How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates (14 page)

‘You know what else is a waste?’

‘No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway.’ Sometimes she reminded him a lot of Cassie, and not in a good way. The way she never let things rest.

‘You being on your own is a waste.’ She stretched her legs out in front of her, oblivious to his eyebrows hitting the sky as her words hit home. ‘You’re a lovely guy. When you forget about being grumpy you’re fun, you’re kind, and you’re great in bed. Not for me, obviously. But somehow I think you’d enjoy life more with a partner than on your own.’

Right about her sounding like Cassie then.

‘Don’t you start too.’ He regretted that the moment it slipped out.

She pounced. ‘Why, who else says it?’

‘Pretty much everyone.’ Hopefully that fudged it, but it was dangerously close to challenge territory. ‘They’re all wanting to get me married off.’

‘And you’re resisting because of the commitment thing?’

‘What commitment thing would that be?’

‘You not wanting to commit because of your abandonment issues.’

‘My what?’ Where the heck had that come from, and more to the point, where the heck was it going?

‘It’s obvious. You avoid relationships because you think your mother left you. You’re probably scared of being left again.’

‘Thank you Mrs Freud, but that has nothing to do with it.’

‘Don’t you think you should get your Mother’s side of the story? It’s not like you don’t know who she is?’

‘Definitely not.’

‘Well has anyone else in the family talked to her about it?’

‘Lizzie – that’s my birth mother – doesn’t see anyone in the family. Never has, although Cassie looked her up a few years ago, when she was in the States.’

‘There you go then. And?’

‘I didn’t ask, I’m not interested.’

‘Really Ed. You are the limit. How are you going to get on with your life if you don’t sort this out?’

‘I wasn’t aware there was anything to sort until two minutes ago.’ He heard his voice crack with indignation. ‘What’s it got to do with you anyway?’

She screwed up her face, let out a deep sigh.

‘You’re right, it’s nothing to do with me.’ She put a hand on his arm, and he winced at the screaming-pink nails. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, wouldn’t have. It’s just I’m going back tomorrow, so it seemed like a now-or-never moment.’

‘Never might have been good.’ He shrugged, rubbing his chin. ‘You don’t have to leave tomorrow.’

A couple of extra days to extinguish their fire. And it wasn’t only about the burn-out. If they travelled back through London, they could pull in a visit to her family, and tick the last box of the challenge. And then it would be over. If he pulled this off, he’d be a free man by Wednesday. Whoop, whoop. Way to go Ed! So now he needed a charm offensive to persuade her. Except it was never quite that simple. Second guessing Millie’s reactions was a science that was beyond him.

‘We could always stay. One more day to go for burn-out. What do you say?’ He tried to read her reaction, but she avoided his gaze, sat her biting her lip, tapping her feet in silence.

Millie lost for words? That was a new one.

Impatient for a result, he pushed her. ‘So?’

Her hand was on his arm again, bright nails fluttering. ‘Thanks for the offer. Another couple of days would be great but … ’ Her wistful tone became apologetic, but firm. ‘Probably best to leave things as they are.’

Dammit. Why was there always a ‘but’?

‘Let’s wander down before we decide.’ He stood up, offered a hand to pull her to her feet. ‘You might have changed your mind by the time we reach the bottom.’

And, just as likely, not. She was going to make him work for this, like she had all along. But, he was man enough for the challenge, and if he had to dig deep, then he would.

MILLIE had no idea how that happened. One minute they were in a sleepy hill village, and a scant hour later they were on a hotel terrace under stripy parasols, watching the sun spark off the ocean.

‘Thought you’d enjoy a glimpse of the Med … ’ Ed narrowed his eyes at her, his glass of mineral water half way to his lips. ‘Before you head home, if that’s what you’re still insisting you’re going to do.’

Damn. She’d meant to dive in and talk about the bright blue sea. ‘I thought we’d agreed we weren’t going to mention that again.’

‘You might have. I didn’t.’

‘You never give up do you?’

A waiter approached with a glorious seafood platter. Hopefully that would shut Ed up for a bit. Not that she wasn’t tempted. She’d left next week free, hoping to get on with her boxes, her regular classes were on summer break. She didn’t have to rush back, and since they’d sorted out what was – or wasn’t – going on, she was having a great time. But perhaps she was enjoying it all too much. If she left tomorrow, she could count the weekend as her first no-strings achievement. But any longer than that, and she was scared she’d get too used to his easy ways, not to mention those dynamite orgasms. Some things a girl could have too much of, and it was nothing at all to do with caring, or falling for someone. Ed might have his own worries on that score, imagining that she was going to get all clingy and difficult, but he couldn’t have been less wrong, because she had no space for a man in her life, and that was definite. But when the good things weren’t there any more you’d miss them too much. And no way was she going to risk that.

So Mr Mitchum had to accept she was leaving tomorrow, end of.

Across the table, Ed inclined his head. ‘I know they aren’t your favourite people, but do you see much of your family?’

That arrived out of nowhere. Except Ed rarely made small-talk for no reason. She put down the king prawn in front of her, and met his gaze.

‘Where is this going exactly?’ She licked a salty finger.

He shook his head blithely. ‘Nowhere.’

‘Sorry, I don’t buy that.’ She scowled him a dead eye.

‘So when did you last see them?’ The line of his jaw said he wasn’t backing down.

Damn this man.

‘A while ago. I’m busy, I don’t go south much.’ Suitably imprecise, and excuses to match. ‘Why has it got anything to do with you anyway?’

The memory of holding Sophie’s new-born baby still turned her heart to dry ice. That echo, in the space where her own baby should have been.

‘No reason.’ He gave a nonchalant shrug. ‘Are they in London then?’

Would he never give up?

‘Okay, last reply on the subject. My little sister is at uni, my parents are in Knightsbridge, my older sister Sophie lives in Belsize Park.’ Sucking the sour saliva out of her mouth, she forced herself to say it. ‘She’s the one with the baby.’

If he’d noticed her voice had dropped to a whisper, he didn’t react.

‘I’m picking up a family estrangement vibe here.’ Ignoring her appalled frown, he bashed on regardless. ‘Why don’t we fly back to London on Wednesday, and drop in on Sophie? Then I’ll run you back up north afterwards. It’s good to touch base with your siblings, even if you have issues with your parents.’ He flashed her a triumphant beam.

Talk about insensitive.

‘Sorry, an hour ago we were talking about you needing to see Cassie to find out what happened when your real mother left you. How did we come from that to this?’

Seeing his jaw sag, she hoped she hadn’t been too harsh. But he was asking for it.

‘Right. You have me there.’ He pursed his lips, pushed his fingertips together. ‘Cassie lives in Camden. Not far away. We could see them both?’

Now he was talking randomly. What the heck was this about?

‘Okay, you may like this better.’ He fished his phone out of his pocket, and flicked some buttons. ‘There’s a flea-market in Nimes on Monday, and Aix on Tuesday. We could go to those too?’

This man knew her too well. Two more flea markets? That was temptation.

‘No point. I’m maxed out on all my cards.’

‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but I could fund a bit of shopping … ’ Noting her expression, he rephrased. ‘As a loan if you’d prefer.’

Why was he pulling out all the stops here? Oh my. Surely not? Kerching! The sound of the penny dropping. He was so determined to burn this thing out, he was throwing every enticement he could her way. A man who didn’t take no for an answer, with no clue how much she didn’t want to see her sister.

She drew in a deep breath, bracing herself to test him. There was one deal she would be interested in brokering, if only to see this whole thing through. In a weird way she felt like she owed it to him. Whatever else he’d done, he’d helped her put Josh firmly behind her, and she’d always be grateful to him for that. And that was before you even got on to the bit about showing her she was capable of a climax. Whatever his shortcomings, she’d be returning home a different woman. And if she could pull this off, she’d set him on the way to a better future too.

‘I’m not agreeing to anything here, but try this for size. How about I stay until Wednesday, then on the way back we can go and find out what Cassie knows about your birth mother.’

The oyster he’d just picked up clattered back onto his plate.

He screwed up his face. Three, four, five long seconds. Not happy about this then. Eight, nine, ten, then he shifted, clenched his jaw, stared her straight in the eye.

‘And we’ll see Sophie at the same time?’

Oh, the way those dark eyes made her stomach descend. Not good news.

‘That wasn’t part of it. Why are you so keen for me to see Sophie?’

He gave yet another diffident shrug. ‘Maybe the same reason you want me to see Cassie – because I have a gut instinct that in the long run it’ll be in your best interest. I know you might have been jealous of her as a child, but it would be useful to put that behind you, and I think you know that too. Nothing like sorting out family stuff.’ He gave a wry grimace, then stretched across the white damask tablecloth, caught her wrist between his fingers. ‘So, do we have a deal?’

Oh my. Bulls and china shops springing to mind. Crashing about, and him with no idea about any of it. He couldn’t find out the truth, about what had happened. Nobody could. She let out a smooth breath.

Give and take. Isn’t that what it was all about? Something for him, something for her, although heaven knows how she was going to carry off seeing Sophie and the baby. And definitely not thinking about the heat-burning that was going to go down the next few days. Ignoring the smile lines crinkling in the corners of his eyes, ignoring the twist of those destructively sensuous lips, she locked onto his deep, dark pupils.

‘I’d say we have a deal, Mr Mitchum.’

***

Millie had travelled in style with her parents, but it was never quite so smooth as flying into London later that week with Ed. She’d insisted on keeping her personal travel bag with her. The rest of her parcels had been whisked away, with the promise that they’d be back home before she was. And once the private jet landed, she still felt like her feet hadn’t touched the ground.

‘You okay over there?’ Ed glanced up from his laptop, lobbed another of those melting smiles she still wasn’t immune to, across the back seat of the limo. ‘You don’t mind if I check my mail? There’s a big deal going through today.’

‘I’m fine. Enjoying the scenery. Crossing London always feels like coming home.’ She shot him wry grin, curled her feet more tightly underneath her. ‘Even the North Circular has a certain glamour when you’ve been deprived of it. And it’s good that the sun’s out, even if the sky isn’t as blue as in Provence.’

Good thing it was all happening at the speed of light, not giving her any time to think about the heavy ache in her chest. And the stony drag in her gut had to be down to the flight, and not anything to do with the fact she was dreading saying goodbye to Ed, being back on her own again. Dammit. She gave herself a mental kick. This was exactly what she should have avoided. She was not attached to Ed. Definitely not. Once she was home again, and busy, she’d be fine.

At least this far she had managed not to worry too much about seeing Sophie. And Bella, the baby. The thought of Bella was much worse. But now, as they turned into Camden Square, yesterday’s butterflies morphed into a flock of seagulls, and as they drifted to a halt outside the house, the bird-wings began flapping, wildly.

Swallowing hard, she groped for the boots she’d kicked off earlier.

Now was not the time to deposit that delicious in-flight lunch on the limo seat.

‘Nice place they’ve got here.’ Ed next to her on the back seat nodded his appreciation.

‘Yes, Rob’s family own a bank or something, and it’s a lovely house, they’ve been here three years.’ No idea how she was getting the words out at all, let alone how she was sounding so nonchalant.

‘C’mon you, we’re already running late.’ Not waiting for the chauffeur, Ed was out the second the car stopped, and hauling her onto the pavement the next, then Sophie was there too, baby Bella on her hip, ushering them through the wide front door into the house in a flurry of hugs and kisses.

If Sophie was surprised by their visit she didn’t let on, as she led the way into the elegant lounge, now humanised by toys scattered across the designer rugs and sofas. She was as friendly as she had been when Millie had rung to say they were coming. A little more rounded, a little less perfectly groomed than before, yet glowing and relaxed – being a mum suited her. Millie sighed inwardly as she settled on the edge of a velvet sofa, tried to stop her chest imploding. Whatever her own pain, she didn’t begrudge Sophie her happiness.

‘There aren’t many days when we’re home alone, are there Bella?’ Sophie dropped a kiss on Bella’s head, lowered her to the floor, and the child shot off on all fours, making a bee-line for Ed.

Across the room, Millie sat, in silence. Gritting her teeth. Keeping hold, arms wrapped tight around her stomach. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t do it. She mustn’t compare Bella to the baby she herself might have had. Bella wasn’t even a baby now, she was a living, breathing person, demanding, exacting. She was just eight months younger than hers would have been, and everyone was so right that she couldn’t have coped alone. Could she? She bit back the lump in her throat, took a jagged breath, and knew she’d been right to stay away. She’d only seen Bella once, briefly, just after she’d been born. But she had to be strong now. So long as she kept her distance here she’d cope.

From the way she was eyeballing Ed, Bella already had a huge will of her own.

What was it about that man and his magnetism?

‘Watch out, she could be sticky!’ Sophie’s warning came too late. Bella was already hauling herself up, wiping her hands all over Ed’s trouser leg.

‘Don’t worry.’ He picked up a teddy from the floor and waggled it in Bella’s direction, receiving squawks of laughter in return.

‘Hazard of babies, I forget not everyone’s used to it.’ Sophie glowed appreciatively in Ed’s direction. ‘Wow, she’s taken to you.’

‘I’ve got an army of nephews and nieces.’ He gave a laid back chuckle, as Bella grasped his finger, and set about gnawing on the sleeve of his jacket. ‘That’s why I’m used to baby slobber.’

As she watched this chilled, child-friendly Ed, Millie struggled to keep her eyes from popping out of her head. Who’d have thought? A hoard of nephews and nieces she hadn’t even heard about. Although there was no reason why she should have. She’d had four short days of wickedness with him – that was all she’d had, all she was going to have. If there was a tiny twang of regret that it wouldn’t be more, she wasn’t about to acknowledge it. That army of nieces and nephews would be for someone else to discover, not her.

‘Shall I go and make some drinks, seeing as I’m the free one here?’ Millie stood up, smoothed her hands over the crumples in her dress, and moved towards the door. An excuse for escape, as she desperately tried to banish the image of Josh’s thunderous face, the morning she emerged from the bathroom with a pregnancy testing stick in her hand. Those two blue lines, shaping her future. That had been the day he walked out on her.

‘That would be wonderful.’ The lightness of Sophie’s words were at odds with her concerned frown. ‘Shout if there’s anything you can’t find.’

By the time Millie returned with a tray of drinks, Bella was snuggled on Ed’s lap, exploring his pockets.

‘I thought we’d stick to cold drinks.’ Millie handed Sophie a glass, clunked Ed’s on the table beside him, and headed back to her chair.

She sneaked a look at her watch as she sipped her juice. They were due at Cassie’s by three. Ten more minutes and they’d be heading off. Not so much more to endure.

‘Hey, watch out Ed, there’s nothing Bella loves more than keys.’ Sophie laughed, as Bella grabbed Ed’s keys, and he tried unsuccessfully to wrestle them back. ‘I can see she’s already got you wrapped around her little finger.’

Millie watched guardedly, letting out a sigh of relief as Ed moved to get up. Great, they were leaving even earlier than she thought.

Sophie held out her arms to take Bella from Ed. But instead he set off towards Millie, and in two strides he was in front of her.

Behind him, Millie saw Sophie’s face crumple in desperation, but she was helpless.

‘Come and talk to Auntie Millie whilst I have my juice.’

Millie gasped as a warm, squirming Bella hit her full in the solar plexus, and the smell of clean baby enveloped her in a sickening cloud. ‘Oh my!’

Don’t panic! Don’t hyperventilate!

One squishy hand hit her chin, then Bella’s head hit her chest, and easy as that, she was cuddling her. Not so hard.

Sophie lurched across the room. ‘I’m so sorry Mills.’

And somewhere beyond that, Ed was back in his chair, a beatific smile on his face.

‘All okay Mills?’ Sophie swooped on Bella, disentangling sticky clutching fingers from Millie’s hair. ‘Hey, someone needs changing!’

And then it was over, and Millie began to breathe again.