“Love the costume, Sam. You make a good pirate,” Rhiannon said, a sly grin crossing her gamine face. She wore a ballerina outfit in hot pink, and appeared so delicate Hayley thought she’d look great on the top of a wedding cake. Or maybe jumping out of a cake. Hayley moved closer to Sam so she didn’t feel so big and ungainly.
Husband and wife exchanged a look, a slow grin crawling across Jase’s face. The mischievous expression on his face when he turned his attention to her made Hayley want to run. Instead she shifted even closer to Sam, his hand on her shoulder steadying her nerves.
“How long have you known Sam?” Rhiannon asked.
The hand on her shoulder tightened. “Don’t start,” Sam said. “This is a party.”
“Just being friendly, aren’t you, Rhiannon?” Jase smirked at Sam.
“Sam and I work together,” Hayley said, deciding to go with safe. There was something going on here, but she had no idea what it was. A family joke, perhaps, except Sam didn’t seem to be laughing.
“And is this your first date?” Rhiannon asked.
“Cut it out,” Sam growled. “Come and dance,” he said to Hayley, taking her by the hand.
“Give the girl a chance to finish her drink first,” Jase said, laughing again. “You know we’re going to ask our questions. You might as well let us talk to Helen.”
Rhiannon stood beside her husband. “Yeah, you knew we would ask questions.” Together they presented a united front.
“I didn’t think you’d be quite as blatant,” Sam muttered.
Two new arrivals came over and the subject changed.
“Let’s dance.” Sam plucked the glass from her hand and set it aside, not giving her a chance to protest. Hand in hand they walked over to the dance floor. Hayley slipped into his arms and he pulled her against his chest. They barely moved, instead swaying in time to the music.
“What were your brother and sister-in-law talking about?” she asked, giving into curiosity.
“Nothing to worry about. They like to tease.” Hayley happened to catch Rhiannon’s gaze when she looked past Sam. Pure speculation filled the woman’s face, and Hayley moved closer to Sam, starting to worry about the unknown. Was it something to do with her? Did they know about her lies?
A nervous tic started in Hayley’s jaw and she swallowed in an attempt to get it to stop. “This seems a bit more serious than teasing.”
“My brother and sister-in-law are trying to discover, in their roundabout way, if I’ve told you about the family curse.”
Hayley pulled away enough to stare up at Sam. He was deadly serious. “Curse? Sounds interesting.”
“It’s not a curse,” Jase said from right behind them. He winked at Rhiannon and danced her closer to them.
“This is a private conversation,” Sam snapped.
“Stop teasing your brother,” Rhiannon chided, but the curiosity in her face didn’t abate. She wanted to ask questions.
“Aw, it’s my birthday,” Jase said, his grin wide and engaging. “I’m allowed to do anything on my birthday. Besides, it’s fun.”
Sam snorted and Rhiannon pinched her husband’s bottom.
“Off with her head,” he shouted, drawing the attention of most of the guests. “She touched the king’s ass.”
“You’re an ass,” Sam said.
“We’re going to have a court session. I’ll fine anyone who maligns the royal person,” Jase said. “They will rue the day!” But he stopped teasing Sam and danced his wife around the floor in high style—the ballerina and the King of Hearts with their guests grinning while they looked on.
Sam danced Hayley out onto a balcony and led her along to the far end, out of earshot of everyone. Lights twinkled across the Thames and if she listened hard, Hayley fancied she could hear the lap of the river against the banks.
Sam cleared his throat and coughed, his discomfit coming through loud and clear. He refused to look directly at her and Hayley’s unease grew. Finally, he spoke. “We have a belief in our family. My parents, grandparents, my brother—they all fell in love at first sight. It’s a family tradition.”
“Oh.” It was all Hayley could think of to say. Love at first sight. Now that was impulsive.
“Yeah, they all met and married within weeks.” He still refused to meet her eyes.
“Oh.” At first excitement and triumph poured through Hayley. She loved him, but hadn’t said anything simply because she’d thought it would be impulsive, too quick and would scare him off. Oh, yes. There was also the matter of her real name, too. The silence lengthened to uncomfortable. The longer she watched him, the more the excitement seeped away. He didn’t feel the same way and hadn’t told her because he’d thought it would give her ideas.
“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” he muttered, staring out at the river. His hands tightened on the balcony railing. “It’s a load of crap. I had a relationship when I was younger. I thought I loved her, but it didn’t work out. My family insists on believing in love at first sight. I know it doesn’t happen.”
Hayley aimed for reasonable, even though pain curled around her heart and squeezed tightly. Impulsive, spontaneous Hayley strikes again. Hurricane Hayley, as Abbey used to say. “Why would they expect the same thing to happen to you? Every person is different.”
“Yeah, right.” His smile was mocking. “So far I’m the exception to the rule. It’s why I never date any woman more than once.”
“But you’ve gone out with me more than once.” Hope surged.
“Yeah.”
And hope died. He didn’t feel the same way about her.
Neither of them said anything more and the stiffness between them became oppressive. Frightening.
A sudden thought occurred to Hayley. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t want to go out with me again?”
“No!” He spun toward her, grasped her upper arms, his fingers flexing in the flesh of her biceps. “I’m telling you because I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I knew my brother would mention it.”
And he hadn’t wanted her to build hope when there was none. Rejection. “No problem.” Then Hayley frowned, despite her words. If he’d been that worried about his family and their reaction to her presence, why had he asked her to come with him? But cowardly, she didn’t voice her thoughts, merely pasted a bright smile on her face and pretended she didn’t care. A façade. His rejection felt like a kick to the gut. Yet another instance of her impulsive nature getting her into trouble. The thought kept repeating through her mind, echoing until she wanted to scream. But Hayley kept a pleasant smile on her face, even though it nearly killed her.
Chapter Ten
Sam leaned back in his chair and stuck his feet up on his desk, contemplating life. His life, in specific. He hadn’t rung Helen since the party, although he’d seen her at a conference where they’d had tea together. The atmosphere had been strained, and no wonder after the way he’d behaved at the party. He reached for the phone, picked it up, before setting it back down. Helen would be at work in her office. A smile warmed him at the thought. He bet she’d be good at her job, although he liked her in her gypsy persona, too. She seemed more vibrant, easy-going and relaxed when she played the gypsy fortune teller, apart from the night of the party.
He’d wanted to ring her a dozen times, but hadn’t because the family curse stood between them like an enormous chasm. He wanted Helen, thought about her all the time. Hell, he even thought he loved her and it scared him half to death. Difficult to trust his feelings for her when it brought back all sorts of old history. His girlfriend, Amber. He’d thought she was the one and had been ready to ask her to marry him after three weeks. All along she’d wanted his money. Status. She certainly hadn’t wanted his children, and later, he’d discovered she’d been seeing another man at the same time. It had been a turning point in his life. The time he’d become cynical, according to his mother.
“Hey, boss!” A sharp tap on his door accompanied the shout.
&nb
sp; “Come in.” Sam lowered his feet and grinned at Suzie when she rushed into his office. She carried a newspaper. When he looked closely, he noticed the flush of temper on her cheeks.
“Look!” she said, waving the newspaper in front of his face. “Look at this!”
“Suzie, I won’t be able to see unless you stop waving the paper in front of my face.”
She slapped the paper in his hand and he saw his own face staring up at him. It was a photo of him and Helen. The headline made him scowl, and his gut hollowed with distaste. Playboy Sam Norville out on the town. God, he hated that playboy label. It implied useless. Without motivation. It implied a lack of morals. None of which were true. But it sold newspapers and magazines, which was why the label had stuck. And the fact he never went out with the same woman more than once didn’t help. Sam’s grip tightened on the newspaper while he read the story. The photographer had snapped the photo at the conference. Their heads were close together and their fingers entwined and rested on the tabletop. A pot of tea and two cups sat beside their hands. It looked intimate. And it was an invasion of privacy. There was a second photo of him in disguise with Helen outside his flat. Someone had put the clues together. Hell, he’d have phone calls from his family over this, and the photographers would be hiding behind trees and jumping out of the woodwork. He read further. Has the playboy met his match?
“Has Helen seen this?”
“I don’t know. We saw each other in passing this morning, but I haven’t talked to her since.”
Sam ran his hand through his hair. He hated being in the spotlight, the butt of public speculation.
“I’ll try to ring her now, but if I can’t get her, can you tell her I’ll ring tonight?”
“Her boss won’t let her take phone calls,” Suzie said, a furrow of anxiety forming between her eyes.
“Yeah, I know, but I’ll try anyway.”
He picked up the phone and dialed, but he managed to get an idiotic girl who insisted that Helen didn’t work in the Home Office. “Never mind,” he said and slammed the phone down.
The phone rang almost immediately. His brother. Sam cursed inwardly and set about denying everything.
“You’ve broken your rules,” Jase said.
“None of your business.”
“The twins said you had someone at the flat when they rang.”
His brother was fishing, baiting a hook and waiting for him to bite. Wasn’t gonna happen. “Is there a point to your call?”
“Yeah, I want you to admit you’ve fallen in love with the girl.”
Sam hung up without replying, knowing he wouldn’t win and Jase would make him lose his temper, which would be as good as a confession.
“Hell,” Sam muttered, rubbing his hands across his face. Why had he asked Helen out? Why did he keep thinking about the woman? He snorted, knowing the truth even if he wasn’t ready to admit it to everyone else. He’d fallen in love with her, and it scared the hell out of him, because what he felt for Amber paled in comparison to the feelings filling him now. The love at first sight thing was holding true for yet another Norville.
Sam took the phone off the hook and attempted to work. When his concentration failed, he checked his watch and decided he’d go for a walk. Photographers dogged him. By the time he arrived home, it was late, his temper soaring. He rang Helen, but Suzie said she’d left to go to Greensbarrow to prepare for the fair the following day. She’d left her cell phone in the flat, so there was no way of contacting her. Suzie hadn’t seen her either and didn’t know if Helen knew about the photos and story in the paper.
“She won’t be back until Sunday night,” Suzie said.
“Tell her I rang. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance to talk to her before she sees or hears about the photos.”
“Yeah,” Suzie said. “See you on Monday.”
“Sure.” The phone clicked in his ear and he hung up.
“Heck, what a mess.” Sam grabbed a beer and dropped into a comfortable chair in his lounge. If he hadn’t had work plus a charity function to attend, he would have traveled to Greensbarrow to see Helen. Now it would have to wait until Sunday.
The annual fair in the village of Greensbarrow in Berkshire was one of Hayley’s favorites. She’d worked it the previous year and made enough money to make her blink, which was why she’d turned down a conference in favor of attending the fair.
Her booth was situated on the north side of the main arena, along with the tea tent and several food stalls. The grandstand on the opposite side was a sea of faces, the current silence full of tension due to a jump-off in the show-jumping competition. Hayley heard a dull thud, the echo of a horse’s hoof hitting a rail. A clatter followed and the crowd let out a collective groan.
“Four faults,” the announcer called.
Hayley tidied away the cup and saucer plus the teapot used by her previous customer. At this fair, she had her own tea supplies and made the tea for each customer. She readied the next cup with its matching saucer and added tea leaves to a clean teapot.
“Are you ready for the next customer?” Hayley’s assistant, a student, poked her head around the corner and grinned at her. She did a great job collecting the money and organizing customers while Hayley took care of the tea side of things.
Hayley stood, her charm bracelet jingling musically when she went to greet her next customer. She rounded the corner of her partition and came to an abrupt halt, her smile of welcome freezing on her mouth.
Three ladies stood in the entrance. Hayley didn’t know two of them but the third was very familiar. Abbey. Her sister—no, half sister. She still hadn’t quite wrapped her head around that fact. A herd of butterflies stomped around the interior of her stomach. This was the last thing she needed. Another screaming match with her sister. Shoving aside her panic, she nodded at her customers. It would be best if she tried to act normal. She knew Abbey well enough to know if her sister sensed a weakness, she’d exploit it.
“Who would like to go first?”
“You go first, Trudy,” Abbey said, her eyes widening on seeing Hayley. The surprise gave way to calculation.
Hayley sucked in a deep breath and maintained a calm smile. Inside, panic rioted out of control. She waited for Abbey to denounce her as a fraud, but her sister remained silent. Hayley showed her first customer into the private part of her booth and went through her spiel on automatic pilot. Fifteen minutes later, she couldn’t have repeated what she’d told the woman, but luckily she seemed satisfied.
The second woman had a lovely manner and helped set her at rest.
Hayley managed to get through the second reading, but her stomach quivered and if Abbey looked too closely she would see the tremor of her hand. Abbey would know how vulnerable her presence made Hayley feel, and no doubt use it as a weapon.
The second woman left and automatically Hayley cleared away her cup and teapot.
Abbey walked in and took possession of the seat opposite Hayley.
“Would you like tea?” Ever the polite hostess.
“I don’t think so,” Abbey said. “What I want is money.”
“I don’t think so,” Hayley said, throwing her sister’s words back at her. She would not let Abbey intimidate her.
“I’ll tell everyone you’re a fraud.”
Hayley stood and filled a pot with tea leaves. She poured water over them and prepared a cup of tea.
“Did you hear me?”
“I heard,” Hayley said. “But I don’t owe you anything.”
Abbey’s mouth set in a hard line. It made her appear cruel. Her sister looked so much better when she smiled.
“I know about you and that man. I saw the photos.”
Hayley flinched and Abbey noticed. Her sister gave a tiny triumphant cry. “I knew it,” she said. “You love him.”
“We’re just friends.” Hayley said the words so quickly she knew she’d given herself away. “Is there a point to this conversation?” What photos? What was Abbey talking about? Curios
ity gnawed at her, although she knew better than to ask questions and reveal vulnerability to her sister.
“I need money. Today.”
Hayley took a deep breath. It did nothing to settle her fears. “No.”
“I think you’ll change your mind,” Abbey said, her blue eyes glittering. “You won’t like the consequences if you don’t.”
Threats. What could her sister do to her to make things worse? She already felt as if she’d lost her family. Abbey had taken that from her.
“You’ve made your point, but I’m not biting. No money. That’s my final decision.”
Abbey stood abruptly, her eyes flashing dislike. “If my marriage breaks up, it will be your fault.”
Hayley’s mouth dropped open in shock. “My fault? How could it be my fault?”
“Ohh!” Abbey stomped her right foot but her spiked heel sank into the grass, spoiling the effect when she had to struggle to remove it from the soil.
Suddenly everything clicked into place for Hayley. “Dan’s not the one with the gambling problem. It’s you.”
A faint blush spread across Abbey’s face before disdain and pride replaced it. “It’s none of your business.” She whirled away and left Hayley standing alone without another word.
The rest of the fair passed in a blur. Hayley thought about Sam all the time, worried about the fact she hadn’t told him the truth. She wondered about the photos Abbey mentioned. A frown settled onto her face. What did it really matter? She cleared away a customer’s cup and teapot with a sigh. Sam wasn’t serious about her. There was no point in seeing him again when she loved him. The ache in her chest intensified. Funny—she’d gone into this with eyes open. A one-night stand. She should have known she was only fooling herself. One-night stands weren’t her style, and once she’d seen Sam, made love with him, it was all over. She’d fallen in love.
The apartment was silent when she entered it. Hayley set down her bag and noticed her cell phone sitting on the counter. “So that’s where I left you.” She picked it up and noticed she had messages. Soon Sam’s voice sounded and she smiled. He wanted to see her, he said. Hope surged until she reminded herself not to get carried away. His messages didn’t necessarily mean anything. Only one way to find out.
Tea for Two Page 12
