by Kathryn Ross
Steven shook his head, impatient with himself for worrying like this. Beth had a secure environment. Their lives ran smoothly. Gina was great with Beth and he had capable Chloe winging her way there now.
But if he did decide he wanted to settle down and get married again, there was Helen.
The notion crept surreptitiously from the back of his mind, where it had been simmering for a while. He was well aware that their relationship had come to a crossroads. She wanted more from him and he was hesitating. Steven couldn’t figure out why he was. Helen was beautiful and bright and, although she hadn’t been entirely relaxed around Beth at first, that was only to be expected…wasn’t it? She had never been married before, never had children, and she was a very high-powered career woman.
Anyway, she was a lot better around Beth these days…he told himself forcefully…a lot more at ease. But even as he said the words to himself he knew deep down that what he had with Helen wasn’t really enough…not for marriage.
The phone rang again and swiftly he picked it up. It was the accounts department again. Remembering that Chloe had said the information they needed was in her desk, he put them on hold and went through to her office.
He smiled to himself as he noticed how tidy and organised her desk was. To one side were lists of the day’s appointments, along with specific notes of reference so that she could brief him fully before each.
He slid open the top drawer; it contained blank stationery, and he was going to close it again when he noticed a letter tucked to one side. The printed heading was a company name he vaguely recognised. Curiously he took it out and read it.
It was from the managing director Chloe used to work for. He skimmed through it with a rising feeling of horror. They had recently expanded and were headhunting her, offering an increase on whatever Cavendish were paying!
Steven sat down in her chair and stared at the letter. Was this what she had wanted to talk to him about this afternoon? Had she been about to hand in her notice? He was stunned and then appalled as the full realisation of how much of a gap Chloe’s leaving would make.
She couldn’t go—it was unthinkable!
CHAPTER TWO
THE clouds seemed unusually low in the sky; there was a strange yellow cast to them that reflected off the roads, giving London a sepia glow. A smoky shroud hung over the Houses of Parliament and swirled over the river Thames, and in amongst this eerie setting there was the usual chaotic, very modern Friday-night scramble for people to get home.
Usually Chloe would be amongst the crush of people heading down into the underground. Her flat was central and she didn’t generally bother with her car because of this traffic. Today, however, she had wanted the solitude of her own vehicle, which was just as well, she thought now as she switched on her radio to catch the traffic reports. Steven couldn’t have risked not meeting with Renaldo.
It seemed to take for ever before Chloe was out of the jams and heading south. She wondered if Steven ever got fed up with this long business of commuting every day. Then she turned her car into the picturesque village of Hemsworth, with its thatched cottages and village green, and remembered why he might think this journey was worth it.
As she turned into Steven’s driveway the light was fading fast and the first flurry of snow started to hit the wind-screen. The ivy-clad Georgian manor was a welcome sight, its mullioned windows alight with welcoming warmth.
She pulled the car to a halt and hurried up to the front door, battling against the sudden gust of a bitter breeze that blew snow into her eyes and mouth. She lifted her hand towards the heavy knocker on the red front door but it swung open before she could use it.
‘Thank heavens you’re here.’ Gina was already dressed in a heavy coat; she was pulling on gloves and a woollen hat over her thick dark hair as she spoke.
‘I got here as quickly as I could.’ Chloe stepped into the warmth of the house.
‘I know; Steven phoned me and told me how long you’d be,’ the girl murmured tearfully. ‘Thanks for coming, Chloe. I’m just so worried about Dad.’
‘I hope he’s OK.’
Gina nodded and hurried out of the door. ‘Try and phone Steven tomorrow some time; let him know how things are,’ Chloe called after her as she ran across the driveway towards her car.
Gina waved, but whatever she called back was lost in the wind.
Chloe turned her attention back into the house. Beth stood further down the hallway. She looked like a little lost soul: her long blonde curls were rumpled, as if she had been standing on her head, and she was wearing a pair of dungarees and a pink jumper and only one shoe on her foot; the other dangled in her hand as if she been in the process of trying to put it on. Chloe got the distinct impression that she had wanted to go with Gina.
‘Hello, Beth.’ Chloe grinned at her, putting a determinedly cheerful tone in her voice as she pushed the door closed behind her. ‘My goodness, but it’s cold outside. I’m glad I’m here with you in this nice warm house.’
‘Is Daddy coming home soon?’ The bright blue eyes gazed up at her solemnly.
‘Yes, Daddy will be home very soon.’ Chloe took off her coat and hung it up. ‘He’s just got one more meeting. Meanwhile, I’m going to look after you.’
Beth made no reply to that. Chloe crouched down so that she was on eye level with the little girl. ‘Have you had your supper yet?’
Beth shook her head. ‘Gina was going to make sausage and chips.’
‘That sounds great. Shall I make that for us?’
‘If you want.’
‘Come on, then. You lead the way to the kitchen.’
Beth was very quiet, Chloe thought as they walked down the hallway. She wondered if she was just feeling shy. Although Beth had met her on several occasions when she’d had to come out to the house on business, the little girl didn’t know her that well.
Chloe had never been in Steven’s kitchen before. It was enormous, with a huge refectory table at one end and so many cupboards that it took ages to find something as simple as a cup. She remembered Steven telling her that this house had once been the old vicarage, and a path led directly through the gardens to the picturesque church of St Mary. It wasn’t hard to imagine the vicar’s wife in here, baking scones for the village fête. The house had a lovely, homely atmosphere.
‘Gina was crying before you came,’ Beth said as she watched her filling the kettle and opening and closing doors.
‘That’s because she’s worried about her dad.’
Beth sat on one of the chairs at the table. ‘Will Gina’s daddy die?’ she asked suddenly, and her voice wobbled precariously.
Chloe looked over at her, and suddenly she knew why she was quieter than usual; she wasn’t shy, she was worried. ‘He’s very poorly, but people get sick and then they get better again when they take the right medicine.’
‘Or they go to heaven like Mummy.’ Beth kicked her foot against the leg of the table. ‘I don’t want my daddy to be sick and go to hospital.’
Chloe went across to her and knelt down beside her. ‘Your daddy is fine, Beth,’ she said gently. ‘He’s back at the office working really hard.’
‘He hasn’t gone to hospital?’
‘No, darling, he’s his usual self. A bit grouchy now and then, but on the whole wonderful.’
Beth giggled at that, and looked a lot happier.
Smiling, Chloe went back to making the dinner. ‘You know, you remind me of someone in a nursery rhyme,’ she said. ‘Someone with one shoe on and one shoe off—was it Humpty Dumpty?’
Beth thought about this for a moment then shook her head.
‘Was it the three blind mice?’
Beth giggled. ‘Mice don’t wear shoes, silly.’
It was strange how the sound of a child’s laughter was so infectious. Chloe found herself smiling as she worked. And it was only later, after they had eaten and she was clearing away the dishes, that she realised that for the first time in weeks she had gone several h
ours without thinking once about Nile.
Steven closed the front door with a feeling of relief. What a night, he thought, shaking the snow off his coat before hanging it up in the vestibule.
‘Hello?’ He walked down the hallway, expecting to find Chloe in the lounge. He was impatient to talk to her about this business of her leaving. But all the lights were off in the lounge and the fire was dwindling down to just a red glow.
He retraced his steps and went upstairs.
The bedside lamp was still on in Beth’s room and it cast a warm pink light over the patchwork quilt and the peacefully sleeping child. Steven went over to tuck her in and kiss her cheek. Then his eyes moved to Chloe, who was curled up in the chair next to her. She was also fast asleep.
He wondered suddenly if he had been working her too hard recently. Perhaps he was even a little bit guilty of taking her for granted? That would change if he could persuade her to stay, he told himself.
His eyes moved over her. She looked vulnerable in sleep; her glasses were pushed up on top of her head, and she looked different without them. Steven noticed the delicate heart-shape of her face, and the fact that her cheekbones were well-defined. Her dark lashes looked incredibly long against the pallor of her skin. Her mouth curved in a soft smile. She was exceptionally pretty—why had he never noticed that before?
He smiled as he noted Beth’s storybook balancing from her fingertips, about to drop at any moment to the floor. But as he took the book from her he frowned as he noticed for the first time that she was no longer wearing her engagement ring. How long had that been missing?
Now he came to think about it, she hadn’t been her usual bouncy self these last few weeks. Her customary cheerful optimism that usually made him smile had been completely absent.
‘Chloe?’ He touched her arm gently, feeling almost protective about her; she looked so young and vulnerable sleeping there. ‘Chloe, honey, wake up.’
Her eyes flickered open; bright sapphire-blue, they stared up at him and for a moment he felt as disorientated as she looked. She had the most gorgeous eyes…why had he never noticed that before either?
‘Nile…?’ She murmured the name huskily.
‘No, it’s Steven. You’re at my house, remember?’
‘Oh…yes.’ If there was a faint flicker of disappointment in her eyes her lashes came down swiftly to hide her emotions. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t usually doze off like that. I guess I must be making up for the fact that I’ve had some sleepless nights recently.’
He watched as she tried to gather herself together, smoothing down her skirt, slipping her feet back into her shoes and then running her fingers over the arms of the chair as she searched for her glasses.
‘Have you seen my glasses anywhere?’ she murmured, looking around her in an unfocused way.
He reached out and pulled them down from the top of her head, smiling as he noticed the bright flush of embarrassment in her cheeks.
‘Sorry…I haven’t woken up yet.’
‘Stop apologising. I should be apologising to you for keeping you here so late.’ He sat on the edge of the bed, his knees almost touching hers. ‘Thanks for coming over here, Chloe.’
‘That’s OK. I don’t mind at all.’
Unless it was her imagination, Steven seemed to be looking at her very intently, most unlike the way he usually looked at her. She felt such a mess. She tried to push her hair back neatly into place as tendrils escaped to curl softly around her face. ‘What time is it?’
He glanced at his gold wrist-watch. ‘Almost ten o’clock.’
Steven glanced back up at her and something about the way his dark eyes moved over her face made her stomach dip.
Maybe it was his close proximity but Chloe felt suddenly very conscious of him, very aware of the raw power of his masculinity.
He smiled. ‘Come on downstairs and we’ll have a drink.’
‘No, I’d better go.’ She stood up. ‘I’ve got loads to do at home and I want to have a shower.’
‘Chloe, you can’t go anywhere tonight,’ Steven told her softly. ‘The weather is diabolical, and so are the roads. It’s taken me ages to get home. You’re welcome to stay in the spare bedroom.’
‘It can’t be that bad, surely?’ She crossed over to look out of the bedroom window. The snow was coming down so heavily that it almost obliterated the driveway in a white-out.
‘Dire, isn’t it?’ Steven said. ‘You’d never think it was April.’
‘No, you wouldn’t.’ Chloe pulled the curtains closed and turned to look at him. ‘Guess you’re stuck with me, then.’
‘Well, I’m hoping so.’
The tone of his voice seemed strangely weighted on those words and he was watching her with an intensity that she really wasn’t used to.
‘Chloe, you are not thinking of handing in your notice at work, are you?’
The abrupt question took her aback. ‘Why are you asking me that?’
‘I was looking for the list for the accounts department and I found that letter from Brittas in your desk,’ he said quietly.
‘Oh…I see.’ She felt her skin colouring with embarrassment as she remembered leaving the letter there in order to answer it in her lunch hour, but lunch had been overtaken by work and she hadn’t got around to it. ‘I was going to talk to you about that this afternoon—’
‘So are you thinking of leaving?’ Steven stood up from the bed. ‘Look, whatever Brittas are offering I’ll better,’ he said sharply.
The intensity of his tone startled her. ‘Well, actually, I wasn’t going to hand in my notice. I was going to ask you for a pay rise,’ she said truthfully.
‘Really?’ He pushed a hand through the darkness of his hair. ‘Thank God for that; you gave me quite a jolt.’
‘Did I?’ She was quite touched by the note of sincere relief in his voice. Then she smiled teasingly. ‘Enough of a jolt to give me a pay rise?’
He laughed. ‘Yes, Chloe…definitely enough for a pay rise. I’ll get on to the accounts department first thing on Monday.’
‘Thanks.’ She smiled. ‘When I was trying to get a minute of your time today to ask you this I never thought for one moment our conversation would end in Beth’s bedroom.’
‘No…it’s been a bit of a strange day all around.’
‘How did you get on with Renaldo?’ she asked.
His lips slanted wryly. ‘OK…I think. Renaldo is one tough cookie.’
‘Did he mention the meeting with the bank last week?’ She put her hand up to her hair as she felt it escaping the confines of its clips.
‘Yes, he did…’
Her hair wouldn’t go back in the clips, so impatiently she just let it loose, running her hand through the silky length as it tumbled around her shoulders. ‘I don’t suppose he brought those extra accounts with him?’
Her mind was firmly focused on the conversation, but Steven’s wasn’t. He was distracted by the way her hair had fallen in a long swathe around her shoulders. He noticed the golden lights amongst the darker strands of honey, giving it a rich vibrancy.
‘Steven?’
‘Huh?’
‘Did he mention the extra accounts?’
‘Yes…’ Steven stared at her abstractedly. He could hardly believe how beautiful she looked with her hair down. He shook his head as he realised she was waiting for him to expand on the subject. ‘Sorry, Chloe, I’m really tired. My brain seems to have gone into shut-down mode.’
‘I’m not surprised; you’ve been in that office since eight this morning.’
‘Yes, well, hopefully I’ll just have a couple more weeks like this and then everything will settle down once this acquisition has gone through.’
Chloe nodded. She watched as he loosened his tie, then ran his hand over the back of his neck. ‘Do you want me to make you a sandwich while you freshen up?’ she asked impulsively.
He looked as if he was about to decline the offer, then he shrugged. ‘Thanks, Chloe; I reckon I’m well a
nd truly in your debt today.’
‘Watch it or I might ask for another rise.’ She grinned at him, a hint of mischief playing in her blue eyes now.
He watched as she moved over to check on Beth. Her fingers brushed gently to sweep a stray strand of golden curls from the child’s face, and then she bent to kiss her forehead.
The gesture was completely natural and so tenderly instinctive that it startled him. Why, he couldn’t have said; there was just something in the picture she presented, something familiar about the tableau of the sleeping child and the woman watching over her that jolted something inside him. Maybe it was the long golden hair that hid her face… Stephanie’s hair had been long and golden, just like Chloe’s.
‘Was Beth good for you?’ Abruptly he tried to snap out of whatever held him transfixed. He was overtired, he told himself briskly.
‘Yes, she was fine.’ She straightened and looked over at him. ‘You’re very lucky; she’s a lovely child.’
‘Well…I think so.’ Steven shrugged. ‘But then, I’m biased.’ His eyes flicked to the book he had taken from her hand earlier. ‘How many times did she get you to read The Elves and the Shoemaker?’
Chloe laughed. ‘Only four.’
‘You’re obviously a soft touch—I bow out at twice.’ He grinned at her and she smiled back.
She had a lovely smile, he thought contemplatively, perfect white teeth and a soft, sensual curve to her lips.
Chloe noticed the way his gaze rested on her lips for a second too long. The dark gaze was so intent that she felt herself tingle with awareness. Then their eyes met and she felt a delicious, shivery sensuality jolt through her body from nowhere. She couldn’t have been any more surprised by the feeling than if she had reached out and touched an electric current.
As he switched off Beth’s bedside lamp she turned away from him and went out into the hallway. That feeling just now was all in her imagination, she told herself crossly. Steven never looked at her with anything but the most cursory of attention. In fact, although he was always polite and respectful, she got the distinct impression that he saw her more as a piece of the office furniture than a woman.
