CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIVE

S ITTING BEHIND HIS DESK in the impressive glass tower that dominated the London skyline, Mateo was in a state of shock. It was over six weeks since Alice Reynolds had disappeared from his life. He could recall that final conversation as vividly as if it had taken place five minutes before.

She had wanted more. She had wanted to continue their relationship when they returned to London. It had been a simple enough suggestion. As she’d told him, bemused and just a little bit pleading, they got along, didn’t they? And the sex was great, wasn’t it? She’d seen it through the straightforward eyes of someone whose life had never been complicated. Her back story hadn’t left her cynical, her emotions sealed behind doors that would never be opened.

Yes, she’d left a broken engagement behind her, but it had been obvious from everything she’d said that the solid security of her very loving and protected background had fortified her against any bitterness that the broken engagement might have generated. She hadn’t left her heart behind along with the engagement ring. She’d kept her dreams intact, emulating her parents, he expected.

It had been too much for him. He’d had to walk away. He might have given her the speech about not wanting commitment, but the minute he’d seen her pottering in his kitchen, comfortable in the role of his partner, he’d realised that those warning words had fallen on deaf ears. Even if she herself hadn’t realised it, she’d been well on the way to wanting more .

Torn between desperately wanting her to stay and knowing she should leave, he had headed back down to the town and, when he’d returned, she was no longer there. She’d airbrushed herself out of his life and, typically, he’d reacted by spending the night in the loving arms of some excellent red wine.

In the morning he’d woken groggily to the realisation that there was no way he was going to hang around a minute longer in the lodge and he’d left for London on the first flight back.

That episode in his life was over. Okay, so there hadn’t been a single day when she hadn’t crossed his mind, and sure, his attempts at distraction with another woman—a six-foot-tall raven-haired model with a figure that had men walking into lampposts—had flamboyantly failed, but that was because what he and Alice had had had come to a premature end.

It was no surprise that his thoughts were still wrapped up with her because his nose had been put out of joint. He was so accustomed to calling the shots and ending things when his levels of boredom had been reached that to find himself on the receiving end naturally had left a few lingering remnants of bitter aftertaste. It wouldn’t last, and indeed it was quite amusing, really. It seemed his ego was bigger than he thought.

So fifteen minutes ago, when his PA had buzzed through to tell him that an Alice Reynolds was in the foyer requesting a meeting, he’d been gobsmacked.

And satisfied; he couldn’t help himself. Now, relaxing back in his chair with the busy streets of London sprawling twelve storeys below, visible through the massive sheet of floor-to-ceiling glass, Mateo savoured the taste of what was to come. She’d found out who he was. He had no idea how, but in this day and age sleuthing was easy. Maybe he’d left some form of identification lying around somewhere and she’d seen his full name.

It was disappointing that she’d decided to turn up, because he’d really thought that she lacked that materialistic streak that might let her see the financial benefits of dating a rich guy. She’d struck him as pure as the driven snow, the type of girl who really fitted the bill when it came to being a vicar’s daughter.

But he couldn’t be right all the time. She was here. She wanted to reconnect some way because he was a catch.

He would have to gently let her down. But he would also have a chance to see her and he couldn’t deny that that was an exciting prospect.

There was a good chance that his mind had been playing tricks on him for the past few weeks and that the woman who had driven him crazy with desire would not be what he remembered in the cold light of day...

Alice was told to wait by a glamorous blonde woman, one of several receptionists manning the impressive granite desk in the foyer of the building.

She’d taken the morning off work, determined to be at Mateo’s work place as early as possible to get the whole business out of the way.

She’d braced herself for what she was going to say, and had been reasonably calm on the Tube getting here, but now that she was actually here she could feel nerves tightening her stomach into knots. There was a buzzing in her ears that was making her feel faint. It was a while since she had seen Mateo. She’d laid her cards on the table, been knocked back and had made her way back to London, never expecting to set eyes on him again.

She winced every single time she thought of the night she’d spent crying in the tiny room she’d rented before taking the next flight out on her altered ticket. She’d left his lodge crying, had returned to London crying and, in between her tears, her misery and having to put on a brave face because she was back at work, it had never occurred to her that there might be anything else to worry about aside from a broken heart.

She hadn’t noticed missing her period. They were a law unto themselves, anyway, so there had been no warning signal that something might be up until her boobs had started feeling sore and she had spent mornings feeling queasy.

Then, without really believing anything could possibly be amiss, she had taken a test. Sitting on a toilet seat in the staff bathroom at school, she had watched the stick foretell the vast change in life plan heading her way.

She was pregnant.

How? How on earth had it happened? He’d been careful, hadn’t he? There had been a couple of occasions, during sleepy early-morning sex, when maybe he hadn’t been able to resist entering her. But he’d remedied that, hadn’t he? He had fetched protection in time, hadn’t he?

She’d racked her brains, thinking back, but had barely been able to focus because her mind was far too occupied with the life developing inside her: a baby she hadn’t planned but a baby she wanted with all her heart.

Every maternal urge in her had kicked in the minute that little stick had given her the unexpected news. All life was precious and this baby inside her would be welcomed into the world with all the fanfare he or she deserved, even if there would be no proud father at the birth.

She would tell Mateo. There had been no hesitation in accepting that, even though the prospect of breaking the news to him filled her with dread. It had occurred to her that he hadn’t wanted to continue anything with her to the extent that he’d made sure not to tell her his surname, but in fact she’d had no trouble finding out who he was. She’d simply phoned one of the ski-instructors she knew and asked if he knew who lived in that particular lodge on that part of the mountain.

Ski-instructors were a tightly knit group and Alice had kept in touch with a number of them. And, of course, everyone knew who had classy chalets on the slopes.

Mateo Ricci.

Lost in her thoughts, she came to when a middle-aged lady appeared from nowhere, looked at her with measured curiosity and told her to follow her. Alice wasn’t surprised at the overwhelming and impressive surroundings: glass, marble, granite and huge plants artfully dotted around the sweeping foyer.

The minute she had found out Mateo’s name, she had looked him up, and that was when she’d been surprised, because he wasn’t the reasonably successful, freelance computer guy he had made himself out to be. He was the king of the jungle. He didn’t work at the beck and call of paymasters—he was the paymaster. There were pages and pages of information on him, all relating to his meteoric business rise.

She’d skipped most of it. The one thing she’d taken away was yet more confirmation that she’d been nothing more to him than a few days of fun. She’d been bowled over. He’d been casual. He would have women queuing up for him, but he’d been there and she’d been there, there had been no queues outside his door at that particular point in time...so why not have some fun with the girl who’d been so enthusiastic?

She’d clicked on a lot of images of the sort of women he went out with and, as expected, none of them were built in her mould. He’d found her an amusing novelty toy, because the women he dated were models with legs up to their armpits, the sort of woman Alice would never look like no matter what she did.

She stopped abruptly when the woman in front of her swerved through a smoky glass door and stepped aside to let her pass, and then she was there, in the inner sanctum of the man who had stolen her heart. Even the air seemed more rarefied.

‘He’s a very busy man.’ The lady smiled politely at her.

‘I won’t be long,’ Alice promised. She drew in a deep breath and felt faint as the connecting door to his office was pushed open.

Mateo had moved to stand by the window as he’d waited for her. Now, as he heard the silent whoosh of the connecting door being pushed open, he slowly turned and there she was—hovering in the doorway, then stepping hesitantly into his massive office so that Julie could close the door behind her. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, even though she was obviously trying her best to appear controlled.

She hadn’t changed. Mateo’s lips thinned with irritation as he felt the abrupt rise in his libido. Hooded eyes drifted down the incredibly drab outfit she had chosen to wear: black, thick cable-knit jumper, jeans, trainers and a bulky waterproof which was slung over her arm. If she had come with the intention of reconnecting with him, then she certainly hadn’t pushed the boat out in her attempts to seduce. It should have been a turn-off but was the opposite, much to his annoyance.

He hadn’t expected her to have the same effect on him as she’d had when they’d been snowbound in his lodge. He’d concluded that circumstances had contributed to his uncharacteristic out-of-control horniness, but here she was, not saying a word, and the horniness was still there and still out of control, drab clothing or no drab clothing.

‘This is an unexpected pleasure.’ He swerved round back to his chair behind the conference-table-sized desk and relaxed back, nodding to one of the leather chairs positioned in front.

‘I suppose you’re surprised to see me here?’

‘I’m surprised you found me. How did you achieve that? Did you come across something in the lodge that had my name on it?’

She’d shuffled into the chair he’d indicated and carefully put her coat and backpack on the ground next to her. He realised that he’d forgotten how sexy she was. No wonder the raven-haired model hadn’t been able to pass muster. It was because the small, voluptuous siren sitting in front of him still managed to occupy his head.

Who’d have thought that a fling prematurely ended could have such sway over him still? Who could have thought that reason and common sense would count for nothing in the face of a libido he hadn’t been able to subdue? It was ridiculous, incomprehensible.

‘No, I didn’t. I would never have gone nosing around through your personal stuff to find out who you were.’

‘But you were obviously still curious enough to find out by some other means, so I’m not that impressed, if I’m honest. But apologies; I’m being rude. Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?’

‘I...no. I’m fine, thank you.’

‘So you were telling me how you managed to find me.’

‘I... I asked around when I got back to London.’

‘Enterprising.’

‘Do you have to be so sarcastic, Mateo?’

‘What were you expecting, Alice? An effusive welcome? The red carpet rolled out? Have you forgotten that what we had no longer exists?’ His body was singing from a different song sheet, unfortunately, not nearly so cool as that particular statement. It might be true but what his body wanted was a continuation of what they’d had.

What if she offered to resume their fling and pick up where things had been left off? He felt himself harden at the thought of that gloriously sexy body, so soft and responsive to his touch. He remembered far too vividly for his liking the soft, sweet little noises she made when he caressed her, licked her and explored every inch of her.

His original plan to turn her down flatly and politely when she inevitably offered herself back to him began to fray a little round the edges. The best bet, he decided as pride swooped in to replace hesitation, would be to send her on her way as fast as possible.

For starters, it wouldn’t pay to forget why he had decided to finish what they’d enjoyed: she risked being hurt. He had nothing to give and she wanted a lot, too much. He’d warned her and she hadn’t listened. Their bubble had burst and that was a good thing.

That said...didn’t the fact that she’d showed up here because she’d found out that he was wealthy put paid to his woolly ideas that she was somehow too sweet, too gentle, just too damned nice to risk getting wrapped up with a hard-edged guy like him?

‘Who did you ask around to get the information?’ He reverted to the original topic because he was curious to find out to what lengths she had gone to track him down.

‘Remember I told you that I used to teach skiing to beginners on the mountain? I still know loads of the ski-instructors there and also the ones who’ve left and moved on. They knew who you were.’

‘And now you’ve showed up because...no, let me guess. Having found out that I’m not the freelance tech guy you thought I was, but instead the guy who owns those freelance tech guys—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg—you decided that it might be worthwhile to explore your options?’

‘Explore my options?’

‘Dump the innocent act, Alice. There’s no need. In fact, if you come clean and admit you’ve come here to see if what we had can be resurrected, then a conversation is there to be had.’ Why kid himself that he still didn’t want her? It beggared belief but no amount of burst bubbles, warning talks being ignored about the best option being to send her packing could stifle the insistent pulse of his suddenly reawakened libido.

‘You’re truly the most cynical person I’ve ever met in my life, Mateo.’

‘I find that’s a trait that’s always worked in my favour. Give people the benefit of the doubt, and invariably they let you down. So, okay, you’re here. You know I have money, and a lot of it, and you want to reconnect. I admit, much as it’s frustrating to say so, that I’m tempted by the proposition.’

Their eyes met.

Alice felt the race of her pulse, the hot pumping of blood in her veins. She’d dreaded this meeting and it was turning out that she’d dreaded it for good reason. He couldn’t even be bothered to be polite. The warm, funny, sexy guy she’d fallen for when they’d been locked in by snow was now a stranger in hand-made shoes and a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows, with an expensive barely there logo on the front pocket.

A stranger who thought that she was a gold-digger. And yet, she had to reluctantly concede that she could see where he was coming from. Women chased men with lots of money. Throw looks and charm into the mix, and the combination would certainly attract gold-diggers in a million different guises.

No wonder he’d been livid when she’d turned up at his door! That lodge was probably one of the few completely private getaways he possessed, where no one was around to pester him because no one could physically get there.

But surely he knew her ?

Yet she’d managed to find him and there could only be one reason for that: that would be the conclusion running through his head.

Alice looked at him from under her lashes with a hint of impatience. She wished she could be angrier at his response but there was something so predictable, so human , in his defensiveness, something so weirdly vulnerable in his immediately jumping to that cynical conclusion, that she felt herself soften.

‘You’re tempted by the proposition, are you?’ she queried wryly, allowing him to continue on his tangent just a little bit longer.

‘I admit, I’ve been thinking of you.’

‘Have you? I’m surprised.’

‘You’re incredibly sexy. I reckoned that it might have been the circumstances—the two of us trapped for days in my lodge. I don’t have much time for romance, but I’d say that was pretty romantic. I assumed, actually, that that was why I couldn’t quite manage to forget about it...us... you . That and the fact that it ended before it had run its course.’

‘Hmm.’

‘I thought,’ he continued with searing honesty, ‘that I might have been looking back to those few days through rose-tinted specs but the minute I saw you again... You’re as sexy as I remembered.’

‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘You don’t have to say anything at the moment. You can let me do the talking.’

‘Hmm.’

‘I still want you and, if you’ve come here because you think I’m a good bet, then I get that. You wouldn’t be the first to be attracted to me because of my bank balance and you won’t be the last.’

‘That’s a very sad statement, Mateo.’

‘What are you taking about?’

‘Assuming that your bank balance plays a part in why a woman would want to go out with you.’

He spread his arms expansively. ‘I’m a realist. You know that. And I’m not too proud to admit that I still want you. The weeks haven’t changed that.’

He lowered his voice ominously. ‘Although, the rules remain the same. I’m not up for anything but fun, be that fun for days or weeks. And, while we’re having fun, the world will be your oyster. Whatever you want, you can have, no expense spared. Diamonds, pearls and sapphires, cars and clothes... You’ll find that I’m a generous guy.’

‘Diamonds, pearls and sapphires,’ Alice murmured. ‘What dazzling temptation.’

‘Am I missing something here?’ He frowned and Alice didn’t say anything. She just met his frowning gaze steadily.

‘I haven’t come here to try and reconnect with you, Mateo. Believe it or not, I’m not the type of person who finds out someone’s worth and then decides that they’re worth cultivating.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I’ve come here...’

‘You maybe want me to donate something to your school?’

She laughed. It was too absurd. ‘Well, St Christopher’s could certainly do with an injection of cash, but I haven’t come here to ask for funding. I came here to tell you...to tell you...’

‘I’m all ears, Alice. Take me somewhere new and challenging that explains your presence here.’

He sat forward, shot her a darkly wolfish smile, rested his arms on the desk and in a rush Alice said what she had come to say.

‘I’m pregnant, Mateo. I came here to tell you that I’m having a baby.’

A deathly silence greeted this. It stretched and stretched and she could see his expression moving rapidly from shock to incredulity to outright disbelief.

‘You can’t be! Why would you come here and tell me something like that? Absolute nonsense!’ He stood up, his body as tense as a bowstring, dark brows furrowed in arrogant disbelief, every inch of him simmering with furious denial. ‘I refuse to believe a word of what you’re saying!’

Alice stared at him in silence. She’d wondered how he would react but complete denial hadn’t been one of the options—although she’d been spot-on with the anger.

She took a deep breath to steady herself and offered him a tight, indifferent smile.

‘Okay.’

‘Okay? Okay? ’

‘I came here to tell you because it was the responsible thing to do.’ She stood up and snatched her coat and backpack from where she had dumped them by the side of the chair. ‘If you don’t want to believe me, then no one’s forcing you to. I didn’t expect anything from you, anyway. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to carry on with my day.’

‘You’ll do no such thing! You can’t just waltz in here and drop a bombshell like that and then tell me you’re leaving! Alice... don’t you dare! ’

Alice ignored him. She didn’t look back. She began walking briskly out of his office, leaving him rising to his feet behind his desk. She could feel the sting of tears behind her eyes, because if she were certain of one thing it was this: never in a million years had she dreamt of having a baby by a guy who not only wanted nothing to do with her, but didn’t even believe a word she said.

What was the opposite of ‘happy ever after’? Whatever it was, she was definitely now living in that world.

No one knew about the pregnancy yet, but she was already projecting forward to telling her parents and seeing their disappointment. Of course they would try and hide it, and of course they would be supportive all the way, but she had let them down and the thought of it put a pain in her chest.

She fled.

Standing behind his desk, for the first time in his life Mateo was immobilised. Shock had drained him of the ability to think in a straight line.

Pregnant? No!

Those were the first thoughts that had run through his head when she had detonated that landmine. She couldn’t be! He’d reacted with swift, instinctive denial as his mind had shut down.

And then she was half-running out of his office and here he was, still shell-shocked, but his brain was actually starting to engage. Why would she lie? She wasn’t a liar. It just wasn’t in her nature. And why would she have waited until now to find out who he was? If she’d been a mercenary gold-digger who’d somehow got a whiff of what he was made of, then why hadn’t she contacted him sooner? And why wouldn’t she have used the straightforward approach of trying to entice him back into bed?

She would have had to be crazy to make up a story about a pregnancy. She would have known that sooner or later she would be found out, and anyway, surely she must have suspected that he would insist on a pregnancy test, along with a medical examination and a DNA test?

And he knew, as well, that he had subconsciously been catapulted back to that time when a surprise pregnancy had forced him down a road he hadn’t foreseen, with all the predictable disastrous consequences. He’d been knocked for six but there was only the truth: she really was pregnant.

Mateo didn’t stop to think about the repercussions of what she had told him. There would be plenty of time for that later. He exited his office at speed and handed his PA the very unusual task of finding out exactly where St Christophers was located. Then he waited, impatiently, for the full twenty minutes as she went into action, checking online and making calls, calling in at least two favours from friends who were teachers, making sure that when he showed up there would be no obstacles regarding entry.

Alice had run away from him but there was no way he wasn’t going to find her. No way he was going to hang around and wait until she decided to get in touch with him again— if she decided to get in touch with him again. She’d come to do the decent thing and he’d reacted in just the sort of manner that would have had anyone in her position running for the hills. She’d come to deliver a message and he’d decided in his wisdom to shoot the messenger. He’d allowed shock, horror and a subconscious kneejerk reaction to something from his past dictate his response.

He remained in his office for half an hour more, thinking, allowing his head to be occupied with the practical issues surrounding the shock news. He avoided digging deeper into his own feelings about the thought of being a father. He didn’t want to confront the feelings of vulnerability he had had all those years ago, the yearning and thrill of having a child only for those hopes to be dashed.

It was another hour and a half and just after lunch by the time he made it to the school and was instantly ushered in, having had the head pre-warned of his visit. His PA had pulled some strings, but Mateo thought he would have been able to get in without that simply because he was who he was. His identity could easily be checked and he could have promised a sizeable donation.

He looked around at the shabby surroundings masked by cheerful banners and upbeat sayings printed boldly on bright pieces of card and artwork stuck on the walls in neat rows on either side of a corridor teeming with kids coming and going. An inner-city school in desperate need of refurbishment, relying on government funding and donations from strangers. These were the sort of surroundings he hadn’t been exposed to in a very, very long time and when he thought of Alice, actually imagining that she might have to face raising their child on a teacher’s wage, his heart squeezed tight. He would definitely be doing something to improve the place.

But all that for later. For now, Alice.

Alice was so absorbed in thinking about Mateo and his shock and horror at what she had told him that she kept losing track of what the kids were doing. Just now, four in the back row were passing notes between them and giggling. The rest had their heads down and were doing their best to ignore the unruly back row.

Clara, her teaching assistant, was sitting with three children around her, painstakingly going over some work which they were finding impossible to comprehend.

A normal day, but not for her. What happened next? She’d done what she’d known she had to do. She’d told Mateo about the baby, but it was clear from how he’d reacted that he wasn’t going to take any kind of active part in its upbringing. He had his gilded life, a life in which long-term commitment was not allowed to intrude, and there was nothing more long-term than a child. So he’d gone into denial mode and she had to accept that he might just stay there.

When she thought about the nuts and bolts of having a baby when she earned a modest income and rented a place, she could feel a headache coming on. She would have to move back home and live with her parents until she found her feet.

With those thoughts buzzing in her head, she was only aware of someone at the door when the entire class fell silent. The four at the back, all girls, were staring at the door with their mouths open and, as Alice slowly turned around, she knew who was at the door. Only one person could inspire that sort of reaction, and it wasn’t Mr Dennis the headmaster. He might inspire a bit of temporary silence but definitely no jaws on the ground.

Mateo.

He was lounging in the doorway, the very embodiment of sexiness, his brooding, green eyes lasered on her, and she could feel bright colour surge into her cheeks.

They could have heard a pin drop.

‘We need to talk,’ he drawled from the doorway.

Someone from the back row piped up in a ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ voice, ‘Miss, is that your boyfriend?’

Alice leapt to her feet, threw a stern look around her, told them that she would be back in ten minutes and then walked quickly towards Mateo, eager to usher him away from her gawping pupils. They might struggle to remember some basic rules of maths, but they would have memories like elephants when it came to remembering this .

Alice felt a wave of anger rush through her. First he had told her that he didn’t believe a word she’d told him and now, here he was in her territory! If he thought that he could pursue a conversation about her making stuff up then he was in for a shock.

She didn’t glance behind her as she restrained herself from slamming the classroom door. Nor did she utter a single word as she dragged him down the corridor, quieter now that there was no change of class in progress, but still not empty.

There were three quiet rooms used for one-to-one teaching. She took him to an empty one now and shut the door behind her but she remained leaning against it while he turned to look at her.

‘First of all,’ he said before she could lay into him, ‘I want to apologise.’