Winner Takes It All (42 page)

‘
No!’ yelled
Jackson. ‘No, this can’t be true.’

He got out of his seat
and rushed over to Tom, laying into him. Using fighting skills he’d
last needed at school when the bullies used to pick on him for
talking a bit posher, Tom punched his cousin in the face, sending
him reeling across the floor, almost landing on Morgan’s
desk.

‘
Stop it,’
cried Tara. ‘Stop it both of you.’

Jackson climbed to his
feet, stumbling around still stunned.

‘
After all I
did for you,’ he cried. He pointed to Tara. ‘You wouldn’t have met
her if I hadn’t told you to do it. I spent all that money on you. I
even paid that whore Sadie to fuck you.’

‘
You paid
her?’ Tom uttered.

‘
She wouldn’t
have touched you with a bargepole if I hadn’t. I did all that and
yet you get Montague Construction. I am going to contest it, I
swear.’

‘
Mr Pearce
your grandmother made this in sound mind, there is nothing you can
do,’ Sachs interjected.

‘
She would
have changed it if she’d known her precious Tom had fucked a
Cusack.’

He launched himself at
Tom once more, but was halted by a security guard – obviously
called by Morgan – who took hold of him and dragged him kicking and
screaming from the room. Peace descended once more and the reality
of what had just happened hit Tom.

‘
Is it true?’
he uttered. ‘Am I really the head of Montague
Construction?’

‘
You certainly
are,’ Morgan smiled. ‘Your grandmother’s social status was rocked
heavily by Jackson’s recent behaviour. She changed her will just a
few weeks ago.’

‘
I don’t
believe it!’ Tom gasped, gripping his face. ‘Oh my God. I don’t
believe it!’

They left the office and
walked back to the apartment. Well, Tara walked, Tom floated along
on cloud nine. What remarkable luck. If Sorcha hadn’t died at
Layton House, she would have no doubt come straight back home and
changed her will because of Tom’s treachery. All this time he’d
wondered what she meant when she’d said ‘after all I’ve done for
you’. It was that she had changed her will in his
favour.

It was only as they
re-entered Christian’s flat, Tom realised Tara was quiet. For a
moment he panicked, worried she was ill and there was something
wrong with the baby. She dumped her handbag down on the dining
table and said she needed a lie down. As she walked into the
bedroom, she went to shut the door behind her, but Tom put his foot
against it, stopping it closing.

‘
Tara are you
okay?’ he asked. ‘You’re not feeling unwell are you?’

‘
Who’s Sadie?’
she asked, sitting down upon the bed.

‘
I’m
sorry?’

‘
Who’s
Sadie?’

‘
Sadie? Oh she
was a girl Jackson introduced me to when I first came here. We
carried on seeing each other on and off when I came back to England
but I dumped her the moment I realised I loved you.’

‘
Do you mean
that?’ she whispered. ‘You weren’t seeing her at the same time as
me?’

‘
No, don’t be
silly. I’d forgotten all about her until he mentioned her.’ He
reached out and pulled her to him, kissing her hair. ‘Oh baby how
can you even think I could be interested in anyone
else?’

‘
I still find
it hard to believe you want me sometimes,’ she said.

‘
You are a
funny one. I’ve just spent the last week trying to find the right
moment to ask you to marry me.’

She looked at
him.

‘
Are you
serious?’ she gasped.

‘
Yes! We’ve
already done the baby bit; we might as well do the marriage bit as
well.’

‘
That’s very
romantic,’ she laughed sarcastically.

Tom giggled and got down
on the floor on one knee. He took her hand and kissed
it.

‘
Tara Eades
will you marry me?’ he asked.

‘
I accept,’
she nodded primly.

With a roar, Tom reached
up and hugged her, pushing her back onto the bed.

‘
This is the
best day of my life,’ he said. ‘And it’s all because of
you.’

‘
Me, and your
cousin having sex with transvestites!’

And with that they both
burst out laughing.

Twenty Three

Two Months
Later

Alex stepped back onto British
soil feeling relaxed and a little more positive. She may have been
swapping a week of Ibiza sunshine for rainy old Britain in
November, but an exciting future lay ahead of her. She’d just been
to visit Mel and Fillipe to catch up on the progress of Sheridans
Ibiza and it looked amazing. It was now a big white shell, and the
rooms were clearly visible and it was just how Alex had imagined it
to be. Mel had finally settled down and was blissfully happy with
Fillipe.

Alex sometimes felt she was the
only person who wasn’t blissfully happy. Tomorrow her cousins Tara
and Tom would be getting married in Claremont Hall and to her
chagrin she’d still not found the courage to let people know the
next wedding there wouldn’t be her own. After Ben’s death and all
the revelations that had come out about Maurice Bannerman, Alex had
been too exhausted to find the strength to tell Robin it was over
and so they had continued to trundle along, making wedding plans
and letting everyone believe they were happy.

Once through Customs she headed
out into arrivals and groaned when she spotted Robin standing
there, that stupid smile upon his face. She then mentally kicked
herself; he’d made the effort to come and meet her and all she
could do was wish he wasn’t there. She felt so sorry for Robin, he
was a lovely man – not rough and sexually demanding like Jean or
unfaithful like a lot of her friends’ husbands. But he was just so
boring and most of all, he wasn’t Jack.

‘Alex darling,’ he gushed,
holding out his arms to her.

‘Hello Robin,’ she replied,
passing him her bag to carry.

‘How was it?’ he asked as they
headed towards the exit.

‘The hotel is looking wonderful,’
she replied. ‘It should be opened by the beginning of the holiday
season next year.’

‘That’s fantastic. I thought we
could drive down to Layton House and stay overnight. It seems silly
going back to London then going back to Sussex
tomorrow.’

‘You’re probably right,’ she
sighed.

During the short journey down to
Abbott’s Leigh, Alex feigned tiredness; resting her head against
the window of Robin’s car and pretending to be asleep. Instead she
was wide awake and lamenting upon her own miseries. She fantasised
that it was Jack beside her and he was driving her back to her
family home and they would go to the wedding tomorrow and announce
to everyone they were going to be together from now on. But this
could never be. No one had noticed when he’d come to the house
after Ben’s death because everyone was so wrapped up in their
grief, but it would not go un-noticed if she attended a wedding
with her business partner and not her fiancé.

Alex wondered what she had done
that was so wrong to deserve this, a lifetime of snatched moments
of happiness with the man she loved. Other people met, fell in love
and married. Why was she the one who was entering a business
arrangement rather than a loving union? Should she compromise
herself or remain alone, spending time with Jack when she could?
But what would happen when the time came when she wanted children?
She couldn’t face being a single mother
and
helping her
father run Sheridans. But what was the alternative? Another fifty
years married to a man she didn’t love? Dying unfulfilled and
unhappy. Perhaps being alone was better than settling for second
best.

Opening her eyes, she noticed a
service station coming up in the distance. She looked over at
Robin.

‘Can you pull over at the next
junction?’ she asked.

‘Uh?’

‘There’s a service area coming
up. I need the toilet. I’m also gasping for a drink. I thought
maybe we could have a cup of tea.’

‘Alex we’re five miles away from
Abbott’s Leigh, can’t you wait?’

‘Okay I’ll piss all over your car
shall I?’

‘Okay, okay,’ he sighed,
indicating that he wanted to move into the correct lane.

Taking out her mobile phone, she
sent a text message to Jemima, the only person she’d confided in.
Luckily she would be in Abbott’s Leigh with the rest of the family,
preparing for the wedding.

Jem, can you come and
pick me up at the Service Station at Salvidge?

Thanx Alex

While Robin queued to get them
both a cup of tea in the little café at the back of the service
station; Alex went to the toilet and stood for five minutes
splashing her face with cold water. What she was about to do would
be like kicking a puppy and she hated herself for it. She wished
she could be callous enough to do it by text message or email or
something, but Robin deserved better.

Composing herself, she walked
back into the bland, anonymous restaurant and found him sitting
there stirring his cup of tea. For a moment Alex questioned her
sanity. There was nothing wrong with Robin and she would never find
anyone else who was as devoted to her. But didn’t he deserve a life
better than her grandpa Ben? He had spent fifty odd years married
to a woman who was in love with someone else and it seemed so
unfair. Surely Robin didn’t deserve the same fate and there must
have been a legion of girls out there who would jump at the chance
of going out with him.

She sat before him, thanking him
for the tea, and knew it was now or never.

‘Robin I’ve asked Jem to come and
pick me up. I’d like you to go back to London.’

‘But who’s going to take you to
the wedding?’

‘I don’t need
taking
to
the wedding. I’m going by myself. I don’t want people going on
about the next wedding being ours because it isn’t going to
happen.’

‘What are you talking
about?’

‘I’ve had some time to think
while I was in Spain. I’m not ready to get married. Daddy’s handing
a lot of Sheridans operations to me and I want to make a really
good job of it. I wouldn’t be able to dedicate myself to you and
you deserve better.’

‘I don’t expect you to be some
little stay at home wife Alex,’ he laughed. ‘This isn’t the
nineteenth century.’

‘I know that, but okay
I’m
not ready for marriage. The day you proposed to me I was going to
say no, but I got that phone call about the IRA story and
everything just went crazy. I should have told you straight
afterwards that I didn’t want to marry you, but I didn’t have the
heart. You’re a lovely man Robin but you and I were never going to
set the world alight and we’re both too young to settle for second
best.’

‘Jack Byrne’s left his wife has
he?’ Robin suddenly spat with a bitter tone to his
voice.

‘S-Sorry?’ she
uttered.

‘You may think I’m stupid Alex,
but I’m not and I know perfectly well that you’re sleeping with
Jack. You didn’t think I thought it weird how he was the person you
wanted with you when your grandfather died? My God you even called
me Jack the other week but I kept quiet, not wanting to upset
you.’

‘Then why did you want to marry
me then?’

‘Because I love you. I’ve loved
you since I was a child.’

‘But that’s not enough Robin.
Look, this is a family secret but I’ll share it with you. My
grandmother had an affair with Andrew McDonald and Paula was the
result.’

‘You’re kidding?’

‘I’m not.’

‘Andrew was the love of Gran’s
life and when she knew she couldn’t have him, she settled for
second best, Grandpa. But it was different then, that was the 1940s
and Gran was pregnant and back then she couldn’t have a baby out of
wedlock. But it’s the twenty first century and I’m not pregnant and
I’ve no reason to marry you. Robin you’re a lovely man and I don’t
want you ending up like poor Grandpa, living with a woman who you
know doesn’t love you like she should.’

‘But Ben was happy.’

‘Was he? Grandpa was good at
putting on a happy face. None of us know if he was hurting
underneath.’

‘You’ve broken my
heart.’

‘I’m sorry Robin. I truly am; but
I’d rather break your heart now than ruin your entire
life.’

She twisted off the engagement
ring and passed it back to him.

‘Take this, I don’t want it. I
don’t deserve it.’

‘No you don’t,’ he replied,
taking the ring and putting it in his jeans pocket. He then got up
and walked out of Alex’s life forever.

Alex got through three cups of
tea before Jem turned up to drive her back to Abbott’s Leigh.
Layton House was abuzz with the various Cusacks gathered before the
wedding the next day. Alex didn’t feel like telling the whole
family of what happened but instead spoke to her father alone. She
omitted her relationship with Jack and gave the sanitised version,
that her trip to Spain had given her time to think and she’d
realised she couldn’t commit to the marriage. Her father gave her
his blessing, commending her maturity. But she could see on his
face he was disappointed. After all, the Lancasters were such a
superb family to merge with.