A Wild Surrender

‘And I’m not a moron, Ms Claiborne. I suggest you get in the vehicle and I’ll take you back to the hotel.’

Rachel wrenched open the door of the Jeep and did as he suggested. For his part, Matt pulled what she saw were the damp pair of boxers out of his pocket and tossed them into the back of the car. Then he climbed in beside her, the waistband of his shorts dipping revealingly at the back, reminding her, if any reminder was necessary, that he was naked under them.

They seemed to get back to the hotel far more quickly than Rachel had expected. In no time at all, Matt was drawing up outside the Tamarisk’s gates.

Rachel thrust open her door and jumped out, turning to make some perfunctory offer of thanks. But Matt just said, ‘Enjoy your day,’ and drove away without giving her time to speak.

Rachel’s mouth compressed frustratedly, but there was nothing she could do. He’d gone, and with him any chance of asking him about her mother. Although whether she’d have actually had the nerve to do that was anyone’s guess.

Reaching her room, she found the message light on her phone was flashing. Lifting the receiver, she connected with Reception and then said, ‘I believe you have a message for me.’

As she waited for the girl to reply, it crossed her mind that it could be her mother. If Matt had mentioned her arrival to her, she might have decided to get in touch.

‘Ms Claiborne?’

The girl was speaking again, and Rachel answered in the positive. ‘I’m here.’

‘I have here a note that says your father called at nine o’clock this morning,’ the receptionist intoned leisurely. ‘He asked if you’d ring him as soon as you came in.’

Of course. It had to be her father, thought Rachel grumpily. He’d probably expected her to phone him last night, although bearing in mind the time change that had surely not been on the cards.

‘Okay. Thank you,’ she said now, and put down the receiver. She needed a few moments to compose what she was going to say before she made the call.

Eventually, though, she dialled for an outside line and punched in the numbers of her parents’ home. For years they’d all lived in a comfortable house in Chingford, but when Rachel had moved into an apartment of her own her parents had sold the house and bought an apartment themselves.

‘Hello?’

Her father’s voice was surprisingly welcome. Despite the argument they’d had about her coming here, he was still her best friend in the entire world. She loved her mother. There was no doubt about that. But the aloofness she’d always detected in her mother’s attitude towards her had made any real closeness between them difficult.

‘Hey, Dad.’ Rachel tried to sound upbeat. ‘Sorry I was out when you called.’