Lucy Gordon - The Diamond Dad

For a few treacherous moments her body moulded itself to his, burning with remembered desire and need. She'd belonged to him completely, but that was a long time ago-although it seemed only yesterday-this very moment-for ever-

'It's not so easy, is it, Faye?' he whispered. 'It's not so easy to forget the truth…'

But the arrogant words shouted in her brain like a warning. Faye shuddered as she saw how close she'd come to weakening. Garth was a clever man and this was no more than a cynical mockery of love. She took a deep breath and forced her head to clear.

'The truth is that everything is over between us,' she said emphatically. 'Can't you understand that?'

'Why should I?' he growled. 'You don't kiss me as though it was all over.'

'I'm in love with another man…'

'Little liar!'

'And I'm going to marry him. You can't stop me.' Putting out all her strength, she broke free of him. 'You thought it was going to be easy, didn't you, Garth? When I arrived tonight you were sure I was going to drop into your hands. But I'm not like that any more. I've made my own life and there's no room in it for you.'

Garth was very pale. 'We'll see about that.'

But he was talking to empty air. Faye had fled the house.

'Faye, you shouldn't have been alone with this man. He's a monster.'

Faye smiled at Kendall Haines, the man she planned to marry as soon as she was free. 'Garth isn't a monster,' she protested. 'He just steamrollers over people.'

'All the more reason for you to stay away from him.'

It was the day after Faye's visit, and she and Kendall were spending the afternoon together at her home. It was as small and modest as Elm Ridge was rich and grand, but it was her very own and she loved it. The furniture was mostly second-hand, and it showed the wear and tear of two boisterous children. The house looked what it was, a place where a family lived, a real home.

Faye was dressed to fit in with the furniture, in a worn pair of jeans, topped off by a flowered shirt.

Kendall's voice became firm. 'You must promise never to do such a thing again. I can't bear to think that you're still legally his wife.'

'Not for much longer.'

Faye plumped up the cushions as she spoke so as not to let him see her face. There were things about her meeting with Garth she couldn't speak of. She was still shocked at the treacherous way her body had responded to him at the very moment she was rejecting him.

'Do you mean that he's actually agreed to a divorce?' Kendall demanded.

'Not exactly…'

Then he's still fighting you.'

'It doesn't matter,' Faye said with a conviction she was far from feeling. 'When we broke up he threatened to claim custody of the children if I insisted on a divorce, so I didn't. But after all this time, he hasn't any cards to play.'

'It's time I went to see him,' Kendall mused.

'Ken, no. Don't even think of it.'

'But you're not handling him very well, and perhaps some straight talking would do the trick.'

Kendall believed in straight talking. He was a vet and a minor celebrity in the ecological world. Occasionally he was invited onto television panels, where his forthright manner went down well.

'Straight talking is the worst thing with Garth,' Faye protested. 'He can talk back even straighten'

'You think I can't handle him?' he asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

She could understand his confidence. There was a massiveness about Kendall, both in his physique and his personality. He was six foot two, broad-shouldered, with copper hair that touched his collar, and a beard. He sometimes resembled a lion.

But if Kendall was a lion, Faye thought, Garth was a panther, ready to spring and demolish unwary prey.

'Ken, please, forget this idea,' she begged. 'It would only make things worse.'

His mouth tightened slightly in displeasure. Then he shrugged, good humour restored, and drew her close for a kiss. But they jumped apart almost at once as the front door banged and there came the sound of children's voices. Faye sat up hastily, straightening her hair just in time.

Two attractive children, both dressed in jeans and trainers, bounced into the room and greeted Kendall.

Cindy, almost eight, had the dark hair and intense eyes of her father. Nine-year-old Adrian had his mother's fairness, her fine features, and her sensitivity. He and Kendall grinned at each other. Cindy regarded her mother's friend with more reserve but still offered him a toffee, which he accepted at once for he had a very sweet tooth.

'Tea will be ready in ten minutes,' Faye said, hugging her. 'Go and have some sort of wash.'

Both children made ritual groaning noises, but headed for the door. Adrian turned back to Kendall. 'You will play football with me before you go, won't you?'

'Promise.'

Adrian vanished, satisfied.

'Do we have to jump apart like a pair of canoodling teenagers?' Kendall asked plaintively. 'The kids know about us. They even like me.'

'Adrian especially,' Faye agreed. 'But Cindy still adores Garth. That's why we have his picture over there. It's part of her make-believe that one day things will come right. I get so angry that he doesn't treasure her picture in the same way.'

'Don't let him get to you,' Kendall said with a shrug.

'You're right. He's the past.' She put her arms about him. 'Once I've got this divorce, everything will be fine for us.'

For three days Faye waited to hear from Garth, but there wasn't a word. Reluctantly she decided that she would have to contact him again, but just now she was snowed under with work.

She was settling down to it one afternoon when a sound outside drew her attention, and she was surprised to see a luxurious black car drawing up outside. The next moment Garth stepped out and headed purposefully towards the house.

Faye pulled open the door. 'I wasn't expecting you,' she said.

'I only decided this morning. May I come in?' The question was a formality, as he'd already taken her shoulders and moved her gently but firmly out of his way.

She concealed her annoyance at his high-handedness, thinking that perhaps he'd come about the divorce.

'You left this behind,' he said, handing her a parcel. Inside, she found the jacket that she had left behind in her hurry to escape from Elm Ridge. It startled her slightly to realize that she hadn't even thought about it.

'Thank you,' she said awkwardly. 'It was good of you to bring it yourself-'

'I wanted to talk to you. We can't leave things as they are. Are the kids here?'

'No, they're out with Kendall.'

'He's really taken over, hasn't he?'

'He's my future husband. Of course he's getting to know them. They like him a lot. Please, don't let's have a fight about him.'

'All right. I haven't come to fight. Do I get offered a cup of coffee?'

Reluctantly Faye went into the kitchen but she was very aware of him studying the house, the inside of which he'd never seen before. When he'd collected his children for a visit he'd waited outside, or even sent the car with only his chauffeur.

She came into the front room with the tray, to find him studying her computer and the papers strewn on the table.

'What's this?' he asked critically.

'It's my job.'

'You're still working?'

'Didn't your spies tell you? You drove me out of Kendall's job, but you couldn't stop me doing freelance work.' She was struck by a horrid thought and hastily shut down the file she was working on.

'Don't worry, I'm not going to twist anyone's arm to make them fire you,' he said with a wry smile.

'I wouldn't put it past you.'

'Forget it. That's not what I'm here for.'

'What are you here for?'

'Because I'm tired of waiting. It's over, Faye. All this living in limbo has gone on long enough. It's time to make final decisions.'