with the stress of Poppy going walkabout, meant he felt sorry for Neve. Being married to Kit probably wasn’t turning out quite the way she’d envisaged. Kit knew he had to make amends with his wife. Especially so, with Jake lurking in the background; he didn’t want Neve thinking Jake was a more appealing alternative.
Kit didn’t want to have to keep tabs on what Neve was up to, but if it came to it, he would. He had far too much to lose to allow himself the indulgence of taking his eye off the ball. It wasn’t just that, but Poppy would lose a mother – another mother, and he didn’t want that for his daughter. He wasn’t sure he’d ever find anyone as understanding as Neve when it came to Poppy. Right from the start, over seven years ago, Neve and Poppy had hit it off. Neve was only in her early twenties then, several years Kit’s junior, and had already been through the wringer. He knew she’d gone through a particularly tough time, suffering a miscarriage and then going through a divorce.
Kit appreciated that this was nothing short of harrowing, so much so, that Neve had needed counselling and still did, hence the art therapy. It genuinely made him wonder why the hell she wanted to put herself through all that again. He knew he couldn’t face it and he couldn’t understand why she was so … so desperate. So desperate to put herself in that position again, to make herself vulnerable, to open herself up to the possibility of history repeating itself. It was beyond his understanding. And that was where they fundamentally differed.
And now Neve was spending more and more time at her art lessons. Was she desperate enough to do something silly? Did she think Jake Rees was the answer?
Well, Kit wasn’t prepared to allow that to happen. He was going to pull out all the stops to make sure it didn’t. What was it they said? All’s fair in love and war. He nodded to himself. He liked that motto. It suited him. He’d been described by some people as driven, focused and determined. Others, usually those on the opposite side of the negotiating table to him, might chose words like, single-minded, stubborn and belligerent. Kit couldn’t deny any of these observations. The strategy he used in the boardroom could easily be transferred into his personal life. Kit was a winner and he certainly wasn’t going to lose to anyone, especially to the likes of Jake Rees.
Going into the shower room at the back of his office, Kit had a quick freshen up and splashed his neck with the aftershave Neve had bought him for his birthday that year. He remembered her saying at the time that it was very sexy and her favourite. He looked at the bottle. ‘Compulsive’. He hoped it would live up to its name.
He spent the next hour catching up on emails and preparing for the meeting that afternoon with the Harbourmaster. Sean had put together a PowerPoint presentation and forwarded it over to Kit to give it a once over. Kit had tweaked it here and there and added his part to it, before sending it back to his partner.
By the time Neve arrived, at eleven on the dot, Kit was happy everything was in order.
‘Hi, sweetheart,’ he said, as she came into the office. She was still wearing the pretty blue dress which pleased him, and he noticed she’d applied fresh make up and tied her hair up in a bun with a few loose tendrils around her face, just as he liked it. ‘You look gorgeous.’ He drew her in and kissed her on the mouth, ignoring her resistance. She was still pissed off with him but the fact that she’d agreed to come over was, he regarded, a good sign.
‘You smell nice,’ she said.
Kit grinned. ‘A birthday present, from an admirer.’
‘Is that right? She raised her eyebrows a fraction.
‘Neve,’ began Kit, taking her hands in his. ‘I’m really sorry for upsetting you earlier. About what I said last night and how I haven’t been very considerate of your feelings.’
There was a look of mild surprise on her face, but she didn’t pull away and didn’t launch into a verbal attack. Another good sign.
She gave a sigh. ‘I don’t really know what else to say. I thought last night you meant it when you said you’d think about it but now I realise it was just to shut me up, so you didn’t miss out on a shag.’
‘What?!’ He stopped himself from feigning indignation, it probably wouldn’t go down too well right now. ‘I’ve never shagged you,’ he said. ‘I’ve always, always, made love to you.’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘I’m sorry. I can’t help it. You’re so bloody gorgeous and I’m a hot-blooded male. I apologise, I let my …’
‘Dick rule your head,’ said Neve, finishing the sentence for him.
‘Guilty as charged,’ said Kit. ‘Look, let’s go out on the boat. I picked up a hamper earlier from that little Italian bistro in town. I don’t want to argue anymore and I promise, absolutely promise, cross my heart and hope to die promise, that I’ll think more about it.’
‘Is there any point?’ said Neve. ‘In promising, I mean. Will you really think more about it?’
‘I will. But if you’re asking me to promise I’ll change my mind, I can’t do that.’
‘We’re at a stalemate. An impasse.’ She looked down at their hands and back up at him. ‘I guess it’s a game of brinkmanship to see who blinks first.’
‘I’ll think about it as much from your perspective, if you promise me you’ll think about it as much from mine,’ said Kit. He waited while she gave a resigned sigh.
‘I don’t really have much choice.’
‘It’s been a stressful morning. Come on, let’s forget about the world and its troubles.’
‘Our troubles.’
‘You don’t seem to be buying into this,’ said Kit, unable to tamp down the feeling of being a little peeved at her lack of enthusiasm. He didn’t like to admit it, but Neve’s shift in attitude, her more assertive stance, unsettled him. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was getting coaching from someone else. OK, coaching might be a little strong, but certainly something, or someone, was influencing her, even if it might only be subconsciously. ‘Is there anything else bothering you?’
‘No. I’m sorry. Nothing. I think I’m just jaded from it all. You’re right, let’s check out of the world for an hour.’
He kissed her again. ‘Excellent. We’ll speak to Poppy this evening, and tomorrow I’m going to pay The Forum a visit and find out who that bloke was with Poppy today.’
‘No! Don’t do that.’
‘What? Why not? Aren’t you bothered? You didn’t see him, Neve, he had trouble written all over him. I know you think I can be a stick in the mud at times, but he’s bad news.’ Kit picked up his jacket from the back of his chair. ‘Anyway, enough of all that, remember, we’re forgetting about the world for an hour.’
‘I know but …’
Kit put his finger to his wife’s lips. ‘No buts, let’s go.’
Neve hadn’t slept well that night, despite the evening’s talk to Poppy about the dangers of going off on her own being a marginal success.
