Maggie Cox - Betrayal

‘You’re not backing out on me?’ Fin’s voice with its disturbing rich timbre inadvertently caressed her ear and Brenna clutched the towel more securely to her chest, as if subconsciously protecting herself from too much sensation. That sexy voice seemed to have the power to reach parts of her that no other male had reached in five long years. Her body was pulsating in response to its sensual cadence, like a cat stroked into a state of bliss by its loving owner.

‘Not at all, I’m far too hungry to refuse your invitation,’ she admitted honestly and was doubly disconcerted to hear him chuckle.

‘Does that mean you’re feeling better after your lie-down?’

‘You could say that.’

‘Good. Then I’ll meet you in the bar at eight.’

Laying out his shaving gear on the bathroom shelf beneath the mirror, Fin confessed to feeling more than a little bit pleased that Brenna hadn’t flat out refused his dinner invitation. Whether he could ultimately placate her fears or not where Nick was concerned was not something he was going to fret about. Nick was a clever, articulate guy who could perfectly well state his own case without needing Fin to do it for him. Already Brenna was suspicious of his friendship with her ex – clearly believing he’d been sent on ahead to promote Nick’s ‘good name’ and convince her that he meant only the best for Nancy. Now that he’d met his friend’s arresting and feisty ex and gleaned the situation from her point of view, Fin had to confess to not feeling entirely comfortable in the role of flag bearer for Nick.

It was clear to him that the woman was in a lot of pain over her situation – who wouldn’t be in the circumstances? Brenna obviously believed that she was under threat and maybe she was? Perhaps her fears that Nick’s wealth and position would have an influential bearing on any desire he had regarding custody of Nancy were actually founded in some truth?

Fin thought about that. About the real possibility that Nick might take Brenna to court for full custody of their daughter instead of joint custody and he wished he’d quizzed his friend more about his intentions before agreeing to divert his vacation plans to go straight to London and travel out into the English countryside to meet up with Brenna on his behalf.

But it was too late now and, like it or not, Fin appeared to be colluding with Nick to do whatever he saw fit regarding Brenna and Nancy. Feeling an unwelcome prickle of unease unravel down his spine, he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and bit back a softly uttered curse.

After replacing the receiver, Brenna lifted it again to call her mother.

‘Mum, how are you? How’s Nancy?’

‘Brenna! We’re both fine, pet. The little darling has just helped me finish doing the dishes. How’s everything going? Have you spoken to Nicholas?’

At the underlying thread of anxiety in her mother’s voice, Brenna quickly rallied to inflect optimism in hers.

‘Everything’s just fine, Mum. Nick hasn’t arrived yet because he’s been delayed but I’m hoping he’ll get here very soon.’

‘If he offers to help financially, don’t you dare even think of turning him down!’ Elsa Stewart warned sternly.

Brenna’s stomach lurched. She wouldn’t take a penny of that man’s money even if her life depended on it . She’d already done her best to explain as much to her mother, but Elsa had seen how her daughter was working herself into the ground with two jobs to keep everything together and she didn’t want the same relentless struggle that she’d endured for her daughter or granddaughter. Brenna understood, but the mere idea of accepting Nick’s financial help made her feel distinctly uneasy. The last thing she wanted was for the man to have some kind of ‘hold’ over her, no matter how tenuous. Besides, it was five years too late and that was a fact.

‘We haven’t even talked yet, Mum, so I’ve no idea what he wants to do.’

‘He said in his letter that he wanted shared custody of Nancy. I don’t think you’ll be able to talk him out of that idea if he wants it and you’ll be a fool if you do, pet. Don’t you think it’s about time you accepted some help? I won’t be here for ever, you know.’

Brenna bit down on her lip. ‘I know that, Mum. But at the end of the day I’ll do whatever I think is best for Nancy. She’s the priority here, not me. And I’m nowhere near convinced that having Nick in her life is the best thing.’

‘You’ve let what happened make you bitter. Let it go, love. Promise me you’ll work something out between the two of you that will benefit you all? You deserve a break, Brenna. A rest, at least.’

‘Mum, I’m fit and strong and not about to collapse any time soon. Look at you, you’ve worked all your life from the age of sixteen and you’re still fighting fit.’

‘Don’t use me as an example, pet. It’s taken its toll and that’s the truth. Don’t end up like me – alone and disappointed – when you could easily have so much more.’

‘Can I talk to Nancy now?’ Her breath escaping on a sigh, Brenna stared doggedly down at her ring-less fingers. Her mother had had her late in life and came from a different era, she mused – an era where for some women marriage was still ultimately the goal. More than ever nowadays, single parents were common. Brenna was just one of many. Besides … she didn’t intend to compromise her independence by being a drain on anyone … least of all Nick Balcon, even if he could easily afford it. She’d always believed in paying her own way and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

‘Mummy, when are you coming home? I miss you lots.’

At the sound of her daughter’s softly childish tones, Brenna melted. How she wished her little girl was with her now. What she wouldn’t give for the chance to just bury her face in her daughter’s silken dark curls and smell that sweet baby smell that even now as a four-year-old seemed to grow sweeter day by day.

‘Baby, I’ll be home soon … Just one more day, sweetheart, I promise. One more day and I’ll be driving home to you and Nana. Have you been a good girl? Nana says you’ve been helping her wash the dishes?’

‘We’ve been very busy doing housework and Nana says she couldn’t manage without me. I’m glad you’re coming home tomorrow. Will you bring me the comic I asked you for?’

‘Of course I will, sweetheart. I’ll pick one up at a service station on the way home. Take care now, darling. Mummy will see you tomorrow.’

There was the sound of a heartfelt kiss being blown into the receiver and Nancy’s dulcet little voice saying ‘I love you, Mummy’.

‘I love you too, sweetheart.’

The line clicked and returned to the dial tone. Brenna felt like crying. But she wouldn’t give into the need when she was meeting Fin Malone in the bar in a very short while. There was no way she was going to let him see her emotions laid bare again. How did she know he wasn’t going to feed it back to Nick to use against her in some way? No. She’d have a glass of wine for Dutch courage, she mused, then try to enjoy her meal and keep calm. In any case, she had to keep up her strength if she was going to be a match for Nancy’s father when he finally deigned to show up …

She slipped into the intimately lit bar, fervently hoping to pass relatively unnoticed. But even as she hovered briefly in the doorway, several male heads swivelled towards her with speculative regard . Fin Malone was one of them . He’d been chatting with the young uniformed barman but when he saw the man stop drying the glass in his hand to stare transfixed over his shoulder, the American turned slowly to see what had suddenly captured his attention. Heat – hot, hard and sensual – slammed into his gut when he did. In those few highly charged seconds, he honestly believed he’d never seen a woman more alluring than Brenna Stewart and he’d seen a lot of lovely women in his time. She had little adornment to complement the slinky black dress she wore that floated elegantly down to her ankles, but then what adornment did she need with that eye-catching cleavage and silky waist-length black hair? When she spotted him and started to move across the room towards him, Fin sensed a very satisfying male pride swell in his chest. She moved like a dream, too. Maybe it had something to do with her dance training? Whatever it was, the woman was possessed of the kind of grace that couldn’t be bought or learnt. Nick had told him that she was a real beauty, but nothing could have prepared Fin for the sensual, spine-tingling reality that was Brenna.