Authors: Jo Iles
‘But you kissed him, Holly. Why would you do that?’ Daniel asked, looking across at her with a hurt look in his eye.
‘Seriously, Daniel. I don’t know what the big deal is. It didn’t mean anything. I was just proving a point to show you that you
don’t
and you
can’t
control me anymore. If you’re going to play a part in Harry’s life, then you have to realise this,’ she answered, giving him a don’t-mess-with-me look. ‘Plus—I’m allowed to kiss whomever the hell I please. Even your precious Mr Perkins,’ she added, unable to stop a smile from escaping her lips.
‘Don’t you ever do that again, Holly. I won’t be made a fool of in my own household,’ Daniel warned, sounding like something out of a Jane Austen novel.
‘Oh, grow up!’ Holly exclaimed, plonking her hands on her hips. ‘Don’t be so bloody childish.’
‘
Childish?
You’re calling
me
childish?’ Daniel asked, clearly surprised by her choice of vocabulary. ‘I’m not the one flinging my affections around all over the place with the staff!’
‘Look. What’s done is done. I can’t undo the past. I’m sorry you’re so mortified by a little kiss. I never had you down for such a prude, but there you go,’ Holly said, deliberately goading him.
‘You’re unbelievable,’ Daniel retorted, and he stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
Holly smiled to herself. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t meant to antagonise him, but it had just been too easy. There was something fun about watching Daniel get all hot and bothered and angry at her. Back when they were together, she’d been the peacemaker and had pretty much always backed down. Apparently, having Harry had given her some gumption to stand up for herself, whether she was in the right or wrong. And it felt good.
‘Take that, Daniel Madison,’ Holly said to herself as she unzipped her bag to inspect and attempt to smooth out her outfit for the evening. Then she stopped, hearing something. A small, quiet knocking sound. She looked around the room, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Her hearing and eyes zeroed in on the door. There was a very faint tapping, like someone was drumming their figures quietly on the other side. Holly crept silently to the door and slowly opened it, fully expecting to see a mischievous little boy standing there.
It wasn’t Harry. It was Daniel. Standing there with a hungry, lustful look that was a million miles away from a little boy’s look. Their eyes met, and then he was on her in a rush, kissing her as though his life depended on it. He slammed her back against the open door and passionately kissed her like she hadn’t been kissed in a long, long time. And she kissed him back with the same fervour that their argument had ignited.
Holly’s body began to long for him to scoop her up and carry her to the bed and do more intimate things to her. Just as she thought he was about to comply with her silent wishes, he suddenly stopped his tongue assault and held her still at arm’s length. Both of them were breathing heavily, but only Holly was wearing a confused expression, seeing as she was utterly clueless as to why he’d stopped. Daniel appeared to be quickly regaining his composure as he fixed her with an unreadable look.
‘I’d better go,’ Daniel said quietly. ‘Party’s at eight-thirty.’
‘Is is Stephanie? Is that why you stopped?’ Holly blurted out.
‘What? Stephanie as in—
Stephanie
? Are you serious, Holly? She’s my housekeeper!’ he exclaimed, laughing loudly. ‘Did you seriously think we were together?
‘I don’t know, Daniel, do I? I’m in the dark where you’re concerned,’ Holly snapped at him, feeling sheepish for asking him.
‘But now you come to mention her, she
is
a good-looking woman. Maybe I should try my luck there.’
‘And fling your affections around with the staff. Never,’ replied Holly, trying to hide her embarrassment behind the banter.
‘You’re probably right: don’t want to set a precedent. But Stephanie’s really not my type. She’s far too docile and accommodating. I like my women a little more fiery and argumentative,’ he said, giving her a wink as he strode out the door, leaving Holly flustered—and wholly unsatisfied in the physical department.
‘You look beautiful, Mum,’ Harry said from his comfortable sprawled-out-on-the-big-bed position.
‘Well, thank you, kind sir,’ Holly replied, giving him a twirl followed by a quick curtsey. ‘You look lovely too, but then you’re the best-looking young man in the world,’ she added, giving him a kiss on his nose. Harry giggled his five-year-old giggle, which reassured Holly that although he was growing up fast, he was still her baby boy. Not a total man, just yet.
‘Right, I guess we’ll just have to do,’ Holly said, making a final adjustment to her hair in the mirror. ‘Let’s head on downstairs for your father’s party.’
It was well past Harry’s bedtime—not that Daniel had even asked. After their argument-cum-moment-of-passion earlier in the afternoon, Holly had let Harry take a nap in the hope that it would give him an extra boost until the end of the day. She hoped he’d be able to get through an hour or so of the party before he got grouchy and in need of a proper sleep.
There was a gentle tap at the door, and Holly’s stomach did little leaps at the thought that Daniel was coming to take them down to his party. How gentlemanly, Holly found herself thinking as she opened the door with a natural smile lighting up her face.
‘You look… nice,’ Stephanie said, giving Holly a full top-to-toe appraisal in less than a nanosecond.
‘Stephanie, hi,’ Holly replied, surprised to see the housekeeper—formerly thought to be Daniel’s love interest—standing before her.
‘Are you… ready?’ Stephanie asked tentatively, as she cast another all-seeing critical eye over Holly’s skinny jeans and sparkly top.
‘Yes,’ Holly replied slowly as Stephanie’s disapproval of her wardrobe choices finally registered. ‘Is there something wrong with the way I look?’ Holly asked, trying to read the other woman’s face. ‘Please be honest with me. I don’t want to look foolish down there.’
‘I knew he hadn’t told you this was a black tie shindig,’ Stephanie sighed, grabbing Holly’s wrist and pulling her back into the bedroom. ‘Men,’ Stephanie huffed as she walked directly over to the built-in wardrobes. She slid open a door and began rifling through a bunch of clothes covered in dust bags. ‘I don’t think he did it deliberately, mind you. He just didn’t think,’ she added, giving Holly a quick reassuring wink over her shoulder.
Holly was surprised, to say the least. She’d been unable to read Stephanie earlier in the day, and was stunned that she now seemed to be coming to her rescue. If that was what she was doing.
Holly had already had a rifle through the wardrobe and drawers in the room—as was the prerogative of any houseguest—but she’d got completely bored when all she’d found were a couple of Daniel’s old suits and a ski jacket. When Stephanie pulled out a selection of five long evening gowns from the furthest recess, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
‘Whose are those?’ Holly asked incredulously, as Stephanie hung the exquisite dresses up side by side.
‘Don’t you remember?’ Stephanie replied, lifting an eyebrow in disbelief. ‘They’re yours.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Holly said automatically. These kinds of dresses were a far cry from the life and wardrobe she lived nowadays. But then again, once upon a time, some years ago, when she’d had posh events to go to, and posh people to impress, she
had
owned a few dresses, she remembered.
‘Oh my God. They
are
mine. I totally forgot,’ Holly gasped, putting a hand to her mouth, remembering back to a different life.
‘Why did he keep them?’ she asked as she began to look at the dresses more carefully, feeling their texture and studying their cut.
‘You’d have to ask Daniel that,’ Stephanie replied plainly.
‘Stephanie,’ Holly said firmly, getting a hold of her senses and stepping away from the beautiful dresses. ‘These are lovely, and thank you for digging them out. But they’re a little over the top, don’t you think?’
‘Absolutely not.’
‘But they’re not going to fit me now,’ Holly protested. ‘I had a baby.’
‘Nonsense,’ replied Stephanie in a matter-of-fact, say-it-like-it-is tone.
‘But these aren’t
me
anymore,’ Holly said feebly. ‘I’m not even sure they were really me when I bought the damn things.’
Stephanie shot her a warning look and nodded in Harry’s direction, clearly admonishing her for her choice of language in front of the little boy.
‘Well, tell me this. Would you rather go downstairs in your current… look,’ Stephanie began, gesturing at Holly’s getup, ‘and feel totally uncomfortable, or would you like to look a million dollars and feel confident enough to hold your own amongst Daniel’s friends and business associates?’
‘I don’t want to do either when you put it like that,’ Holly sulked. ‘We should never have come,’ she added sadly, sinking down onto the bed. ‘We—no,
I
—don’t fit in this world. I tried to once before, but I didn’t back then, and I’m certainly not going to now. They’re all money, breeding, and class and I’m… well, just, ordinary.’
‘I tell you what,’ Stephanie said kindly, crouching down to Holly’s eyeline and touching her knee in sympathy. ‘Will you at least humour the old housekeeper and try a couple on? For me. Please.’
‘Go on, Mum,’ Harry suddenly encouraged as he draped himself around Holly’s shoulders and began to smother her in butterfly kisses.
‘Okay, okay, I will,’ Holly eventually conceded. ‘But just to see what they look like. And if they actually fit.’
* * *
Holly had thought the party would just be a few people over for drinks and snacks. She was wrong. Very wrong. As she and Harry headed down the stairs, hand in hand, they followed the direction of voices, laughter, and glasses chinking. The noise led them through to a thus-far-unexplored section of the house that was connected via a wide passageway to a temporary marquee. It was huge, and must have housed around a hundred people. There was a bar, a jazz band, and waiters flying about the room expertly carrying trays one-handed. It looked more like a wedding than a birthday party.
Thankfully, Holly didn’t feel one iota overdressed. Thank Christ Stephanie had talked her into trying the dresses on and then talked her into coming down in one of them. The general consensus between the three of them had been that the strapless slinky black gown looked the best. If she’d gone down there in her jeans and spangly top, she would have died from sheer fashion faux-pas embarrassment.
‘Where are the kids?’ Harry asked, unable to hide his disappointment. Clearly this was not his idea of what a party should be.
‘I don’t know, darling. But let’s see if we can find your daddy so you can give him your present,’ Holly said soothingly into his ear and squeezing his little hand in hers.
‘Okay, Mum,’ he said, giving her a nervous little smile. ‘I hope he likes it.’
‘He’s going to
love
it—because it comes from you,’ Holly reassured him as she led him over to a corner. She was pretty sure it was Daniel’s back she’d spotted from across the room. Whoever it was, he was holding court in a little circle of men and women. Holly gestured for Harry to give the man’s jacket a little tug.
After quite a few tugs, Daniel eventually turned around to see who was disturbing him.
‘Harry,’ he cheered as he scooped up his son and held him in his arms. Holly felt her breath catch. God, he looked good. It was like he’d literally just stepped off a
GQ
magazine shoot or something. He was all designer tuxedo, designer stubbled sheer sexiness and sophistication. And the arrogant bugger absolutely knew it as he stood confidently and clocked Holly’s eyes, which were wide like saucers. Then a look of appreciation settled on his face as he checked out Holly’s appearance. He looked at her with the undisguised look of a hunter eyeing up its next dinner. His eyes seemed to keep returning to her bustline for some reason. Holly cleared her throat when his staring began to make her feel even more self-conscious than she did already.
‘How rude of me,’ Daniel said, shaking his head and returning to his circle, still holding Harry in his arms and making room for Holly. ‘Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Holly and Harry. And Holly and Harry, this is Steve, Jake, Michael, Olivia, and Miranda.’ Everyone gave polite nods and the men shook Holly’s hand. ‘I think you and Miranda have met before,’ Daniel added, to complete the introductions.
‘Oh yes,’ began Miranda. ‘How are you, Holly?’ she said, narrowing her eyes at Holly and swooping in for some air kisses.
‘Fine, thanks,’ Holly replied with a fake smile. ‘You?’
‘I couldn’t be better,’ she said, looking over at Daniel and Harry.
‘How nice to meet you finally, Harry,’ Miranda said, stepping across Holly and grabbing his hand. ‘I’ve heard so much about you.’
Miranda hadn’t changed a bit. She had always been desperate to bask in Daniel’s glory and had always followed him around like a little lost lamb. The rational part of Holly’s brain knew that she was Daniel’s personal assistant and that it was her
job
to follow him around like a little lost lamb—but it didn’t mean she had to like the woman. Now, it seemed to be no different. Daniel was holding Harry, so Miranda had to impress her boss and ingratiate herself with Harry. That was just how she worked.
To Holly’s delight, Harry seemed none too impressed with the strange lady who was clasping his hand, and he wriggled it expertly free and began whispering things in his daddy’s ear, taking up all of Daniel’s attention.
‘Excuse us,’ Daniel said to his circle of party guests. ‘We’ll be right back,’ he added as he turned on his heel, pulling a surprised Holly with him. Holly just managed to catch a glance at Miranda’s put-out-of-joint face. It was priceless.
Daniel took them off to a concealed curtain area where the waiters were loading up their trays with canapés and champagne.
‘Harry said he had a present for me, but wanted to give it to me in private,’ Daniel explained to Holly as he set the little boy down.