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She sighed heavily and nodded. “All right,
then.”

“
When I calmed down I assumed
you’d run away because she’d indicated that we’d been having a
long-standing affair. Am I right?”

“
Yes.”

“
It wasn’t true, you must believe
that. It was just once.” He flashed a sheepish smile. “You know
what I used to be like when it was offered to me on a plate. That’s
what I wanted to explain. But you wouldn’t take my calls and sent
my letter back unopened. Not that I could blame you for that. So I
decided to wait until Christmas. You were bound to come home, and
I’d tell you face to face.” He looked up at her, a haunted
expression in his eye. “But you didn’t come back, and I knew then
that you never would. That was to be my punishment, for letting you
down so badly. I’d have to live through every day thinking you
hated me for deceiving you.”

“
Noah, it doesn’t
matter.”

“
I tortured myself trying to
imagine what you must think of me.”

“
I did think at first that you’d
been seeing Cassie,” she admitted when she realized he wasn’t about
to let the subject drop. “But I soon found out the
truth.”

“
You did? When?”

“
On the same afternoon that you
got married.”

He looked incredulous. “How?”

“
Rachel rang me in Cambridge. I
know you only saw Cassie the once, when you went to cut the grass.”
She looked away from him, unable to bear his close scrutiny. “For
what it’s worth I knew you wouldn’t have gone anywhere near the
place if you’d thought there was any danger of her being
there.”

“
I’m glad you knew,” he said,
letting out along breath. “But I don’t understand how Rachel could
have told you that.”

“
Because Cassie bribed Rachel to
get Joey out of the way. She offered her the catering contract at
the tennis club if she agreed. She told Rachel she just wanted the
opportunity to get you on your own and have a bit of fun.” Maxine
bit her lip, straining to keep her feelings in check. “Only Cassie
could manage to get herself pregnant from one casual
encounter.”

“
Why didn’t Rachel tell me
herself?”

“
Don’t blame her. She didn’t know
what to do. She wanted to tell you hundreds of times, but seeing
how determined you were to go through with the wedding, she didn’t
see what good it would do. She was delighted when I asked her this
morning if I could tell you. It’s been on her conscience, you see.”
Maxine sighed. “I’d made the mistake of telling Cassie when we were
still at school how you felt about children. Rachel knew too. So
even if you’d known you’d been tricked, it wouldn’t have changed
anything, would it?”

Noah shook his head. “No, I don’t suppose it
would.” His smile was meltingly gentle. “God, Max, you’ve no idea
how much better I feel, knowing you didn’t hate me for all those
years.”

“
No, Noah,” she said. “I certainly
didn’t hate you, not once I knew you’d been manipulated. But I knew
it wouldn’t be sensible to come back, so like you, I immersed
myself in my work and tried to put it all behind me.”

She forced herself to offer him a cheerful
grin when all she really wanted to do was collapse against his
shoulder and feel his arms closing around her.

“
Okay,” she said briskly. “We’ve
bared our souls. Now let’s talk about something else.”

“
You still haven’t told me why
you’ve come back now.”

“
Because I’m out of work.” She
explained about McFee and how whatever she did to prove herself a
better lawyer was always going to be eclipsed by his family
connections. Then she told him about her disinclination to sleep
with her boss.

“
It’s funny,” she said
reflectively, “but I always used to think that if only I was
slimmer everything in my life would be all right. I didn’t realize
until it happened that it would just open up a whole new set of
problems.”

“
Who is this McFee bloke, and
where can I find him?” Noah asked, scowling. “I’m going to kill
him, slowly and painfully.”

She laughed. “There’s no need for such drastic
measures. Funny as it seems, I’m glad to be out of it. And I had
the last laugh by getting a glowing reference and a substantial
pay-off.”

“
Clever girl!” He grinned. “So
what will you do now? Look for another job in the city?”

“
No, city life’s not for me. I
loved it to begin with, but the novelty’s worn off. I’m thinking of
something a little less high-key, where I might be of direct help
to people who need me.”

“
Got anything in mind?”

“
Actually, yes. I had a call from
Graham Spiller the other day.” She noticed Noah’s expression
darken. “I had lunch with him in London.”

“
Everyone seems to have been in
touch with you recently, except me. How did Spiller know where you
were, and what did he want? Sorry.” His eyes darkened, making him
appear more angry than sorry. “I know it’s none of my business, but
Spiller and I have a history, and I don’t like the thought of him
manipulating you.”

“
I have a history with Spiller,
too. Don’t worry, I won’t allow him to use me.”

Noah smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

“
Charles told him where to find
me. And what he wanted was to see if I’d like to go into
partnership with him here in Colebrook now that his father’s
retiring.”

Noah’s angry frown evaporated. “And what did
you tell him?”

“
That I’d think about
it.”

“
Did Charles know about your
resignation, then?”

“
Yes, but Graham doesn’t, nor does
anyone else at the moment, except you. I was due to have dinner
with Charles on the night I had it out with John, but couldn’t face
the company. He turned up at my flat and got it all out of me. Ten
days later Graham called.” Maxine smiled. “Charles works in
mysterious ways.”

“
That he does, but I’ve never
known him to do anything without a reason. I wonder what he thinks
he’s going to achieve this time.”

“
Yes, I’ve been pondering on that
one, too.”

“
Anyway, what are you going to do
about Spiller’s offer?”

“
I said I’d come back to Colebrook
and see how I felt when I got here, but I’ve already decided that
I’m not going to take him up on it.”

His face fell. “Why not?”

She met his gaze and held it. “I think you
know the answer to that one. I thought it might be possible, but it
isn’t. My presence here can only cause problems for
everyone.”

“
Don’t make a decision yet, Max.
You said you were going to stay for two weeks. Use them and see how
you feel after that time.” He offered her that beseeching, lost
puppy expression that so melted her heart. “Do you have the money
to buy into the partnership?”

“
Probably. I have my golden
parachute, and also a flat in The Barbican. It’s quadrupled in
value, and even after I repay the mortgage they’ll be plenty of
equity.”

“
If you don’t have enough, I’ll
help you.” His face was alight with enthusiasm. “Max, with your
experience you’d rake clients in. And there’s something else.
Spiller’s been after my business for years. If you were to go in
with him I’d transfer it all to you, provided he had no access to
it, of course.”

Maxine opened her eyes wide. “That’s kind of
you, Noah, but it’s not a good idea.”

He took her hand, running his fingers down the
length of hers. “I know it won’t be easy, Max, but I think if you
leave me again I’ll crack up altogether.”

She snatched her hand away. “That’s precisely
what I mean! It wouldn’t work. I saw your face yesterday when I
said I had a male friend coming to stay.”

“
I’ll get used to it. God, looking
at you the way you are now I can hardly pretend you won’t attract
male attention. But I promise I won’t interfere. I just don’t want
you to run away again.”

“
Now you’re just being
melodramatic.”

“
Yeah, you’re right.” He sighed
and shifted his position. “I’m not being fair, putting you on the
spot like this, I know that. It’s just that my life’s such a
goddamed mess, and having found you again I don’t think I can bear
the thought of letting you go.”

“
Noah, I—”

“
You’ve seen how things stand
between Cassie and me?”

“
You’ve put up with it for twelve
years.”

“
Yeah, but it’s getting
worse.”

“
They why did you have another
child?”

Noah’s expression hardened. “I went home
unexpectedly one day, and found she’d left the boys on their own
while she went to the hairdressers. I was ready to kill her for her
selfishness. Naturally, she put the blame on someone else,
pretending the babysitter was supposed to have arrived five minutes
after she left, but I knew it was a lie. It’s the closest I’ve ever
come to leaving her. For the first time I felt the kids might be
better off without two full-time parents and was convinced I’d be
able to get custody of them. She obviously picked up on my mood
and…well, that’s how Amy came about.”

“
Oh, Noah, she used the same ploy
twice?” Her heart went out to him, and this time it was her that
reached for his hand.

“
Yeah, but it was my own fault.”
He turned her hand over and kissed the inside of her wrist. “After
Billy, we decided not to have any more kids and she said she’d get
her tubes tied. I was stupid enough to believe that she’d done it.
Of course, when she got pregnant with Amy she blamed it on inept
surgery. Nothing is ever Cassie’s fault,” he said with a sardonic
lift of his brows. “But I knew I couldn’t leave her with a baby.
God alone knows what she might have done to the poor mite. The
night when she told me she was pregnant again was when I first
emailed you. I’d never felt the need of you more, and somehow I
knew you’d pick up on that.”

“
I don’t know what to
say.”

“
I’m not looking for pity. It’s my
own stupid fault, I know that. It’s just that I can’t bear to think
of you drifting out of my life for another twelve years.” He smiled
into her eyes. “God, when I think how arrogant I was when we were
kids; what a selfish goon I was. I can’t imagine why you put up
with it.”

She offered him a faint smile. “Nor can I, now
that you mention it.”

“
I’m not trying to influence your
decision by dragging up the past. But, if for the sake of argument
you did decide to stay, where would you live?”

“
Well, I’m not sure. I hadn’t
given it any thought, but definitely not with my
mother.”

“
Well, it just so happens that one
of my duplexes down by the river is still available.” He paused.
“The one on the end, with front and side views of the river and
that old oak tree.”

“
Noah, I’m warning you! Don’t go
there.”

“
Just thought I’d mention it,” he
said, grinning. “But why don’t we stop on the way back, since we’ll
be going directly past the site, and I’ll show it to
you.”

“
Oh, all right then. How did you
get into building from scratch, by the way? You’re only
thirty-one.”

“
That’s down to my investors,
particularly Charles, and Kitty Watts—a local lady of independent
means. They have faith in me, and persuaded some of their friends
to take a chance. The upside is that I get to do more ambitious
projects. The downside is all the meetings with accountants,
architects, and all the partners I’ve had to take on board to get
my hands on their dosh.”

“
Well, you get to use those brains
of yours after all. How bad can that be?”

“
Come on, let’s go. I’ll show you
that duplex before you change your mind. Oh and, Max,” he said, as
they headed toward their cars. “Can I ask you a big
favor?”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Well, you can
certainly ask, I suppose.”

“
I’m collecting Billy’s dog this
afternoon, and need somewhere to hide it until tomorrow. I don’t
suppose you’d—”

“
Of course I will. Anything for
Billy.”

Chapter
Seventeen

Graham escorted his departing client to the
door.

“
Anything urgent?” he asked his
secretary, flipping through the message slips she handed to him as
he paused at her desk.

“
No, but Mrs. Turner-Fenwick has
called three times. She sounded upset.”

“
Thank you, Joyce,” he said with a
tight smile of satisfaction. “If she calls again please tell her
I’m still engaged.”

Graham closed his office door behind him. It
was almost lunch time. He’d put Cassie out of her misery soon, but
first he needed to know what Maxine had been doing all the morning.
His investigator answered his mobile on the first ring.

“
They’re having lunch together in
the garden of The King’s Arms on Winchester Road,” he said, not
bothering with any preamble. “Lots of hand-holding, eye contact,
and soul searching going on from the looks of things.”