* * *
Polly could feel her hands shaking as she opened the car door. There was no doubt in her mind that she had been the topic of conversation in the store tonight. That would have been bad enough, but she had seen the way Maureen had looked at Elliot and knew that she had recognised him as the man in the car—the man she supposedly had jilted Martin for.
How long would it be before Elliot heard the story? she wondered sickly. Gossip spread like wildfire in a small town like Beesdale and it wouldn’t be long before he found himself the topic of conversation. The thought of him being drawn into this mess made her grow hot with embarrassment. She could just imagine his reaction!
‘You’re in a hurry. Going somewhere special tonight?’
The sound of his deep voice behind her made her jump and the bottle of wine slipped through her fingers and smashed on the ground. Wine spattered her feet and she let out a little cry of surprise. ‘Oh!’
‘Hell!’ All of a sudden Elliot was beside her, moving her out of the way as he bent down and picked up the pieces of broken glass. ‘I am so sorry,’ he said, dumping the glass into a nearby litter bin. ‘That was my fault for startling you. If you give me a second, I’ll go and buy you another bottle.’
‘No!’ Polly took a quick breath when she heard the panic in her voice but she had to stop him from going back into the store. What if Maureen said something to him? she thought sickly. What if she asked him about the rumours that were circulating? It was the last thing a man in Elliot’s position would want. Not only did he have his reputation as a surgeon to consider but there was Joseph and how it could impact on him if he heard what was being said. Even though she hated the idea, Polly knew that she had to warn him what was going on.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said huskily, trying to decide how to begin. Would it be better to lead up to it gently, make a joke out of all those rumours? she wondered then immediately dismissed the idea. From what she knew of Elliot, he wouldn’t find anything the least bit amusing about this situation.
‘Look, I don’t know if you noticed a certain...well, atmosphere in the store tonight,’ she began, feeling her way.
‘You mean when we got to the till?’ he said bluntly and her heart sank. Obviously, he had noticed something strange so she couldn’t ignore it: she would have to explain.
‘Erm...yes. I know you’re going to find this completely ridiculous but there are certain rumours going around.’
‘What sort of rumours?’
‘About me,’ she muttered, her tongue tripping over her teeth in embarrassment. ‘And you.’
‘Really? I can’t imagine what kind of rumours you mean.’ One dark brow arched questioningly although his expression gave away very little about his feelings.
Polly took a deep breath, knowing that she had to go on even though it was the last thing she felt like doing. ‘It appears that people have got it into their heads that we—you and me, I mean—are an item.’
‘And why would they think that?’
‘Because of what happened the day we met.’ Polly could feel her heart thumping, bang, bang, bang like a big bass drum. She didn’t want to tell him about Martin and her cancelled wedding. Elliot didn’t have a very high opinion of her already because of her job and if she told him about Martin dumping her then he would start to wonder what was wrong with her...
‘And what did happen, apart from you looking after Joseph?’ he prompted in a voice that told her there was no way he would let her stop now. He intended to hear the whole story, every little detail, and her heart sank because she knew the damage it would cause.
‘That day...the day of the accident...I was supposed to be getting married.’ Polly could hear the words but they didn’t seem to be coming from her lips. It was as though she was listening to someone else saying them because they didn’t have any impact. It wasn’t what she was saying that mattered, she realised, but how Elliot was going to react to it.
‘Supposed to be getting married,’ he repeated, staring at her.
‘Yes. But he...I mean we...called it off,’ she said hurriedly, wondering if it would have been better to tell him the truth, that Martin had dumped her for another woman. However, it was done now and she had no choice but to carry on. ‘I don’t want to go into the whys and wherefores. I’m sure you aren’t interested in all that, but somehow people have got it into their heads that we cancelled the wedding because I’d met someone else...’ She tailed off, unable to tell him the final bit, the bit she knew he was going to hate.
‘Who?’
Polly blanched when he shot the question at her. She knew there was no way that she could avoid answering it, no way that he would let her. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head, seeing the dawning anger in his eyes.
‘You.’
CHAPTER SIX
‘WAIT IN HERE. I need to check on Joseph first.’
Elliot opened the sitting room door then stepped aside while Polly made her way into the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this angry. People were gossiping about him and Polly? Blaming him for her dumping her fiancé? Quite frankly, he was entitled to feel angry and a whole lot more!
He made his way up the stairs, pausing at the top while he took a deep breath. He didn’t want Joseph to think there was anything wrong, didn’t want his son becoming involved in this fiasco in any way at all. It could start him wondering if there was any truth in those rumours and that was the last thing Elliot wanted. Joseph had made it clear that he liked Polly but he had no idea what she was really like—that she was exactly the same as his mother. Marianna had had affairs too, several of them during the time they had been married. She had been incapable of being faithful and not just to him either but to her own child. He wasn’t about to allow another woman like that into Joseph’s life!
‘Hi.’ He opened the bedroom door, feeling his insides churning with all the emotions that had gripped him since Polly had told him what was going on. For the past eight years he had refused to allow himself to feel very much but he couldn’t seem to control his feelings now. Of course he was angry. And upset. And worried to death about the effect it could have on Joseph if he heard the rumours. However, worse than all of that, he felt bitterly disappointed. Somewhere along the line, he had placed Polly on a pedestal and what a mistake that had been. Polly was no better than all the other women he had known. No better than his mother, who had ruined his father’s life by sleeping with his business partner, no better than Marianna, who had slept with whoever she had wanted. Polly was the same as them. No kinder. No more caring. Definitely not more faithful! It hurt to face the truth when it was so bitterly unpalatable.
‘Hi, Dad. You’re late. Did something happen so you had to stay at the hospital?’
Joseph smiled up at him and Elliot’s heart ached all the more. He knew that Joseph was waiting to hear all about what had delayed him but this was one subject he had no intention of discussing with him.
‘I was in Theatre,’ he explained, fudging the truth. If he told Joseph that he had run into Polly it would only arouse his interest. Joseph kept asking when he could see her again but, after tonight’s revelations, Elliot was determined that it was never going to happen. ‘It just took longer than I thought to get through the list.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Joseph gave a little shrug as he turned his attention back to the book he was reading and Elliot breathed a sigh of relief that he had got away with it. Bending, he kissed Joseph on the forehead then smiled at him.
‘You can read for another ten minutes and then you must put the light out—OK?’
‘OK,’ Joseph muttered, already engrossed in the story.
Elliot made his way downstairs and headed straight to the kitchen, where Mrs Danton was watching a soap opera on the television. He had failed to find anyone to look after Joseph when he came home f
rom school so Elliot had come to an agreement with his housekeeper. During term time, she would stay with Joseph until Elliot got back from work, although he would have to find someone else to cover during the school holidays as Mrs Danton needed to look after her grandchildren then. He sighed as he saw her out. It was another problem he needed to solve, something more to worry about on top of everything else...
What on earth was he going to do if Joseph heard those rumours about him and Polly?
Elliot could feel his temper rising once more as he made his way to the sitting room. Polly was standing by the fireplace and she looked round when he opened the door. Elliot felt a rush of sympathy hit him when he saw how upset she looked but quashed it. She had brought this on herself so why should he waste his sympathy on her? Maybe he wasn’t the other party involved but there was no smoke without fire. She deserved everything she got for cheating on her fiancé!
* * *
Polly wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea to come back to Elliot’s home. She had hoped that they might be able to straighten things out once she had time to talk to him properly. However, one glance at his face showed her just how difficult that was going to be. Oh, she could understand why he was angry: she felt angry too. But she hadn’t started those stupid rumours. She was as much a victim of the gossipmongers as he was, although she doubted if he appreciated that fact. As far as Elliot was concerned she was to blame for everything that had happened.
The sheer injustice of it roused her and she rounded on him. ‘Look, I know you’re upset but it isn’t my fault. I didn’t start those rumours.’
‘Maybe you didn’t, but you’re the one who was unfaithful.’ He smiled thinly, making no attempt to hide his contempt. ‘I realise it must be galling for you to be found out but you should have thought of that before, shouldn’t you?’
‘Unfaithful?’ Polly repeated, unable to believe her ears. ‘I wasn’t unfaithful to Martin!’
‘No? Then why did he call off the wedding?’ Elliot leant against the mantelpiece and regarded her with undisguised cynicism.
‘I...erm...it was a...a mutual decision, as I already explained,’ she muttered uncomfortably, even though in a way it was true. If Martin had had the courage to tell her what was going on then she would have immediately called off the wedding, wouldn’t she? For some reason the thought made her feel a little better.
Elliot must have heard the hesitation in her voice, however, because he laughed. ‘Really? I have to say that you don’t sound too sure about that. Still, I imagine it’s hard to come out and admit that you were cheating on the man you had promised to marry.’
‘That’s not true! It wasn’t me who was cheating—it was Martin!’ Polly retorted, stung by the taunting note in his voice. Her heart sank when she suddenly realised what she had said but there was no way that she could take back the words now.
‘And you really expect me to believe that?’ Elliot said sceptically.
‘No. I don’t expect you to believe anything I say,’ Polly said huskily. Maybe it was foolish to get upset but it hurt to know that he didn’t believe her when she was telling him the truth.
‘So when did you find out what was going on?’ he asked.
Polly shivered when she realised that his tone sounded less confrontational this time. Was it a sign that he was willing to listen to her? Listen and possibly believe? Hope rose inside her, even though she wasn’t sure why it mattered so much what he thought. ‘The night before the wedding. Martin left me a letter, telling me that he had met someone else and wanted to be with her.’
‘He left you a letter?’ Elliot said incredulously. ‘You mean he didn’t tell you in person?’
‘No. I haven’t seen or spoken to him.’ She felt the ready tears sting her eyes but, now that she had come this far, she had to tell Elliot the rest. ‘When Martin didn’t phone me as we’d arranged the night before the wedding, I realised something must be wrong and drove over to the cottage we’d bought. Martin wasn’t there but he’d left the letter on the mantelpiece in the sitting room.’
The tears spilled over then, pouring down her face as she recalled the shock she’d had. Why had she never realised that Martin hadn’t really loved her? she thought. Had her desire to get married and have a stable family life affected her judgement to such an extent that she had ignored the warning signs? After all, there’d been many evenings when Martin had claimed he’d had to work late, but had it been true or had he been seeing this other woman? With the benefit of hindsight, Polly knew it was so and it hurt to know how stupid she had been. When Elliot put his hand under her arm and led her to a chair, she didn’t protest.
‘You’re well rid of him, from the sound of it,’ he said harshly as he sat her down, but Polly sensed that his anger was no longer directed at her. For some reason, she found the idea comforting.
‘That’s what my brother said,’ she told him, dredging up a watery smile. ‘Peter told me that I’d had a lucky escape.’
‘He was right too.’ Crouching down in front of her, he looked into her eyes. ‘Nobody deserves to be treated so callously, Polly. You definitely don’t.’
Polly felt her breath catch when she saw the way he was looking at her with such concern. All of a sudden all the hurt and humiliation she had felt ever since she had found that letter started to fade away. Maybe she should have realised what was going on but she wasn’t to blame; it was Martin who was at fault for deceiving her.
‘You will get over this, Polly. Oh, I know it probably doesn’t feel as though you will right now, but once you’ve had time to come to terms with what’s happened then you’ll be able to put it behind you.’
‘Do you really think so?’ she whispered, grateful for his reassurance.
‘I know so.’ He squeezed her fingers. ‘I thought I’d never get over Joseph’s mother abandoning him but I did.’
‘It left its mark, though,’ she said softly, and he sighed.
‘Every experience—good or bad—affects us in some way. It’s how we deal with what happens that counts. You’ll put all this behind you in time and get on with your life.’
‘As you’ve got on with your life.’
‘Yes. I had to because I had to think about Joseph and what was best for him. Maybe there are things I wish I’d done differently, but I did what I thought was right. For both of us.’
‘Is that why you distance yourself from other people?’ she asked, holding her breath. She knew she was crossing a lot of boundaries by asking him that. Elliot wasn’t a man who discussed his feelings with anyone and it was a lot to expect him to open up to her.
‘I find it easier not to get emotionally involved,’ he said bluntly. ‘It means I can focus on Joseph’s needs. Making sure he’s safe and happy is my only concern.’
‘I can understand that but it must be lonely at times, surely?’ she said gently, her heart aching. Elliot had put his own life on hold so that he could concentrate on his son and, whilst it was an admirable thing to do in a way, she wasn’t convinced it was the best thing for him or for Joseph.
‘I don’t have time to be lonely,’ he said flatly. ‘Between my work and taking care of Joseph, my days are full.’
‘But surely you need more than that, something for you personally,’ she countered.
‘If you mean another relationship then, no, I don’t. After what happened with Joseph’s mother, I’m not interested in having a relationship with anyone else.’ His brows rose. ‘What about you? Are you keen to try again after what’s happened to you?’
She shook her head. ‘No. It will take some time before I think about anything like that.’
‘Then it appears we’re both in the same boat. Both casualties of love, if love is really what it was, which I very much doubt,’ he added cynically.
Polly felt a knot of pain twist her heart. It hurt to know
that Elliot no longer believed in love, although she had no idea why. It was a relief when he changed the subject back to what they had been discussing earlier.
‘So what are you going to do about those rumours that are going around?’ he asked, standing up. ‘I certainly don’t want Joseph to hear them and get the wrong idea.’
‘What can I do?’ Polly sighed. ‘If I kick up a fuss then folk will only think there’s some truth to what’s being said.’
‘So your plan—if one can call it that—is to do nothing?’ He shook his head. ‘It’s not good enough, I’m afraid.’
‘So what do you suggest?’ she said sharply, standing up. After the way he had treated her with such compassion moments earlier, it was doubly upsetting to have him revert to his old ways. ‘Put an advert in the local paper to the effect that you and I are not having an affair and that, contrary to popular belief, I didn’t dump Martin for you?’
‘Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous!’
He swung round, looming over her in a way that made Polly’s heart lurch. All of a sudden she was aware of him in a way she hadn’t been before, aware of how tall he was, how warm his body felt, how good he smelled, a combination of clean fresh skin and adult male... Her eyes rose and she felt her breath catch when she saw the way he was looking at her so intently. Was Elliot aware of her too? she thought giddily. Aware of the heat of her body, the scent of her skin? Aware that it would take only the tiniest movement to reach out and touch her?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when he did exactly that, reached out and grasped her arm. Polly could feel the heat of his hand seeping through her skin and gasped. How could he make her feel this way—hot and aching—just by a touch? How could he arouse her desire without even trying? She had no idea what the answer was but maybe it was the need to find out that made her lean towards him, even though it wasn’t a conscious decision.
Bride for the Single Dad Page 6