Hand On Heart: Sequel to Head Over Heels

by Downing, Sara

  ‘So, Naomi, who recommended you to Financial Futures?’ Evie asked as she finished serving the puddings and sat back down. James glanced up at her, irritated that she should be trying to steal the conversation over to her side of the table. He smiled ingratiatingly at Naomi, his expression almost apologetic. These two seemed to be getting on too well, Evie thought, almost to the point where she and Jason were surplus to requirements. But Naomi politely obliged, replying to Evie’s question.

  ‘Well, it’s complicated but I knew someone who knew someone who had invested with James,’ she said coyly, casting a quick sideways glance at her husband. ‘Kind of a friend-of-a-friend situation.’ Evie knew Naomi had been married twice before, and presumed that one of these ‘someones’ was an ex, whom the current ‘Mr Bransford’, as James had labelled him, didn’t take too kindly to being brought into the conversation. ‘He couldn’t speak more highly of you, James.’

  She gave James one of her dazzling smiles, a face that Evie had seen on many an occasion in the media. She was one of those ‘B-List’ women whose face always seemed to be in the press, for one reason or another, and not necessarily for doing anything particularly noteworthy. She didn’t actively court publicity, but with a famous, onetime scandal-ridden father, a playboy brother who was better known for his antics on the ski slopes, a third husband – Jason – who was at least ten years her junior, a former underwear model, and whose sexuality had once or twice been called into question, what was there not to like for the tabloids and gossip magazines? Not to mention the fact that Naomi was glacially beautiful in her own right, with a mane of white-blond hair and pale complexion. Evie had never seen her take a bad photo. A family with all that going for it could produce a tabloid story big enough to satisfy its readership just by popping out to the corner shop and buying a box of cereals.

  ‘Oh, that’s nice to know, thank you,’ James replied obsequiously.

  Naomi sighed. ‘It hasn’t always been easy, you know.’ Oh, here we go, thought Evie, with the uneasy feeling Naomi was about to launch into her life story, even though time, place and the fact that they barely knew her didn’t lend themselves to such openness.

  ‘It was no fun with Daddy being in the public eye, and then, well, there was all that hoo-ha with the Back-to-Basics scandal and then Mummy threw him out. Bless him, I still can’t believe good old Papa could do something like that but, hey, you don’t ever really know who your parents are, do you? I mean, none of us likes to imagine our parents as real people, do we, with loves and lusts and affairs and all that sort of thing. As far as we kids were concerned, Ma and Pa were just a unit, our parents, no more than that. And then they carry on being that, even when you’re an adult yourself and can understand just how easy it is to get caught up in something. Life just gets so complicated…’ She wiped away what Evie could only believe was an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye.

  This woman is so good, she ought to be on the stage, Evie thought. She wasn’t warming to her at all, but knew she had to keep up the act if Naomi was going to grant James her business. They could really do with a big client like this coming their way right now. Times weren’t exactly hard but it was always good to know they had the security blanket of future clients coming through.

  Whilst Naomi went on, Evie’s mind wandered, but she remembered to nod at appropriate moments. Naomi seemed too wrapped up in the emotion of her own story to notice that one third of her audience wasn’t fully engaged.

  Naomi’s twenties might have been blighted by the scandal her father had brought on them, but all the same she must have had a very privileged childhood, thanks to his high-ranking career in the Conservative Party and all the trappings that it brought. Naomi’s path to the top certainly hadn’t been as hard as some of her peers in the business world, who really had started out with nothing and made it into the big time. Some people just didn’t realise how lucky they had been along the way, how many opportunities – and how much investment – they’d been given, compared to the likes of your average person in the street.

  ‘So James, are you interested?’ Naomi asked. Clearly the sob story was over and it was time to get down to business. James didn’t seem prepared for her bluntness. He shook his head to bring himself back into the real world.

  Don’t get taken in by this woman, Evie tried to warn him telepathically. Take her business, but keep her at arms’ length. She’s trouble. Evie glanced across at Jason, who looked thoroughly bored; clearly he had heard Naomi’s story and its embellishments many times before.

  James seemed to come out of his trance and immediately clicked back into business mode, much to Evie’s relief.

  ‘Without a doubt,’ he replied.

  Evie thought her husband was generally a good judge of character, but it seemed that Naomi had cast her spell on him. She was worried. James was a flirt, no doubt about it, but flirting and reeling in a client didn’t normally go hand in hand. He needed to separate the professional from the personal and deal with this woman and her money in an appropriate manner. Evie respected his business acumen; he wouldn’t be silly enough to handle a situation wrongly and lose them a deal, she was sure of that. She hoped it was just the presence of alcohol and a pretty face that were causing him to forget his scruples this time.

  August 2015

  Evie arrived back from her run. It was too hot to go far, but at least she had been out. Free-flowing alcohol coupled with all the pastries they’d been tucking into meant her clothes fitted a little more snugly than usual, and she hated feeling uncomfortable.

  Some of the others were up now. Grace was playing with the twins in the pool and, yet again, her own girls were out of their beds and sunbathing flat out and face down, headphones on, bikini tops unclipped so as not to leave an unsightly white line across their tanned backs. They had effectively swapped one bed for another, but at least they were out of their dark rooms and into the sunshine. The patio table contained the remains of breakfast. Evie couldn’t face another croissant and headed into the kitchen to grab some fruit.

  ‘Hey, Tom.’ Grace’s husband was at the sink, washing the glasses from last night.

  ‘Hi, how was your run?’

  ‘Just what I needed, good thanks. You should come out some time.’

  Evie poured herself an orange juice.

  ‘So, what’s everyone up to today?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, I’d like to go off with my camera for a bit; Grace said she’d stay here with the kids. I fancy a bit of a woodland walk, get away from the heat for a while.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan.’ Evie also wanted to do something different today. She had to admit, much as she was loving the relaxing days, doing not much more than lazing by the pool, she needed something different today. Boredom was not a condition she often suffered from – at home she didn’t have the time to be bored – and was an unwelcome and unexpected visitor on holiday, but it had arrived nonetheless. It had been great spending time by the pool, they’d all needed the down-time and it had given them a chance to unwind in their new surroundings. But now she was ready for adventure. Looking at her contented friends and family outside, she might have trouble mustering anyone to come with her, but that was fine, a few hours of solitude might be just what she needed. And what would she do? They’d done the local town to death, visited pretty much all of the bars and most definitely all of the shops; it hadn’t taken long as there weren’t many. They’d got a canoe trip booked for the start of the second week, for all eight of them, so she wouldn’t go off and do that ahead of the game and spoil it for the others.

  She needed to explore something. Something historical or cultural. Her brain needed stimulation, and you never know, it might give her some inspiration for her writing. She flicked through some brochures that previous occupants had left.

  ‘Ooh, Chateau des Milandes, just look at that, Tom. A proper fairy-tale castle. Think I’ve heard of that one. Well, that’s where I’m going today. Decision made. Presume you guys won’t w
ant to come if you’re off on your walk? I’ll go and check with Grace, though.’

  She headed out to the pool. ‘Auntie Evie is bored and is going to visit a castle this morning. Who wants to come with me?’

  ‘Has it got real soldiers and guns and lots of killing stuff?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Don’t be so silly, Jack,’ Lily piped up imperiously. ‘The castles round here are for princesses, not baddies and soldiers and guns.’ She said this last word with such disdain, Jack thought he’d better shut up quickly. His need to see some weapons of mass destruction wasn’t great enough to risk the wrath and ridicule of his sister.

  Grace took a straw poll of her kids, whose hands stayed resolutely down, in favour of another day of swimming. Herself and Evie alone together on a day out held huge appeal, but she had promised Tom she’d stay home with the twins. Evie was met with the same lack of enthusiasm from her own daughters.

  ‘Oh well, just me then!’ There was no point in waiting for James to get up, he probably wouldn’t want to come either. She headed upstairs for a shower.

  ‘Sorry, Evie,’ Grace called to her departing friend. ‘Would’ve been great.’

  James was belting out ‘Nessun Dorma’ from the shower. She couldn’t see him for steam, clearly he’d been in there for a while. She flung open a couple of the porthole windows of their turret bathroom and waited for the mist to clear.

  ‘Hi, darling,’ James called. ‘Won’t be long.’

  She stripped off and jumped into the still warm cubicle as soon as he vacated, closing the door quickly behind her.

  ‘I’m going to Chateau Des Milandes today. Don’t suppose you’ll want to come?’ She hoped he’d say no, crossing her fingers behind her back.

  ‘Oh. Yeah, do you know what, actually I’d love to. We could make a bit of a day of it, have some lunch out. Presume the girls are happy to stay here? Sight-seeing’s not really their thing, is it?’

  Damn and double-damn. She knew she shouldn’t feel like this about James coming. How times had changed; a couple of years ago the pair of them would have done anything to escape the rest of the party and spend a bit of time in one another’s company, and the thought of a day out together like this would have been bliss.

  ‘Oh, OK, then,’ she agreed, glad that he couldn’t see her crestfallen expression. She cursed herself for feeling like this; if only they could get back to those days when they relished one another’s company. She was trying to get past it, really she was. It was just so hard. Forgiving was one thing, forgetting was another thing entirely. She needed someone to come along and zap her memory, erase all the bad things and just leave her with all the lovely things from their almost seventeen years of marriage. If only…

  Oh well, it looked like she had company for the day, after all.

  Ten - Tom

  August 2015

  Tom headed off into the valley, camera over his shoulder, backpack stocked with refreshments, just in case he didn’t make it back in time for lunch. A peaceful morning in the woods with his camera was just what he needed. It was good to have a break from the constant presence of friends and family, and the need to be sociable. Much as he was enjoying this holiday – far more than he had expected – he also relished the occasional moment of solitude. Both he and Grace could be solitary beings when they wanted to be, each perfectly happy in their own company – not that either of them had much opportunity for quiet times to themselves these days. Besides which, photography was not a social hobby. Bring along a guest and all wildlife would scatter, as you strolled through the woods, chatting away. There was no doubt that if Grace had come along, it would have made for a pleasant morning, but he fancied indulging in his hobby all by himself for an hour or two, and he didn’t think that was too onerous a request. He had precious little time at home for photography, life was just so busy. Grace understood.

  Tom was hopeful for some good pictures. They’d seen all sorts of wildlife emerging from the woodlands into the chateau gardens, including deer, buzzards, owls, and Grace was adamant she’d seen the retreating behind of a wild boar as they’d walked after dinner one evening. Much as he’d love to see a wild boar in the flesh – alive, and not in a tomato and red wine sauce – he half hoped the porcine inhabitants of the woods didn’t get too close, they did look a little intimidating…

  And it wasn’t just moving wildlife he wanted to photograph; you could get some stunning shots of ferns, mosses, fungi. Enough to keep his camera clicking for a couple of hours, he thought.

  To say Tom had had reservations about spending two weeks with the same friends in a confined space was an understatement. They’d never before holidayed with anyone else, normally loving the freedom that a holiday as just a family gave. No one else’s plans or expectations to get in the way of what they wanted to do. He and James had pretty much grown up together, despite the age difference, which in adulthood was inconsequential. James’ younger brother had been at school with Tom in Malvern, and the three boys had been firm friends throughout their formative years. But recent events had conspired to alter Tom’s opinion of James.

  Some might say that Tom’s own track record shouldn’t give him permission to judge James, after all he had effectively poached another man’s fiancée, when Grace had left Mark to be with him. But with the risk of sounding hypocritical, he didn’t feel the fall-out from his own acts was quite so terrible. Yes, Mark had been hurt, but then his relationship with Grace had been in decline for a long while, and there had been no children involved, which for Tom, was the crucial factor. What James had done had hurt his whole family, and put their livelihoods and financial security at stake as well. James was lucky that Evie seemed to have managed to put it behind her – it was only a year ago, after all, which was still fairly recent in healing terms. He and Grace were mightily relieved that their friends were back on track, but an incident like that made you question just how well you knew someone in the first place.

  Tom had had plenty of opportunity on this holiday to observe Evie and James. Not that he was making a positive effort to spy on them, but when you were staying under the same roof it was difficult not to pick up on certain things. Tom thought he still detected some tensions between the pair, although they were doing their very best to get on with having a good time. It seemed to be more from Evie’s perspective, he thought, which was understandable, as she and the girls had been the wounded parties. Tom might be reading more into it than he should, but this morning he’d had the distinct impression that the last person Evie wanted to come along with her on her chateau trip was her own husband.

  Despite all that, the two families had blended very well at the chateau, better than Tom had anticipated. The older girls helped out a lot with the younger children, and moreover were happy to, even without being asked, which freed him and Grace up to spend more time alone together than they had been able to in a very long time. He was thoroughly enjoying rediscovering the delights of spending time with just his wife; it was good to see that, after surviving the trials of bringing up twin babies, they still enjoyed one another’s company and had plenty to talk about – aside from the children. But he knew it would take more than that to diminish the spark between the two of them, after all this was his amazing Grace they were talking about, the love of his life. He couldn’t imagine where he would be today without her, and a smile lit up his face as he thought about his beautiful wife. What a lucky man he was.

  A red kite, startled by Tom’s presence, shot from a nearby tree and flew directly overhead. Tom, away in his reveries, soon snapped back into action, grabbing some great shots of the underside of its wings against a backdrop of deep emerald. Stunning, those pictures would be, he thought, all modesty at his photographic skills blown away. The kind of picture that would look great in greyscale on a canvas. Wow, fantastic shots like that and this was just the beginning of his walk! He hoisted his bag back onto his shoulder and ploughed on deeper into the woods.

  His phone rang, startling not only him b
ut any wildlife that might have been posing for him in the trees. He’d forgotten to switch it to silent when he set off. He pulled it from his pocket, expecting it to be Grace.

  But it wasn’t Grace.

  ‘Hello, Sophie.’

  April 2009

  It had taken Tom a long time to get back on his feet after he and Sophie split up. As well as coping with a broken heart, the whole sorry situation left him feeling such a fool. He couldn’t believe he had been taken in by her; he had given her his heart and soul, only for her to throw it all back in his face. Why would anyone do that, especially to someone they were supposed to be in love with? He failed to understand.

  He thought they were happy together, that they had everything they needed. What she did destroyed his faith in the human race for a while. As far as he was concerned, from now on it would be easier just to stay single, with no complications in his life. But eventually the cliché of time being a great healer came to bear, and whilst he didn’t go actively looking for love for some time, it found him, in the form of Grace. But nothing was ever straightforward – she had a fiancé already, and he felt he was trespassing onto another man’s territory.

  To start with, Tom felt enormous guilt about his feelings for Grace. How could he possibly contemplate getting involved with someone who was already in a relationship? He was no home-wrecker, it just wasn’t in his nature. But she had knocked him for six and now he didn’t know what to do. How he’d managed to work with her for several years before noticing just how amazing she was, he couldn’t fathom. But now he had noticed her, he couldn’t simply un-notice her again.

  He supposed it was just a case of the timing being right for him, although for Grace, that was far from true. Despite her situation, he thought she was giving off all the signals of a woman for whom outwardly, everything was going well, but he suspected there was far more going on in her home life than met the eye. He was sure it wasn’t just wishful thinking on his part.