell Ben.’
* * *
Ben was wrestling with the hotel key card when his phone rang. As the door fell open he dropped his suitcase and put the phone to his ear.
‘How did it go?’ Seb asked.
Ben kicked the door shut behind him. ‘It went well, I think.’ Meetings with investors were usually Seb’s domain, but he’d insisted Ben take this one. It was his baby, after all.
‘Good. Full debrief when I get there tomorrow? I got Sandra to book us a meeting room.’
‘Sure. Just need to get some sleep first.’
Seb laughed. ‘Welcome to the world of real work, brother.’
The cell was cut off as Seb hung up, and Ben tossed the phone onto the coffee table. There was truth in Seb’s words. This was real work—trying to expand and transform a hotel chain that had been stuck in one mindset for too long. It was work Ben would never have been allowed to do while their father was alive—work he hadn’t even known he wanted to do until Seb had suggested it to him.
But now? He was good at this. Better than he’d used to be. Because he cared about making these hotels right for their guests. Not just the businessmen or the couples. He wanted a chain of boutique hotels that felt like a home away from home for the families that stayed in them. That made the kids feel safe and happy—not scared of another sterile white room with a too-big bed. Not a free-for-all family hotel with everything in red plastic either, though. This was a hotel for grown-ups, too. It just didn’t exclude or alienate children.
He had a plan, and he had convinced the backers, but he had a hell of a lot of work ahead of him.
But first he needed to sleep.
The phone rang again before he could make it to the bedroom. He intended to ignore it until he saw the name flashing across the screen.
Luce.
Snatching the phone up, he said, ‘Hey, I was going to ring you. I just got back into the country and I’m in Cardiff for a few days.’ He didn’t mention that he’d scheduled this particular leg of the trip in the hope of getting to see her.
‘That’s lucky,’ she said, her voice warm and familiar. ‘I really need to talk to you.’