The Determined Husband

‘On the strength of that, I’ve decided to play hookey for once. Let’s go and have some fun!’ He seized her hand.

‘B-but I need to get changed, and do something with my hair,’ she stammered.

His eyes running over her grey and white striped button-through dress, her flat-heeled sandals, and the black, silky hair tumbling round her shoulders, he said, ‘What you’ve got on will do fine. And I like your hair loose.’

‘Where are we going?’ she asked as he swept her down the stairs like a prairie wind.

‘We’re taking the subway to Coney Island.’

Though somewhat run-down and a mere ghost of its former self, colourful Coney Island, with its amusement arcades and fairground rides, was still amazingly alive and vibrant.

To Sera’s unjaded palate, the simple seaside pleasures it offered, and the sight of so many people having fun, were all she could have asked.

Eating hot dogs and sharing a big bag of fries and a can of cola, she and Keir strolled along the boardwalk enjoying the sunshine, the music, the smells and the ambience.

Noticing her sparkling eyes, he asked, ‘Does this kind of thing take you back to your childhood?’

Sera shook her head. ‘It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything quite like this,’ she admitted.

His level black brows drew together in a frown. ‘Tell me about yourself… Apart from the fact that you work for Rothwell, your mother comes from Boston, and you were brought up in England, I know very little about you.’

Never one for talking about herself, she said, a touch awkwardly, ‘There’s not much to know. I’ve led a very dull life.’

‘Then, tell me all the dull bits, and I’ll try not to yawn.’

‘I’m sure you won’t be interested.’

‘And I’m sure I will,’ he disagreed firmly. ‘You’re an odd mixture of shyness and courage, of warmth and reticence. You like people, yet you tend to leave them alone. I can’t imagine you’re the sort to make bosom friends and confide in them…’

When, made even more uncomfortable by that shrewd summing up, she said nothing, he went on, ‘You have a great deal of quiet pride and, while you fail to condemn others, you’re very moral.’

‘You make me sound terribly stuffy,’ she protested.

‘Not at all. You’re exactly the sort of woman I’d always hoped to find…’

Her heart swelling, she caught her breath as he added, ‘And I want to know what made you that way. So, tell me about your childhood. Where were you brought up?’

‘In Sussex.’

‘What were your mother and father like?’

‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I never really knew them. They died when I was only two.’

‘Tough,’ he said simply. ‘How did it happen?’

‘They left me with my paternal grandmother while they went to France on a skiing holiday. It was to have been a second honeymoon. They were killed in an avalanche the first day there.

‘Both my parents had been only children and, apart from my father’s mother, neither of them had any close relatives.’

‘So who brought you up?’

‘My grandmother. She didn’t want to be saddled with a child at her age, but she was a woman of strong principles and an even stronger sense of duty.

‘Nan had been widowed the previous year and there was very little money, so we lived in a kind of genteel poverty.

‘Though she was careful never to say so, I knew, in the way that children do know, that I was a burden to her.

‘She preferred her own company to that of a child, so I was always left very much to my own devices.’

‘But you had school friends?’

Her voice matter-of-fact, Sera said, ‘I wasn’t encouraged to make friends. Nan had always “kept herself to herself” as she put it, and didn’t see why I shouldn’t do the same.’

‘It must have been very lonely for you.’

‘I had some imaginary friends and, thanks to a kindergarten teacher who took an interest in me, I learnt to read at a very early age…’

Seeing the bleak look on Keir’s face and worried in case she’d given the wrong impression, Sera added hastily, ‘I don’t mean Nan was ever unkind to me, and she did everything she was able to do. She insisted on me going to university and, though I lived at home to save money, it was still a struggle to find the fares to travel.

‘When I graduated with a first class honours degree and went to work for Anglo American, she was as proud as a peacock and declared the struggle had been well worth it.’

‘What did she think of you coming to the States?’

‘She never knew. Nan was getting very old and infirm, and she died last winter. Otherwise I wouldn’t have left her.

‘Her death was one of the reasons I took the chance of a year in New York. The lease on the house was up, and there was nothing to keep me in England…’

For a while they walked in silence, each busy with their thoughts, while music and laughter, the noise of the amusements, and the shrill voices of children, flowed around them.

Then, their casual meal finished, they paused to wipe their greasy fingers on paper napkins, which they disposed of in the nearest litter bin, before strolling on.

Tucking her hand companionably through his arm, Keir asked, ‘Now which shall we sample first? The fairground or the aquarium?’

Just happy to be with him, she said, ‘I don’t mind in the slightest. It’s up to you.’

‘In that case, let’s go for all the fun of the fair.’

As though trying to make up for her colourless childhood, Keir pulled out all the stops and the rest of the day was packed with more pleasure and excitement than Sera had known in the whole of her life.

When, her face glowing, she thanked him, he said with an odd kind of tenderness, ‘At the moment you’re easy to please, my love.’

Hot, tired, and dusty, but completely happy, they were heading back to the subway when some jewellery being displayed by a street vendor caught Sera’s eye and she paused to take a second look.

The item that had attracted her attention was a narrow silver ring with an unusual chased design.

‘Seen something you fancy?’ Keir queried, reaching for his wallet.

If it had been anything but a ring, she might have told him. As it was…

Flushing a little, she shook her head and made to move on.

‘How about this as a memento?’ As though he had second sight, he reached to pick up the very ring she’d been looking at. ‘Try it on.’

When she hesitated, he took her left hand and slipped it on to her engagement finger. ‘That fits quite well.’

Turning to the vendor, who was sporting dreadlocks and a plaited headband, he asked, ‘How much?’

Moving a wad of gum from one side of his mouth to the other, the man weighed up Keir and, apparently deciding not to push it, suggested, ‘Twenty dollars?’

Keir nodded and the money changed hands.

As they walked away, Keir’s arm round Sera’s waist, he murmured, sotto voce, ‘It might be as well not to keep it on too long. It will probably turn your finger green.’

Lifting her hand to look at it, she said, ‘I’ll chance that.’

He gave her a squeeze. ‘One day, hopefully in the not too distant future, I’ll buy you something a great deal more expensive from Tiffany’s.’

A feeling of pure joy and thankfulness filled her. Keir loved her and wanted to marry her.

No matter what he bought her in the future, nothing could ever take the place of this ring and she would never be happier than she was at this moment…

CHAPTER TWO

IT WAS almost eleven o’clock when they reached the Brownstone and climbed the stairs. Sensing that he was about to leave her at her door and not wanting this magic day to end, Sera asked quickly, ‘Won’t you come in for a coffee?’

Looking into eyes unconsciously pleading, he agreed, ‘So long as it’s a quick one. I’ll need an early start in the morning to make up for today.’

She made two mugs of instant and they drank them sitting side by side on the couch that, with its brightly patterned duvet, was also a bed.

As soon as the mugs were empty he rose to go and Sera accompanied him to the door.

Until today, he had, intentionally it seemed, kept things very casual, a handclasp, a brotherly hug, a peck on the cheek.

Now, when he bent his dark head, with innocent boldness, she lifted her lips for his kiss. After the briefest of hesitations, his mouth brushed hers.

The lightest touch, but it proved to be as explosive as dropping a lighted match into a keg of gunpowder.

Without conscious volition, her lips parted beneath that light pressure and, making a sound almost like a groan, he gathered her into his arms and began to kiss her deeply.

Head whirling, she clung to him, while his hands started to move over her body, tracing her slim waist and the curve of her hip and buttock, before moving up to find the soft swell of her breast.

When those skilful fingers began to tease the sensitive nipple, she was shaken by shudders of delight and the kind of fierce desire she had never dreamt existed.

Knowing all about sex in theory, if not in fact, she had naively supposed that love and sex would go hand in hand to produce a mutual manageable pleasure. She had never visualized being swept away by such extremes of passion.

When, with a sudden urgency, he began to undo the buttons of her dress and the front fastening of her bra, she would have helped him, but her hands were shaking too much.

Tossing the garments aside, he stooped to nuzzle his face against her breasts, taking first one nipple into his mouth and then the other.

The pleasure was so pure, so exquisite, that she thought she could stand no more when, kneeling at her feet, he began to ease off her dainty briefs, kissing his way down her flat belly until he reached the tangle of black silky curls.

A kind of sensual overload made her give a little gasping cry.

Getting to his feet, he said thickly, ‘It’s all right, my love. It’s all right.’

Suddenly desperately afraid he was going to walk away and leave her, she threw her arms around his neck and, her mouth finding his and clinging to it, pressed herself against him.

For a split second he seemed to hold back. Then, to her utmost relief, he began to kiss her again. After a moment he stooped and, lifting her effortlessly in his arms, carried her back to the couch and laid her down on top of the duvet.

Her heart pounding, her mouth dry, she watched him strip off his own clothes and, when he came to her, she welcomed him with open arms.

In spite of his own urgency, he was a gentle, considerate lover, skilful and generous. He made her first experience of physical love a beautiful experience, one she knew she would always remember with wonder and delight.

When his dark head lay heavy on her breast, stroking his curly hair, she was filled with such love and tenderness, such joy, that, unable to contain so much emotion, her heart found an outlet in tears.

Her mood of ecstasy was so all-embracing that it had never occurred to her that Keir might not feel the same.

It took her completely by surprise when, lifting himself away, he said in a queer, shaken voice, ‘I’m sorry. I never meant this to happen, believe me…’ Then sharply, ‘Did I hurt you?’

‘No, of course not.’ She smiled at him tremulously.

‘Then, why are you crying?’

‘I’m just so happy. Please tell me you are. I couldn’t bear it if you were disappointed.’

‘Of course I’m happy.’ He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the palm, before saying soberly, ‘I just hope to goodness I can keep things that way.’

At that moment, still euphoric, she could think of no reason why they shouldn’t both be happy for the rest of their lives.

Swinging his feet to the floor, he sat on the edge of the couch, his dark head bent as though in thought.

She was admiring the elegant line of his spine, the clear, healthy skin, the width of his shoulders, when something about the tenseness of his neck muscles made her ask. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘I’m a damned fool.’ Swinging round to face her, he added with sudden violence, ‘You were a virgin…’

‘That’s true.’ Her lovely, humorous, self-derisive smile flashed out. ‘But being a virgin isn’t a crime. And I didn’t want to stay a virgin for ever.’

Heavily, without hope, he queried, ‘I take it you’re not protected?’

‘As a matter of fact, I am.’ Smiling a little at his astonished face, she said, ‘My doctor suggested I went on the pill for a minor hormone imbalance.’

She heard his sigh of unutterable relief.

Gently, she asked, ‘Would it have mattered so very much if I hadn’t been?’

‘Yes, it would,’ he answered shortly.

Sera was dismayed. ‘Then, you don’t like children?’

‘Of course I like children. But this is no time to be getting you pregnant.’

Perhaps not, as they weren’t married yet. But as they loved each other, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world.

Rising to his feet, he eased the light duvet free and pulled it over her. But instead of getting back into bed, as she’d hoped, he began to put on his clothes.

As he shrugged into his shirt, she asked, ‘Do you have to go?’

Keir heard the sudden desolation and, coming back to sit on the edge of the bed, he stroked her cheek with a gentle finger. ‘I’m afraid so.’

‘But why?’

‘Because I shouldn’t have let this happen. The time isn’t right. If it was just a casual affair, with no commitment on either side, it wouldn’t be a problem. But it isn’t. And it’s too soon.

‘At the moment I need every single minute, and every scrap of energy and concentration I can muster.’ Then, with a sigh he added, ‘I can only ask you to be patient.’

Sera nodded wordlessly. She could, and would, do anything Keir wanted her to do.

‘That’s my girl.’ He kissed the tip of her nose, switched off the light and, a second later, she heard the door close quietly behind him.

Lying staring blindly into the darkness, she thought long and deeply about Keir’s reaction to their lovemaking, while any remaining euphoria faded slowly away.

She couldn’t regret what had happened, it had been so beautiful, so right…

Only Keir hadn’t thought so; he hadn’t really wanted it to happen. And, with hindsight, she could see that he’d been a reluctant lover. She had sensed his attempt to hold back.

Afterwards he’d said he was happy, but his words had lacked conviction. Perhaps he’d only said it because she’d pressed him…

But he had wanted her. Inexperienced though she was, there had been no mistaking his hunger and need. And he did love her. She felt for the ring he’d placed on her finger, and was reassured.

All it amounted to, she told herself firmly, was that, with the amount of work he was trying to get done, there was no time at the present for a wife and a family.

As he himself had said, it was too soon.

But for a man who was as much of a workaholic as he was, would there ever be time?

No, she mustn’t think like that. If she was patient as he’d asked, surely everything would come right?

Sunday was a long, lonely day, and by ten-thirty that evening Sera had given up all hope of Keir coming. She had cleaned her teeth and put on a thin cotton nightdress, when there was the lightest of taps at the door.

Hurrying over, she threw it open.

‘Hi.’ He smiled at her. ‘I wondered if you might be asleep.’

Her relief and pleasure at seeing him was so great that, for a moment, she was speechless.

Then, because she couldn’t say all the things she felt, she asked mundanely, ‘Are you coming in for a coffee?’

He shook his head. ‘I just wanted to make sure you were all right.’

Anxious not to pressure him, she said brightly, ‘I’m fine.’

Her reward was a light kiss on the cheek. ‘Then, I’ll see you tomorrow morning at six-thirty. We’ll have a walk in the park, weather permitting. If it’s raining—’

Afraid of what he was going to say, she broke in hurriedly, ‘If it’s raining, I’ll cook you some breakfast.’

Grinning, he said, ‘When I say my prayers, I’ll pray for rain.’

Back on their former footing, snatching whatever time together he could manage, the next couple of weeks were happy ones for Sera.

Though Keir never made any attempt to make love to her, and kept the relationship light, there was a warmth about him, a caring that spoke volumes.

At odd times, when he looked at her, she saw desire flare in those long, heavy-lidded eyes.

Desire that lit an answering flame.

Had he made the slightest move, she would have gone to him willingly, eagerly. But, always with a will-power she could only marvel at, he beat it down.

The fact that he refused to take what she would happily have given, served only to deepen her feelings for him.

Love, as a poet once said, is hard to hide, and there was a glow about her that lit up the office.

Returning from a business trip, Cheryl Rothwell noticed that radiance, and remarked to her PA, ‘You look as if life’s giving you a treat.’ Then, shrewdly she added, ‘Which means a man. What’s his name?’

Taken by surprise, Sera found herself admitting, ‘Keir Sutherlands.’

‘Keir Sutherlands?’ Cheryl sounded startled, and none too pleased. ‘Some man!’

Though she smiled, Sera could sense the unspoken envy.

Her expression interested, Cheryl observed, ‘I met him a couple of weeks ago when Martin and he had some business to discuss…’

All at once she paused, her attention caught by the silver ring Sera wore. But after a moment’s scrutiny, clearly dismissing it as of no importance, she went on, ‘Though I wouldn’t call him film-star handsome, he’s an attractive devil, and his sex appeal hits you like a sock on the jaw.’

Then, sharply, she asked, ‘Where did you meet him? Was it here?’

‘No. He has an apartment next door to mine.’

Cheryl frowned. ‘What’s a man who owns Sutherlands doing living in some run-down apartment building?’

Sera, who had never considered the question, shook her head.

‘Do you know how long he’s lived there?’ Cheryl pursued.

‘Only for a short time, I gather.’

‘Odd… Perhaps I’ll ask him about it when he comes to the party on Thursday night…’

Anglo American did a great deal of corporate entertaining. Like Keir, Martin Rothwell considered that more opportunities presented themselves and more real business was done in a relaxed, social atmosphere than over an office desk.

Her light blue eyes on her PA’s face, Cheryl added casually, ‘I suppose you’ll be coming?’

Well aware that it wasn’t the answer the other woman was hoping for, Sera said steadily, ‘Yes, Keir said he’d take me.’

But, sounding more like herself, Cheryl exclaimed, ‘Lucky you! I can’t say I’m not jealous.’

When Keir finally knocked at Sera’s door on Thursday evening he was well over an hour late, and she had practically given him up.

Brushing his apology aside, she assured him, ‘It doesn’t matter. Honestly. Posh parties really aren’t my thing.’

‘How many have you been to?’

‘None,’ she admitted.

‘Then I’ll do my best to see you enjoy this one.’

He was looking devastatingly attractive in well-cut evening clothes and, knowing this gathering was certain to be a lavish affair, she asked a shade hesitantly, ‘Will I do?’

She had splashed out on a new dress, and with only a limited amount to spend had gone for simplicity, choosing a slim-fitting ankle-length sheath in muted shades of green and dull silver.

‘Not everyone can wear this kind of thing,’ the sales girl had remarked, ‘but you sure have the figure for it.’

Sera’s only reservation had been the scooped neckline, which revealed the soft swell of her breasts and more than a glimpse of cleavage.

She was wearing her only piece of jewellery, a long, thin, silver chain that looped twice. It had been her mother’s, and she had worn it ever since her grandmother had given it to her for her eighteenth birthday.

Keir’s glance travelling slowly over her, from her elegant knot of hair to her matching sandals. He raised her hand to his lips. ‘My love, you look enchanting,’ he said huskily.

Thrilled by the endearment, she asked, ‘You don’t think the neckline’s too daring?’

‘No…’ His eyes on the longest loop of the chain, which disappeared into her cleavage, he added ruefully, ‘Though it’s daring enough to raise my blood pressure several notches.’

Seeing the lick of flame in his dark blue eyes, she waited, hoping he would suggest staying at home. When he didn’t, she said prosaically, ‘If we’re going on the subway, I’d better get a coat.’

He shook his head. ‘You won’t need one. It’s a hot night, and all this finery calls for a taxi.’

When they reached the Plaza Hotel, off Fifth Avenue, the party was in full swing. People were standing in groups sipping champagne while they laughed and talked, and the air was filled with the scent of French perfume and the sweet smell of success.

Glancing around the large, handsome room at the assembled company, Sera saw that nearly all the women were dressed in top designer clothes and displaying enough precious stones to fill Aladdin’s cave. While the men, along with their immaculate evening clothes, wore that unmistakable air of confidence and authority that wealth brings.

Though knowing herself to be underdressed, with her off-the-peg sheath and simple chain, Sera held her head high. While Keir was by her side, she was well content.

She might be out of place in this glittering throng, but he certainly wasn’t.

He was a man who could, without effort, establish moral ascendancy over his peers, easily holding his own amongst the rich and powerful, and several covert glances told her that a lot of the women there envied her of her escort.

She found herself wishing that she could have fitted in better for his sake; she didn’t want him to feel ashamed of her.

As though guessing her feelings, he tucked her hand through his arm and, with calm assurance, led her over to their host and hostess.

Cheryl, her red-gold hair like a shining helmet, was wearing a dramatic dress of shimmering jade green. She had all the striking gauntness of a model, and there were diamonds around her neck and in her ears.

Her brother, looking relaxed and debonair, was impressive in immaculate evening clothes.

Though she had worked in the same set of offices for some weeks now, Sera had never actually met Martin Rothwell, only catching a distant glimpse of him from time to time.

She knew he was in his early thirties, a year younger than Cheryl, who had once playfully described him as ‘my baby brother’.

At close quarters he looked even younger and, seeing brother and sister standing together, Sera realized for the first time how very alike they were.

Both were tall and well-built, with the kind of red-gold hair that was often called ginger—though Cheryl’s was several shades darker than her brother’s. They both had pale blue eyes, the kind of skin that freckles easily, a short nose, and a long upper lip.

There, the resemblance ended.

Martin Rothwell had a rather heavy face with flat cheeks and a squarish jaw, while Cheryl’s face was a smooth oval with prominent cheekbones.

They were very good-looking in their own way, and Martin had the reputation of being a charmer where women were concerned.

‘Sutherlands, glad you could make it,’ he said expansively, and held out his hand.

Watching them together, Sera noticed that, though Keir was a good six feet and broad-shouldered, Martin was equally tall and considerably heavier.

The two men shook hands. Neither smiled.

‘You’ve met my sister, of course?’

‘Miss Rothwell,’ Keir murmured politely, taking the proffered hand.

‘Oh, Cheryl, please.’

Turning to her brother, whose light eyes were fixed on Sera’s exquisite face, Cheryl said, ‘I don’t think you’ve actually met Sera Reynolds, my new PA? Sera’s only been here a few weeks. She’s from the London branch.’