Please Forgive Me (21 page)

Although on second thoughts, perhaps this was unfair. While immature, she’d since realised that Suzanne could be sweet in her own little way and although it had taken a while, Leonie would like to think that she and Adam’s daughter were slowly but surely becoming… well – if not exactly
friends
– then at least getting along as well as stepmother and stepdaughter could.

‘OK, so when do you want to do it?’ she asked, trying her best to conceal her lack of enthusiasm.
 

‘I was thinking maybe next weekend? Neither of us has anything on, and as it’s not our week to take Suzanne, I thought it might be nice to pay her a visit instead. We could all go out to dinner and maybe I could take in a round of golf the following day and –’

‘You want us to go down there overnight?’ she repeated, her reluctance now only too clear from her surprised expression and the disbelieving tone of her voice.

‘What do you mean, ‘down there’?’ he laughed good-naturedly. ‘It’s only Wicklow you know, not outer Mongolia.’

‘I know,’ Leonie was relieved he didn’t seem to notice her reticence. ‘It’s just well …I’m not really sure it’s a good idea.’

‘Why not?’ he said looking at her quizzically.

‘Well, maybe Andrea might not be too happy with us landing in on top of her at such short notice
-
’

‘Not at all,’ Adam interjected with a casual wave. ‘She’s grand about it.’

‘You mean you’ve already asked her?’

‘I mentioned that we were thinking about it, yes. What?’ he asked catching sight of her expression.

‘I think you might have asked me first, don’t you think?’ she said in a wounded tone.

He shrugged. ‘I suppose I thought you’d be OK with it – what’s the big deal?’ After a beat, when she didn’t reply, he looked at her. ‘Seriously Lee, what’s going on? Is there some kind of problem here?’

‘No, I mean … it’s just…’ Leonie wasn’t sure how to tell her fiancé that she’d rather have her teeth removed one by one with pliers than spend time with the dreaded Andrea!

But Adam seemed to have realised this anyway. ‘Look, it’s no problem, if you don’t want to go down there; we can always do it some other time,’ he said gently, but his disappointment was palpable.

And all of a sudden Leonie was struck by how awkward this whole thing must be for him too. Clearly it was important to Adam that his future wife and the mother of his child got on reasonably well, particularly where Suzanne was concerned. So maybe she should just bite the bullet and get the meeting over and done with. It wasn’t fair to her fiancé who had enough on his plate in trying to juggle both parties, without her trying to make things awkward for him.

‘No, no it’s fine,’ she insisted. ‘I was just wondering if you wanted me to book a hotel, or will we be staying at Andrea’s or…’ She didn’t know if this was even a possibility, as she had no idea if the other woman’s house was big or small… Although knowing Andrea, Leonie thought uncharitably, she’d probably got Adam to stump up for a stately castle.

Her fiancé reached for her hand. ‘Look, I realise it’ll probably be a bit weird for you and I’m sorry for asking. It’s just, well I know us getting engaged was a big deal for everyone, and I suppose I want to make sure that we all know where we stand. Don’t get me wrong, I know Andrea is delighted that I’ve found happiness with you, and for that reason alone I’d really like you two to meet. Also, I suppose I’d like to reassure her that our getting married doesn’t mean that I’m planning on moving on and leaving my responsibilities behind. Suzanne is as much of a priority now as she ever was and that’s not going to change.’

‘I know that. And I’d be happy to meet her too.’ She said, trying to sound convincing, for his sake at least.

But as she and Adam continued to make arrangements to travel down to Wicklow to meet his ex, Leonie couldn’t ignore an overwhelmingly strong sense of foreboding.

***

They went to Wicklow the following weekend, Leonie having decided it was probably best to get it over and done with as soon as possible.

And as they pulled into the driveway of Andrea’s house near Ashford, she realised that the place wasn’t quite a stately castle – but goodness it wasn’t far off!

Now Leonie understood why the woman’s household bills were always so high. If she lived in a two-and-a-half thousand square foot mansion, hers would be too!

She wondered again if five-year-old Hugo’s father brought as much to the table as Adam did. If so, did his partner feel as envious and it had to be said, bitter as Leonie sometimes did about the sacrifices they needed to make to keep another family going?

Nobody would deny that Adam and Andrea’s other ex shouldn’t contribute to their offspring’s rearing, but compared to the cosy two-bed apartment she and Adam were currently in the process of buying in Dublin, this place was something else entirely!

But when a tall, curvy and beautifully dressed woman appeared at the doorway with long, blonde hair and exuding such naked sexuality that Leonie almost felt she had to grab hold of Adam, she finally began to understand what kind of woman they were dealing with.

Andrea was the type men just couldn’t say no to. Never mind that she and Adam had broken up over a decade ago and there was little need for Leonie to feel insecure
-
in front of this Venus, how could any woman not? And she understood now where Suzanne had inherited her watchful, almost cat-like eyes, which bore no resemblance at all to Adam’s bright, open gaze.

‘Hey there,’ Andrea addressed Adam in that childish, sugary-sweet tone that always grated with Leonie no end on the phone. ‘You’re early.’

No ‘hello, you must be Leonie, the one whose fiancé every month donates the debt of a small country to my bank account, so nice to meet you’ or even as much as a brief hello! Instead, and much to Leonie’s chagrin, Andrea reached forward and held Adam in an embrace that was way too familiar and intimate for her liking. Not to mention obvious.

‘Good to see you Andi,’ Adam said, stepping back, and to his credit looking embarrassed. ‘Yeah, we are a bit early – the traffic was a lot lighter than we expected so…Anyway,’ he said, introducing Leonie with a grin that immediately made her feel a whole lot better. ‘this is Leonie.’

‘
This
is the famous Leonie?’ Andrea trilled in a falsetto voice that sounded like nails scraping across a blackboard. Finally deigning to look at her, the other woman’s derisive gaze travelled from head to toe. ‘I’ve heard so much about you, although I must admit you look a hell of a lot younger than Suzanne described you. Typical teenagers, always so prone to exaggeration!’ she added with a childish and equally irritating giggle, leaving Leonie wondering what on earth Suzanne had been saying about her.

‘Nice to meet you too,’ she replied automatically, as if Andrea had expressed any such sentiment. Then, having also failed to utter a word of congratulations or any mention at all of the reason Leonie and Adam were actually here, Andrea motioned them into the hallway.

And as she picked up her overnight bag and followed Adam and his ex inside, Leonie felt like she was entering the dragon’s den.

The inside of the house was amazing. Decorated in chic, contemporary style; all creams walls, walnut floors and leather sofas, the place looked like it could have come straight from the pages of an interior design magazine.

Andrea had a good eye for interiors that was for sure, Leonie mused, going through to the large, open-plan kitchen situated to the rear of the house. Sitting at the kitchen table was Suzanne alongside a small child doing crayon drawings, who Leonie deduced had to be her younger brother Hugo. Well half-brother that was, she corrected herself and when the little boy looked up, she realised that Hugo shared Suzanne’s (and Andrea’s) looks, possessing the same fair hair and green eyes.

Suzanne jumped up at their arrival. ‘Dad, there’s a disco on at the community centre tomorrow night and I really want to go but Mum says I have to ask you,’ she said without preamble. Leonie couldn’t help but wonder why Andrea had suddenly shifted this decision onto Adam, when usually he only ever had the tiniest say in what his daughter should or shouldn’t do.

‘Honey, Leonie and I just got here,’ Adam replied brusquely. ‘Let’s talk about it later, OK?’

‘Fine!’ Giving her dad one of her vintage ‘looks’, Suzanne turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Andrea seemed to be having difficulty in keeping the smirk from her face. ‘Would anyone like coffee?’

‘I’d love one thanks Andi,’ Adam replied, dropping their bags on the ground.

‘Tea for me please if you don’t mind,’ Leonie said pleasantly.

‘I’m afraid we don’t drink that in this house,’ Andrea replied in a grave tone that made Leonie feel like she’d asked for a line of coke.

‘No problem,’ she said shrugging, ‘coffee is fine.’

‘Hey, Hugo my man – how are you doing?’ Adam greeted, sitting down at the kitchen table alongside Suzanne’s half-brother. ‘You’ve got so big since the last time I saw you. How’s school?’

‘Fine,’ the little boy said, eyeing Adam rather warily. As Suzanne usually went to his place, Adam didn’t visit the house very often so the child probably didn’t know him very well, Leonie mused. He was a cute little thing, she thought watching him continue with his drawing, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth.
 

‘Hello there,’ she said, going over to join them. She sat down at the table and picked up one of the drawings. ‘Wow, these are really great drawings, is this you?’

‘Yep,’ the little boy nodded happily, before pointing out another stick-thin character, this one with bizarre pink-coloured hair, and a sullen-looking face. ‘This is Thuzanne.’

Leonie tried to stifle a chuckle. ‘That’s a lovely one of your sister,’ she told him. ‘You’re very good at drawing, aren’t you?’

Hugo nodded again and smiled shyly.

‘He’s going to be a world famous artist when he grows up aren’t you, darling?’ Andrea cooed, coming over with a tray of coffee and biscuits.
  

‘Speaking of world famous, how’s Suzanne getting on with those guitar lessons?’ Adam asked her.

‘Oh, she gave that up yonks ago,’ she replied airily. ‘You know Suze, can’t get her to do anything she doesn’t want to.’

I sure do
, Leonie thought inwardly but just as quickly she remembered something. ‘But the full course of lessons was paid for upfront, wasn’t it?’ she queried, recalling the exact amount very well, as at the time the cheque had put her and Adam’s account temporarily in the red.

‘Yes, but what can you do?’ Andrea replied with a casual shrug. ‘These things happen.’

‘These things happen?’
 
Her blatantly dismissive manner made Leonie’s blood boil. The cheek of it, when those lessons had cost an absolute fortune! As did the dance classes and the tennis coaching and any other random hobby that Suzanne got it into her head she wanted to try!

Beneath the table Adam laid a gentle hand on her thigh, hoping to calm her down. She’d really had enough of this woman’s bloodsucking attitude and was sick to the teeth of her bleeding Adam dry. God knows she didn’t begrudge Suzanne her child support but this was taking the mickey.

But whatever her feelings towards Andrea, she wouldn’t dream of expressing them here and especially not in front of the child.

‘Well, we might have to see about getting some of that money back then, Andrea,’ Adam said diplomatically, much to Leonie’s relief, ‘or at least try and get our money’s worth by getting Suzanne to finish the course.’

‘Be my guest,’ Andrea replied with a self-satisfied smile, her tone implying that there wasn’t a snowball chance in hell of this happening, and Leonie couldn’t be sure but it almost seemed like the woman was pleased the subject of the wasted lessons had come up. Was she aware that Leonie had a problem with all this, and so was only too happy to rub her nose in it? Surely not, as she’d never expressed these feelings to anyone other than Adam, and he certainly wouldn’t want to rock the boat by reporting this to Suzanne’s mother.

But in person, she found Andrea even more infuriating and she wondered how on earth she was going to get through the rest of this visit. At least it was for only one night, although she really would have preferred to stay in a B&B, rather than under Andrea’s roof.

‘But there’s loads of room at the house and she’d really like to have us stay with her,’ Adam had argued beforehand. ‘And I know Suzanne would really love that too,’ he added, so how could Leonie
not
agree?

She looked again at Hugo’s scribbling. ‘You really are very good at this you know,’ she said, hoping to relieve some of the tension by changing the subject. She picked up one he’d drawn of just three people; two adults holding hands with a child. ‘This one is lovely, is this you?’ she asked, and again Hugo nodded. ‘This must be your Mum, and who’s this?’

‘That’s Billy,’ Hugo said.

‘Oh? Who’s Billy?’

‘I think that’s enough drawing for today, darling,’ Andrea said, and before the little boy knew what was happening, she quickly proceeded to tidy his things away. ‘Adam, I suppose you’d better show Leonie to your room.’

‘Sure – the usual?’ he said, and she felt somewhat relieved to learn that he did indeed stay in a separate room when he visited. Not that she had any reason to believe otherwise but…

‘So who is
Billy then?’ she asked him when they were alone upstairs.

‘He’s an old friend of Andrea’s. They had a bit of an on/off thing going for years so maybe he’s back on the scene.’

‘Well whoever he his, she certainly seemed reluctant to have Hugo talk about him, didn’t she?’

‘Do you think so?’ Adam, typically, hadn’t picked up on anything out of the ordinary.

‘You didn’t notice her clearing his colouring things away in lightning speed?’ she prompted.

Adam shrugged. ‘I just assumed she wanted to start getting things organised for dinner.’

But Leonie wasn’t convinced. Andrea had been the epitome of cool calm and collected all throughout the visit until Billy’s name was mentioned.