Hostage to Love (Entangled Suspense) (26 page)

The reminder that the danger wasn’t over put a damper on her happy day. “It’s not quite over yet. But I’m determined to enjoy my anniversary.” She summoned a bright smile.

By the time they reached the spa, the easy camaraderie that had made them best friends despite their starkly different personalities had been restored.

Belle arrived back home with two hours to spare before the party started. Shutting the door behind her, she immediately sensed something was wrong. Bertrand, who appeared from the kitchen to relieve her of her bags, appeared tense. Her trepidation increased.

“We have a visitor,
Madame. Monsieur
is in his study with her.”

“Her?” Nick hadn’t told her he was expecting anyone.

“
Oui
, she gave her name as
Madame
Bravington.”

Belle nodded but then saw Bertrand was still frowning. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

She forced herself to stay silent as the butler wavered. “If I may say,
Monsieur
was not very happy to see her.”

“Thank you, Bertrand. I can take it from here.” She waited until he’d disappeared down the hall before walking toward Nick’s study. As she approached the door, she bit her lip, in two minds whether to interrupt.

In the end, her peace of mind didn’t give her a choice. She knocked and entered.

The woman who sat with quiet composure facing a stone-faced Nick across his desk appeared to be in her early sixties. With blonde hair worn in stylish shoulder-length layers and a superbly cut pink skirt suit that screamed
haute couture,
she held herself in almost regal elegance. One hand was folded over the other in her lap, and Belle saw a huge pink diamond on her ring finger.

It only took a second to take all this in and focus on the face that turned when Belle entered. It took another second to see the resemblance and realize this woman was none other than Nick’s mother.

Nick got up, his movements jerky and unlike his usual graceful, sexy walk as he came toward her.

“Tinkerbelle, I wasn’t expecting you until—” He paused and glanced at his watch, his face registering surprise at the time. Leaning down, he placed an uncharacteristically chaste peck on her cheek before reluctantly turning to the other occupant in the room.

“Let me introduce you to my mother, Amanda Bravington. Mother, my wife, Belle.” The clinical precision with which he made the introduction made Belle cringe. Before she could respond, the other woman came toward her, both hands outstretched.

“Belle, I’m so pleased to finally meet you. I’ve been waiting so long to meet Nick’s wife, and now that I have, I curse myself for waiting this long.” Taking both Belle’s hands in hers, she kissed her on the cheek, and when she straightened, her lashes simmered with tears.

Emotion clogged Belle’s throat as she fought for a response. “It’s good to meet you, too, Mrs. Bravington,” she responded, aware of Nick’s stiffness beside her.

Gray eyes similar to Nick’s sparkled with genuine warmth. “Please, call me Amanda. And I’m so glad to see you well after what you went through. I came as soon as I heard.” She cast a quick glance at Nick, a glance filled with pain and uncertainty.

Nick’s face remained granite-hard, and she felt a rush of sympathy for the other woman. Despite what had happened, and despite Nick’s opinion of her, it was clear the woman loved her son.

“Thank you, Amanda,” Belle replied, then to break the awkward silence which ensued added, “Will you be staying? I’m sure Bertrand can prepare—“

“No, she won’t be staying. In fact she was just leaving, weren’t you, Mother?” Cold eyes demanded only one answer from his parent.

Sighing, Amanda dropped Belle’s hands, stepped back, and went to pick up her purse. “Yes, I was just leaving. But before I do, I’d like to give you this.” She came back toward them, holding up a small package to Nick. “I know today’s your first anniversary, and I hope you’ll accept this small gift.” Her lilting voice held tremulous hope as she looked at her son.

He regarded the present, and Belle prayed he wouldn’t refuse it. After a tense moment, he took it from her. “Thank you. We appreciate it.”

Belle smiled, hoping to ease the harshness of Nick’s curt response. In silence, they walked to the door, and with a murmured goodbye, Amanda left.

Belle turned to Nick as soon as the door shut behind her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t invite her here, you know. She just turned up,” he said.

“I know, but did you get a chance to talk to her?”

“She did most of the talking. I listened.”

Hope spurted inside her for him. “And?”

His movements were still jerky as he paced to the window and back again. “Things aren’t as clear-cut as I thought. Look, I don’t want to talk about it now, okay? We have just over an hour before our guests arrive. We should be getting ready.”

His mother’s unexpected appearance had obviously upset him, and Belle wanted to comfort him. He tried to hide it, but his body’s tension and the taut blankness on his face belied his calm. Resolving to speak to him after the party, she left him in the lounge to go over last-minute details with Bertrand.

When she entered the bedroom ten minutes later, he was in the shower. Shedding her clothes, she entered the bathroom. He turned when she slid back the shower door, and for a split second, she saw a bleak look cross his face.

Without a word, he took her in his arms. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I don’t want you to be caught in the middle of all of this.”

“I’m in it for better or worse, remember?”

He sighed and nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked. “She seemed happy to see you.”

“Well, she’s good at that, at pretending like nothing’s happened. Like she can just waltz in and pick up where she left off twenty years ago. You know why? Because she’s married. Again. Her new husband probably wants to meet me. God, last year she was Amanda Oldfield, two years before that, she was something else. Do you know every man she decides to marry is always
the one true love of her life
? Of course, her so-called true love doesn’t stand the test of time, because the moment she feels unhappy, she hightails it to divorce court faster than a speeding bullet.” He stopped, sucked in a huge breath, and cursed. “Damn it, I wasn’t going to do this.

“Hey, I’m glad you did. She hurt you, and there’s no excuse for what she did, but perhaps if you gave her a chance to explain…?”

His smile was tight. “She did. And maybe it’s not even out of the realm of possibility that I buy her explanation. But rational or not, the ten-year old boy inside me isn’t ready to accept it yet.” The pain in his voice was unmistakable.

“I’m so sorry, darling.” She went into his arms and kissed him.

He pulled her closer, deepened the kiss. In uncharacteristic silence, he made love to her.

Afterward, Nick seemed restored to his old self.

“You look breathtaking.” He eyed her new layered hairstyle and the navy blue form-fitting floor-length dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves and plunging neckline she’d settled on.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she smiled, her appreciative gaze lingering over the designer tuxedo he wore over his pristine white-studded shirt.

“I have something for you.” He plucked the velvet case from on top of his drawer. He opened it, and nestling on the black velvet bed were a diamond and sapphire necklace with a motif depicting two lovers entwined, along with matching sapphire earrings in a bezel setting.

“Oh, my God, Nick, they’re stunning!”

“Not as stunning as you,
matia mou
. Nothing could ever surpass your beauty, and the joy I feel from knowing you’re my wife again,” he said huskily. “Turn around.”

She obliged and placed the necklace round her neck. She blinked back tears, along with the lancing pain she felt because the word
love
still hadn’t passed his lips. This was enough…for now.

When she faced him again, her feelings were under control. Going to the bed, she fetched his gift and presented him with it.

He opened the oblong box that held a gold-embossed scroll, uncurled it, and read the words in silence.

i carry your heart.

“This is the e.e. cummings poem we read at our wedding,” he said in a hushed voice.

She nodded. “I’d planned on giving it to you on your birthday two months ago, but…” But they’d been apart by then.

He looked at her, a strange light burning in his eyes. “Thank you. It means more to me than you know,” he murmured.

Taking her in his arms, he kissed her long and hard.

She was halfway to melting against him when the peal of the doorbell interrupted.

Stepping back, Nick held out his arm. “It’s show time. Let’s go and greet our guests.”

…

“Excuse me.” Belle smiled at Nick’s London right-hand man, Austin Benjamin, and his wife Tamara, and moved on to another couple. After chatting for a few minutes, she set her glass down and stepped out onto the balcony.

“You okay?” Nick approached her, looking breathtaking in his tuxedo.

She smiled up at him. “I guess. I’m not sure whether it’s my imagination, but I feel as if I’m being watched.” All through the dinner, which had been a raving success, she’d experienced the peculiar feeling.

Nick brushed his knuckle down her cheek. “Everyone
is
watching you,
pethi mou
.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I’ve escaped to the balcony? I’ve had enough attention to last me a lifetime. My parents keep watching me like I’m about to collapse in front of their very eyes. But it’s not that.”

He tensed. “What do you think it is?”

She shifted her shoulders but the unsettling feeling stayed with her. “I don’t know. Maybe I
am
imagining it.”

“Just say the word, and I’ll kick all these people out.”

She laughed and shook her head as Alex headed their way. When he started to grill her on the precise state of her health, she threatened to sic Liz on him.

He backed off immediately. “Whoa. Consider the question withdrawn.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you and Liz?” she asked him.

Alex grimaced. “She’s a ball-breaker, that one. I prefer women who don’t look at me as if deciding where to stick their stilettos.”

“Hmm, I see a dinner just for the four of us happening in the future.”

“You wound me,
agapita
. And after I risked life and limb for you.”

“And I appreciate it, but this is too good to pass up. I think—” She stopped abruptly as an unexpected shiver coursed through her.

A waiter was walking past with a tray of drinks. He stopped beside her. His name badge read “Steven.”

“Champagne, madam?” he asked with a smile.

She looked up at him, smiled, and shook her head. “No, thanks, Steven.”

“Baby, what is it?” Nick demanded as soon as the waiter moved off.

Belle looked over Alex’s shoulder at the guests and waiters milling in the living room. Nothing seemed out of place, and yet…

“I’m not sure.” Her father was still talking to the Finance Minister; her mother was waving around her multi-ringed fingers in emphasis of some point.

Sighing, she pinned a smile on her face. “Can we go back in?” She saw Alex and Nick exchange a look, but Nick nodded.

She didn’t want to feel uncharitable, but now that dinner and coffee had been served, she hoped it wouldn’t be long before the evening ended. No doubt she was out of sorts, because she hadn’t seen most of these people for over half a year. But right now, she just wanted to be alone with Nick.

She loved him. She needed to tell him that. Even if he couldn’t say it back.

Her father beckoned. With a sigh, she widened her smile and went to him.

…

Nick left his study, dark satisfaction lightening his feet. He re-entered the living room and made a beeline for Belle.

“Something’s happened,” she said as he drew her into a quiet corner.

God, how well she knew him.

He nodded. “John Allen just called. Mwana’s
finally
been tracked down to a small town outside Dusseldorf in Germany. Interpol is sending a division to the farmhouse he’s hiding out in. We should have news in half an hour.”

“Oh, Nick! This…this could be over tonight?”

His sense of elation was heady. “Yes, apparently he bribed one of the charter pilots to alter the flight plan and fly him to Germany from Hong Kong three days ago. A member of the ground crew where the plane stopped to refuel spotted Mwana and alerted authorities. They traced the plane to a small airstrip near Dusseldorf.”

“How soon will we know?” she asked, desperately trying to stem the hope that threatened to flood her.

“How soon we will know what?” Alex said from beside them.

Nick filled quickly filled him in.

“Excellent news. I’ll keep the champagne on ice.”

Nick suppressed the prickle of unease at the back of his mind as they rejoined the party and mingled with his guests. The news couldn’t have come soon enough. By night’s end, he and Belle could draw a line through this sorry mess and get on with their life together. Although he wouldn’t rest until he heard the man was in custody, the news pleased him nonetheless.

Sliding an arm around his wife’s waist, he kissed the side of her neck.

She smiled up at him. “What’s that for?”

“Is it against the law for a man to kiss his wife in public?”

Her smile widened, and his heart turned over. “Not at all. Just thought I’d ask. Someone once told me there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” she responded drolly.

He laughed and leaning down, whispered in her ear, “You’re right. And I will make my demands very clear after our guests leave.” Watching her struggle to suppress the blush invading her stunning face, he wished the guests gone. The need to be alone with his wife was eating away at him. He had things to work through, things to explain.

The conversation with his mother replayed in his mind, as well. Had he judged her too harshly? Perhaps…