Worlds Apart (7 page)

“I’m married, though not for much longer.”

“Poisoning him?”

She giggled. “Divorcing him, soon as I’ve spent my money. Now, where are you staying? Is it very far away?”

“Not very far. I just need to tell my mate I’m leaving.”

Niall switched off the machine. “Okay?”

“Perfect.”

“Sorry I messed up your plans.”

Taylor glanced left. Niall was staring at him.

“So you should be.” Taylor tugged his mobile from his pocket and tossed it to Niall. “Call Phil Bennett and play that when I tell you.”

The sound of a phone ringing out filled the car.

“Phil? It’s Taylor.”

“Oh.”

Taylor frowned. “You did ask me to call tonight.”

“Yes, I know. I just…go on, then. Tell me. Is it bad?”

“Yeah, it is. Listen.” Taylor nodded to Niall and he played the conversation.

When it finished there was silence.

“You okay?” Taylor asked.

“Yes. Thanks.” The guy gave a short laugh. “At least I know. I’ll send you a check.”

“You want the tape?”

“No. It’s enough that I know.”

Taylor ended the call. “I wonder if he wishes he’d never asked me to do this? I believed him when he said he didn’t care about the money. If she spends it, she still might be made to pay him half the inheritance when they divorce.” He gave a short laugh. “Love. It’s such a pile of shit. What’s the point? Losing your head in some temporary insanity? Wasting weeks, months, years of your life only to finish fucked up in one way or another?”

Niall glared at him. “That’s not true. There are plenty of happy relationships.”

“Research shows one in four marriages only continue because those involved can’t find a better alternative.”

“So three out of four are happy. Your parents are still together, aren’t they?”

“Yes, but—”

“And they’re happy?”

“Yes, but—”

“There is no but, Taylor. Love makes the world a better place. The pleasure it brings outweighs the sad times when things go wrong. Better to look for love and never find it than give up on it.”

Taylor gave him an incredulous stare before he turned his attention back to the road. “You think it’s okay to waste your life searching for something that doesn’t exist? Looking for some soul mate who’ll
complete
you?” He laughed. “Have you not noticed what I do for a living? What puts me in a bad temper? What makes me not trust anyone? I deal daily with the results of people believing in love. I see men and women hurt by cheating and lying partners, leaving wrecked lives and broken hearts all around.”

“You’re ignoring all those who’re blissfully happy. They’re off your radar but they’re there, living ordinary lives but happy to come home to someone, looking forward to sharing their day, talking about their successes and failures, making plans for things to do together.”

Taylor pulled up at a traffic light. “Maybe they are, but it’s not me. Maybe one day when I find the one, but not yet. Some poet said that love is the sexual excitement of the young, the habit of the middle-aged and the mutual dependence of the old.” He grinned. “I’m staying in the first stage as long as I can. In lust, not love. It has all the benefits and none of the disadvantages.”

Niall sighed. “And someone else said that only little boys and old men sneer at love.”

“Yeah, well, I’m still a little boy at heart.” He revved the engine and Niall
tsked
.

“So have you ever been in love?” Taylor asked.

“Yes.”

Taylor glanced across at him. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened. I’m still in love. I will be until the day I die.”

Taylor shook his head in disbelief. “Is that why you won’t come out with me? Why you stay holed up in the attic? Why you’re hiding? You love someone you can’t have? Forget her. Move on.”

“No,” Niall said in a quiet voice. “I can’t do that.”

Chapter Five

Roo was exhausted by the time she’d hauled her life out of Ilkley. After the long slog up the hill and along Thorpe Lane, she was shuffling like an old lady. Fortunately, it was a dark night with the moon hiding behind thick clouds and no streetlamps along the unpaved road, so unless they had werewolf vision, no one could see her. Unfortunately, rolling her case in and out of unexpected potholes was jolting every muscle in her body. Her feet ached, her arms ached—even her teeth ached.

She snuck in through the open gates of Sutton Hall, turned right and went straight through the rhododendron bushes and into the woods. She needed to stay well away from the house and far enough from the drive that the tent wouldn’t be seen. When Roo couldn’t make out the shadow of the house, she thought it was safe to assume she wasn’t visible either. On the down side, she could hardly see where she was going.

What she needed was a clearing, a spot with enough space to put up the tent, preferably with hot-and-cold running water, a mini bar, a convenient…convenience but no animals, no small or large bugs and definitely no human-ingesting aliens within spitting distance. Not that Roo ever spat. Unless she swallowed a fly. Or if spit killed aliens. Though she wouldn’t know until—

A rustling noise froze Roo’s brain and body, except for her heart, which beat loud enough to betray her presence to anything in the vicinity. When no ten-foot-tall, stumbling monster emerged from the woods, she frantically gulped air.
Make a note: Don’t hold breath when scared
. Lowering her case and numerous bags to the ground, she fumbled inside one of them until she found the lantern. When Roo flicked the switch nothing happened.
Oh darn it.

Roo knew there were batteries inside because the label said so, but maybe one of those little plastic strips protected the terminals. If she moved back toward the drive, out of the dense part of the wood, she might be able to see better, but if the lantern didn’t work, she might never get back to where she’d left her things. She imagined herself doomed to spend eternity roaming the woods looking for her tent. She’d be the stuff of local legends.

Or not.

Tipping the lantern upside down, Roo carefully slid the cover off the batteries and felt inside.
Yep, there it is.
Roo yanked at the strip, and the batteries flicked up and out past her scrabbling fingers.

“Shhhit.”

It took several minutes of tentative fumbling through leaves and dirt, imagining she was uncovering a vampire’s resting place and that any moment a hand might emerge and drag her down, before she found both batteries. And another curse-ridden couple of minutes before she managed to insert them the right way round, but the moment she had light, Roo sighed with relief. Though it made the woods look creepy. It reminded her of that childhood game, grandmother’s footsteps, where someone stood with their back to their friends as they crept toward them. If the person turned and saw them move, they had to return to the start. Roo had the uncomfortable feeling that if she turned her back on the trees, they’d creep nearer and keep coming. She’d be wrapped in their branches and—
Stop it.

Roo spun in a circle and swung the lantern. “Saw you,” she whispered.

Oh God, if a twig cracks now, I’ll freak out big time.

Setting the lantern on her case, she removed her unborn child in a joyous, pain-free delivery and wrapped it in her coat so it didn’t get dirty. When she opened the packaging on the tent, she winced. Roo had been hoping for one that with a single twist popped up ready to crawl into. She crouched by the light to read the three pages of instructions.

The next hour was one Roo suspected would live with her forever. She’d struggled to put the poles together, then to fathom out where to put them in the football-pitch-sized piece of fabric, and then how to take them apart when she realized she’d got the wrong ones linked. She’d knocked off the heel of her shoe hammering pegs into unyielding ground, but finally the damn thing was up, a gray sweep of nylon that looked like a mini spaceship, except it had a distinct un-aerodynamic sag on the left hand side. Roo was too tired to rectify it.

She unzipped the entrance and dragged all her things inside, along with the light, then zipped herself in. Amazing how a thin layer of material could make her feel much safer. It was actually quite cozy, and if it hadn’t been for the lack of facilities, she could have lived there for ages. Though probably not if it rained.

Or if it was cold.

Or windy.

Or if it snowed.

Her phone showed it was two in the morning and she groaned. Still, on the bright side, she was only a few minutes’ walk from work. No need to get up early. She took a swig of water, brushed her teeth—
oh yes, I
do
spit—
then unzipped the tent and emptied her mouth before she stripped to her underwear. She unrolled the foam mat, which immediately rolled back up. Roo glared at it, stripped the wrapping off the sleeping bag and then climbed into it, flattening the mat as she stretched out, hoping it wasn’t going to roll up again and make her a sandwich filling.

The last thing Roo did before she snuggled her head into her pillow was to set the alarm on her phone—8:15—and switch off the light.

Damn, I need to pee.

As Taylor pulled into the drive of Sutton House, Niall lifted his head from where it had been resting against the window.

“You okay?” Taylor asked.

“Better. Sorry. I think maybe you’re right. Something was slipped into my drink.”

Niall twisted suddenly to look out of the window past Taylor.

Taylor glanced right. “You see something?”

“A light.”

Taylor braked.

Niall turned to stare through the back window. “No, I must have been mistaken.”

“When I was a kid, I used to see—” Taylor’s mind went blank.
What the fuck had I been going to say?

“See what?” Niall whispered.

“Dunno.” Taylor pulled up outside the front door instead of taking the car round to the garage.

He waited for Niall to get out and then locked it. Taylor felt unsettled, anxiety nibbling at his gut. There was a dull pain in his chest, and his ribs ached as though some memory was trying to break free.
I’m…disappointed, but I don’t know why.

Niall followed him into the house and locked the door.

“See you in the morning,” Taylor said.

Misery swamped him as he trudged up the stairs. Niall was the one not well, so why did Because he’d hoped to be in bed with a woman? Taylor closed the door of his room and leaned back against it. When had he last fucked anyone?
he
feel so bad?

Sophie. A month ago.

Taylor released a bark of laughter as he dropped onto the bed and flopped on his back. Had it really been a month?
Fuck it.
That was unheard of. A month since he moved into Sutton Hall and a month since he’d gotten laid. He frowned.
This damn house.

He’d been through three PAs in this past month too. Taylor sat up.
Oh fuck. Had
they left because of him? Maybe Niall was right. Could they have lied about the lottery, finding Jesus? Had Emma really found it too far to commute? He hadn’t harassed them, had he? Chills skittered down his spine. Maybe they just hadn’t fancied him. Taylor gulped.

Was his lack of pulling power simply a logistics issue? Because he didn’t go out as much as he had in London, he’d reduced his odds of success? Leeds had plenty of places to troll for willing women, but it seemed as if Taylor’s plans to go out either faded as the day wore on, or if he did manage to escape from Sutton Hall, he struck out.

This bloody house.

And to make matters worse, when he
did
go out
and
manage to drag Niall with him, Niall was the one who could have scored.

For the first time since he was a teenager, Taylor’s confidence in his ability to attract women was wavering. He’d agreed Niall should be the one to approach Sherry, but her three friends had been standing right next to Taylor and ignored him. He lifted his arm and sniffed. Fine.

Yet whilst Taylor wanted women to find him attractive, part of him was only too aware that he hadn’t really wanted to interest any of the three with Sherry. Though he’d let Niall think he’d spoiled the evening by needing to come back here, Taylor hadn’t been bothered. He didn’t know if he was seeing sense for the first time in his life or sliding into depression. One thing was for certain, he was confused.

Maybe it had taken a month of no sex to make him appreciate one- and two-night stands brought pain along with pleasure. Was Niall right? Was there someone out there for him to love? Could someone love him? More to the point, did he deserve to be loved? Since that day, sixteen years ago, when his ten-year-old sister had disappeared into thin air and Taylor’s life and that of his parents’ had changed forever, he’d grown up feeling as though there was something missing inside him.

His parents were still together, in spite of everything. Many marriages wouldn’t have withstood the strain, and despite his moaning to Niall, Taylor knew some people found love. His parents weren’t happy for a long time, but they were now. Well, as happy as they could be. They smiled when they Skyped him. Which reminded Taylor, he’d still not responded to their latest email. He’d photographed the furniture and paintings and bits and pieces as they’d asked. They’d not yet said they wanted to keep anything, but reading between the lines, Taylor had sensed the implication that he hadn’t found something they wanted him to.