Maisie woke at dawn on Boxing Day, and demanded cereal and toast before she set to work on unwrapping her presents.
‘I take it you’re feeling better?’ Jenna noted dryly. ‘But I think it’s a bit early in the day for chocolate.’
‘Daddy was cross when I was sick,’ Maisie confided, her smile fading for a moment. ‘He said I was digstusting,’ she added, struggling with the unfamiliar word. ‘I’m not, am I, Mummy?’
‘Of course you’re not,’ Jenna reassured her, and she determinedly pinned a smile on her face and welcomed her neighbours, Nora and Charlie, who were eager to share Maisie’s Christmas.
Chris had invited his girlfriend for lunch, and by three o’clock everyone was relaxing after the big meal that Jenna had spent all morning preparing. Wearily she glanced around the room at the mound of wrapping paper and party hats, the tree that was doing a good impression of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and shedding needles all over the carpet, and sighed. Ideal home it was not, but it was her home, hers and Maisie’s, and she refused to dwell on the fact that without Alex it felt as empty as her heart.
‘I’ll get it,’ she murmured as the doorbell pealed. ‘It’s probably Claire from my old office; she said she might pop in.’
She opened the door to be met by a mass of red roses—at least three dozen, she estimated dazedly as her eyes moved up to meet Alex’s sapphire gaze. She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice. One wrong move could send her hurtling over the top. She fought to control the thunderous beating of her heart.
‘I’m glad you chose something discreet and understated,’ she said huskily, using humour to disguise her nervousness.
‘Subtlety’s my second name,’ he agreed gravely, and her lips twitched. ‘Alongside Neanderthal.’
‘I can’t believe I called you that.’
‘I deserved it—and worse. I’m not usually quite so unpleasant,’ he offered quietly and she read the sincere apology in his eyes, her smile decidedly wobbly as she stood aside to usher him in.
‘I appreciate that you were defending me,’ she said hurriedly, ‘but Lee had just agreed not to apply for custody of Maisie, and I didn’t want to give him a reason to change his mind. Alex, I’m really not in love with Lee,’ she continued, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding before they were interrupted. ‘I’m not sure I ever was. But I was young and had had a fairly sheltered upbringing. He was bold and daring, and my parents disapproved of him.’ She shrugged. ‘He swept me off my feet, and by the time I hit solid ground I was pregnant with Maisie. You can’t seriously believe I have any feelings for him?’ she pleaded.
She struggled to hold the huge bunch of roses. ‘I think I’ll have to put these in the bath for now; I’ve only got one vase. No one has ever bought me flowers before.’
‘I’ll buy you flowers every day,’ Alex assured her gently, and he tilted her chin and brushed his lips over hers in a sweet caress that instantly had her clamouring for more. ‘I don’t want you to look for another job. The rather staid offices of Morrell and Partners haven’t been the same since you burst through the doors, and neither have I,’ he added, accepting the invitation in her eyes and deepening his kiss.
‘Mummy, I need a cloth.’ Maisie trotted into the kitchen and Jenna reluctantly pulled out of Alex’s arms, frowning at the ominous request. ‘Alex, I’m doing painting, but it’s spilt on the cushion,’ the little girl explained, beaming at Alex as he reached down to scoop her into his arms.
‘We’d better clear it up, then, sweetheart, while Mummy finds somewhere to put her flowers.’
The rest of the day was a joyous hubbub of noise and laughter. Alex chatted to Nora and Charlie, and tried not to wince when Chris gave a demonstration on his electric guitar, and Maisie basked in his attention. As Jenna watched her daughter clamber unselfconsciously onto his knee she acknowledged that it was too late to try and build a defence barrier; Maisie adored Alex, and once again a frisson of fear curled around her heart.
One day at a time, Alex had advised about their relationship, and she was determined to do just that—no looking forward, no dwelling on the past; she would enjoy what she had today and let fate determine tomorrow.
She was unaware that Alex was watching her, reading the emotions that flitted across her face and feeling hope unfurl in his chest. Trust didn’t come easily to her—not surprising after the way her ex-husband had treated her—but he had been patient; well, fairly, he conceded with a wry smile. He wasn’t renowned for his patience, but as he caught her glance and watched the way her grey eyes darkened to the colour of woodsmoke a smile curved his lips and he contemplated the end of a very long journey.
It was late when Nora and Charlie returned to their own house. Chris decided to take his girlfriend on a tour of the local pubs, and Maisie was finally persuaded to go to bed. The house looked as if it had been blitzed, Jenna thought ruefully as she went downstairs, but in the living room Alex had switched off the overhead light, and the room looked cosy and romantic, bathed in the glow of the Christmas tree lights.
‘I bet your flat never looks like this,’ she quipped as she joined him on the sofa and accepted the glass of champagne he offered with a blissful sigh.
‘Never,’ he agreed. ‘It’s always felt rather sterile and unwelcoming—which is why I’m planning on buying a house. Aren’t you interested to know which house?’ he queried when she sat silent, staring at him with wide, expressive eyes over the rim of her glass.
‘Which house?’ she asked obediently, fighting her sudden feeling of panic. He wouldn’t buy a house just for him—but surely he wasn’t planning to marry Selina after all?
‘The one next to the park. Maisie calls it the fairy house because she says it looks magical.’
‘Well, that’s nice. We’ll practically be neighbours,’ Jenna murmured, finding it suddenly hard to think coherently when his arm, which had been lying along the back of the sofa, settled around her shoulders and he pulled her close. ‘That’s odd—I didn’t notice that there earlier,’ she said, leaning forward to view a small package that dangled from a branch of the Christmas tree. ‘Maisie must have forgotten to unwrap one of her presents.’
‘Maybe you should open it,’ Alex suggested softly as she stood in front of the tree, and her heart began to thump as she stared at the small parcel.
‘You gave me my presents yesterday,’ she reminded him as she pulled off the paper to reveal a small velvet box. It would be earrings, of course, or possibly a small pendant, she told herself, unable to prevent a gasp as she opened the lid and stared at the exquisite solitaire diamond set on a white gold band. ‘Alex, I…’
He had been sitting quietly watching the play of emotions on her face, but now he came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms round her and drawing her against his chest. ‘Marry me?’ he begged, his voice muffled in her hair, but she caught the note of uncertainty, an almost vulnerable quality that turned her heart over.
‘We’ve been through this before,’ she began, unable to quell a delicious shiver as his lips caressed her ear, sharp teeth nipping the sensitive lobe before he trailed a line of kisses down her neck.
‘And you told me that a marriage between us wouldn’t work because we don’t love one another.’ He turned her in his arms so that she was facing him, and she stared at the male beauty of his face, shaken by the depth of emotion evident in his eyes. ‘But that’s not true—is it, my darling? I love you more than life, more than I believed it possible to love another human being. You are my world,’ he murmured huskily, ‘and you have been since the moment you fell into my arms in the storm. I think that deep down you care for me too. I know how badly Lee hurt you, and I can wait, and hope for your love to grow, but tell me you’ll marry me. I need to know that I at least have the right to protect you and Maisie. I need to know you’ll be there every day for the rest of my life.’
He looked like a man about to be sent to the gallows, Jenna thought through a mist of tears. He had said h
e was sure that she cared for him, but he wasn’t that sure—she could tell from the rigid line of his jaw that he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.
‘You don’t have to wait,’ she reassured him, stretching up to wind her arms around his neck. ‘I think I’ve loved you for ever. You don’t know how many times I nearly admitted that I was no longer married, but I was scared. I was sure you were only interested in a brief affair, and I had Maisie.’
‘Meeting her for the first time was a shock,’ Alex admitted with a rueful smile. ‘But not because I don’t like children. I hope we’ll have half a dozen, and I love Maisie as if she was my own. You have no idea how badly you rocked my world that day. You looked so young and fragile, yet you were so determined to be strong for your daughter. I knew then that I loved you, although it took a mad dash down the motorway for me to accept my life was never going to be the same again.’
He didn’t seem too sad about that fact, Jenna decided several minutes later as she lay on the sofa, her clothes scattered in a heap on the floor, quickly to be joined by his.
‘Stop wriggling,’ he admonished sternly as she entwined her legs with his, tilting her hips in her desperation to feel him inside her. ‘This is the first time I’ve made love to you, knowing that you love me. I want it to last.’
‘I’ve no problem with hard and fast,’ she assured him, but by then she had no choice in the matter, and he drove into her, each powerful thrust sending her higher and higher, until she cried his name and clung to his shoulders while he found his own exquisite release.
‘I thought we could have an extended honeymoon in New Zealand,’ he murmured later, as they lay replete in each other’s arms. ‘It’ll give your parents a chance to enjoy Maisie while I enjoy you,’ he added throatily, and was rewarded with a smile that took his breath away.
‘My parents will love you,’ she said confidently, ‘and Maisie already adores you. But their feelings fade to nothing compared to my love for you. You are my other half for the rest of my life; friend, lover and husband—for ever.’
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5820-8
HIS SECRETARY MISTRESS
First North American Publication 2006.
Copyright © 2006 by Chantelle Shaw.
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His Secretary Mistress Page 17
