FORGOTTEN LOVER, Carole Mortimer [chrysanthemum read aloud TXT] 📗

‘He has his serious nature,’ she answered, at once on the defensive.

‘Not a lot to leave his son,’ he drawled sneeringly.

‘He left his love too,’ she flared. ‘I’ll make sure Tony knows all about what a wonderful man his father was.’

‘Did Tony’s daddy go away?’ Vicki asked in a puzzled voice.

‘He—he died, Vicki,’ Velvet revealed reluctantly. The poor little girl was going to think mummies and daddies died all the time!

Vicki frowned. ‘So Tony doesn’t have a daddy?’

‘No…’

‘Mm,’ the little girl said thoughtfully. ‘Do you want to play I-Spy, Velvet?’ she asked suddenly.

She saw Jerard’s mouth twitch out of the corner of her eye. ‘Why don’t we all play?’ she suggested with saccharine sweetness.

Vicki grimaced. ‘Daddy’s too good at it, he always wins.’

‘Then you and I will play against him. I think that’s fair, don’t you?’ she asked him.

‘Very fair,’ he nodded, his eyes twinkling with enjoyment. ‘But no cheating.’

‘We don’t cheat, do we, Vicki?’ she gasped.

‘My daughter does,’ Jerard said tongue-in-cheek. ‘Mainly because she can’t spell.’

Vicki giggled. ‘It’s more fun when you play it my way.’

‘Not when you spell knee with an N,’ her father derided.

Velvet laughed. ‘Did you really do that?’

‘Yes,’ Vicki giggled. ‘Daddy was trying to guess it for ages.’

For the next half an hour they played I-Spy, the two girls narrowly beating Jerard, although Velvet had the idea he had let them win. Vicki was ecstatic about the victory, sitting on the back seat with a huge grin on her face.

‘That was nice,’ Velvet said softly, too softly for Vicki to hear.

‘I have been known to be nice on occasion,’ Jerard drawled equally as softly. ‘Although I very rarely allow anyone to win but myself.’

She looked at him sharply, sensing a warning. His expression remained bland. ‘Will we be eating soon or will we wait until we get to Orlando?’ she changed the subject, unwilling to start an argument with Jerard in front of the sensitive child Vicki undoubtedly was.

‘Now, Daddy,’ Vicki chimed in from behind. ‘Let’s eat now.’

‘Hamburgers and french-fries, I suppose?’ he grimaced.

‘Yes, please,’ she smiled her satisfaction.

‘She lives on them whenever we’re in America,’ he explained to Velvet.

‘Do you visit America a lot?’ she asked interestedly.

‘Not for some time,’ he answered stiltedly. ‘I come here as seldom as possible—at least, I did in the past. Now it seems the reason for my reluctance no longer exists.’

Colour flamed in her cheeks, his meaning clear to her. She had no appetite for the food he ordered for her, although he and Vicki didn’t seem to share her lack of appetite, and both of them had a dessert too.

The drive itself was boring, a single straight road that led directly to Orlando. It was a monotonous journey, mile after mile of straight white road, hour after hour of travelling. It came as no surprise to Velvet that Vicki fell asleep half way.

‘Did she continue to sleep last night?’ she asked Jerard.

‘Yes. Although she asked for you as soon as she woke up. I can’t understand it,’ he said tersely. ‘She doesn’t usually take to—strangers.’

She flinched, for some reason taking exception to being called a stranger. Although she didn’t know why she did, because that was exactly what she was.

‘I like her too,’ she said huskily.

‘Well, don’t like her too much,’ he advised harshly. ‘I don’t want a hysterical child on my hands once you’ve gone.’

She bit her lip. ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,’ she said slowly.

‘Yes?’

His abrupt tone wasn’t very encouraging, but she just had to ask him this next question. ‘Your wife,’ she began hesitantly. ‘You were married when I—when we—’

‘And if I was?’ he rasped.

‘Well, I—I—Oh God!’ she groaned. ‘I just find it impossible to believe I was involved with a married man.’

‘Maybe I didn’t tell you I was married.’

Her expression brightened. ‘Didn’t you? Is that the way it happened?’

‘It “happened” because you wanted me and I wanted you,’ he scorned. ‘No other reason.’

‘But you said we were in love!’

‘At the time I thought we were, now I think it was just that other four-letter word beginning with L—lust,’ he derided. ‘That’s a much more common reason for what we did.’

‘Lust doesn’t last for years,’ she said heatedly. ‘And you—you still loved me when we met again for the first time.’

‘Did I?’ he drawled.

‘You know you did,’ Velvet snapped.

‘Maybe,’ he conceded. ‘But I’m over it now.’

She bit her lip, looking down at her hands. ‘Why did we break up?’

Jerard sighed angrily. ‘You might find it amusing to play this little game, Velvet, but it just sickens me. You know damn well we didn’t break up. I had to take over the family business when my father died, and then we found out that Tina was ill, possibly dying. By the time I had the whole sorry mess sorted out you were Mrs Anthony Dale.’

Velvet had gone very white. ‘That’s what happened?’

‘You know it is,’ he said grimly.

‘But if you were married—’

‘I wasn’t! You know damn well that in any sense of the word I wasn’t,’ he said more calmly. ‘Tina and I had been separated a long time before I even met you.’

Her relief was immense. He hadn’t been living with his wife when she had known him! Their past relationship didn’t seem quite so bad now, although she still found it unnerving to think she and this man had been lovers.

‘That makes you feel better, hmm?’ he scorned. ‘Have you forgotten you were engaged at the time?’

She had forgotten, and he knew she had; his sarcasm was obvious. And no wonder, she had been feeling smug with herself. Now she was feeling guilty again, totally unsure of herself, as only this man could make her feel.

Vicki woke up at the moment. ‘Are we nearly there, Daddy?’ she asked sleepily.

‘Nearly.’ His voice softened as he spoke to his daughter.

‘Ooh, I can’t wait to go to Disneyworld again!’ she said excitedly.

‘How many times have you been?’ Velvet asked interestedly.

‘Twice. But they were ages ago, when I was a