“Oh, well.” Suzy put her spoon and fork down with a sigh. “It was delicious.”
Jake clasped his hands on the table. “How do you feel about a walk along the bay? Will it be too cold for you?” Their eyes held for seconds.
“No, not at all.” Suzy pulled her shawl from the back of the chair. “I have this.”
Jake looked around for the waiter, handed his card over, and rose to move Suzy’s chair back. As he did, his hand rested momentarily on her back and she recalled the other time, when she’d been tight against him and he’d…
“Ready?” He asked.
»»•««
Before stepping off the terrace Suzy removed her shoes.
“Becoming something of a habit,” she said.
“I like to see you barefoot.” Jake grinned and took the shoes from her.
Suzy pulled the shawl loosely around her. The sand was cold and damp and she should have felt cold but did not. Instead her body glowed. It is the champagne, she told herself. But as Jake casually slipped an arm onto her shoulder she gave up all pretense.
What was the point?
The night was clear with an almost full moon and along the bay lights twinkled from the long row of Victorian terraced houses, now in use as bed and breakfasts. Far out on the headland, the lighthouse shone.
Suzy pushed her hair back, wanting to speak as she remembered India’s words, yet feeling unwilling to spoil the wonderful joy of the moment.
“I’ve enjoyed our time together this evening,” Jake suddenly said. “Perhaps we can do it again sometime…sooner rather than later?”
“Yes. Jake?”
“What?” He stopped walking and turned to look at her.
In the quietness, with only the distant sound of lazy waves, Suzy lost courage. She could not ask him anything. And really, why should she? Whatever he truly thought about her she may never know. He enjoyed her company and wanted to see her again. That would have to be enough.
“Nothing. Just thank you. I’ve had a great time.”
“Well then, let’s end the night perfectly,” he said, and with his one free arm pulled her to him. She melted against him instantly with a soft groan, felt rather than heard her shoes drop onto the sand, and as both arms encircled her waist, parted her mouth against his. The kiss shook her with its intensity. He pushed the shawl away to run his hands hungrily under her top and over her back.
“Silk,” he murmured against her lips. “You feel like silk.”
Suzy pulled his head closer and felt his tongue lick lightly across her upper lip.
“Oh, Jake,” she whispered. “Jake.”
The barking of a dog startled them and they drew back. Suzy pulled her shawl back around her and Jake picked up her shoes. A young man in a tracksuit ran past, the dog barking at his heels. “Evening,” he said with a cheeky grin.
Suzy looked at Jake and smiled. He took her hand. “Let’s get you home,” he said, “or I might not be responsible for my actions.”
To her utter disappointment, Jake was the perfect gentleman. He walked her up the short garden path and waited until she’d opened the front door before dropping a chaste kiss on her cheek and wishing her goodnight.
“I…er…”
He waited.
Suzy smiled. “Goodnight, Jake.”
She closed the door and watched from the window as his tail lights disappeared up the lane. She felt on a high, far too keyed-up for sleep. Flicking open her phone and checking the time she called India. She answered straightaway.
“Good night was it?”
Suzy could hear the smile in her voice. “So good, I’m on a high. I’ve no sleep in me! It’s twelve thirty,” she said guiltily.
India laughed. “That’s okay. I stayed up to make sure a firing went okay and it’s turned out brilliant so I’m feeling pretty darn good myself. Why don’t you grab your toothbrush and nightie and come on over?”
Suzy reached for her bag. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
»»•««
Reluctant to take the coast road so late at night, she elected to drive through town instead. It would take a few minutes longer but was a route she felt more comfortable with. The High Street was deserted, barring a few stragglers leaving the Chinese takeaway and kebab shops. Suzy slowed down, smiling with pleasure at seeing the well-lit display of the Porterhouse window. It looked good. Just about to move on, she noticed through the glass frontage a light shining at the back of the office…her office, and tapped her steering wheel with annoyance.
It was so unlike her to leave lights on. Rather than go in the front where she would perhaps be seen by the inebriated looking couple of guys who sat on the bench opposite the kebab shop, she reversed and drove down the service lane. Pulling into the tiny area which served the row of shops, Suzy was startled to see a black motorcycle parked outside Porterhouse’s back door. A light shined under the door.
“What the…?”
She sat for a moment, chewing on her lip. The bike, she reasoned, could have just been parked there for the evening, but the fact that she now felt certain she hadn’t left the office light on made her extremely anxious. Silencing her engine, she climbed from her car and made her way to the door. It was partly open. Fear rushed through her. Someone was inside.
Taking her cell from her bag, the first person who came to mind that she should ring was Jake, and she punched his number in.
“Hi, Suzy! This is a nice surprise. Are you like me, can’t sleep?”
“Jake,” she whispered urgently. “I was on my way to India’s and came through town. I noticed a light on in the office. Oh, God, Jake, there’s someone in there. I’m at the back door, it’s open and there’s a motorbike outside.”
“Well, for Christ’s sake get back in your car and go home! Do you hear me, Suzy? Do it now,” he ordered. “I’m ringing off and calling the police. Go home, Suzy.”
“Yeah, yeah…” She stopped as the door suddenly burst open and a black-leather-clad man wearing a black, shiny full-face helmet, swung his arm out and grabbed her. With a squeal Suzy let go of her bag and phone. Both clattered to the floor as a hand clamped over her mouth and she was dragged inside. Her assailant kicked the door shut and held her in such a vice-like grip her arms were helpless. Lashing out with her feet she caught his legs, but his heavy leather boots made her efforts useless.
“Get off me!” She tried to yell but all that came out was a muffled cry.
“Shut up and sit down,” the man ordered, pushing her none too gently into the chair opposite her desk. She could hear him breathing heavily and stared at him in amazement, her face twisted with disbelief.
“Darren?” she asked.
Slowly, he removed the helmet and stared at her. “Yes. Me.”
“But…” Suzy almost started laughing at the absurdity of the situation. “I don’t understand. What do you want here, why are you behaving…” she spread her hands, “…like this?” Her glance fell on the bottle, half-full of clear liquid standing on her desk with a rag pushed in the top of it.
Oh, my God!
“You’re not going to…” She gulped indicating the bottle, “…do anything you’ll regret, are you?”
“Regret? Be sorry later, think what an idiot I’ve been? No, I don’t think so.” His eyes looked glazed, unfocused.
Suzy licked her lips and looked around her. “I’ve called Jake already. He knows there’s someone in here. He’ll call the police so why not go while you still have time and nothing will be said about this.”
“Ah, yes, the wonderful Jake Mason. Well, you know Suzy, I’m afraid you’ve had your head buried in the sand as far as that bloke goes. He’s not at all what you think he is. Let me tell you a little bit about him.”
“I don’t want to listen. I feel threatened and don’t like it. Why don’t you put that bottle of whatever it is outside and then perhaps we’ll be able to speak in a more civilized manner.”
“Just be quiet and listen for once.
Okay?”
Feeling her bubble of confidence seeping away, Suzy chewed at her lip and nodded.
“See, the thing is, I knew Mason in Saudi…or should I say, knew of him, never actually met the bloke, but my wife did. You see my wife, my darling, poor deluded Karen was going to leave me for him. Oh, yes, don’t look so shocked. She was madly in love with the guy, told me so. But he decided for whatever reason that he’d had enough of her and told her where to go. Karen…” his voice cracked with emotion, “…just could not cope with that rejection and took her own life.”
“Oh, no!” Suzy’s hand shot to her mouth.
Nausea had risen in her throat and her stomach churned at the thought of Jake’s involvement, his love affair with this man’s wife. It sickened and distressed her. This was something she could never have imagined him being a part of.
“Yes.” Darren slumped down on the corner of her desk. “And while I can’t lay all the blame at his feet, he was instrumental in her downfall. You see, once she’d told me how much she loved him, I lost the plot and threw her out, told her to go to him.” He rubbed his eyes. “It was a mess, a complete mess, but the thing that sticks in my craw is the fact that if she’d never met him none of this would have happened.”
“But…” Suzy fought for the right words. “Maybe Karen was in need of help. What I’m trying to say is, she could have fixated on, had an affair…with anyone and the outcome would have been the same. Can’t you see that?”
Why am I trying to make excuses for Jake? She thought.
Darren picked the bottle up and studied it. “No, that’s not true. It was only him she’d ever shown an interest in. And do you know something? I’ve done all I could to undermine that man since I came back. There he is, lord of all he surveys and I’m left with nothing but a furniture business. Ha! What a laugh, eh? I stole your keys you know, Suzy. I’ve been in your house, found stuff, been through your diary, almost got Hawk’s Nest and Northcote from under his nose by doing so. Boy how I enjoyed that. And now, well, this place,” he waved his hand around, “has to go.”
Suzy made to stand but he yelled, “Sit down!” And as his attention was briefly taken, a momentary flicker behind his back alerted Suzy to the fact that the rear door had quietly opened and the figure of Jake appeared. With what she would later tell him was immense control, she stifled a gasp and kept her eyes firmly fixed on Darren.
Still sitting on the corner of her desk, he had no idea Jake was in the room until Jake jumped on him, knocking him off the desk, and the pair tumbled to the floor. Suzy immediately sprang up, and running to the two writhing bodies, sat down heavily across Darren’s lower legs. Jake had him pinned face down by lying across his back.
“I told you to go home,” he said to her, breathlessly over his shoulder.
Suzy couldn’t answer because her throat seemed to have seized up.
“What the hell is all this about?” Jake demanded. “You,” he asked as he jabbed Darren’s back, “are Karen Ward’s husband?”
“I’m Darren Hall here,” Darren mumbled, his face pressed against the floor. “Didn’t want you to find out who I was.”
Jake sat back, easing the pressure on Darren’s ribcage. The look he gave Suzy was one of weary acceptance. “Look pal, let’s get a few things straight. I heard what you said just now to Suzy and the whole lot was, I’m sorry to say, a figment of your wife’s imagination. I was never in love with, or having an affair with her, do you hear me? She came on to me and I told her as kindly as possible that I wasn’t interested. But of course that only seemed to spur her on. Next thing I know, she bursts into the golf club to tell me she’s leaving you…that’s she’s told you I want her and that we’ll be together, but none of it was true. None of it.” Jake eased off him to sit on the floor and Darren groaned.
“You’ve got to grow up man and accept the facts,” Jake said. “Sadly, your wife was sick. Unfortunately, I wasn’t fully aware of that at the time. To be honest I thought she was on drugs. It had been mentioned by a few people at the club.”
The sound of tires screeching in the parking lot made them all look up.
“The police,” Jake said. “Thank God.”
Darren was moaning, still on his stomach, his hands over his head.
“Well, then,” one officer said. “What’s going on here then?’
Chapter Twenty-Two
The officers had left taking Darren with them. He would be charged, they said, with breaking and entering and criminal intent. When Darren pleaded with them not to press charges, Suzy had felt a moment of weakness.
Did she really want to see him go to jail?
But the look on Jake’s face was enough to stop her protesting.
“Can you believe me when I say how sorry I am, Suzy?” Darren had said quietly. “I think I kinda lost my way a bit since, well, you know, since it happened. My sister says I should get help and perhaps she’s right.” He’d put a hand over his eyes and Suzy couldn’t bear the sound of his muffled sobs.
Jake had seen her distress and nodded. “Hey man…look, it must have been a trying time for you, but you know, the law must now take its course. I’m sorry.” Suzy turned away as he was led out.
»»•««
Jake closed the door behind them, and she went into the kitchen to make coffee. Her heart had finally stopped thumping, though she was filled with remorse.
Jake. How could she have for one minute doubted him, believing him to be involved in such a sad, fateful affair?
When she returned to her office, Jake had righted the upturned chairs and held one out for her.
The smile he flashed her made her stomach lurch with pleasure. “Thanks,” he said.
Suzy sat down with her coffee. Her legs were still shaking. Her cell rang and she picked it up from the desk where the officer had put it.
“India?” she said. “Yeah, I’m fine. Look, something’s come up and I won’t be over tonight after all. Forgive me, love, for keeping you up. I’ll explain all in the morning. Yes…honestly, everything is just fine. Night.”
“I was staying over at her place,” she explained to Jake, closing her phone.
“Oh. Yeah, well it’s late,” he yawned loudly. “Now, shall we go home? It’s been a long night.” He smiled as he stood, pulled Suzy to her feet, and took her in his arms.
“You’re shaking like a leaf, my love,” he said into her hair.
“Oh, Jake. I can’t believe it. I can’t help feeling sorry for Darren. And you, being mixed up in all of that. It must have been horrible.”
“Not the best time of my life,” he said wryly. “When it was all going on, and then after I heard what she’d done, I did feel overwhelmed with guilt, but the more I spoke with people and learned more about Karen and the way she led her life, the easier it became to understand how she could do what she did. A very sad, sad lady, and a distressing time for all involved. It’s something I kept to myself for a long time, and then once I met you, fell further under your spell and wanted you so badly, I thought, why burden her with it. Besides, I had no idea how you’d react.”
Suzy looked up at him. “Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “Not every woman could cope with such a revelation about the man she kisses with so much passion!”
Suzy slapped his chest playfully. “Remind me,” she said.
“Well, when I do this,” Jake said as he ran his tongue lightly over her top lip, “you sort of melt into me like warm chocolate.”
“Oh,” Suzy groaned. “Do I?”
“And then,” he said, winding his arms tightly around her and pulling her even closer, “when I feel the softness of you,” he whispered as his hands slid under her jacket and top, “I melt too.” And bending his head he kissed her, longingly and thoroughly. They swayed, lost in the throes of the emotions the feelings caused in them. Finally Jake raised his head.
“I’ve never said this to anyone before, but I’ve fallen in love.” He planted a kiss on the end of h
er nose. “I adore you, Suzy. Have I spoken too soon?”
Suzy’s head spun on hearing the deep tenderness in his voice and she thought her heart might be capable of bursting from her chest.
“No, my love, you have not.”
“Does that mean…?”
“It means I love you too, Jake. I think from that very first moment you walked in here carrying that bunch of flowers and champagne, I was lost. Do you remember I said we couldn’t raise a toast because we had no glasses? That was nerves, I think, because I walked into the back room and thought…What’s just happened to me? Though of course I could never let you know that!”
“Suzy!” He picked her up and swung her around before sitting her on the desk. He leaned his hands on either side of her, his eyes bright with laughter. “So where do we go and what do we do next?”
“Well,” Suzy mused as she reached out to hold his face between her hands. Her thumbs ran along his lips. “Are your intentions toward me honorable?”
“Certainly not!”
“And…you know, I have to ask, Amanda?”
Jake shook his head vehemently. “A very nice lady for someone else. There’s only one for me. And I happen to want to marry her.” He cocked his head to the side. “Please say yes?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wedding plans were hurriedly arranged. The ceremony would take place quietly the day before her parents returned to Spain and until then, Suzy and Jake were kept busy with business and personal details which had to be arranged.
Time away from the business meant someone reliable filling in for both of them. Justin had offered to come back early to cover and help the rest of the staff who would keep Porterhouse open over the holiday period after Christmas and Boxing Day.
“Oh, Suzy,” Lilian crooned, “this is all so very exciting! A Christmas wedding.”
Ann laughed. “You’re just so darn lucky,” she said.
»»•««
The honeymoon would be two full weeks in the Caribbean, a week at the cottage on Malinda followed by a week of utter indulgence, Jake told Suzy, at the best hotel on Barbados.
Honorable Intentions Page 15