A Bed of Broken Promises

by Clare Connelly

  “A dry spell! How bloody dare you! I’ll have you know, you’re not the first man I’ve met who’s offered to ‘service my needs’.”

  He felt jealousy knife his gut at the mere suggestion of her with another man. But he’d never been turned down before. Not once. He was a confident, sought after bachelor, who ran his own billion dollar business. And sure, Katie had a point. This business in Iraq had thrown him for a loop, but he couldn’t believe she didn’t want anything more to do with him. He threw his hands in the air.

  “Don’t be so crass, Katie. It doesn’t suit you.”

  She made a sound of anger and turned away from him.

  “Dinner was a bloody terrible idea. Just forget I even asked. I wish I hadn’t.”

  “So do I.” She shot back, snapping her camera out of its tripod and slipping it back over her neck. She deftly folded the tripod into a quarter of its length, an action she’d performed too many times to count. She slid it into her backpack and pulled it on, turning back towards the path without looking at her companion.

  Katie was fit, and she’d walked this path over and over, so she felt quite comfortable storming off at a cracking pace. Her head was swimming with their stupid argument. Why had she been so sure dinner would be a problem? He was right. They did eat together every night. They sat up late, talking, and then they went to bed, together. They’d broken through all of the boundaries they’d originally established, so what was one more?

  Because you’ve fallen in love with him, her sensible inner-voice cautioned. And it would be foolish to pretend it could ever be more than this. Besides, she’d spoken the truth. She was sure he was battling an inner-demon that he seemed determined to keep bottled up. His prerogative, but until he’d faced whatever gave him nightmares, she had no choice but to keep her distance.

  She heard the footsteps on the gravel behind her but didn’t stop.

  “Katie,” he said, grabbing hold of her hand. “For God’s sake, don’t run off.”

  “Don’t!” Her voice shook with the intensity of emotion she was feeling. The one man she’d ever really loved and he was definitely someone she had to keep some distance from. For her own sanity. A loud clap of thunder sounded and almost immediately, rain followed in loud, splashing drops. “Perfect.” She muttered, sliding her camera into its case and adding it to her backpack.

  “I shouldn’t have pushed the issue. We had an agreement and you’re right to stick to it. I’m sorry.” Confusion swirled through him. What had come over him? He was not an indecisive person. Why the hell couldn’t he just keep focused on the best sex he’d ever had? Not such a bad situation he was in. Why complicate it?

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it! It’s not just the dinner invitation. Do you really think I’m using you to give my libido a bit of a run after years of celibacy? That’s so hurtful.”

  He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Well, you did. I meant what I said. You’re not the first guy to show an interest, you know.”

  “So why haven’t you been with anyone else?” It was childish but he needed to hear that he was special.

  “Don’t be a jackass.” She snapped, pulling her hand free and rubbing it with the other. “Do you want me to say that I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you? Surely your ego doesn’t need stroking?”

  He cringed at his transparency. “Okay, okay!” His dark brown eyes bored into hers. “This is getting ridiculous. I’ve said I’m sorry. That is the end of it.”

  “Oh, well,” she said with a sarcastic smile. “If the great David Trent says that’s the end of it, then of course it bloody is.”

  “Katie, I’m not your father. I’m not Roberto. I’m not planning to hurt you.”

  “Oh, you would say that,” she snapped fiercely. “You are so goddamned arrogant! You think you know what makes me tick? This has nothing to do with my dad. Nothing to do with Maxie’s dad. This is you, thinking you can change the rules halfway through. Well, you can’t. We both said we’d have fun while it lasted, and that’s what I intend to do.” She turned and stormed away from him, shaking her head with the full force of her rage.

  Marcus was not used to being questioned, and women usually fell over themselves to seem pleasant and agreeable to him. He watched her disappear through the trees and then eased himself to the ground, not caring that his jeans were getting covered in mud and his body was getting drenched by rain.

  Ever since Iraq, he’d been like a boat on the ocean without an anchor. The business he’d spent his life building suddenly seemed meaningless. His marriage was long over, and his best friend dead. The judgment, which he prided himself on employing expertly, was clouded and he didn’t know how he was going to get his head straight.

  His company had always been his solace, and right now, he had no other option but to bury his head in his work and hope it brought him some answers. He stood up and made his way down the path, moving slowly, hoping that by the time he got back to Wadeford House, Katie’s temper would have cooled down.

  It hadn’t. She was nowhere to be seen when he walked in, dripping wet, and filthy, but the silence vibrated with her anger. He pulled off his coat and boots, leaving them in the nook by the front entrance, and walked upstairs to his room. Still no sign of Katie. He knew her well enough to know not to seek her out. For whatever reason, she was more furious with him than he deserved. At least, he thought so. There was a missing piece of the puzzle, surely more than how badly that Roberto asshole had hurt her.

  He stripped down and replaced his sodden clothes with some of the new stuff he’d picked up in the village, then settled down on his bed with his laptop, ready to get through some emails. But the view distracted him. He let his gaze wander over the rolling hills of the golf course, and slowly, peace oozed through him. Tranquility.

  This house was his whole reason for being at Wadeford, and he’d become so bogged down in the fantastic sex he and Katie were having every spare moment they could find, that he hadn’t really done a damned thing more about obtaining it. Telling himself it was a completely separate issue to their steamy relationship, he emailed his assistant and told her to up the purchase price he’d offered by a hundred thousand pounds.

  A noise from the room next door caught his attention and, interested, he stepped out into the hallway. Katie, bent over the bed, in the process of making it up fresh. The small of her back was exposed as she tucked the fabric sheet perfectly into place and he swallowed down his immediate response.

  He wasn’t used to feeling tentative, but he wasn’t sure how to handle her.

  “Need a hand?” He said, finally, leaning with all the appearance of casual calm against the door.

  She fixed him with a steely glare. “No. Thank you.”

  “Katie, it was a stupid argument. And, unless I am remembering incorrectly, you’re the one who tore me to shreds.”

  She bit down on her lip and sidestepped to the next corner. She was the most frustrating woman. He moved into the room and pulled on the sheet, tucking it in at the top of the bed as she had done.

  “I don’t need help, David. Please. Just leave me be for a while, okay?”

  He took a deep breath, fighting the desire to make her talk to him, or make love to her, something, anything, would be better than this stupid silence.

  But he didn’t. She couldn’t make it any clearer that she wanted her space. “You know where I am when you’re ready to talk.”

  He went back into his room and shut the door a little more forcefully than he’d intended. He made himself become absorbed by his work, but in a matter of hours, voices outside his room caught his interest. He craned to hear. Katie’s voice, unmistakably sweet and welcoming, made him feel like he’d been punched in the stomach. He hated that she was upset with him. Two voices, a male and a female, were chatting back happily to her. More guests.

  He shouldn’t be surprised, or disappointed. Winter was quiet, not dead. He shouldn’t
have presumed he could continue to have the run of the place, and Katie, all to himself indefinitely. He stayed in his room for the rest of the day, and only emerged when it was their usual dinner time.

  The downstairs table was set for three, as usual, but Maxie’s plastic cup was missing, and three wine glasses were in its place.

  “Oh, David,” Katie said formally, not quite meeting his eyes. “I have two new guests, a couple from Edinburgh. I don’t usually do dinner for guests, as you know,” her cheeks flushed, “but the pub’s booked out for the quiz night, so I’ll serve you, and them, in half an hour.”

  He grimaced inwardly. He didn’t want to eat dinner with strangers. He had no time for them. “Why do I feel like I’m being put in the penalty box?” He asked quietly, standing just inches from her but taking great care not to touch.

  “You aren’t.” She flashed him an over-bright smile. “Excuse me. Help yourself to some wine.” She insisted, stirring the risotto that was bubbling away on the stove top.

  “Katie---.”

  “Listen, David---,”

  She smiled nervously. “You go.”

  “I’m no good at apologies. I don’t make many of them. I don’t know if I messed it up earlier. I am sorry we argued.”

  “No.” She shook her head and placed the wooden spoon on the chopping board, turning to face him, slowly. “I’m sorry. I over-reacted. And I shouldn’t have said what I did about you.” She toyed with her earrings, while searching for the right words. “It’s just… you were sort of right. I mean, I don’t think you’re another Roberto, but I guess the ghost of him is everywhere. He promised me the world and then left me without a backwards glance. Roberto said everything I ever thought I wanted to hear. And it all meant nothing. I liked that you were so honest with me from the start. I don’t want you to pretend that you’re something you’re not, or that we’re something we’re not.”

  He felt a stab of guilt at the lie that he didn’t seem to be able to undo.

  Katie put a hand on his arm. “It’s just you and me, Katie and David, and while it lasts and works, that’s great. Do you know how much I appreciated your honesty that night we met? I knew I wanted you, but when you were so frank with me, I knew I really respected you, too. You don’t need to make out we’re some great romance.”

  The urge to confide in her was so strong, but he knew it would absolutely be the end of them. And he couldn’t do it. He wasn’t ready to say good bye to her. But would he ever be? He wondered, looking down into her heart shaped face.

  “Katie, let me be honest with you now,” he said firmly. “Another time, another place, I think you’re someone I could really fall in love with.”

  Katie’s heart lurched painfully in her chest.

  “But I’m… all kinds of wrong for you. What you said today, you hit the nail on the head. I’m… in a weird place right now. And I’m not relationship material. Never was, particularly, but lately I’ve realized that I’ll never be able to give a woman what she deserves. Especially not you, who deserves so much.”

  “Why do you talk like that?” She asked with a frown. Then, hearing herself, she shook her head. “I’m not saying I want a relationship with you, either. I just think you’ve got a lot to give someone, someday.”

  He thought about Iraq and shook his head firmly. “No. I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”

  “Why?”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “I’d definitely take a dare on that question.”

  She tried to ignore the frustration that was gnawing at her heart. “Okay, I get it. Closed book. I’m sorry for pushing you away all day. I just needed to sort my own head out before talking to you. Nothing matters more to me than honesty, especially after everything with Roberto… I wanted to be sure that I was. Honest with you.”

  The guilt that spread through his body didn’t go away for the rest of the night. He made polite small talk with the other guests for the shortest possible time, while eating the delicious risotto Katie had made. But as soon as it was decent to do so, he excused himself and went up to his room. He needed to think.

  He’d told himself this would be a distraction from the other stuff. The stuff that kept him awake most nights. The memories of Iraq, the death of his best friend, and the baby that should have been, but instead, he was finding something ever darker and more dangerous to obsess over. Katie Collins, and the puzzle that was their relationship, was driving him demented.

  Katie would never forgive him if she knew who he was.

  Could he get away with not telling her?

  If she believed him to be a teacher from London, could he not just disappear from her life, and leave them both the memories of this time, at least?

  But that would mean never seeing her again. And wasn’t it worth the risk of her hating him, on the very, very slight chance that she might understand and forgive him?

  And then what? He asked himself with self-derision. “You live happily ever after.” He muttered into his pillow, slapping the bed with his hand. It was useless. Happily Ever Afters were the stuff of fairytales, and his life was far from a fairy tale. If anything, his life had become a nightmare. Only Marcus Harris had built himself up from the ground and he was damned if he was going to let this beat him.

  He would find a way to make this work.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Mu-uuuum!”

  Katie looked up from the paperwork she was filing, having just farewelled the Augustines of Edinburgh, back on their caravan adventure.

  She stepped out of the small office and looked up the stairs. Maxie stood, dressed in a tracksuit and a weatherproof jacket, a backpack in one hand, and his face filled with pleasure.

  Beside him, was David. They hadn’t spoken after dinner last night, and, for the first time since he’d arrived, they spent the night apart.

  One night, and how she needed him. Her throat felt dry as she stared up at him now.

  “Maxie,” she dragged her attention back to the little boy. “Haven’t I told you not to shout down the house?”

  He grinned, in that same, charming, lopsided fashion his father had. “Sorry, mum. Hey, David and me are going to explore. Want to come?”

  “David and I,” she corrected automatically. She looked at David, and he seemed almost as enthusiastic as Maxie. She thought of the website she was painstakingly redeveloping, and how far behind she was with the copy for it, and then looked outside at the perfect, crisp winter’s morning. The sun was shining weakly, the sky was blue, and the whole ground sparkled after a night of rain. “Sure. I’ll come. Just give me a minute to get ready.”

  She kept her gaze averted from David as she made her way up the stairs. Her heart was pounding though. She regretted what she’d said to him the day before. He had obviously gone through something, but that had nothing to do with why she wanted to keep her distance. She was already so head over heels in love with him, she knew saying goodbye was going to be impossible. If he got any more perfect, she wasn’t sure how she’d cope. And, if she was completely honest with herself, part of what she loved about him was the element of darkness she sometimes felt emanating from him. She trusted him completely. She’d trust him with her life, and Maxie’s too. But he was no simple, happy, easygoing man. He was interesting and flawed and just thinking about him now made her weak at the knees.

  She felt it, that bone-melting desire, as they set off that morning, all the way past town and towards the marina. The cove was dotted with colorful little fishing boats, some green, some blue, with peeling paint and little red roofs.

  “The stormy nights always stirs up the fish,” Katie said conversationally, keeping her pace up to walk beside David. Maxie had scampered off ahead to talk to one of his friends from school, who was dropping a line in from the jetty.

  “Do you fish?” He responded in kind, by silent agreement keeping things light.

  “No!” She laughed. “I can’t stand the smell, to be perfectly honest.”

  “Funny that yo
u’re so happy in such a famous fishing village.”

  “Oh, cooked fish I’m fine with. It’s just the salt and the scales and the fish guts, and the bait… it makes me squirm.”

  His laugh was deep and rich. “I can’t imagine you being squeamish, Katie!”

  “Everyone has to have a fault,” she joked, turning and smiling at him. The air between them zapped with awareness.

  “It’s not such a bad one,” he answered earnestly, squeezing her hand so quickly she almost doubted he’d touched her.

  “Well,” she said conspiratorially, “I have another.”

  “Oh dear. What is it? Or don’t I want to know?”

  “I have a fondness for blues music.”

  “Blues music. Well, that’s not a fault at all.”

  She scrunched her nose. “It is according to Maxie. He begs me not to play it when he has friends around.”

  “On this one, I’m afraid I take your side.”

  She grinned. “I’m glad to have an ally.”

  Maxie appeared between them. “Hey, mum, David. Pete’s dad’s got a spot on his boat and he’s asked me to go out with him. They’re just going for an hour or so. Can I? Can I?”

  Katie looked in the direction of Samuel Smith, who waved a hand through the air in greeting. Maxie had been out with them plenty of times in the Summer and she had no doubts about Samuel’s safety record and diligence. “Sure, Maxie. Just make sure you’re wearing a life jacket at all times and do everything Samuel asks. Be a good boy.”

  “Always, mummy.”

  Katie squeezed him and placed a quick kiss on the top of his head, then watched as he ran back towards the boat.

  “You’re a great mother.” Marcus said with genuine admiration.

  “Thanks. Some days I’m not so sure. But I do the best I can.”