Double Fault (13 page)

* * *

“I knew the moment I saw Pierce standing on the doorstep,” Mary accepted a glass of wine from her husband with a self-satisfied smile. She raised it in a toast to where Kerry was standing beside Pierce, trying to look as if she was enjoying the weight of his arm across her shoulders.

At Mel’s insistence she had changed into one of her new outfits although she had balked at anything dressier than a midnight blue sweater and a pair of designer jeans. Casual but elegant, the dark blue flattered her coloring at the same time that it detracted from the slight puffiness around her eyes. She smiled as Mel and George joined in, glad they would never know the whole truth of her marriage to Pierce.

Following her abrupt announcement Pierce had taken charge of the twins and left her to make her peace with her friends, murmuring that everyone would be able to talk more freely without him there. The move had impressed George and he’d said so with great feeling as he turned to Kerry and demanded she tell them everything. And she had told them everything that mattered, even explaining some of her reasons for keeping Pierce in ignorance about Ben and Lauren.

“I didn’t think it was fair to burden him when he was at the peak of his career and had already told me he didn’t want children,” she said.

“You should still have given him the choice,” Mary shook her head decisively. “Think what a shock it’s been for him to discover he has a family. You’re lucky he wants to marry you and look after Ben and Lauren. A lot of men might not have been so forgiving.”

George, who had barely spoken since Kerry’s announcement, shook his head. “Where does love come in all this Kerry? You and Pierce have both talked to us about the importance of a home for the children, and you’ve told us why you left him too. But neither of you has mentioned love. Are you just marrying him for the sake of the children? And what about Pierce? If he didn’t want a family three years ago, why would he want one now? Have you really thought this through my dear because in this day and age being a single mother is nothing to be ashamed about? Couldn’t you both wait a while… just long enough to be sure of one another?”

That was when Mel, who was still shaking her head over Kerry’s confession, jumped up from her chair and took charge. “Dad, all that’s in the past now. Pierce has asked Kerry to marry him and she’s accepted. She could have said no but she didn’t so we need to congratulate her not give her the third degree. I propose we celebrate the fact that they’ve found one another again and want to make a new life together, not question it.  Come on Kerry, into the bedroom with you. Those jeans and the sweater look good but they don’t fit the occasion. It’s time you put on some real glad rags so we can celebrate properly.

They’d all laughed at that and then Mary had bustled out of the room to help Pierce with the children while George took himself off to buy a bottle of champagne. He’d arrived back just in time to see Kerry leaving the spare bedroom wearing a pale blue dress. He gave her an admiring look.

“You’ve got legs then!”

When she giggled nervously he gave her a hug.

“No regrets Kerry? I don’t want to put a damper on the occasion but you are sure you’re doing the right thing aren’t you, because we’re on your side you know. Marriage isn’t always the right answer even though he does seem like a nice chap.”

“I am sure George but thank you anyway,” she hugged him back; very glad he would never know about the threats Pierce had used to get her this far.

Pierce joined them then, the expression on his face leaving Kerry in no doubt he’d heard everything.

“Ben and Lauren want to say goodnight,” he held out his hand. She took it without a word and let him lead her into the bedroom where the twins, drooping with sleep, were lying on their pillows waiting for her. Mary was there too but as soon as she’d finished folding the children’s clothes she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Mummy pretty,” Lauren put out a questioning finger and touched the large shiny buttons on Kerry’s dress. Then she pressed her hot little palm to Kerry’s lips. It was a signal for her mother to kiss first her hand, then her wrist, and then smother her with kisses until she was writhing and giggling with delight. Pierce watched, smiling, until Kerry started to get up from the bed. When Lauren realized the game was over she shrieked for more. Her excitement encouraged Ben to join in and soon the whole thing got out of hand as both children clung to Kerry’s neck, their voices shrill and demanding.

“That’s enough,” Pierce stepped in and removed them gently but firmly, inserting each small body back under the covers. “Mummy’s tired and so are you. There will be plenty of time for games tomorrow.”

Lauren gave in, sticking her thumb in her mouth with a final giggle, but Ben wriggled around until he was sitting upright again. He glared at his father with a mutinous expression on his face. Pierce held his ground while Kerry looked on in trepidation, waiting for an eruption of temper that didn’t come. An unexpected smile crept across her face as she watched Pierce match his son look for look. Maybe there would be a few benefits in having him around after all.

He saw her smile and grinned. “You can only deal with it if you recognize it.”

“You mean you were like that?” She watched Ben collapse onto his pillow and start to suck his thumb with something close to incredulity.

“Still am,” he turned out the overhead light and put his arm around her as she stood looking down at the children. “It’s the same trait that’s seen me across the tennis courts of the world and that’s driving me to develop
Greenleas
into an international centre. I’m always trying to prove myself, to stop anyone else getting the upper hand.”

“But surely that’s very different from the tennis circuit?” She asked the question with genuine interest.

“Not so much. There’s not as much personal support of course and there’s nobody to cosset me or put up with the bursts of temperament I used to display on the circuit. I still work with a team though, only this time
Greenleas
is the focus of attention whereas in the past everyone concentrated on me and my tennis.”

“Has the transition been easy?”

He grinned at her. “Not really but when it gets me down I play god. Getting dictatorial with the people around me salves my hurt pride.” Although the room was only lit by the dim glow of the night-light she could still see the twinkle in his eyes. It told her he knew exactly what was said about him at
Greenleas
and even suspected Maggie might have told her.

She dimpled at his unexpected honesty but then she remembered her own circumstances and turned away, her voice bitter. “That’s something you don’t need to tell me. I’m experiencing it at first hand in case you haven’t noticed!”

He stopped her with a tug of his hand. “Don’t hate me for forcing you into this Kerry. I promise you it’ll work if you just give it a chance.”

Their eyes met and held, and for a brief moment she glimpsed something almost pleading in his expression, but then Mel called to say the meal was ready. Immediately she pulled away from him, not wanting to see anything that might make her feel sorry for him because, if she did, she would have something else to add to her burden of guilt.

* * *

The rest of the evening went well, with Pierce and Mel putting themselves out to entertain, even vying for attention because they were both extroverts who enjoyed an audience as much as they enjoyed a joke at their own expense.  By the time Pierce left he seemed to have been part of the family for years. Even Kerry, with Saturday hanging over her like the sword of Damocles, found she had enjoyed the evening sufficiently to smile at him as she accompanied him to the door.

Her smile fell on stony ground, however, because once they were alone his good humor fell away like a discarded coat. He opened the front door. “See me to the car.”

The softness in his voice was for Mel’s benefit as she whisked past them on her way to the kitchen with the dirty coffee cups. Kerry followed him wordlessly, trailing him down the path like a shadow in the moonlight until they reached the gate. Then he turned and, with a glance back at the house, deliberately bent his head and kissed her. His mouth was harsh and with a gasp she tried to draw away from him but he was too strong. He cradled her head in his hand and forced her lips apart with a bruising anger that left her shaken and afraid.

“That was for the benefit of your supporter’s club. I’d hate them to think your silence this evening means you have some doubts about marrying me.”

She hit out at him then, too angry to care about choosing her words. “I haven’t married you yet and if this is how you intend to treat me then I’m not going to.”

He caught her flailing arms effortlessly and trapped them between their bodies, pulling her close. His hands felt like iron bands on her back and his eyes were like chips of black ice. “Oh but you will my love, and unlike this evening, you’ll look as if you’re enjoying every minute of it, if only for Ben and Lauren’s sake.”

The threat was unmistakable. His good humor throughout the evening, his generosity, even the affection he had displayed earlier, it was all an act to gain credibility with the people who mattered to Kerry. 

The anger drained out of her as she stared up at him. She didn’t even bother to move when he finally released her. “Why do you want to marry me Pierce, when nothing I do pleases you? When you can see how unhappy it’s making me. Why don’t you just fight me for the children?”

“Because it would take too long,” he stood with his hand on the gate, his expression grim under the wavering streetlight. “I don’t intend to lose another second of their lives while lawyers earn a fortune through court proceedings and appeals. Ben and Lauren belong to both of us Kerry. I was just as active in their creation as you were, something I remember with a certain degree of pleasure, even if you don’t.”

His eyes grew darker as he leaned towards her and locked his hands around her waist, pulling her against the gate so that the wrought iron bit into her thighs and the soft flesh of her stomach. “Make no mistake about it. I’ve already got the special license and the rings so you’ll marry me on Saturday and you’ll smile as you do it.”

Chapter Seven

Smiling was the last thing Kerry felt like doing when she arrived at the registry office on Saturday morning and saw Pierce. Unfamiliar in a dark suit and tie, he came over to where she was standing with Mel and George and deliberately kissed her on the lips with every appearance of pleasure. She stiffened and then remained poker straight when he slipped his arm around her waist.

“Pre-wedding nerves?” he asked Mel with believable innocence. She nodded her agreement.

“We’ve hardly managed to get a word out of her this morning. Even Ben and Lauren gave up and went off with Mum to do some shopping.”

“They are coming though,” this time Pierce addressed Kerry, his eyes full of fury although his lips were still smiling.

“Afterwards,” she replied through tight lips. “They chatter too much to risk having them around during the ceremony, so Mary has promised to meet us outside afterwards.”

She felt an inward surge of triumph as he accepted her decision with a slight frown, glad she’d managed to score a point by keeping the children away from the wedding. She knew her reasons were sound. Knew there was a distinct possibility Ben would grow bored and create a noisy diversion or that Lauren would ask too many questions in her penetrating treble voice. She also knew that a registry office wedding was far less formal than a church service so any problems could have been dealt with. Indeed, Mary had been prepared to try, but Kerry had remained adamant. Illogical as it was she felt that if the children were actually present when she married Pierce, they would have some weakening effect on her resolve to stop loving him.

She looked at him now and wished emotions could be made to follow a set path but it was quite hopeless. The proud angle of his dusky profile, brooding now because Ben and Lauren were going to miss the ceremony, was almost enough to break her. It was one thing to tell herself he was a heartless bully who would go to any lengths to get his children, and quite another to stop her heart thudding against her breast when he gave her that blue sideways glance.

“Okay?” he didn’t smile.

She nodded, clutched the small posy of pink rosebuds Mel had insisted on ordering, and walked with him into the building. George and Mel followed, their faces wreathed in smiles of sympathy at what they thought were pre-wedding nerves, instead of the shriek of her breaking heart.

* * *

It was over in minutes. A few words from the registrar, her own promise little more than a whisper, Pierce’s voice deep and sure, and then a heavy gold band was pushed gently over her finger. Several signatures later she was Mrs Pierce Simon. Such little acts for something so momentous, something she would have embraced with all her heart three years earlier but which now left her feeling full of despair.

“Congratulations!” Mel hugged her and then grinned at Pierce. “Doesn’t the bridegroom usually kiss the bride?”