‘He’s my son, not yours.’ Tina glared up at her.
‘Maybe so, but I’m his legal guardian,’ Chrissie informed her. ‘And if I say you can’t see him, you can’t see him.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Tina protested. ‘I’ve got rights.’
‘Do me a favour,’ Chrissie scoffed. ‘You gave up any rights you had when you abandoned him – again. But never mind him.’ She folded her arms. ‘What are you doing sneaking round here at this time in the morning? Planning to break in, were you?’
‘I didn’t want anyone to see me,’ Tina admitted. ‘But I wasn’t going to rob nothing. I only wanted to see Mum. And you,’ she added grudgingly.
‘Ah, have you missed me?’ Chrissie’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.
‘Fuck off!’ Tina hissed. ‘I just want to know where that mate of yours lives.’
‘Which mate?’ Chrissie screwed up her face in confusion.
‘Leanne, obviously,’ said Tina. ‘Jake hasn’t been round in ages, and I can’t get hold of him, so now I’m gonna tell his precious girlfriend all about him – see how he likes that!’
Chrissie’s heart thudded painfully in her chest as she picked up on the spite behind her sister’s words. ‘What are you talking about?’ she demanded.
‘I warned him,’ Tina said, almost as if she were talking to herself. ‘Don’t fuck me about and your secret will be safe with me, I said. All’s I wanted was a bit of respect, but the cunt proper took the piss. “I’ll give you your own place and as much gear as you need,”’ she went on in a mimicking voice. ‘“All you have to do is keep your gob shut and hand over half of whatever you make from your punters, and we’ll be sweet.” Lying bastard!’
Chrissie’s head was reeling, and she sat down heavily on the chair facing her sister’s. ‘What are you saying?’
Tina jumped as if she’d forgotten that Chrissie was there. Chewing on her bottom lip nervously as it occurred to her that she’d already said too much, her gaze flicked everywhere but at Chrissie as she plucked the sleeve of her jacket with bittendown nails.
‘Tina!’ Chrissie said sharply, slapping the palm of her hand down on the tabletop to get her attention. ‘Start talking, or I swear to God I’m gonna slap you into next week!’
‘Forget it,’ Tina muttered, shuffling forward on her seat. ‘I shouldn’t even be here.’
‘No, you shouldn’t,’ Chrissie agreed. ‘But now you are here, you’re not leaving till I know exactly what’s been going on – even if I have to beat it out of you.’
‘I can’t,’ Tina said, jumping to her feet. ‘He’ll kill me.’
Pre-empting her, Chrissie ran to the door before she could get to it, and pushed her into the chair.
‘Now stay there and don’t move!’ she ordered, pointing a warning finger at her sister’s face. ‘I’m going to make a brew, then you’re going to tell me everything. And I mean everything,’ she reiterated firmly, determined to find out exactly what was going on.
35
Sally wasn’t happy. Baby Jack was almost six weeks old, but Jake still hadn’t been round to see him. And Ben was no help. As guilty as he clearly felt whenever he popped round to see how she was getting on, he refused to discuss Jake, beyond telling her that his friend was busy working and would come round as soon as he got a chance, so she was none the wiser as to when she was going to see Jake again.
He was still paying her allowance into her account each month, and she’d noticed that he had increased it by a couple of hundred pounds after Jack was born. But the money wasn’t as important to her as he obviously thought it was. All she really wanted was for him to see his son and fall in love with him, the way she had – and then, hopefully, fall in love with her as well.
That was what this had all been about, after all, and if she’d known it was going to be like this, she would have thought twice about leaving the comfort of her parents’ house to live here on her own. In agreeing to come here, she had sentenced herself to a life of mind-numbing loneliness, sitting in the flat day after day, with no family or friends to confide in, waiting for Jake to pay one of his sporadic visits. And then there were the sleepless nights to contend with, as she lay in bed with her heart in her throat, thinking that every little creak was the murderer who’d killed the old tenant from upstairs, come back to do the same to her.
And, yes, she now knew that this was the house where it had happened. Just as she also knew that Jake’s girlfriend, whose name she now knew was Leanne, used to live on the top floor.
She’d been hurt when she’d learned these facts from one of the neighbours shortly after bringing Jack home. Not only because it meant that Jake must have known about the murder when he’d persuaded her to move in – which in turn meant that he’d lied when she’d asked him outright – but also because Jake obviously thought that precious little Leanne was too good to live in a dump like this. Why else would he have whisked her off to live with him as if she were some kind of princess, leaving Sally – the mother of his first-born child – to slum it like a great big nobody?
That last bit pissed Sally off more than anything, and the longer Jake stayed away, the more determined she was to have it out with him when he deigned to show his face.
In a dark mood today, thanks to Jack keeping her awake for half the night crying, she decided that enough was enough. She would give Jake a week, and if he hadn’t been in touch by then, she was going to tell her mum and dad everything. If Jake wasn’t interested by now, she reasoned, then she might as well give up trying and go home. At least she’d have support there, and would be able to sleep without worrying about getting hacked to death in her own bed. And, despite what her mum had said when she’d first learned that Sally was pregnant, Sally knew that she would be a doting grandmother, which meant that Sally would be able to pawn Jack off on her whenever he got too annoying.
But she’d still give Jake a chance, she decided. She hadn’t forgotten all those times when he’d called round unexpectedly and had given her that sexy smile of his as he let his gaze slide up and down her body; or the tingle that had ricocheted inside her when his fingers had lingered over hers as she’d handed him his cup of tea or glass of wine. He’d made her believe that there was a possibility of something developing between them in the future, and that was his saving grace.
But she was still only giving him a week to get his arse round here, and then one more to make up his mind who he wanted: Sally and his son, or his other bitch. And if he didn’t make the right choice, it was game over.
At the exact moment she made that decision, the doorbell rang. Heart leaping at the thought that it might be Jake – that he’d somehow sensed that she was thinking about him, and felt compelled to come and see her at long last – she quickly scooped Jack out of his bouncing chair and carried him to the door.
Disappointed to find a fat woman on the doorstep, she raised an eyebrow. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked, thinking as she said it that this might be why Jake hasn’t been round yet: because she’d been as fat as this heifer the last time he’d seen her.
Chrissie’s gaze dropped to the baby in Sally’s arms, and her lips tightened when she saw his beautiful, unmistakable little face.
‘So it’s true, then,’ she stated rather than asked.
‘Excuse me?’ Sally frowned. Then, eyes widening in realization, she gasped, ‘Oh, my God! Please don’t tell me you’re Leanne?’
‘No, I’m not,’ Chrissie snapped, offended by the look of scorn that had come over Sally’s face as she looked her up and down. ‘But I am her best mate, and I think you and me need a little chat.’
Sally bit her lip. She had no clue how this woman had found out about her and Jake, but she had, so Sally had no choice but to deal with it. And if she knew, did Leanne also know, she wondered. She kind of hoped so, because that would force Jake to make his decision sooner rather than later.
‘You’d better come in,’ she said at last, her stomach fluttering with excitement
at the thought that she might be about to achieve her heart’s desire.
*
Ben had called in at four different jewellery shops after doing his chores, but he was absolutely clueless as to what kind of ring Chrissie would actually like. The vast array of stones, with their varying cuts, clarities, carats – and whatever else each assistant had spouted on about while trying to entice him to part with his money – had boggled his mind.
After finally settling on a ruby and diamond ring, he’d put down a deposit and had promised to call as soon as he knew the size he wanted.
Aware that he would have to confess his intentions to Leanne if he were to stand any chance of getting it right, he decided that he would have a quiet word with her when she and Jake got home.
With his friend on his mind, Ben made a detour to Sally’s place before going home. The baby wasn’t his responsibility, and he knew it probably wasn’t wise to keep going round there, but he couldn’t deny that he’d formed a slight attachment to the little fella after watching him come into the world. And he also couldn’t deny that he felt sorry for Sally. Jake might not have intended for any of this to happen, but it had, and he was every bit as responsible for that as Sally was. While Ben understood his friend’s reluctance to get involved with the child, especially so in light of Leanne losing her baby, none of that was Sally’s fault – and it definitely wasn’t baby Jack’s.
Parking up outside Sally’s house now, he leaned into the back and picked up the Glo-Worm he’d bought after leaving the last jewellery shop. Sure that Jack would love it, he was smiling as he reached out to ring the bell. But the smile evaporated in an instant when the door suddenly opened and he saw Chrissie standing there.
‘Wh-what are you doing here?’ he asked, his face draining of colour.
‘I could ask you the same thing,’ she said, her gaze dipping to the toy in his hand before coming to rest on his face. A range of emotions from disbelief to disappointment to disgust flitted through her eyes before she spoke again. ‘You knew,’ she spat, her voice as accusing as it was cold.
‘Let me explain,’ Ben mumbled, holding out his hand. ‘Please, Chrissie . . . it’s not what it looks like.’
‘Save it for someone who cares!’ she yelled, slapping it aside. ‘You and me are finished. And don’t bother trying to let yourself in when you come for your shit, ’cos I’m going to dump everything on the path and change the locks!’
Calling her name again when she shoulder-barged him out of the way and stalked off down the road, Ben’s shoulders slumped when she stuck up two fingers in reply.
‘Sorry about that,’ Sally apologized from the doorway. ‘If I’d known she was your girlfriend, I’d have sent you a text to warn you she was here. But I had no idea.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Ben replied glumly. ‘It’s mine for keeping secrets from her. I should never have got involved in this in the first place.’
‘You and me both.’ Sally sighed. ‘She’s just told me about Jake getting engaged. Is it true?’
‘Yeah.’ Ben nodded.
‘I wish you’d told me,’ Sally murmured. ‘If I’d known, I wouldn’t have kept on hoping for so long.’
It was a lie, and they both knew it. She wasn’t the kind of woman to let a little thing like an engagement ring put her off; Ben knew that she would think nothing of stealing Jake away from Leanne if she got the chance.
At the thought of Leanne, he squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand through his hair. In two days she and Jake would be home, and she’d be expecting to get together with Chrissie to start planning the wedding. But now that the truth was out the only thing they’d be planning would be Jake’s funeral, if the fury in Chrissie’s eyes was anything to go by.
‘How did she know?’ he murmured. ‘About you, I mean.’
‘She reckons her sister told her,’ said Sally, shrugging as she added, ‘It’s probably just as well. It was bound to come out sooner or later, wasn’t it?’
Filled with dread at the thought of what was about to come, Ben’s shoulders sank even lower. Taking pity on him, Sally said, ‘Why don’t you come in and have a brew? You look like you could do with one.’
‘No, I need to go home,’ Ben said quietly. ‘Here.’ He held out the Glo-Worm. ‘It’s for Jack, but I’ve got a feeling I won’t be seeing him again, so you’d best give it to him.’
‘That’s a shame,’ Sally said, giving him a sad smile as she took the toy. ‘I know he’s too young to know anyone properly, but I’m sure he’s starting to recognize you – he gets all gurgly whenever you come round.’
Feeling sick at the thought of the child wondering why the fat man with the funny hair had deserted him just like his daddy had, Ben muttered a guilty apology before rushing back to his car.
In his flat a few minutes later, he flopped into an armchair and dropped his face into his hands as the realization that he’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to him hit home with the force of a sledgehammer. He had no clue how Chrissie’s sister had found out about Sally, but now Chrissie was aware that he had known about the baby and had been keeping it from her, she would never forgive him. Even if she were willing to hear him out long enough for him to explain that Jake had sworn him to secrecy, and that he’d gone along with it in order to save Leanne from getting her heart broken, she definitely wouldn’t understand why Ben had taken it upon himself to keep going round there to visit the child. And if, God forbid, she ever found out that he had been present at the actual birth, after lying and telling her that he was doing maintenance work, he’d be lucky if she didn’t kill him, never mind speak to him again.
As much as he hated Jake for putting him in this position, Ben knew that he had to warn him before he came home and walked into World War Three. If nothing else, it would give Jake a chance to confess everything to Leanne before she heard it from Chrissie. And she, in turn, would have a couple of days to get her head around it.
Not caring that making a mobile phone call to America was probably going to cost an arm and a leg, Ben dialled Jake’s number. Tutting when an automated message immediately informed him that the recipient was unable to accept his call, he cut it off and tapped a fingernail against his front teeth. Relieved to know that Chrissie wouldn’t be able to contact Leanne, and truly doubting that she’d tell her something as enormous as this by text, he decided to send a quick one to Jake, telling him to call as soon as his phone was back on. And, just in case Jake responded in his usual I’ll-reply-when-I-can-be-bothered way, he wrote URGENT!!! at the end of it.
That was all he could do for now, so he resolved not to think about Jake any more, and deal with his own problems instead. Namely: Chrissie.
He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t take kindly to him turning up there tonight. But if he didn’t at least try, she’d think he didn’t care. And, right now, he didn’t know which was the worse of those options. Go round and get his head bitten off, chewed up and spat back at him; or leave her to cool off for a day or two and then crawl to her on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. Either way, he was going to get it in the neck – and rightfully so.
Deciding that he deserved whatever she had to throw at him, and he’d have to be a man and take it on the chin if he was to stand any chance of getting back with her, he bit the bullet and dialled her number.
‘Chrissie, it’s me,’ he blurted out when, to his amazement, she answered. ‘Please don’t hang up, we need to talk.’
‘I’ve got nothing to say to you,’ she replied icily. ‘And the only reason I answered was so that I could tell you never to call me again. I trusted you, but that goes to show what a fool I am.’
‘You’re not a fool,’ Ben interjected when she paused for breath.
‘Shut up!’ she snapped. ‘I don’t even want to hear your pathetic voice. I just want you to get it into your thick head that we’re over. And now I’m going to block you so you can’t call me again. Goodbye.’
With that,
she was gone, leaving Ben in no doubt that she had meant every bitter word. Cursing Jake as tears spilled from his eyes, he hurled his phone across the room and dropped his face into his hands, his heart breaking for the love he’d found and then lost again, all within the space of six short, incredible, irreplaceable months.
36
Leanne was relaxed, if a little exhausted, as she and Jake left the airport and climbed into a taxi. The Vegas trip had been her first ever international holiday, and it had been magical. She’d felt as if her dad was right there with her as she played the slot machines, strolled hand in hand with Jake along the Strip at night taking in the bright lights, and sat through some amazing cabaret shows. But she’d known that her dad wouldn’t have stayed around to see the action in the suite Jake had booked them into. That would have been way too much for him to handle. Hell, it had been almost too much for her at times. Their separation, as brief as it had been, had certainly put the spark back into their love life – and then some.
When they arrived at the apartment, Jake dropped their suitcases in the bedroom and opened the French doors to air the place out.
‘I think I’ll take a quick shower,’ Leanne said, unbuttoning her blouse. ‘I feel all sticky from the flight. Fancy joining me?’ she added with a mischievous grin.
‘I’d love to,’ he said, glancing at his watch. ‘But I think I’d best go see the lads first; make sure everything’s okay.’
‘I guess that’s the holiday officially over, then?’ Leanne sighed. ‘I’m joking,’ she said when he gave her a guilty look. ‘Honestly, it’s fine. I knew you’d be itching to check on things, so go.’
‘As long as you don’t mind?’ Jake pulled her into his arms and gave her a sexy grin. ‘Put that red basque on when you get out of the shower, and we’ll do that thing again when I get home.’
‘I don’t think so!’ she protested, slapping his arm. ‘Not in broad daylight, anyway.’
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