by Anne Mather
She need not have been concerned. When she returned some fifteen minutes later with the tray of coffee and biscuits, she found Mrs Lord and Reed talking easily together, and her fears seemed totally groundless when she met her mother’s innocent gaze. Ensconced in her favourite position on the sofa, with Reed sprawled in the armchair opposite, Mrs Lord was evidently enjoying herself, and Antonia wondered how Reed had explained his friendship with her daughter.
Reed rose at Antonia’s entrance, and set the low coffee table near the sofa so that she could deposit the tray. Then, he accepted the cup she prepared for him, seeming not to notice the anxious look she cast towards him.
‘Reed was just telling me he’s met Susie already,’ remarked Mrs Lord, as Antonia subsided on to the sofa beside her. ‘Little minx! I purposely didn’t tell her who had phoned, so she would behave herself.’
‘I expect she heard our voices,’ said Reed lazily, putting his cup aside, and Antonia wondered if he would have preferred something stronger.
‘I expect she did,’ agreed Mrs Lord, helping herself to a square of shortbread. ‘She so looks forward to her mother’s visits. It’s a pity Antonia has to work so far away. I’m sure you’ll agree, a child needs her mother.’
‘Mum!’ Antonia gave her mother a speaking look. ‘Reed’s not interested in our … personal problems.’
‘Isn’t he?’ Mrs Lord seemed unrepentant, and Antonia’s face burned. ‘I’m sure—Reed—understands the difficulties of the present economic situation better than we do. As an employer, he must have faced the problem dozens of times.’
‘It’s a pity Susie can’t live with her mother,’ commented Reed, and Antonia turned frustrated eyes in his direction. ‘Although, I have to say,’ he added evenly, ‘London is not a place to bring up children; not if there’s an alternative.’
‘Do you live in London, Reed?’ enquired Mrs Lord innocently, and her daughter wanted to die of embarrassment.
‘I have an apartment in town, yes,’ he responded, without resentment. ‘But I also own a house in Oxfordshire, and I try to spend as much time as I can there.’
‘In Oxfordshire!’ remarked Mrs Lord with interest. ‘How lovely! My husband and I spent a holiday there once. We stayed at Woodstock. Do you know it?’
‘I’ve been there,’ conceded Reed, after a moment. ‘I hope to spend more time exploring the area in the future.’
‘You’re not from that area then?’ probed Mrs Lord persistently, and Antonia caught her breath.
‘Mum, what is this? An inquisition?’ She sighed impatiently. ‘I think perhaps I should show our guest to his room, don’t you? He just got back from the United States this morning, and I’m sure he must be tired.’
‘A business trip?’ suggested Mrs Lord irrepressibly, as Antonia got purposefully to her feet, and Reed smiled.
‘In a manner of speaking,’ he replied, following Antonia’s example. And then, with innate politeness, he added: ‘It’s very kind of you to allow me to stay here, Mrs Lord. I do appreciate it.’
‘It’s our pleasure,’ responded Antonia’s mother charmingly. ‘I’ve put Reed in Howard’s old room, Antonia. I think he’ll be comfortable there.’
‘Who is Howard?’ murmured Reed in her ear, as they ascended the stairs, and Antonia quivered.
‘My brother,’ she told him, as his lips brushed her ear. ‘He—er—you may meet him tomorrow. He and his wife sometimes come to tea on Saturdays.’
‘I’ll look forward to it,’ declared Reed mockingly, his hand at her waist disturbingly possessive. ‘Which is your room?’ he added, as they reached the upstairs landing.
‘My room, my mother’s room, Susie’s room—and yours,’ Antonia pointed out softly, leading the way across the landing to the door furthest from the stairs. ‘And that’s the bathroom,’ she appended, indicating the fifth door. ‘I’m sorry, but you’ll have to share. We don’t have two bathrooms, I’m afraid.’
‘I guess I’ll survive,’ remarked Reed drily, following her into her brother’s old room. There were still football pennants on the walls, and photographs of Howard when he was a member of the school rugby team. But the room was warm and comfortable, and in the lamplight it did not look too shabby.
‘If you’re not warm enough, there are extra blankets in the ottoman,’ observed Antonia, gesturing towards the chest at the foot of the bed. ‘My mother doesn’t like duvets, so I’m afraid we’re rather old-fashioned when it comes to bedding.’
‘After spending last night in a sleeper-seat, this will be absolute luxury,’ Reed assured her drily. ‘Toni, stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself.’ He paused. ‘And that includes handling your mother, too.’
Antonia bent her head. ‘She’s awfully inquisitive.’
‘She’s a mother,’ retorted Reed, putting his hand beneath her chin and tipping it upward. ‘Now—I’m going to get my case from the car, before I flake out.’ He bent his head to brush her lips with his. ‘Okay?’
CHAPTER TEN
ANTONIA awoke to the sound of her daughter’s voice chattering away in the room next door. For a moment, she was disorientated, unable to comprehend why Susie should be in Howard’s room at all. And then, she remembered who was occupying her brother’s bed, and a wave of nervous apprehension swept over her.
In spite of her exhaustion, she had not slept well. She had lain awake for hours after the other occupants of the house had settled down for the night, wondering—in reality hoping—that Reed might come to her room. But he hadn’t. By the time her mother had allowed her to come upstairs, Reed had had time to wash and undress and get into bed, and there was no sound from his room as Antonia attended to her own toilette.
But now, Susie had evidently taken it upon herself to waken their unexpected guest, and realising she could not allow her daughter to go on making a nuisance of herself, Antonia slid reluctantly out of bed. Pulling on her old woollen dressing gown, she only paused long enough to run combing fingers through her hair before hurrying next door. A proper appraisal of her appearance would depress her too much, she reflected, unaware that without make-up she looked infinitely younger, and more vulnerable.
The door of Howard’s room was ajar, and not bothering to knock, Antonia pushed it wider. ‘Susie!’ she exclaimed reprovingly, discovering her daughter perched on the end of Reed’s bed, and the little girl’s face took on a rueful expression as her mother advanced into the room.
‘It’s all right, Toni. I don’t mind,’ Reed inserted gently, and Antonia was forced to look at the man reclining lazily on the pillows. The darkness of his skin was pronounced against the whiteness of the bedding, and the fine whorls of dark hair that lightly spread down to his rib-cage and beyond, brought a vivid memory of their abrasive texture against her breasts.
‘I——’ Her breath catching in her throat at the sexual appeal of his muscled body, Antonia shook her head. ‘She—she shouldn’t be here,’ she said, switching her attention back to the safer features of the little girl. ‘Susie, you know you don’t go disturbing people at this hour of the morning! It’s only half-past-seven! Heavens, Nanna isn’t even up yet!’
‘Reed was awake, weren’t you?’ protested Susie hopefully, looking to the occupant of the bed for support, and he nodded.
‘That’s right. I was awake,’ he assured Antonia lazily. ‘I’m sorry if we disturbed you. Susie was just telling me about falling off Helen’s bicycle.’
Antonia pressed her lips together. ‘Nevertheless——’
‘Did we wake you up, Mummy?’ interrupted Susie quickly. ‘I’ve been awake for ages. Reed says he’s going to take me out in his car this morning. I’ve seen it out of the window. It’s ever so long and sneaky.’
‘Susie——’
‘I think perhaps you’d better get out of here, so I can get dressed,’ Reed put in swiftly. He gave Susie a deliberate wink. ‘We don’t want to upset your mother, do we? She might not let you come out with us, if she’s mad!’
Antonia gave him an indignant look, but Susie was already scrambling off the bed. ‘I’ll go and get dressed,’ she declared, skipping past her mother. ‘Can I wear my new dungarees?’
‘Provided you have a thorough wash first,’ replied Antonia tersely, feeling decidedly put out. ‘And clean your teeth, remember?’
‘Yes, Mummy.’
Susie sailed out of the door in high spirits, but when Antonia would have followed her, Reed put out his hand. ‘Close the door,’ he said softly, his eyes warmly indulgent, and although she knew she was being reckless, she automatically obeyed him.
‘Come here,’ he said, and with a feeling of helplessness she approached the bed.
‘I can’t stay,’ she got out huskily, but Reed was already drawing her down beside him.
‘You shouldn’t have come then,’ he told her, his hand sliding behind her nape and compelling her insistently towards him. ‘Did I tell you, you’re the only woman I know who looks good in the morning?’
‘And you’ve had plenty of experience,’ she breathed, as his tongue brushed her ear.
‘Some,’ he conceded modestly, his lips moving sensuously on hers. And then, with consummate ease, the pressure of his mouth hardened into passion, the kiss deepening and lengthening, so that when he drew her down on to the pillows, she had no will to resist. The drugging magic of his mouth was destroying all her inhibitions, and she no longer cared where they were or who might see them, so long as Reed continued his hungry assault.
Her hands slid over his chest, revelling in the feel of his hair-roughened flesh beneath her fingers, and with a little groan, he released the belt of her dressing gown, so that all that was between them was the frail barrier of her cotton nightshirt.
Turning, Reed was above her now, and dragging the covers aside, he gathered her trembling body into the bed beside him. Immediately, she was conscious of the lean strength of his legs, naked as they imprisoned hers, and the swollen pressure of his manhood hard against her stomach.
‘I know, I know—we can’t!’ he muttered roughly, as she started to resist him, ‘but just let me hold you for a few moments. Christ, it’s bad enough sleeping in the room next to yours and not being able to touch you, without denying me this small pleasure!’
Antonia’s fingers curled into the hair at his nape. ‘I—I thought you might have——’ She broke off discomfortedly, and he buried his face between her breasts.
‘Did you think I didn’t want to?’ he demanded in a muffled voice. ‘Oh, Toni—I didn’t feel as if I should. I mean, inviting myself up here; accepting your mother’s hospitality. I didn’t want you to think that was why I had come.’
‘And wasn’t it?’ she breathed unsteadily, and he lifted his head.
‘I wanted to spend the weekend with you,’ he told her softly. ‘Oh, I’m not denying I want you—really want you, I mean. Here—like this. But I do enjoy just being with you, and I did want to meet Susie. It wasn’t just a line.’
Antonia touched his mouth with her fingertips, and his lips parted to allow them access. ‘I want you, too,’ she confessed, unable to hold back the words, her fingers tingling at the sensual caress of his tongue. ‘I’ve wanted to see you all week. I hated myself for what I said to you on Monday.’
‘I wish I’d known,’ he muttered, lowering his head to nuzzle the peak of her breast, thrusting against the thin covering of her nightshirt. ‘When I flew out of London on Tuesday morning, I had a God-awful feeling in my gut, and if I’d thought you wouldn’t hang up on me, I’d have phoned you Tuesday night.’
‘Oh, Reed!’
‘Yes—oh, Reed!’ he said thickly, and then, with a sudden change of mood, he compelled her out of the bed. ‘I think you’d better go,’ he told her harshly, rolling over on to his stomach. ‘I can only take so much, and right now, I’m at the limit of my endurance.’
Antonia gathered up her dressing gown and wrapped it about her. ‘Are you getting up?’
He glanced over his shoulder. ‘Do you have a shower?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good.’ He swung round and sat up, crossing his legs Buddha fashion. ‘Can I take one?’ He grimaced. ‘A cold one, preferably.’
By the time Reed came downstairs, dark and handsome, in mud-coloured Levis and a matching cotton shirt, Antonia was helping her mother prepare breakfast. But her heart flipped a beat when he came into the kitchen and she met the lazy indulgence of his gaze. Dear God, she thought wildly, how was she going to exist when he married Celia? The idea of him sharing the same intimacies with another woman that they had both shared, filled her with desperation, and she tore her eyes away abruptly, wishing she had never brought him here.
‘Eggs and bacon all right, Reed?’ inquired Mrs Lord, as Susie, having heard his descent of the stairs, came dancing through from the living room.
‘That’s fine, thanks,’ he responded, allowing the little girl to grab hold of his hand, and Susie giggled as she dragged him towards the door.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘I want to show you how to play space invaders. Nanna bought it for me for my birthday, and I bet I can get more points than you can.’
‘I bet you can,’ conceded Reed good-humouredly, giving Antonia a rueful grin. ‘Okay, okay; I’m coming. But you must make allowances for my inexperience.’
‘Susie——’ began Antonia doubtfully, but her mother touched her arm.
‘Leave her alone,’ she advised quietly, forking curls of crispy bacon from the grill. ‘Reed’s very good with her. Hadn’t you noticed? I’d have thought the exchange they were having earlier would have wakened the dead!’
Antonia set out knives and forks on the scrubbed pine table. ‘You heard them, too?’ she murmured awkwardly.
‘And your intervention,’ agreed Mrs Lord drily. ‘You mustn’t blame Susie. She’s never had a man to take an interest in her before.’
‘You mean a father, don’t you?’ remarked Antonia tautly. ‘Mum, Reed and I—we’re not—serious about one another.’
‘Aren’t you?’ Her mother cast her a sceptical glance. ‘Don’t you really mean, he is, but you’re not?’
Antonia gasped. ‘I don’t know what——’
‘Yes, you do, Antonia.’ Her mother sighed. ‘I’ve seen the way you look at him. And I’ve seen the way he looks at you. My God, if ever a man was obsessed with a woman, Reed Gallagher is with you!’
‘You’re crazy!’ Antonia dropped the salt cellar, and uttered an imprecation as the fine grains scattered about the floor. She sighed as she bent to sweep them up with a paper towel. ‘I wish you’d stop imagining things, Mum. You hardly know the man!’
‘Well—I know what I know,’ retorted Mrs Lord obscurely, breaking eggs into the pan. ‘Put some more bread in the toaster, will you, dear? And just remember—all men aren’t like Simon Sheldon!’
After breakfast, Reed drove Antonia, and Susie, into Newcastle, to do some shopping for her mother. They parked in the multi-storey complex at Eldon Square, and then Antonia showed him round the huge shopping arcade, which was reputed to be the largest in Europe. It was easier to keep a sense of detachment in Susie’s presence, and if Reed noticed Antonia’s efforts to keep the child between them, he politely avoided commenting on the fact. Instead, he generously gave his time to Susie, allowing her to dictate where they went and what they did, and if Antonia’s feelings had not been so traumatic, she would have appreciated the efforts he was making.
While Antonia went round the food department at Marks and Spencers, Reed suggested taking Susie into the toy department at Fenwicks, and they met up later to make their way back to the car. Susie was wearing a distinctly smug expression now, and as Reed took Antonia’s bags from her, she noticed the suspicious carrier her daughter was hiding behind her back. Oh, well, she thought wearily, if Reed had bought Susie something, she could hardly object. It was his money, after all, and he wasn’t likely to see her again after this weekend.
Back at home, Susie was evidently bubbling over wit
h excitement. While Reed deposited the bags of shopping on the kitchen table, the little girl unpacked her own carrier, handing over a separate bag to her mother.
‘This is for you,’ she said importantly, glancing over her shoulder as Reed came back into the living room. ‘It’s all right if I give it to Mummy now, isn’t it?’ she requested. ‘You did say I could, once we got back home.’
Antonia pressed her lips together. ‘Reed——’
‘Take it,’ he said flatly. ‘It’s—well, call it a token of my appreciation for letting me spend the weekend here.’
With Susie looking on with anxious eyes, Antonia felt obliged to open the bag, and her lips parted incredulously as she drew out the silky object it contained. It was a dress, made of fine cashmere, so delicately woven it took up very little space. Its colour was less easy to define—a subtle blend of tawny gold and bronze, that almost exactly matched the colour of her hair. The sleeveless bodice had a deep vee neckline, and the skirt was full and gently flared. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen in her life, and her eyes lifted to Reed’s in total confusion.
‘The sales assistant was about your size,’ he remarked carelessly, as the soft material spilled through her hands. ‘If you don’t like it, I’ve no doubt you can change it.’
‘But you do like it, don’t you, Mummy?’ exclaimed Susie, breaking the spell that had gripped Antonia ever since she had opened the bag, and she bent her head, nodding a little jerkily as she did so.
‘Yes. Yes, it’s lovely,’ she murmured, fighting back the urge to burst into tears. ‘I—I don’t know what to say to you.’
‘Say you like it,’ said Reed quietly, watching her with guarded eyes, and unable to deny it, she covered the space between them.
‘I do. I do like it,’ she said huskily, looking up at him. And then, gripping his hand tightly, she reached up and kissed his cheek.
Reed’s fingers moved to grip hers, and she knew if Susie had not been there, he would have responded far more satisfactorily. As it was, a little of the tension eased out of his face, and forcing himself to speak naturally, he said softly: ‘You could wear it tonight. When I take you out for dinner.’
