Be My Baby (21 page)

He wasn’t the only one who’d made promises. They both had. But it had seemed he’d picked a wife who’d struggled to keep them for much more than a week. Heat flashed behind his eyes, spiking through him. Why had she let him make the most life-altering, soul-wrenching promises a man could make to a woman if she didn’t trust him to keep them?

‘Marion Hunter,’ the woman in front of him said, startling him a little.

Jennie had mentioned her stepmother a lot during their brief relationship, always with affection and respect. Marion’s hand was delicate, but her shake was firm and Alex knew
instantly that he liked her. She was no pushover, no matter how cultured and elegant she seemed.

He’d been so consumed with finding Jennie that he realised he hadn’t thought about anything past that, his mind a carousel of all the imagined excuses she’d have for her abominable behaviour. He hadn’t even considered what he’d say or do if he met a member of her family this evening, and that just wasn’t like him—he always saw the big picture, always planned ahead.

What had she told them when she’d returned from her honeymoon on her own? Especially when she’d eloped to Las Vegas with a man they hadn’t even met.

Marion Hunter scowled slightly as she slid her hand from his. He’d bet Jennie hadn’t painted him in a flattering light. But that didn’t matter. He didn’t care about being the villain; he just wanted answers.

He’d been so caught up in his own thoughts he realised he hadn’t even opened his mouth to speak, and now he rectified his lack of manners. ‘Alex Dangerfield,’ he said, with a hint of a smile in his eyes, even if it didn’t reach his mouth. But Marion Hunter looked at him blankly, as if the name meant nothing to her, and he guessed that as the scowl lines on
her forehead returned she was mentally scanning guest lists, seeking a match. He decided to help her out.

‘Jennie’s hu—’

‘Half!’ yelled Jennie beside him, suddenly springing into life. She was smiling brightly, and her outburst had been one of her usual exuberant declarations, but there had been a tinge of desperation in the tone, a hint of a squeak because she’d pitched it too high. Marion just looked puzzled.

‘What I mean is…’ She took a deep breath. ‘Alex is my other half, my…my new… man,’ she finished lamely, all the energy and life whooshing out of her like air out of a balloon. Then she grabbed his hand and squeezed it, attempted to mould herself to his rigid side.

‘We had an argument, and I thought Alex wasn’t going to be able to make it, but he did, and at first I was shocked, but now I’m so pleased—really pleased.’

And then she looked up at him, her eyes begging, and the truth hit Alex like one of those cartoon ten ton weights that always landed on the stooge’s head and squashed him flat. Because that was what he was—Jennie’s stooge.

She hadn’t told them. Hadn’t even thought to mention the trivial matter of finding someone
to spend the rest of her life with. How stupid of him to have expected otherwise.

Any pleasure at meeting Jennie’s stepmother evaporated in a blistering cloud of rage. That was all he was to his wife—an insignificant detail.

Well, he didn’t care what her family thought, didn’t care what hot water his presence here got her into. He wasn’t going to waste any more time.

Ignoring her stepmother, he turned to Jennie. ‘I need to talk to you. Now.’

Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and the fake smile she was wearing hollowed out.

‘I…I…’

She was saved from answering by a staggering group of rowdy wedding guests spilling from the banqueting hall into the foyer. They crowded round Jennie and her stepmother, talking loudly about what a smashing wedding it had been, and how they were having the time of their lives. Jennie started to edge away, but he made sure he stuck right by her side. He wasn’t going to even blink until he got her talking. Taking one’s eyes off this woman for an instant was a mistake.

‘It’s not a good time,’ she said, her eyes large and appealing. ‘How about tomorrow?
We can talk in the morning—when everyone has calmed down.’

He just looked at her. Did she think he was that much of a mug?

Marion had escaped the throng of well-wishers and closed the distance between them. ‘Everything okay?’ she said lightly, her eagle eyes missing nothing.

Jennie bit her lip and nodded furiously, but he guessed her stepmother wasn’t fooled for a second. She looked suspiciously at him and he returned her gaze, candour in his eyes. He didn’t have anything to hide, did he? It was his shallow-hearted wife who needed to worry about bothersome things like the truth. Marion looked as if she wanted to interrogate him, and he was quite willing to allow her. Let the games begin.

‘How long have you and Jennie known each other, then?’ she said, making it sound as if this was just chit-chat, but her eyes never left his face.

Jennie held her breath and went rigid beside him.

‘A few months,’ he replied.

‘And how did you meet?’

‘Through my business,’ Jennie said on an out-breath. ‘Alex is a barrister, and I organised a garden party for his law firm at the
end of the summer, and we…well, we hit it off straight away.’

Alex almost laughed. She made it sound so normal, so restrained. Yet their instant connection had blind-sided him. He hadn’t been able to get enough of her, hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, wanting her.

‘You must have missed her when she flitted off on her impromptu holiday. She was gone for weeks.’ Marion Hunter lifted one eyebrow as she tried to gauge his reaction to her question.

Alex just let his eyebrows mirror hers, a slight crooked smile curling his lips.

‘Yes, it was awful,’ Jennie said, words coming out so fast they were almost tripping over each other. ‘But, you know, we phoned every day…texted…emailed…’ She trailed off and looked at the floor.

Marion watched him carefully as Jennie babbled on, and when her stepdaughter fell silent she nodded gently. ‘You must be the
stomach bug
I’ve heard so much about.’

Jennie was still holding Alex’s hand and now she gripped it with a strength he hadn’t realised she’d had.

‘Apparently so,’ he replied, catching on. One of the things he’d liked about Jennie was
her creativity. He hadn’t realised it extended to fibs, too.

Marion turned to Jennie. ‘Well, it seems as if Mr Dangerfield here is right. You have some talking to do, I imagine, so I’ll say my goodbyes and leave you to it.’

‘Don’t go!’ Jennie said, a little too quickly, then recovered herself, lowering her tone and smoothing her dress down with her free hand. And then he felt her relax, breathe out. She continued slowly, the hint of a relieved smile in her voice. ‘After all, it’s too noisy here, and it isn’t as if I’ve got a room to go to—Auntie Barb’s in mine, snoring away loudly, I expect. And it’s late.’ She turned to face him. ‘We’ll just have to catch up in the morning after all,’ she added, not even pretending to look crushed by the fact.

Marion shook her head. ‘That’s what I was coming to tell you. We’ve got you a room.’

Jennie’s mouth sagged. ‘That’s impossible! They were all full up only an hour ago.’

‘But there’s one room we booked that isn’t being used tonight, remember?’ Marion said, looking very pleased with herself. ‘Of course, you’ll have to move the clothing rails and hair and make-up stuff into a corner, but it’s a large suite—I’m sure you’ll manage.’

Alex had been standing still, vaguely
amused at the exchange between daughter and stepmother. It was quite refreshing to find things going his way, with very little toil on his part. He had the feeling that if he just stood here and let events unfold around him, fate would be kind. He would get his answers, and he’d get them tonight.

Jennie began to shake, right down to her fingertips. He could feel her hand trembling in his.

‘You don’t mean.?’

Marion winked at Alex, clearly having

decided he was a
stomach bug
that Jennie needed a second dose of, and he was unexpectedly glad to have found an ally, someone who realised Jennie shouldn’t always be able to shimmy her way out of difficult situations, that she had to learn to face the consequences of her actions.

‘Should have thought of it sooner,’ she said mildly. ‘I’m sure Alice wouldn’t mind, and it seems a shame to let the room go to waste.’ And then she pressed a key with a large plastic tag on it into Jennie’s hand.

Jennie clamped her fingers around it as if it were a hand grenade with the pin out. And then the tension bled out of her and Alex knew he’d won. Funnily enough, he was disappointed by her reaction. He’d never known
her admit defeat so easily. Her bullheaded determination was one of the things he loved about her.

Maybe he’d been wrong about her from the start. They’d rushed headlong into things, too caught up in the whirlwind that seemed to storm and crash around them when they were together. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten that, while whirlwinds were awesome displays of natural power, they were ultimately destructive. What a pity he hadn’t realised that until he’d been picking through the wreckage of his marriage, wondering what had gone wrong and whether it was even worth collecting the debris to see if it could be put back together.

In the end, he’d decided that all he really knew about Jennie Hunter was that she was the one woman who’d fascinated him, captivated him. Ensnared him. And that she’d run away the first time the going had got tough.

‘You know where it is, don’t you, Jennie?’ Marion said. ‘After all, you got ready there this morning.’

Jennie nodded dully and started leading the way. Marion grabbed his arm as he passed her and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. ‘Good luck,’ she said, squeezing gently. ‘She’s hard work—but she’s worth it.’ And then
she walked smoothly across the foyer and disappeared into the banqueting hall.

Alex followed Jennie up the large wooden staircase. Not as closely as he had before, but close enough to watch those memorable curves move under the satin of that dress.

She had to be wearing
that
dress, didn’t she?

Finally, they reached the top of the staircase and she led him down a corridor to a vast pair of double doors. Instead of opening the door, she just stood there, the key clutched in her closed left hand.

She wore no ring, he realised.

Slowly, he peeled her fingers away from the key’s plastic tab, and when he’d reached the last one he stopped. He realised the reason for her hesitation now, shared a little of it himself, if he were honest.

In gold italic writing, on the moulded smooth plastic of the old-fashioned room key were two words:
Bridal Suite
.

A
LEX
was glad the sun was finally lowering itself behind the trees and rhododendrons, changing the neat lawn’s wide stripes a dirty gold colour. Garden parties were, by definition, a daytime pursuit, and he’d soon be able to legitimately say his goodbyes. Inside his jacket pocket, his fingers traced the flat buttons of his mobile phone. He imagined sliding it open and dialling the number of the local cab company he’d programmed in earlier.

When his senior partner, Edward, had suggested this event to thank the staff and schmooze their most important contacts, Alex hadn’t been slow in voicing his objections. The beginning of September wasn’t really the perfect time for an outdoor event, was it? But Edward wasn’t cutting his annual sailing trip in Barbados short for anyone, so September it had been.

Luckily, the fickle English summer had
only got into her stride around mid-August and had decided to linger awhile yet. The day had dawned bright and sunny and all afternoon a warm breeze had rippled the petals of the late roses in Edward’s borders. But then Edward was an annoyingly lucky man.

Alex sighed and sipped his cold beer. He supposed it had been a good party. To be honest, he’d coasted through it, moving his mouth when he’d had to, smiling if he really must, but he hadn’t retained a single fact about anyone he’d talked to. He couldn’t even remember what he’d filled his plate with at the buffet table. Unless it was connected with work, it seemed details were beyond him these days.

He found a lone wicker chair in the corner of the lawn and waited for the crowds milling in and out of the vast conservatory, or under the rose-twined pergola, to thin. It would look bad if he was the first to disappear, but once others had started to drift off he could follow their lead. The last thing he wanted to do was stand out in this crowd. That would mean they would expect him to be brilliant and eloquent, dazzle them with stories of trials lost and won. And, while he had stories aplenty, he knew that the greyness inside him would invade the telling. So, while he kept his distance, he let them whisper about his aloofness, his
distance. Better that than let them find out the brilliance, the eloquence, only happened when he set foot inside the Old Bailey.

He’d got used to this—sitting at the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun—and he knew it should bother him, but he couldn’t muster the energy. He wasn’t unhappy. And at least he knew what to expect from life. No drama. No nasty surprises. He’d had his fill of those. He knew some of his junior colleagues joked that, if attached to a heart monitor, he’d produce a monotonous line instead of peaks and valleys, but he didn’t care about that either. They were young. They didn’t understand that peaks were often overrated and valleys could sink below the threshold of what you could bear. Let them laugh.