Carly’s eyes scanned the length of Stella’s body. “Oops sorry, I’m here for my play-date with George and his Lego.”
Stella smacked her forehead at her forgetfulness. “I’m so absentminded.” Taking a step back she let Carly enter. “I’m not sure George has remembered either. We’ve just had our Saturday morning snuggle and our weekly marathon of cartoons, hence why I’m not presentable and appear to have been through a wind tunnel.”
“You look…” Biting her lip, Carly slanted her head to the side playfully. “I think the words cute and adorable are apt.”
Stella’s eyes bulged, and her mouth dropped open at the words. She thinks I’m cute and adorable? “Let me get dressed and tell George you’re here. There’s coffee and tea in the kitchen help yourself.”
Sprinting up the stairs, she headed across the landing to George’s bedroom.
“Buddy, your playmate is downstairs waiting to build the Death Star with you.”
The giggle that slipped from her lips couldn’t have been stopped as George threw a shirt over his head, brushed his hair with record speed, and bounded across the landing, all the while calling out to Carly. Shaking her head, she picked up some of his toys and folded the pyjamas he’d left strewn across the foot of his bed.
As Stella closed his door, she heard him and Carly talking in the kitchen. It fills my heart with happiness every time I hear him so excited. Hopefully, he will soon be able to be as relaxed with Sophia and Josie.
When Stella strode into the kitchen, she couldn’t help but smile. They were sat at the table with their heads close together, a piece of paper lay before them. Carly was writing notes down as she and George talked quietly.
“Plan of attack?”
“Yes.” George jumped out of his chair and ran to her, hugging her legs. “We thought it’d be a good idea to look at the paperwork first. Aunt Carly said this is going to be our biggest job yet!”
“I think it’s a good idea, you’ve got less chance of getting it wrong if you read the instructions.” Moving to the coffee maker, she retrieved herself a fresh mug from the cupboard above it.
“I’ve already poured you a cup.” Carly gestured to the steaming brown liquid placed directly opposite her and George.
“Thank you.” Sliding into the chair, she peeked at their piece of paper. “If you’re going to be busy most of the day, would it be okay if I went into my office and caught up on some work? I promise I’ll stop at lunchtime. We could plan to meet back in here at twelve o’clock.”
Everyone agreed, and after she’d finished her coffee, Stella went into her home office and Carly and George went to his room.
Firing up her laptop, she sat patiently, waiting for it to load. The lively conversation in the room two doors down and the happiness in George’s voice brought a grin to her lips. She loved to hear him like that. The added lower timbre of Carly’s voice caused her mouth to become dry. It was sultry and seductive and at the same time filled with enthusiasm. Oh boy, you’re in major trouble, Williams. If the sound of her talking to George is enough to derail your train of thought, how are you ever going to get any work done? Looking at the newly loaded desktop on her screen, she saw that her email icon was lit up like a beacon, proclaiming she’d over thirty emails to go through.
Soon she was immersed in dealing with several queries and problems her international real estate companies had raised. Her focus was so intense that she never even blinked when a fresh mug of coffee was placed next to her.
A loud bang made her jump, and she swivelled on her chair to see what had caused it. Before she could look at the door, George jumped into her lap. “What have I told you about being careful when opening and closing doors?” A black mark from the door handle marred the magnolia coloured wall.
George cupped her cheeks in his small hands. “Sorry, Mum.” He kissed her cheek. “Aunt Carly said to tell you lunch is ready. She’s laid the table and everything.” He covered his mouth with his hand and looked away. “Oops, I wasn’t supposed to tell you. It’s meant to be a surprise.”
Ripping her glasses from her face, she threw them on the desk. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell if you don’t.”
George took her hand and urged her to hurry.
When they reached the hallway, Stella turned to enter the kitchen, only for George to pull her towards the dining room. As they entered, Stella’s eyes sparkled at the sight before her. Three places were set on top of royal blue material placemats. A platter of sandwiches, a bowl of crisps, and another bowl with a fruit salad were nestled between the place settings. Three glasses of water shimmered in the light coming through the large bay window. An extremely smug grin spread across Carly lips as she stood behind one of the high-back chairs.
“Oh wow, this is fantastic. How did you manage to put all this together? I didn’t realise I had half of this stuff in the house.”
George left her side to join Carly. “We didn’t. Aunt Carly and I ran to the supermarket.”
Stella’s shoulders sagged, and she rubbed her face with her hands. How did you become so absorbed in your work that you didn’t realise he was out of the house? You should be ashamed of yourself!
Seeing the haunted expression on Stella’s face, Carly moved around the table quickly and took hold of her shoulders. “It’s okay. He was safe with me.”
Stella fell into her arms and buried her nose in her hair. “It’s not that. I can’t believe I didn’t know you were gone. I was so wrapped up in what I was doing.”
“Stella, stop it!” Carly pushed her out of her arms and stared up into her eyes. “You were busy. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She took a deep breath. “If you dislike the fact so much, then change what you’ve been doing. Learn how to delegate, and let your staff handle some of the workload. After all, that’s what you pay them for, isn’t it?”
Their eyes met and held. Stella took Carly’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t normally work weekends. Well, not until he’s in bed. I’ll go back to doing that.”
Carly’s smile radiated through the room and seemed to brighten the sombre atmosphere. “Good, now sit down and eat some lunch. Afterwards, you can come and help us with the Death Star.”
Stella took her seat and reached for George’s hand. “I’d like that. Is that okay with you, GT?”
Exuberant nodding was her only answer as his eyes fixed onto the small mountain of sandwiches in front of him. “Can we start? Building things makes me hungry.”
Such an innocent statement was rewarded with sniggers from the two adults, and with a nod of Carly’s head, George dug in with gusto, helping himself to two large sandwiches and a handful of crisps.
Stella slipped her hand into Carly’s and entwined their fingers, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Thank you.”
Later that evening, the three weary, master-craftsmen, were hungry and looking for food. Working together, Carly and Stella whipped up a pan of pasta bolognaise. George tucked into his with the same amount of energy as lunch, smearing the tomato sauce over his chin and cheeks. Stella opened a bottle of red wine for her and Carly while George had grape juice so he didn’t feel left out and sipped carefully from the same style glasses as the adults.
Taking a sip, Carly sighed in contentment. “This is nice. I don’t think I’ll be able to have more than a glass though, I still have to drive home.”
“Stay the night.” The words were out of Stella’s mouth before she’d a chance to think them over. “I…um…there is more than enough room, I can also lend you something to sleep in. Unfortunately, I haven’t got anything to lend you for the morning.”
Carly eyes scanned up and down Stella’s body and a loud laugh broke forth, as the image of her trying to wear Stella’s clothes filled her mind. “Oh God, I’d look like a little girl in your stuff.”
“Lucky for you, I’ve some shorts you can sleep in. Or I fear you’d have to roll my pyjama trouser legs right up to their knees.” The compulsion to hold her hand was overwh
elming, and she couldn’t stop herself from grasping Carly’s hand.
“Oh wow, that’s awesome! We can work on the model again tomorrow.” George bounced in his seat. “Can we watch a movie before I go to bed?”
A small smile tugged at Stella’s lips as she gazed at her excited son. Turning back to Carly, she raised an eyebrow. “Please, stay with us.”
She stroked the top of Carly’s hand with her thumb.
“How can I say no to either of you?”
“Great!” George jumped down from the table. “I’ll go and pick a movie for us to watch.”
Stella reached out with her free hand and snagged the back of his jeans. “Wait a minute, little man. You need to have a bath and put your pyjamas on.”
“I’ll load the dishwasher while you bathe George.” Carly stood and collected their empty plates.
“Thank you, I’ll set you some toiletries and nightwear out on my bed. If you want, you can use my shower.”
With their simple plan in action, they all went their separate ways.
Within minutes the house was full with splashing noises and the overly-exuberant ramblings of a seven-year-old in the tub.
George spoke clearly and with enough volume so his voice echoed around the vaulted ceiling in the hallway. “I like it when Carly’s in the house with us. She’s always so much fun.” He stopped playing and looked up at Stella. “You’re happier when she’s here, too.”
Stella half smiled and grabbed his towel form the stainless steel heated rack and held it open. “You’re right, George. I suppose I’m happier when Carly is here. She’s a lovely person and a lot of fun.” “Maybe she’d like to spend some more time with us. What do you think, shall we ask her?”
A delighted ‘yes’ was squealed and reverberated around the walls of the house.
Carly slowly climbed the stairs, Unsure of how to tell Stella she’d heard them talking. “Is it okay to come up?”
Stella’s head appeared over the bannister at the top of the stairs. “Sure, everything is ready for you in the bedroom. Take your time, I can get ready once you’re done.”
Carly dashed into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, she leaned heavily back against it. “Oh, Carly, they’ve both got you wrapped around their little fingers.”
Stella and Carly found themselves at either ends of the sofa with George snuggled up in between them a short time later. He’d chosen a children’s adventure film for them to watch and was in command of the remote controls. The surround sound was on, and every so often the volume would go up, causing the two adults to roll their eyes at each other.
They arrived at the scene where the hand of the mummy burst through the sands, and Carly flinched, her body jerking in response. The weight across her lap from the top half of George’s still body was causing her arm to numb, and she realised he hadn’t moved in ten minutes and his hold on the remote control was slipping. His head fell back onto Carly’s shoulder, and her heart melted at the adorable snore he let out.
“I’d better take him to bed.” Stella rose and scooped her arms under his legs and back, and swept him up to lie against her chest.
He instantly settled his head on her shoulder and snuggled closer. “Can Aunt Carly put me to bed, too?”
Carly rose to her feet. Dressed in the baggiest T-shirt she’d ever worn, and the bottoms that looked like basketball shorts on her, she followed them upstairs to George’s bedroom.
Stella motioned to the duvet with her head. “Can you pull it back?”
As soon as she had the sheets pulled down, Stella laid George in his bed and covered him up. Kissing the top of his head, she whispered. “I love you, George Thomas, sleep well and grow strong, my handsome son.”
It was the same sentence she’d sent him to bed with since the day he’d been born. Looking up, she noticed the glistening unshed tears shimmering in Carly’s eyes.
“He’s everything to me.”
“I can understand that.” Bending down she tucked his hands in, then repeated Stella’s action and kissed him on the head. “Night, Georgous. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Rolling over in bed and getting comfortable, a sleepy smile fell across his lips. “Love you both.” With one final yawn, sleep overcame him and he was already snoring when they backed out of the door.
They trudged downstairs, and Stella lowered the surround sound volume and turned George’s film off. “I think it’s time for another bottle of wine and an adult film. Scroll through the list on the cable box and see if there’s anything you want to watch. I’m not too keen on horror movies.” She strode into the kitchen to retrieve the glasses and a bottle of wine from the fridge.
“I thought we’d watch something light and easy. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep after anything too heavy.”
Stella took her seat and poured the wine as the credits to one of her favourite rom-coms started playing. “Good choice. I love this film.”
Soon they were both chuckling softly at the television screen. Carly had somehow moved closer to Stella, and they were nearly touching. Drawing in a deep breath and praying she was doing the right thing, Stella tentatively placed her arm over Carly’s shoulders, her breath caught and held as she waited to see what Carly reaction would be. Fully expecting her to move, Stella blew out a soft breath as the smaller woman snuggled against her side, laying her head on her shoulder. The warmth of the body in her arms was amazing, and such a welcome change from feeling nothing for so long.
***
Stella woke as she felt something tickle her nose, swiping at it softly it stopped, and she settled into the warmth of her duvet to claim a few more minutes of sleep. Slipping into the place between sleep and wakefulness, she wanted nothing more than to spend the morning in bed. As she was about to succumb, she heard a key in the front door turning and the sound of it opening. Her mother called out as the door quietly closed and her footsteps grew closer. But she was still too comfortable to move.
Helen entered the living room and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight that greeted her. “Jesus Christ! I’m so sorry.”
The annoying tickling was back again, Stella rubbed her nose vigorously, causing the warm duvet to slide closer and clutch tighter, she could feel whispers of air against her neck. Hold on a minute, duvets don’t snuggle, and they certainly don’t breathe. What the fuck? Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced down at the red head snuggled under her chin. The events of the previous day came back to her, and the realisation that they had fallen asleep on the sofa wormed its way into her logic.
Their wine glasses sat on the coffee table in front of them, with a small pool of the white liquid in the bottom, and the empty wine bottle was next to them. Her other arm seemed to also be attached to a human heat source. George was curled up at her other side snuggled with her and Carly.
Helen cleared her throat to get her daughter’s attention. “That’s a precious sight to see this morning.”
Carly smiled in her sleep and cuddled closer to Stella. She rubbed her cheek against the top of her right breast.
Carly’s eyes flew open. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.”
She scampered away from the luxurious heat and sat at the other end of the sofa, wrapping her arms around her body to keep herself warm.
Instantly missing the closeness she hadn’t felt in several years, disappointment swept through Stella’s veins. Her body shuddered with the loss of heat. She bit her lip, and her shoulders slumped forward. It’s time to stop tiptoeing around the attraction I feel for her. “No problem, I was quite enjoying myself.”
Carly’s mouth fell open, and she covered it with her hand. Her gaze lingered on the spot she’d vacated. Her eyes blinked rapidly as her mouth slammed shut and a blinding smile formed.
“I was too.” Standing, she stretched to her full height, raising her arms above her head, and groaned. “I can’t remember the last time I slept so well.”
George opened his eyes and smiled shyly at them. “Sorry, I wok
e up and came looking for you, Mum. When I saw you and Aunt Carly were asleep, I climbed up to sit with you”
Carly sniggered and bent to kiss him on the head. “I think you kept us both warm last night, Georgous, thank you.” Noticing Helen for the first time a shy blush rose over her cheeks. “Morning, Helen.”
Stella’s mother had a smug smile on her face as she stared at them, which only made her feel worse.
“I’ll go and start the coffee,” Carly announced. Spinning on her heel to escape to the kitchen, she hesitated and turned back to Stella and George. “Thank you for letting me stay.”
Leaning down she placed her hand on Stella’s right cheek and kissed the other. Stella smirked as Carly rushed from the room, and her hand absently went to her cheek to caress the spot she’d kissed.
“Well it’s about bloody time!” Helen sat down heavily in the chair directly opposite Stella. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?”
It was now Stella’s turn to blush as she faced off with her mother. “Nothing, Carly came over yesterday, and we spent the day together. I invited her to stay the night so we could enjoy a couple of glasses of wine.”
“Oh, so there’s nothing going on between you?”
Scratching her eyebrow, her comfort level at the turn in conversation was un-nerving her. “No, there isn’t.” She bit her lower lip and didn’t meet her mother’s eyes. “But that’s not to say I wouldn’t mind if there was something between us.”
The laughter lines around Helen’s eyes crinkled as one side of her mouth quirked upwards, and she slid forward in her seat, her hands clasped in front of her. “I thought as much! For the record, I think Carly’s a little diamond, and George obviously loves her. Does she know?”
Stella shook her head, but her mother was definitely right, Carly was a diamond. In her eyes she was a beautiful treasure with a kind and loving soul, and it would be easy to fall in love with her. Her sparkling green eyes and luscious auburn hair were enchanting.
The subject of her musings strode into the room carrying a tray laden with three steaming mugs of coffee and a glass of orange juice. Stella stood and took it from her. “Thank you, it’s nice to have someone here with us in the morning, well…apart from mum that is.”
Absolute Betrayal Page 8
