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Laura laughed at that. ‘You’re right. Once people get to know him, any prejudices they have soon disappear. Robbie has the gift of making people love him!’
‘As I said, a very special little boy indeed, and I can’t wait to meet him.’
He looked expectantly at her and Laura took a shaky breath. It had been less a hint than a blatant piece of angling for an invitation, but why? Why would Mark be so…so interested in meeting her son?
She had no idea but it was obvious that he was waiting for an answer so she had no choice but to give him one. ‘You…you’ll see Robbie when you drop me off. He’s at my friend’s house. Claire offered to fetch him from school each day while I’m working when she collects her son, Ben.’
‘Handy. I imagine good child-care arrangements are crucial for any mother who wants to return to work,’ Mark observed.
‘Exactly. That’s one of the reasons this job was so attractive and why I’d decided that returning to the maternity unit wasn’t an option. Babies have a nasty habit of wanting to be born at all odd hours of the night!’
Mark laughed. ‘The theory being that they arrive exactly nine months after they were conceived.’
Laura laughed at that. ‘I imagine that’s something no one will ever prove! Anyway, knowing that I could work nine to five each day was the incentive for going after this job. I desperately need to work, of course, but Robbie’s welfare has to come first.’
‘Well, I for one am really glad that you applied for it.’ Mark gave her a smile which sent a ripple of heat through her body. There was a slight pause before he cleared his throat. However, Laura wasn’t deaf to the roughness in his voice all of a sudden.
‘Anyway, you’d better direct me before we end up in Cumbria. In this snowstorm I don’t think that would be wise, do you?’
Laura dragged her thoughts into some semblance of order and glanced out of the window. She gasped as she realised how hard it was snowing. ‘I never thought it would stick like this!’
She peered through the glass, wishing that she’d been concentrating harder. It wasn’t fair to have dragged Mark out of his way and then get them both lost!
She suddenly recognised where they were and sighed in relief. ‘Oh, take the next turning on the right. Claire and Sean live in the third house down that road.’
Mark did as she’d asked. He drew up carefully alongside the kerb, although the car still slewed because already the snow was quite deep. ‘Stay there and I’ll come round to help you,’ he ordered, getting out before she could protest.
Laura opened her door but before she could step out Mark was there, his hand fastening firmly around her elbow to steady her. ‘Careful!’ he warned solicitously. ‘It’s really slippery underfoot.’
Despite the warning and the steadying hand, Laura felt her feet skid from under her. She made a desperate grab for the nearest solid object and coloured as she found herself clinging to Mark. He grinned down at her, his grey eyes sparkling with amusement and something which made her heart beat faster than it should have been doing.
‘Twice in one day? That horoscope was uncannily accurate, wasn’t it?’
‘Uh…It looks like it.’ Laura struggled to hide her confusion as she cautiously straightened. She took a careful step back and held out her hand. ‘Thank you very much for the lift, Mark. I do appreciate it.’
‘I hope that wasn’t intended as a brush-off?’
‘I’m sorry?’ She stared at him in bewilderment, not sure what he’d meant.
He gave her a lazy grin as his hand fastened around her elbow again and he steered her towards the house. ‘You promised that I could meet Robbie, if you remember?’
‘Oh, but surely you want to get off home? I mean, it’s snowing so hard…’ She stopped and took a deep breath then looked him squarely in the eyes. ‘Why are you so keen to meet him, Mark? I don’t understand.’
He returned her look steadily enough but there was puzzlement in the depths of his eyes. ‘Neither do I understand why it’s so important, Laura.’ He reached up and brushed a snowflake off her cheek; his touch was so gentle that she shivered. ‘I just know that it is.’
There wasn’t anything she could say to that. Her heart seemed to be beating itself to death as she carried on walking towards the house on legs that weren’t quite steady. She was glad of Mark’s support because she doubted whether she could have managed the couple of yards which was all it took to reach the front door. Her mind and body seemed to belong to someone else at that moment, to someone she barely remembered from years gone by. It wasn’t really she who was experiencing this feeling of excitement and anticipation, surely?
It was a relief when the door suddenly opened and a small, familiar figure came hurtling out of the house because once again she knew who she was—Laura Grady, widow and mother!
‘Mummy! I’s had tea with Ben.’
‘Have you? Why, you lucky little boy!’
Laura swept her son up into her arms and hugged him. He planted a kiss on her cheek then promptly turned his attention to the stranger.
‘Who’s you?’ he demanded.
‘My name is Mark, Robbie. I’m a friend of your mummy’s.’
It was all the cue the child needed. Reaching over, he grabbed hold of the man’s neck and transferred his affections to his new friend.
Mark laughed as the little boy kissed him soundly on the cheek. He swung him up into the air, grinning at Laura as Robbie squealed his delight. ‘A real little heartbreaker indeed.’
Laura nodded, not sure how to handle the way things were moving so fast. It was a relief when Claire suddenly appeared and started chivvying them indoors. ‘Come in before you freeze to death, you idiots!’
Laura stepped inside, realising belatedly that she should explain Mark’s presence. ‘Mark…Dr Dawson, I mean, very kindly offered me a lift because it was snowing.’
Claire grinned wickedly as she glanced at the tall man with the child clinging around his neck. ‘Dr Dawson, is it? Making sure your new staff show you due respect, eh, Mark?’
He grinned back. ‘Something like that.’
Laura stared from one to the other, feeling a little like Alice must have felt in Wonderland. ‘You two know one another?’
‘Of course. Claire and I often ran into one another when she was in A and E. That was before she decided to do her bit for the world population, of course.’ He shot a teasing glance at the other woman’s very pregnant tummy as Claire laughed.
‘One tries one’s best! Anyway, it’s great to see you again, Mark. Sean will be sorry he missed you. He’s working late tonight,’ she explained, then turned to Laura. ‘You and Mark will have to come round one evening for a meal.’
‘Oh, well, I—’ Laura began but Mark cut her off.
‘Sounds a great idea to me. You sort it out with Laura and I’ll bring the wine. Fair enough?’ He turned to Laura, ignoring her stunned gasp. ‘Do you want to get Robbie ready to go? This snow seems to be sticking so we’d better not leave it too long otherwise Claire might end up with three unexpected guests for the night.’
‘I…I’ll get his coat.’
Laura hurried to the cupboard to fetch Robbie’s blue quilted jacket and matching bobble hat. Mark was talking to Claire and Laura heard her laugh at something he said. She closed her eyes, willing herself to act calmly and rationally, but it wasn’t easy to do that. Mark had made it sound as though they were an item, and that there could be nothing more natural than them accepting a joint dinner invitation!
A ripple of anger ran through her at his audacity and she squared her shoulders before going back to join them. She swiftly scooped Robbie out of Mark’s arms and bundled the child into his jacket. Her goodbyes to Claire were no less swift and earned her a startled look, but that couldn’t be helped. Claire, more than anyone, should have known how she would feel about going out on…on a date!
The thought was just what she needed to firm her resolve. As soon as Claire had shut the front door, she swung round. ‘Look, Mark, I don’t know what you—’
‘I’m sorry. I sort of got carried away just now, didn’t I?’ He shrugged but there was no doubting that his apology was sincere. ‘I should never have accepted that invitation on behalf of us both. I mean, why should you want to spend an evening in my company?’
Why indeed? Apart from the fact that he was the best-looking, nicest, most fascinating man she had met since…well, since she’d met Ian!
The realisation made her mind go blank so that it was impossible to answer the question, and she saw him grimace. ‘Sorry! You don’t have to answer that. I’ve already put you on the spot once tonight and that’s one time too many.’
He swung Robbie up into his arms. ‘Right, young man, let’s get you home!’
He bent to open the car door but Laura hung back. ‘We can walk home from here. It isn’t far. It was very kind of you to drive me here but I don’t want to take up any more of your time.’
He straightened slowly and there was a wariness about him all of a sudden. ‘You aren’t, but I won’t force you to accept my offer if it isn’t what you want, Laura.’
‘I…I’m not sure if it’s a good idea,’ she admitted, then wished she hadn’t said that because it was too revealing. Surely it wasn’t wise to let Mark know how confused she felt?
‘Neither am I,’ he stated quietly, making her gasp. He suddenly grinned, making an obvious effort to lighten the mood. ‘I think that makes us even, don’t you? So, come on, let’s be brave and take a chance. I’ll drive you and Robbie home, you can thank me sweetly, then I’ll leave. Sounds safe enough to me—how about you?’
Put like that, it seemed silly to refuse, especially as the snow was falling harder than ever. Laura nodded, waiting while Mark strapped Robbie into the back of the car. He seemed to think it was a huge adventure, going in a strange car, and made excited vroom-vroom noises as Mark started the engine.
It took about fifteen minutes to reach her house, thanks to the snow, and as soon as they drew up Laura knew something was wrong. She always left a light to come on in the sitting room, but the house was in darkness when they pulled up.
‘Something’s wrong,’ she explained when Mark shot her a questioning look as she hurriedly undid her seat belt. ‘I always leave a lamp on a time switch.…’
‘Give me the keys and I’ll take a look,’ he ordered in a tone that brooked no arguments. Taking the keys from her, he opened the car door then paused. ‘You and Robbie stay here while I check things out.’
Laura shivered as a blast of icy air flowed into the car before the door was slammed shut. She watched Mark go inside the house, wondering fearfully what he would find. He reappeared a few minutes later, looking very grim.
She got out of the car and her legs felt like jelly as she went to meet him. The wind was whistling along the road, blasting icy flakes of snow into her face, and he exclaimed in concern as he turned her round so that he could shelter her from the onslaught of the storm.
‘What’s happened?’ she demanded, her stomach churning with nerves.
‘I’m afraid you’ve had a burst pipe. There’s water pouring down the stairs from the loft,’ he explained gently. He put his arms around her when she gave a small cry of dismay. ‘I hate to add to the scene of woe but obviously water has got into the wiring, which is why the lights aren’t working.’
‘How…how bad is it?’ she asked in a wobbly voice, and felt him shrug.
‘Bad enough that you won’t be able to stay there tonight. If you tell me where the stopcock is I can turn off the water, but you’re going to need a plumber and an electrician to check things out.’
‘That will cost a fortune! And then there’s all the carpets…I expect they’re ruined.’ Laura shook her head but there was no escaping the pictures that were rapidly filling it. It had been hard enough just making ends meet in the eighteen months since Ian had died, so where she would find the money for expensive repairs she had no idea.
Numbly she explained how to turn off the water then went back to the car. Obviously, there was little she could do about the house that night. Instead, she had to concentrate on finding somewhere for her and Robbie to stay. She didn’t have enough money for a hotel and she couldn’t impose on Claire at such short notice.…
‘Right, there’s nothing else we can do until the morning.’ Mark got back in the car and started the engine, shuddering appreciatively as a blast of warm air flowed from the heater. He pulled carefully into the road and headed back the way they’d come.
Laura stared miserably out of the window as her mind raced this way and that, so that it was a moment before she thought to question what was happening. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Home. To my house, that is.’ He barely spared her a glance as he concentrated on the appalling road conditions. The snow had caught everyone unawares and many drivers had abandoned their cars, making driving even more hazardous for other road users.
‘Your house? Oh, but we can’t! I mean, it’s very kind of you but I really can’t impose like that. If you could just take us to…to…’ She couldn’t continue for the simple reason that there wasn’t anywhere she could think of.
‘The only place I’m taking you is to my house.’ Mark’s tone was grim all of a sudden and she shivered as she heard the underlying note of steel it held. It was obvious that once Mark made up his mind he wouldn’t be easily swayed. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a blizzard blowing and I have no intention of driving round this damned town all night long.’
His voice suddenly softened. ‘Anyway, you won’t be imposing, Laura. I’m happy to have you spend the night with us.’ He gave the softest chuckle. ‘And Lucy will be delighted to see you, I promise.’
Lucy? Was that the name of his wife or his girlfriend even? For some reason she hadn’t given any thought to the fact that Mark might have someone waiting at home for him. Now it seemed to occupy her mind to the exclusion of everything else, even the worry about how she would find the money to pay for the repairs to the house. Yet why should the idea that Mark might be involved in a relationship seem so unpalatable?
Laura had no idea neither did she spend time trying to work it out. She had a feeling that she might find the answer even less to her liking!
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_02c1a9ef-ad36-54b6-b9a2-7d5d74ceeb44)
‘THIS is Lucy. Isn’t she beautiful?’
There was a note in Mark’s voice that made Laura suspect that he’d guessed what she’d been thinking on the drive to his home. She shot him a quick look, wondering if he’d deliberately set out to tease her, before it struck her how ridiculous that idea was. It was no business of hers if Mark Dawson kept a whole harem in his flat, and they both knew that!
She bent and ran a gentle hand over the white cat’s silky fur as it began to twine around her legs, deeming it wiser to concentrate her thoughts on a safer subject. ‘She’s lovely. Have you had her long?’
‘A couple of years. I found her wandering the streets close to where I used to live in Colchester. She was starving and had obviously been in an accident.’ He shrugged. ‘The vet said that eight out of ten pure white cats are deaf, like Lucy, and most end up getting run over because they can’t hear traffic. I contacted the police but nobody came forward to claim her so I adopted her. She doesn’t go out and seems content to be a house cat.’
He drew Robbie forward, crouching down so that he was level with the child. ‘Come and say hello to Lucy, Robbie. If you stroke her like this…nice and gently…then she’ll be your friend.’
Robbie tentatively ran his hand over the cat’s fur then smiled his delight as Lucy began to twine around his legs. ‘Pretty pussycat,’ he said, kneeling down so that he could tickle her tummy as she rolled onto her back.
‘She is pretty, isn’t she? And she likes you. I can tell.’ Mark hunkered down on his heels, gently running his large hand over the animal’s fur. ‘But Lucy is very special, Robbie. She can’t hear, so that means that you must always make sure that she can see you before you try to stroke her. Otherwise you might scare her and she could scratch you. OK?’
Robbie nodded gravely. He looked up at Laura, a frown puckering his brow. ‘Me special? Like Lucy?’
Laura smiled tenderly at him. Reaching out, she brushed the cowlick of fair hair back from his forehead, feeling her heart fill with love. Robbie’s handicap was clear to see in his widely spaced, slanting blue eyes and small features. He was bright enough to notice the times when people stared at him or made insensitive remarks. However, Laura had dealt with his bewilderment by explaining to him that he was very special and that was why sometimes people reacted the way they did. Now, as she looked at him, she knew that she no longer grieved for what might have been. He was her child and she loved and accepted him the way he was.
‘Of course you are, darling. You’re very special, just like Lucy.’
‘Right, then, young Robbie. If you want to stay here and play with Lucy then I can show your mum where everything is.’ Mark smiled as he straightened, although it was impossible not to see the compassion in his eyes as he looked from the child to her.
Had he guessed how hard it was at times, dealing with people’s negative reactions, especially since Ian had died and she’d had nobody to share the heartache with? she wondered bemusedly.
The realisation stunned her. She had known this man for a little over eight hours and already he seemed to understand so much about her life that it scared her, made her feel vulnerable. It was an effort to act naturally when he turned to her.
‘Can I interest you in the grand tour? It won’t take long, I promise. The flat is your typical bachelor pad…bedroom, bathroom, sitting-room and what passes for a kitchen.’
She laughed, her fears melting away as she heard the rueful amusement in his voice. She was letting her imagination run away with her, something that happened rarely nowadays. Mark must have seen through his work the difficulties parents of handicapped children often faced and that explained his perception. There was nothing more to it than that!
‘Why not?’ she agreed lightly.
Leaving Robbie sprawled on the floor, she followed Mark into the sitting-room and looked round curiously, immediately liking what she saw. Mark’s home had turned out to be the top floor of an old mansion house which had been divided into flats. In keeping with the proportions of the building, the sitting-room was huge, with a high ceiling and intricate plasterwork. It was rather sparsely furnished but it possessed a certain charm which stemmed from the eclectic mix of styles.
Laura’s curious gaze skimmed over the claw-footed velvet sofa with its richly patterned throw, the brightly coloured floor cushions, the state-of-the-art CD player, and she smiled. Everything looked as though it were there for a purpose rather than just for show, and the room had a welcoming feel because of that.
‘It’s very nice,’ she pronounced when she realised that Mark was waiting for her to say something. ‘Very cosy and inviting.’
‘I like it.’ He grinned, his eyes reflecting genuine pleasure that she liked what she’d seen. ‘I’ve been here for about five months now and I’m slowly buying bits and pieces to turn the place into a home rather than just somewhere to sleep.’
He put his hand to the back of her waist, guiding her back along the hall to the kitchen. It was as tiny as he’d said it was, little more than a narrow galley with cupboards on both sides and appliances neatly built in under the worktops. They both stood in the doorway and Mark laughed as he shot her a quick look.
‘Not the sort of kitchen a dedicated cook would enjoy working in, especially if he or she was claustrophobic! However, as my culinary expertise extends no further than “something” on toast, it suits me fine.’
He gave the room a last, satisfied look then led her to the bathroom, which was very high-tech with its corner Jacuzzi and glass-enclosed shower. Laura made appropriately admiring noises but she could feel a little knot of tension bunching her stomach muscles as they made their way to the last room in the flat, Mark’s bedroom. She paused in the doorway, unable to explain her reluctance to enter his private domain, although that didn’t stop her taking a good look around.
A king-sized bed covered with a navy quilted comforter with navy and white striped sheets proclaimed that the occupant was male. The walls were pristine white with a few, very masculine prints of sailing boats in silver frames scattered here and there. The furniture was heavy, dark oak, from the huge dresser holding a silver-backed hairbrush and a single bottle of aftershave to the enormous wardrobe, the door of which was standing ajar.
Laura caught a glimpse of something light and floral through the opening, maybe a dress or a nightgown, before she hastily averted her eyes. Mark was a hugely attractive and personable man so it couldn’t be surprise she felt to discover that he’d had a woman sharing his bedroom. So what did she feel, then? Disappointment? Regret? Jealousy even?
That last thought made her gasp and she hurriedly turned it into a cough as she saw Mark look at her.
