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‘Well, yes, apart from that small detail.’ Poppy waved her arm towards the office chair and Hal lowered himself into it very slowly, leg out in front of him. The office was so small that Poppy had to step over his leg to reach her chair.
‘Tell me everything, big brother. How is France? How long can you stay? Because, in case you haven’t noticed, I am swamped. Oh—and you know that you are always welcome chez moi; my pals would love to see you. They are totally into cosseting and, darling, you need some serious love and care. What? What?’
Hal held up one hand in surrender.
‘Please can I have a word in edgeways? Okay. France is great but I’ve rented out the chalet and put my stuff into storage. I am staying long enough to get through Tom’s fundraiser, then we can see what I can do to help you with that workload. And, thank you, I would love to sleep on your couch. But no cosseting. I’ve had more than enough cosseting these last few months.’
‘Wow,’ Poppy replied in a low voice and sat back. ‘Now you have surprised me. You love that chalet. What made you rent it out?’
Hal inhaled a couple of deep breaths before even trying to reply.
Back in France the Langdon Events team had protected him from the press, the media and whoever else wanted the inside story on how Tom Harris had died. Did they really think that he had not noticed how they almost took shifts to make sure that there was always someone there when he woke in the night? How they had started to fuss over him when he was finally out of a wheelchair and onto crutches and something close to being mobile? That they were guarding him, as though he could not be allowed to be alone?
After five months he had felt trapped, enclosed by walls which seemed to be pressing down on him, desperate to be free from the constant pressure to talk about Tom. Desperate to heal.
Hal looked into Poppy’s eyes and he could see her happy expression fall away. They had been close once, but he had pushed her back to London the minute he’d left hospital. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but that was impossible without breaking his word to Tom, and his frustration was too fierce to inflict on anyone else. Poppy deserved better than that.
‘This is all about Tom, isn’t it?’ She asked in a low voice. ‘You couldn’t stand to be living in the same village where Tom and Aurelia used to live. Oh, Hal. I am so sorry.’
‘Too many reminders.’ He shrugged. ‘I needed some time away. The team back in France can run the events programme without me getting in their way.’
His crutch tapped gently against the side of his boot. ‘The cast is off and I’m ready to get back to work, even if I am barred from anything even vaguely sporty.’ He grinned across at her. ‘But right now I have to get through this fundraiser next weekend. It was my idea, and the sponsors will expect me to be there. So now it is your turn to tell me everything. What grandiose schemes for world domination are you working on these days?’
‘Ah. That, my darling brother, is one of the many reasons I called to check that you were mobile. I need your help and I need it now.’
Mimi lifted her precious cargo of iced coffee over the heads of a pair of tourists who were too busy huddled around their guide book to notice that they were blocking her path. She did not relax until she reached the safety of Poppy’s office building.
The heat and the stress of the last few weeks were beginning to kick in.
Of course, Poppy did not need to know that Mimi had only finished off the final piece of crystal work on the nude-pink floor-length evening gown at two that morning.
She had been so busy organising the end-of-year show for her students at the local fashion college; it had been a real struggle to squeeze in the time for such delicate work outside shop hours. Finding the perfect crystals and creating the embellishment on the bodice had taken her weeks of hand sewing but it had been worth it. The gown was stunning, even if she said so herself, and the final garment was ready seven days before the show.
Her first fashion show. Her first collection of clothing she had designed and made herself.
It was so close that she could almost touch it. A week; that was all. Seven days!
This was the chance she had been longing for during the dark days of the last few years when a career as a fashion designer had seemed like a distant dream meant for other people, not girls who ran knitting shops while grieving for a lost parent in an unfashionable part of London.
Just the thought of it give her an instant zing of energy, and she practically skipped all the way back to Poppy’s office.
She was just about to push open the door with her foot when she heard Poppy’s distinctive light laughter, which was immediately followed by a very male voice.
Her hand froze as her brain worked through the options. It was a lovely sunny, warm Friday evening. Perhaps Poppy was going out for dinner or had a date? And why not? She had been working so hard these last few weeks; Poppy deserved to be spoilt. And they were running late. Perhaps it would be better if she took the plans with her back to the shop and left Poppy to enjoy her evening.
Mimi knocked with her knuckles on the door and pushed it open a little wider.
Poppy was still sitting at her desk, but sprawled across the whole length of the small office, and blocking her path to the desk, were the long denim-clad legs of a man who looked like a fashion stylist’s idea of a playboy biker. Except that one of his legs was wearing a casual training-shoe while the other was encased from toes to knee in what looked like a surgical-support boot.
Conscious that she was staring at his leg, Mimi looked up into his face just as he turned to face her. Two dark-brown eyes gazed at her so intently that she almost blushed under the fierce heat of that focus.
He could have passed for a male model for the fashion show if it was not for the crutch leaning against Poppy’s desk and the distinctive thin, white scar which curved across his forehead and down one side of his temple. And the dark, heavy eyebrows which made him look almost fierce.
His well-used black-leather jacket was stylish rather than beaten up and cut so as to accentuate the broad shoulders and slim waist beneath the T-shirt.
All blended with something more intangible, something which had nothing to do with the ego of a male model.
He had not said one word but in those eyes and that face she saw something powerful, at the same time quiet and deep.
This man filled the small office with his presence. Not in an intimidating way; far from it. She simply recognised that this was someone who knew what it was like to give instructions and have them followed to the letter. He was authoritative, commanding and probably the most handsome man she had seen in a very long time. Most definitely not the kind of man who came into her knitting shop.
He could be Poppy’s date, but everything about him screamed power, position and authority. He had to be one of Poppy’s other clients, one of the influential, powerful ones who paid her large fees to manage their corporate events so that she could afford to run charity fundraisers.
Poppy laughed out loud in delight at something he had said, whoever he was, lifted her head to face Mimi and waved at her to come in.
‘Mimi; perfect timing. I need your help. I’ve just been trying to persuade my brother Hal here to work with us on the fashion show, and he is pretending to be reluctant.’
‘Oh, no. I haven’t forgotten all of the fashion events I organised when you were working as a model and we were struggling to get this company off the ground. I think it put me off for life,’ he replied as he glanced back from Mimi to Poppy. ‘Now, if you need a photographer, that I can help you with.’
Her brother!
Mimi’s body locked into a ‘half in the corridor, half in the room’ position. She simply could not move. It was as though her feet were bolted to the carpet tiles. Just as firmly her eyes found something deeply fascinating in the cardboard tray she was still holding so tightly that it had started to develop a definite wobble. She dared not turn around or move one step forward.
It was his voice, of course, deep, husky and sensual—and just about as far away from the voices that she heard in her ordinary life. All she could do was stay rooted to the spot, feeling slightly stunned as the whirlwind of masculine energy twirled around her.
Oblivious to her predicament, Poppy reached forward with one arm and hugged Hal with a beaming grin. ‘I might take you up on that. There is still a lot to do behind the scenes, and we have a list of events over the next few weeks where I am desperate for a photographer I can rely on. But this week I need help with the show. What can we do to convince you to get involved?’
‘Would iced coffee help?’ Mimi finally managed to squeak out as she inched forward a little closer to the desk, terrified that she was going to spill coffee over her precious plans or Hal Langdon’s knees.
Only then did Poppy give a dramatic sigh. ‘Oh, fantastic! And now I am being horribly rude. Hal, this is the fashion designer who is working with us for Tom’s charity fundraiser next week. Mimi, meet my brother, Hal, the other half of Langdon Events.’
She cursed her vivid imagination. Mimi’s attention was riveted by the sounds created by leather sliding against leather, the crunch of his boot and the scrape of the crutch on the carpet as he pulled his leg back, slid his left arm into the crutch and heaved himself to his feet. All set against the gentle whirring from the desk fan, which was totally failing to cool her hot neck. Her hair felt clammy and damp against her neckline. Not her best look when she was trying to impress her events manager—or that manager’s brother.
‘Oh, please don’t get up,’ Mimi said, and stepped forward just as Hal bent and stretched out his right hand towards her.
Only the gap between them was too close, and as she half-turned to shake hands she could not avoid colliding with the solid mass of his muscular frame and the crutch.
Her cardboard tray tilted as it was crushed between them, and it was only at the very last minute that Mimi’s brain kicked into action and her arm whipped out sideways to prevent an explosion of iced coffee.
Her plan almost succeeded.
The tray stayed intact, but in the sudden movement a trickle of coffee escaped over the top of the ill-fitting plastic lid of one of the cups, dribbled down over the tray and onto her foot, soaking through her thin stocking and into her favourite black shoes.
As Mimi gasped in horror, it took a few seconds for her to realise that Hal had taken hold of her arm and was physically holding her steady. As she looked up from her damp shoe into his handsome face, he frowned and said in a low voice, ‘I am so sorry. That was very clumsy of me. Are you okay?’
Standing only inches away from his body, she was very much aware of the remarkable, overwhelming masculinity of this man. If she inhaled deeply their bodies would be pressed together chest to chest. He smelt of dust, man sweat and something fragrance manufacturers had been trying to capture and bottle for decades without success: masculine energy and drive, with a shot of pure attraction and goodness knew how many pheromones.
It was a heady combination that many women would save up to be able to afford—and she was one of them. This magical aroma, combined with the sensation of the rough skin of his fingertips on the back of her arm, sent a shiver of totally shocking but delightful anticipation and sensory pleasure through her body and robbed her of speech.
‘Fine. Not a problem,’ she eventually managed to say. ‘No damage done.’ And she braved a small smile before slipping out away from his grasp and lowering her tray to the safety of Poppy’s desk.
Poppy looked across to Mimi with a shake of the head. ‘Ignore my brother, Mr Famous Mountaineer, outdoor man. It’s the bungee jumping, you know. High Altitudes. Affects the brain.’
‘I like to think of myself as the overseas section of the company.’ Hal smiled at Mimi with a gentle nod, his eyes locked onto her face. It was not a casual glance but a stare so deliberate and focused she felt uncomfortable under the hard, bright heat of it. His heavy, dark eyebrows were squeezed together as though he had recognised her from somewhere and was trying to place her.
One thing was certain—if she had met Hal Langdon before, she would certainly have remembered.
‘Pleased to meet you, Miss …?’
Swallowing down a nervous lump the size of Scotland, Mimi managed to croak out, ‘Ryan. Mimi Ryan,’ only a second before Hal turned back to Poppy, who was sighing in exasperation as he spoke.
‘You should be,’ Poppy sniffed. ‘Mimi has had to drop everything to pull together her first collection in time for the show next weekend.
It’s going to be a huge success, and bring in tons of cash for Tom’s charity, but we are not there yet. Still loads to do. So be nice to poor Mimi.’
Hal stood in silence for a few seconds before sitting down with legs outstretched on the corner of the desk. His bottom covered Mimi’s poster and her floor plan, ruining any chance she might have of grabbing them and making a run for it.
‘Here’s a suggestion.’ His fingers seemed to tighten around the grip inside his crutch. ‘Seeing as I am well and truly grounded at the moment, why don’t I make myself useful on some of the other projects we have going? That way you can focus on the fundraiser while I …’
But before he could finish his sentence, Hal’s voice was drowned out by the loud ringing of the desk telephone and then Poppy’s mobile phone only seconds later.
Poppy took one glance at the caller identity, sucked in air between her teeth, mouthed the word ‘Sorry,’ then picked up the phone.
‘Hello, Maddy. How are you and …? Oh. Well, I’m very sorry to hear that. Did you talk to …? And then what did she say? Now, Maddy, I need you need to calm down just for a second. Take a deep breath, that’s it. Inhale slowly. Well done. Now, start at the beginning—why exactly do you want me to cancel your wedding?’
Seconds stretched to minutes as Poppy scribbled down notes and made sympathetic noises down the phone until her eyes closed and she splayed out her fingers across her forehead.
‘It’s all going to be fine. I can catch a flight to Florence tonight and we can have a breakfast meeting in the morning and sort the whole thing out. Yes, I know the hotel. See you tomorrow, Maddy. I know, I know. Bye for now.’
In the stunned silence that followed, Mimi looked from Poppy, who had her head in her hands, to Hal, who pushed himself up off the desk so that he was facing Poppy.
‘Did I just hear you say that you were going to Italy?’ he asked, his voice low, deep and resonant. ‘Please tell me that I am mistaken.’
‘There’s no point scowling at me like that!’ And then her shoulders sagged. ‘Do you remember that French redhead I worked with in Marrakech? The one you said had even less dress-sense than my other model pals?’
‘Was that the one who pushed me into the pool when I said that she looked skinny in a sarong?’
Poppy nodded. ‘That’s the one. Well, she is supposed to be getting married to a very charming and very wealthy Italian aristocrat in Florence in three weeks and Langdon Events is planning their wedding.’
Hal raised his eyebrows. ‘Poppy the wedding planner? How sweet.’
She inhaled deeply. ‘Do not mock. Some of us like weddings, and the income pays for this office. The problem is that I thought there would be plenty of time to produce the charity show then move on to the wedding, but the woman is driving me crazy. They have already changed the venue and reception menu twice. That call was the final straw. Apparently her mother hates the church and venue, and has now decided that she is allergic to all of the food on the menu for the reception and that it would be far better for her to take over the wedding plans herself and move the wedding to Paris.’
Poppy shook her head. ‘I cannot change the wedding arrangements, not now, but this is not the kind of discussion I can have over the phone. I need to be on a flight to Italy tonight if there is any chance of saving this wedding. Maddy is relying on me to create the perfect wedding she’s always dreamt about, and I promised her that I would do the very best I could to make that dream come true. I can’t let her down now.’
Poppy sat back in her chair, her fingernails tapping out a fast beat on the table for a few seconds before they paused and she looked up across at Hal with a mischievous grin. ‘If only I could find someone to take over the fashion show and run the office for a few days while I am in Florence. I would hate for any lastminute problems in London to ruin the event.’
Mimi turned back to face Hal, who instead of sympathising and offering immediate assistance had folded his arms and was staring at Poppy with his eyebrows raised.
‘Poppy, darling. I know you far too well. I smell a plan being put into action here where I am shanghaied and sold down the river without a word to say about it. Could this wedding be the real reason why the normally super-efficient Poppy Langdon called me from my sick bed in France? Have you been planning this all along?’
She looked at him, fluttered her eyelids a couple of times and smiled sweetly. ‘Me? Well, that would be very devious of me, wouldn’t it? Either way, now that you are going to be working full time, it seems to me that you have arrived just in time to save the day, big brother. Congratulations, Hal—you are now the official organiser for the Tom Harris Foundation fundraiser and fashion show. Isn’t that wonderful news?’
CHAPTER TWO
MIMI reached across and tugged at the pristine linen tablecloth so that the edge was perfectly aligned along the length of her old family breakfast table.
As her fingers ran along the fine fabric, she was taken back to a warm summer evening when both of her parents had been alive. They had decided over a stunning Italian al fresco dinner on the patio to embroider a full set of table linen with bright flowers and yellow swallowtail butterflies so that they could enjoy a taste of summer over a cold, grey London winter.
Mimi had offered to help with the tablecloth as a diversion from her university design-work. In the end her mother had given in because they were so busy in the shop that the napkins would be easier for them to work in the few spare minutes between customers.
Four napkins—four. That was all her mother had managed to complete before the telephone call that had summoned her back to Milan and the Fiorini family. And after that? Somehow there had seemed little point. The joy had left their lives.
Yet it seemed so right to bring out this tablecloth to help celebrate her mother’s birthday. Celebrating her birthday every year was just one of the many promises by Mimi that her mother had insisted on in her lucid moments, such as making sure that she kept the knitting shop solvent—and taking every chance she could to prove that she was a professional fashion designer who could stand on her own two feet and make her designs a success without using the Fiorini name to do it.
Small promises Mimi had made with every intention of keeping them.
At the time.
But it was so hard now that she was alone.
Her eyes closed and just for a second she gave into her desperate need to sit back in her chair and steal an hour or two of wonderful, refreshing sleep in the early-morning calm before the storm of the day ahead of her.
Working late was nothing new, but she had become so desperate to make sure that her work was the very best it could be for this showcase that working until two or three in the morning had started to become the norm over the past few weeks since Poppy had agreed to stage the show.
Her designs were good—she knew that—but even in these last few days she was still looking for ways to improve. She could feel the strain of the pressure of continually altering and reshaping the garments, pushing herself harder than she had ever pushed herself before. There was so much work she could still do. It was not surprising that she felt so stretched out, beyond tired and pushed to the limit.
And so very much alone.
She envied Poppy so much; at least she had a brother who was willing to drop everything to come and help when she needed him.
Sniffing away the wave of sleep-deprived grief that threatened to overwhelm her, Mimi forced herself onto her feet with a sigh and drew open the full-length glazed patio doors which led to the flight of stairs linking her flat to the shop below, and the paved area which was both her delivery bay and what served as her small private garden.
Through this open door she looked out onto the gardens of the family homes on the other side of the small lane that separated the shops from the residential area around them.
She had been looking at the same view every morning for as long as she could remember.
Seasons were measured through the changes in the tall mature trees which towered over the lane from her neighbours’ gardens: the fresh green leaves of beech and lime blossom in the spring; lilacs and apple blossom; a silver birch with its silvery leaves and shiny bark.
And her favourite: a mature cherry tree which had to be at least forty feet tall. Soft pink-and-white blossom had been replaced now with young cherries, much to the delight of the wild birds that spent much of their day in the tall branches.
These trees and gardens were such a part of her life now that she could not imagine eating breakfast without that view to enjoy. But the risk was very real. Without extra income she was in serious danger of losing the shop she had inherited from her parents, her chance of making a living and her home. The only home she had ever known—or ever wanted.
She had often wondered what it would be like to be a traveler, rootless and wandering, without a fixed place to call home.
Someone like Hal Langdon, for example.
Perhaps that was the reason he was so very, very fascinating. As a person, as a professional and very much as a man.
