Coco propped up the pillows and helped Eleanor into bed, and her mother lay back with relief, looking almost as white as the clean cotton pillowslips. Coco moved the chair to one side and poured her a glass of water from the jug on the stand, then smiled and made to leave, but Eleanor stretched out a hand.
“Stay a moment.”
Coco paused, surprised. “Do you want something?”
Eleanor patted the bed next to her. “Come and sit down.”
Coco did so, and took her mother’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, darling. We didn’t get much chance to talk last night—I was so tired. Did you have a nice evening?”
“Yes, thank you.” Coco’s cheeks grew warm, but she refused to look away.
“He seemed very nice.”
“He is. He’s very thoughtful and kind.” She pictured the room with its beach and cocktail bar, and smiled.
Eleanor’s lips curved in return. “And sexy?”
Coco’s eyes widened. “Mum!”
Eleanor stroked Coco’s hand. “Is there any chance it could turn into anything more serious?”
“No, Mum. He’s only here for a week. He’s working on a case, and he’ll be leaving a week Monday.”
“Where’s he from?”
“The Auckland office.” Coco hesitated. “He’s investigating a case of sexual harassment at the Wellington branch. I shouldn’t have seen him at all, really. I feel a bit guilty about it.”
Eleanor shrugged. “No reason anyone should find out about it.”
“I suppose.”
“Are you seeing him again before he leaves?”
“I have no plans to.” She was unable to stop the sweep of sadness that flowed over her.
“Perhaps you should call him and arrange something.” Eleanor’s thumb continued to stroke the back of her hand.
Coco sighed. “No, I don’t think so. It’s best we move on. It was fun, but there’s no point in dragging it out.”
“Sweetheart, men like that don’t come along into our lives every day. You really should make the most of it while he’s here.”
Coco met her mother’s gaze. Irritation bubbled inside her. “I know where this is going. But there’s no chance of me falling in love and sailing off into the sunset.”
Colour flooded Eleanor’s cheeks. “How do you know unless you allow things to develop?”
“Didn’t you just hear me? He lives in Auckland!”
“So? People move, Coco.”
She gritted her teeth. “Stop pushing. I’m not interested.”
“Why are you so determined never to find a man?” Eleanor removed her hand, and her fingers clutched the duvet. “And why do you resent me so whenever I suggest it?”
“Because it’s my business, and if I don’t want to fall in love and settle down it’s up to me, not you.” Tears stung Coco’s eyes. Why couldn’t her mother leave it alone?
“But I don’t understand. You’re young—you deserve to have a husband and children.”
“I don’t want those things.”
“I think you do but you’re scared, and because you’re scared you’re refusing to allow yourself to explore the possibility.” Eleanor’s lips set in a thin line. “It’s not about me pushing you. I know you look after me because you love me, but I don’t want to be the reason you never find happiness.”
“You’re not the reason,” Coco whispered, thinking of Michael.
“I’ve contacted the respite home,” Eleanor announced. “Someone’s coming around next week to talk to me about finding me a place.”
Coco stared at her in horror. “Mum!”
Eleanor’s face softened. “It’s not a terrible place, love. These homes aren’t like they used to be. There are proper care staff and nice rooms and places where you can go to socialise and mix with others your own age.”
“You’ve always said you’d hate that,” Coco snapped.
Eleanor ignored her. “It’s nice of you to look after me, but you’re not a trained nurse. What if something happened?”
“I’d ring an ambulance.” Coco stood up. “For God’s sake.”
Eleanor struggled to push herself more upright in bed. “Did it ever cross your mind that what I want should form part of this decision?”
Hot tears scalded Coco’s eyes. “It’s not what you want, though, not really—it’s what you think would be best for me, and that’s not fair. I’m happy the way we are. We do all right, don’t we?”
“We do fine, love. But you should have seen your face yesterday when you came in. You were glowing. You’d obviously had a lovely evening.”
“I’d had sex. That’s why I was glowing. That’s all it was, Mum.”
She waited for Eleanor to gasp, wanting to shock her. But to her surprise, her mother just raised an eyebrow and said, “I am a grown woman, love. I’ve had a child, and I’m not an innocent. I know young people don’t wait until they get married anymore. Do you really think I assumed you were just having dinner?”
Words failed her. The two women stared at each other for a moment.
Eventually Eleanor bit her lip. “I know I’ve not always been the best mother to you. I had a very strict upbringing, and in the past talking about things like this hasn’t come easy to me. I don’t know what went wrong between you and Michael, but I’m sure part of it was down to me, and I don’t want to be the reason you don’t find happiness.”
“It wasn’t you.” Coco looked out at the fantails squabbling over the seed. “I’m not sure he was capable of love. For him that emotion was bound and gagged and only allowed to see daylight once a week. He didn’t understand. But Felix…” She hesitated. How could she explain the difference between the two men? She sighed and looked back at her mother. “I just wanted to see what I was missing, that’s all.”
A whisper of a smile passed over Eleanor’s face. “Call him.”
Coco opened her mouth to reply, and at that moment her mobile rang in the pocket of her jeans. She took it out, turned toward the garden again and said, “Hello?”
“It’s me,” Felix said. “Can we talk?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Felix paced the floor of his hotel room as he waited for Coco to answer his question.
It had taken an hour of internal debating before he’d finally picked up his mobile and dialled her number. She’d given it to him when they were at the bar the first night in case he needed to change the time he picked her up for the Hawaiian evening, but she clearly hadn’t expected him to call her after their rendezvous.
She’d left his room with a gentle kiss and a “Thank you for a lovely evening”, but neither of them had mentioned meeting up again. He’d lain awake for hours telling himself it had been a one-off and she’d made it quite clear she wasn’t in the zone for anything more. And he wasn’t either. Was he? Of course not. He lived hundreds of miles away. He had no intention of moving to the old-fashioned Wellington branch, and Coco would never move away from her mother. It was just a fling—okay, a semi-nuclear brain-in-meltdown kind of fling, but just a fling nonetheless. He’d had plenty of them and gone on to hardly give the girl a second thought. So why was the sexy secretary plaguing his mind so much?
In the background, he heard Coco mumble something, presumably to her mother, and then after a few seconds she said, “Hi.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting you.”
“No, no.” There was the sound of a door opening and closing. “I was in with Mum, but I’m in the garden now.”
“Everything all right?”
She blew out a breath. “Yes. We were just having a…discussion.”
“Problems?”
She was quiet for a moment, and he imagined her turning her face up to the sun and closing her eyes, comforted by the warmth. “She’s got someone from the respite home coming in next week to talk to her.”
“Ah.” He waited for her to elaborate, and when she didn’t, he asked, “Are you okay?”
She
fell silent again, and he wondered if she was crying. Shit. That wasn’t the effect he’d meant to have.
“You want me to go?” he asked softly.
She cleared her throat. “No, I’m okay. But it’s hard, you know? I wish she’d believe me when I say I want to look after her.”
“I’m sure she does, honey. She just feels guilty that she’s holding you back.”
More silence. Fuck. He was really putting his foot in it.
“Why did you call?” she whispered.
“Ah…just checking on you.”
“Felix…” She sounded amused.
He sighed. “I wondered whether you’d like to go to the Empire tonight.”
This time she fell quiet out of shock. “You mean the first showing?”
“Yep.”
“But… Those tickets sold out the first day.”
“I know someone.” He shook his head as he thought of the palaver he’d gone through to find them. A couple who’d bought them seconds after they’d gone on sale had had to sell them when a relative died in America and they had to go to the funeral. Felix would have to pay them a small fortune, but it would be worth it if she agreed to go.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“Oh my God, are you serious? You really have tickets?”
“Yes. Cross my heart! It’s going to be quite an evening. There will be fans in costume and most people will be dressed up to some degree. I thought you might enjoy it.”
“Oh my God!”
He laughed and then ran a hand through his hair. “The only problem is that it doesn’t start until midnight. I’m not sure how easy that would be to organise for you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t give you more notice but I only found out I had them an hour ago.”
“Oh, Felix. You’re such a sweetie.”
He scuffed the carpet with his toe. “I’m not. But I don’t want to make things more difficult for you.”
“It’s okay, Frances told me last night she’d stay over if I wanted to go away. And Mum will be thrilled.” She sounded wry.
“I thought I’d wear black tie for fun. Do you have a dress to wear, or would you like me to take you out and buy you something?”
“A la Pretty Woman?”
“Fuck, I wasn’t implying—”
She laughed. “Felix, relax. It was a joke. No, I have something.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up at eleven? I think it’ll be worth getting there early to take in the atmosphere.”
“Sure. I look forward to it.”
He sighed with relief. “I’ll see you then.”
“Oh, Felix?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
He smiled and hung up.
Shit. Now he had to go and buy a fancy suit.
Felix rolled up in the taxi outside Coco’s house just before eleven. It was dark but the moon hung in the sky like a heavy Christmas bauble. He got out and fidgeted nervously with his bow tie. It had taken him half an hour to tie it, and he’d just begun to wish he’d bought a clip-on one when he finally got it sorted.
He had an evening suit back in his apartment in Auckland, but it was a couple of years old so he’d decided to buy another rather than hire one. Under the shop assistant’s direction, he’d settled on a wool and mohair mix suit with what she assured him was grosgrain silk facing on the lapels that matched the braiding down the side of the pants and the bow tie. She’d advised a jacket without vents and with a peak lapel, and he had to admit it was certainly a flattering cut. He’d also invested in a waistcoat, the scooped front showing off the pleats of his white shirt. Silver cufflinks completed the look.
Hopefully Coco would think he looked okay.
He knocked on the door and waited. Once again he felt sixteen years old, nervous as if it were a first date. Why did she make him feel this way? He hadn’t had butterflies for years.
The door opened and she appeared. A smile hovered on her lips, but the words she’d been about to say faltered as she took in his appearance. Her gaze ran very slowly down him from head to toe before returning just as slowly.
Felix hardly noticed her appraisal, however, because he was too busy carrying out an appraisal of his own. She wore a plum-coloured gown with an embroidered bodice and a skirt made out of some floaty material that fell to the floor in soft folds. She’d put up her hair in an elegant chignon, and had obviously taken time over her makeup. She looked divine. And she was his date.
She still hadn’t said anything. Hoping she was thinking Wow, you look pretty good rather than Oh my God what the hell are you wearing, he smiled hesitantly and gestured to her dress. “You look fantastic.”
She blinked, and a smile spread slowly across her face. “Oh, Felix, you look like a model.”
He looked down at himself. “Plastic and without man parts?”
She laughed. “I swear you could easily have walked straight off an Italian catwalk.”
He leaned forward, kissed her cheek and murmured in her ear, “If you’re going to start swearing, it won’t be long before I have to get you out of that dress.” He rested a hand on her hip.
She shivered beneath his touch, a movement so erotic he nearly pushed her up against the door and kissed her senseless. But she’d obviously taken time over her lipstick and he didn’t want to be reprimanded for kissing it off. Instead, he leaned on the doorjamb above her head and let his lips hover over hers, his thumb stroking her waist, her body silky beneath the material.
“I want you,” he murmured.
“You’ve had me,” she said, her lowered lashes dark against her pale face. She leaned back against the doorframe as if trying to move away from him, but she didn’t push her hands against his chest.
He had to fight not to kiss her, to press his lips against her painted ones. They’d be sticky, he thought, and would peel away from his as he lifted his head. And…now he had an erection. “I want you again.”
“Already?” She raised her eyes to his, and he caught his breath. They glowed with passion and excitement, green as two polished emeralds.
“I wanted you again five minutes after I’d had you.”
It was the first time either of them had suggested they were interested in anything more than a one-night stand. Felix wasn’t quite sure why he’d said it. Nothing had changed—he was still only going to be there a week, and their personal commitments wouldn’t lend themselves to something more serious. But he couldn’t help himself. Her perfume—something muskier than her normal flowery scent—wound around him, ensnaring him. Her breasts rose and fell with her rapid breaths. He wanted to drop his head and run his tongue over the swell of smooth, creamy flesh enticingly revealed by the low-cut neckline. He wanted to lift her skirts and plunge into her, lose himself in her.
“Oh,” she said. Her eyes were filled with longing. But she swallowed and said, “It was a one-time deal, Felix. I think I made that quite clear.”
He hesitated. Her words were at odds with her emotions—he could see that much. But he didn’t want to pressure her.
He drew away reluctantly, dropping his arm so he could grasp her hand. “Of course, I’m sorry. Come on, we have a lovely evening planned. Are you ready?”
She nodded. “Frances is here. She’s staying the night so it doesn’t matter how late I am.”
His heart hammered as he thought of what he had planned. If things went the way he hoped, she was definitely going to be later than she thought. But as yet he wasn’t sure if she’d agree. Clearly her mind was at war with her heart, and he would just have to wait to see which won.
She picked up a small purse the same colour as her dress and pulled the door closed behind her. They walked to the taxi, and he opened the door for her to get in.
“Your carriage awaits you, madam.” He smiled as she slid into the seat. Then he walked around to the other side and got in, and the taxi slid into the waiting traffic.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was only a short dr
ive to the town centre, but Coco’s mind worked furiously every minute that passed as Felix’s words whirled around her head. I wanted you again five minutes after I’d had you. Oh dear God. What was she supposed to say to something like that? She’d never been wanted in her life the way Felix seemed to want her, and his words and his desire, and the heated look in his eyes, eroded away at her stalwart intention to stay aloof.
But she mustn’t sleep with him again. She knew that. Because although he was lovely, and sexy, and sweet, and…yes, okay, pretty much perfect, if she slept with him again she was in danger of falling for him, and that wouldn’t end well, not with the situation at work, and not with him returning to Auckland the following week.
She was just out for the evening, to watch a nice movie with a friend. That was all.
Then he stroked his thumb across her palm where he was holding her hand. The innocuous gesture nevertheless sent a frisson of desire through her. Her breath caught in her throat and her nipples tightened, and she cursed at herself for her foolishness. Why had she agreed to come out with him at all?
Still, she couldn’t scold herself too much because as the taxi neared the centre of town it became clear that they were going to have to park some distance away because of the crowds heading for the cinema. Felix paid the taxi driver and they got out and began to weave their way through the people milling about. She was amused at the number dressed up as characters from the movie.
“I feel positively underdressed,” she said as she passed someone in a full suit of armour.
He grinned. “Don’t you think we look the part?”
“Well, you do.” She’d nearly fainted when she opened the door and saw him standing there. She’d thought he’d looked good in a business suit, but in the black evening suit he really could have stepped out of a James Bond movie. As they walked, she was conscious of women glancing at him in approval, and she felt a swell of pride to think he was with her. Michael had been taller than her at six foot, but Felix topped him by several inches, and the smart lines of the suit emphasised his toned frame. Her gaze trailed down the pleats of his white shirt. Hold on a minute, was he wearing a waistcoat? Her mouth watered. A waistcoat and cufflinks. The man certainly knew how to dress.
Five Exotic Fantasies: Love in Reverse, Book 3 Page 15
