TWENTY-THREE #3
Five minutes later, he was stepping into my lodge. He looked cautious.
‘Are we good?’
I didn’t say anything. I just put my arms around him and kissed him. I could feel the relief as he kissed me back. He breathed in as he rested his head against mine.
‘I’m glad you came over,’ I said.
‘I didn’t want to go back to London without seeing you. Without making sure you were okay, and we were too.’
‘We’re good,’ I said.
My heart ached as I said the words. I so wanted us to be good. I just needed to work out how. Get Henderson out of my life, away from Oliver and away from Noah.
‘We can talk about it more, if you want,’ said Oliver.
He must have mistaken my distraction for still having a problem with him.
‘No. We don’t need to keep going over things.’
‘I’m not sure I deserve such understanding.’
I ran my hand through his hair. ‘Don’t underestimate yourself.’
I kissed him again, to quell any protest, before leading him through to the bedroom.
Our sex was gentle and tender. Two people being careful with one another. I let Oliver take the lead and go on top. He held the weight of his body on his elbows. He didn’t ask with words. He looked deep into my eyes, and I knew he was making sure this was what I wanted.
I didn’t need to speak either. I held the palm of my hand to his jaw, feeling the stubble of his beard against my skin, stroking his cheek with my thumb.
He leaned down and kissed me, there was still space between our bodies.
I wrapped my legs around his hips, hooking my ankles together, before gently pulling him down and into me.
Slowly, he moved in and out, all the time keeping eye contact. He never looked away. This wasn’t just sex, this was something more. I wasn’t sure what exactly, and I didn’t want to label it. I just wanted to enjoy it for whatever it was.
Afterwards, he lay next to me, holding me against his chest, kissing the top of my head. No words were needed. I felt safe and wanted for all the right reasons.
When Oliver had to leave, I genuinely felt it in my chest––in my heart.
‘I’ll be back next weekend with Noah,’ he said. ‘He’s really looking forward to seeing you. I thought maybe we could all go out for a meal, the three of us.’
‘That will be nice. I’ll look forward to that.’ And I meant it. Noah was a great kid, and I liked spending time with him.
‘Don’t forget, if you need me for anything, just call. If you need anything fast, go to Dom.’
After Oliver had left, I sat down on the sofa and considered how I was going to deal with Henderson. It had to stop. I couldn’t live like this any longer, and more than that, I refused to.
By the time I went to bed, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
The next day, everyone had been given the day off, seeing as they had worked through the weekend. This fitted perfectly in my plan.
I had breakfast in the canteen barn along with everyone else. Grainger sat next to me and ribbed me about not coming up with a new cake yet.
‘I’m going into town today to get the ingredients,’ I said. ‘A special dose of arsenic for your slice.’ I looked over at Dom. ‘Is it all right if I take the Land Rover?’
‘Sure. Keys are hanging up in the office,’ said Dom.
After breakfast, I went straight back to the lodge and opened the tablet I’d been given by Dom.
It contained the medical records of all personnel at Risk and would gradually increase as more staff arrived.
The idea was that I would eventually have a work phone with me in case of a medical emergency, so I could access personal details.
Those personal details also included the standard information such as name, date of birth, telephone number, next of kin, etc. It was the telephone number I was interested in.
I tapped out the text message on my phone.
It’s Alex. Meet me at Driftwood Café in town at midday.
That was all. I didn’t need to say anything else. He’d come. I knew it.
I got a reply back a few minutes later.
I’ll look forward to it.
I took a deep breath. So far so good.
After completing some paperwork and putting in an order for medical supplies, I went across to the gatehouse and picked up the keys. Eventually, the office was going to be at the big lodge house, but for now, it was the study in the gatehouse.
I drove into town, parked up and headed down the main street to the café, just a few doors up from the florist shop.
I purposefully chose the table near the window, where I could see everyone coming in and stay in direct eye contact with the counter. There were enough people in the café to make me feel safe.
At five minutes to twelve, Henderson stepped inside. He paused. Looked around before his gaze landed on me, and he came over.
‘Alex.’ He went to kiss my cheek, but I pulled away. A frown crossed his face, but he schooled his expression back into the ambient and amenable one he used at the retreat. It made me want to cringe. ‘Can I get you a drink?’
‘No, thanks,’ I said, indicating to the cup already in front of me.
He came back a few minutes later with a coffee and sat down on the chair next to mine.
‘So, what’s with all the clandestine meeting?’