Up Close and Personal (9 page)

‘And how am I supposed to do that when we hardly ever see each other?’

‘Lure him back from the surgery one evening with a spurious excuse, something he can’t just ignore.’

Nicole looked at her doubtfully. ‘Like what?’

‘Oh come on, Nic, use your imagination. Say a water pipe’s burst or the garden shed’s on fire. Then, when he walks through the door, surprise him with a candlelit dinner.’

‘Yeah, and make sure you’re wearing your sexiest underwear,’ Yasmin said. ‘I know it’s a cliché, but all the blokes I know go wild for lingerie.’

Nicole raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s because you’ve got a gorgeous toned body. I, on the other hand, am a big fat blob that no man – least of all my fitness fanatic husband – could possibly find attractive.’

‘No you’re not,’ Juliet said staunchly. ‘You’re a gorgeous, voluptuous woman and it’s high time Connor started appreciating you more.’

‘Something’s got to change,’ Nicole muttered. ‘Otherwise our marriage is heading for the divorce courts. I know what it’s like to come from a broken home and I don’t want Tilly going through the same thing I did.’ She mustered a smile. ‘Anyway, that’s quite enough about my marital problems. Let’s talk about something else, shall we?’ She turned to Yasmin. ‘I didn’t get a chance to ask you at Juliet’s dinner party about your date with the waiter. How did it go?’

Yasmin grimaced. ‘It was a massive letdown. I wish I hadn’t bothered.’

‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ Juliet said. ‘What happened?’

Yasmin kicked off her sandals and folded her legs underneath her. ‘Well, for starters Pascal was supposed to be cooking me dinner, but when he arrived – forty-five minutes late and reeking of aftershave – all he’d brought were two frozen pizzas.’

Juliet tutted. ‘Not a good start.’

‘He was looking pretty hot, though, so I was prepared to overlook it. In any case, I wasn’t that hungry.’

‘So what did you do?’ Nicole asked.

‘We had a couple of glasses of wine –
my
wine, I might
add; he hadn’t bothered to bring any – and chatted for a bit. He talked mainly about himself, which was pretty boring, so after half an hour or so I decided to cut to the chase.’

‘Meaning?’ Juliet asked, wide-eyed.

‘Meaning, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and when I came back I was wearing my short silk dressing gown.’

Nicole giggled. ‘You are brave. I’d never have the nerve to do something like that.’

‘We both knew what we were there for,’ Yasmin said nonchalantly. ‘And Pascal didn’t need a second invitation. He came over and started kissing me. Then he picked me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom.’

Nicole squealed. ‘How exciting! I thought that sort of thing only happened in Mills and Boon novels.’

Yasmin snorted. ‘Believe me, Pascal’s no hero – at least not in the sack. After taking off his clothes he spent at least ten minutes parading around my bedroom naked, showing off his bod, which, I must admit, was pretty spectacular.’

‘And then …’ Nicole prompted.

Juliet shuddered. ‘I’m not sure I want to hear this.’

‘I do,’ said Nicole. ‘I’m not having sex with my husband, so how else am I supposed to get my thrills?’ She turned to Yasmin. ‘Go on.’

‘And then we got down to business,’ Yasmin said matter-of-factly. ‘I’ll spare you the gory details. Suffice to say that, like a lot of good-looking men, Pascal’s incredibly selfish in bed. When he climaxed, he even called out his own name.’

‘You’re joking …’ Juliet said.

‘Well yeah, actually I am,’ Yasmin conceded. ‘But if he
had done I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘And afterwards he even had the cheek to ask me to give him a lift home.’

‘What did you say?’

‘I gave him his coat and told him where the nearest bus stop was.’

Nicole clapped her hands together. ‘Good for you.’

‘I don’t know why you bother having these one-night stands,’ Juliet said, frowning. ‘It sounds like an awful lot of effort for not very much reward, if you ask me.’

‘Not as much effort as a relationship,’ Yasmin replied.

‘Isn’t there anyone nice at work?’ Juliet enquired hopefully.

‘Nope. They’re all married, ugly, emotionally retarded or all of the above.’ Yasmin frowned. ‘Actually, there is
one
bloke … Rob. He’s the sports editor.’

‘What does he look like?’ Juliet said eagerly.

‘He’s tall and dark, with amazing brown eyes,’ Yasmin began. Suddenly she batted her hand in front of her face. ‘No, forget it … We’re always arguing in the office; it would never work.’ She stood up. ‘Shall we have tea, ladies?’

Nicole nodded. ‘Yes, please, I’m starving.’

‘Don’t get too excited,’ said Yasmin, walking over to the kitchen to put the kettle on. ‘I made the cake myself and it’s a pretty amateurish affair.’

‘Well, I think it looks lovely,’ Nicole said as she took a seat at the dining table.

‘And I bet it tastes delicious,’ Juliet added.

‘Thanks, ladies,’ Yasmin said, beaming over the breakfast bar. ‘I knew I could rely on you two to lie through your teeth.’

7

Nicole could feel her eyelids drooping as she pushed the buggy along the deserted lane. She’d been up several times in the night with Tilly who, having got over her colic, was now teething. Amazingly, Connor had barely stirred while his daughter was bawling her lungs out – an achievement which had succeeded in making Nicole not only sleep-deprived, but resentful too. In the morning, she glared at him as he emerged from the shower looking handsome and well rested. ‘Good sleep, darling?’ she enquired.

‘Great, thanks,’ he replied, oblivious to her sarcasm.

Unable to help herself, Nicole picked up a slipper and hurled it across the room, catching Connor on the shoulder.

‘What the hell was that for?’ he snapped.

‘You try surviving on four hours’ sleep a night!’ she screamed at him.

He shrugged nonchalantly as he pulled a shirt from the wardrobe. ‘I said ages ago we should get an au pair.’

‘But I don’t want somebody else looking after my child,’ she retorted.

‘I can’t bloody win, can I?’ Connor muttered, before stalking out of the room.

Ten minutes later he left for the surgery with only the most cursory of goodbyes, shouted from the foot of the stairs.

With her husband gone, an exhausted Nicole would
have liked nothing better than a lazy morning at home, but she’d promised to call in at Ashwicke with some cookbooks. In a bid to increase her profit margins, Juliet was introducing afternoon teas at the hotel, and needed some quick and easy cake recipes she could fling together at short notice.

It was such a glorious day that Nicole had decided to walk the mile or so to Ashwicke. She was hoping the exercise would have the dual effect of waking her up and lulling Tilly to sleep, but sadly it didn’t seem to be working on either front. As she prepared to turn into Ashwicke’s long drive, she paused to adjust the hood of the buggy, so the sun wasn’t shining in Tilly’s eyes. She was so distracted she didn’t see Charlie’s ancient Ford Escort speeding round the bend until it was too late. With a loud scream, Nicole hurled herself across the buggy, sending it tipping backwards into the grass verge at the side of the road – and her with it. Seconds later the car roared past, its driver seemingly oblivious to the chaos he’d left in his wake.

‘Bloody lunatic!’ Nicole shrieked after him. ‘You could have killed us!’

‘Are you all right?’

Nicole rolled onto her back. A man was standing over her, blocking out the sunlight. He was tall – well over six feet – with broad shoulders and a shock of sandy hair.

‘Erm, I think so,’ she replied, peering anxiously at Tilly, who offered a gummy grin.

The man bent down and righted the buggy. ‘This little lady doesn’t seem to be any the worse for wear,’ he said, stroking Tilly’s cheek with the back of one of his huge hands.

‘Hmm … well, it’s no thanks to that stupid idiot.’

‘He was going a bit fast, wasn’t he?’ The man took Nicole’s hand and helped her to her feet. ‘I’m Bear, by the way.’

Nicole looked up at him. He was so tall she had to shade her eyes from the sun. ‘I’ve never met a Bear before,’ she remarked.

‘It’s not my real name; I was christened James. Bear’s a throwback to my rugby days.’

‘Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bear, and thanks for coming to our rescue,’ she said. ‘I’m Nicole and this is my daughter, Tilly.’

Bear smiled, a slow, deliberate smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle sexily. ‘Are you staying at the hotel?’ he asked.

‘No, I live just down the road. The hotel owner’s a friend of mine. I was popping in to see her.’

‘Juliet?’

‘That’s right. I take it
you’re
a guest.’

‘Sort of. I’m camping in the grounds.’ He pointed to a row of conifers, which shielded a handful of ramshackle outbuildings from view. ‘My caravan’s parked just behind those trees. I only arrived last night. I was just heading into town for some provisions.’

Nicole looked surprised. ‘I didn’t realize Juliet was taking campers.’

‘She’s doing me a favour,’ Bear said. ‘I turned up at the campsite down the road, only to find my pitch had been double-booked. When I drove past this place and saw the hotel sign and the size of the grounds, I decided to chance my arm and see if the owner could accommodate me for a few weeks – at the going rate, of course. Luckily for me, Juliet agreed.’

‘Well, you’ve certainly picked a beautiful spot for a family holiday.’

‘Actually, it’s just me.’ Bear held her gaze for a long moment. She noticed that his eyes were an unusual shade of blue, so dark they were almost navy. ‘And I’m not on holiday – I’m working. My caravan’s a lot cheaper than staying in a hotel; it’s cosier too.’

‘What line of work are you in?’

‘I’m a freelance journalist.’

‘Really?’ Nicole hooked her hair back behind her ears and tried to remember if she’d bothered with mascara before leaving the house. ‘One of my best friends is a showbiz reporter. What’s your speciality?’

‘I write about the environment, which means I spend a lot of time travelling around the country, doing research.’ Bear gave a self-deprecating grimace. ‘It’s not particularly glamorous, but it’s something I’m very passionate about.’

‘What story are you covering in Loxwood, if you don’t mind me asking?’ said Nicole, her interest piqued.

‘One of the broadsheets has commissioned me to write a piece about the old fruit farm. A big-name developer’s hoping to build some executive homes on the site, but it seems there’s a lot of local opposition.’

‘Oh yes, some friends and I were talking about it at dinner only the other night,’ Nicole said. ‘It’s quite a hot topic of conversation in Loxwood – although I can’t imagine why a national newspaper would be interested.’

‘You’d be surprised,’ Bear said. ‘For one thing, that land’s Greenbelt. For another, it’s home to one of the largest badger setts in the country.’ Seeing the blank look on Nicole’s face, he added, ‘Badgers are a protected
species; it’s illegal to kill or injure them, or to interfere with a sett.’

‘So the developers can’t just go tearing up the ground with their JCBs willy-nilly?’

‘That’s right – although I’ve heard the local council’s under enormous pressure to grant planning permission. The development’s going to include a section of affordable housing, you see – and there’s precious little of that around these parts. It’s looking as if this could turn out to be something of a test case as far as the badgers are concerned.’

‘Poor things,’ Nicole murmured. ‘It doesn’t seem fair they should be evicted.’

‘My feelings exactly,’ agreed Bear. ‘They’re fascinating creatures. I was planning on going on a badger watch later in the next couple of weeks to get some pictures for my piece.’

Nicole looked at her daughter. ‘Hey, did you hear that, Tilly? Our new friend here is going to visit some badgers.’ She turned back to Bear. ‘She loves animals; so do I, actually – although I must admit I’ve never seen a badger in the flesh before.’

Bear smiled. ‘You’re welcome to come with me. You really are missing out if you haven’t seen one at close quarters. The best time to see them is at dusk when they’re foraging for food.’

Nicole felt a blush rising to her cheeks. She’d only just met Bear, and now here he was inviting her to spend the night with him, so to speak. ‘Er, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get away,’ she said. ‘Evenings are a bit difficult, what with the baby and everything.’

Bear shrugged. ‘I understand; it was just an idea. In any
case, I’m sure you’re far too sensible to head into the woods with a man you’ve only just met – although I promise you I
am
completely trustworthy.’

Nicole’s blush deepened. ‘I’m sure you are.’

She suddenly became aware that Bear was staring at the top of her head.

‘Do you mind if I, um … ?’ he said, reaching out a hand. Without waiting for a reply he plucked a sprig of cowslip from her hair. ‘A little souvenir from your near-death experience,’ he said, tossing it away. He beamed at her, the whiteness of his teeth contrasting pleasingly with his lightly tanned skin. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you have beautiful hair.’

Nicole’s hand went to her unruly mane. It was a long time since any man had paid her a compliment. ‘You’re joking, aren’t you?’ she said. ‘This hair’s the bane of my life; one drop of rain and it turns to frizz. Connor – that’s my husband – keeps telling me I should have it cut short.’

‘Oh no, you mustn’t do that,’ Bear said.

Suddenly Tilly gave a kittenish mew. Nicole looked down at her, startled, as if she’d forgotten she had a child in tow. ‘I think this little madam’s getting impatient,’ she said, picking up the stuffed rabbit that was lying abandoned in a corner of the buggy and thrusting it into her daughter’s arms.

‘In that case I won’t detain you any longer.’ Bear laid a hand on Nicole’s bare forearm. His touch was light, but it made her nerve endings tingle. ‘But before you go I don’t suppose I could ask you a favour, could I?’

Nicole found herself nodding, even though she didn’t have the faintest idea what he was going to suggest.