‘Charly,’ he prompted softly, holding out the receiver to her, his hand over the mouth-piece.
She stood up, awkwardly avoiding his gaze. ‘Hello, Molly,’ her voice was very gruff.
‘I haven’t interrupted anything, have I?’ the other woman sounded concerned. ‘I was calling our apartment most of the evening until Matt arrived home and told me you were moving back into your own place tonight, that’s why this call is so late,’ she apologised.
‘What can I do for you?’ she asked politely.
‘You did say you wouldn’t mind going shopping with me some time…’ Molly sounded uncomfortable. ‘Look, I’ve obviously called at a bad time—’
‘You haven’t,’ she quickly assured her. ‘When did you have in mind for the shopping?’ She looked round as Aaron disappeared into the kitchen.
‘Well my mother has offered to look after the children for me tomorrow, but—’
‘Tomorrow sounds fine.’ She could hear Aaron opening cupboards in the kitchen, wondering what on earth he was doing in there. ‘Would it be easier for you to meet me here or in town?’ she asked Molly.
‘There, if you wouldn’t mind?’ Molly agreed eagerly. ‘You’re sure it’s convenient?’
‘Very sure.’ Charly’s brows rose as Aaron came in with a tray of coffee, nodding as he asked if she would like some; the last thing she had expected him to be doing was making coffee! ‘About two o’clock, okay?’
‘Lovely. I’ll see you tomorrow, then,’ Molly rang off.
Charly wished the other woman hadn’t ended the conversation quite to abruptly, slowly replacing her own receiver. ‘Thank you for the coffee.’ She wearily sank down into the chair opposite Aaron, the two of them sitting in silence for several minutes.
‘I know this is the part where you’re supposed to protest at my seduction of you.’ Aaron finally spoke, his eyes a dark slumbrous green, his dark hair tousled on to his forehead. ‘But that wouldn’t be true, would it?’ he watched her intently.
She took a sip of her coffee, gasping as it burnt her top lip. ‘Maybe I should be apologising for seducing you?’ she suggested self-derisively, knowing she had been the aggressor in the encounter.
His mouth twisted. ‘That wouldn’t be true either.’
‘Then what is true?’ she asked sharply.
‘That we want each other,’ he shrugged. ‘That we have a need of each other.’
‘It isn’t enough for—for what just happened,’ she snapped.
‘Surely it’s better than that unhappy marriage you had with James Hart?’ he demanded angrily. ‘At least we genuinely want each other and wouldn’t be making love out of duty!’
‘I never made love with James out of duty!’ Her eyes flashed warningly.
‘Never?’ he taunted softly.
‘Never,’ she insisted defiantly.
‘Never once cried off with a non–existent headache?’ Aaron mocked.
Embarrassment coloured her cheeks. ‘It is possible to have a genuine headache,’ she defended.
‘Charly, we want each other,’ he told her intensely. ‘You can’t stop the fact that sooner or later we are going to make love.’
She stood up. ‘Thank you for helping me bring my things up here this evening.’
‘End of conversation?’ he derided.
She nodded. ‘End of conversation.’
Aaron shrugged, standing up too. ‘You didn’t appear to me to be a woman who would hide from the truth when confronted with—’
‘I’m not hiding from anything!’ She handed him his jacket. ‘I’m well aware of the fact that I’m attracted to you,’ she snapped. ‘I just don’t intend doing anything about it.’
‘Again,’ he taunted.
Charly’s mouth tightened. ‘Tonight was unfortunate—’
‘And your choice of word is unfortunate,’ he ground out hardly, taking hold of her chin roughly. ‘I’m going to keep working on you, Lady, until you have to give in.’
She turned her face away, only to have it wrenched back by his hand on her chin. ‘Take your hands off me,’ she ordered through gritted teeth, breathing heavily. ‘And don’t go away with the idea that today was a foretaste of what’s to come; I have always been in control of my actions.’ Until now, a little voice in her head mocked. A voice she ignored.
‘Then you’ve slipped up badly tonight,’ Aaron mocked. ‘Because now that I’ve seen what it’s like between us I’m not going to make do with anything less than all of you. You may think I don’t have the choice, but I’ve never given up on anything I wanted as badly as I want you. Matt may be my best friend, but he’s going to find himself ousted from your life so quickly he’ll wonder if he was ever in it!’
‘That much confidence is going to leave you looking rather stupid,’ Charly scorned.
‘You don’t love Matt,’ Aaron stated arrogantly.
Her mouth tightened. ‘I like him better than any other man I know!’
‘Including me.’
‘Especially you!’
He looked at her mockingly. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to settle for any half-hearted emotion such as liking.’ He leant forward and lightly kissed her forehead. ‘I’m going to want a complete surrender.’
‘You won’t get it from me!’ she spat the words.
He shrugged. ‘I’ll call for you late Friday afternoon. We won’t need both cars, so you might as well drive down with me,’ he told her firmly as she looked about to protest. ‘Independence is fine in its right place, Charly, but I’d like a little more togetherness in future.’
‘You would like?’ she repeated indignantly, stepping back, anger her only defence when she was feeling so exposed emotionally. ‘I really don’t care what you would like or dislike,’ she flared at him. ‘Now would you please leave?’
‘Of course I’ll leave, you didn’t think I was about to overstay my welcome, did you?’ he taunted.
Her head went back. ‘You did that the moment you arrived!’
‘You didn’t seem to think so at the time,’ he drawled. ‘In fact, you seemed quite pleased to see me.’
She blushed as she realised the truth of his words. ‘And now I want you to leave.’
‘I’m going,’ he smiled. ‘After all, we have all of next weekend together for me to look forward to.’
She closed the door behind him with more force than was strictly necessary, anger at herself making her angry with him. There had been men, a lot of men since James died, who had tried to induce desire where none existed; Aaron hadn’t even tried, it had just been there for him. She had thought she disliked him, that his erroneous assumptions about her and Matt made her despise him. It hadn’t been dislike she felt for him tonight.
And she could still feel that fear licking through her body, fear that her dependence on Aaron Grantley could be completely different from her emotional need of James at the beginning of their marriage. She wasn’t sure which was worse, the emotional or physical need. Or which was going to hurt her the worst.
One thing she did know, her nervousness about sleeping in the apartment because of the fire had completely gone now, no longer imagining smoke and flames in the lounge, haunted by a much more vivid picture of her in Aaron’s arms on the carpet as they made love!
And it was that memory that made her run to the peace and protection of her bedroom.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘I KNEW there was a reason I didn’t shop in London very often.’ Molly collapsed into the chair opposite Charly in the restaurant, the two of them having ordered a reviving pot of tea.
Charly smiled. ‘It is exhausting.’ She had forgotten herself just how exhausting, rarely finding the time to brave the shops of London herself any more, not even for clothes, having her dressmaker send over a selection for her to choose from. But it had been a pleasant change to enjoy the relaxed company of another woman as they browsed through the clothes shops, Molly finding several new dresses.
They both smiled gratefull
y at the waiter as he brought their tea, Charly leaving it to Molly to pour.
‘Now you really must tell me all about you and Aaron,’ Molly invited avidly.
She couldn’t say she was exactly surprised by the question, but that hadn’t really helped her find any answers; she knew little or nothing about Aaron’s likes and dislikes. ‘What do you want to know?’ She stirred the milk into her tea, her gaze evasive.
‘Oh not much,’ Molly shrugged ruefully. ‘Just where you met? How long you’ve known each other? How long have you been in love?’
‘Just a few facts, then?’ Charly derided.
Molly laughed. ‘Yes.’
She shrugged. ‘We met at a party a couple of months ago.’ She felt the generality was pretty safe. ‘The last time Aaron was in England,’ she added for effect.
‘In August?’ Molly frowned. ‘But he was only in the country overnight.’
Charly laughed dismissively. Rule number one, she must remember not to enlarge on an already accepted answer! ‘You’re right, that visit was so fleeting I’d forgotten about it,’ she nodded. ‘I meant the time before that, of course.’
‘June,’ Molly nodded. ‘He certainly kept quiet about you for a long time.’
‘That was my fault, I’m afraid.’ She really would have to find out more about Aaron Grantley before being caught in a conversation like this again! ‘I’m a little cautious about relationships since my marriage.’
‘Aaron explained about your husband dying; it must have been so sad for you,’ Molly sympathised.
‘Yes,’ she answered abruptly.
‘But now you and Aaron have found happiness together.’ The other woman brightened. ‘I can hardly wait for the wedding!’
‘It is sure to be an event,’ Charly agreed wryly.
‘Aaron has asked Matt to be his best man.’ Molly told her in a pleased voice.
Charly stiffened. ‘He’s what?’ she gasped.
‘Well it is a little premature yet, with no date having been set,’ the other woman acknowledged. ‘Aaron explained that,’ she nodded. ‘But he asked Matt anyway.’
‘I see,’ she bit out, wishing she did ‘see’! Surely this was taking the pretence too far!
‘I suppose it will be a church wedding?’ Molly asked curiously. ‘Aaron said you would both prefer it.’
Charly frowned. ‘When did he say that?’
‘He called over late yesterday afternoon to see the children on his way from viewing a property he’s interested in buying, and he was still there when Matt got home. I would have thought he would have mentioned it when he came over last night.’ She sounded surprised that he hadn’t.
‘It was late when he got there,’ Charly hastily excused. ‘And we had to move my things back upstairs; we didn’t get a chance to talk about the wedding at all.’ But she had an idea the property Aaron had been viewing yesterday afternoon had been Shevton House!
‘Aaron is so much in love,’ Molly said indulgently. ‘He can’t wait for the two of you to be married.’
‘I’m looking forward to it myself,’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘But there are still a lot of the details to be worked out.’
‘Where you’re going to live for one thing,’ Molly teased.
‘That is a problem,’ she agreed non-committally, not going to fall into that trap a second time.
‘The country is nicer,’ Molly nodded. ‘But I realise London would be more convenient for you.’
That hadn’t been exactly what she thought the problem might be in such a marriage, but as Molly seemed to be assuming she and Aaron would live in England she realised she had been right to be cautious; she had no way of knowing what Aaron had told the other woman.
‘It is,’ she nodded.
‘It will be lovely having Aaron living closer; we see so little of him at the moment. Not that we’ll expect to see much of either of you the first few months,’ she teased. ‘There’s something about being just married.’ She gave a whimsical smile. ‘Matt and I lived together for a year before we got married, and yet even so it was a magical time after we were married. I think it’s the total commitment that does it, the knowing that you want to be together.’ She gave a rueful smile. ‘It seems strange to think of myself as the student-nurse I was then. Especially now I’m expecting our third child.’
‘How do you feel about that now you’ve had chance to get used to the idea?’ Charly prompted gently.
‘Still shocked, but resigned. And I don’t mean that in a bad way,’ she hastened to explain. ‘It’s just that the baby is a fact, so we have to accept it, and look forward to its birth. I’m getting quite excited actually,’ she confided. ‘Aaron told me the two of you would like three or four children yourselves.’
Now he had gone too far! It was all right talking about mythical engagements, even mythical weddings, but mythical children was just too much!
‘I think wanting and actually having are two different things,’ she evaded.
‘Aaron will make a very good father,’ Molly told her thoughtfully.
Surprisingly enough, she believed he would too! He would be firm but not strict, understanding rather than uninterested, teasing rather than overindulgent. But he would never father any children by her!
He could at least have warned her of his visit to Molly yesterday, and of the subsequent intimate revelations he appeared to have made about their imagined future together.
‘He’s marvellous with our two,’ Molly added lightly. ‘Are you really going to give him complete control of Tommy next weekend?’ she teased.
‘If you wouldn’t mind?’ she nodded.
‘I don’t mind,’ Molly smiled. ‘Men can be so complacent about coping with children. They spend a couple of hours with them on a Saturday and Sunday, and then can’t understand why some days you’re at screaming pitch after being with them all day.’ She shook her head. ‘I think I should let you in on the little secret I have for getting Tommy to sleep, though,’ she said ruefully. ‘Even Matt doesn’t know what it is; he thinks I’ve performed a miracle when I get the little monkey to sleep in minutes when he’s been trying all evening!’
Charly returned the other woman’s smile. ‘Aaron is convinced he’ll succeed where you’ve failed.’
‘Not without my secret he won’t,’ Molly said with certainty.
‘Then by all means let me in on the secret,’ she urged.
‘It’s simple really, you just sit in the rocker with him in your arms and gently sing “The Lullaby Song”. Do you know the one I mean?’
She nodded stiffly. ‘It used to be a favourite of Stephanie’s. My daughter,’ she explained abruptly.
Molly frowned. ‘Then perhaps I ought to let Aaron in on the secret after all; it will be too painful for you.’
‘Not at all,’ she shook her head firmly. ‘I’ll enjoy holding and singing to a baby again. Besides,’ she lightened the conversation, ‘it won’t hurt Aaron to suffer a little.’
‘What’s he done to upset you?’ Molly giggled.
‘Nothing. But he might consider bringing the number of children down from three or four to just one!’
Molly chuckled. ‘Men have very short memories when it comes to the unpleasant things in life, such as irritable children.’
‘Yes,’ Charly agreed ruefully. ‘Well, I suppose we ought to be making a move.’ The pot of tea was empty, the sandwiches and cakes eaten. ‘You have to get back, and I have a date this evening. With Aaron,’ she added hastily.
‘Who else?’ Molly dismissed, motioning for the bill.
Who else, indeed! Bill Shaw was a business acquaintance who would like to be much more, and Charly had arranged to have dinner with him before she entered into this bogus engagement with Aaron. And she had no intention of cancelling dinner with the pleasant man Bill was because of that.
But before she went on her date with Bill she intended paying Aaron a visit at his hotel. There was really no need for him to complicate matters with a lot
more lies, and she was going to tell him so before things went any further.
She insisted on paying for the tea before she and Molly went outside.
‘Maybe we can do this again some time,’ Molly suggested as she unlocked her parked car outside the apartment building. ‘Once you and Aaron have settled down.’
She and Aaron would never settle down—at least, not together! ‘I’d like that,’ she nodded, waving to the other woman as she drove away.
Her smile faded as soon as the car drove out of sight. Damn Aaron Grantley! He had turned a pleasant afternoon’s shopping into a fiasco, as she headed off one claim after another that he had made to Molly only yesterday afternoon!
She was still angry when she got into her car later that evening, unaware of how attractive she looked with the flush to her cheeks, her gown the same shimmering silver as her eyes, her hair plaited and coiled in a golden crown about her head. She looked regal as she parked the car in front of the hotel, leaving the key with the doorman, too angry to be aware of the admiring glances following her progress across the lobby to the reception desk.
‘Tell Mr Grantley I’m on my way up,’ she informed the male receptionist, surreptitiously watching the room number he dialed. ‘Rocharlle Allenby-Hart,’ she supplied as the man looked at her enquiringly. Aaron was in room seven-one-seven! ‘Don’t bother,’ she instructed the man. ‘I’ve decided I’d like to surprise him after all,’ she gave him a friendly smile.
The man hastily put down the receiver as she turned and walked towards the lift. ‘Miss Hart—er—Allenby-Hart!’ he amended, following her.
She turned slowly, one brow raised in haughty enquiry. ‘Yes?’ she drawled arrogantly.
The man moistened his lips nervously. ‘I really should inform Mr Grantley you’re here before allowing you up.’
‘Very well.’ She gave a haughty inclination of her head. ‘But you’ll ruin the surprise.’
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