was a heartening thought. Somehow he felt less of the guilty older-son, knowing that his mother had someone virtually on her doorstep with whom she could pass the time of day. And less of the guilty absentee-father, knowing that this kindly neighbour had also bonded with his son.
The cottage in question leapt out at him without warning, and his mother was right; there was no danger of him missing it. ‘Strike out west and head for the house that looks as though it belongs in the pages of a fairy tale’. Leo hadn’t realised that so many types of flora existed, and he surprised himself by pausing for a couple of seconds to admire the profusion of colour.
Then he circled the cottage, noting the white picket-fence, the clambering roses, all those tell-tale signs of someone who was seriously into clichés. He almost expected to spot a couple of garden gnomes peering out from between the riot of flowers that bordered the little stone path to the front door, but fortunately he was spared that particular horror.
Leo himself was minimalist to the bone. His London penthouse apartment paid homage to the axiom ‘less is more’: black leather, chrome and glass. On the white walls, outrageously expensive, abstract paintings were splashes of colour that slowly appreciated in value even as they adorned his walls; it was why he had bought them in the first place.
The door knocker appeared to be some quirky, mythical creature. Leo banged on it twice, just in case he was dealing with someone hard of hearing.
He heard the sound of quickly approaching footsteps, and something that sounded like muffled laughter. Then the door was opened and he found himself staring down into the bluest eyes he had ever seen. A tangle of pure gold, curly hair framed a heart-shaped face, and as his eyes involuntarily travelled further downwards they took in the small, curvaceous figure that, in a society that prized the stick-thin figure, would be labelled ‘overweight’.
‘Who are you?’ he demanded without preamble, lounging against the door frame.
‘You must be Daniel’s dad.’ Heather stood aside to let him enter. She couldn’t help herself. Disapproval had seeped into her voice, and he must have noticed it, because his ebony brows pleated into a frown.
‘And you must be Heather. I was expecting someone…older.’
Heather could have told him that he was exactly what she had been expecting. Her neighbour Katherine had talked about him, of course, had told her all about his meteoric career in the city. And Heather had heard between the lines a description of a workaholic, someone who was driven to succeed, someone who had precious little time for the things that mattered most in life. A lousy son and an even lousier father.
Up close and personal, he was every inch the successful businessman she had expected.
He was also incredibly good-looking; this bit was doing its best to nudge a hole in her disapproval. A lot better looking than those grainy pictures she had been shown in the scrap book Katherine kept of all his achievements, in fact. Indeed, the man was drop-dead gorgeous. Raven-black hair framed a face whose perfect, chiselled symmetry was harshly, coolly sensational. His eyes were grey and watchful, eyes that chose to give nothing away. She felt a shockingly potent quiver of awareness, then thankfully the moment was gone, lost under the weight of her disapproval.
Charitable by nature, Heather knew that it was crazy to judge a book by its cover, but she had had more than a passing brush with arrogance and success. Some women might find all that power and wealth an incredible turn on, but she knew from first-hand experience the price that had to be paid for being attracted to such dazzling light: too high.
‘I have come for my son.’ Having cursorily inspected the tiny hall, with its cosy flag-stoned floor and bowls of flowers on the window ledges by the door, Leo swung back round to face the woman who appeared to be dithering by the front door.
It had been a hot day, and she was wearing what looked like a loose, flowing gypsy-style affair, the sort of outfit that had been fashionable once upon a time. She was also looking at him with the sort of expression that promised a lecture, given half a chance. Leo sincerely hoped she would keep whatever was on her mind to herself, and he had an inkling of an idea what it was. He had no time for lectures, well-intentioned or otherwise.
‘He’s just finishing his tea.’
‘His tea?’
‘Dinner, if you prefer.’
‘Why is he eating here? I told my mother that I would take them both out for something to eat.’
‘I guess he just got hungry.’ Heather refrained from adding to that statement. The fact was, Daniel had refused point-blank to have dinner with his father.
‘Well, thank you very much, but it might have been worth finding out first whether plans had been made.’
This was just too much. Heather slipped past Leo to the kitchen, where she told Daniel that his father was here, and registered his expression of scowling indifference. Then she quietly shut the kitchen door and folded her arms.
‘On the subject of plans…’ she delivered coldly, ignoring the forbidding expression on his face.
‘Before you go any further, I’m in no mood to listen to someone I don’t know from Adam climbing on a podium and giving me a lecture.’
Faced with such a blunt, arrogant dismissal of what she had been about to say, Heather’s mouth dropped open, and Leo took that as immediate and obedient closure on a subject about which he had little interest. He walked past her towards the kitchen but she caught his wrist. It was like being zapped with a very powerful electric charge, and it took all her will power to stand her ground and not cower. She suspected that this was a man who specialised in inspiring fear.
‘I think we should talk before you get your son, Mr West.’
‘The name’s Leo; I think we can dispense with the formalities, considering you’re apparently an honorary member of the family.’ He looked at her small hand circling his wrist and then back to her face. ‘And I guarantee that whatever you have to say is going to be of little interest to me. So why not spare yourself the sermon?’
‘I don’t intend to give you a sermon.’
‘Wonderful! Then what exactly is it you want to talk about?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘But you’ll have to make it short, I’m afraid. It’s been a hellish trip up here, and I have work to do when I get back to the house.’
Heather took a deep breath. ‘Okay. I am a little annoyed.’
Leo made no effort to conceal his impatience. In that rarefied world in which he lived, people didn’t get annoyed with him—least of all women—but this one was practically pulsating, so he shrugged. He would let her have her say, and then he would clear off with his son. ‘Okay. Spit it out.’
‘In the sitting room. I don’t want Daniel to hear us.’
She led the way, acutely conscious of him behind her. Once they were both in the room, staring at each other like combatants in an arena, she said in a controlled voice, ‘I don’t think you realise how disappointed Daniel was that you didn’t make it to his Sports Day. It’s a big deal at the school, and he’d been practising for weeks.’
Leo flushed guiltily. Of course he had known that this would be flung at him but it still irked him, that this perfect
