In the Name of Love (25 page)

She marched out of the lift, and through the security barrier into the spacious, minimalist reception area, her heels clicking loudly against the tiled floor. And on top of everything Drew hadn’t called her since their last encounter and neither had he replied to the texts she’d sent him. Darcy’s promise to India that she wouldn’t text him had lasted all of two days and then she couldn’t stop herself. She was so lost in thought, intent only on getting outside and having a much-needed cigarette, that she barged straight into the young man who was walking into reception.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ he asked, sounding concerned. Though in fairness it was a question she should have asked herself, as she had done the barging.

Darcy was all set to mutter ‘Yes’ and continue out of the door; then she glanced up at his face. Instantly she recognised the good-looking man. This was Charlie’s brother. He lacked the cocky expression she remembered from his publicity photos, and was considerably paler with dark circles under his eyes, but it was definitely him. Now this could be interesting … She gave him her best flirtatious smile. ‘Oh, I’m fine. I’m so sorry I bashed into you.’

‘I reckon I’ll survive.’ He grinned back at her. For a second they held eye contact then Darcy said coyly, ‘I think I know who you are.’

Instantly the grin went and he looked defensive. Shit, she hadn’t meant to unsettle him.

‘You’re Charlie’s brother, aren’t you?’ she went on quickly. ‘I work with her and she showed me your publicity shots. I’m Darcy by the way.’ She could only hope that Kris didn’t mention this to his sister, as no doubt that would give Charlie yet further ammunition to have a go at her.

His face softened slightly. ‘Surprised you recognised me then, I know how rough I look at the moment.’ He certainly didn’t seem to have his sister’s supreme confidence.

‘Have you come in to see Charlie?’

‘Yeah, she mentioned something about lunch, but I might have left it too late.’

‘She’s just gone on air now. She won’t be off for another couple of hours, I’m afraid.’

He shrugged. ‘Yeah, I knew I should have called her first.’ He seemed so despondent Darcy suddenly had an idea.

‘I haven’t had lunch yet. There’s a little café round the corner, if you fancy it? It’s nothing special, but the sandwiches are good.’

He smiled, which had the effect of instantly lightening his face. ‘That is the best offer I’ve had in so long. Thanks, that would be great.’

Darcy asked Kris out for lunch primarily because she was curious to find out more about Charlie, but she quickly found herself warming to him. She was too used to going out with Drew, who barely paid her any attention and got bored if she ever tried to tell him anything about herself. Kris seemed genuinely interested in her. He asked her questions, and actually listened to her answers.

‘D’you like working in TV?’ he asked.

Usually this would be the cue for Darcy to rave about her job, how much she loved it, how important it was. Instead she replied, ‘It’s different from how I thought it would be. I feel like a dogsbody most of the time.’

‘You’ll get there. That’s how Charlie used to feel, you just need to persevere.’

‘And you need quite a lot of luck,’ Darcy replied. She didn’t add that she thought his sister was a jammy cow; it was unlikely to go down well. ‘So what about you?’

He shrugged. ‘I guess you know that I’ve just come out of prison. It’s all about making a fresh start. Charlie’s got me another meeting with a director I met before it all went tits up.’

‘Sounds good,’ Darcy commented, wondering why he didn’t seem very excited by the prospect.

‘Yeah, let’s hope so. I kind of don’t want to get my hopes up. I know that Charlie is only trying to help, but I don’t think she realises that the rest of the world will just see me as an ex-prisoner. I’ll be lucky if I get any job, let alone an acting role.’

Darcy smiled sympathetically; she knew only too well how it felt to be down on yourself.

‘Charlie’s very lucky, everything always seems to go her way,’ she couldn’t stop herself from saying. She hoped it didn’t sound too bitchy.

Kris shook his head. ‘It might seem like that, but she’s had to work really hard to get where she is, and then she had to cope with the accident …’

Hang on, Darcy didn’t know anything about this. ‘What accident?’

Kris looked as if he regretted mentioning it as he quickly said, ‘Sorry, I’d better not say anything if you don’t already know. Charlie doesn’t like to talk about it.’

‘’Course. I understand,’ Darcy replied smoothly, instantly curious to find out more.

As they left the café, Kris asked if she wanted to go out for a drink sometime. He sounded unsure of himself and Darcy thought it was so sweet. She was also relieved that her comment about Charlie hadn’t put him off. ‘I’d love that,’ she said. And as they swapped phone numbers, she was surprised to realise that she meant it.

When she returned to the office, she had a smile on her face for the rest of the afternoon, especially
when
she walked past Charlie in the corridor. What would she make of Darcy going out on a date with her precious brother?

Darcy received a text from Kris as soon as she arrived home after work:
Great to meet you today Darcy. How about a drink tomorrow night? Kris x

That was a first. The men she usually went for would leave it a good few days before getting back in touch with her, keeping her on tenterhooks. They were all from the school of treat her mean, keep her keen. Darcy was all set to reply when on second thoughts she decided that she would keep someone waiting for a change. She poured herself a glass of wine and couldn’t resist Googling Charlie to find out about the mystery accident. She was surprised she had missed it before, but there was only one article about it. The reporter said it was a ‘miracle’ that she had survived. Lucky again, Darcy thought to herself, though she had to admit that, much as she disliked Charlie, the accident sounded horrific and she wouldn’t have wished it on anyone. Darcy imagined that it must have put Charlie off riding for life. And now she thought of it, she couldn’t recall Charlie ever talking about horses. It must surely put a strain on her relationship with Felipe. So perhaps everything was not so perfect in Charlie’s world …

Darcy topped up her wine glass and had a long bath. When she picked up her mobile she saw she had another message from Kris.
Sorry, was that too keen? x
She smiled and this time was about to reply when the doorbell rang. She padded over to the entry
screen
and, to her surprise, saw Drew standing outside, clutching a magnum of champagne. Usually she wouldn’t have hesitated to let him in, but now she did. He was only here because he wanted a shag. Impatient at her lack of reply, he pressed the buzzer again. He looked sweaty, slightly pissed. Darcy thought back to her meeting with Kris, the way he had looked at her as if she was someone special and then his sweet texts. Her phone rang. Drew, of course, no doubt wanting to know where she was and why she wasn’t entirely at his disposal. She ignored the call and the buzzer and went into her bedroom where she put on Cee Lo Green’s
F**k You
, which seemed appropriate in the circumstances, and painted her nails a gothic black.

After pressing the buzzer a couple more times Drew finally gave up. Some ten minutes later India arrived back from work and, after knocking on Darcy’s door, walked into the bedroom.

‘I’ve just seen Drew getting into a taxi,’ she said. ‘Please tell me he wasn’t round here? I’ll have to get the flat fumigated.’

Darcy held up her hands to consider how the colour looked. ‘Prepare yourself, India – I didn’t let him in.’

‘OMG!’ India replied, sitting down on the double bed. ‘Tell me you’re never going to see that toxic fuckwit again?’

‘I’m never going to see him again,’ Darcy replied, realising with a rush of confidence that she actually meant it. She was over Drew.

Her phone beeped with a message. It was another
one
from Kris.
Did I mention how beautiful I thought you were? x

‘It’s not from Drew, is it?’ India asked, raising her eyebrows as she noticed the huge smile on Darcy’s face.

‘Nope, believe it or not, it’s from Charlie’s brother. We had lunch together today and he’s asked me on a date.’

India looked as surprised as Darcy felt by the turn of events. ‘So are you going to go?’

‘Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose. Plus he’s super cute.’ And she quickly texted back that she would love to meet him for a drink.

Chapter 17

DARCY LOOKED AT
her watch. She was supposed to have met Kris half an hour ago. She had turned up twenty minutes late herself, not wanting to appear too keen, only to discover that he wasn’t even there yet. Feeling slightly disappointed, she had ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and sat down at one of the tables. She got out her phone and checked her Facebook page – anything to give her something to do. She hated being kept waiting like this, it reminded her of all the times that Drew had been late – sometimes even forgetting that he was supposed to be meeting her. Drew had messaged her, wanting to know why she hadn’t returned his calls. She hadn’t replied.

A glass of wine later and Kris still hadn’t shown up. A couple of men in suits sitting at the adjacent table kept looking over at her, obviously thinking that she was out on the pull. Great, that was all she needed. She toyed with the idea of phoning or texting Kris but then dismissed it; she didn’t want to seem desperate.
She
couldn’t understand why he hadn’t turned up. He was the one who had pursued her and now he was making her feel like a fool.

One of the suits approached her table: a confident, ex-public school type, the sort of man she knew only too well from being with Drew. ‘Hi, we wondered if you would like to join us for some champagne?’ Yep, he had the same drawling accent. ‘It can’t be much fun sitting here all on your own,’ he added.

Darcy knew from past experience how her night would pan out if she did that. She’d drink too much, flirt with both men, end up going back home with one of them, then wake up in the morning feeling like death. She’d never see the guy again, even though he’d take her number and promise to call. She wasn’t the kind of girl they wanted to see again, but she had been good for one night.

‘Thanks, but I’m going now,’ she replied, feeling far too humiliated by Kris’s no show to want to spend another minute in the bar.

‘That’s a shame, but maybe you could meet me another time.’ And he handed her a card with his mobile number.

‘Maybe,’ Darcy replied, slipping the card into her bag, thinking,
No way
.

She stood up, all set to leave, and Kris ran into the bar. It was raining outside and he was soaked through.

‘Darcy, I’m so sorry I’m late – the Circle line was screwed up and I couldn’t get a taxi. I had to run most of the way.’ He was out of breath and water was streaming off his face.

Darcy couldn’t imagine Drew ever running anywhere to see her but she wasn’t ready to forgive Kris yet. ‘Why didn’t you text me?’

‘I did!’ he exclaimed, pulling out his phone. ‘Look.’

She saw that he had sent her three texts.

‘You probably don’t get a signal in here. I am really sorry. I hope you didn’t think I wasn’t going to turn up? I would never do that to anyone, let alone a girl I wanted to impress.’

Now Darcy managed a smile; she wasn’t used to men being open about their feelings. It made a very refreshing change. She sat down again. ‘Would you like a glass of wine?’

‘Sure, thanks.’ He beamed at her, clearly delighted that she wasn’t going to leave. ‘I’m just going to try and dry off a bit, but promise you won’t go?’

‘I promise,’ Darcy replied, pouring him a glass of wine.

Suddenly the night was transformed. From the moment Kris returned from the bathroom, they laughed and flirted together. He was so charming and funny and sweet and sexy, and best of all he seemed really to like her. Darcy basked in the glow of his attention, felt that she could be all the things he seemed to think she was – funny, intelligent, beautiful, nice. He wasn’t one of the rich city boys she usually went for, but he was far more of a gentleman than they ever were to her.

In fact the only negative thing about the date happened after they’d left the bar. Darcy lived round the corner and Kris offered to walk her home. They strolled back, holding hands. Darcy couldn’t remember
the
last time she had held hands with Drew. Outside her flat they kissed for the first time, and what a promising kiss it was too. Kris’s body felt impressively hard and muscular against hers. Drew could do with hitting the gym and losing weight – too many business lunches and nights out on the lash with the boys had left him slightly flabby around the middle, but Kris’s abs felt satisfyingly rock-solid.

‘So, do you want to come up?’ Darcy murmured, in a sultry voice, fully expecting to spend the night with Kris.

His reply floored her. ‘Don’t you think we should take things a bit slower?’

Darcy looked at him in disbelief. Typical! She had made her attraction to him obvious and now he was rejecting her. She didn’t think she’d ever been on a date with a man where they hadn’t ended up in bed together. That was how she knew that they actually liked her.

Immediately she pulled away. ‘Okay, I get it. If you don’t want to, it’s fine by me.’

‘That’s not what I said at all,’ Kris replied. But Darcy was already running up the steps and before he could stop her she had opened the front door and slammed it shut, ignoring Kris who was calling out her name.

She was in a complete state. India was out so there was no one to let off steam with. She felt humiliated and hurt. She poured herself a large glass of wine. She’d even blown her allowance on a new outfit for the night – a tight black dress from Vivienne Westwood that showed off her killer body, complete with expensive
new
underwear from La Perla in sexy black Chantilly lace and silk. Now she flung the clothes on her bedroom floor, vowing never to wear them again. She had been completely wrong about Kris – he was just as vile as his sister.