It Started With... Collection

‘Are you sure? I mean…I don’t like to let you down but I…I don’t think I could bear it. Eric might recognise me after I do myself up a bit. But, there again, he might not. Either way, I’m going to be terribly uptight, and very poor company with few powers of observation.’

‘It’s all right, Rachel. Truly. I’ll go by myself.’ He let her hands go and straightened.

She stared up at him, and he realised her hazel eyes were really quite lovely. How could that fool have not recognised her, if he’d been her lover? Eyes were the one thing which never changed. How many times would this Eric have stared down into Rachel’s eyes when they’d been in bed together?

Hell, Mandy’s beautiful blue eyes were imprinted on his brain!

His sigh carried a wealth of emotions of his own. ‘I’ll go finish making us that coffee.’ And he stood up.

‘You are such a nice man,’ she choked out, then burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

Smothering a groan, Justin sat himself down next to her and took her into his arms, cradling her weeping face against his shirt front.

‘No decent human being,’ he said gently as he stroked her back, ‘could be anything but nice to you, Rachel. This Eric is scum. You’re better off without him.’

‘I know that,’ she sobbed. ‘But it still hurts to see him with another woman.’

‘I’m sure it does,’ Justin murmured soothingly. God knows how he’d react if he ever ran into Mandy with that swine who’d stolen her away from him, he thought. Murder was too good for the pair of them.

‘Maybe seeing him again like that is a good thing,’ he tried, though not quite believing it himself. ‘It should give you the motivation to forget him once and for all and get on with your own life. After all, life isn’t too bad for you now, is it? You have a job you like, with a considerate boss. Or so you said,’ he added wryly. ‘And soon you’ll have an even better job with enough of a wage coming in to afford a seriously nice place to live in of your own. What more could you possibly want?’

‘To still be beautiful,’ she mumbled into his chest.

Justin reached down and took her hands away from where they were jammed under her chin, then tipped her face up so that their eyes met. ‘You are still beautiful, Rachel,’ he said softly. ‘Where it counts.’

‘Right,’ she said ruefully. ‘Pardon me if I don’t get too excited by that compliment. I’ve found that beauty on the inside is highly overrated as an asset, especially when it comes to the opposite sex.’

‘Not all men are as shallow as your Eric,’ he countered, confident that he didn’t judge a woman so superficially.

‘Is that so? Might I ask you a rather personal question?’

‘Shoot.’

‘Was your ex-wife beautiful?’

Justin opened his mouth, then closed it again. Mandy had been drop-dead gorgeous, there was no doubt about it. She had a very pretty face, big blue eyes, long blonde hair. A great figure. And she’d known how to showcase herself to perfection, from the top of her glossy blonde head to the tips of her pink-painted toes.

Rachel, on the other hand, was a far cry from drop-dead anything. Yet she wasn’t ugly. She couldn’t even be called plain. Aside from having genuinely lovely eyes, she had regular features in her oval-shaped face and an interesting mouth, now that he bothered to really look. Wide, and tilted up at the corners, with a very full bottom lip.

It was just that she always looked so colourless, like a picture that had faded badly. The black suits she wore to work looked extra-drab on her, as did the clunky mid-heeled black shoes.

As for her hair…

He could not think of a good thing to say about her hair, except that it was far better not red, as it had been last Monday, because any attention brought to it could only create a more negative impression.

‘Case closed,’ Rachel said succinctly, and stood up. ‘God, I feel terrible. I must look terrible too. I think I’ll go and have a shower and change. Which way to my room?’

‘What about coffee?’

‘Thank you but I don’t feel like it just now.’

Me neither, he thought. He needed something much more potent in the drinks department. Some food was in order as well. Time was getting on and he hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast except that on-board snack. He wouldn’t mind betting Rachel hadn’t had any lunch either. No wonder she was so thin.

Though not that thin, he’d realised when he was holding her close just now. She had some reasonable breasts hiding there underneath that black jacket. Either that, or she’d been wearing a padded bra.

‘Showering and changing sounds like a good idea,’ he agreed, determined not to spend all weekend wearing a suit. Bad enough he had to tog up in a tux tomorrow night. ‘Your room’s on the right down that hallway. The bathroom’s opposite on the left. I left your case at the foot of the bed. I’m going to pop into the shower too, but first I’ll order us something to eat from Room Service, since going out to dinner tonight is out of the question now. You wouldn’t want to run into yours truly and his lady-love. And no, please don’t say again what a nice man I am.’

She gave him a faint smile. ‘All right.’

‘Go, go, go.’ He waved her off.

Once Rachel went, he crossed to the desk, which held the leather-bound folder that listed all the hotel’s services, plus the in-house menu. He ran his eye swiftly down and decided on something cold. A platter of mixed seafood and a couple of different salads, followed by strawberries and cream, all washed down with a bottle of their best white wine.

Most women liked white wine and Rachel needed cheering up.

Frankly, so did he.

He always did after thinking about Mandy.

Room Service arrived half an hour later, with Justin able to answer the door totally refreshed and dressed in beige cargo shorts and a dark red polo shirt. His feet he’d happily left bare for now. With the food safely deposited in the fridge, and the waiter tipped and dispensed with, Justin set about opening the bottle of wine, a Chablis, after which he popped it in the portable wine cooler provided.

The wine glasses supplied weren’t exactly top-drawer crystal but they were nice enough. He placed two of them in the fridge to chill then wandered down the hallway to see how Rachel was progressing. He’d heard her shower going for ages earlier on.

‘You ready yet, Rachel?’ he asked, stopping in the hall between both shut doors, her bedroom and the bathroom. He didn’t know which room she was in.

‘Not really.’ Her voice came from the bedroom.

‘What do you mean, not really?’

‘I have a slight problem.’

‘What’s that?’

‘I—er—washed my smalls in the shower before I realised I’d forgotten to pack any more.’

Justin had to struggle not to laugh. But Rachel without underwear was so un-Rachel. ‘That’s OK. Just put on a robe for now. They’ll dry by morning, then you can go shopping for more.’

‘Er…’

‘Don’t tell me you didn’t pack a robe, either.’

‘No, no, I do have a robe but it’s a bit…um…’

‘What?’

‘Nothing. I suppose I’m silly to worry,’ she muttered.

‘Put it on, then, and get yourself out here. Your pre-dinner drink awaits.’