Betrayal

‘I fight my own battles … always have done and always will. So you see, Mr Malone, I really don’t need you or anyone else to look out for me.’

‘Lucky for you, then, that you’re so utterly self-sufficient.’ Not missing a beat, Fin came back at her, privately rattled that she continued to profess not to need him when his sense of it was that she could definitely use some help. ‘Ever heard the expression “no man is an island”? Presumably it applies to women, too.’

His comment completely threw her. The truth was that Brenna was weary of fighting all her battles on her own. It would be wonderful to have someone to share her fears and concerns with besides her poor over-worked mother. But never again would she make herself vulnerable to a man. She’d walk across hot molten lava in her bare feet first.

‘You’re wasting your time trying to win me round. All I want to do is see Nick and tell him to leave me and Nancy alone. As soon as I’ve done that then I’m going home. I’m sorry that he put you to all the trouble of having to come out here. I’m sure you’d much rather be at home in sunny California or wherever it is you’re from, and I can’t say I blame you. God knows, the winter here has little to commend it. Not unless you love it like I do.’

Digging her gloved hands into her pockets, Brenna was suddenly aware that her fingers were almost rendered frozen from the icy breeze that was blowing across the landscape. A weary sense of acute desolation made her heart feel like it was cracking.

‘I can see how you might feel like that. It definitely has a certain kind of charm,’ Fin commented.

Was he being facetious? Right then Brenna was too mentally drained even to try to analyse the remark.

‘Yes, it does,’ she softly agreed. ‘And I’m eccentric enough not to mind the cold. As long as I’m wrapped up warm it doesn’t really bother me. And the landscape …’ Her dark eyes misted over as she absorbed the view of the soft green hills that stretched as far as the eye could see. ‘The landscape just seeps into your soul.’ Her voice drifted away as self-consciousness uncomfortably gripped her.

‘Come and have a coffee with me,’ her companion suggested, his voice turning unwittingly smoky.

‘I’ve already said I—’

‘A person’s allowed to change their mind.’ Grinning, Fin’s appreciative gaze absorbed the wild windswept black tresses, the passionate soulful brown eyes and the sultry naked mouth. Truth to tell, right now the woman in front of him was all the landscape he cared to look at and admire. Windswept verdant vistas and rain-soaked flowerbeds were just no competition – no matter how lovely. ‘I promise if you let your guard down just a little and talk to me, I won’t try to take advantage.’

Brenna’s eyes instantly registered alarm. ‘You can be sure I won’t be letting my guard down – even a little – any time soon, Mr Malone. I would never make such a dangerous slip like that.’

Telling himself to be patient in the face of her continued defensiveness Fin sighed, his warm breath creating a puff of steam in the sharp cold air. ‘Message received loud and clear.’

‘And anyway,’ she surprisingly relented, ‘I prefer tea.’

‘Tea it is, then. And drop the “Mr Malone”, will you? Call me Fin. All my friends do.’

At the perplexed frown on the beautiful face in front of him, he smiled with unabashed amusement.

‘You never can tell. We could become friends. Wouldn’t that be the surprise of the century?’

Chapter Two

The heat of the fire was making her drowsy. Brenna deliberately widened her eyes as she reached forward for her cup of tea. Before she could get to it, from the other side of the ponderous oak table, Fin beat her to it. With a charming smile that was bordering on dazzling, he handed her the delicate porcelain cup and saucer and completely disarmed her. Feeling like she’d just reached the end of a path with a sheer drop at the end of it, she managed to stop her hand from shaking as she accepted it.

At all costs she had to keep a level head round this man, especially until she met up again with Nick. She didn’t want either of them to have the advantage over her.

‘Thanks.’ Taking a sip of fragrant Earl Grey tea, she leant back against the comfortable upholstery of the sumptuous sofa. Immense fatigue washed over her, just as though someone had slipped a sleeping tablet into her beverage. She supposed it was due to the combination of an early-morning start, then the long drive to reach the hotel, then the banked-up emotion that had been simmering constantly since she’d received Nick’s letter. Right then Brenna had the strongest desire to succumb to it – to simply give in and not fight it. But she couldn’t. Not when there was so much at stake. ‘So … do you work in the film industry too, Mr Malone?’

His eyebrow shot up at the question. Fin didn’t intend to give up on getting Brenna to call him by his first name but for now he would let it go. At least the lady was making conversation, not simply glaring at him with those gorgeous brown eyes of hers in deep suspicion as she was apt to do.

‘I was once. Up until a couple of years ago I’d worked as a stuntman for fifteen years. I busted my leg once too often, I’m afraid. Now I’m a stunt director with my own company. Less action but more pay so I’m not complaining.’

‘And how did you meet Nick?’

‘We met on a film set a few years back. He was between shots and I was on a break so we got talking. I guess you could say we hit it off and from time to time we meet up for a beer.’

They were friends yes, but not ‘bosom pals’, Fin acknowledged silently, the thought surprising him. The truth was he had college pals he was closer to than Nick Balcon. The British director wasn’t someone he’d ever exactly refer to as a ‘buddy’.

It was hard for Brenna to imagine Nick enjoying a close friendship with anyone. He wasn’t the kind of man that seemed to crave such a bond with another human being. Because of his self-contained character he’d naturally created an aura of aloofness around him – a mystique. He hadn’t really needed Brenna either in the end. How else could he have left her so easily and moved to the States? Not even the knowledge that she was carrying his child had interrupted his plans.

A jolt of pain assaulted her insides. Five years … Five years with no word, and now this. Their affair had lasted a bare six months but it had seemed like a lifetime to Brenna, such had been the intensity of her feelings at the time. If he had any memory, any compassionate feeling for the hopeful, unsophisticated, unconfident young woman she’d been, how could he do this to her? How could he contemplate putting her through such agony, to churn up emotions best left alone to fade away in peace?

‘Tell me about Nancy.’

Her spine went rigid at the unexpected request. What was Fin Malone really doing here? Was he gathering information to pass on to Nick to use against her in some way? She hated being so cynical. It really wasn’t in her nature. But Nick Balcon had been the instigator of that cynicism and she was sorry to say that here in this plush country hotel, it was growing by the second.

‘Why?’

‘Because she’s your daughter and I’m interested. Do you have a photograph?’

There were two in her purse but Brenna wasn’t about to admit it. ‘No. I’m sorry.’

Fin exhaled a sigh and her eyes went reluctantly to his face, flicking over the disturbing blue eyes with their long feathery lashes, the strong almost aquiline nose, and the sensuously straight slash of his mouth. Disturbingly, there was a feeling of intense trepidation in the pit of her stomach as she cautiously examined him.

‘That’s a pity. I would have liked to have seen one.’

‘Do you have children yourself?’

‘No.’ A shutter came down, along with a definite wariness that hadn’t been evident before. Well, what did Brenna expect? She’d been anything but open with Fin Malone but then she had reason to be cautious. This man was Nick’s friend. That made him dangerous in her book … very dangerous.

‘Nick tells me that you taught dance?’ he commented conversationally and it was very evident to her that the previous topic was strictly off limits.

‘I still do. I teach ballet, jazz and tap at a local private school.’

‘Is that how you’ve supported yourself and Nancy?’ Leaning forward in his armchair, Fin rested his elbows on his big, jean-clad thighs and Brenna’s tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth at the sheer unfettered physicality of the man.

‘That and a bit of bar work,’ she answered. Damn, she thought. She hadn’t meant to tell him as much as that. She could just imagine Nick looking down his nose at that particular snippet. And neither would it help her case if he took her to court for custody. No doubt his lawyers would make the whole scenario sound vaguely seedy.

Flushed with heat from the fireplace just a couple of feet away, her pinked cheeks grew even rosier.

‘I work in a local restaurant. I mean, it’s not an actual pub or anything like that. A friend of mine owns it. It’s a nice little place with a friendly atmosphere that serves exceptionally good food and it’s quite popular locally … to where I live, I mean …’

Realizing she was rambling because she was nervous of making any more unwitting mistakes, Brenna put her cup back down on the saucer with an inadvertent clatter and rose to her feet. She shouldn’t be talking to this man. It was too easy to let the suggestion of strength and dependability he exuded lull her into a false sense of security. Before she knew it, she’d be telling him her life story, including how difficult it had been to raise a child on her own with minimal money and support and that for four years she’d endured very little sleep because Nancy was a bright but anxious child plagued with nightmares that regularly woke Brenna during the night and cut her to the quick.

Then finally, she’d be confiding in him that she’d kept cuttings from all the newspapers or magazines she’d ever discovered about Nick so that one day she could show them to her daughter. Then Nancy could learn who her daddy was and maybe even be proud of him … But that would be far too much information to give to Fin. It would only provide ammunition for Nick and his more-than-likely slick and clever lawyers to enable him to get custody of Nancy. Her heartbeat slowed to an anxious thud inside her chest.

‘Thanks for the tea but I’m so tired I could literally drop. I think I should probably just go back to my room and lie down for a while.’

‘Are you sure?’

Fin got to his feet at the same time as she did, towering above her. He couldn’t deny he was fiercely disappointed that Brenna was cutting short their conversation. She might be as prickly as a porcupine with its needles erect, but with her gorgeous face and sexy curves she was so easy on the eye that he found he could easily overlook her less-than-friendly manner for a while. ‘I was just getting to know you a little bit better.’

‘No you weren’t.’ Slowly, Brenna moved her head from side to side. ‘That’s not going to happen because I won’t be here long enough.’

And with that, she fled from the seductive warmth of the Library to hurry along the thickly carpeted corridor to the lift back to the top of the house where her suite was located.

When she heard the phone ring a couple of hours later, Brenna rushed into the bedroom from the shower, a towel hastily wrapped round her sarong-style. Reaching for the receiver, she flopped down onto the big antique brass bed, spearing her fingers through her long damp tresses as she did so.

‘Hello?’

‘It’s Fin.’

She gulped down a breath and let it out again slowly.

‘You’ve heard from Nick?’

‘No. I just wanted to remind you about our dinner reservation.’

Another reprieve from the dreaded confrontation with Nancy’s father …

Brenna couldn’t curtail the strong sense of relief that swept through her. Glancing down at the little travel alarm clock she’d placed on the bedside table she saw that it was seven-thirty … dinner time. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t hungry, even to save her pride. A girl couldn’t survive on tea and complimentary biscuits alone. But the thought of spending even the shortest time with Nicholas’s enigmatic emissary made her body tremble with disconcerting trepidation.

Oh, why had Nicholas done this to her? It was bad enough she had to be here at all without having the added dilemma of wondering how to conduct herself with his friend. A friend he’d apparently dispatched to ‘look out’ for her while she was there … whatever that meant. He obviously imagined she was still the same vulnerable, inexperienced young woman she’d been when they’d first met. Was he in for a surprise!

‘You’re not backing out on me?’ Fin’s voice with its disturbing rich timbre inadvertently caressed her ear and Brenna clutched the towel more securely to her chest, as if subconsciously protecting herself from too much sensation. That sexy voice seemed to have the power to reach parts of her that no other male had reached in five long years. Her body was pulsating in response to its sensual cadence, like a cat stroked into a state of bliss by its loving owner.

‘Not at all, I’m far too hungry to refuse your invitation,’ she admitted honestly and was doubly disconcerted to hear him chuckle.

‘Does that mean you’re feeling better after your lie-down?’

‘You could say that.’

‘Good. Then I’ll meet you in the bar at eight.’

Laying out his shaving gear on the bathroom shelf beneath the mirror, Fin confessed to feeling more than a little bit pleased that Brenna hadn’t flat out refused his dinner invitation. Whether he could ultimately placate her fears or not where Nick was concerned was not something he was going to fret about. Nick was a clever, articulate guy who could perfectly well state his own case without needing Fin to do it for him. Already Brenna was suspicious of his friendship with her ex – clearly believing he’d been sent on ahead to promote Nick’s ‘good name’ and convince her that he meant only the best for Nancy. Now that he’d met his friend’s arresting and feisty ex and gleaned the situation from her point of view, Fin had to confess to not feeling entirely comfortable in the role of flag bearer for Nick.

It was clear to him that the woman was in a lot of pain over her situation – who wouldn’t be in the circumstances? Brenna obviously believed that she was under threat and maybe she was? Perhaps her fears that Nick’s wealth and position would have an influential bearing on any desire he had regarding custody of Nancy were actually founded in some truth?

Fin thought about that. About the real possibility that Nick might take Brenna to court for full custody of their daughter instead of joint custody and he wished he’d quizzed his friend more about his intentions before agreeing to divert his vacation plans to go straight to London and travel out into the English countryside to meet up with Brenna on his behalf.

But it was too late now and, like it or not, Fin appeared to be colluding with Nick to do whatever he saw fit regarding Brenna and Nancy. Feeling an unwelcome prickle of unease unravel down his spine, he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and bit back a softly uttered curse.

After replacing the receiver, Brenna lifted it again to call her mother.

‘Mum, how are you? How’s Nancy?’

‘Brenna! We’re both fine, pet. The little darling has just helped me finish doing the dishes. How’s everything going? Have you spoken to Nicholas?’

At the underlying thread of anxiety in her mother’s voice, Brenna quickly rallied to inflect optimism in hers.

‘Everything’s just fine, Mum. Nick hasn’t arrived yet because he’s been delayed but I’m hoping he’ll get here very soon.’

‘If he offers to help financially, don’t you dare even think of turning him down!’ Elsa Stewart warned sternly.

Brenna’s stomach lurched. She wouldn’t take a penny of that man’s money even if her life depended on it. She’d already done her best to explain as much to her mother, but Elsa had seen how her daughter was working herself into the ground with two jobs to keep everything together and she didn’t want the same relentless struggle that she’d endured for her daughter or granddaughter. Brenna understood, but the mere idea of accepting Nick’s financial help made her feel distinctly uneasy. The last thing she wanted was for the man to have some kind of ‘hold’ over her, no matter how tenuous. Besides, it was five years too late and that was a fact.

‘We haven’t even talked yet, Mum, so I’ve no idea what he wants to do.’

‘He said in his letter that he wanted shared custody of Nancy. I don’t think you’ll be able to talk him out of that idea if he wants it and you’ll be a fool if you do, pet. Don’t you think it’s about time you accepted some help? I won’t be here for ever, you know.’

Brenna bit down on her lip. ‘I know that, Mum. But at the end of the day I’ll do whatever I think is best for Nancy. She’s the priority here, not me. And I’m nowhere near convinced that having Nick in her life is the best thing.’

‘You’ve let what happened make you bitter. Let it go, love. Promise me you’ll work something out between the two of you that will benefit you all? You deserve a break, Brenna. A rest, at least.’

‘Mum, I’m fit and strong and not about to collapse any time soon. Look at you, you’ve worked all your life from the age of sixteen and you’re still fighting fit.’

‘Don’t use me as an example, pet. It’s taken its toll and that’s the truth. Don’t end up like me – alone and disappointed – when you could easily have so much more.’

‘Can I talk to Nancy now?’ Her breath escaping on a sigh, Brenna stared doggedly down at her ring-less fingers. Her mother had had her late in life and came from a different era, she mused – an era where for some women marriage was still ultimately the goal. More than ever nowadays, single parents were common. Brenna was just one of many. Besides … she didn’t intend to compromise her independence by being a drain on anyone … least of all Nick Balcon, even if he could easily afford it. She’d always believed in paying her own way and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

‘Mummy, when are you coming home? I miss you lots.’

At the sound of her daughter’s softly childish tones, Brenna melted. How she wished her little girl was with her now. What she wouldn’t give for the chance to just bury her face in her daughter’s silken dark curls and smell that sweet baby smell that even now as a four-year-old seemed to grow sweeter day by day.

‘Baby, I’ll be home soon … Just one more day, sweetheart, I promise. One more day and I’ll be driving home to you and Nana. Have you been a good girl? Nana says you’ve been helping her wash the dishes?’

‘We’ve been very busy doing housework and Nana says she couldn’t manage without me. I’m glad you’re coming home tomorrow. Will you bring me the comic I asked you for?’

‘Of course I will, sweetheart. I’ll pick one up at a service station on the way home. Take care now, darling. Mummy will see you tomorrow.’

There was the sound of a heartfelt kiss being blown into the receiver and Nancy’s dulcet little voice saying ‘I love you, Mummy’.

‘I love you too, sweetheart.’

The line clicked and returned to the dial tone. Brenna felt like crying. But she wouldn’t give into the need when she was meeting Fin Malone in the bar in a very short while. There was no way she was going to let him see her emotions laid bare again. How did she know he wasn’t going to feed it back to Nick to use against her in some way? No. She’d have a glass of wine for Dutch courage, she mused, then try to enjoy her meal and keep calm. In any case, she had to keep up her strength if she was going to be a match for Nancy’s father when he finally deigned to show up …

She slipped into the intimately lit bar, fervently hoping to pass relatively unnoticed. But even as she hovered briefly in the doorway, several male heads swivelled towards her with speculative regard. Fin Malone was one of them. He’d been chatting with the young uniformed barman but when he saw the man stop drying the glass in his hand to stare transfixed over his shoulder, the American turned slowly to see what had suddenly captured his attention. Heat – hot, hard and sensual – slammed into his gut when he did. In those few highly charged seconds, he honestly believed he’d never seen a woman more alluring than Brenna Stewart and he’d seen a lot of lovely women in his time. She had little adornment to complement the slinky black dress she wore that floated elegantly down to her ankles, but then what adornment did she need with that eye-catching cleavage and silky waist-length black hair? When she spotted him and started to move across the room towards him, Fin sensed a very satisfying male pride swell in his chest. She moved like a dream, too. Maybe it had something to do with her dance training? Whatever it was, the woman was possessed of the kind of grace that couldn’t be bought or learnt. Nick had told him that she was a real beauty, but nothing could have prepared Fin for the sensual, spine-tingling reality that was Brenna.

‘Am I late?’ She blushed as she drew up beside him and Fin reached up to loosen the collar of his shirt slightly beneath his tuxedo. Suddenly the formal clothing was too warm for comfort.

‘It’s a lady’s prerogative. What would you like to drink?’

‘A glass of dry white wine please.’

After getting their drinks, by mutual consent they moved to a secluded corner table away from the too interested glances of some of the bar’s other inhabitants. When they finally sat down, Brenna expelled a long shaky breath of grateful relief. Could everyone tell she felt like a fish out of water in this scenario? she wondered. Self-consciousness descended like a heavily lined cloak and she almost jumped out of her skin when Fin leant across the table to speak to her. He looked very handsome in his tuxedo. Too handsome for words, Brenna thought wildly, as appreciation and desire set her heart pounding. She almost didn’t know where to rest her gaze.

‘You look stunning.’ Crystal-blue eyes drifted lazily downwards to her cleavage, to the shadowy cleft between her full breasts, highlighted by the balconette bodice of her dress. Brenna hadn’t meant to be provocative but the dress was the only one she possessed that had seemed to fit the bill for the occasion. Fin’s appreciative male glance, however, now made her question the wisdom of wearing it. The little flare of heat in his eyes that he hadn’t been able to hide scorched her skin as though he had caressed her body in the most intimate way. How was she supposed to keep her cool when inside she was blazing like a furnace?

‘It’s an old dress.’ Her fingers clutched the stem of her wineglass as if using it to anchor her senses. ‘I don’t often have reason to wear it.’

‘That’s a shame.’

‘That’s a matter of opinion. I’m not interested in decking myself up to go out, to be honest. I’d rather be home with Nancy any day than enduring some fancy occasion with people I have nothing in common with.’ Realizing her implication as soon as the words were out, Brenna was immediately contrite. It was one thing to speak your mind, quite another to cause offence.

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—’

‘I’ve been sitting here wondering what you’re like when you’re not so angry or defensive,’ Fin calmly cut in. Though right now, being the full-blooded male that he was, he couldn’t deny the provocative appeal of breasts heaving in a low-cut dress because their lovely owner was irate.

‘You’ll probably never find that out.’

‘Can I ask why?’

‘Look, I have every right to be angry and defensive! My life was perfectly fine until I got that damned letter from Nick a few days ago. How would you like someone to put you in the position he’s put me in, to have power over you in some way just because he provided the necessary chromosome to make a baby? An event he was singularly uninterested in at the time, I hasten to add, and has been uninterested in for the past five years? Now he thinks he can summon me just like that because he has the brass nerve to decide he wants joint custody of my daughter.’ At the arresting sight of a muscle flexing in the side of the American’s lean sculpted cheek, she paused, her breathing harried.