The next morning, Victoria lingered in her room. If she waited long enough, surely Keir would have left for work. After a night plagued by erotic dreams and nightmarish images, she was tired and confused, and the thought of facing him gave her the heebie-jeebies.
The memory of tearing at each other’s clothes and the frenzied lovemaking that followed was enough to make her hot and flustered all over again. What had come over her to act like that? She hadn’t known she was capable of such uninhibited behaviour, or that Keir was either. She pressed her palms against hot cheeks.
Are you about to cry rape?
Those words had haunted her all night.
Their lovemaking had certainly been wild and exciting, but by no stretch of the imagination did that ugly word apply.
Who had accused Keir of rape? His ex-wife?
A thrill of apprehension worked its way down her spine. From the odd comment he’d let slip, she wasn’t gaining a very good impression of his ex-wife or his marriage to her.
Why wouldn’t he discuss it with her?
Victoria took an inordinate amount of time showering and dressing until finally hunger drove her downstairs. To her dismay Keir was at the table having breakfast, looking serene and completely at ease.
Dressed in an elegant, well-tailored charcoal suit, pristine white shirt and maroon tie, no-one would guess that beneath his polished veneer was a man capable of such wild passion. Yesterday Keir had shown her a side of his nature she’d never seen before.
He rose and pulled out a chair for her. ‘Good morning. Did you sleep well?’
Are you kidding?
She darted a furtive glance at him and, seeing the twinkle in his eyes, her breath hitched in her throat, her pulse galloped and flustered heat flooded her entire body.
He cupped her hot cheek in his palm. ‘Don’t feel embarrassed.’
‘How can I not,’ she muttered. ‘I’ve never acted like that before in my life.’
‘Me either.’ Keir chuckled, the soft sound curling around her fevered thoughts and calming them. ‘But at a guess I’d say it was probably largely due to the stress and anxiety we’ve endured over Connor.’
‘You think?’
‘Thinking he may never wake up, or if he did he would be brain damaged, has to be any parent’s worst nightmare.’
‘I was so frightened,’ she whispered.
‘Me too.’ He held her face between his palms and looked into her eyes. ‘I hurt you yesterday with that crass comment. Will you forgive me?’
Whatever she’d imagined when they next met, it wasn’t this, but it was long past time that they had an honest conversation and she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity.
She covered one of his hands with hers. ‘Who accused you of rape, Keir, your ex-wife?’
He pulled away and every vestige of animation faded from his expression. He was silent so long Victoria thought he wasn’t going to answer. He sighed, the sound heavy in the loaded silence. ‘Katrina was an expert at laying on guilt.’
‘About sex?’
‘Among other things.’
Another heavy sigh trembled from him, and when he looked at her the devastation she saw in his eyes made tears sting the back of hers.
‘You loved her?’ Despite her best efforts, Victoria heard jealousy and resentment creep into her voice.
Keir’s expression turned thoughtful. ‘Did I?’ he asked at last, shaking his head. ‘At first, maybe. But now, I’m not so sure that I ever did love her. I certainly enjoyed the fast-paced lifestyle I shared with her, but now I’m sure I never really knew Katrina at all.’
‘In New York?’
He gave her a strange look. ‘No, we lived in Seattle.’
‘Logan mentioned you’d recently come home from New York?’
‘I was there for a while after Katrina and I separated.’
He turned away and although Victoria was sure there was one heck of a lot more involved in the break-up of his marriage, she also knew he wasn’t ready to discuss it.
Mrs Teague bustled in with fresh tea and toast.
‘Ready for breakfast?’ Keir asked as the housekeeper left the room. He sat at the table and held the teapot aloft. ‘Tea?’
‘Thanks.’ She watched him surreptitiously as she sipped her tea, aware of his brooding scrutiny. ‘What is it?’
‘Do you want to close Victorian Grace?’
Shocked, she lowered her cup so fast it clashed on the saucer. ‘Close my business? Are you out of your mind?’ Her voice rose in indignation.
‘It’s not open at the moment.’
‘You think I’m not aware of that?’ she asked. ‘Fortunately I have no weddings booked until next month so taking a few days off for Connor now isn’t crucial. What you’re suggesting is different.’
‘There are other florists.’
‘Tell me something I don’t already know. Do you know how much effort it’s taken to build Victorian Grace to where it is now?’
‘I can imagine.’
‘Can you?’ She gave him a narrow-eyed look. ‘Will this furore make you shut down Donovans?’
‘The situation isn’t at all the same.’
‘Isn’t it? Or is it because you’re a man and therefore your livelihood is so much more important?’
‘It was only a suggestion. Calm down.’
‘I won’t calm down. There’s no way I’m closing my business, Keir. Get used to it.’
‘So how do you propose to run it?’ He pinned her with a cool, penetrating glance. ‘You’re out of your mind if you think you can waltz back into Victorian Grace and continue as you’ve done in the past. Reporters will ambush you.’
Victoria stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words.
Why didn’t I think of this?
‘You’re dealing face-to-face with the public every day,’ he said in that same infuriatingly calm tone, ‘whereas my dealings with the public are screened through several layers of security and staff. Do you have a better solution?’
His logic was maddening, and she buttered her toast with far more force than was necessary. ‘What about the weddings I’ve already booked? I can’t let my clients down, scandal or no scandal.’
‘How do you propose to keep your clients happy and the press at bay?’
‘The weddings that I do the flowers for usually take months of planning, Keir. Suddenly cancelling will ruin so many brides’ perfect day—sorry, but shutting up shop is not an option.’
‘And it’s not ethical to let clients down.’ He nodded thoughtfully and reached for another piece of toast. ‘It will create even more adverse publicity.’
‘There must be some way around this persecution.’ Bitter and frustrated, she crumbled her uneaten toast onto her plate.
‘We’ll just have to sit it out.’
‘No, I can’t just let my business sit around in limbo. I have to meet with my clients and I need to guarantee them privacy,’ Victoria said, lifting her hands and letting them fall. ‘How can I do this when we’re mobbed the moment we go near the front gates? You’ve seen the news footage of reporters staking out my business.’
‘Which brings us back to where we started.’
‘Closing down my business?’ She gave him a fierce glare. ‘That’s not happening, Keir. We’ll have to find some other solution.’
Keir sat silently for a few moments, drumming his fingertips on the table, the sound grating on her overwrought nerves. ‘How would it be if I asked my PA to find a competent, well-qualified woman to manage the business for you?’
Allow someone else to run my precious baby?
Refusal hovered on Victoria’s tongue, but she curbed the instinctive response. After the first hot rush of denial, she pondered his suggestion.
‘Could it work?’
‘It’s feasible. I can organise a secure internet connection if you’re prepared to liaise with a manager and customers using Skype.’
Victoria poked at the idea from all angles. ‘I guess that would work for now, but in the long term I’ll need to meet with clients in person.’
‘This blaze of publicity will eventually die down.’
‘Not soon enough for me.’
‘Look on the bright side, all this hoo-ha is sure to increase business for Victorian Grace.’
‘You think?’ For the first time, Victoria felt a tiny flare of enthusiasm. After all, the desire to expand her business was the reason she’d accepted Logan’s invitation to visit Darkhaven in the first place.
‘Victorian Grace is no longer an anonymous little floral boutique,’ he said with wry amusement. ‘The press is milking every connection of yours they can find, including former customers, and that publicity isn’t all bad.’
Keir was right. To Victoria’s surprise, many of her clients were supportive and refused to dish the dirt on her or her floristry skills. Their comments were quite the opposite, in fact.
‘Unless the notoriety drives customers away.’
Keir laughed and shook his head. ‘Not a chance. Curiosity alone will bring people through your doors. Never underestimate the power of an inquisitive mind.’
‘Human nature being what it is, you’re probably right,’ she conceded. ‘And I have been contemplating employing an assistant so I can have more time to spend with Connor.’
‘You’ll probably find that you’ll move into a consultant role and delegate most of the hands-on work.’
‘How will I go about finding a manager?’
‘I’ll get Chloe, my PA, onto it. She’ll find suitable candidates and check their references and skill levels. Chloe is known for her discretion.’
‘I’d need to meet with any candidates.’
‘For sure. Once Chloe has a short list she’ll arrange for the candidates to come here for an interview. You may like to ask Mrs Teague to help you set up an office for yourself here. It’s either that or closing down your business.’
‘I guess you’re right,’ she sighed softly. ‘And Keir? Thank you.’
His expression softened and he laid a hand against her cheek. ‘Cheer up. This brouhaha will eventually die down.’
After he’d gone, Victoria poured herself a second cup of tea and pondered that conversation.
Set up an office for yourself.
The ring of permanence wasn’t reassuring, nor was Keir’s very offhand proposal.
We should get married and legalise our relationship.
She gave a bitter laugh. It wasn’t exactly the kind of proposal every woman dreams of.
Did they have a relationship? A month-long summer romance, a week of scandal, and sitting by their stricken son’s bedside didn’t constitute a relationship in her book.
And a couple of very passionate interludes, don’t forget.
Victoria fanned her face with a paper serviette as memories of their lovemaking sent a wave of scorching heat from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.
My Seth is the kind of lover every woman dreams of.
She snorted, the inelegant sound bringing her sharply down to earth. The elemental zing of attraction was still there, and then some, but the man she’d fallen in love with as an inexperienced girl had changed. Victoria wasn’t prepared to ‘settle’. She deserved more and so did Connor. Did Keir think sharing a child was reason enough for marriage?
Earlier he’d opened up a little, but she knew he still carried a crap-load of baggage.
Katrina was expert at laying on guilt.
As Victoria had discovered to her cost, when she had accidentally triggered an unwelcome memory, Keir’s first instinct was to lash out. Until he opened up, shared his thoughts and got rid of his baggage, marriage was not on her radar.
***
‘I wanna go home,’ Connor whined and rubbed a hand across his eyes.
‘You can’t, sweetie,’ Victoria coaxed softly in an attempt to divert him. ‘At least until the doctor says so, okay?’
‘But my daddy said I could go home soon.’
Soon being the operative word. Victoria rolled her eyes heavenward as she prayed for patience. While it pleased her that Connor had so readily accepted Keir as his dad, Keir had yet to learn that to little boys soon meant immediately, if not sooner.
After Keir’s visit earlier, Connor was unsettled and fractious. He didn’t want her to read to him, and nothing she said or did met with his approval. He whined and grizzled, and he tried his best to get out of bed.
‘My head hurts.’
She plucked a lavender-soaked wipe from the container on the bedside locker and laid it against his forehead. ‘Does this help?’
‘No! Don’t want it!’ He struck at it, catching it and flinging it onto the floor.
As she bent to pick it up, Victoria inhaled a shaky breath and strove for calm. His contrariness sapped her energy and ingenuity. Connor was usually easy to manage, but she guessed that Keir’s presence, combined with his accident, had thrown his whole life out of kilter. After all, she was off-balance, so it must be much worse for a five-year-old boy.
‘Would you like me to read to you?’
‘No! I wanna go home. Now.’ Two fat tears overflowed and rolled down his cheeks.
Victoria’s heart constricted, and it took all her resolution not to join in and howl like a baby. Her little boy was hurting and she was fed up with this whole nightmare.
She was drowning.
‘Having problems?’
She looked up and saw Caine through the blur of tears. ‘And some. Connor’s cranky and fed up with everyone and everything.’
Caine gripped her shoulder, his hand warm and supportive. ‘You need a break. Go have a cuppa and take a walk around the gardens, and I’ll sit with him.’
‘Poppa!’ Connor’s grizzles stopped as if someone had pressed a switch.
Little turncoat.
Victoria chuckled, the sound watery in her own ears.
Caine visited Connor every afternoon and she appreciated his unqualified support, his visits as much of a comfort to her as they were to Connor. Not by word or gesture had Keir’s father expressed disapproval of her since he’d learned she was the mother of his grandchild. One day they would discuss it, but now she appreciated his restraint and his winning way with Connor, and her little boy lapped up the attention.
Not so with her own father.
Andrew’s betrayal was still too raw for Victoria to think about let alone discuss.
Lying to her about her mother’s illness was one thing, but lying to her about her baby’s father was something she was not sure she’d ever be able to forgive.
Victoria didn’t trust her self-control. She hadn’t spoken to Andrew since that awful confrontation the day of Connor’s accident. Her father had left messages with the answering service, but Victoria had yet to respond.
As she watched Caine pull a book from his carry bag, then a tiny bag of jelly beans, Victoria suspected Caine probably needed Connor more than the little boy needed him. From the moment the two of them met there had been a rapport between them, and it continued to grow.
‘Want me to read you a story, tiger?’
‘Cupboard love,’ she teased.
‘Hey, all kids need their poppa to spoil them a little.’ Caine winked at her. ‘Buzz your keeper and take a break while I entertain this little tyke.’
She sighed and with real reluctance she obeyed. Although she no longer questioned the necessity, Victoria found it difficult to have a bodyguard shadowing her every move. It was the one intrusion on her privacy she positively resented.
Holly Bannister walked in and Caine spoke to the woman before Victoria had a chance. ‘Victoria needs a break and a spell in the fresh air.’
‘Okay.’ Holly winked at her.
Victoria waved to Connor as she walked out, but he was too engrossed in the jelly beans to notice her departure.
‘We’ve had a report of a male photographer lurking in the hospital corridors.’ The guard on the door briefed Holly as they left Connor’s room.
‘Thanks.’ Holly gave him a thumbs up.
Too many people you don’t know are now privy to your identity.
Keir had nailed the situation with an accuracy Victoria could no longer deny.
‘Where to?’ Holly asked. ‘The lake?’
‘Can we? I am so sick of this hospital and the grounds.’
‘The lake it is. We should be able to mingle without attracting undue attention.’
Victoria nodded and in silence they walked to the lifts. Holly waited for an empty lift, and then punched the override button that took them directly to the car park. She checked that they weren’t being followed then escorted Victoria to her SUV.
In the car, Holly handed her dark glasses, a baseball cap and a bulky windcheater, and inside two minutes they were parked by Lake Rotoroa. Situated as it was, less than a kilometre from Waikato Hospital and in the centre of Hamilton city, the lake and its beautiful gardens was a very popular destination.
As she emerged from the SUV, Victoria stretched and inhaled lungfuls of crisp, bracing air that held the distinct tang of mouldering leaves, the peculiar musty smell of lake water and wildfowl. All the while she was aware of Holly scrutinising other pedestrians and their surrounds.
Victoria was itching to run as far and as fast as she could to get away from this madness.
‘You look ready to bolt,’ Holly said with an amused smile.
‘I am.’
Holly scanned the area then shook her head. ‘Too risky. There are too many people here for us to go too far away from the car.’
‘I had no idea it would get so down and dirty.’
‘Any leads on who broke into your flat and got those photos?’ Holly asked.
They walked towards the lake’s edge and mingled with the other people out and about on this clear winter’s day. Little children in brightly coloured jackets threw bread to the ducks and swans. The birds squawked and flapped their wings as they splashed through the water in fierce competition for the handouts.
‘The police are investigating, but Sundowner Press is claiming a confidential source. As nothing is missing, they can’t do much.’ Victoria’s words mingled with the commotion of the birds and childish squeals of glee.
‘I’ll bet your man doesn’t like that!’
Was Keir her man? Victoria had her doubts. They may be living in the same house, but they were far from forming any meaningful commitment to each other.
‘Look on the bright side, your photograph album was recovered and almost intact.’ Holly threw some pebbles in the water and the ducks quacked and scurried across the water, fooled into thinking it was more largesse.
‘And the few photos that are missing I had in cloud storage.’
‘What about the rest of your gear?’
‘I want to get packers in and put it all in storage.’
‘You don’t want to take it to Keir’s house?’
Victoria was aware of Holly’s curiosity, but she wasn’t about to discuss the strain that existed between her and Keir. She didn’t suspect the woman’s integrity, but after this past week she’d had a crash course in caution. Victoria no longer talked freely to anyone.
‘Not unless I have no other option,’ she admitted, looking directly at her bodyguard.
To store all her worldly possessions at Dunstan smacked of a permanence that she wasn’t sure she was ready to commit to.
Her relationship with Keir left Victoria uneasy. Just when she thought they were making progress and could easily discuss their past, she came up against something so much deeper, something that was unconnected to her not immediately revealing the existence of his son, or to Keir’s messy break-up with Davina. This was deeper and she couldn’t begin to guess at its cause, and because of this, it was infinitely more dangerous. She was almost certain this invisible wall related in some way to his failed marriage.
Suddenly, she was aware of whispers and pointed stares, before a too familiar sound jolted her to attention and she spun to face a camera-wielding man shooting off film. Instinct had her raising a hand to shield her face.
In a blur of speed, Holly had the cameraman on the ground and the camera wrenched free of his grasp.
‘Hey, that’s my camera,’ the red-faced man spluttered as he scrambled to his feet and lunged for the camera.
In one deft movement, Holly flipped the man over her shoulder. He landed on the grass, and with one foot firmly on his chest, Holly flipped open the camera and flicked out the memory card.
‘You can have your camera, bozo. Just not the photos of my client.’ She handed him the camera and as curious people pushed closer to see the action, Holly gripped Victoria’s arm. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
Once they were inside the SUV and moving away, Victoria took a shaken breath. ‘Going there wasn’t the brightest idea. How did you toss that man on his keister?’
‘Training.’ Holly gave her a conspiratorial grin. ‘And lots of it. Men hate being flipped by a woman. Most think superior strength means they can shove a woman around.’
‘Ain’t that the truth. I’ll have to learn some of those moves.’
Holly glanced at her, suddenly serious. ‘Self-defence lessons wouldn’t be a bad idea, for your own safety.’
That night Victoria was jerked awake when the overhead light snapped on. Keir stood in the doorway wearing only his unfastened jeans. One look at his expression and her heart stalled then raced. ‘Connor?’
‘No! It’s not Connor.’ Keir was quick to reassure her. ‘The police called. Your apartment has been burgled.’
‘Oh God. What’s the damage?’
‘I don’t know, but the cops have asked us to come as quickly as we can.’
Sick with apprehension, she slid out of bed and pulled on the clothes she’d worn earlier. She did not need this. It was cold and dark outside, and a gale lashed rain at the windows. She pulled on the fleecy jacket she’d packed to take to Darkhaven.
‘You okay?’
She shrugged and accompanied him downstairs to the garage.
What did he expect? That I’d be jumping for joy at this further intrusion in my private life?
When they arrived, they found a police cordon already in place and a cluster of reporters behind the line.
‘They must listen to the police scanners,’ Keir muttered under his breath.
‘Vultures,’ she said bitterly, dreading seeing this splashed across the morning papers. ‘I’m so sick of this.’
‘Believe me, sweetheart, you’re not alone,’ he muttered in her ear.
Their bodyguard got out and unfurled an umbrella, opened her door and used it to protect her from the rain, and also to provide an effective screen from the camera flashbulbs that lit up the dark.
Keir’s arm was firm around her shoulders as they walked up the once familiar path, now eerily illuminated by the strobe of blue and red police lights.
A policeman lifted the tape for them to walk under.
Victoria stepped past the policeman at the door, and a plain-clothes detective flashed his identity card and let her inside.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and when they did, a shocked whimper leaked past the clenched fist that covered her mouth. Clothes were ripped and torn, cushions slashed and her furniture was overturned and smashed. Her mother’s precious Royal Doulton was smashed and fragments were embedded in the walls. Obscenities covered the walls and gobs of red paint ran down the walls like rivers of blood.
Keir stiffened beside her. ‘Burgled? This looks more like a war zone.’
‘Who would do this?’ she asked, trembling from head to toe as she tried to take it all in.
‘That’s what we’re trying to ascertain,’ the detective said quietly. ‘We need to know if anything is missing.’
‘How the blazes do you expect Victoria to know if anything is missing?’ Keir asked savagely.
She pulled free of Keir’s grip and scooped up a severed doll’s head splattered with red paint.
‘Don’t touch anything Ms Scanlan.’ The detective removed the broken doll from her hands.
Keir caught her in a crushing hug, turning her face into his chest. ‘Does my fiancée have to witness this?’ His fierce question vibrated through the wall of his chest.
‘Can she tell us if anything is missing?’
‘Are you a complete idiot or just plain stupid?’ Keir cut the man off. ‘Looking at this carnage no-one could possibly know if any item is missing.’
‘We’re just doing our job, sir.’ The detective ran a hand through his hair.
‘Then I suggest you do it and I’ll take Victoria home. If any photos of this appear in the press, you’d better believe I’ll come after you, personally.’ Keir turned to their bodyguard. ‘When the police have finished, I want security guards posted here, okay?’
Without another word, he turned Victoria towards the door and the waiting vultures. His menace was tangible as he shielded her from the press, but he couldn’t shut out the shrill questions that peppered them from all sides. Keir bundled her in the back seat, and the bodyguard drove off, leaving the yammering mob behind.
Cradled in Keir’s arms, Victoria trembled, too upset for tears.
‘I’ve had Mandy for as long as I can remember,’ she said in a sad, dreary voice. ‘Why would anyone do that?’
Keir hesitated then murmured quietly, his breath ruffling her hair, ‘It’s no use even trying to second-guess a pervert’s reasoning.’
A shudder ripped from her. ‘What can I do about it?’
‘I’ll deal with it,’ he said decisively.
‘How?’ Her fingers clenched into claws, digging into Keir’s arms.
‘If it’s okay with you, I’ll get a team of cleaners and packers to salvage any personal possessions that can be saved.’
Another shudder shook her. ‘Our clothes?’
‘Will be destroyed,’ he said grimly. ‘Clothes are easy to replace. Are you happy for me to go ahead and arrange it?’
She nodded, acquiescing without protest.
A shudder of disgust shook her, and her skin crawled at the very thought of putting a stitch of those clothes near her body ever again.