The Millionaire's Redemption (2 page)

“No, but I heard the flight attendant address you by name and I remembered seeing your picture in the papers back home in
Melbourne
. I’m Holly Kirwan.” She didn’t know why she bothered introducing herself to him. “And this is my daughter Lilly.”

“Hi, I’m pleased to meet both of you. I’m based in
Melbourne
too. Call me Justin. Ah, here’s our food.”

“Fish or beef,” the male flight attendant asked.

Holly didn’t want anything. The thought of food nauseated her, but she had to eat something to keep up her strength. “Beef, please.”

“I’ll have beef too,” Justin said. The attendant gave him a tray and he passed it over to Holly. As she reached out a trembling hand to take it, she noticed him staring at her wedding ring.

“What kind of muck is this?” He opened the lid of the main meal, some horrible brown stew stuff, and looked like he wanted to gag. The dessert was custard and some squashy cubes of fruit.

“It’s awful,” Holly agreed. “I’d be sick if I ate this.” 

She put the triangle of cheese on the bread roll, the only thing anywhere near palatable, and nibbled on that. She washed it down with some apple juice. If she didn’t keep herself well hydrated, she would be badly jet-lagged. She couldn’t risk that when she needed to find somewhere to live once they arrived in
Melbourne
. They couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel for long.

“Tea or coffee?” the flight attendant asked.

“Tea, thanks. Could I have some water, please?”

“Coffee,” Justin said. “By the way, this food is inedible.” He handed his and Holly’s tray over to the attendant. “Neither of us could eat any of it. Don’t serve us this muck again.”

A few minutes after the attendant moved away with their trays, another attendant came up to Justin and handed him a gold-edged card.

“Would you care to choose something from the first class menu?”

He glanced at the menu. “Not at the moment, thanks. I’ve lost my appetite. What about you, Holly? Would you like to choose something?”

Holly watched the attendant purse her lips. Even an imbecile would know that the offer didn’t extend to a no-body like Holly Kirwan.

“No, thank you. I’m not hungry anymore.”

“I’ll come back later, Mr. Devereux. If you need anything in the meantime, just let me know. Ask for Tina. I’m the supervisor for first class.”

He nodded and picked up his brief case. He opened it and took out a sheaf of papers. Holly closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Once Lilly woke up, there would be no rest for her at all.

Good thing I’m short.
She stretched out her jean-clad legs. Her feet only just touched the cot. Her eyes felt heavy and sore from crying, lack of sleep and worry. As she willed herself to relax, she wondered how she could be so exhausted, yet still
wide-awake
.

April Kirwan had called her a no-name trollop, accusing her of tricking a twenty-one year old Robbie into marriage by getting pregnant. Horrible old witch! Didn’t she know how much they loved each other, how happy Robbie had been with his little family?

In her head, Holly heard muffled drumbeats and the sounds of guns firing a military salute. Never again would she hear bagpipes without picturing the lone piper playing a soldier’s lament at the grave of her husband.

Oh God, why did you do this to me? To Lilly? Her eyes flew open. She didn’t want to close them, didn’t want to sleep in case she dreamt of what had been lost or of what might have been.

She had to ge
t up, stretch her legs
and go to the washroom before Lilly woke up.

“Excuse me.”

Justin glanced up from his papers as she tried to squeeze past. As he started to rise, she tripped over his briefcase and landed in his lap, scattering his papers on the floor.

“Sorry.” She tried to extricate herself. Instead of her hand landing on the headrest as she levered herself up, it landed on his shoulder. Their faces almost touched. His skin was tanned, sleek and smooth as a cat’s, except for a faint shadow around his jaw line.

“You’re a lethal weapon,” he muttered, as he grasped her shoulders to help her rise. “I’ll pick the papers up myself.”

Holly scuttled off, feeling hot, flustered and somehow juvenile. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it did.

***

Damn it all. What was wrong with the woman? And she was certainly a woman. When she had slumped on him, he had felt the thrust of her breasts against his chest. The contours of her hips as they fitted snuggly between his thighs had caused his groin to tighten.

What
was he thinking? She was married and he didn’t seduce other men’s wives. He knew from bitter experience how it could emotionally and financially cripple a man.

Cursing under his breath, he bent down to pick up the scattered papers. The plane lurched. He managed to grab up the last page, but her handbag tipped over, scattering the contents around his feet.

He started picking up the bits and pieces, lipstick, a comb, small packet of tissues, a jar of baby food, a spoon and a disposable nappy. Shoving them into the bag, he checked the floor to make sure he had gathered up everything. A white envelope lay near his brief case. He picked it up, and a couple of photographs slid out.

Instead of putting them back straight away, he glanced at them first. There was a picture of a laughing young soldier and a smiling Holly holding an infant. The little family group appeared so happy he felt a sudden unfamiliar tug at his heart.

Holly looked exquisite, still tiny and fragile, but her eyes were bright, not shadowed and tormented like now. What had happened to her? Something terrible. He didn’t doubt it for a moment. Did the laughing young soldier betray her with another woman?

The breath caught in his throat as he stared at the other photo. A flag draped coffin rested
in a hearse
, and soldiers in full military dress marched along beside it.

“What are you doing with that?” Holly snatched the photos out of his hand.

A
hot, guilty flush
burned
his cheeks. “Your bag tipped over. I think I gathered up everything. I didn’t mean to pry.”

As she
stared
at the photos, her eyes shimmered with tears. “We were a handsome family, don’t you think?”

“Yes.”

“He’s dead,” she whispered.

He reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. Was he in an accident?” How soft her skin felt. How small and fine boned her hand was. Reluctantly, he let it go, cursing himself for being such a sentimental fool.

She blinked back tears. “No. He was killed in
Afghanistan
.”

Edging past
him,
she slumped in her seat, and he could
n
o
t recall ever seeing anyone so sad and distraught.

Chapter Two

Holly woke up. For a split second,
a warm fuzziness enveloped her
. Someone had covered her legs with the airline blanket, and her head rested against Justin Devereux’s arm. It felt strong, somehow comforting. What was wrong with her? Cuddling up to a virtual stranger? She jerked herself away.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“It’s all right. You must be exhausted.”

She nodded wearily. “I haven’t had a proper night’s sleep since the funeral.”

“When was that?” he asked, his eyes dark with concern.

“Seven months ago.”

“Seven months!”

“I wanted to go home. There was nothing left for us in
England
.” She didn’t dare tell him she had escaped from the Kirwans’ clutches with little more than the clothes on her back. Suppose Justin reported her to the authorities when they arrived in
Bangkok
. They might extradite her back to
England
or whatever they did to fugitives.

The Kirwans only wanted Lily. To hell with Holly. She could be left to rot in some Asian prison. How could parents plot the downfall of their son’s widow, and use their money and influence to blacken her name with innuendo and blatant, outright lies? The pain of betrayal wrought havoc with her heart, but the treachery tore her apart.

Overcome with the grief of her loss she didn’t realize that these people, desperate to steal Lilly, would stop at nothing. Within a few months, they had isolated her financially, emotionally and physically, leaving her with no one to turn to for help.

She still would have stayed and fought them with every breath in her body if necessary had she only herself to consider, but she couldn’t risk losing Lilly. The only option as she saw it was to take Lilly and flee to
Australia
. She took a long shuddering breath, trying to stop herself from having a panic attack.

Lilly woke up and started crying.

“It’s all right.” She picked up the baby and hugged her close. It was worth it. Everything was worthwhile because of Lilly. She should never forget it. Robbie had died because of his bravery. No sacrifice would be too great for his daughter.

If Lilly could have found happiness with the Kirwans, she would have left her with them, even though it would have devastated her to do so.

The Kirwans had virtually disowned Robbie while he lived because he defied them by making a life for himself with the army and her. Now he was gone, they were obsessed with having Lilly, the only child of their dead war hero son. Bob Kirwan would be able to dine out on Robbie’s exploits for years, and April would wear it as a badge of martyrdom.

Lilly started pulling at Holly’s windcheater. “Do you want a drink, darling?”

She turned in her seat and unclipped her front opening bra. Lilly’s little rosebud mouth clamped on her mother’s breast, and she started sucking strongly. The armrest dug into Holly’s back, so she straightened up in her seat a little.

She heard Justin suck in his breath, but he couldn’t really see anything with her windcheater pulled well down and Lilly’s head blocking off his view. How sweet it was, the most beautiful experience in the whole world to feel your baby suckling your breast. She wanted to prolong it and feed Lilly for another couple of months at least, longer if possible.

Lilly’s hand opened and closed, her little feet in their pale pink socks, kicked the side of Justin’s seat, hitting his arm every so often.

“Lilly, don’t kick the nice man.” She didn’t really know whether he was nice or not, but could hardly say don’t kick the rich man.

“It’s all right.” Justin couldn’t believe Holly still breastfed Lilly. He had never thought about it, but if he had, he would have believed only tiny babies were breastfed. He tried not to stare at them.

It made a touching picture though. Holly’s eyes were serene now, the terrible sadness and despair gone and replaced by a soft glow as she gazed down at her baby. It reminded him of a religious picture of the Madonna and Child he once saw in some museum or church. He didn’t know why he recalled it just then. He hadn’t thought about such things in years.

The drumming of baby feet escalated in force and frequency until they were moving like a threshing machine.

Lilly let go of the nipple and sat up. Holly made a frantic grab for her top.

She heard the breath hiss from between Justin’s teeth. He turned his head away, but unless he was blind, he must have seen her bare breast. Heat surged into her cheeks. She probably looked as red as a beetroot. Lilly pulled herself upright and made a grab for Justin’s papers.

“Hey, steady on.” He moved them out of reach and she tried to climb on to his lap to get them.

“No, Lilly.” Holly picked her daughter up and held her tight. “Leave the man alone.”

“I think I’ll stretch my legs.” He stuffed the papers into his briefcase and stood. He was tall, about six feet in height, slim but well toned. Tungsten tough, a man in the peak of physical condition. Not movie star handsome, but dynamite just the same.

As soon as he left, Holly changed Lilly’s wet nappy and tried her on the other breast, but she didn’t want to take it. She started to become fractious. Holly clipped up her bra and smoothed her top back into place.

“Hey, Lilly Pilly, go to sleep,” she crooned as she gently rocked her. “Mummy loves you.”

Lilly squirmed and wriggled so much Holly finally sat her in the cot. When Justin returned, Lilly immediately pulled herself up and holding on to the edge for support, toddled around to the side nearest him. She put her hand out to touch his knee.

He wriggled his fingers at her, and Lilly chortled. For some strange reason, she had taken a liking to him. In her baby innocence, perhaps seeing a softer being beneath the ruthless exterior?

“Sorry.” She lifted Lilly’s hand away from Justin’s knee. “If you wouldn’t mind getting the pink bag down for me, I’ll get some toys out for her to play with so she’ll leave you in peace.”