Passionate Winter

‘Right,’ he turned in his seat, one of his knees accidentally touching hers and causing her to recoil back into her seat. His blue eyes clearly mocked her reaction. ‘Would you mind getting out of the car now?’ he said bluntly.

‘You aren’t very polite, Mr Sinclair.’ She scrambled in-elegantly out of the low car and was amazed to see him already standing on the pavement beside her. He moved very quickly and quietly for such a large man. ‘You didn’t need to get out of the car,’ she told him nervously.

He firmly took hold of her arm and walked with her towards the house where she shared the top floor converted into a tiny apartment with Karen. ‘I want to have a word with your parents,’ he said sternly. ‘You’re much too young to be living the way you do.’

‘And just how is that?’

‘Rough,’ came the short reply.

Leigh looked at him resentfully. ‘I don’t live with my parents. And I’ll thank you to keep out of my life. I’ve managed perfectly well so far without any interference from you, and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so.’

‘I’m sure you will,’ he agreed coldly. ‘And as your parents don’t seem to care who you spend your weekends with, why should I?’

‘I didn’t say my parents don’t care about me, just that I don’t live with them,’ Leigh said crossly.

‘It amounts to the same thing.’

‘Is that the way you feel about Gavin living away from home?’

‘No, of course it isn’t. But then it isn’t the same thing at all. It just isn’t possible for Gavin to live with me all the time. I travel a great deal and it would be too unsettling for him if he lived with me. Although why I should be explaining myself to you I really don’t know.’

‘It isn’t possible for me to live with my parents either. They happen to live forty miles away and I need to live near my work.’

‘Ah yes, your work,’ he derided. ‘Well, as there seems to be no one I can tell to look after you better in future I may as well leave you to continue ruining your life.’

‘Goodbye, Mr Sinclair. I won’t bother to be hypocritical and say it’s been nice meeting you, because it hasn’t been that for either of us.’

‘Too true.’ With this he turned sharply on his heel and walked away. The last Leigh saw of him was as he accelerated the car down the road, overtaking all the cars in his way and breaking all the speed limits.

CHAPTER TWO (#u7b9c629c-efb1-5727-96bc-ee839bd7dce5)

LEIGH sat morosely at the table, still tired after her almost sleepless night. She had found it impossible to sleep when she had crept into the house in the early hours of the morning, and not wishing to disturb Karen had sat in the lounge trying to doze in one of the armchairs. She was still smarting under the rudeness of Piers Sinclair, and felt sure that if she ever met him again she would tell him exactly what she thought of him. And it wouldn’t be very flattering!

She turned around as Karen emerged from their bedroom rubbing her eyes tiredly. She looked in astonishment at Leigh, her mouth falling open in surprise.

‘But what …’ she shook her head dazedly. ‘What are you doing here?’

Leigh grinned ruefully. ‘Waiting for you to wake up so you can tell me you told me so. Gavin turned out to be just as much of a rat as you warned me he’d be.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yes, oh,’ she couldn’t help smiling at Karen’s expression. ‘But don’t worry, I got out before anything happened.’

‘Oh!’ This time it was a sigh of relief, and Karen padded off to the kitchen to put the kettle on. ‘Then how did you get home?’ she asked as she came back into the room, tucking her legs beneath her as she settled in the other armchair.

‘I think I’d better tell you the whole story,’ Leigh sighed. She was suitably rewarded by Karen’s shocked face, and began to feel better herself after telling someone about the fiasco the previous evening had turned out to be.

‘And Piers Sinclair actually brought you home?’ exclaimed Karen, handing Leigh the steaming cup of coffee she had made during the recount of the story.

‘Mmm,’ Leigh sipped appreciatively at the hot brew. ‘He said he felt responsible for me.’

‘He did?’ Karen almost squeaked.

‘Yes, he did.’ She looked curiously at her friend. ‘Why the emphasis? Do you know something about the famous Mr Sinclair that I don’t?’

‘Well …’ Karen hesitated. ‘I don’t know if it’s the same Piers Sinclair, but it isn’t exactly a common name, is it? Was he a racing driver, do you know?’

Leigh nodded her head. ‘So Gavin says, and from the way he drove I’m willing to believe it.’

‘It’s the same one, then,’ said Karen excitedly. ‘Fancy him being Gavin’s father! Anyway, if I remember correctly, he had a rather bad accident a couple of years ago, injured his back, I think. It ruined his career and he had to give up competitive driving. He was very famous in his time.’

‘Strange, I don’t remember reading about it.’

‘You probably remember the scandal attached to the incident more. At the time of the accident he was supposed to be having an affair with the wife of his greatest rival, and it was reported that this other man had deliberately tried to kill Piers Sinclair. Of course, everyone denied it, including the three main characters, but the mud stuck and a few months later this other chap retired from racing and his wife began divorce proceedings.’

‘I think I remember now. I thought his name sounded familiar. What a charming family they are!’

‘Yes, you’re well out of that family. And it wasn’t very polite of Gavin to palm you off on his father, was it?’

‘Palm me off just about sounds right. Actually I don’t think he was feeling very polite after being caught in that ridiculous position. Well, would you?’ Leigh chuckled lightly. ‘You should have seen him, Karen, he looked really stupid lying there on that fantastic carpet.’

‘I wish I had seen him. I would have told him what I thought of him. He had no right to expect you to … well, to…’

‘I should have guessed really. He’s been making funny comments for the last few weeks, but innocent that I am, I thought he was suggesting we got married.’

Karen spluttered with laughter. ‘You have such a trusting nature, Leigh. It’s just unbelievable!’

‘Not after last night I don’t. I must have seemed like a complete idiot to Gavin; he seemed to think I knew what his plans were. From now on I don’t intend to trust anyone unless they prove they’re worthy of that trust. Well, no man anyway. I should have known better. I’ve always been a lousy judge of character.’

‘It isn’t very nice to find something like that out about someone, especially in that way.’ Karen looked more closely at Leigh. ‘Did you get any sleep at all last night?’

‘Not really. Is that a polite way of telling me I look terrible?’

‘Well, you do look a bit tired. Why don’t you go to bed for a few hours? I’m going out anyway, so I won’t disturb you.’

‘I can’t, I’m afraid. I promised Mum and Dad that if I was doing nothing else I would go home for lunch and tea today. And it seems that I now have nothing else of importance to do,’ Leigh grimaced.

‘What about the party this evening?’

‘Oh, I’ll be back in time for that, but I must go home. My brother is playing football for the local team this afternoon and I suppose he’ll expect me to be there to cheer him on. Not that I feel much like shouting myself hoarse, but I can’t let him down.’

‘You won’t be in any fit state to go to Angie’s party tonight.’

‘Oh, I don’t know, the fresh air may wake me up. I just hope Gavin doesn’t decide to put in an appearance. I think I may make a scene if he does, and I would hate to do that. He wasn’t going, that’s why we went to his father’s house, but he might have changed his mind and come looking for some other poor unsuspecting female.’ Leigh yawned tiredly. ‘I think I’ll take a shower and try to wake myself up.’

Leigh arrived at her parents’ house just before lunch, thankful that her old Mini hadn’t broken down on the way as it was wont to do. It wasn’t very reliable, but it did get her from A to B, maybe with a few breakdowns on the way, but get her there it did.

She gave her mother the huge bunch of flowers she had collected from a florists on the way, looking about her expectantly. ‘Where is everyone?’