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Authors: Emma Darcy

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BOOK: Merry Christmas (Mills & Boon Vintage 90s Modern)
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CHAPTER EIGHT
M
EREDITH took three deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm her nervous excitement before ringing the doorbell to Nick Hamilton’s apartment. Its Blues Point location, with views over the harbour, made it prime real estate, way beyond her income bracket. She was about to step into a world of wealth and class and it was difficult not to be daunted by it.
She reminded herself it had always been Nick’s background, though she hadn’t realised it until she’d gone looking for him at the address he’d given her. Denise and Colin Graham had lived in a magnificent home at Pittwater in those days. It was one of the reasons she’d given up her baby to them, wanting her daughter to have all the privileges she couldn’t provide, the same privileges her father had.
Nevertheless, wealth and class couldn’t provide mother love and that was what Kimberly wanted now. There was a need to be filled and Meredith was determined to fill it as far as Nick Hamilton would allow. Surely this Sunday brunch had to mean he was willing for them to establish an ongoing relationship.
Ever since they’d parted yesterday she’d been hugging his “You’re welcome” comment to her heart.
Welcome. in
his
life, too? Was he attracted to her again? Maybe it was too much to hope for. Dangerous, too, if it got in the way of forging a future with Kimberly.
Caution had to be exercised. He’d unbent enough to invite her to call him Nick, but Meredith was not Merry. He didn’t remember what they’d shared and it was no use wanting him to. She had to take it from here...whatever came.
Despite the three deep breaths, her pulse was wildly fluttering as she pressed the doorbell. Kimberly must have been prowling near the door, impatient for her arrival. Meredith had barely touched the button before her daughter was in front of her, the entrance to her home swept wide open in eager welcome.
“Hi!” It was a breath of delight, accompanied by a grin from ear to ear. “You made it here in time!”
In time for what? Meredith puzzled. Nick had said brunch was casual and arriving any time after eleven would be fine. Feeling somewhat confused, she asked, “Was I supposed to be here earlier?” A quick check of her watch showed eleven-twenty.
“Oh, no! Everything’s perfect,” Kimberly assured her and grabbed her hand to draw her inside. “I love that outfit, Merry.”
No problem there. Her stretch tights were lime green, printed with white daisies and teamed with a loose white T-shirt. Meredith had chosen her outfit for its appeal to her daughter and bright colours were certainly the order of the day. Kimberly was in orange shorts and a matching midriff top.
“I love what you’re wearing, too,” she said, smiling warm approval. It would be marvellous to take her daughter shopping one day. Was it too soon to suggest it?
The compliment didn’t really register with Kimberly. “They’re just old things,” she dismissed, hustling Meredith inside and pushing the door shut. Clearly pumped up with excitement, she danced ahead, pulling on Meredith’s hand to urge her forward. “Do come on, Merry. They’re out on the patio.”
Hit by the ultra modern and expensive decor in the open plan living room—black leather, streamlined chrome and glass, collector pieces of art, carpet so plush footprints showed up in it—Meredith was slow to pick up on the critical word. Then a frisson of unease ran down her spine. She stopped dead, halting Kimberly’s headlong rush past the designer class dining suite.
“Who are
they?”
She hadn’t been told there would be other guests this morning. She wasn’t prepared for it.
Kimberly shrugged as though it was nonconsequential. “It’s only Uncle Nick and the woman he goes out with. She dropped in about half an hour ago. Her name is Rachel Pearce.”
A lump of lead plunged into Meredith’s heart. He was involved with someone else. With a woman who felt comfortable enough in their relationship to drop in whenever she wished.
“I want her to meet you.”
No...o...o...o. The silent wail echoed down the chasm that had opened up in Meredith’s mind, swallowing the hope she had nursed and spilling an ink-black darkness into her soul.
“It will only take a minute,” Kimberly offered persuasively. “Then I’ll show you my room.”
She had to drag herself out of the pit to focus on her daughter again, seeing her own green eyes looking back at her, wanting her compliance, not realising what was asked had any import to Meredith beyond a casual meeting of two people who didn’t know each other.
Her daughter... whom she wanted to keep seeing... so meeting the woman in Nick Hamilton’s life was inevitable. Seal off what cannot be, reason dictated. Get on with it. “Do you like her, Kimberly?” Meredith asked softly, needing to know what she was walking into so as not to blunder onto sensitive territory and do herself a damage.
“She’s okay, I guess,” came the half-hearted reply. Her nose wrinkled expressively. “She sort of talks down to me but she’s not nasty or mean.” Then realising her words might be off-putting, she hastily added, “You don’t have to worry, Merry. She’ll be nice to you. Uncle Nick wouldn’t like it if she wasn’t.”
Her daughter was no fool, Meredith thought wryly. She was certainly wise to the ways of a woman who wanted to keep a man’s good opinion. Curiosity, on her daughter’s behalf, helped push the pain aside. An assessment of the woman who might be playing a big part in Kimberly’s life was necessary if she was to understand the situation and be of any help.
“Well, I guess I’d better meet her,” she said, practising a smile.
“Great!” Kimberly enthused. “She’ll probably be dead jealous when she sees how beautiful you are.”
Meredith wasn’t sure if her daughter was proud of her or intent on stirring up trouble. Either way, she had little time to think about it. Kimberly was on the march again, pulling her past a luxurious lounge setting to the glass doors that led out to the patio.
A profusion of purple and cerise bougainvillea grew from huge earthenware urns and spilled over the safety wall that edged the spacious outdoors area. Casually arranged on a lovely blue-green slate-covered floor were a dining suite, a couple of occasional tables and three sun loungers in white lace aluminium, comfort provided by royal blue cushions.
Nick Hamilton. and a red-haired woman sat at the dining table, cosily chatting to each other. Their heads swivelled at the sound of the doors sliding open and both of them pushed their chairs back and rose to their feet as Kimberly led Meredith out to them. Wealth and class staring her in the face, Meredith thought, mentally building herself a thicker protective wall to ward off their effect on her.
Nick was dressed in a smart, casual Jag ensemble, the steel blue shorts revealing the powerful muscularity of his legs, the loose tomato-red top emphasising the broadness of his chest and shoulders. He was definitely
at home,
albeit in designer leisure wear.
Rachel Pearce, however, could have stepped out of
Vogue
magazine. She was style from head to toe, making Meredith feel like a dropout from a chain-store.
Beautifully tailored white linen trousers teamed with a matching halter-neck top that moulded a perfectly curved figure. The jacket that completed the outfit was booked over the back of her chair. Silver bracelets adorned her arms and silver hoops hung from her ears, dramatic against the shining copper of her hair and the make-up that emphasised pretty features and polished sophistication.
Her suitability for a man of Nick Hamilton’s status and her sex appeal were heart-wrenchingly obvious to Meredith, and that comprised only surface attractions. No doubt she had other qualities that appealed to the man beside her.
“This is my
real
mother,” Kimberly announced to the woman, her voice ringing with triumphant satisfaction, as though the reality of a mother could displace any ambitions Rachel Pearce might have for fulfilling a maternal role. Unfortunately, relationships didn’t fall into neat black and white patterns.
Nick sighed and gestured a reproof at his niece. “Kimberly, a proper introduction would be appreciated.”
“She’s all excited, Nick,” his companion excused indulgently, one hand touching his arm in a soothing squeeze, a claim of familiarity that spelled out her position. Her smile to Meredith could not be faulted. It was open and friendly, her eyes dancing with interest. “Hello... I’m Rachel Pearce,” she said with easy warmth, offering her other hand invitingly.
Meredith took it, adopting the “we aim to please” air she used with a prospective client “Meredith Palmer. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Pearce.”
“Rachel...please,” came the laughing reply. “Nick has been calling you Meredith. I hope you don’t mind if I do.”
Establishing their coupling.
“Not at all.” Conscious of not having really acknowledged Nick Hamilton as yet, Meredith made the effort to shift her gaze to him and say, “Good morning, Nick,” as lightly as she could.
She caught him perusing her long legs, faithfully and emphatically outlined in lime green. On the instant of hearing his name, his gaze flicked up, the dark eyes sharp and alert and boring into hers with an urgent intensity that made no sense to Meredith. What was he thinking? That she might side with Kimberly against the woman he wanted? Clearly there was a conflict area which needed delicate negotiation. Maybe he was trying to discern if she would be his ally or his enemy.
“Another beautiful day,” he said. “It’s good to see you, Meredith. Would you like to join us or...”
“Merry wants to see my room,” Kimberly answered for her. “I’ve got all the photo albums laid out on the bed and my swimming trophies and...”
“I see the first claim has been made,” Nick broke in dryly.
“Yes. If you’ll excuse us...” Meredith said quickly, flashing an appealing smile from him to Rachel Pearce.
“Of course. You must want to catch up on everything,” Rachel said, her eyes sympathetic, not the least bit jealous of Kimberly’s attention.
“We did invite Meredith for brunch, Kimberly,” Nick reminded her. “Don’t get so involved with showing off that you forget we’re supposed to eat, too.”
“I’ve got a bowl of cherries and a big bag of chips. Give us a call when you put on the barbecue, Uncle Nick,” she answered breezily.
He rolled his eyes and shot a grin at Meredith that pierced her shield and hammered into her heart. “Doomed to cherries and chips. Be assured I will rescue you.”
She managed a laugh, nodded to his companion and took her leave of them with Kimberly, fiercely telling herself once again the past was gone. The love of her life could not be rescued.
“What did you think of her?” Kimberly demanded in a confidence-inviting whisper as they traversed the living room, heading for a hallway.
Meredith instantly adopted neutral ground, wary of repercussions. “I don’t know her, Kimberly. If you want my first impression, she’s smart and pretty and has a very pleasant manner.”
It drew a huff and a grimace. “I don’t want Uncle Nick to marry her. He’ll have no time for me if he does.”
Meredith frowned. “I’m sure that’s not true. He cares very much about you.”
“She brought over the enrolment forms for PLC. That’s
her
old school. She’s got Uncle Nick thinking it would be good for me to be a boarder there.”
“It is a top-class school,” Meredith commented cautiously, aware it was also a highly expensive private school that carried a lot of status, both socially and academically. Students there were definitely privileged, which was what she had wanted for her daughter, though not at the cost of her being unhappy.
“I don’t want to be a boarder.” It was a sulky, belligerent statement. “She wants me out of the way so she can have Uncle Nick to herself.”
That might or might not be true. In all fairness, Meredith had to reserve judgment. She tried to take a middle line. “I thought most boarding schools allowed their students to go home at weekends.”
It didn’t work.
Kimberly shot her a doleful look.
“What would be the use? She and Uncle Nick go out most Saturday nights. Mrs. Armstrong comes to mind me. I might as well be at the school with the other girls who stay in.”
“There is Sunday,” Meredith reminded her.
Another grimace. “It’s not the same with Uncle Nick when
she’s
here.”
Kimberly fell into brooding silence as they walked along the hall. Meredith didn’t feel equipped to break it in any constructive way. The situation had changed dramatically from what she had imagined it to be earlier this morning.
A prospective stepmother.
Rumblings of discontent from Kimberly.
Areas of conflict rising from the intermingled relationships.
Was she supposed to supply a solution?
What if Nick Hamilton wanted her to establish a good relationship with Kimberly so she could provide a happy alternative to coming home to a stepmother who seemed only to stir resentment?
They came to the room at the end of the hall. Kimberly had her hand on the knob, ready to open the door when she paused, turning to eye Meredith speculatively.
BOOK: Merry Christmas (Mills & Boon Vintage 90s Modern)
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