Chapter Seven
JACK RETURNED HOME after walking Sylvie back to her house.
She, of course, insisted she was perfectly capable of finding her own way home, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He said good-night, she shut the door and he walked back to his place with his thoughts as messy as tangled fishing line.
So, that was it. Their one-night stand was done and dusted.
He had lost count of how many such encounters he’d had over the years but never before had he wanted to change the rules.
He had seen Sylvie as a challenge. The thrill of winning her over was supposed to feel like a victory but instead he felt a troubling sense of disappointment.
A disturbing sense of wishing he hadn’t agreed to just one night.
But a fling with a colleague, especially one who was acting for his client’s estranged wife in a messy divorce created a dilemma for Jack.
He preferred to keep his work and private life separate but Sylvie Rathbone had bewitched him into breaking his own rules.
Making love with her was so damn satisfying and not just because he had seen her as a challenge.
The sensuality of her touch, her soft responsive mouth, the smooth glide of her hands and her whimpering cries of pleasure kept replaying in his mind.
Something about their union had touched him in a way he hadn’t been touched before.
Sex for him was a physical thing, a body-based sensation that didn’t intersect with his emotions.
He didn’t consider himself a particularly emotional person.
He had been once but that was so long ago he could barely believe he was the same person as that small child who had received the news of his parents’ death with such stoicism, when beneath the surface despair and dread and a deep aching sense of loss threatened to overwhelm him.
But he had two younger brothers to care for and a grieving grandmother who needed him to be strong. So, that’s what he had done.
He had become strong. But in doing so he’d had to deny what he was feeling in order to help and support those he loved.
He had taught himself not to feel as a child and then a teenager.
Every sexual encounter he had was a physical experience, not an emotional one.
He had friendships, sure, people he cared about, but he never let things get too serious.
He wanted his life free of complications.
He veered away from long-term commitment because he didn’t have the emotional software.
Jack wandered into his bedroom where only half an hour or so ago he and Sylvie had made passionate love.
He looked at the rumpled bedcover and a hot shiver raced through his blood as he pictured her naked body entwined with his.
How could he have thought one night with Sylvie Rathbone was going to be enough?
And why wasn’t it enough when normally he walked away from a sexual encounter without a qualm?
He wanted more and he sensed Sylvie did too, even if she’d made it clear she was a career woman who had a busy legal practice to run.
And why shouldn’t they engage in a quick fling if it was what they both wanted?
They could keep it private, especially since they were neighbours and they were unlikely to be outed by the intrusive press.
As much as he wanted to go to her place right now and ask for more than just this night together, he decided to wait until the following evening.
He was so turned on at the thought, he could hardly wait.
When Sylvie arrived at work the following morning, Mariah peered at her suspiciously. ‘Hey, what’s happened?’ she asked.
Sylvie smoothed down her skirt and straightened her designer jacket. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You look different.’
‘How?’
‘Your eyes are sparkling and you have beard rash.’
Sylvie put her hand up to her chin, frowning as she remembered the red circle of skin she had tried to cover with makeup but had clearly failed to do so adequately. ‘It’s a reaction to a skin cream.’
Mariah gave her a probing you-can’t-fool-me look. ‘If you ask me, I’d say you’ve broken your celibacy run. And clearly it was a huge success. Who was it? Anyone we know?’
Sylvie could feel a faint blush staining her cheeks. ‘It was just a one-night thing.’
‘Tell me more.’ Mariah’s eyes lit up like candles.
Sylvie turned to the coffee machine. ‘There’s nothing to tell. We agreed it was a one-off thing.’
Natasha came in at that point holding a stack of printed cards in her hand.
Her gait had changed as her pregnancy had progressed and she was lumbering even slower than usual even though she still had a month to go before her due date.
‘I finally got around to printing the baby shower cards. Here, this is one for you. I hope you can make it.’
Sylvie took the card from her and looked at the cute design with unicorns and rainbows and balloons and fairies and elves. ‘I’d love to come. I’ve never been to a baby shower before.’ She put the card in her briefcase and added, ‘Or been a bridesmaid.’
‘We would have asked you to be ours but my sister and cousin would’ve made such a fuss if they weren’t asked,’ Natasha said. ‘Anyway, I thought you weren’t keen on weddings.’
Sylvie gave them both a wry smile. ‘Not every marriage is doomed to failure. Look at you two for example.’
Natasha and Mariah squeezed each other’s hands. ‘Yes, well, we’re lucky we live in a time when our love is accepted and we can get married,’ Mariah said.
‘Did I tell you my mum is seeing someone?’ Sylvie said.
Her colleagues both gaped at her. ‘Seriously?’ Natasha said. ‘Have you met him or her?’
‘He’s a retired vet apparently. A lonely widower who was happily married until his wife died five years ago. Mum’s going to introduce me to him soon.’
‘How do you feel about that?’ Mariah asked.
Sylvie cradled her mug in both of her hands. ‘I’m cautiously optimistic, but she’s been on her own for so long and I didn’t think she would ever get over my father’s rejection, so if this works out, it will give me a break from worrying about her all the time.’
Sylvie took a refreshing sip of coffee, glanced at the clock on the wall, and then put her cup down and picked up her briefcase. ‘I’d better get moving. I have clients this morning and a court hearing this afternoon.’
‘How are the Winterses’ divorce proceedings going?’
‘I haven’t heard from Edwina in three days, which is a record. I’ve probably jinxed it now by talking about it.’
Sylvie walked up the corridor to her office a short time later to where her secretary was seated, her hand over the phone’s mouthpiece. ‘Sylvie, Edwina wants to see you tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. I can squeeze her in between Jeanne Blake and Zelda Poulous.’
Yep. She had jinxed it. ‘Okay.’
Jack was finding it hard to concentrate, which was highly unusual for him.
Normally he had laser focus when it came to work, but his thoughts kept circling back to Sylvie and what they had experienced together the night before.
But then Hugo Winters arrived for a meeting and he had to put last night to one side while he listened to his client’s ranting.
‘I tell you, Jack, Edwina isn’t fit to have full custody of the children. I called on them yesterday and she was in bed with a hangover.’
Jack frowned. ‘Are you sure it wasn’t something else? A virus?’
Hugo leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
‘She’s had a drinking problem ever since we were married.
I didn’t realise at first. Who doesn’t love a drink or two at night?
But then, I found hidden bottles of gin and vodka.
She doesn’t do it all the time, sometimes it’s weeks, even months before she has a drink.
I swear she hasn’t been drunk in ages. I wasn’t going to mention it before because I thought she was sober.
I was more concerned about her lack of boundaries with the kids but she must’ve gone on a bender yesterday, so now I have this to worry about as well. ’
‘It’s a serious allegation to make against someone. Do you have any witnesses, other than the children?’
Hugo looked defeated rather than his usual angry self. He shook his head. ‘As I said, it’s been literally years, two or three at least, since she’s been drunk. She went to some meetings and seemed to have it under control.’
‘What do you think triggered this bender?’
Hugo looked a little sheepish. ‘Of course, the divorce is hard on both of us. But our daughter, Mimi, is a handful. She’s a very emotional type, a bit like her mother.
I think she needs toughening up. You can’t go through life hiding under the bedcovers just because someone said something nasty to you.
Edwina is way too soft on her. She lets her stay home if she doesn’t feel up to going to school.
I’m paying big money for the kids’ education, and I want them both to attend regularly. ’
‘How’s your son handling the divorce proceedings?’
Hugo shrugged. ‘He’s fine. He keeps to himself pretty much. He’s at that age when you only get a grunt for an answer.’
‘Do you spend any time with them both? Individually or one-on-one?’ Jack asked, trying to get a picture of what sort of involvement Hugo had with his children.
‘I’m too busy paying for everything,’ Hugo said in a defensive tone.
‘All this gentle parenting crap is ruining a whole generation of young people. They’ll not be able to cope with a single setback in life.
Edwina is too permissive. When I put my foot down over an issue, she undoes it all by letting the kids do what they want as soon as I turn my back. ’
‘What was your relationship like with your father?’ It wasn’t a question Jack usually asked a client, but in this case, he thought it might be important. Family patterns could be passed from generation to generation and if those patterns weren’t positive, great damage could be done.