Winner Takes It All (27 page)

‘
Tom, Antoine
spends most of his time with the nanny so Jean can paw Jemima.
She’s got no life of her own, it would do her good to have
something to do.’

‘
You’re such a
close family aren’t you?’

‘
We’re
a close family,’ Tara smiled, squeezing his hand. She frowned
playfully. ‘Or does that sound a bit weird given what happened in
the hotel?’

‘
I think it’s
okay for cousins,’ Tom laughed, noticing for the first time that
evening that he couldn’t see the scars on her arms. They had
completely disappeared.

Tara followed his gaze,
running her hand along her left arm.

‘
The girl in
Selfridges sold me this amazing make up. She mixed it up to match
my skin tone and apparently it lasts for hours and hours. I can
even shower in it.’

‘
You didn’t
have to cover your scars up for me. They’re part of
you.’

‘
Yes, but
they’re part of my past. I’m moving forward now.’

Daniel served them all
evening and had very little chance to chat given that the
restaurant was busy. Tom did his best not to drink too much wine,
fearful it would loosen his tongue and he’d end up saying something
he regretted.

By eleven o’clock the
place had started to empty and Dan took it as an opportunity to
pour himself a glass of wine and join them for a chat. In that
typical gay way, he was fascinated by the change in Tara’s
appearance and wanted the low down on where she’d got all her
clothes and make up and so on. Tom waited for his chance to bring
up the subject of Cornwall and just hoped he could make it sound
convincing.

‘
Tara tells me
you’re thinking of moving to Cornwall,’ he finally managed to say
as Dan poured his second glass.

‘
Yes,’ he
replied. ‘Simon and I are thinking of adopting a child and his
sister who lives in Newquay has offered to help us out with looking
after it. Also, the surfing is second to none.’

‘
I was
chatting to Michael the other week,’ Tom said, feeling his throat
constrict. ‘He was telling me you’re one of the shareholders of
Sheridans.’

‘
That’s right,
yes.’

‘
Only I was
thinking….No, it’s silly.’

‘
What?’ asked
Dan.

‘
Well, I’m not
sure if you know this, but grandfather Rupert always felt
uncomfortable about gran disowning me and mum and left me some
money in his will. It seems none of the Montagues were happy about
my grandmother’s decision and the real reason I was in London today
was to see my solicitor and well; one of my great aunts has died
and left me a considerable amount of money.’

‘
How much
Tom?’ Tara asked.

‘
Five million
pounds.’

‘
Oh my God!’
she gasped, gripping his arm. ‘Tom that’s fantastic.’

‘
It got me
thinking,’ he continued. ‘I love being a member of this family.
These few months have been the happiest of my life.’ That was the
truth. ‘I was wondering if you would be interested in letting me
become a proper member, by buying your shares.’

‘
My shares!’
Daniel exclaimed. ‘But my grandmother left them to me.’

‘
I know, but
you’re saying yourself you want to go to Cornwall. You’ve got no
real interest in Sheridans. I have. I help run the estate and I
would just like to invest my money in something worthwhile and what
better than my family?’

‘
I’m going to
have to think about it,’ Dan replied. ‘It’s a big decision. I’ll
have to speak with Alex and Christian and various
people…’

‘
Of course,’
Tom said, with a wave of the hand. ‘There is no hurry at
all.’

They took a taxi back to
the hotel and Tom sat rigid, like a virginal schoolboy. Tara leaned
against him and every time he looked down, he could see down her
dress and the sight of her full, brown breasts was the last thing
he needed. He didn’t want to sleep with her tonight; he knew he was
supposed to be wooing her and making her agree to marry him, but he
couldn’t do it. Not yet.

‘
I can’t
believe you didn’t tell me you’d inherited all that money,’ she
giggled. ‘You’re as rich as me now Tom.’

‘
I know,’ he
replied quietly. ‘It’s still sinking in.’

‘
It would be
lovely if Dan did agree to sell you his shares. Then we’ll each own
twenty percent of Sheridans.’

‘
Yes.’

‘
I’m so glad
you’ve come into our lives Tom.’

Back at the hotel, Tom
got in and flopped down on the sofa, switching on the TV, making it
clear he didn’t want to chat. Unfortunately for him, the newly
confident Tara didn’t take the hint and sat down beside
him.

‘
You don’t
have to sleep on here you know,’ she said softly.

‘
I do,’ he
replied. ‘You’ve only just recovered from a terrible trauma. We’ve
got the rest of our lives Tara; we don’t have to jump into bed
now.’

‘
I thought
that was what men wanted.’

She sounded so innocent,
it made him want her more. This was the most difficult thing he’d
ever had to do. He pointed the remote control at the TV, killing
the sound and looked at her.

‘
Any man who’s
worth his salt will wait for you Tara. You need to take things one
step at a time. Now, go and get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow
morning we’ll call for room service and have a slap up breakfast to
celebrate my good fortune.’

‘
You’re
wonderful,’ she smiled, reaching forward and kissing him on the
cheek. ‘I don’t deserve you.’

Fifteen

Alex had begun to forget what it
felt like to be happy and excited and Mel’s arrival cheered her up
no end. Her friend had returned from Ibiza and had come to Head
Office to show Alex some more photos of the new hotel. There was
nothing but a few white foundation stones, but Alex swelled with
pride. She had never had something built from scratch that was all
hers and these few stones symbolised a lot.

Mel looked gorgeous, her olive
skin tanned naturally and her hair was blonder than ever. For the
first time ever, Alex could see the resemblance between Mel and
Jack - they had the same sympathetic blue eyes and angular face.
She found it interesting how some people of Irish descent had that
honey hue to their skin – apparently it was because their heritage
went back to the Spanish Armada. Whereas the Cusacks and Sheridans
were good old fashioned Celtic stock, with their ruddy skin and mad
hair!

‘
We need to
find an interior designer,’ she said. ‘What sort of thing do you
think we should go for?’

‘
Cool and
funky,’ Mel said. ‘But respectable enough to appeal to the Spanish
crowd in the winter. I’ll ask Fillipe if he knows
anyone.’

‘
Fillipe?’

Mel uncharacteristically
blushed, and looked down coyly – something Alex had never seen her
do before.

‘
Mel? Who’s
Fillpe?’

‘
Just a
fella,’ she shrugged shyly.

‘
I’ve never
seen you blush over just a
fella
. Who is he?’

‘
He’s the head
builder on the site. You should see him Alex; Antonio Banderas on
steroids. My God, I shagged him on the first night I met
him!’

‘
Ha! Ha! And
how long has this been going on?’

‘
Nearly two
months. I ain’t said nothing cos I didn’t want to jinx it. But I
think it’s love.’

Alex reached forward,
grasping Mel’s slim hand, squeezing it tight. She smiled but inside
she was dying. Her friend’s happiness just seemed to reinforce her
own misery and she felt guilty for being so selfish.

‘
I’m so happy
for you darling. Does this mean you’ll be staying in
Spain?’

‘
That was what
I was going to say to you. Would you consider letting me stay on to
run the hotel?’

‘
My God it
is
serious. If it’s what you want…’

‘
It is. I’ve
nothing to keep me here. But I’m serious about Fillpe and I think
running a hotel full of clubbers is just my sort of
thing.’

‘
You’re right.
I’ll miss you though.’

‘
You won’t
have time to miss me queen. You’ll be planning your society
wedding.’

Alex looked down at the
engagement ring upon her finger and it couldn’t have been more
uncomfortable if it had been a ball and chain.

‘
You know, I’m
not being rude Alex, but you don’t look like the glowing bride to
be,’ Mel said.

‘
I’ve nothing
to be glowing about. Robin and I’s marriage is not much more than a
business arrangement. Our families go back centuries, it was only a
matter of time before we joined up.’

‘
That sounds
so romantic,’ Mel laughed sarcastically. ‘What happens if you fall
in love?’

The choke in Alex’s voice
prevented her from even replying to this and she hoped Mel would
drop the subject.

‘
Have you met
someone else?’ she asked.

‘
I don’t want
to talk about it Mel,’ Alex snapped. ‘I’ve chosen to marry Robin
and that’s all there is to it.’

‘
Ah Alex be
careful luv. I know so many people who’ve married and then
regretted it. I don’t want that to happen to you.’

There was a knock on the
door and Alex had never been so grateful for interruption.
Charlotte poked her head into the room.

‘
Dan
Steadman’s here to see you Alex,’ she said.

‘
Oh great,
thanks Charlotte. I’ll be two minutes,’ Alex and Christian had
briefed Dan on their suspicions about Tom, feeling that as Tara’s
brother he would be in a position to keep an eye on her.

Her PA retreated and Alex
looked at Mel.

‘
I’d better
see what Dan has to say. He and I are busy trying to protect Tara
from herself.’

‘
What do you
mean?’

‘
Long
story.’

The two women stood up,
Mel kissed Alex upon the cheek and bent down, hugging her
tightly.

‘
You know I’m
always here if you wanna talk.’

‘
I know you
are darling. I’m fine. I always am.’

Mel left and within
moments, Dan entered. Alex shut the door and told her cousin to sit
down at the board table. She made him a cup of coffee and sat with
him.

‘
What’s
happened?’ she asked.

‘
They came to
the restaurant last night. Tara looked like a different
person.’

‘
In what
way?’

‘
Preened,
plucked, made up, wearing a flowery prom dress. She looked gorgeous
but she also looked loved up.’

‘
You don’t
think she and Tom have got together….’

‘
I don’t know.
I hope she was just glowing cos she’s rediscovered her inner
confidence.’

‘
She’s been
nagging me to take her under my wing and give her a makeover but
I’ve kept fobbing her off saying I’m busy. I knew what would happen
when she realised how beautiful she is; she’d get confident and
start throwing herself at Tom Montague.’

‘
It looks like
she’s done it off her own bat. And it gets worse. According to Mr
Montague, an aunt on his grandfather’s side has died and left him
five million pounds and he wants to buy my shares in
Sheridans.’

‘
How did he
know about your shares? Did Tara tell him?’

‘
No. Michael.
Now, your brother is either up to something dodgy, trying to buy
extra shares in the company or else Tom is working for the other
side.’

‘
Or I suppose
he could be telling the truth.’

‘
No way. I
checked Burke’s peerage. Rupert Montague had one sister and she
died in 1982. Tom’s definitely lying. We just need to find out who
he’s working for.’

‘
And get him
away from Tara. Do you think we should tell her?’

‘
I wouldn’t,
not yet. It’s taken a lot for her to trust someone and if she
discovers Tom’s some sort of double agent it’ll break her
heart.’

‘
You’re right.
We also need to find out if he’s the one behind all the sabotage of
our plans. Leave it with me, I’ll think of something.’

Alex wasn’t sure if she
felt more confident now she knew who the rat was amongst them or it
made her question her powers of judgement given how they’d all been
taken in by Tom. What also worried her was that her own brother had
somehow got sucked into the ‘other side’ in his own twisted form of
revenge for Christian handing the reigns to her. All his life
Michael had had a great propensity to be stupid and this time it
could be dangerous.

The sound of her mobile
beeping awoke her from her thoughts and she saw she had a voicemail
message. She called it back and groaned inwardly to hear it was
Robin.

‘
Darling I’m
at Rockports. Where are you?’

Alex kicked herself. She
and Robin had been due to meet to discuss wedding plans that
lunchtime and she’d completely forgotten about it. He couldn’t be
cross with her, she had other, more important things to think
about. She went through to Charlotte’s desk and asked if she could
call Mr Lancaster and tell him she’d been summoned to an urgent
meeting and couldn’t see him today.