Getting It Right This Time (6 page)

No, Mark needed to be stopped in his tracks. Tonight. Before it was too late for all of them.

Chapter 4

Kate stood in front of her wardrobe, the doors flung wide open. What to wear? What to wear?

Her insides were a mess. Her newly shaved and perfume-scented skin tingled with unleashed panic.

She looked at her watch. She had one hour before she was due to meet Mark for dinner. She’d yet to pick an outfit and it was a twenty minute cab journey to the restaurant. She would have driven herself, but the need for dutch courage had overtaken common sense and she’d poured a glass of wine while taking a bath--and the night was still young.

“Pick something. Anything. It’s only Mark. Mark, who you’re going to cut all contact with in the next couple of hours.”

Her mumbled words fell on deaf ears and numbed nerves. Kate fingered her reliable, sexy black dress which never failed to floor its intended target. Should she wear it tonight? Make Mark rue the day he decided it was all right to pursue his best friend’s widow? A tingling of anticipation flickered through her body and died. Who said he was trying to seduce her? Maybe all he wanted to do was talk about the past, the memories they shared. James. A gnawing pain clawed at her throat and Kate squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Mark was never a bad person. What would she do if he gave her a plausible reason for his years of no contact? What would she say?

Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes and let the dress slip from her fingers. There couldn’t be any plausible excuse. Mark had been James’s best friend and her…what? Her…fantasy? The man she wanted, but he didn’t want her? The man who’d let his best friend marry a girl he once knew?

And the fact of the matter was, she fell in love with James--to a point. It was never the all-consuming passion she’d felt for Mark, but she had loved James. He’d turned her head from the boy who never made a single attempt at taking their friendship further, and wooed her with his ideas of grandeur. He’d painted a romantic picture of living abroad where there would be constant sun, sea and sand.

But it turned out Kate spent the time under the sun alone while James spent his travelling up to the mountains every day where the snow never melted and the snowboarders always played.

She sank onto the bed. And once she’d become pregnant, Kate tumbled into the age-old delusion a baby would bring them closer. Jess was everything to both of them, but they only drifted further apart. Kate’s vision blurred. She’d been planning to tell James she wanted a divorce the very day he died. And there hadn’t been a day since when the guilt of carrying the secret around like a ball and chain didn’t weigh heavy on her heart. Would Jessica ever understand her mum not wanting to be with a daddy who loved his little girl to the ends of the earth? Of course she wouldn’t and Kate would ensure she never found out.

27

28

Getting It Right This Time

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, Kate stood up. She would do whatever it took to ensure Jess’s happiness. And that was why she would not let Mark Johnston into her life. He was an ambitious and money-hungry man who would tire of a child quicker than he would a non-profit investment.

His face filled her mind’s eye. If only she could believe Mark capable of not loving Jess--

everyone loved Jess. Even possibly, Foxton’s very own heartthrob. Kate snorted with laughter as she remembered the gangly prepubescent boy with horn-rimmed glasses and the unattractive trait of collecting train numbers.

A smile played at her lips. And by God, she’d loved that boy.

And it wasn’t helping her cause that he’d became a man whose hair was darker than a night sky and eyes so sexy and intense she felt as though he could see into her soul every time he looked at her. Feeling her heart swell and a distinct pull at more intimate parts, Kate defiantly tilted her chin. She would meet Mark and listen to what he had to say and then she would walk away. Forever.

She’d do it for her daughter. Jess didn’t need Mark Johnston in her life and neither did she.

Yanking a pale pink, tight fitting top that was flattering yet not the obvious seduction weapon of the black dress, Kate felt the momentary weakness, the unexpected and guilt-ridden wave of desire, subside. The delicate criss-cross of straps revealed just a glimpse of her shoulders and fit smoothly over her torso to the upper curve of her hips. Teamed with a pair of smart black trousers, the look was sexy yet demure. Much more appropriate.

Yet once dressed and looking at her reflection in the full-length mirror, Kate could not ignore the sensation of wanting to look good for someone for the first time in years. She felt sexy and alive, and knew it was all because of Mark. He’d always made her feel this way, and even after all this time he could still do it. She shivered. She had to get a grip or tonight could go horribly against plan.

She quickly strode to the dressing table and sat down. To finish the look, she pushed onyx earrings through her ears and clasped a matching necklace around her neck. Her entire body hummed with electricity, making her wonder just how in control she was. She needed to curb this sudden and shameful desire for a stolen moment alone with him. It wasn’t only her and Mark anymore…if it ever was.

Standing up, she slipped on a pair of black stiletto sandals and made her way downstairs.

Lucy sat on the living room floor with Jessica nestled securely and happily within the circle of her legs. Their gazes were firmly glued to the TV screen where the latest craze of furry talking animals danced and played. Kate shook her head and smiled.

“Well, doesn’t this look interesting?” she said, leaning against the doorjamb. “I wonder if the purple dinosaur will manage to get the pink rabbit out of the box.”

Lucy turned, an expression of complete and utter scorn of her face. “Listen, missus, that pink rabbit has been stuck in there all day, and now nighttime is falling. This is not a laughing matter.”

But Kate laughed anyway, held her hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry.”

Rachel Brimble

29

“So, you should be.” Lucy smiled, her eyes sparkled. “What time are you being picked up?”

Kate glanced at her watch. “The cab is due any minute. Are you sure you don’t mind babysitting? I can always cancel.”

Lucy’s smile dropped, and her eyes narrowed. “Don’t even think about it. You’re going.

Anyway…” She wrapped her arms around Jessica. “I adore this little girl, and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be than right here.” She paused, her eyes boring into Kate’s with her ‘tell me what you’re thinking’ stare. “Are you all right?”

Kate sighed. “Sure. I have to do this. You were right. Mark won’t give up until I hear him out. The sooner I see him, the sooner he’ll give up pestering me.” Stepping into the room, she pressed a kiss to Jess’s hair. “See you later, baby.”

Jessica looked away from the TV. “Oh, Mummy! You look pretty!”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Jessica’s smiling face became a frown. “Are you going dancing? I want to come with you.”

Kate laughed. “No, Mummy isn’t going dancing, and she will be back before you know it.

I’ll come and give you a kiss goodnight when I get in, okay?”

Jessica stared at her for a moment longer before giving a curt and satisfied nod. “Okay.”

Her gaze returned to the TV. Kate met Lucy’s eyes once more. “Right, I’ll grab my purse from the kitchen.”

Still grappling with a bad case of last-minute nerves, Kate hurried into the kitchen. She gripped the counter as she looked out on the twilit back garden. Mark had offered to pick her up at the house, but she’d insisted on meeting him at the restaurant. Her new home was a haven where no ghosts of hurt resided. A place where she and Jessica could start over. The first piece in a jigsaw she intended to put together hand in hand with her daughter. James’s death might have smashed the pieces of their lives apart but together, she and Jessica would build a new picture all of their own. A picture Kate knew Mark would never fit into--if any man was to come become part of their lives, he would be a man who wanted a family. Not a confirmed bachelor who thought his career was the guaranteed route to happiness.

The shrill ringing of the doorbell caused Kate’s breath to catch in her throat. She picked up her purse and walked back into the living room.

“Okay, I’m off,” she said with false joviality. She gathered Jessica into her arms and gave her a hefty squeeze whilst receiving lasers of encouragement from Lucy’s eyes above her head.

“I’ll see you both later.”

For fear she might stay clinging to Jessica rather than leave, Kate quickly left the room and greeted the driver with a beaming smile.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He touched his hand to his head. “No problem, miss.”

30

Getting It Right This Time

On the ride to the restaurant, Kate rehearsed what to say to Mark over and over again in her head. There was no right or wrong way to tell him about Jessica, so in the end she came to the conclusion she would simply blurt it out if necessary. Turning her gaze toward the window, Kate watched the streets lined with late-night shoppers and courting couples.
Life goes on
, she thought wryly.
As will mine and Jess’s.

The cab dropped her outside the steps to the Shriver restaurant, and Kate looked up at its cream-stone façade and felt a jolt of renewed nerves. But knowing Mark could quite easily be seated by a window watching her with that infuriating glint in his eyes, she quickly shoved her nerves away and tilted her chin. She would be cool personified. Yes. That’s just what she would be.

Swallowing hard, Kate pasted her most nonchalant expression on her face and gracefully climbed the steps into the restaurant. She quickly scanned her surroundings. The place screamed of money and status. Everything from the crystal chandeliers to the bone china tableware was in perfect, and very expensive, order. It wasn’t until the maitre d’ politely cleared his throat Kate realized she stood directly in front of him.

She turned her smile up a notch. “Good evening, I’m here to meet Mark Johnston.”

His English butler demeanor immediately softened with almost laughable speed. “Ah, yes, good evening. May I bid you a warm welcome to The Shriver Restaurant, madam,” he said, stepping out from behind his rosewood podium. “Please come this way.”

“Thank you.”

As she followed, Kate tried not to stare at the beautiful interior. Decorated in tones of cream and off-white blended together to create an ambience of subtle 1940’s glamour and sophistication, it was beautiful. As her gaze wandered, it fell on two or three celebrity faces and her already stretched nerves, tightened. These were A-list celebrities eating in a restaurant where they knew they wouldn’t be bothered by the public or paparazzi. A place the rich and famous came for intimacy and ensured privacy. A celebrity like Mark Johnston.

She must be crazy agreeing to meet him like this. He was hardly the man she and James knew five years ago. He was known by everyone--admired by everyone. What the hell was she doing?

“Your table, madam.”

Kate blinked at the sound of the maitre’d’s voice and turned. Mark was on his feet, his eyes dancing with amusement, his full mouth curved into a delighted, happy smile. Kate snapped her gaze from his and smiled widely at the maitre’d as he pulled out her seat and gestured for her to sit down. She sat gratefully.

“Thank you.”

He returned her smile with a curt nod. “Can I get you a drink? A cocktail maybe?”

Kate glanced at the table. “I’ll have a glass of whatever Mark…I mean, Mr. Johnston is drinking, please.”

“Bring the bottle, if you will, please, Peter,” Mark said.

“Of course, sir.”

Rachel Brimble

31

And then they were alone.

“You came.”

She lifted her eyes to his. “Didn’t you think I would?”

“No.”

“Oh.” His gaze lingered over every inch of her face, and Kate’s cheeks warmed under the soft study in his eyes. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

He started as though remembering where he was. “You look beautiful.”

Her heart lurched in her chest as Kate forced herself to keep her eyes on the clear hazel of his. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

He smiled and reached for the menu. Once he was sufficiently engrossed, Kate picked up her own menu and opened it like a shield. But she didn’t read the offerings, instead she used the advantage to surreptitiously check him out. Peering over the top of the leather-bound pages, her gaze wandered over the charcoal gray suit, the open neck collar of his snow-white shirt and the casual style of his newly washed hair. He looked up and she quickly looked at the menu.

“Do you know what you want?” she asked quickly.

“I knew exactly what I wanted years ago.”

She snapped her head up, the menu slipping from her hands. His unwavering gaze burned straight through her skin and flesh to her very center. An intense heat flared behind her breast bone and between her legs simultaneously. She opened her mouth but no words came, and the only sound stretching between them was her pathetically feminine struggling gasps of breath. She couldn’t take her eyes from his and knew he would recognize her shock, her confusion…and worst of all, her desire. His fingers lightly touched hers.

“Kate, I’ve wanted to see you for so long…”

“Yet you never contacted me for five years…James neither.”

He stared at her, the shaven skin of his neck shifting as he swallowed. “I owe you an explanation.”

Despite being aware of her burning hostility and its danger, she was unable to bury it under a gossamer covering of etiquette, so she said, “Yes, I think you do.”

“Here you go, sir.”

Kate sharply pulled her hands into her lap at the sudden appearance of the waiter. She looked at Mark beneath her lashes but his gaze never left her face as their glasses were filled. After what felt like half an hour, the waiter placed the bottle in a silver bucket beside them and walked away.