THE WAR BRIDE CLUB (40 page)

      He didn’t even look over his shoulder.
 

      She’d just ruined any chance she’d had of something developing between them.

      It was over. For good.
 

      Now she might not even have a home to live in.
 

      
He was gone.

      Betty stood, squared her shoulders and left her coffee untouched. Her heart might have been broken twice now, but she still had her dignity, not to mention the love of a child who was waiting for her. Wasn’t that all that mattered?

      And she still had Ivy. For now.
 

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

HER feet were aching, the woollen stockings rough against her skin, but Alice couldn’t recall smiling so much in a single day. She’d finally gotten back into the swing of nursing, finished her two-day course, and now she was walking home from her shift.
 

      When she’d arrived here, all she’d wanted was a life that involved parties and lunches and money. Now, she just wanted to be happy.
And she was
.
 

      There was also the added bonus of knowing her husband was waiting for her at home. Probably anxiously waiting for her, desperate to show her the new premises.
 

      Alice rounded the corner and started walking more briskly. Her eyes strained until she could make out their house, and then her husband. Ralph was standing on the veranda, waving.
 

      She started to run, desperate to see him. Desperate to make sure this was real, that the way she’d looked forward to seeing him all day was actually going to be reciprocated.
 

      “Hi, darling.”

      Ralph jumped down the three steps and opened his arms for her. She fell into them, face raised for the kiss she’d been waiting for.
 

      “Hi.” She bent to collect her bag from the sidewalk as he released her.
 

      “Shall we go?” he asked.
 

      Alice skipped up the steps and called over her shoulder. “Let me change. I’ll be two minutes.”

      She went into their bedroom, inhaled the smell of her husband’s cologne, and slipped from her uniform. Alice reached for a pair of slacks, then a blouse, and dressed quickly.
 

      “Come on, honey, we need to get there before dark.”

      She spritzed herself with perfume and hurried back out.
 

      “Ready.”

      Ralph offered her his arm and she looped hers through.
 

      “So this is really happening?” she asked, looking up at him.
 

      “Yes, Alice, it’s really happening.”
 

      He looked so happy. She was so pleased for him, so excited about their future, about what was going to happen for them both.
 

      “Did you sign the lease today?”

      He grinned at her. “It’s ours.”

      She squeezed his arm tighter.
 

      “The finances were approved today, too. The bank was very forthcoming.”
 

      Alice grinned.
 

      “Of course they were always going to say yes, you know, given the contract I secured with the New York Post and a new book publisher.”

      Alice stopped in the middle of the street. Ralph spun around to face her, smiling.
 

      “What?” Had she heard him correctly?

      He scooped her up and twirled her around.
 

      “It’s happening, Alice, we’re going to be a great success, I just know it.”

      She couldn’t believe it. “You got the contracts? The ones you told me were on your dream list?”

      He put her down and pulled her along.
 

      “You’ll have to keep nursing for a while, until the business is more established, but we’re going to make it. I just know it.”

      They walked along in silence.
Happy silence.
She didn’t know what to say, and it didn’t matter. They didn’t need to talk. They were both happy, their marriage was going to work, and their future was bright.
 

      “We’re almost here.”

      “Where is it?”

      Ralph held her back, leaned in close and pointed across the street.
 

      “The building with the striped awning out front.”

      Alice’s pulse started to race.
It was beautiful
. It needed new paint, and the inside was probably run down, but she loved it anyway.
 

      It signalled their future. Their success.

      “I love it.” The words sighed from her mouth like a breath of wind.

      There was nowhere else she wanted to be. Nowhere else in the world.
 

      The very thought struck her like a bolt of lightening to her skin.
 

      She was happy. Truly, incredibly, without doubt happy.
Maybe for the first time in her life.
 

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

BETTY pushed aside the heavy drape and let her fingers curl around the fabric. The glass was ever so slightly fogged over, and she rubbed her hand in a circular motion to better see outside.
 

      It was a surreal experience, being here. The dread that had descended over her when she’d been told of Charlie’s death – it still sent a spasm of pain down her spine. But the insistent throb of grief had slowly started to fade, replaced by a longing that she couldn’t quite describe. A longing she hadn’t even felt that first night she’d spent with her husband. A longing that she didn’t want to admit to, but one that was still there, constantly reminding her of what she’d lost.
 

      Every time she thought of Luke, she wanted to be closer to him. To hold him. For him to admit that he felt it too.
 

      But Luke was gone. As if it was her fault that something was happening between them. As if he was never coming back.
 

      A tiny gurgle was replaced by a cry, and Betty turned to see William wriggling in the cot. She let the drape fall back into place and pulled her nightdress tighter around her body, trying to warm a chill that she knew wasn’t caused by the cold. She was trying to pretend she wasn’t waiting for him, but the truth was she was anxious for him to return. She had thought of little else since he’d left. Where had he gone? He’d told her it was a business trip, told Ivy he could be gone for a week or two. But she wasn’t so sure. It felt like he’d gone and he wasn’t coming back.
 

      
Maybe he was waiting for her to leave.

      William cried again, more insistently this time.
 

      “I’m coming,” she cooed, eyes on her little boy. “Mama’s coming.”

      He was sitting up, ruffled from bed and flushed in the face. He smiled as he saw her, his mouth breaking into a grin that she was still excited to see, that still warmed her heart every time she looked at him.
 

      “Hello, wee man.” Betty scooped him up and cradled him against her, even though he was getting heavy. “Hello.”

      He smiled up at her and she felt a familiar flutter of happiness.
 

      “Mama.” He kept smiling. “Ma-ma.” He touched her face and giggled.

      She smiled back. “What are you doing awake, mister?”      

      The pleasure he brought her was indescribable – unimaginable to anyone who hadn’t yet been blessed with a child, but real to her every single day.

       Without her son, she would never have travelled here, would never have met Luke. And even though she still felt a touch of guilt, at the thoughts and feelings she had for him, there was no way she could forget them. No way she could ignore them any longer or push away the longing within her that beat like a constant drum. Even if he’d already turned her down.

      Betty heard the crunch of gravel as footfalls echoed outside. She dared not hope it was Luke, that he could be home already, but the way the door shut, with such a thud, made her sure it was. Had he come home to be with her? Returned early because he couldn’t wait to be back in her company?
 

      Or had he returned to tell her to leave? That she’d outstayed her welcome? Maybe he couldn’t forgive her for what she’d said at lunch the other day.

      The slam of an internal door made her jump. She looked down at the alarmed eyes of her son and held him tighter.
 

      From what she’d heard so far, it was definitely Luke; no one else had the authority to slam a door in this house. Ivy certainly wouldn’t and neither would one of the maids.
 

      
And who else would be arriving at this time of night?

      It wasn’t like Luke to be angry, but there was a seriousness about his arrival that she wasn’t looking forward to confronting. They hadn’t exactly parted on good terms.

      Something was about to happen, something that would define her future, and it scared her.
 

      Betty heard feet stomping up the stairs. She quickly rose and turned the key in her door, locking it.
 

      “Ssshh, baby. Shoosh now.” She sat him on her bed, pressed against her pillows, and passed William the stuffed rabbit June had given him when she’d been to visit.
 

      William started to jump the toy about, smiling, and she scooted over to the mirror. She was a mess. Luke couldn’t see her looking like this.
 

      If it was actually Luke, and not an intruder.
 

      There was a knock at her door. Followed by a few more. Then the handle turned.
 

      The lock stopped it from being opened.
 

      “Betty? Betty, open this door now.”

      It was Luke.
Oh my.
 

      It was Luke!

      His voice was urgent.
 

      “Just a moment,” she called back.
 

      Betty brushed her hair up and pinned it off her neck, pulled it softly off her face.
 

      “Betty!”

      She was nervous. Her hands were shaking and a cool bead of sweat had broken out across her forehead. She powdered it away.
 

      “One minute, Luke.”

      “Now!”

      He growled out the word.
 

      She had wanted to get changed first, to be presentable when she opened the door, but if she didn’t comply he was going to have the entire household coming up to see what was going on, or possibly bash the door down.
 

      She stood up. Color flushed her neck, curling gently up to her face. She turned from the mirror and crossed the room. William was starting to whimper, his bottom lip quivering.
 

      “It’s okay, darling,” she whispered to him.
 

      “Luke, I…”

      When she unlocked the door, it was pushed open with such fury that it almost knocked her over.
 

      “Luke!”

      His eyes stopped her. They looked hungry, wild, far from their usual pale shade of brown. His cheeks were stubbled, not freshly shaved like she was used to seeing.
 

      He still hadn’t said a word.
 

      “If you’d just let me finish dressing we could have been a little more civilized.” She was trying to be strong but her words, her voice, were weak.
 

      Luke took two strides, two long slow strides, until he was standing close enough to push her over with his chest. So close that she could have fallen into him just to feel his body against hers.
 

      He reached for the back of her head then. Betty couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He cupped his hand to her hair and bent slowly, so slowly, until his lips touched hers.
 

      She wanted to resist. To pull away and tell him no. After the way he’d run, the way he’d turned her down when she’d tried to be honest with him, he had some explaining to do. But she couldn’t. Instead she responded the only way she could–kissing him back, arching into him as he pulled her even closer.
 

      William began to cry, but she forced the sound away. All she wanted was to stay like this, tucked into Luke’s frame, lost to the feeling of his lips touching hers. Knowing that he felt the same way she did, and that they could ignore it no longer.
 

      He pulled away. Left her feeling confused. Cold. Upset.
Alone.