The Secret Heiress (14 page)

The rest of the day passed in a blur as Anna pitched a new idea to a client, spoke with Frances and then went over each detail about the upcoming wine launch for Martin Enterprises.

That night she texted Alistair, but he didn’t respond. He hadn’t told her where he was going and he could be in a different time zone. She worried about her decision not to move in with him. She was falling in love and wanted to spend every possible minute with him. Maybe she shouldn’t worry about the future, but the practical side of her didn’t want to start thinking that he was interested in a permanent relationship. It would be a path to heartbreak.

The next day, she was pitching to a perfume company Olivia had recommended. She walked into their corporate offices and had a seat in reception. There was a tabloid opened to the society pages and she caught sight of Alistair in a photograph with a red-haired model.

Her stomach twisted. This must be the photograph he mentioned last week. There were three photographs showcasing Alistair and Brenda Waterman engaged in an intimate dinner. His eyes were glued to her and she was laughing.

The perfume manager interrupted her thoughts and said, “Alistair Martin is stunning. He is hot, brilliant, and everything he touches seems to turn to gold.”

Anna closed the magazine and decided not to comment. She was in shock from seeing the actual photographs.

“The rumor is he is close to getting engaged,” the woman said as if he were her best friend.

Could others see a side of Alistair that she had been denying? She was horrible with relationships. Maybe she was being overly optimistic. But he seemed so interested and attentive. Why did she let herself get involved with him? She had been warned and had a front row seat to years of his serial dating. Even though she had attempted to avoid any contact with him in the past few years, occasionally she would catch a glimpse of him with a girlfriend who seemed to keep popping up even when the others disappeared, usually a redhead.

Anna went through the motions of listening to the client and going over every aspect of the proposed work. Leaving the client, she pressed the button for the elevator and thought she might faint. She had been barely taking in a full breath since seeing the photographs. She shouldn’t care. Alistair had told her about the dinner and the reason for it. But seeing the images—and hearing the rumor of his impending engagement—brought a painful acknowledgment of the truth. He was a player.

Instead of going back to work, she stopped in and saw Olivia at the design studio. The pace was frenetic; they were getting ready for fashion week in New York.

Olivia was talking with a young designer. Anna shouldn’t have stopped in. She was holding back tears and should have gone for a walk instead.

“Anna, is everything okay?”

Olivia whisked her into her private office and closed the door. She threw her arms around Anna.

Anna wiped away a few tears and tried to gather her inner reserves.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Olivia poured her a glass of water and motioned for her to sit.

She perched on the small, white sofa. “I went to a client meeting this morning and there was a tabloid opened on the table to the society pages.” She paused for a moment. It was ridiculous to be so upset. “In the photographs, Alistair was having dinner with this beautiful model. He told me about the dinner, but actually seeing the images made it so much more real. It shouldn’t upset me; we haven’t made any promises to each other. For some reason, it makes me doubt him.”

Olivia nodded. “Have a sip of water. It’s good he told you about it. Maybe you should tell him how you are feeling about seeing the photographs?”

She placed the glass of water on the table in front of her. “No. It wouldn’t solve anything. It’s my issue around trusting men, not his.”

Olivia sat next to her. “You can’t let our father and his mistakes taint your beliefs about men. Oliver made many mistakes in his life. But I know there are trustworthy, good men in the world. I believe you are capable of knowing the difference.”

“I don’t know. I find myself not trusting him and it’s not about who he is or how he lives his life. It’s me.”

Someone tapped on Olivia’s door, and when her assistant popped her head in, Olivia said, “I need ten minutes.” The assistant closed the door.

“I’m sorry. You must be terribly busy.”

Olivia squeezed her hand. “It’s fine. I always have time for you.”

“Alistair seems happy at the moment, but I don’t know how long it will last before he gets bored. The issue is with every day that passes, I’m more and more drawn to him.”

Olivia nodded. “Alistair seeks out adventure, but that doesn’t mean he won’t commit to a long-term relationship. I’ve known him a long time and I can tell something has shifted recently.”

She didn’t want to live in a fantasy world, expecting him to fall madly in love with her.

“He lives in the moment, Liv. He asked me yesterday to move in with him. But he didn’t talk about how he feels about me or the future.” Anna sat up straighter and didn’t allow herself to cry.

Olivia asked her gently, “How do you know how he feels if you are not willing to ask him?”

“I don’t need to ask him. He enjoys the chemistry between us but doesn’t want to limit his freedom.”

Olivia got up and handed her a box of tissues. “That may be a little unfair. I’ve never heard of Alistair living with someone. That is new.”

She took a tissue and wiped her tears. “He is tired of driving to London. It would be more convenient for him.”

Olivia laughed softly. “Do you expect me to believe that Alistair would choose convenience over freedom? He must be crazy about you and trying to figure out how to make the relationship work.”

Her heart was shattering into a hundred pieces. “I don’t know. He looked so happy in those photographs.”

Olivia shook her head. “Photographs can be deceiving, and if the girl is a model, then she knows how to play to the camera.”

Anna stood up. “I can’t live with him without a commitment and an acknowledgment that he cares about me.”

“Did you tell him that?” Olivia watched her nod. “Then the relationship will either stay the same or move forward.”

“Why do I feel heartbroken? I feel like I’ve already lost him.” Anna held off more tears.

Olivia looked sympathetic. “You are taking a stand. Either he will meet your needs or he will walk away. But you shouldn’t be worried about sharing your feelings.”

She stood up. “It can be a little difficult to figure out how I am feeling especially since I know that he doesn’t like to be fenced in.”

Raising her voice slightly, Olivia said, “He may crave freedom or autonomy, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell him how you are feeling. He has needs but so do you.”

“Thanks. You’ve cheered me up.”

Olivia gave her another hug. “I’ve got to get back to work. It’s chaos on the floor.”

Anna looked at another flat that afternoon and ignored Alistair’s call. She wasn’t ready to speak with him.

Deciding to sign a lease for the next month, Anna took one last walk-through. She couldn’t see herself living in the flat, but it was two blocks from the new office space and had parking. The neighborhood was an interesting mix of residential and shops. It was a one-bedroom flat with a spacious living area and beautiful windows.

She shook the estate agent’s hand after signing the offer.

When Alistair returned that Friday evening, he picked her up at the office. Sam and Elyse were heading out to an event and she wished them success.

Anna locked the office and pushed the button for the elevator. Alistair ran his hand down her back and said, “I’ve missed you.”

She turned into his embrace and kissed him briefly. “I can’t believe that I have a Friday night off and that you are free.”

The elevator opened and he took her hand when they stepped on.

Someone else stepped onto the elevator and she looked up at Alistair. “I’m surprised that you didn’t have plans for tonight.”

“I was planning on returning tomorrow so tonight was left free. Do you want to have dinner in the city or head to my place?”

“Your place. Definitely. It’s been a long week.”

He drove out of the city and she asked, “How was your trip?”

He glanced at her. “Long. I’m used to traveling frequently, but somehow it is getting harder to leave you.”

She smiled at him and ran a hand down his thigh. Her heart accelerated.

She told him, “I found a flat two blocks from my office with parking.”

He kept his eyes on the traffic. “I thought we were going to revisit your living arrangements.”

His comment surprised her. She had assumed that he would want to keep some distance between them.

Anna shrugged. “For now, it’s better if we maintain separate residences. I don’t want you to get tired of me.” Anna tried to lighten the conversation. “I’ll purchase a car and when you are traveling I’ll stay at the flat.”

His voice held no emotion. “We could have discussed getting a flat that would work for both of us and split our time between two residences.”

She removed her hand from his leg and crossed her arms. “You can stay over whenever you like. I’m crazy about you and want to spend as much time together as possible. But we both have demanding work lives.”

Alistair changed the subject to acquiring a new vineyard and asked about her week at Gala. She told him about the current activities at the company and how she was managing the new hires. She reminded herself to not fall too deeply for him. Already she constantly looked forward to seeing him and missed him when he was away.

She was upset about something. Maybe she didn’t want to live with him? They hadn’t been dating for that long, but he thought their relationship had deepened enough that she would want to spend more time together. Maybe she needed more of a commitment from him.

“Has something happened this week to upset you, love?” She would tell him if there was something.

She looked out the window. “It’s not very important and I’m not even sure why it bothered me.”

“Tell me.” He was curious now.

She stared down at her hands. “It’s nothing. I happened to be at a client meeting and a tabloid was open to the society pages.”

“Ah. You saw the photographs from the dinner I had with Brenda.”

She nodded and remained quiet. Why would it upset her? He had told her that it was a possibility so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

“Why did seeing a few images of me having dinner upset you?”

“You looked happy. I guess I felt left out in some odd way. I know it doesn’t make any sense.”

He shifted into a higher gear. “Emotions don’t always make sense. I’m sorry you were upset. I wasn’t particularly joyful that evening, but I thought it was the right thing to do.”

“I understand. Forget I said anything.”

He thought about her childhood. He understood feeling left out. Even now when his grandparents talked about his father, he felt slighted in some way or overlooked. He could only imagine that she would feel the same about a father who left her for his proper family.

“I don’t plan on any future encounters with Brenda.”

She smiled at him. Hopefully they would be able to have an enjoyable evening. He had asked his housekeeper to prepare a special meal and he planned to take her to a shop in the morning to get fitted for a road bike.

He drove up his driveway and parked near the garage. Leaning over, he kissed her before they got out of the car.

He never tired of watching her climb out of his car in heels and a short dress.

“I have a surprise for you.”

They walked arm in arm to the house.

“I ordered a road bike for you from a local shop. I thought we could go in the morning and check the fit.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t possible keep up with you.”

She was in amazing shape and, with some endurance training, she could handle an intermediate course. “There are a couple of upcoming trips that I wanted to take you on, but you’ll need some riding experience first.”

He had never taken a girlfriend cycling. He gravitated to all-male adventures, but something was shifting. He wanted to experience a road cycling trip with her.

“I don’t have that much experience.”

“It’s fine.” He opened the front door. “If after a few outings, you don’t like biking. You can opt out.”

“I’d love to give it a try. Thank you.”

He kissed her briefly and then said, “I called ahead and asked for a special meal to be prepared so we will need to eat first.”

He called out to his housekeeper, Helen.

She had set up an elaborate table on the terrace and had prepared Beef Wellington.

Opening a bottle of merlot, he watched Anna greet Helen and thank her for preparing the meal.

They sat down at the table and he could only think about getting her alone. He watched her taste the wine.

He lifted her glass to her, “May your glass be ever full.” She lightly tapped her glass to his.