Getting It Right This Time (9 page)

“But what? You say ‘but’ and it negates everything else,” she said, her voice rising. “What about the picture on the front page? Aren’t you sorry about that? Aren’t you sorry it will no doubt be splashed all over the papers again tomorrow?”

Guilt twisted like a knife in her gut. “Kate…”

She raised her hand, took another hefty gulp of wine. “I should’ve known this would happen.

How could I have been so stupid to agree to have dinner with you?”

Ignoring the heavy thump of his heart, he looked at her. “I’m not any happier they are here than you are. How was I to know interest would shift so quickly from Marcia to me? They don’t usually give a rat’s ass who I spend my time with.”

“Now you’re lying to me. Lucy told me how you’re the tabloid’s most eligible bachelor.

Don’t you dare insult me with pretend ignorance, Mark.”

“It’s just crap they come up with when they’ve nothing better to print.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure there have been a lot of women for them to talk about.” Kate sniffed.

“What I can’t figure out is what makes me so different.”

She drained her glass and immediately refilled it. Mark noticed how the liquid trembled in the glass when she brought the drink to her lips. She was furious. Yet his groin tightened. She was angry. Angry enough to slam him against a wall and…

He watched her. “You’re right. There have been a few women in my life.”

“What?” She looked up.

His heart swelled inside his chest. There it was. That something in her eyes again. The same something that appeared when Marcia practically elbowed her out the way in the lobby. Jealousy.

She gave an inelegant sniff. “Why should I care how many women have graced your bed, Mark? I couldn’t give a damn. All I want to know is why the media is finding me so damn fascinating all of a sudden?”

Was he an idiot? That was pure anger, not jealousy. Feeling like a fool, he squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know but whatever it is, it won’t last.”

“Not good enough. Do they know I lived here before? That I was your friend?”

His eyes snapped open. “You were more than a friend.”

Rachel Brimble

43

Her cheeks turned pink and Mark struggled not to step forward, take her hand and pull her into his arms. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly ajar. God, he wanted to kiss her. Brand her.

Make her his. The clock on the wall counted out the seconds until he was forced to find himself a drink before he did something stupid. He walked to the mini-bar and splashed a measure of scotch into a glass. He downed half of it in one gulp before walking back and sitting down on the settee beside her. She immediately moved a few inches away as though he’d pinched her.

He looked at her, smiled. “Subtle, Kate. Real subtle.”

She snapped her head around. “Don’t you dare laugh at me. If my picture is all over any of those stupid magazines tomorrow, I’ll never forgive you.”

He studied her for a few seconds. “Can I ask you a question?”

She turned away. “No.”

He asked anyway. “I know the press is a pain in the backside, but you can handle the likes of them and worse. Are you angry at the press or me?”

“Both.”

“But one more than the other?”

Slowly, she turned to face him. “Too close to call.”

“Kate, come on--”

“Don’t pretend this is fair, Mark,” she said, cutting him off as red-hot anger burned in her eyes. “I come back home after five years and the first blast from the past I have to face is you.

Mark Johnston. The man who dropped two of his closest friends as quickly as he could…” She shook her head. “Newsflash, Mark. I have a life. A life which no longer includes a man. I have responsibilities, people to worry about, and I’m trying my damnedest to ensure we get through the following years unscathed, so excuse me if I’m angry that after spending two evenings in the company of the infamous Mark Johnston, things are not going as planned.”

“Who’s we?” Mark asked the question, not entirely sure he wanted to know the answer.

She’d said she didn’t have a man in her life but…

He watched the slender column of her throat shift as she swallowed. “What?”

“You said, ‘we’. You are doing your best to ensure ‘we’ get through unscathed. Who’s the we?”

Her gaze darted almost manically over his face before her eyes glazed with unshed tears that stabbed at his heart. He quickly took her hand. “Hey. What’s going on? You’re crying…”

Snatching her hand from his, she stood. “I have to go.”

She hurried toward the door, and Mark raced after her. When she pulled the door open, he pushed it closed again with a firm hand. Her head bowed, her shoulders shook. His hand left the door and went to her chin. Gently, as though handling the most fragile of china, he lifted her face.

The sadness in the depths of her eyes twisted a painful knot in his gut.

“Talk to me.”

“You don’t know me anymore,” she whispered. “You don’t know anything.”

44

Getting It Right This Time

“Then tell me. I want to know. I need to know.” He moved his hand to the smooth curve of her neck.

“Mark…” Her gaze dropped from his eyes to his mouth and he took the gesture as an invitation, felt her longing whether she wanted it to be there or not. Every instinct in his body screamed she wanted his lips on hers as much as he wanted them to be welded there too. He inched forward and touched his lips to hers.

She tasted of wine and femininity, a heady combination which filled his entire body and catapulted him back to a place he’d thought he never experience again. Her brief moment of resistance caused his hand to tighten before she curved her arms around his neck. Mark’s heart picked up speed at her unexpected surrender. He increased the ferocity of the kiss, taking it, owning it, knowing it might be a one chance encounter--something that might never happen again.

He ran his hand down the warm, smooth skin of her arms and when her lips drew away from his, he didn’t step back like a gentleman should, he pulled her closer and pressed his nose and lips against the sweet-smelling curve of her neck. He gently trailed feather light kisses down to her collarbone and felt his erection twitch as she breathed a light gasp against his hair.

He hesitated with his fingers at the edge of her neckline, waiting for her to permit him further. She pulled him closer, her nails gently scraping over the back of his jacket. She murmured something incoherent, but Mark didn’t stop to question her.

She trailed her fingers up the length of his back and scored them through his hair, causing his nerve endings to stand on a high alert. He moved up to repossess her lips.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered.

The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a grave mistake. Whatever trance she’d been in was sliced in half by his words. With two hands firmly planted against his chest, she pushed him backward before lifting her fingers to her swollen lips. She was trembling and as Mark moved toward her, she shot out her hand.

“No. Stay there.”

“Kate, listen to me.”

Her eyes were wide with terror. An icy atmosphere descended over the room whereas a few minutes before her body was hot to the touch, their need for each other scorching the air around them. He had no idea what had happened to change that.

She pulled open the door.

“Kate, wait.” He dropped the hand he’d been tempted to touch her with.

She turned and faced him. “Bye, Mark.”

“Back at the restaurant before Marcia called, you said you had something to tell me,” he said quickly, clutching at anything to keep her there. A violent and sudden rush of color appeared at her neck. He swallowed. “Kate?”

“I…I wanted you to know nothing will ever happen between us.”

Rachel Brimble

45

The heart kicked painfully in his chest, but he pulled back his shoulders anyway. “I don’t believe you. There’s something between us. There always has been. If James hadn’t got there first…”

The color spread to her face, and her gaze hardened. “If James hadn’t gotten to me first?” She tipped her head back, laughed. “You had plenty of time, Mark. I was always yours.” She paused, pressed her hand to her forehead. “What I mean is, James didn’t just take me, he loved me. You clearly didn’t.”

Something predatory surged into his chest. “You know I did. I was different then. I over-analyzed, I worried.”

She met his gaze. “Yeah? Well, it’s me who over-analyzes now, and I’ve already summed up you and I are bad news. It will end in heartbreak. And I will not…cannot let that happen. This is no longer about me and you. It’s about more than you will ever be able to handle.”

This time he did touch her. He reached out and gripped her hand tightly in his. “Try me.”

Her huff of breath, the tears shining in her eyes belied a thousand thoughts swirling in her head. “I can’t.”

He tightened his grip, felt hot needles burning at the back of his own eyes. “I loved you then, and I love you now. Five years ago, I took what we had for granted. I assumed we had all the time in the world. And then James…” He paused when she shook her head and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I was an idiot not to make you mine before James even came along. This isn’t anyone’s fault but my own but I want you, Kate. I want you so bloody much, I can’t let you go again. I won’t.”

A soft smile tilted the corners of her mouth as she slowly pulled her hand from his. “You will. Quicker than you make your next hundred, you’ll let me go.”

“I won’t.”

“I’m a mother, Mark. James and I had a daughter. A girl who will always come first for me.

Always. Even above the great Mark Johnston.”

Chapter 6

Kate wandered downstairs into the salon reception feeling as though she had a horse strapped to her back. Having left Mark’s office the night before, she’d raced along the street and out of sight, before ordering a taxi on her mobile phone. The hiding part was a waste of time because in the ten minutes she waited for the taxi, Mark was nowhere to be seen. His words hadn’t been worth the breath they’d been spoken with. Her gut instinct had been right. Learning about Jess had clearly paralyzed him beyond function. Well, good riddance to bad rubbish. Let him be happy with his life--alone.

Blinking, she ignored the ache in her chest and pulled back her shoulders. There was work to be done. She smiled at the customer Jo was saying goodbye to and when the doorbell tinkled behind her, Kate clapped her hands together.

“Okay then,” she said, smiling. “I’m off to pick up Jess from the nursery. I promised her an afternoon in the park, and I can’t wait.”

Jo smiled. “I don’t blame you. It’s beautiful outside. The sun is shining, the birds are singing.”

Kate arched an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

“Sure.” Jo grinned.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m going to the park, not a
rendezvous
with Brad Pitt.”

Jo wiggled her eyebrows. “But maybe the next best thing?”

“What do you…” Kate rolled her eyes. “You think I’m meeting Mark, don’t you?”

“Well, aren’t you?”

“No!” Kate cried. “I’m taking Jess to the park--alone.”

Pouting, Jo lifted her hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I was only thinking--”

“Well, don’t.” Their eyes met and held for a moment before they burst out laughing. Kate caught her breath. “You are like a dog with a bone. Mark Johnston is no more.”

Waving a dismissive hand, Jo smiled. “Okay, okay. Let’s talk about Jess. When do I actually get to meet her? I adore kids.”

Maternal pride swelled behind Kate’s ribcage. She grinned. “I’ll bring her in for the day next week, promise.” She glanced at her watch. “Right then, I’d better get going or Jess will be wondering where I am.”

She hurried out of the reception and into the kitchen area. She walked to the sink and washed up a couple of mugs and teaspoons, wiped down the counter tops and then, despite her protestations to Jo, Mark barged completely uninvited back into her thoughts.

46

Rachel Brimble

47

Seeing and talking to him again had brought nothing but trouble to her door. She’d had three customers not so subtlety mention her and Mark’s picture in the gossip magazine from hell already that morning. One even congratulated her on bagging the sexy agent she’d ‘like to teach a trick or two.’” Kate sniffed. Well, as far she was concerned, said customer could teach him whatever the hell she wanted because Mark was the last man on earth Kate wanted to “bag.”

She swallowed and ignored the pang in her chest. Mark Johnston. Mark Johnston. It seemed the whole world was obsessed with the man. Moving her head from left to right, Kate loosened the tension in her neck. The best thing she could do was push any thoughts of the future and whether or not Mark would feature in it, to the back of her mind for a few hours and just enjoy being alone with her daughter.

Glancing around the kitchen and satisfied with its appearance, she hung the dish cloth over the tap and dried her hands on a tea towel. She was finished for the day--and she couldn’t have been more relieved. Grabbing her bag and jacket from the coat stand, she made her way back out to the reception. With a wave and a wink to Jo, who was busy looking after her next client, Kate headed out the door and into the street. She jumped into her car and headed for the nursery.

Two hours later, Kate lay on her back in the lush green grass of Foxton Park, lazily twirling the curls of Jessica’s hair.

“Mummy?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” She looked into her daughter’s green eyes as her beautiful three-year-old face hovered above her.

“Do you like living near Lucy and Nanna?” Jessica asked.

Kate frowned. “Of course. Don’t you? Aren’t you happy?”

Jessica nodded vehemently, sending sparks of sunlight bouncing from her soft brown tresses.

“I am. You’re not.”

“What?” Kate laughed. “What do you mean?”

“You were crying in bed this morning. I heard you.”

Kate stared as her brain scrambled for something to say. Anything to take the concern from her precious baby’s eyes and replace it with the girlish glee that had only recently came back after she’d lost her father. She reached up and smoothed her finger down the length of Jessica’s soft cheek.