First Love, Last Love

‘I’m not going with you, Daryl, so you might as well stop sulking and eat your lunch.’

His hand moved to caress hers as it lay on her denim-clad thigh. ‘I can’t think of food when I’m going to be parted from you at the end of the week.’

‘Don’t be silly,’ she laughed lightly. ‘I’ve only known you a couple of weeks, we hardly know one another well enough to—to—–’

‘I’m not asking for more than a travelling companion,’ he persisted. ‘We would have separate accommodation.’

‘At the beginning,’ she said knowingly. ‘I’m not that naïve, Daryl. How long do you think it would be before you suggested we save the expense of the second room?’

His tanned golden skin coloured a ruddy hue and he looked slightly sheepish. ‘I never thought of you as a prude.’

‘Oh, not that!’ she laughed again. ‘You won’t get round me by issuing that sort of challenge. I’m not a prude, but neither am I a sleep-around. We’ve had a good couple of weeks, had fun together, let’s leave it at that, hmm?’

‘I don’t want to.’ His hand tightened on hers. ‘Come with me, Lauri. Please!’

She sighed. ‘I told you, no.’ She pulled her hand out of his. ‘My aunt would never agree anyway,’ she added, as if that ended the matter. She would never go against Jane, loving and respecting her too much to hurt her.

Daryl scowled. ‘She acts more like your mother than your aunt.’

Daryl and Jane had only met once, one evening when Daryl had returned Lauri home rather late, and her aunt had shown her displeasure with the lateness of the hour. They had taken an instant dislike to each other, and although Jane never tried to influence her in her choice of friends Lauri had been conscious of her aunt’s disapproval of Daryl.

‘In a way she is, she’s brought me up since I was seven,’ Lauri bristled angrily on behalf of her aunt. ‘And we were late that night. She had a right to be cross with us.’

‘It was a Saturday, Lauri. You didn’t have to go to work in the morning. And we’d been to a party.’

‘It was three o’clock in the morning!’

He smiled. ‘Some of the parties I go to back home go on until morning.’

‘They do here too, and I’ve been to a couple of them, but not without telling Jane first.’

‘She isn’t your keeper!’ he said resentfully.

Lauri sighed. ‘I’m not going to argue with you, Daryl, not at this late date in our friendship. We’ll just have to agree to differ about the loyalty and respect I owe my aunt.’

‘We weren’t talking about respect. I was just—–’

‘Let’s forget it, Daryl! Please. I’m not going to Ireland or anywhere else with you, and it’s my decision. Now, where are you taking me tonight?’

‘Are you sure you still want to go anywhere with me?’ he said moodily.

‘Don’t be a bad loser,’ she chided, aware that his usual good humour and bland good looks had made him some easy conquests on his travels. She just didn’t intend being one of them. ‘Now eat your food, we have to be back in a few minutes.’

‘I don’t want it.’ He obviously still hadn’t got over his sulk.

‘Moody,’ she teased. ‘Hey, I know, we could go to the cinema this evening. There’s a good film on at the Odeon.’

‘If you want to.’ They moved to pay their bill before going outside.

Lauri looked up at him. ‘Don’t you want to know what the film is?’

‘Not particularly.’

‘Now look,’ she snapped, ‘we can finish this right now if you’re going to continue behaving childishly. And it is childish to sulk just because you can’t have your own way.’

‘You would like Ireland, I know you would.’

‘I’m sure I would,’ she agreed. ‘But I’m still not going. I have no desire to travel. Maybe one day I will have, but not right now.’

‘I’m going to miss you.’

She grinned. ‘I’ll bet—for the first five minutes. Just think of all those Irish colleens and I’m sure you’ll soon cheer up.’

A reluctant smile lightened his features. ‘Aren’t you ever serious?’

‘Not if I can help it,’ she admitted. ‘Steve is the same. We have some lovely arguments.’

‘But not with Jane.’

‘No one argues with Jane. She’s always cool and calm. Perhaps that’s why she gets on with our bossy Mr Blair,’ she mused. ‘She’d just soothe his temper away.’

‘Bossy? Temper?’ Daryl frowned. ‘You speak like one who knows, and yet I thought your aunt never discussed him with you.’

‘He’s back, you know.’

‘Oh, I know. The whole building has been buzzing with it all morning. But as far as I know he hasn’t set foot outside his office. I wouldn’t recognise him if I saw him.’

Neither had she! ‘He was away when we both started with the firm,’ she evaded.

‘Then how do you know he’s bossy and has a temper?’

Lauri shrugged. ‘It stands to reason.’

‘I don’t see why.’

‘Of course it does. The man’s used to his own way—look at all the women he has, and he’s bound to be bossy being in such a position of authority.’

Daryl shook his head. ‘It doesn’t follow.’

‘All right, so it doesn’t follow,’ she snapped impatiently, feeling as if she had done nothing but talk about Alexander Blair all day. ‘Are we going to the cinema this evening or not?’ she changed the subject.

‘We are.’ He opened the lift doors for her, waiting until it began moving before turning to her.

Lauri knew of his intention to kiss her as soon as his arm went about her shoulders, and she lifted her head invitingly. She had always found his kisses pleasant, never allowing him to do any more than kiss her, and she found this lengthy caress as pleasurable as usual.

‘If you’ll excuse me?’ a glacial voice remarked.

Without them being aware of it the lift had come to a halt at Daryl’s floor and a man stood outside waiting to get in. Lauri’s heart sank as she recognised Alexander Blair. And it was obvious he recognised her too, his gaze passing scathingly over her as she still stood in the circle of Daryl’s arms.

‘Sorry,’ Daryl grinned at the older man. ‘Just kissing my girl goodbye until tonight.’

Dark eyebrows rose. ‘Your girl?’ Alexander Blair enquired coolly.

Lauri struggled out of Daryl’s arms, straightening her slim-fitting sweater where it had ridden up to reveal her midriff, and pushing a hurried hand through her rumpled red-gold curls. This was terrible! And poor Daryl could have no idea of who their audience had been.

Daryl grinned. ‘Just for the rest of this week,’ he confided.

‘I see. And then you—er—part company?’ Alexander Blair was obviously weighing up this information, drawing his own conclusions about the closeness of the relationship.

‘Yeah,’ Daryl laughed, ‘I guess we do. The lady refuses to travel around the world with me.’

‘I would think the—lady,’ he drawled the word as if he hardly thought the description fitted Lauri, ‘I would think she’s having too much fun where she is.’

‘You’re probably right,’ Daryl acknowledged. He bent to kiss her briefly on the lips. ‘I’d better get back to work, old Crowther’s prowling about timing everything we do with the boss back in town. See you later, sweetheart,’ he grinned, his good humour back in evidence. ‘See you,’ he nodded to Alexander Blair.

‘No doubt,’ the other man agreed softly.

Lauri hardly dared breathe once the lift doors had closed behind Daryl’s departing figure. This just wasn’t her day! First of all she hit Alexander Blair’s Rolls-Royce, and now he had caught her kissing one of her fellow workers in the lift.

‘That was quite an exhibition,’ he remarked scornfully.

Her cheeks flamed at his insulting tone. ‘It wasn’t meant to be a peepshow,’ she snapped, glaring up at him as he towered over her, his six feet in height reducing her to his shoulder height.

‘I don’t recall “peeping”,’ he mocked.

‘No,’ she agreed angrily. ‘You had a damn good look, didn’t you?’

‘I could hardly do anything else,’ he said coldly. ‘And let me tell you that I’m unaccustomed to summoning the lift and finding two of my employees in a passionate clinch when the doors open.’

‘It wasn’t a passionate clinch,’ she denied heatedly, her green eyes flashing.

‘No?’

‘No!’

‘Then what would you call a passionate clinch?’ he asked softly.

Lauri shrugged. ‘I don’t know. But that wasn’t one.’

‘Perhaps not,’ he said calmly. ‘How would you gauge this?’

Before she had had time to do more than gasp his arms were about her and his dark head swooped as his lips claimed hers in what was definitely a passionate clinch. His mouth moved persuasively against hers, parting her lips with the sensuous tip of his tongue, kissing her more intimately than anyone else had ever done, his hands moulding her to the lean length of his body.

Lauri had never experienced anything like it before, feeling as if the world were spinning, and that all that mattered was that he should go on kissing her. That Alexander Blair should go on kissing her.

Suddenly she was free, and Alexander Blair looked for all the world as if that devastating kiss had never taken place, totally in command in the light grey suit and snowy white silk shirt that both looked as if they had been tailored on to him. His impeccable appearance made her own denims and jumper all the more conspicuous.

‘Well?’ he taunted.

‘Well …?’ she repeated dazedly. ‘Oh,’ she nodded. ‘Er—yes.’

‘Yes—what?’

‘Just yes,’ she said breathlessly.

He smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. ‘Do you always give in on such short acquaintance? If so I’m not surprised at your popularity with my male employees.’

His scorn shocked her out of the sensual enchantment she seemed to have fallen into. ‘I wasn’t saying yes to that!’ she denied hotly. ‘I was just saying that it—that that was a passionate embrace. And given by an expert, I have no doubt.’

‘Insults, Lauri?’

‘You deserve them. How dare you kiss me?’

He gave a throaty laugh. ‘I dare. Your name,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘It isn’t really Lauri?’

She frowned. ‘No. Lauren.’

‘Lauren,’ he savoured it. ‘Mm, I like it.’

What did she care what he liked! ‘I’ve always been called Lauri,’ she said defensively.

He nodded. ‘That accounts for it.’

Long after she was back at her desk the question still plagued her—‘accounted’ for what?

CHAPTER TWO

STEVE sat at the table watching Lauri as she prepared their evening meal. ‘Had a good day?’ he taunted, leaning forward on his elbows.

‘Fantastic!’ she drawled sarcastically. ‘Really great. I crashed my uncle’s car into my boss’s Rolls this morning, had an argument with my boy-friend at lunch-time because I refused to go on his travels with him, and then—–’

‘Yes?’ Steve prompted curiously. ‘And then?’

Lauri’s cheeks were bright red. ‘And then the bus was fifteen minutes late tonight.’ She had no intention of telling anyone about that unexpected kiss Alexander Blair had given her. After all, the kiss had been given as an insult, and although she might have reacted to it the insult had still gone home.

‘Oh,’ he nodded, ‘I see. So Daryl’s been trying to persuade you to take off with him, has he? I’m glad you’ve decided not to go with him.’

‘I thought you liked him.’ She placed a mug of tea in front of him.

‘I do, he’s a great chap, I just don’t fancy him as a nephew-in-law.’

Lauri laughed, going back to her cooking. ‘I don’t think Daryl had marriage in mind.’

‘Really? Then I wouldn’t have let you go anyway.’

‘You wouldn’t?’ She turned from checking the vegetables. ‘You wouldn’t have any say in it if I’d wanted to go. I make my own mind up about things like that.’

Steve shook his head. ‘Not this time. You’re still a kid, Lauri, only seventeen, much too young to make those sort of decisions.’

‘And I suppose an old-timer like you knows all about these things?’ They had always found the eight years’ difference between them faintly amusing, more like brother and sister than uncle and niece.

‘That’s right.’ He stood up to ruffle her red-gold curls into disorder, tapping her lightly on the end of her freckled snub nose. ‘You’re just a baby.’

She grinned. ‘I’m old enough to have crashed your car for you.’

He sobered. ‘So you are. I’m still waiting for Blair to get back to me on that.’

‘Bit early, isn’t it?’

Steve shrugged. ‘I can’t see him driving around in a dented car for long.’

Neither could Lauri. It didn’t fit in with his impeccable appearance. Even after he had kissed her he had remained unruffled. But she didn’t want to think of that kiss—or her reaction to it!

‘Lauri?’

‘Mm? Sorry,’ she snapped out of her daze at Steve’s puzzled look. ‘It’s just been one of those days.’

‘Don’t I know it,’ he groaned. ‘Poor old Gertie will never be the same. The front of her looks—–’

‘Shush!’ she hurriedly interrupted him. ‘I hear Jane’s key in the door,’ she explained at his indignant look. ‘And I don’t want her to know about the accident.’

He grimaced. ‘If she’s seen my car she’ll already know about it, there’s brown paint mixed up with the red.’

Lauri groaned. ‘You didn’t leave it parked outside?’

‘Of course I did. I’m going out later.’

‘Oh God! I’ll just have to hope Jane isn’t feeling very observant. Can you imagine what she would say if she knew I’d smashed into her boss’s car?’

‘I can,’ he grinned. ‘And he’s our boss too,’ he reminded her.

How could she forget it! ‘At least we don’t work for him directly. If he knew I was Jane’s niece …!’

‘Mm, I see your point. Okay, I’ll keep quiet unless directly asked.’

‘Now is that likely? There’s no reason why Jane should make the connection—– Hello, Jane,’ Lauri turned to greet her young aunt. ‘Sit down, love,’ she encouraged, seeing her tired face. ‘You look worn out.’

Jane did as she suggested, literally collapsing into the chair. ‘I look worn out because I am worn out. Thanks, Lauri,’ she took the proffered cup of tea, and sipped gratefully. ‘Mr Blair was an absolute swine this morning.’

‘Perhaps his business trip to the States didn’t work out as he wanted it to.’ Lauri’s look was almost hopeful that that had been the reason.

‘Oh, it wasn’t that, that went fine,’ Jane instantly dismissed, slipping off her shoes to flex her tired feet. ‘No, it was something else that upset him.’

‘Oh?’ Lauri asked innocently.

‘Mm.’ Jane put her head back, closing her eyes. ‘Some idiot smashed into his car this morning.’

‘Some idiot—–!’ Lauri echoed indignantly.

‘Is that what he said?’ chuckled Steve.

‘Mm,’ Jane murmured wearily. ‘God, he’s been impossible to work for all day. He’d just started to get over it lunchtime, but when he came back he was in an even worse mood.’

And didn’t Lauri know it! She might have been the cause of his first anger, but she had been made to bear the brunt of his lunchtime upset. Her mouth still tingled from that onslaught. What on earth would Jane and Steve say if they knew about it? She shuddered to think, especially cool, calm Jane, who always kept men at a distance, including Robin Harley.

‘Maybe his lady-love doesn’t like lunchtime sessions,’ Steve joked.

His sister gave him a reproving look. ‘I don’t appreciate those sort of comments about Mr Blair. He had a business appointment. Anyway, Connie Mears is out of town.’

‘Connie Mears?’ Lauri gasped. ‘The model?’ A vision of a tall leggy blonde instantly sprang to mind.

‘Is there another one?’ Steve quipped.

Lauri glared at him. ‘There could be.’

He shook his head. ‘Not if Alexander Blair is dating her.’

‘I’m sure he isn’t the type to be faithful to one woman,’ Lauri said bitchily. ‘Perhaps some other female turned him down at lunchtime.’ Which would account for his attack on her!

‘Lauri!’ Jane reprimanded. ‘I won’t have you talking like that, even if Steve chooses to.’

‘Don’t be such a nag, Jane. Personally I don’t think Mr High and Mighty Blair merits your unwavering loyalty to him. So far I’ve found him to be simply awful. He’s overbearing, impossible—–’

‘So far?’ Jane frowned. ‘You’ve met Mr Blair?’

Too late Lauri realised her mistake. ‘Well—er—no, not exactly. He—– Oh goodness, look at the gravy!’ She rushed to the cooker, pulling the saucepan off the heat to stop it boiling all over the sparkling white top. ‘Dinner is ready, let’s eat before it spoils,’ she clutched thankfully on to this excuse to change the subject. ‘Go and have a quick wash, Jane, while I serve the food.’

‘That was a narrow escape,’ said Steve once they were alone. ‘If you aren’t careful, Lauri, that temper of yours is going to be what lands you in trouble. I won’t mention who Blair thinks is an idiot, but I think you just might let that out yourself if you aren’t a little more careful what you say.’

Lauri took his advice and remained silent when her aunt came back, listening to their conversation but adding little herself. Jane would be furious if she found out her niece had been driving the car that had so upset their employer, and Jane had quite a biting tongue if she became angry.

They had finished their main course and were just starting on the apple crumble and custard they had for dessert when Steve flashed Lauri a sly look. He feigned a look of innocence. ‘Our little niece was propositioned today,’ he told his sister casually.

Lauri gasped, biting back her fiery retort. What could he possibly know of that kiss in the lift?’

‘Yes,’ he continued softly. ‘Some Lothario wanted to whisk her off round the world with him.’

She almost sighed her relief out loud. ‘Daryl isn’t a Lothario,’ she defended, perhaps more heatedly than normal because she had thought Steve meant Alexander Blair. ‘He’s a very nice boy.’

‘Then why did you refuse to go with him?’ Steve taunted.

Her green eyes flashed. ‘Because—because I’ve only just started my new job,’ she desperately made up an excuse.

He laughed. ‘And you enjoy being a typist so much that it wins hands down over travelling the world?’

‘Anyone would think you wanted me to go,’ Lauri snapped.

‘Will you two stop arguing!’ Jane put her hands up to her temples. ‘I have a splitting headache and all you two can do is bicker all the time.’ She gave Lauri a sharp look. ‘When did Daryl ask you to go away with him?’ she demanded to know.

‘Oh, weeks ago,’ Lauri dismissed. ‘I told him I thought it was a ridiculous idea.’

‘But he asked you again today?’

Lauri grinned. ‘He’s a trier.’

‘As long as he doesn’t succeed,’ Steve quipped.

‘Steven!’ Jane rounded on him. ‘It isn’t something to joke about.’

He sobered. ‘I couldn’t agree more. I told her we wouldn’t have let her go even if she had decided to go with him.’

‘And I told you that I make those sort of decisions for myself.’ Lauri stood up, angrily removing the empty plates. ‘Just because we all live here together it doesn’t mean you can push me around. You act more like my parents than my aunt and uncle. I’m fed up with it all the time. Why can’t you both mind—–’

‘Lauri!’ Steve cut in warningly. ‘Can’t you see Jane’s had enough?’

Her aunt was in fact very pale, and she instantly felt contrite. ‘Go and lie down for a while,’ she moved to her aunt’s side. ‘It might ease your headache.’

‘Yes,’ Jane agreed faintly, ‘I—I think I’ll do that.’

Lauri helped her to her feet. ‘I’ll cancel your date with Robin, shall I? I think you might be better for an early night.’

‘I—–Yes, maybe that would be best.’ For once the fight seemed to have gone out of Jane, dear dependable Jane who had brought Steve and Lauri up single-handed since the double tragedy of first her own parents’ death and then the death of her brother and his wife. ‘But I’ll call Robin and explain,’ she added.

‘And you aren’t going to work tomorrow if you aren’t feeling any better,’ Lauri told her sternly. ‘You can let that bully—you can let Mr Blair find someone else to use as a punch-bag.’ She cursed herself for once again letting her feelings towards that man run away with her.

Jane gave a wan smile. ‘I wouldn’t exactly say he went that far.’

‘He must have been pretty nasty to have reduced you to this state. Now come on—bed!’

Steve had already left when Lauri came back from settling Jane down, so she set about wiping the crockery he had thoughtfully washed before going out. She was worried about Jane, it wasn’t like her to feel ill, and the fact that Alexander Blair had been indirectly responsible only made Lauri dislike him all the more. Bad-tempered, arrogant swine! Jane must be mad to work for him.

Lauri hadn’t known he was dating Connie Mears, that little bit of gossip hadn’t reached the lower ranks yet. Connie Mears and Alexander Blair—however did the poor girl put up with his arrogance? If he kissed the other woman as he had her today then she knew the answer to that. Even while the kiss had not been given to evoke pleasure she had been aware of the mastery and experience behind the caress, so much experience that she had responded in spite of herself.

She blushed in shame at the memory of her reaction. And what made it worse was the fact that Alexander Blair had known of her response, had even taunted her about it. He had made her shiver with pleasure when he had lingered over the use of her full name, almost making a caress of it.

God, she wouldn’t think about him any more! Daryl was more in her league, and he would be arriving in a minute.

It didn’t seem to be Lauri’s week. Yesterday had been disastrous, not least being her argument with Daryl in the evening. He had gone on and on about her going to Ireland with him until in the end she had lost her temper with him and demanded to be taken home.

And now she had stupidly left her purse in Jane’s handbag. She never carried a handbag herself, and her tight denims didn’t allow for the bulge of a purse. She usually pushed some money loosely into one of her pockets. But she had been late this morning, accepting Jane’s offer of a lift at the last minute, a Jane who seemed to have recovered from her tiredness completely, and had just grabbed her purse and run. And now she had left it, and consequently her money, in Jane’s bag.

Thank goodness she had realised more or less straight away; it was still only a quarter to nine, she had plenty of time to get to the top floor, collect her purse, and get back down again before nine o’clock.

It seemed unusually quiet up here, not at all like the rush and bustle that preceded the start of the day on the lower floors. Her moccasin-clad feet sank into the luxurious green carpet; the whole decor up here was complete luxury.

She had no idea which door led to Jane’s office, so she had to walk along inspecting all the nameplates. She had just about given up hope of finding the right one when a door opened just up the corridor from her and she could hear the murmur of male voices. Maybe she could ask the way to Jane’s office—after all, she wasn’t doing anything wrong, and the minutes to nine o’clock were fast ticking away.

A man came out of the office and shut the door after him, bending over the papers he held in his hand. His head might be bent and his face partly hidden, but Lauri would recognise that thick dark hair, wide expanse of shoulders in the tailored cream suit and contrasting brown shirt anywhere. Alexander Blair!

As if becoming aware of someone watching him he slowly raised his head, deep blue eyes widening with recognition. ‘You!’ he rasped, reaching her side in two long strides. He grasped her arm. ‘What are you doing up here?’

‘I—–’

‘Lost your way?’ he taunted.

‘Certainly not!’ Her face flushed angrily. ‘Actually, I—I was looking for you.’ Oh, what had she said now? But she could hardly tell him the truth, not when she didn’t want him to know the connection between his secretary and herself.