Un-Break my Heart: Book 2 (The Heart Trilogy) (49 page)

Mitch watched her drifting in front of him and hoped she was thinking the same thing. He couldn’t wait for her birthday next year as that was when he was planning to pop the question, if he could wait that long?

Chapter 60

Monday morning dawned grey and cold as I made my way into the radio station building.

“Morning Naomi”

“Morning Steph, the coffee is on and a Mr King phoned and left a message for you to call him as soon as possible”

“Thanks for that” I replied, wondering why Zack needed to chat so early in the morning”

Filling my mug I headed into the office and shut the door. I tapped the number into my phone and waited for an answer.

“Morning Mrs Eden, I wondered if I could call into the office today to finalise all the paperwork” Zack said.

“Absolutely, how does eleven suit you” I asked.

“Fine, I’ll see you later” and with that quick conversation he was gone.

My emails were an eclectic mix of thank you ones from the launch party and enquiries for sponsorship and advertising costs and availability. I forwarded them over to Lesley and Amy to deal with and then sat back to finish my coffee and reflect on the weekend. It had been great to spend time with Sarah and Chris as we started to tentatively plan the wedding. Greg appeared in my doorway and smiled cautiously at me.

“Sorry about Saturday night and Felicity” he apologised.

“It’s ok, I don’t like to lose control like that but she made my life hell a long time ago”

“I think I’ll steer clear of her in future”

“I would she's trouble” I warned, glancing up at the clock.

Just then my phone rang

“Mr King is here for you, shall I bring him up to your office?”

“Yes thanks and offer him a drink on the way, I’ll have another coffee” I replied.

“Zack is on his way in, so if you’ll excuse me”

Greg nodded and headed to his office, a few seconds later I spotted Lesley duck inside. Then Naomi appeared in the doorway looking slightly flustered at her proximity to Zack.

“Mr King for you” she said, ushering him in and then heading back down the corridor to get our refreshments.

“It’s good to see you so soon after Saturday night” I said, motioning him to take a seat.

He smiled as Naomi returned with our coffee and I watched her blush bright pink.

“Thank you Naomi” Zack replied, his deep voice as smooth as melted chocolate. If I had been twenty years younger I would have been flustered in this guy’s presence.

“So I have the contracts all drawn up and then we’ll get an advert or two recorded for you this week and upon your approval we can get things rolling within the fortnight” I said, getting straight down to the business in hand.

“That’s good, just email them across to me” Zack replied, pushing his card across the desk in my direction “But work is not really why I wanted to talk to you today”

Zack took a sip of his coffee and then placed the cup on the corner of the desk

“I believe you may have picked up one of my leaflets about our Burlesque nights and seen your daughter Charlotte on it”

“Yes” I replied “I have to say that I was a little shocked but guess that you don’t actually know my daughter is only seventeen”

“I’m afraid I did know, but she is such a talented dancer that I had to at least ask her if she would consider it. I could hardly believe it when she said yes and I kind of assumed that she had talked it through with you”

“You know teenagers Mr King; they thrive on secrets especially when it comes to doing things their parents might not approve of”

He nodded and smiled at me across the table, he looked older than his years

“I wanted to reassure you that nothing happened beyond her dancing and I’m still puzzled by the comment that Felicity made regarding video footage. As you know I have video cameras all over the club for safety and security reasons and unless the footage is required by the Police it gets deleted on a daily basis. I will also be speaking t
o
Charlott
e
to tell her that I can no longer employ her until she reaches eighteen” he declared, sitting back in his chair once more and nursing his coffee.

“Thank you Zack, I will be talking to her about it when she gets home at the weekend and don’t worry I won’t be taking things any further than that. I guess no dancing for a while will be punishment enough”

“I do want to say that I am slightly worried by a conversation I had the night o
f
Charlott
e
dancing with a gentleman who wanted the dance footage as he claimed to be a club owner i
n
London, however he never got back to me with his email”

I pondered this information and took a sip of my coffee at the same time.

“Well, knowing Felicity as I do I believe it was just a lie meant to hurt me?”

“Would it be impolite if I asked what you did to her” Zack asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Fall in love with James” I replied.

“But you won in the end” he smirked.

“I don’t think the fight is over yet”

Standing up I saw the amusement in his eyes as he extended his hand.

“It’s been a pleasure and I hope that our working relationship will continue on this friendly footing”

“Same here” I responded, shaking his hand. He held it firmly and before letting go Zack had the last word.

“You’re lucky to have such a beautiful and talented daughter”

I showed him out to reception and saw Naomi watching him disappear from view.

“Boy that man is utterly delicious” she said.

“And he knows it” I replied, grinning back at her. Naomi laughed and returned to her desk. Back in my office I picked up the phone and gave James a ring at home, since he wasn’t back in work until tomorrow morning.

“Hi Honey”

“Hi babe, something wrong” James asked.

“No, but just had an interesting conversation with Mr King from Dusk till Dawn. He admitted employing Charlie despite knowing she was under age but has told me he won’t offer her any more work until she is old enough”

“Well let’s see wha
t
Charlott
e
has to say on her return”

“He also said another club owner was enquiring about footage o
f
Charlott
e
dancing but he never got back to him so no footage could have leaked out” I concluded, but my doubts crept back in. I still couldn’t admit to James all the far fetched suspicions I had about his ex-wife.

We chatted about dinner that night and then I rang off to prepare for my show, once more slipping a song in for my fiancé. The rest of the week passed without further disruption and after my show on Friday I headed home to find James in the driveway putting a large bow onto the front of the new motorbike.

“He’s going to love it” I exclaimed, admiring the red and silver paint job.

“I hope so, His mate Simon from the shop said it was the one he would buy if he ever had enough money”

I wrapped my arms around James and tip toed to allow my lips to touch his.

“I know you’re still worried about the revelation, why don’t you tell him what Felicity told you and let him decide whether to believe it or not”

He stepped back to look at me in shock and surprise.

“You know that’s not a bad idea” James said, mulling it over.

After taking Jester for a quick walk, we headed to the airport to collect Charlotte and Mitchell. The drive was a silent one as we both considered the difficult conversations we needed to have with them at some point over the weekend. Walking into the arrivals area I placed my hand in James’ and squeezed it.

“Let’s just have a happy night tonight and worry about the other stuff in the morning”

“Yeah, it’s going to be lovely to see them” James replied. The flight was on time and we waited and watched as couples and families appeared through the gate.

Suddenly I heard a small shout as Charlie appeared and ran to meet me, she looked so tanned, healthy and overflowing with happiness. Just behind her was Mitchell, wheeling her suitcase and carrying his bag too. He looked taller and more mature in the six weeks he had been away.

“Hey Mitch” James said, hugging his son “Good trip”

“Yeah Dad, great trip but hard work”

“Except for the last fortnight when the shows finished and I was able to have a holiday with Charlie” he smiled across at her. Was it even possible for them to be more in love now than six weeks ago?

“Yes, and I got to dance in the last show…it was amazing” Charlie cut in.

“I can’t wait to hear all about it” I said “But let’s get home first Pam and Peter are waiting to see you and there is a present waiting”

In the car we made a quick detour on the way home and grabbed fish and chips before turning into the driveway. As the security light lit up the driveway Mitchell spotted the motorbike with the bow tied onto it.

“Oh my god Dad, it’s the bike I’ve always wanted” he gasped. Mitch leapt out of the car and headed for the bike. His hand stroked the polished metal as he did a slow walk around its perimeter.

“I don’t know what to say Dad, except Thank you” Mitch replied, his face still registered the shock.

“Your friend Simon told me it was the one you really wanted, and as you haven’t managed to injure yourself yet I thought you could probably handle the extra power” James said, looking proudly at his son.

Just then Pam and Peter appeared in the porch and watched as Mitch mounted the bike and sat comfortably astride.

“Shall I get the keys?” Pam asked.

“N
o
Nan, I think I’ll wait and take it out tomorrow…when my girl is more awake” I realised that Charlie was still in the car, sprawled out and sleeping on the back seat. He climbed off and went back to gently shake her shoulders.

“Are we home” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Yes, you’ve just missed watching me open my birthday present” She looked over his shoulder at the new bike in the driveway and smiled, broadly.

“I can’t wait to go for a ride on that” she said.

“I can’t either, but tomorrow will be soon enough”

“Come on you guys, the food will be getting cold” I chided, grabbing my daughter’s case as James took his son’s bag. Inside the house we headed for the lounge and with trays on our laps enjoyed the meal. I watched Charlie struggling to stay awake.

“I really want to stay up and tell you all about our holiday but I’m knackered” she said.

“Night sweet pea” I said.

“I’m going to turn in too” Mitch said, following her lead. I noticed the new watch on his wrist and smiled, guessing that Charlie’s dancing had paid for such an expensive present.

“Night Dad, thanks again”

“My pleasure, son” James replied. I saw the hint of sadness in his eyes as his mouth lingered over the last word. I knew that he didn’t want to consider that Mitch was not his, and what the news would do to their relationship.

With Pam and Peter heading back down the garden James pulled me into his arms, resting his chin on the top of my head.

“Fancy a dip” he whispered.

“Yeah, why not”

Taking my hand he pulled me up and as he sorted out the garden lights and the music I grabbed our towels and dressing gowns. Then we slipped into the warm moonlit water.

“I’m glad they’re home” I said, closing the gap between us in the water.

“Me too” James replied “But for how long?”

His words hung in the silence, as we balanced on the edge of a world we knew that would be changed in an instant with tomorrow’s revelations. I kissed James then and we clung to each other.  I felt the bubbles breaking on our skin, the stars shining above and the two of us anchoring each other to the world.

Eventually we climbed out and walked into the house and straight upstairs to bed. I ended up being the first awake and headed downstairs to make the coffee. Cradling the hot mug in my hands I turned to the radio and tried to envisage how things would go later
.
Charlott
e
was the simple one but Mitchell was the biggest worry and one that would surely change our world. In my mind I saw her cold blue eyes and the smug, self-satisfied look on her face that night in the wine bar. Like my heroine Scarlett O’Hara I vowed that I would win this battle as the warm coffee slid down my throat. Suddenly arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me against a firm, familiar body.

“Morning sexy” his voice whispered next to my ear, as always sending shivers of desire through me.

“Sleep alright?”

“What do you think?”

I watched his slumped posture as he leant against the kitchen counter.