by Kathryn Ross
‘So did you. I love your wedding dress, Sinead. You’re going to be the most beautiful bride.’
‘Thanks, Chloe.’ Sinead looked over at her sister. ‘You know, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you with Nile. Are you really as all right about the break-up as you seem?’
‘Yes; I think it was my pride that was hurt more than anything else. On reflection, it was a wise decision to split. We weren’t suited…he did me a favour really.’
‘Yes, because Steven is gorgeous.’
‘Yes, he is,’ Chloe agreed with a laugh. ‘But don’t go rushing to conclusions, Sinead—’
‘I’m not,’ Sinead cut across her. ‘But, you know, I remember ringing you up to ask how your first week at work went and you talked non-stop about him. There was this kind of spark in your voice that I’d never heard before. I was half expecting you to ring me back a week later and tell me you’d ditched Nile.’
Chloe shook her head. ‘Sparks do fly between us, but it’s mostly to do with work. You probably misunderstood.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Sinead laughed. ‘It’s called chemistry, Sis, and you and Steven seem to have it in spades.’
Sinead brought the car to a full stop in front of the house. ‘Now that’s done, let’s round up the men and go down to the pub for a drink. Don’t worry about Beth, because Ellie has offered to babysit.’
‘I’ll have to check with Steven about that. He might not want to leave her. Not when she’s just arrived and everything is a bit strange to her.’ Chloe stepped out into the cool of the evening air and helped Sinead take the dresses out of the back of the car. ‘Anyway, isn’t it unlucky to see the groom on the night before the wedding?’
‘If it is I don’t care,’ Sinead laughed. ‘Now that I’ve tried my dress on again and seen you in yours I know nothing can go wrong.’
Steven and her father were in the lounge drinking coffee when they walked in.
‘Hi; how’s everything?’ Chloe smiled at the two men, at the same time hoping her father hadn’t been saying anything too embarrassing in her absence. ‘Dad hasn’t been showing you pictures of me when I was a baby or anything awful like that, has he?’
‘Oh, yes, I’ve seen all your baby pictures,’ Steven said. ‘Even the ones of you naked in the bath.’
‘Dad, you haven’t!’ She glared at her father, caught him laughing and realised Steven was teasing her. ‘Very funny, Steven,’ she said drily.
‘How did the dress fittings go?’ he asked with a smile.
‘Perfectly,’ Sinead gushed. ‘Chloe looked sensational.’
‘Chloe always looks sensational,’ Steven said softly, watching Chloe’s discomfiture with a certain amount of pleasure.
‘Yes, all right, Steven, don’t overdo the compliments,’ she said.
Chloe’s eyes drifted over him, noting he had showered and changed. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a sports top that made him look extremely sporty and handsome.
‘So, what is the plan for this evening?’ Sinead asked. ‘Chloe says she can’t come to the pub with us for a drink because she doesn’t want to leave Beth.’
‘Really?’ Steven looked over at Chloe.
‘I know Ellie said she would babysit,’ Chloe said. ‘But Beth might feel a bit insecure in unfamiliar surroundings, so—’
‘I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Chloe,’ Steven cut across her. ‘Beth is in her element with Sarah and Jane—in fact, she is happier than I’ve seen her in ages. Your cousin said she’d ring me on my mobile if there was a problem. And, anyway, apparently the pub is only down the road.’
‘Great,’ Sinead smiled. ‘Hurry and get ready, Chloe; I’ll go ring Mark and tell him we’ll see him there.’
There was a woody smell from the turf fire burning in the stone grate beside them and it mingled pleasantly with the scent of Chloe’s perfume as she leant across to introduce Steven to a few more of her friends who had just arrived.
The small inn was packed to capacity, and Steven wondered about the fact that it was now heading up to midnight, yet more people were arriving and the landlord was still serving.
‘At home they’d have rung a bell and called time long ago,’ Steven told Graham, who was sitting beside him.
‘We’re a bit more relaxed around these parts,’ Graham answered with a smile.
Some music started up at the far end of the room and a few people who were standing beside them at the bar started to sing. Steven noted with amusement that Chloe was one of them.
‘Chloe has a fabulous voice, you know.’ Graham leaned closer. ‘Have you heard her sing?’
‘No, I didn’t know she could.’ Steven was watching Chloe with close attention. She was wearing a pale pink dress; the soft folds clung to her figure, emphasising its curvaceous beauty, and her skin glowed with a healthy peach vitality. He wondered if the contact lenses she wore were coloured, because her eyes seemed an even brighter shade of blue than usual.
He smiled as he watched her laugh as the song ended, her head tipped back slightly, her hair tumbling about her shoulders, flaxen in the half-light of the fire. She caught Steven’s eye and smiled at him.
At one time she would have hurriedly looked away at this point, but she didn’t tonight; she held his gaze in a way that turned his blood to fire. He wanted her so much… The thought of being alone with her in a double bed tonight sent a wave of impatient need through him.
He remembered what he had said to her this afternoon, about not taking advantage of the situation…being perfectly able to sleep next to her in a bed without wanting her…and the lie of it seemed to mock him with taunting cruelty. Who the hell had he been trying to kid?
‘I can see that you are very taken by my daughter,’ Graham said, distracting Steven’s attention.
He tore his eyes away from Chloe. ‘Who wouldn’t be?’ he said quietly. ‘She is beautiful.’
‘And happier and more relaxed than I have seen her in a long time,’ Graham reflected.
‘It will take her some time to get over Nile, I suppose.’ Steven reached for his pint.
‘Perhaps.’ Graham thought about Steven’s words for a minute, and then shook his head. ‘She was very fond of Nile, but I don’t think it was a particularly passionate relationship.’
‘What makes you say that?’ Graham had his full attention now.
‘I spent a week with them in London.’ Graham shook his head. ‘Chloe thought she could fool me, but she couldn’t. Nile wasn’t deeply in love with Chloe and Chloe knew it right from the start. I suspect that’s what she liked about the relationship—it wasn’t all-consuming; in fact, it was more like a friendship than a love affair. She thought he wanted her for all the right reasons. He respected her, she said, he was as focussed on his career as she was on hers. She gave me all this blether about them going in the same direction, wanting the same things.’ Graham shook his head. ‘Did you ever meet Nile?’
‘Yes, once, at the Christmas party. A very quiet guy, as I recall.’
‘Ineffectual, is the word you are looking for,’ Graham muttered. ‘Couldn’t light a fire under my daughter if you’d handed him a box of firecrackers. Spent all his time with his head in his books; ignored her a lot of the time.’
‘Well, why would Chloe want to marry someone like that?’ Steven was stunned.
‘I think she saw him as solid and reliable. She’s been badly hurt in the past, Steven, and she has experienced and seen some dreadful things.’
‘What kinds of things?’
‘Has she ever talked to you about her stepfather?’
‘No.’ Steven frowned. ‘I didn’t know she had a stepfather.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me, somehow. It’s something Chloe wants to forget. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.’ Graham was silent for a moment as he regarded his daughter. ‘She obviously cares about you and Beth a great deal. There’s something different about her now she’s with you. For the first time ever she seems as if she
is opening up, unfolding like a flower…and it’s obviously down to you. But a word of warning, Steven; tread warily, don’t hurt her…or you’ll have me to deal with.’
Steven smiled at that.
‘You think I’m joking, but I’m not. I already carry a burden of guilt for abandoning Chloe. I’ve let her down once; I won’t do it again.’
Steven turned fully in his chair to look at the other man. ‘I think you had better tell me exactly what you are talking about.’
‘I’m not going to go into details, Steven. Suffice to say, my first wife left me for a man who seemed a bit of a charmer, a philanderer—I thought he was nothing worse than that. Otherwise I would never have abandoned Chloe to him.’
Steven’s eyes narrowed on the older man’s face.
‘To outward appearances Michael was an upright citizen, a successful lawyer. Who would have believed such a man would be capable of such cruelty?’ Graham continued, his voice defensive now. ‘My ex-wife was an intelligent and very beautiful woman; I never thought she would subject Chloe to a man like that… But, reading between the lines, it seems Michael ruled the house with a regime of fear—certainly, Chloe was terrified of him; maybe my ex-wife was as well.’
‘So, how evil was this Michael?’ Steven asked, his tone low and horrified.
‘Extremely violent, by all accounts.’ Graham looked down at the drink in front of him. ‘I didn’t know how bad things were, Steven, I swear to you. I’m ashamed to say I was too busy rebuilding my own life here with Margaret. When Chloe came a couple of times on holiday I knew she was a bit withdrawn, but I thought it was because she was missing her mother… I had no idea…’ He shook his head. ‘Afterwards, when finally she came to live with me, I asked her why she hadn’t told me, and she said that if she had told me I’d have made her come to live here, and, although she’d wanted to be with me very much, she’d felt she couldn’t leave her mother because she was worried about her, scared for her; she’d felt she needed to be there to look after her.’ Graham shook his head sadly. ‘She was eleven when she told me that… You’ve no idea how it made me feel.’
Steven looked over at Chloe and suddenly so many things made sense—the wariness, the way she fought to keep her barriers up, and her tenderness and deep empathy for Beth, especially when Helen had been unsympathetic. Suddenly it all slotted into place and he felt a deep anger at the man who had hurt her so much.
‘I’ll never know the full extent of what she suffered, but I do know that she had nightmares for a long time afterwards…’ Graham fell silent for a while and around them the revelry in the bar suddenly seemed too cheerful. ‘I’ve never talked about this to anyone outside the family before…apart from the people who needed to know, obviously.’ Graham finished his drink. ‘And I wouldn’t have told you except that Chloe is different around you, and maybe it will help you to understand her. She says she’s over it now, but sometimes I don’t think she is and I worry about her a lot.’
Chloe came over to them at that moment. ‘What are you two looking so serious about?’ she said.
‘Men’s talk,’ Graham said with a smile as he got up to go to the bar.
Chloe slipped into his seat. ‘What was he saying to you?’ she asked lightly. ‘He wasn’t giving you the third degree, was he? Shining a big light in your eye and asking you what your intentions are?’
Steven laughed. ‘He was telling me what a beautiful voice you have.’
‘Oh, Dad thinks I do everything well.’
‘He might have a point.’ Steven smiled. ‘Do you want to get out of here?’ he asked her suddenly. ‘Get some fresh air and walk back to the house?’
She looked into his eyes and saw the seriousness in their dark depths. Her heart started to beat with an uneven rhythm. ‘Yes, let’s go home,’ she said softly.
They walked slowly back along the narrow country lane that hugged the mountainside. There were no street lamps but a full moon shimmered in the sky, bathing the sea below them and the ribbon of road ahead of them in silver.
‘Looks like Sinead is going to get a good day for her wedding tomorrow,’ Chloe said, breaking the silence.
‘Yes, looks like it.’
Chloe glanced sideways at Steven, wondering why he seemed so quiet, so withdrawn. It was as if he was miles away in his thoughts.
Suddenly she remembered that he had probably rung the office this afternoon. She hoped he hadn’t received bad news. ‘Did you manage to get through to the office while I was out?’ she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
‘Yes, I did.’
Chloe stopped walking. ‘Is that all you are going to say?’ she asked impatiently.
He stopped and looked over at her, and for a moment humour darted over his features. ‘What else is there to say?’ he asked teasingly.
‘Oh, come on, Steven, put me out of my suspense. You know very well what I’m asking. Did Renaldo sign the contract?’
‘As a matter of fact, he did,’ Steven said with a smile. ‘At four-thirty this afternoon Cavendish Enterprises were officially amalgamated with The House of Renaldo, giving us approximately sixty new restaurants on the continent of Europe—’
With a shriek of pleasure Chloe cut across the formality in his tone and flung herself into his arms. ‘You did it! I’m so thrilled for you, Steven.’
‘Well, I did it with your help,’ he said. ‘We make a good team, you and I, don’t we?’
She looked up at him then, suddenly aware of the fact that they were in each other’s arms and that the momentary elation was fading, changing to a very different kind of electricity.
‘Yes, I think we do,’ she agreed quietly, and felt a thrill of sheer, overwhelming magnitude as he bent his head and kissed her.
She wound her arms tightly around his neck, pressing her body close as she kissed him back with a complete lack of any inhibition. It was no holds barred, a completely intoxicating caress, and she wanted to melt into him, become part of him, and never let him go.
When he released her she was breathless and shaking. ‘Wow, that was some kiss.’
He smiled. ‘Well, we are celebrating, aren’t we?’
She nodded. ‘Shall we celebrate some more?’ she asked huskily.
He reached and kissed her again, this time so tenderly she felt as if he was reaching into her soul, catching her, holding her. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever known.
She felt almost dizzy when he pulled back and she leaned against him for a moment, loving the feeling of being in his arms. ‘I was wrong, Steven, when I said we shouldn’t have an affair.’ She whispered the words into the darkness. ‘I was worried it would affect our working relationship, but I know now that it wouldn’t.’ She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. ‘I mean, we are both adults—we know the score, that it’s not serious, and—’
‘Chloe,’ he broke in.
‘Yes.’ She pulled back from him and looked up into his eyes dreamily.
‘I meant it when I said we made a good team, and I was wondering if you would consider marrying me?’
The question was asked so quietly that for a moment Chloe thought she had misheard him. It was only when she took a step back and really looked into his eyes that she knew she hadn’t.
She felt totally and utterly confused.
‘That’s the question I should have asked you two weeks ago,’ Steven continued smoothly. ‘I realise now that this is the way forward…move in with me and share my life.’
Chloe felt her heart thumping so heavily it was like a weighted piece of steel in a gym.
‘You were right when you said we should keep things businesslike, Chloe. An affair would be wrong for us. Marriage makes much more sense.’
She was so stunned it took a moment before she found her voice. ‘Why does marriage make more sense?’
‘Because we are such a good team, and you’re wonderful with Beth—’
‘Are you asking me to marry you because you can’t find the ri
ght childcare?’ She tried to make a joke but her voice was very unsteady.
‘I’m asking you because I suddenly realise just what I have in you.’ His eyes moved over her seriously. ‘And I don’t want to lose you.’
‘You don’t even know me,’ she said furiously.
‘Of course I know you.’ He smiled. ‘Chloe, you have been the most constant woman in my life for the last two years.’
‘Have you considered that you might be on the rebound from Helen?’ she asked calmly.
For a second Steven stared at her. ‘Is that what you think?’ He laughed suddenly. ‘That’s just absurd!’
‘No, it’s not. Don’t you call me absurd.’ Chloe glared at him, her eyes dark midnight-blue in the moonlight. ‘I won’t be used as some kind of substitute childcare! And I resent you even suggesting that I’d consider such a prospect for one moment.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Steven looked genuinely perplexed. ‘I don’t need another employee; I’m going to hire one from that bunch you interviewed for me. What I need is a partner…a woman to share my life. The fact that my life includes a six-year-old little girl means that the woman I need has to be very special…I think that woman is you.’
The words took the steam out of her anger. She stared at him. ‘And what about love?’ The words were a mere whisper in the silence between them.
Steven shrugged. ‘You said you didn’t believe in it. I’m willing to go with your theory. As you said, marriage should be based on a little more substance than just an illusionary, whimsical feeling…’
Chloe’s eyes narrowed on him. ‘I don’t remember saying that.’
‘Oh, you did…not in so many words, but that’s the gist of what you were saying to me that night you stayed at my house. You said that this business of the earth moving and lightning zinging through you when you kiss someone is all just a big distraction. That initially a union should be thought out clearly and without emotional trappings, more like a business partnership, so it has some chance of lasting.’
‘I’m sure I didn’t say all that, Steven, and don’t quote me back at myself; it makes me very nervous,’ she warned furiously.