Delicious Desires (12 page)

Chapter Twelve

           Adam could barely contain his temper
as the plane finally touched down at Heathrow airport. There had been delay after delay and now he was desperate to get home. He vowed never to set foot in Dubai ever again.

Over six weeks! For God’s sake!

The deal had taken twice as long as expected and it hadn’t all gone to plan anyway.
The weeks had been intolerable. He’d had to make compromise after compromise and eventually he’d done as much as he could without damaging the business irrevocably and his name with it.

He was also without his old phone. It had been stolen from his jacket pocket over a month ago an
d he’d been catching up with findin
g
everyone’s numbers ever since. It had been an absolute nightmare. Even though his contract provider could supply him with the same number for his new phone, it couldn’t replace all the information held on the old SIM card. He would never have believed how frustrating it was. He hadn’t realized how much he relied on the damned thing while out of the U.K. It had taken forever to sort out and some of the numbers most important to him he couldn’t seem to reach at all. Caroline’s was one of those. He had memorized it weeks earlier but something on this new phone was playing up. It refused to recognize her or her business number. He’d even tried her friend Cathy’s number but to no avail and had resorted to emailing her web address at every opportunity. There had been no response to his repeated pleadings. Even his housekeeper had tried reaching Caroline’s phone for him but her number kept coming up as unavailable. He didn’t want to guess what might be going on. There was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind as to why she hadn’t contacted him and he had to see her immediately. The suspense was becoming almost unbearable.

He jogged
through the terminal building, his massive frame drawing glances from other harried passengers. He ignored them and their curious glances. He’d become used to being stared at years ago, it was just one of life’s little annoyances when you were as tall as a giant and hugely built with it. His bags arrived quickly on the carousel and were inspected efficiently. Terminal five was running smoothly for once.

Then he was
off running. He felt more than desperate as he sprinted towards the taxi rank, his huge stride outstripping other passengers, the feeling of rising panic almost threatening to overwhelm him.

The cab driver didn’t turn a hair when he
leapt in the waiting car, shoving his suitcase onto the opposite seat as Adam mentioned the address of his destination. It was going to take at least two hours to get there but it was a good fare. The driver glanced at Adam appraisingly, just to gauge whether he would have sufficient funds to pay and then, apparently happy, he pulled away.

Adam tried to sit back in his seat and relax, but it was impossible.

He was so close to her now. In his mind he could catch the scent of her hair, of her body. It had been so long. God! How he wanted her. He wanted to feel her velvet soft skin under his hands, to touch her lips with his, to run his fingers through that long dark hair, then to make love to her and feel her tightness surround him, all of him, all night long. The blood was surging through his body as he thought of just talking to her again.

It was rush hour as they hit the outskirts of
the seaside town and the traffic slowed considerably. He didn’t know whether she would still be out in the van and he directed the cabbie by way of the sea front. It was empty, just a few evening strollers enjoying the late sunshine. They followed the road into town and once again Adam directed the cabbie to Caroline’s flat. Relief swept over him as he caught sight of the van parked outside her door.

He was about to tell the driver to stop when he saw her, climbing down from the van. Her long dark hair swirling about her shoulders
, shining in the evening sunlight, a deep burnished gold. His heart jumped into his mouth and he nearly leapt from the car while it was still moving.

But then he stopped dead in his seat
, his hand gripping the door handle as he noticed a man just in front of her. He wasn’t much taller than her, good looking in a pale, mousey sort of way. She was smiling at the man. She threw her arms around his neck and he held her tightly in his embrace.

The blood drained from Adam’s face, and a cold rage swept over him. They were gazing into each other
’s eyes, smiling, laughing and being revoltingly gooey and then Caroline caught the man’s hand in hers and dragged him towards her flat.

Adam slumped back in his seat, speechless. The cab was slowing to a near stop.

“What number mate?” The driver enquired.

Adam answered, his voice only just audible.

“I’m sorry. I’ve made a mistake, it’s been a while since I was last here. Just carry on, I’ll tell you when we get to the right road.” His body felt like cold stone as he tried to fathom what he’d seen.

The way she had looked at that man, the way she had thrown herself at him!
His brain raged with sudden fury. There was no other explanation. She had moved on. She had found someone else. She hadn’t even waited six weeks! She had said that she didn’t want to share him with his work and now he knew that to be true. He’d been away too long and it was too late.

He felt his heart collapsing inside him, sinking in on itself as the misery swept over him. He was too late. He’d lost her.

He paid the driver twenty minutes later when they arrived outside his own house, not even counting the money as he threw the man a bundle of notes. He opened the big glass doors and walked in, dropping his bags just inside the door.

There was a gasp from inside.

“Adam!” The cry was of surprise and delight. “When did you get back and why didn’t you phone for Alf to come and get you?” Tricia propped the mop against a tall stone figure, walked towards him then reached up and kissed his cheek. He grimaced slightly at her touch. This was not the kiss he so desperately wanted.

“I was delayed so many times, he would have been hanging around for ages. How’s his sciatica by the way?” Adam’s voice was hollow to his own ears as he fought to control himself.

“Fine for now, thank goodness. He hated being laid up and I hated driving your car around. I’m a cleaner not a chauffeur.” She smiled up at him, then stood back suddenly noticing his strange look and laboured breathing. “Trip okay? You look really tired. It all took a lot longer than you thought. And what with all that fuss about your phone! We had so many diverted calls it was becoming a nuisance.” She carried on in a rattle of words and moved to pick up the broom again.

Adam
closed his eyes and pinched the top of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he tried unsuccessfully to keep the anger at bay. His voice came out in an icy whisper, through gritted teeth as she looked as though she was going to speak again.

“Tricia, I don’t want to be rude to you, especially as I’ve only just arrived home, but I really

don’t want to talk about this at the moment. Please don’t think that this has anything to do with you or anything you have done, because it hasn’t, but can you leave for the rest of the day… and don’t come back tomorrow either. Have the weekend off with Alf. I won’t need either of you.”

She tipped her head to one side, her blond hair falling over one eye, and looked at him quizzically.

“Now would be a very good time to go.” He hissed as he stared at her with charcoal black eyes glaring murderously from under his furrowed brow. Tricia backed away from him fast, her own eyes wide in fright.

Adam had absolutely no control as his
whole body began to tremble with fury. A deep growl seemed to emanate from somewhere inside his chest as he thought of what that man was probably doing to Caroline’s beautiful naked body at this very moment.

Fortunately
Tricia knew when not to argue.

“Okay…
I’m gone.” She carried on backing up towards the front door, suddenly more terrified than she had been in her life. She dropped the broom, turned quickly and fled.

But she didn’t close the door
behind her fast enough and the last thing she heard from inside the house was a massive crash as the huge stone centre sculpture was smashed to the floor.

Adam stood in the middle of the pile of rubble with his eyes now closed. His breath came in huge ragged gasps.
He raised his face to the ceiling and an agonized, primeval roar echoed round the building as a tidal wave of rage and disappointment engulfed his whole world.

Chapter Thirteen

The smell of the cookie dough was just too much. Caroline stifled a gag as she opened the window and door to let the breeze waft through the flat. She carried on stirring and dropping the mixture onto baking trays. She had already made around ten tray’s worth and she was about to stop. Enough was enough.

David’s muffled voice came from deep under the duvet on the settee.

“Shut the door Caroline, it’s freezing in here.” His head poked out of the covers, his nut brown hair standing up in every direction.

Caroline ignored his pleas
as she took the tray of uncooked cookies to the oven. She slid the new batch onto the shelf and shut the oven door as she spoke over her shoulder to David.

“Don’t make such a fuss. The f
resh air is good for you and it’s lovely out. You could always get up and make these biscuits for me you know. I’m boiling here by the cooker.” She called from the kitchen as she mopped her brow with a scrap of kitchen roll, then she switched on the kettle to make him a wake-up coffee. “I didn’t hear you come in last night. Were you late?” She poured the boiling water over the coffee granules and stirred two in heaped spoons of sugar.

It was like switching a button in her stomach as the nausea overcame her. She heaved uncontrollably as the smell of the coffee hit her nose. Her stomach contracted violently and she knew there was no way she was going to make it to the bathroom. She vomited into the kitchen sink.

David leapt out of his makeshift bed and was immediately at her side, holding her hair away from her face. He was standing in his pyjama bottoms, frowning at her and breathing deeply. He waited until she was breathing normally again but his voice was grave when he spoke.

“Well…
Whose is it then?”

Caroline furrowed her brow and glanced at him, confused.

“Whose is what?” She spluttered as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She snatched up a tumbler and poured herself some water, sloshing it round her mouth and spitting before rinsing out the bowl with boiling water from the kettle. She refilled the tumbler with more cold water.

David growled at her.

“The baby of course.” He looked exasperated at her muddled expression. “Oh come on Caroline, don’t think you can pull the wool over my eyes, I’ve had three of my own. It’s obvious what’s wrong with you. I wondered yesterday when you were sick but there’s no way you’re going to be able to hide it any longer. All I need to know is why you didn’t tell me last night that you’re pregnant?” He sounded affronted.

Caroline froze, staring at him with wild eyes. The tumbler dropped from her startled fingers. It fell back into the sink and rolled around, the noise sounding abnormally loud in the sudden silence. David pulled a chair out from under the kitchen table and pushed Caroline down into it before she collapsed onto the floor.

She tried to make sense of what he was telling her but her brain wouldn’t function properly. She started to shake as she quickly realized she hadn’t had her period since before she’d slept with Adam. She had been so busy, she hadn’t even thought about it.

“Oh my God!” She whispered, her voice cracking with the strain
. She lowered her head onto the table, overwhelmed with the shock. “How did you know, when I didn’t?” She spoke out of the corner of her mouth as she glanced sideways at David. He looked disbelievingly at her.

“I’ve got three kids, remember? You should do, you are their Aunt after all. Natalie was exactly like this with all of them. Noticing odd smells when there
weren’t any, sweaty all the time, being sick at any moment and most of all, the tiredness. She was exhausted all the time. Just like you.” He put his hand on Caroline’s shoulder as he remembered all the signs. “You have all the symptoms, so you must be pregnant.”

She pushed herself up from the table. This was impossible to deal with.

She was on the pill, for goodness sake! This wasn’t supposed to happen!

She grabbed her handbag from the back of the chair and scrabbled around inside. She looked at the foil packets, checking they were not out of date. Then she peered at the days written on the foil strip.

“What day is it today? Tuesday?” Her brain couldn’t work anything out.

David rolled his eyes.

“Saturday you twerp. Why?”

She groaned helplessly as she looked at the day on the next pill of the packet.

Monday.

She’d missed six days of the tablets and then just carried onto the next pack.

“Shit! I’ve missed some days somewhere.” Tears started into her eyes. “Oh David, this is a nightmare. What am I going to do?”

He didn’t respond for a few seconds. He paced around the table.

“Do you even know who the father is?” H
e couldn’t keep the scorn from his tone.

She lifted her head instantly and glared at him angrily. “Bloody cheek! Of course I do. What sort of person do you think I am?”

He didn’t answer her question, but carried on more warily.

“Are you with him still? Is he going to
be able to take responsibility for his kid?” He looked at her crestfallen face, the tears welling up in her eyes and her trembling lips. “I guess that answers my question then. You’ll have to tell him anyway you know.”

“Why?” She was suddenly defensive, angry even. “He’s the one who left me. I don’t have to tell him a thing.”
She said bitterly.

David rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. He blew out a big breath before he spoke.

“Actually
Caro, you do have to tell him if you’re going to keep it. Bringing up kids is no lark and it’s horribly expensive. I should know. If you need any help at all, the Child Support Agency will want to know who the father is, just in case he can pay so they don’t have to. And what happens as the child gets older? Are you going to deny your child its father?” David was firm. “You have to tell him. Besides the fact that he may be interested in his progeny, he is going to have to pay up anyway. He has a right to know he has a child. After all, it takes two; it’s his baby as well Caroline.”

She studied David
’s expression for a few seconds trying to reign in her emotions at his words. She drew in a deep breath and then silently walked through the lounge and into her bedroom. She shut the door firmly behind her and lay on the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She didn’t know how she felt about all this. Pregnancy had never been on her agenda. She had never considered having a family.

Why hadn’t she been more careful?

Launching her cake and chocolate business had been her first priority before her liaison with Adam. She must have forgotten to take her pill around then. But it was pointless going over what she should
or shouldn’t have done. It was far too late for recriminations now.

Slightly experimentally she lifted her shirt and placed her hands on her stomach.

Flat as a pancake!

She looked down at herself in some surprise.
There was nothing to see or feel yet, it was way too soon, but she couldn’t help feeling the warmth that suddenly spread through her body. A beautiful glowing heat that filled her with complete joy. She had never felt anything quite like it before in her entire life.

Surprised at the warmth spreading through her veins
, she gasped out a great sob as her heart began to pound at the thought of how much she wanted this beautiful child.

There was a tentative knock on the door and David, now fully dressed
, came in with the telephone directory in his hand. He flopped it open on the bed beside her and pointed to a listing. She sat up on her elbows and stared in horror as she read the heading of the listing.

“No David. I’m not having a
termination. You can take that away. I won’t need that sort of help.” Her voice was steely and she slammed the directory shut.

David removed the book from her bed.
He looked carefully at his sister.

“I’m just giving you all the options
Caro. It’s obviously still fairly early, you still have time to get rid of it before you become…” He floundered for the right word. “Well… become involved.”

She could scarcely believe her ears.

“I am already involved, you idiot, and I’m not getting rid of it. I couldn’t.” She glared at him angrily. “Would you have got rid of any of yours?” She sat up again as he moved to sit on the bed beside her. He took hold of her hand and squeezed gently.

“
No, of course not.” He said fiercely as if the thought appalled him. He paused for a moment and then looked at her carefully. “Do you love him?” He asked, his voice gentle at last.

She swallowed hard as she looked at her brother
and squeezed his hand back.

“Yes. And I always will, but it wasn’t enough for him, he left me to go on a business trip six or seven weeks ago
. We spoke a couple of times, but he was very busy and… and I haven’t heard from him since.” Her eyes brimmed again as she thought of Adam with the blonde woman.

David’s whole body bristled.

“Is he anyone I know?” He hissed, his voice bitter.

Caroline swallowed noisily.

“You may have heard of him before… Adam Cavendish.” She sighed as his name left her lips.

David’s eyes opened wide with shock.

“What! You are kidding me! The Cavendish of Cavendish Developments? For God’s sake tell me you are joking Caro!” David exploded. “Tell me you don’t mean the multi-millionaire property tycoon! The man’s massive in more ways than one. Jees, Caroline You really know how to pick them! However did you get to meet him in the first place? I’d heard he’s pretty exclusive in the company he keeps.” His face was turning red with shock and anger.

Caroline frowned and spoke venomously.

“Well thanks very much! That’s the second insult you’ve paid me this morning. I’m glad you are so impressed with my choice of mate!” She fumed at her brother. “If you must know, I nearly ran him over. Look, stop jumping about would you? I didn’t sleep with him because of that or because of what he is or what he does.” Caroline put her hand on David’s arm as he was about to leap up from the bed. “I know I was a fool, but I thought he loved me. Every word he said to me… well you had to be there to understand. I was so sure he loved me but it was just a sham, a ploy to get me into bed, unfortunately I was so gullible that it worked, but I still can’t help it. I still love him David.”

He flopped down beside her
again.

“Well, if it’s Cavendish’s kid, that settles it, you’ll have to tell him. Someone is definitely going to notice if you have a giant baby, and it’s bound to grow up huge even if it’s small when you have it.” He suddenly laughed. “There’s no way you’ll get help from the child support people. He earns millions.”

She frowned back at her brother.

“I don’t want his millions David. I just want him that’s all, but it doesn’t look as though that will ever happen now. At least I will have something to remember him by though, I hope it’s a boy.” Caroline was glowing as she sat beside David. “I don’t think girls like being six feet six inches tall. Though it could of course, be more like me.”

David looked at her flat stomach speculatively.

“How do you think he’s going to take the news?”

Caroline shrugged.

“I have no
idea and I have no idea when I’m going to be able to tell him about it. I don’t know where he is at the moment and I’m certainly not going onto that building site to ask. I deleted his phone number when it was obvious he wasn’t interested. He was in Dubai, but he must have come home from there weeks ago. He hasn’t contacted me at all since.”

David glowered on her behalf. He drew in a huge breath.

“The bastard! I’ll bloody thump him if I see him. Treating you like some kind of tramp! I don’t care how big he is, he’s got it coming.”

Caroline gave a low laugh.

“Actually, maybe you should care. He may just hit you back. I’ve seen him do it once before. It’s not a good look. You know, writhing around on the floor with no teeth and a broken nose.” She sighed again as she thought of how he had saved her. Why had he bothered? Why had they ever even met?

David shook his head and patted her hand.

“You think he scares me? Huh, not a chance! Maybe you’d better take the day off today. Get over the shock and a bit more used to the idea of being a mum. Why don’t I take the van out? I can earn my keep and you can go and get yourself registered with the doctor and all that sort of thing,” David stood up and walked towards the door, “and phone dad. He’ll be overjoyed to become a Grandpa again.” He moved into the lounge. “By the way is there anything I should know about selling cakes and stuff?” He asked over his shoulder.

Caroline shook her head.

“Not really. It’s all pretty straight forward. Just make sure you wear gloves all the time and make sure all the cakes with nuts are well marked. There’s a disclaimer on the wall but I would hate for anyone to become ill on what we had cooked. Look, don’t worry too much. If you’re not sure ask Cathy. She will tell you what’s what. And not too much sampling the goods yourself. We do have to make a profit.” She warned him. “And pay you back for the van too.”