Chapter 23

‘Alice Hutton? Hmm. Yes, I believe I did,' Johan de Groote said.

He spoke far more calmly than Stella was expecting. She noted his lilting Dutch accent was stronger than Pim's. As for the lazy smile he was wearing, she found it infuriating. That, combined with the way he was resting so casually against the bar, lent him an arrogant air.

‘So, tell me, how is dear Alice these days?'

Dear Alice? He's got a nerve!Stella felt her blood beginning to bubble as her anger levels inched up. ‘My mother's doing very well, actually. In fact, you've just missed her.' She pinned him with her hardest stare. The pale-blue eyes looking back at her were unwavering, but she held firm.

He gave a small laugh. ‘Yes, I'd heard she was doing very well for herself. As, from what I can gather, are you, Stella.'

That threw her momentarily off balance. She wasn't expecting him to know anything about her. Blinking quickly, she regrouped. ‘And how would you know that?'

‘Well,' he said slowly, an amused expression creeping over his face, ‘it's surprising what you can find out on the internet.'

Stella couldn't argue with that, her profile was on the chambers website for all to see. She clenched her jaw, myriad emotions bombarding her body. She was fighting hard against the urge to scream at him, tell him to quit with his annoying, smarmy attitude! Did he think by being "amusing" it was going to make her like him? And what the heck did her mother ever see in him? He was awful! Surely she must have got it wrong; he couldn't be who she thought he was. She couldn't imagine her mum giving the time of day to a man like this, so full of his own importance, so infuriatingly arrogant.

Pushing her shoulders back, she said, ‘So, you're the man who was dating my mother when she was at university?'

‘Yes,' he nodded slowly, ‘we dated in our first year at university.' There was that annoying smile again.

‘And you're the man who turned your back on her when she told you she was pregnant, am I right?'

His eyes flickered away and he pushed his lips together, taking a moment to formulate his reply. Stella was pleased to see she'd dented his confident air, albeit slightly. ‘Hmm. That's not quite how I remember it, but yes, we split up, if that's what you mean; hadn't been together long, it wasn't anything serious.' He gave a casual shrug.

‘Is that right?' She glared at him, keeping her voice low, reminding herself of the reason they were at The Cellar. Tonight's about the Readman family.

Pim, who'd been observing events unfold, concern hovering in his eyes, leant across the bar and said, ‘Would you like to come through to the back? Might be better to talk there?'

‘Good idea,' said Stella, just as Florrie appeared by her side, squeezing her arm.

‘Stells, are you okay?' she asked, her petite face full of concern. ‘Alex was wanting to come over to see that you were all right, but I put him off; I wasn't sure if you'd want that.'

Stella sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. ‘Thanks, Florrie. I'll explain everything when I'm finished. I'm just going through to the back for a few minutes. Tell everyone not to worry.' She mustered up a small smile.

‘Okay, but you know where we are if you need us.'

Pim led them to a small room just off the kitchen. ‘I'll just be in the bar if you need me.' He gave a tight smile before heading through the door.

Stella turned to the tall man standing before her. It was easy to see their shared resemblance in this brighter light, and that his slightly unkempt blond hair was streaked with white. ‘So, getting back to what we were talking about in the bar, are you telling me you don't think your girlfriend at the time telling you she's pregnant with your baby is serious?' Her chest was heaving, her breathing short.

He splayed his palms. ‘Hey, now let's not get things blown out of proportion here, and please don't twist my words.'

Stella gave a scornful laugh. ‘Tell me how it was then, because that's how it sounded to me.'

She folded her arms defensively in front of her. ‘This isn't at all how I expected meeting my father for the first time would be.' In truth, it was about as far removed as it was possible to be. Ever since she was a small girl, she'd dreamt about this day, imagining him greeting her with open arms, scooping her up, telling her he loved her and had missed her and had been so desperate for the day he could actually meet her. That dream had changed as she'd grown older, grown more cynical, but even so, she hadn't ever imagined she'd feel such hostility towards the man whose genes she shared.

‘I'm sorry if I disappoint you, Stella,' he said, sounding anything but.

‘You're sorry you disappoint me? What an utterly futile comment.' A look of disgust distorted her features. ‘It's not about you disappointing me, it's what you did to my mum! Walking away like that, leaving her on her own to fend for herself. What kind of man does that?' And you walked away from me.

‘You're describing a very black and white situation, but, as with so many things, it wasn't quite as straightforward as that.'

‘Oh, and how was it then? Come on! Now's your chance! You've had thirty-three, almost thirty-four years to think of an answer. Go for it!'

‘I'm not sure now is the right time to explain. Emotions appear to be running high.' He looked away, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

Is he for real?‘Something tells me there would never be a right time for you to face-up to your actions.'

‘What you don't realise is that I'm dealing with a lot of difficult stuff right now. My health isn't great and I haven't got anywhere to?—'

‘Is everything okay with you guys?' Pim's voice made them both turn.

Stella shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and her thumb. ‘I'm really not sure how to answer that, Pim. This whole situation seems surreal.'

‘I thought I should let you know the auction's about to resume.' He looked between them, giving a concerned smile.

‘Thank you, son.' Johan's words stopped Stella's train of thoughts.

Son?Of course, why hadn't she realised? That would mean Pim wasn't only related to her, he was her…? Oh, jeez, this is too much to get my head around right now. ‘Thanks, Pim. We're done here for now.' With that, she turned and headed back to the bar, her mind reeling, her chest squeezing. She didn't know how she was going to explain any of this to her friends, never mind Alex. As for her mother… Her stomach clenched at that thought. What on earth was she going to say to her mum?