"Good." His smile was unusually intimate; a smile that set Lucy"s heart racing.
"The problem is, I need to wash and change, and then it"s quickly off to my first meeting. I suspect that could run on a bit. Then it"s straight on to the next and most important meeting of the day."
Lucy was disappointed. "Don"t worry if you"re too busy," she said regretfully. "Your work must come first."
"Oh, no! I definitely mean to see you tonight if that"s all right with you? But I don"t think I"ll surface until quite late. So, I was wondering, how about I take you to dinner this evening?"
Lucy was thrilled. She had never in her whole life been formally invited to "dinner". "Oh, that sounds wonderful!" she said. "But only if it doesn"t put you out, because you"re bound to be tired after your heavy day."
Dave shook his head. "I would never be too tired to take you out."
Blushing once more, Lucy said she would look forward to it, and then she wished him well. "I hope you can swing the deal for Nancy"s sake," she said with genuine feeling.
"Thank you, Lucy," Dave replied. "It won"t be easy, but you can bet I"ll do my d.a.m.nedest! There is still a way to go, though, before we get right down to the nitty-gritty. These people are good. They know what they want and they don"t easily back down."
"They might be good, but not as good as you, I"ll bet!" Lucy a.s.sured him.
He laughed softly. "Well, thank you, and I"ll tell you something else."
"What"s that, then?"
"I think that beneath Lucy Lovejoy"s soft and lovely exterior, there"s a feisty, ambitious woman waiting to get out. Am I right?"
"Of course! And don"t you forget it!" she warned with a cheeky smile.
It occurred to her that the more confidence he instilled in her, the more she believed she could tackle anything.
In the hotel foyer, Lucy apologised for having to hurry away, but, "I really do need a hot bath."
"Need any help?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
Softly blushing, she gave a genuine tut-tut. "I thought you were a gentleman!"
"Shame on me!" he teased. "Don"t forget we"re meeting up for dinner."
"Oh, I won"t forget." She was so excited at the idea of a gentleman taking her to dinner, she could hardly breathe. "I"m really looking forward to it ... as long as you don"t want to run across the beach with me on your shoulder."
"I wouldn"t mind," he quipped. "Somehow, though, I reckon I"ve done my Tarzan thing for today. Unless you"d prefer to find a fancy restaurant somewhere close, we could have dinner here. I understand the menu offers much more than ice cream with nuts and choc flakes. So, Lucy ... what do you say?"
"Well, if it"s all right with you, I"d rather stay in the hotel. I"m not used to fancy restaurants." In truth, she had never even set foot in one.
"That"s settled then!" Lucy"s decision pleased him. "I took a quick peek into the restaurant earlier while I was waiting for the receptionist to deal with another guest, and I thought it looked very pleasant. Moreover, we won"t even have to get our feet wet."
His casual comment made Lucy think back over the past few hours, and her heart was warmed by the memory. "So, what time shall we meet," she asked "and where?" She was starting to feel nervous.
"There is just one thing, Lucy. I"m really worried about tonight."
"Why?"
"Because the lady I am taking to dinner has a bad habit of running away, just when you think you"re getting to know her."
"Oh, no! I won"t do that ... I promise."
"That"s good enough for me, then. So, I"ll book a table for what ... nine thirty? That"ll give me time to get back, have a quick bath and change, then make my way down to meet you at ... say nine-fifteen. All right?"
"OK, yes. I"ll be here waiting ... and I"m not planning on running anywhere."
"Good!" He touched her gently on the hand. "We could be up till the early hours. Does that worry you?"
"Why should it worry me?"
He lowered his voice. "Well, now, let me see ..." He took a long look at her, and when she looked up with those nutmeg-brown eyes, he was taken aback, and for a moment he lost his train of thought.
Amused, Lucy jogged his memory. "Excuse me, you were about to tell me why we might be up until the early hours?"
"Oh, yes! First, I think we have so much more we need to say to each other, and secondly, I was half hoping I might be able to lure you to take a stroll under the stars."
Placing his hands on her shoulders, he held her there. "For now, I"d best make tracks, or they"ll have a head start on me, and that would not be good for my purpose."
"You forgot to say where we should meet?" Lucy reminded him.
"Ah, yes! Down here in the lobby. I"ll book the table now."
"I"ll be ready," Lucy promised.
Suddenly, almost without her meaning to, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him very swiftly on the cheek. "Thank you." The last time she had enjoyed herself so much was when the children were small.
Before he could recover from the tender and much appreciated surprise, Lucy was gone, pink-faced and embarra.s.sed, leaving him tenderly stroking his face where she had kissed it.
For the longest moment, he stood there, his gaze resting on the place from where she had got into the lift. "Lucy Lovejoy ..." He thought back on the wonderful time they had just spent together. "You"re like a welcome breath of fresh air," he murmured.
As he walked towards the reception, he took another lingering glance towards the lift.
To his great surprise, he was already missing her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
PAULA WAS CLEARING away the ironing board when she heard the back door creak open.
"It"s only me!" Martin"s voice rang through her house.
Rushing through the kitchen, Martin grabbed hold of her and swung her round. "h.e.l.lo, beautiful! Oh, I thought I would never get that d.a.m.ned job finished. I fixed the water problem, then I found the plaster crumbling from behind the wall. The whole lot needs stripping out. On top of that, the new boiler wouldn"t start up. I had to take the useless thing back, and oh, I tell you, it"s been one setback after another."
"Oh, that"s a shame." Folding the ironing board into the cupboard, Paula half turned to give him a fleeting kiss. "I wondered where you were. But never mind, you"re here now. I don"t expect you"ve had time to eat, so why don"t I make you a sandwich or something?"
Martin shook his head. "Thanks, but I"m not hungry. I"m just that pleased the work is finished! I"ve been itching to get it over with, so I could come and see you." Turning back the collar of her blouse, he drew her close and ran the tip of his tongue along her neck. "I really hate it when I"m not with you."
When she opened her mouth to speak, he silenced her by gently squeezing her face between his two hands. "Oh! And while I remember, I"ve told you before about leaving that back door open," he complained. "Anybody could let themselves in. You could be upstairs in the nuddy, and they"d have you before you even realised."
"Aw, stop fussing!" Paula was not in the mood for a lecture.
"It"s not a case of me "fussing"," he said. "It"s for your own good. I"ve told you time and again ... there are bad people out there, my darling. Why won"t you ever listen to me?" Tugging her forward, he grabbed her round the back of the neck. "I don"t want anyone putting their grubby paws on you."
Paula drew away. "Get off! You"re hurting me." She stroked her fingers over her neck where he had held her tight. "I"ve told you before, Martin, I don"t like you telling me what to do."
"Hey!" He followed her to the kitchen sink, where she appeared to keep her distance. "I would never hurt you ... I"d lop off my own arm before I would ever hurt you, and you know that."
She smiled up at him. "I know, but you keep on about that d.a.m.ned back door, and it just gets me down, that"s all. I don"t like being locked in all the time."
"Aw ..." He gently hugged her to him. "It"s just that I"m concerned about the way you never lock the door at either your house or mine. It"s dangerous, sweetheart ... I"ve lost count of the many times I"ve found it unlocked ... just now, I could have been a thieving tramp, or anybody looking for easy pickings. I"ve told you time and again, and still you don"t listen." He kissed her on the mouth. "I"ve upset you, haven"t I? Please, don"t be angry with me."
Paula looked at him with puppy eyes. "Then don"t nag at me, Martin," she said. "You know I"m not used to being told what to do."
Martin had to remind himself that he was not dealing with Lucy now. Paula was a very different kettle of fish altogether; she was feisty, and pa.s.sionate. She was also attractive enough to make a man jealous. And as he had already discovered to his delight, she was wild and exciting in bed.
"I"m sorry, sweetheart," he mumbled, tenderly sliding his hands around her slim waist. "It"s just that I worry ..."
"All right." She kissed him full on the mouth. "I"ll forgive you this time. But you have to stop nagging. It aggravates me."
"It"s a deal." He would promise her anything.
After making certain that the doors were securely locked, the two of them went up the stairs together.
"I"ll have to get back soon, though," Martin informed her. "Anne"s coming round later. I expect she"s had another call from her mother, and wants to run it by me ... not that I care one way or the other."
"Aw, that"s not a nice thing to say," Paula declared with sarcasm. "Poor, dear Lucy!"
"I don"t mean to be spiteful, but I can"t lie, and I can"t help the way I feel." Martin spoke with conviction. "Especially now, when I"ve decided who I want to spend the rest of my life with." He smacked her bottom, and when she ran into the bedroom squealing and laughing, he was right on her heels.
When Martin shut the door behind him, she laughed aloud. "Frightened some bogeyman might come up and get me, are you?"
"No, because I"m the bogeyman today." He growled like a wild animal, sending Paula into fits of laughter.
Martin, however, recalled briefly how, because of the open door, Lucy had found them together in this very bed.
Undeterred, he ran at the bed and grabbed hold of the now naked Paula. "I"ve been waiting for this all day," he cooed wickedly.
And, for the moment, it seemed that peace had prevailed.
"They"re at it again!" Mary Taylor had seen Martin go in through the back door. She had heard the raucous laughter, and then the revealing silence. "It"s disgraceful!" She angrily thumped her fist on the table. "There"s poor Lucy, gone off for a well-earned break since losing her parents, and here"s her sister ... blatantly flaunting her affair with Lucy"s husband. I"m sorely tempted to go round there and give them a piece of my mind, the pair of them!"
"You"ll do no such thing, Mary!" Peter came up behind her. "I agree with you, it is disgraceful, and I, too, would like to give them a piece of my mind, but I won"t and neither will you! It would not make the slightest difference because people like that don"t give a d.a.m.n about anything or anyone. They would simply laugh in your face, and just carry on with what they"re doing. And what we must also remember, Mary, is that what they do in the privacy of their own homes is none of our business."
Mary did not agree, but she was wise enough to heed her husband"s advice.
Reluctantly, she returned to her armchair, and resumed her crossword puzzle.
When she continued to mumble, Peter grumbled, "Are you still worrying about that pair next door?"
"Yes, I am," she admitted. "But don"t concern yourself, Peter. I promise, I shall mind my own business, as you say. But I"ll tell you this and trust my word before too long there"ll be murder done."
"Hmm!" Her husband said nothing more, but he, too, thought the goings-on next door were a recipe for absolute disaster.
Unaware that they were the subject of conversation between their watchful neighbours, Martin and Paula now lay on top of the bed, talking, making plans, and generally winding down from their wild activities.
"I"d best get ready for home," Martin said lazily. "Anne might even be there now, waiting for me."
Paula was nervous about that. "Lucy didn"t say anything to Anne, did she? About finding us together."
"No, not as far as I can tell. You know Lucy as well as I do, and we both know that she would rather die than hurt her children. So, I think we can rest a.s.sured that she"s said nothing to them ... or anyone else. She"ll keep what she saw to herself, for Anne and Samuel"s sakes. Whether or not she"ll tackle me, I don"t know. Maybe that"s why she took off to decide what to do next but like I say, she won"t want the children to know what she saw. Never in a million years!"
Paula had no conscience about Lucy learning the truth. "She"s too soft, and forgiving, the silly cow! She"s always been a bit of a softie, even when we were kids." She gave a twisted little smile. "I mean, she let herself get pregnant by you, didn"t she? Huh! You would never find me being so vulnerable."
"Hey!" Martin stopped her right there. "We"re not talking about Lucy and you. And we"re not talking about what took place over twenty years ago. I"m just saying that if Samuel and Anne knew about you and me, they would be up in arms. That"s why even though I"m impatient for us to be together, we still need to be careful and keep it low-key until your divorce is through. Maybe then we"ll be in a better position to make plans ... even move away, if need be. I"m self-employed with good references, so I can find work wherever I choose."
Paula nodded in agreement. "I thought you were in a hurry to get home?" she reminded him.
"Oh, I see!" He was instantly suspicious. "Now that you"ve had your wicked way with me, you can"t get rid of me quickly enough, is that it?"
"Don"t talk silly, Martin. You just said you needed to go home because Anne might be there for you. And what if she is, and she gets so impatient that she makes her way over here to see if I know where you are? She"s done that before. So, don"t think I"m trying to get rid of you, because I"m not! I"m just a bit worried, that"s all."
"Yes, you"re probably right."
Scrambling off the bed, he quickly got dressed. Then he had a sudden thought. "By the way, the divorce papers ... have you signed them, like I asked?"
"Not yet." She got out of the other side of the bed. "I haven"t had time. I"ve been busy. Like you, I haven"t stopped all day, but I"ll sign them tonight, and get them back. Then we can both breathe easy. At least that part of the plan will be dealt with, won"t it?"
"Yes, but I did remind you last night and you said you would have them signed and posted by midday today. You can do it now and I"ll drop it in the post box on my way home."
"No! I"ll take them into town myself. It will be much quicker that way, and I can have a word with the solicitor while I"m at it; ask him to get it done as quickly as possible."
"Good thinking. We"ll both rest easy when you"re no longer married to that gormless lump of a husband! We"ll have a good wedding, my sweet, and you can name your own destination for the honeymoon. I"ll make sure that money will not be an object even if I have to work my fingers to the bone. Although, come to think of it, you should get a nice little settlement with the divorce."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, Ray beat you black and blue ... or so you told me."
"He did!" Paula a.s.serted angrily. "What ... you think I was making it up, do you?"
"Of course I don"t. But it does mean that he"ll be made to pay through the nose, and serves him right. I hope he gets all he deserves."