It couldn’t be Doug, because he was always so calm and this man was … manic. But oh my God, it was Doug. His hair was a mess, as if he’d been jamming his hands through it, repeatedly. And his beautiful face was distraught.
Immediately she jumped to her feet. ‘What’s wrong?’ He just stood there, gaping at her, his eyes frantically skimming her up and down. ‘Doug, what is it?’
‘What are you doing here?’
She froze, her heart in her mouth. ‘I … umm.’ Oh God, this had been so much easier when she’d practiced it in her head.
‘You’ve come to say goodbye.’ It wasn’t a question but a statement, spat out in a harsh tone. He took a couple of paces towards her but stopped a few feet away, as if terrified to touch her. Now he was closer she could see his eyes were bloodshot, as if he’d been crying? ‘It’s easier if you just …’ He shut his eyes. ‘… go.’
Why did he look so awful? And where on earth did he think she was going? ‘But I’ve only just got here. What are you trying to tell me? I had this stupid notion that turning up at yours might be a nice surprise for you, but obviously I had that wrong.’
Her confusion turned to hurt as he continued to maintain that awful distance. ‘I can see from the look on your face that I’m the last person you want here right now, so I’ll make myself scarce.’ Her voice shook, as did her hands as she reached for her bag.
‘You think telling me you’re going to Manchester is a nice surprise?’ he snapped.
‘Manchester? Why on earth am I going to go there?’ Suddenly the penny dropped. ‘Oh, you must have been speaking to Geraldine.’
‘I have.’ In a slow, deliberate movement he placed his hands in his pockets and drew in a deep breath. ‘Why did I have to hear it from her?’
‘Hear what from her? How Robert wants me to go up to Manchester and see how his company works?’ She took a step towards him, noticing how he stiffened. ‘You know I’m not going to work for him. Why would I when there’s nothing in Manchester for me, apart from the job? My friends aren’t there. My family isn’t there.’ Her heart raced as she gently placed a hand on his cheek. ‘You aren’t there.’
She watched as his face gradually began to lose its deathly expression, though his hands remained rigidly clenched at his side. ‘So you’re not leaving me?’
‘Of course not.’ He couldn’t have thought … could he? ‘Doug, did you really think I’d come here to tell you goodbye?’
‘Yes.’ She stared into his stunning blue eyes and watched as a whole gamut of emotions flickered through them. Hurt, loss, despair, confusion. Slowly he raised his hand and placed it over hers, drawing it against his chest. As she felt the pounding of his heart beneath her fingers, his expression turned to one of cautious hope. ‘So if you haven’t come to say goodbye, are we still good?’
She smiled into his eyes. ‘I hope so.’
And suddenly he was pulling her into his arms, clinging to her as if his very life depended on it. He showered kisses over her face and then plundered her mouth, kissing her deeply, passionately, with every fibre of his being. When he finally drew back, they were both shaking.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. ‘I didn’t mean to crowd you or be so demanding.’
‘Demanding?’
He ran his hands up and down her arms, as if he couldn’t bear not to touch her. ‘I know there’s so much else going on in your life and I’m incredibly grateful for whatever time you can spare me. A day a week. Even just a night a week. God, as long as I know you’re part of my life, I’ll be happy with anything.’ He bent to kiss her and this time it was achingly gentle. ‘I adore you, Abigail Spencer. When I think how close I came to losing you …’
Abby shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘Heavens, Doug, you only came close to losing me in your way too furtive imagination. I was never going anywhere, except hopefully inside your house because I’ve been sitting out here for ages and I’m flipping freezing. My bum’s been on that cold step so long it’s gone numb.’
‘Oh, Abby.’ She saw the life sparkle back into his eyes before he bent to lift her into his arms and carry her up the steps.
Doug shifted slightly on the sofa, trying to get more comfortable. He was wrapped around Abby’s naked body, both of them covered by a throw he’d tugged over them when the heat of passion had begun to ebb away. Satiated and happier than he could ever remember being, he was loath to disturb the woman in his arms.
Gently he stroked at the soft skin of her stomach, smiling as he heard a rather loud rumble. ‘What was that? Are they digging up the roads again?’
Swatting him, Abby opened a sleepy brown eye. ‘Ha ha. That’s my stomach telling you I’m hungry. You need to feed your guest.’
‘How about I distract you with my body for a while, instead.’
‘I’m sure you could, but I tend to get grumpy the longer I go without food.’
Sighing, he gave her one final kiss before reluctantly leaving her to venture into the kitchen. Figuring naked cooking might be considered unhygienic he hopped into the trousers he’d gleefully tossed away an hour ago and opened the fridge door. Spying the lasagna Gwen had been kind enough to bring when she’d popped round two days ago to tell him how much she loved her new house, he peeled off the tin foil and plonked it with great flourish into the oven.
As he set about throwing together a salad, a pair of soft lips kissed his naked back. ‘Do you mind if I take a shower?’
‘No. As long as you have it with me.’
She laughed and hugged his waist. ‘It’s a deal.’
Abandoning the salad he followed Abby out of the kitchen, admiring the way she struggled to keep the blanket round her naked body. Smirking when he gave it one hard tug.
‘Hey!’
‘Just trying to help.’ He found it hard not to laugh as she flapped her arms around her body in a fruitless attempt to cover herself up.
‘For that you can haul my case up the stairs,’ she muttered, scampering ahead of him.
It was only when the very distracting sight of her naked bottom had disappeared that Doug remembered the giant suitcase. If she wasn’t going to Manchester, where exactly was she going?
He gave the handle a tug, then braced himself and yanked again, harder. Wherever she was off to, she’d surely packed enough clothes to see her through all four seasons.
Making a mental note to ask her about it, he shrugged off his trousers for the second time that evening and strode into his shower room. The sight of her naked body swept all thoughts of suitcases temporarily out of his mind.
‘So, about your suitcase,’ he asked when they were both back downstairs, Abby once again engulfed in his dressing gown. ‘Where are you going, if not Manchester?’
She gave a guilty start and a deep red flush stole up her neck and across her cheeks. ‘Oh, I’d forgotten about that.’
Midway through chopping a cucumber he froze, his heart plummeting all over again. ‘Please don’t tell me it’s far.’
Her teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. ‘Oh it’s not far. Not far at all actually. In fact you might think it’s a bit too close.’
‘You could never be too close to me.’
‘Not even if I was in the same house?’
The knife clattered out of his hand and onto the worktop. ‘Pardon?’
Her eyes skated away from his. ‘Oh God, I should have known this was a bad idea. Of course you don’t want me living here. I’m messy and I talk too much. You’re used to your neat, tidy space and your quiet and I’d just steamroller over it and—’
He didn’t let her finish. Taking several giant strides round the breakfast bar to where she was sitting on a bar stool, he pulled her towards him and kissed her. And kissed her. And kissed her. ‘You really want to live here, with me?’ he asked breathlessly.
‘Yes.’
The word was reassuringly absolute and at last the pieces began to click into place. ‘So when I phoned y
our house and your father told me you’d left with a suitcase, he meant you were coming here.’ He shook his head, starting to laugh. ‘It would have saved me one hell of a lot of heartache if he’d said that.’
‘He probably assumed you knew. I didn’t tell him I was planning to surprise you.’
‘You certainly did that, along with giving my heart a thorough emotional workout.’
She stretched her neck to kiss him again. ‘Sorry.’
‘Oh no, don’t apologise for giving me the best surprise I’ve ever had.’
‘Ever?’
‘Yes, ever.’ This time it was his turn to be absolute.
Still perched on the stool she leaned in and hugged him tighter. ‘I’m glad it was worth all the trauma. I had no idea you thought I was leaving.’
‘The last time we saw each other I was a prick and we had cross words. After that you kept turning me down.’ He wrapped his arms round her and kissed her, stopping the response he knew she was itching to deliver. ‘Then I hear from Geraldine about the interaction you had with my father. Why didn’t you tell me, Abby?’
‘Ah.’ Her head dipped so he couldn’t see her eyes. ‘I was going to, but these last few days have been crazy busy and as time went on it started to lose its importance. I mean, he’s never had anything good to say to me, so it was hardly news.’
His sigh was born of pure frustration. ‘I deserve to know when my father is badmouthing the woman I love.’
The arms around him stilled. ‘You love me?’
He groaned, bending to kiss her again. ‘Of course I love you.’
Tears immediately began to fill her eyes and she gave him a tremulous smile. ‘That’s … oh boy.’ She swiped her hand across her watery cheeks. ‘That’s good. Really, really good. And to get back to what you were saying, you deserve a whole bunch of things I wasn’t delivering on. Between the job and my family you’ve been getting shoved aside and it isn’t right.’
‘I told you, I don’t expect to always come first. I’d like to think I was more important than your job, but I understand your priorities concerning your family.’
Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she stared up at him. ‘You are the most important thing in my life, Doug. I love my family but they aren’t my future. You are. Because in case I forgot to tell you, I love you, too.’
His heart filled with such a rush he thought it might burst. ‘You do, huh?’
‘I do.’ Her fingers trailed across his jaw in a gentle caress and he pushed more firmly against her hand in a bid to deepen the contact. ‘I will still need to spend a fair amount of time with my family though,’ she continued, smiling at the dopey expression he knew was on his face. ‘At least for the next few years, so I figured even if I couldn’t see you straight after work, if you don’t mind me living with you I can at least come home to you every night and tell you how much you mean to me.’
‘Yes. God, yes.’ He tightened his hold on her, desperate to show her both with his words and his body that he wasn’t going to let her go. Ever.
‘I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to have a job mind you, after my latest run-in with your non-father.’
‘Ah, about that.’ He eased her away a fraction, just so he could see her face properly. ‘He might not have much choice in the matter.’
‘Oh?’
‘I suspected he’d rather sell the company than let you become a director in it – or me now, for that matter – so we did a bit of digging.’
‘We?’
‘Umm, I had a surprising ally. My mother.’
‘You’ve been working with your mother? That’s, well to be honest it’s almost unbelievable but it’s amazing, too.’ Her eyes turned soft. ‘Do you think you’ll learn to be friends?’
‘I’m not sure, but it’s been good to feel I’m not fighting my father alone any more. We found out that Charles has been slowly selling off shares in Crumbs to interested parties. What he doesn’t know is that those interested parties now comprise mainly of my mother, sisters, friends of my mother and myself. Between us we’ve bought enough to take control.’
Her eyes rounded. ‘Seriously?’
‘Yes.’
A bubble of laughter escaped her. ‘Oh boy. He’s going to go ape shit when he finds out.’
‘By then it will be too late. My mother’s got it all in hand.’ He grinned. ‘Seems that sleeping with my father’s trusted lawyer comes with a lot of perks.’
Abby arched her back, rubbing herself suggestively against him. ‘Does that mean I can literally sleep my way to the top now?’
‘If you sleep with me every night you can have any job you want. It doesn’t need to be at Crumbs either, though we’re hoping it will be.’ He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and finally her mouth. ‘But you need to know that if you decide to live with me, I won’t ever let you go.’
Her eyes welled, turning a liquid brown as she registered his meaning. ‘That’s good, because I don’t ever plan on leaving.’
Too choked to talk, he simply held her.
Finally he had a place he could call home. It had nothing to do with the four walls and everything to do with the woman who’d be sharing them with him.
The poignancy of the moment was interrupted when her stomach let out another loud rumble. As she glanced up at him he caught her eye.
And suddenly his home was filled with laughter.
Epilogue
Abby pushed Doug forward. ‘Go on. Go in and talk to him. You don’t even have to tell him who you are. You can talk about the latest oil paints, or easels or … oh, I don’t know … palette knives. Yes, ask him about where he gets his palette knives from.’
Doug raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re suggesting the first conversation I have with my father, my real father, is about palette knives?’
She huffed. ‘No! I’m saying you don’t have to blurt out you’re his son if you don’t want to. You can ease into the conversation.’
‘By discussing palette knives?’
‘By discussing whatever the heck you want to, but you do need to actually walk into his studio in order to do that. Which means opening this door.’
She watched as he stared at the door, the handsome face she’d once found so hard to read now clearly telling her I’m scared. He took a step back. ‘We don’t have to do this now. In fact we’ve not really got time.’
‘We’re not due at the venue for another hour and a half,’ Abby cut in gently, rubbing the small of his back with her hand. ‘And we’ve been through all this. Today happens to be a really convenient time to see him. We know he’s in, because I phoned this morning. We’ve not had to come out of our way because it’s round the corner from where we need to be later. If it’s a disaster it doesn’t matter because you have plenty more going on today to take your mind off it.’
His broad shoulders sprung back and he inhaled deeply. ‘Okay then.’ His eyes darted to hers. ‘You’re coming with me, yes?’
‘If you want me to.’
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. ‘I do.’ Then he pushed his way into the studio-cum-shop owned by the portrait artist, Patrick O’Shea.
The bell tinkled as the door opened and before Abby had a chance to study the paintings that littered the front of the shop a tall, distinguished looking man greeted them.
He smiled warmly and Abby had to stifle a gasp. There was no doubt that this man was Doug’s real father. The height and the body shape were similar but it was the eyes that gave it away. Doug had obviously inherited his dazzling blue eyes from his father. Irish blue eyes that twinkled when they smiled, and it was clear from the lines on Patrick’s face that he’d done a lot of smiling in his life. Doug was only starting to learn.
‘Mr O’Shea.’ Doug stood woodenly in front of his father and Abby ached for him. What must he be thinking, coming face-to-face with the man whose genes he carried?
‘Ach, we don’t stand on ceremony here. Patrick is fine.’ There was a hint of an Irish acce
nt in his voice. ‘How can I be of help?’ He glanced towards Abby. ‘If you tell me you’d like me to paint this lady, you will truly have made my day.’
Abby blushed, immediately seeing why Doug’s mother had fallen for the guy. ‘Thank you but I think the world can do without another version of me. Not that it wouldn’t look fabulous, I’m sure,’ she added hastily, then realised how that sounded. ‘I mean it would look fabulous because of your skill, not because of the model.’ She caught Doug’s amused glance and slammed her jaw shut. So much for the promise she’d made him that she’d keep quiet.
Patrick chuckled softly. ‘You’ve found someone special here all right, Douglas Faulkner.’
Doug’s face paled. ‘You know who I am?’
‘Of course I do. I’ve been taking a keen interest in you ever since I found out Belinda was pregnant. She denied I was the father but the dates we’d been …’ He coughed delicately. ‘… seeing each other and the date you were born … well, they both matched up.’
‘You’ve been in touch with my mother all this time?’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t put it that strongly. I’ve tried to, though she cut me off at every attempt.’ Patrick’s vivid blue eyes stared straight into Doug’s matching ones. ‘I wanted to know what was happening to the boy I believed could be my son. When I heard whispers about a hot new artist who some believed was actually Douglas Faulkner, I googled you. Your age, your looks. Let’s just say I put two and two together and figured I’d made four. Your visit today suggests my maths were right.’
Doug stared at the man with the bright blue eyes. His father. He didn’t know what to think, what to say. He’d never been any good at the emotional stuff and meeting his father for the first time surely came under that category.
Suddenly he felt the squeeze of the small hand wrapped inside his. Glancing sideways he saw Abby gazing at him, her dark eyes full of compassion and understanding. Most of all though, full of love. It was she who’d patiently coaxed him this far. Surely he could manage the last few steps himself.
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