Closer to the Heart (The Heart Trilogy Book 3) (33 page)

Chapter 44

Sasha's message appeared just after nine the next morning, she had organised a child minder for Samuel. With his heart beating out of sync he replied.

“I'll pick you up at seven, looking forward to seeing you”

Zach spent the rest of the morning shopping for a new suit, a bracelet for Sasha and another new toy for Samuel. Then leaving his club in the capable hands of Cal he drove down to London. Parking at the flat he called in briefly to fetch his spare key that Felicity had left.

He wandered from room to room, pausing to see that the dining room furniture had been moved back into place. He peeped into the main bedroom and thought he could still smell the faint scent of roses. He shook his head, from now on Charlotte was just a friend unless...He got changed and then ordered a taxi to take him to Sasha's. The whole of his body trembled in anticipation of seeing her again. If people were only meant to have one true love then Sasha was his.

When the taxi pulled up at the kerb he found his heart had leapt into his throat, his lips were dry and his hands were sweating. Quickly he rubbed them on the fabric of the seat as he stepped out and smoothed down his jacket. Tapping the door he stood waiting, the present for Samuel in his hand. Opening the door she met his eyes, he looked down and back up, revelling in the sight of her. A vision in a bold pink pattered dress, knee length but fitted to her form.

“Hi” she stammered, her own nerves evident in the quiver of her fusia lips. He pressed the parcel into her free hands.

“For Samuel” he said.

“Thanks” she placed it in the hallway and then pulled the door shut.

He stepped aside so she could walk past him to the cab and then he hurried past to open the door for her. His heart had doubled its beats per minute, he was in awe of her. The cab journey was silent, each of them afraid to speak the unspoken bond. Inside the restaurant Lexie rushed over to greet them. Zach watched as Sasha visibly relaxed in her presence. He guessed it might have been due to the fact that they shared so many things in common including their age.

Following them both to a window seat he admired the curves of Sasha's body. He felt like he had on their very first date, he'd been nervous then. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him and his heart leapt. He ordered champagne and then they chose from the menu, Zach avoided the seafood platter he remembered her allergy. Then it was just the two of them, he gulped down his champagne and felt the bubbles start to calm his fears.

“So” they both said at once and the ice broke. She laughed and he did too, they had always been able to read each other's minds and even finish sentences. She took a sip of hers and he couldn't help but watch the way her lipstick marked the glass. Over starters they filled the gaps with small talk about jobs but then once the main course had been and gone they were left with coffee and desserts. Zach knew he could wait no longer. He glanced around the restaurant but being a Tuesday evening it was fairly quiet and the nearest diners to their table were an elderly couple.

“So have you had time to consider my plan?” Zach asked.

“Are you sure it will work, that you will get away with it”

“Yes, Daniel and Keith are both on board. Things are in progress for an invitation to Madame Zee Zee's club, possibly next weekend. If you're on board I'm hoping you can help me persuade the final two people that I need, Charlotte and Mitchell”

Zach met her gaze across the table and held his hands out to her. Sasha smiled and let hers reach out and be held by him.

“I've spent the last seven years thinking about you, worrying what else she had done to you and feeling frightened that she would just pop up again. I just want to get on and live, forget that one horrible memory that has tried to scar me”

“Sasha, I've been a womanising bastard, at her beck and call and forever reminded of how I let you down” Zach dropped his eyes and stared intently at her hands resting in his. She squeezed slightly and he looked up again to see tears shimmering on her thick lashes.

“Tell me what I can do” she said.

“Ok, but there's a few more things I need to tell you first” Zach ordered more drinks for them and took a welcome slug of his JD.

“I've been having an entanglement with Charlotte, at first she was just another notch but then something happened. She thought that Mitchell was dead and slowly she beguiled me with her innocence and kind-hearted nature. In a way she reminded me of you. Then we found out he wasn't dead and worked together to prove that he was alive and finally get the police on the case. But” he paused, afraid to admit the big issue and what could prove to be the breaking point in the two of them getting back together.

“But what”

“Charlotte is pregnant, she's six months so it could be Mitchell's or it could be mine” he let out a breath and finished his drink, the ice rattled in the empty glass.

“Oh” Sasha bit her lip, this was big especially as she had some news for the man sat across from her. The only man she had loved, the father of her child.

“Look, I didn't mean that to happen and at the end of the day I won't run away from my mistake if the twins are mine. But Charlotte loves Mitchell and I believe that he loves her. The most I'm going to be doing is help provide for them and I guess play a part in their lives but on the edge. I can't offer her any more than that because I love someone else”

He held her eyes in his, captured her hands back and held on tight. This was it, the free falling moment like the drop on a rollercoaster. She was here with him now, holding his hand but would she take back his heart?

“Sasha”

“Zach” they both uttered the names at the same time again. He waited and let her speak.

“Zach, I need to tell you something too. I knew I was pregnant the night of the party, I was waiting to tell you when we got home. Except that never happened after what she did. Samuel is yours, he is the one true thing that kept me going, knowing that I still had the best part of you. I see you in his eyes and looks, even in his mannerisms”

“I want to be part of his life, I want to be part of yours if you'll still have me. Charlotte taught me that you only get one chance at love, you are my one chance” he breathed, then waited.

“Oh Zach, ever since you found me again its felt like my life has been on hold, just waiting for this moment. Of course I want you, we'll have some work to do and we need to take things slowly but yes. Being with you again this evening is a start, a good start”

With a sigh of relief they both let out the breath they were holding in. Lexie chose the moment to walk over with their bill, she had seen the smiles and hoped that this was a good sign. She pulled up a seat and sat between them.

“Everything ok”

“Stop fishing Lexie but yes the meal was great and the company was sublime” Zach smiled across at Sasha and she returned it.

“Thanks Lexie, it was lovely to catch up with you again and the meal was delicious”

“So I just need to watch this space then?” Lexie grinned, they both nodded.

Leaving the restaurant for the taxi they returned to Sasha's house. This time the journey was comfortable as Zach draped his arm around her and felt her snuggle into the space.

“Would you like to come in?” She asked as they stopped by the kerb. Zach nodded and they walked up the path together. Inside Sasha paid and bid goodnight to the minder and then left Zach to pour them a drink. She crept upstairs and peeped inside Sam's room. He lay there rumpled up in the covers, snoring lightly. She closed her eyes and recalled a time that another dark haired man had kept her happy. Tonight had been full of revelations and yet more worries about the plan. If there was one thing she knew about Zach and that was his dogged determination to succeed.

She pulled the covers over him and touched her lips to his hair before turning to retrace her steps down to Zach. He was lounging on the sofa, a bottle of red, two glasses and a jewellery box were on the table.

“Is he alright?”

“Yes, fast asleep and snoring just like you used to”

She sat beside him and let her leg brush his. He motioned to the table.

“Hope you don't mind but I bought you a little something” he said.

“You shouldn't have” she murmured, she picked up the box and flipped the lid. The charm bracelet glinted in the soft light of the lamp. She held it up to find an 'S' dangling from it.

“The first of many more” Zach said, helping her to fasten it around her wrist. He bought her hand up to his lips and kissed the soft skin of her wrist, just above where it hung. He felt the brief tremor run through her skin, the heat making her perfume wind its way into his senses. He let his breath whisper across her pulse and she let out a soft sigh. Letting his lips kiss the length of her arm she arched back so that they could continue up her neck.

This time he was determined to reach his goal, to feel her lips on his again. He nibbled her earlobe and then brushed a tender couple of kisses to her cheek. His hand was about to coil up her hair when a scream wrenched the air. Pushing him away she raced upstairs to find Samuel fighting away an imaginary monster. He clung to her, his face red and hot. Why did this always seem to happen when she was on the verge of what she felt was going to be the kiss of a lifetime. She carried him down to the kitchen and gave him a glass of milk. Zach watched from the doorway, admiring her soothing manner. Sam looked at him over her shoulder and he winked at the boy, a part of his heart had just been clasped by another.

“I think I'd better leave you to it” he said, watching her rock the boy before starting towards the stairs.

“I guess” she replied, letting her eyes linger on his full lips “He normally prefers me to lie down next to him until he falls asleep”

“I'll call you tomorrow, but can you make dinner on Friday night but up near mine?”

“I guess so, I'll see if Mum will have Sam overnight”

Zach watched her ascend the stairs and then he stepped out of the house. By the time he walked to the end of the road a taxi came into view and he hailed it. In his flat he trudged straight to bed, overall happy with the way things had gone that evening but feeling that longing to capture her lips.

Sasha lay beside their son as he slowly drifted off to sleep. The feel of his lips on her skin still endured as mini hot spots that were connected to her heart, making it speed up. She would make sure her Mum could take Sam on Friday night, if only for the kiss that her lips now yearned for.

Chapter 45

As the week ran on Charlotte was pleased to see Mitchell in the studio every day. She had not mentioned the meal on Friday and in the end she left it up to her Mum on Thursday evening. James had finished his run of nightshifts and the four of them sat down to eat.

“So we have guests for dinner tomorrow” I said.

“Guests” James asked.

“Yes, Mr King you know Zach is coming over with his girlfriend Sasha” I watched Charlotte's face as I wasn't sure if he had been back in touch with her.

“Oh” was Mitchell's answer. Charlotte felt his hand tighten on her thigh beneath the table. She reached down and put her hand on top of his, stroking gently.

“I need to talk to him about his advertising on the radio”

“You should talk to him again about dancing at the club, I know I can't at the moment but you could” Charlotte said.

“Maybe” Mitch replied.

In bed James cuddled up to me, kissing his way from my forehead to lips.

“Is this dinner a good idea?”

“Apparently Zach needs to talk to Charlotte and Mitchell but didn't think that Mitch would just accept an invite, so I stepped in”

“Well, on your head be it. I'm still not sure about that guy, taking advantage of Charlotte when she was in mourning over Mitchell”

“Look, we all have moments of vulnerability, please give him a chance” I felt James flinch at my barbed reply, after all he'd been in the same situation twenty four years ago.

I followed up my last sentence with a lingering kiss on his lips before my fingers slipped from his shoulders and trailed down his chest.

“Are you trying to soften me up?” James asked

“The complete opposite of that” I grinned as my tongue followed my touch to a part of him that was far from soft.

I wasted no time in taking him into my mouth, sucking with relish as he grew harder still.

“Baby, I want you” he breathed.

I looked up mid lick and saw his eyes glinting in the semi-darkness. Needing no further encouragement I swivelled round so that I could continue to suck him. His tongue delved into the folds, picking out with ease my clit so that he could flick it in time with my motion. My hips grinding against his mouth as his bucked beneath me. We pushed each other to the precipice before changing position. With my legs over his shoulders he inched inside, making me wait for each tiny movement. Filling me with an even deeper desire to push upwards, take him faster, longer and harder than ever before. Lying next to him afterwards I entwined my fingers in his and held tight, still in awe of our relationship and the love I felt.

“You overpower me” I whispered.

“You do the same to me. I couldn't have got through the last few months without you”

He turned on his side and I rolled and met him, our eyes locked together, staring into our very souls. Our breath mingling before our lips touched.

Across the hallway Mitchell paced the bedroom, agitated and afraid to voice his worries.

“Why do we have to have dinner with him”

Charlotte was cuddled under the duvet, the material bunched in her fists as she wondered how much she should say.

“Its only dinner and look, he's bringing his girlfriend, that's how little I meant to him”

Secretly Charlotte was happy that Zach had found his first love again, especially after what they had been through at Felicity's hand.

“I just want to forget about you and him, wipe it away somehow but I'm struggling. I'm not strong enough yet”

She watched as a tear seeped from the corner of his eye and it was all it took for her to scramble out from the covers and take the few steps that put her into his embrace. She hugged him tightly and looked up into his face, she missed his easy, carefree smile. Her hand brushed the tear from his cheek before on tiptoes her mouth kissed him, her fingers curling in the hair at the base of his neck. He took a second to respond but as he did he clung on fiercely. They stepped back and instead of falling onto the covers as they would have done in the past he sat down and she perched on his knees. Her hand continued to stroke through his hair as his followed her spine, keeping her tight to him.

“He needs to talk to us, he has a plan to stop all the hurt you're feeling. She hurt him too”

Mitchell blinked his eyes at her comment and lay down beside her, his hand stroking up and down on the smooth skin of her thigh closest to him.

“Tell me” he whispered. I don't want to be the only one“

“You're not, don't forget my Mum and her scars”

He nodded in the darkness and pulled her tightly into his embrace. Feeling secure in the cover of darkness and safe in his arms she told Mitchell the story of Felicity, Daniel, Zach and Sasha. She stifled a sob as she remembered the first time she had seen his brand, in a way it was worse than her Mum's self-inflicted ones. This would not fade, could not be removed and would remain with him forever. Mitch shivered to hear what his mother had done.

“When she drugged me and shut me in the barn conversion I vowed I would shed no more tears for her. I can't call her my mother, not after what she did”

“See you're both on the same page, you both want revenge and so do I” the vehemence in her voice, her fist clenching.

She turned to slam her lips onto his once more, to rid the vile taste in her mouth that always came when she thought of Felicity. Mitchell was so good, so pure and so different to the woman who made him. If she had to destroy her to get the true Mitch back then she was in, whatever the plan, the cost. Mitchell slipped his mouth between her teeth and explored, hearing the sigh of pleasure resonating in her throat. His hands pushed up the material of her t-shirt to softly catch her nipples.

Charlotte's hands pushed down his shorts and found him hard from her first stroke. She wrapped his cock in her hand, pulling the length in the way she knew he loved. This was a poor substitute for their previously acrobatic love-making but it was only for a few more months. Mitchell let her replace hand with mouth and within moments he had poured himself inside her. Then she lay back so that he could tickle and tease her to an orgasm that had her gasping and panting beneath him. He loved to see the pink rash spread up her pale skin as he kissed his way back to her lips. Then he curled up beside her, moulding her spine into his body, his hand stroking her bump until he heard her light snores.

The following evening Charlotte showered and pulled on her black sundress, it was starting to get tight on her and she wondered if Mitchell would be up for a shopping trip. She heard his footsteps on the stairs and then the shower start. He had spent most of the day in the studio, she had tried to stay out of the sound as her feet wanted to carry her in there. James had been in the office and then the kitchen when her Mum came home so they could prepare dinner. From the lounge she heard them laughing together, it was so good to hear her Mum so full of life and fun.

The doorbell rang at seven and Charlotte let her Mum answer the door, she was sitting in the lounge with a very tense Mitchell beside her. His fingers were glued onto her thigh almost at the point of hurting.

“James can you pour a glass of red and a glass of white for our guests” Stephanie called, before the three of them entered the room.

“Well Zach, you know my daughter Charlotte and I guess Mitchell too”

“Evening, Charlotte, Mitchell this is Sasha”

He let Sasha step forward and they all shook hands before James appeared with their drinks, a beer for himself and Mitch. He passed wine for Stephanie and Sasha, orange juice for Charlie.

Charlie saw Zach brush his eyes over her larger bump before they hit hers, a twinkle and a small smile on his lips.

“Dinner is ready, if you all want to go through. It’s nothing special just Lamb Balti, hope that's ok with everyone”

“Sounds delicious Stephanie” Zach said, reluctant to let go of Sasha's hand in his. She had come up from London on the train and had to be back the following afternoon. They all took their seats, Charlotte and Mitchell together on the one side, Zach and Sasha across from them and James at the head whilst I started serving.

After a chat with Zach about the club sponsorship for a couple of new programmes we had lined up the conversation veered away from any more serious topics. I served raspberry and chocolate cheese cake for dessert and then left the four of them together for coffee as James helped me to clear up before we went outside to the garden.

“So?” Charlotte asked “What's the plan?”

“You do like to get straight to the point” Zach said, pouring another glass of wine for Sasha.

“Ok, but before I start are you sure you're ready to hear this, after all we are talking about your mother” Zach aimed the comment at Mitchell, who raised his eyes up to challenge him.

“She's not my mother anymore” he spat.

Sasha stared over at Mitchell and then at Charlotte, seeing the same look of hatred in both their eyes.

Zach took a swallow of the wine and then rested his hand atop of Sasha's on the table.

“It’s like this, despite all the evidence the police have I'm positive that Felicity will try and find a way to escape it all, pin it on someone else or get the lightest sentence ever. I've seen her crocodile tears she can be convincing. I also think that prison is too good for her after what she did to Stephanie, you and us” Zach looked across at Sasha, who nodded her agreement. Then he held the gaze of Charlotte, her green eyes blazing with the revenge she wanted for her Mum and Mitchell. Lastly he looked at Mitchell whose expression was blank, his eyes filled with fear.

“If you'd rather not hear anymore I don't mind if you leave, but I'd rather you stayed”

Mitchell nodded and gripped Charlotte's thigh beneath the table, she could feel the furious beating of his heart through the heat of his fingertips.

“My sister Lexie has arranged a private party at the London Club, its run by Madame Zee Zee and the waiting list for entry is long and exclusive. Felicity will not be able to resist, especially when I tell her that I'm bringing Charlotte as my guest”

“I don't think so” Mitch's voice shattered the silent calm “for fuck's sake she's pregnant and I want her nowhere near that woman” he slammed his fist on the table. The bottle of red toppled over and a slow slick of red spread across its pale surface. Charlotte felt sick and seeing the wine about to drip on the floor, grabbed a napkin to stem the flow. Then she turned to Mitch, taking his hands in hers.

“Please just listen, if you really don't like the plan then I'll say no” Charlie pleaded, her green eyes beseeching.

Mitchell took a deep breath and fell into their depths. He leant across and kissed her on the tip of her nose and then sat back down. He kept hold of Charlotte's hand beneath the table so that Zach would not see the shake.

“Ok, so Mitchell and Sasha will be there waiting, hidden in the car behind the club with Keith. I will walk in with Charlotte and meet Felicity and Daniel along with my sister Lexie and her husband. After the meal there are certain rooms available for how shall I put it, dessert!” He took a glance round the table but saw no surprise in any of their faces.

“At this point Keith will come in with Sasha and Charlotte will leave before we get her full confession. My brother-in-law installed the security cameras so we'll get a full tape of her. Not that it will stand up with the police but maybe it might”

“Is that all?” Charlotte asked “I thought you wanted revenge?”

“I'd rather not discuss anything further with you guys, its best that way in case anything goes wrong. You can stay at my flat and when we've finished we'll meet you there”