‘So you got divorced?’
‘That was the problem, You have to be married for a year before you can be divorced.’
‘How long had you been married?’ she asked gently.
‘Six months.’ He blew out a breath. ‘I had to wait it out and try to ignore the men she flaunted in the gossip rags. And I swore I’d never get involved with anyone again.’
She regarded their joined hands. ‘Hmm. Not involved.’
‘You’re different,’ he said. ‘I knew you were different, the first moment I met you. And the more I get to know you, the more I realise…’ He stopped.
‘Realise what?’
He shook his head. ‘Later. Anyway, thanks for listening.’
‘No problem. And thank you for trusting me. It goes without saying that I’m not going to betray your confidence.’
He gave a half-shrug. ‘I think you’ve taught me how to trust. You opened up to me first. Made yourself vulnerable. So I feel safe with you.’
She tightened her fingers round his. ‘I feel safe with you, too,’ she whispered.
On Wednesday, while Charlotte was working at the surgery, Nick dropped in to see her at lunchtime. ‘How’s it going?’ he asked.
‘Really good.’ She smiled at him. ‘I’m helping people, Nick—and it’s helping me leave the past behind.’
‘Uh-huh.’
She looked at him and frowned. ‘You’ve got shadows under your eyes. Do you want to go out for a sandwich or something?’
‘I’m fine. Just…things on my mind,’ Nick hedged.
‘You know,’ Charlotte said quietly, ‘Annabel would be furious with you for letting yourself be unhappy like this. Whatever’s eating at you, Nick, maybe it’s time to let it go. I’ve done that myself, and it’s incredible how much better it made me feel.’
Nick wasn’t sure whether anything could make him feel better. Or how he could let the past go. He’d betrayed Annabel with his first love, on one of the darkest nights of his life. And he’d gone on to make Kate miserable by refusing to recognise who Jem really was—though how could he do that without risking his newly fixed relationship with his grown-up children?
As for Kate herself…Guilt ripped at him. He hadn’t exactly been supportive during her illness, had he? True, she’d pushed him away. But every time he’d tried, he’d seen Rob there. Looking tenderly at her. Being there for her. Hell, the man was even living with Kate now. Nick had seen them on the beach together—Kate, Jem, Rob and Matt—and they looked like a proper family.
He ought to just leave her be. Let her go and have her chance of happiness with Rob.
And yet…
‘Nick?’ Charlotte said softly. ‘If you want an ear—someone who won’t judge you or argue or push you—you know where I am.’
‘I do. Thank you.’ He forced a smile to her face. ‘Well, I’d better let you get on.’
‘Sure you don’t fancy lunch at the Smugglers’?’ Charlotte asked.
‘Thanks, but I’ll pass.’ He paused. ‘James…he’s being all right to you? Not pushing you?’
‘He’s fine.’ Charlotte’s smile was full of tenderness. Of love. And Nick was pretty sure where her relationship was going.
The same way that everyone else’s seemed to.
Except his own.
The first Saturday in October, Charlotte rang James. ‘Are you busy?’
‘Not particularly. Why?’
‘There’s something I want to show you. I’ll come and pick you up.’
‘Why don’t I come and pick you up?’ he asked.
‘Because it’s a surprise, and I want to drive.’
‘You could always drive the Aston,’ he suggested.
‘Really?’
‘I put your name on the insurance. So if you want to…’
‘Oh, yes!’
He laughed. ‘You sound like a kid in a sweetshop. I’m on my way now.’
When he rang the doorbell and handed her the keys to the Aston Martin, Charlotte beamed at him. She drove immensely carefully at first, and James teased, ‘You’re allowed to go up to the speed limit, you know.’
‘Very funny.’ But she relaxed after that, and seemed to be enjoying handling the car as much as he did. And he loved seeing the sheer pleasure on her face.
Pleasure he’d like to see there for another reason.
But he’d keep himself in check until she was ready.
‘So where are we going?’ he asked.
‘There and back, to see how far it is.’
‘What?’
‘That’s what my parents always used to tell me,’ she said. ‘Funnily enough, they used to say it on this very stretch of road.’
James recognised the route to Penhally. ‘W’re Egoing to see Jack? Your uncle?’
‘Neither.’ She parked outside a large, slightly ramshackle house. ‘W’re Egoing to see some friends of mine.’
A very pretty woman with golden hair opened the door and greeted Charlotte with a hug. ‘Charlotte, cara, it’s lovely to see you—and you won’t believe how much they’ve grown!’
Grown? James was completely lost. Who or what had grown?
‘James, this is Melinda Lovak—she’s the one who rescued Pandora and introduced her to me,’ Charlotte said. ‘Melinda, this is James Alexander.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ James said politely. And then he frowned. ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’
Melinda rolled her eyes. ‘Probably the same place as I know you. Great! magazine.’
It suddenly clicked. ‘Princess Melinda Fortescue.’ The heiress to the principality of Contarini.
‘Mrs Melinda Lovak nowadays,’ she corrected with a warm smile. ‘Lovely to meet you too, James. Come in. Dragan and Alessandro are out in the garden.’
Charlotte took his hand and they followed Melinda through the huge old-fashioned kitchen to the garden.
There, in the middle of the lawn, a toddler sat next to a black flatcoat retriever, and climbing all over both of them were six puppies, three black and three brown. A tall, darkhaired man was chatting to the little boy; he looked up as Melinda, Charlotte and James joined them.
Charlotte introduced them quickly. ‘Dragan, this is James. James, this is Dragan and Alessandro.’
Dragan and James gave each other a slightly wary nod.
Charlotte exclaimed in delight at the pups. ‘Look at them—I can’t believe how huge they’re getting! Dare I ask why they have little bits of wool round their necks?’
‘So we can tell them apart,’ Dragan explained. ‘The wool’s really soft, so it doesn’t hurt them; it breaks easily if they chew it or get it caught on something, and we can replace it as the pups grow.’
‘So I assume this one’s a girl.’ Charlotte knelt down and scooped up a black puppy with a bright pink thread around its neck.
‘Er, no. Alessandro chose the colours,’Melinda said, smiling. ‘That one’s a boy.’
James just stared, utterly enchanted. Especially when the pup promptly licked Charlotte’s face and she laughed.
‘They’re gorgeous,’ James breathed, including Charlotte in the description.
‘Aren’t they just?’ Dragan stroked the dog’s head. ‘My Bramble’s done really well.’
‘I’m horribly envious,’ James confessed. A houseful of puppies. Something he’d desperately wanted as a child, but there had never been time.
‘Pick one up and have a cuddle,’ Melinda said. ‘We need to socialise them. The more people they meet and have a fuss with, the better.’
James needed no second invitation. ‘When I was a kid, I always wanted a black dog called Dylan who’d go everywhere with me.’
‘I had a dog like that when I was a boy,’ Dragan said, ‘and now I have Bramble.’
‘Bam-bam,’Alessandro said, beaming and stroking the dog. ‘Zando loves Bam-bam.’ He grinned at them, clearly pleased with himself. ‘Look, puppies!’
‘“Dog” was his second word,’ Melinda said d
ryly. ‘“Dada”, of course, being the first.’
What would it be like to have a little boy looking up to you, calling you Dada? James wondered, and settled himself on the lawn next to the little boy. How much he’d like something like this in the future. To live in an old rambling place, instead of a gleaming modern townhouse that looked as if it belonged in a photo shoot and was definitely a house rather than a home. He could imagine coming home at the end of a hard day to his children and puppies and someone he loved so much he’d walk to the end of the world and back for her—someone who’d feel that same way about him.
His gaze connected with Charlotte’s, and he had to look away, not wanting her to see the longing in his soul and be scared off.
Because he knew exactly who that person was, the one for whom he’d walk to the end of the world and back.
Charlotte.
‘Come and help me make some drinks, Charlotte,’ Melinda said. ‘We’ll leave the boys to play with the puppies.’
Charlotte smiled at her. ‘Sure.’
In the kitchen, Melinda and Charlotte watched Dragan, James, Alessandro and the pups.
‘Children and animals,’ Melinda said quietly. ‘It looks to me as if he’s good with both. Bramble likes him, so I’d be happy for him to have one of the pups.’
‘Thank you.’
Melinda smiled at Charlotte. ‘Did you remember to bring the blanket I asked you about?’
The blanket—a thirty-centimetre square of soft fleece—was for the pup to lie on and would then go with him to his new home, so he had a familiar scent to help him settle in. Charlotte took it from her shoulder bag and handed it to Melinda. ‘I haven’t said anything to James, yet—I’m planning a surprise.’ One that she knew he’d love; watching him play with the pups and chat to Dragan and Alessandro, as well as hearing him talk about his boyhood dreams, had shown her how much James would love a dog in his life. And from what he’d told her on the beach, she had a feeling that he’d want to stay in Cornwall now. Go for a less glitzy but much fuller life.
‘So things are better now between you?’ Melinda asked.
Charlotte nodded. ‘We’ve talked. We understand each other. And Pandora even curls up on his lap.’
‘That’s real progress.’ Melinda paused. ‘I know it’s been tough, but don’t let the paparazzi come between you, Charlotte. Dragan and I nearly did, and we would’ve regretted it for the rest of our lives.’
Charlotte knew Melinda was right.
And she also knew that it was time to move her relationship with James on a step further.
Starting tonight.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LATER that evening, James cooked dinner back at his house—chicken breasts stuffed with Brie and wrapped in bacon, served with new potatoes and steamed green beans, followed by raspberries and rich vanilla ice cream.
‘Bliss,’ Charlotte said when they’d finished. ‘If you ever get bored with being a surgeon…’
He grinned. ‘What, you’re offering me a job as your personal cook?’
She laughed. ‘I’m not sure I could afford your rates.’
‘We could always negotiate.’ He took her hand. ‘Come and sit down.’
She ended up sitting on his lap, cuddled into him, and she could feel the beat of his heart against the palm of her hand, strong and steady. Like the man himself.
She knew what she wanted.
Only…not here.
And to say it outright felt too tacky. So she picked a more oblique way. ‘James, sorry to be a pain, but I’m feeling a bit…you know…Do you mind if I go home?’
He masked his disappointment quickly, though Charlotte was gratified to notice it.
‘Of course. I’ll drive you back.’
‘And I, um, need to stop at the supermarket on the way. You know, for, um…supplies.’
She knew full well what he’d think, but she had something else entirely in mind.
‘Sure,’ he said.
As he drove into the supermarket car park, he asked, ‘Do you want me to go in and get them for you? And have you got paracetamol and a hot-water bottle?’
Her heart warmed. Despite his flashy exterior, James was a good man at heart. A thoughtful man. And tonight was going to be…special. ‘I’d rather get the stuff myself, if you don’t mind. I won’t be long.’
Once back at her house, James insisted on seeing her to her door—just as she knew he would.
‘Would you like to come in?’ she asked.
He frowned. ‘I thought you were feeling a bit rough?’
‘You can still come in for a few minutes. If you’d like to.’
He smiled ruefully. ‘I’m selfish enough to want a bit more time with you—so, yes, please. I’ve really enjoyed today and I loved seeing the puppies. A coffee would be nice, if you’re sure that’s OK.’
She closed the door behind them. ‘I’m not planning to make coffee right now.’ She paused. ‘But I’ll make you some tomorrow morning, if you like. With pain au chocolat.’
He stared at her. ‘Charlotte, are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘But I thought you…?’
‘A little bit of misdirection.’ She felt her face heat. ‘I just wanted the first time to be here. Not on the eye-watering tones of your duvet.’
He folded his arms in mock indignation. ‘There’s nothing wrong with it. Those are Mediterranean colours, I’ll have you know.’
‘And this is Cornwall,’ she pointed out.
‘Which is the nearest this country’s climate gets to the Mediterranean…’ His teasing smile faded. ‘Charlotte, I really wasn’t expecting this. I don’t have anything with me. I’m not prepared.’
‘I am. That’s why I asked you to stop at the supermarket.’
‘I thought you were feeling rough because your period was due any time now.’
‘I know.’ She stroked his face. ‘But I could hardly say to you in the car that I wanted to go to bed with you—could I?’
He actually quivered.
‘Whereas, here…Come to bed with me, James.’
He swallowed hard. ‘Are you sure about this?’
Oh, hell. She’d miscalculated this. Badly. He was obviously trying to let her down gently. She wrapped her arms round herself, mortified and wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. ‘Sorry. I presumed.’
‘No.’ He shook his head frantically. ‘No, no, no, no, no. It’s got nothing to do with me not wanting to go to bed with you. I do. I just want to be sure you don’t feel pressured.’
‘I feel safe with you.’
He leaned over and brushed his mouth against hers. ‘Charlotte, if you’re sure, then I’d like nothing more than to make love with you, right now. But I also want to make it clear that if you want me to stop, all you have to do is tell me and I stop.’ His gaze held hers. ‘And that means at any point, Charlotte. Even if w’re Eskin to skin. Even if I’m inside you.’
James. Inside her. The thought made her heart skitter.
And he’d be prepared to stop at such a point, regardless of his own discomfort?
‘Thank you,’ she said quietly.
‘Though I’m definitely feeling the pressure,’ he admitted. ‘I just hope I can live up to your expectations and make it good for you.’
It was her turn to kiss him lightly. ‘Sex is supposed to be fun, James.’ The last time for her had been a painful ordeal. But she knew that James would change all that. He’d make some new memories with her, to wipe out the bad ones. ‘So let’s just enjoy this. Let’s draw a line through my past—and yours. I’m not Sophia, and you’re not Michael.’
He took her hand and drew it up to his mouth, making her knees go weak. ‘That’s true. Take me to bed, Charlotte.’
She led him upstairs to her room.
James wasn’t surprised to discover that Charlotte’s bedroom was as calm and restful as Charlotte herself: decorated in tones of duck-egg blue, eau-de-nil and white. Her dou
ble bed had a wrought-iron frame, painted white.
She switched on the bedside light—one that clearly had several levels of brightness, as it was bright enough for him to see her face and be aware of her responses, but not so bright as to be overpowering—and closed the curtains.
And then, slowly, she walked over towards him.
She’d been close to him before. She’d waltzed with him. Kissed him. Sat on his lap. Spent the night with him—albeit with a duvet chastely between them.
But this was different.
The ultimate closeness.
The first time she’d made love since Michael.
She’d chosen a man who’d dated some of the most beautiful women in the world. And he thought he was feeling the pressure?
Charlotte’s fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, too shaky to undo them.
Gently, he lifted her hands to his mouth. Kissed each finger in turn. ‘We can stop any time you like,’ he reassured her again.
‘I know, and it’s not that. It’s…’ How could she explain, without sounding ridiculous or needy? And it wasn’t that she was putting herself down: she was comfortable in her own skin. She just wanted this to be perfect. Which was crazy: how could a first time be perfect? ‘It’s been a while for me,’ she said.
‘It doesn’t matter. Tonight w’re Egoing to learn a bit more about each other. Discover what each other likes. It’s going to be a journey of pleasure, Charlotte. And we can take as long as we like, stop when we like. No rush, no pressure. Just you and me.’ He pressed a feather-light kiss against her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her cheekbones. Reassuring her. ‘You know what?’ he said. ‘I’ve just had a brilliant idea.’
‘What?’
‘You’re the captain of the quiz team. So it’s a fair bet you have a trivia game.’
Brides of Penhally Bay - Vol 4 Page 47