The Secret Heiress (17 page)

Was he telling her the truth about Brenda? Did he have feelings for the model? “Why does your mother think that I’ve come between you?”

His voice rose and he made a sweeping gesture with his hand. “I don’t know why she is acting the way she is. I think Brenda spoke with her after I ended the relationship. I’ll speak with her later this evening after the event.”

She didn’t want to deal with his mother again this evening. She wanted to escape the situation entirely. “In that case, I shouldn’t come home with you. It would be too awkward.”

He ran a hand through his hair and then stepped away from her. “I’m sorry, Anna. It was such a spectacular event and I hate that it is ending this way.”

She could feel tears forming in her eyes. “It’s fine. There will be a ton to do to tear down the event and you should go and spend time with your mother.”

He pulled her into his arms. “I can’t imagine that it will be that difficult to straighten out.”

“I should get back and check on everything.” She pulled away after giving him a brief kiss and headed back to the tent area.

The party was beginning to wind down and she immersed herself in the tear-down and cleanup tasks.

By the time she climbed into the hired car, Anna was exhausted. She gave her new address to the driver and hoped that the moving company placed her belongings in her flat today. She had planned to stay at Alistair’s house this weekend and hadn’t thought about unpacking.

It was hours later when she located sheets in one of the boxes and made her bed. She curled up into a ball and let her tears flow. Anna couldn’t believe how horrible Alistair’s mother had been. There was a small part of her that hoped that Alistair would come and check on her.

She was falling in love with him. But it seemed that she was not destined to have a good relationship with his mother. It shouldn’t surprise her. Her own mother was tricky at best.

Replaying the conversation in her head, she wondered if his mother was right. Maybe Brenda Waterman had expected Alistair to propose to her. Fionn had warned her that Alistair left a trail of broken hearts. Her experience of Alistair was so different than how Fionn thought of him. Did she have blinders on and only wanted to see what she wanted?

Anna was at a disadvantage in relationships with men. She didn’t have a good example to reference. Her father had let her down countless times. It was only in the last several years that she was able to have a healthy, adult relationship with Fionn and William. Besides them, she had had a few casual boyfriends, but it would always end before getting too serious. Why did she see Alistair so differently than everyone else did? Could she be wrong about him? She had thought they were becoming more serious but she hadn’t wanted to crowd him. Maybe he was pulling back and she hadn’t recognized it?

Anna dressed in a pale yellow A-line dress for brunch with Alistair and his mother, Deidre. She had reluctantly agreed to go when Alistair called her last night but wasn’t looking forward to it. Applying a small amount of makeup, she replayed the conversation in her head with Alistair’s mother yesterday.

The doorbell chimed and, opening the door, she was surprised that they had both come upstairs instead of texting her to come down. Her eyes raked over Alistair and her body nearly dissolved. In a few short hours, she had forgotten how gorgeous he was and how much she missed him. Stepping back instead of kissing him, she invited them in.

Her gaze clashed with his. “I must apologize. I’m in the process of moving in. I didn’t know you were coming upstairs.”

Deidre spoke first. “It’s my fault. I wanted a moment alone with you to apologize. It wasn’t my intention to cause a problem between you and my son. I misunderstood his intentions.”

Anna fidgeted with her handbag. “It’s fine. We should forget it happened.”

Alistair held out his hand and Anna placed her hand in his. Pulling her lightly forward, he kissed her cheek. “There is a wonderful place around the corner to get brunch.”

They all walked to the elevator and Anna thought she saw a look of irritation come over Deidre. Alistair meant well, but his mother was going to resent his high-handedness. She resolved to try and put the older woman at ease and begin to repair the damage that was caused.

Stepping away from Alistair, Anna asked, “Do you get to London often?”

Her lips pressed together and then she said, “Luckily for you dear, I rarely leave Dublin.”

“I hope Alistair and I are able to come and visit you. I love spending time in Dublin.”

Anna kept the dialog going through the brunch by talking about Gala and More and then Olivia’s girls. She attempted to make a connection through Fionn, but apparently Deidre didn’t care very much for him.

When they finally said goodbye outside her building, Anna was relieved. She stepped forward and embraced Deidre in a stiff hug and wished her well.

Alistair kissed her on the lips and mentioned that he would stop over later in the evening.

She spent the entire day working on her new flat but barely scratched the surface. She couldn’t understand why Brenda Waterman was able to create such a divide between her and Alistair. Maybe it was because she was a model and photographed beautifully? Brenda also had his mother’s full approval. It shouldn’t matter to her, but somehow it did. If she were being honest with herself, she wondered if Alistair had feelings for Brenda.

Much later, she heard his knock and pulled open the door. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. She kissed him briefly and then stepped away from him.

“I’m not sure that I’m in the mood to talk tonight. I’m rather exhausted from the weekend.”

“You did a remarkable job with the event for Martin Enterprises. It couldn’t have gone better.”

She smiled at him but didn’t feel the happiness she should. The event was a huge success, but somehow the negative feelings about Brenda eclipsed all of that. Maybe it was just exhaustion.

“Is something bothering you?”

She turned away from him and walked into her living room. “I think we need a short break, Alistair. All of the changes recently have been too much.”

He reminded himself not to react. She was hurt by his mother’s unkindness. He could feel his muscles tensing and made an effort to relax his stance.

“We need to talk. Maybe you should show me the flat first?”

“There isn’t much to show.”

“It looks like you unpacked today.”

Her mannerisms were awkward, but she led him on a brief tour that ended in the kitchen.

“Do you have any wine?”

She nodded and took out the bottle that he gave away at the event.

“A good choice.” He took it from her and opened it while she found wine glasses.

“I’m not sure where everything is yet.”

Taking the bottle and his glass into the living area, he sat on the sofa and attempted to relax.

“My mother was acting odd. I don’t know what got into her. Even her apology was stilted and unconvincing. She went back to Ireland this afternoon.”

Anna took a sip of wine. “I didn’t need her to apologize. She made her opinion known. If anything, it may cause more resentment.”

“She was under false assumptions. My mother hadn’t realized that Brenda and I were over. I had mentioned you a few times, but for some reason she hadn’t connected the dots. She had thought I was speaking about Brenda.”

“Clearly, she has a connection to Brenda and would much rather you were dating her.”

“She wants me to be happy but she was surprised by our relationship. But I can tell you that she felt horribly about how she handled all of it.”

Anna said, “Something has changed between us. There is a barrier erected and I can’t seem to get past it.”

“Nothing has changed, love.” Why was she acting so odd?

Her eyes were blazing and she seemed intent on starting a fight. “Maybe you’re right. You are still the man who doesn’t want to be fenced in and I’m still the woman who has trust issues.”

Alistair placed his glass on the cocktail table. “Labels are not helpful.”

Anna stood up and massaged her temples. “It’s late and I have an early meeting so I think you should go.”

He stood up. “I have to fly to New York in the morning. I’ll be back at the end of the week.” Maybe a few days apart would help her to let go of her outrage. He couldn’t control his mother or Brenda Waterman.

He pulled her into his embrace. She responded to his kiss briefly and then pulled back.

Meeting his gaze, she said, “Have a safe trip, Alistair.”

He didn’t want to leave her tonight but maybe it was better than having an irrational argument. “Goodnight, Anna.”

She held back her tears until she closed the door. Her throat tightened painfully. Why did it have to be so hard? Was it better to let him go now than to be shattered when it fell apart? Why did she feel hurt? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Deciding not to overthink the situation, she forced herself to unpack a few more boxes.

When she climbed into bed exhausted, she read a text from him that said
Goodnight, love
.

She answered with
Sleep well
.

The next few days passed in a blur. Throwing herself into the daily chaos at work helped her to push aside her hurt feelings. Frances came in several times and they brainstormed how to gain new clients. The new staff that was hired was working out well and Anna led several briefings to bring everyone together as a team.

Alistair had called during the week and asked if she would go with him to a gala for the Wine Growers Association on Friday evening. She agreed but didn’t stay on the phone long.

She borrowed a dress from Olivia and was ready at six o’clock. With more staffing, she had been able to have someone else cover the events that weekend.

At seven o’clock, she was beginning to get concerned. Alistair usually made it a point not to be late. She pushed away feelings of waiting as a child for her father, who rarely arrived and never on time. Being kept waiting was a trigger for her so she pulled out her laptop and handled a few work emails.

Alistair texted and said he had been delayed in flight and could she meet him at the gala? She called the car service and headed to the event. She pushed aside her worries. It was an event and she knew how to make small talk and keep things pleasant.

Anna recognized several people from the event she’d put together for Martin Enterprises and exchanged pleasantries with them while she kept an eye out for Alistair.

There were several promotional posters on display and she noticed that in one of them, Alistair and Brenda were standing together overlooking a vineyard.

Taking a sip of wine, she saw Brenda Waterman heading straight towards her. The woman had no boundaries.

“Has Alistair disappeared into thin air?” Her voice was high-pitched and unpleasant. She reminded Anna of a feral cat.

Anna took a sip of wine. “His flight was delayed.”

“For your sake, I hope he wasn’t delayed by one of his flight attendants. I know they service all sorts of needs en route.” The model widened her eyes and feigned concern.

She couldn’t believe how venomous and undignified Brenda was. “Alistair is nothing if not loyal.”

Brenda glanced around the room and smiled at people lingering nearby before lowering her voice and saying, “Well… I can’t believe you are hanging around waiting for a scrap of affection. Alistair is all about increasing his empire and it seems as if he longer has an interest in your little event management company.”

“Yes, we have moved on from a purely business relationship to a more personal connection.” Anna kept her tone light but refused to allow the model to push her around. She couldn’t understand what drew Alistair to the hateful woman.

Brenda hesitated for a moment and said, “It seems as if he has forgotten about you already. If you’ll excuse me.” Anna watched her approach another guest.

Another acquaintance came up to her and said, “Hello. I’m guessing Alistair has been delayed..”

She nodded. Where was he? She needed him to rescue her.

Without any encouragement, the woman continued. “They are such a glamorous couple.” Referring to the poster. “These events are not very exciting, but it reminds everyone to stay active in the association.”

Anna tried to change the subject. “The wine is delicious.”

The woman openly yawned. “True. But there is nothing to do at these things.”

Anna couldn’t wait to escape. “Enjoy your evening.”

Anna placed her glass on the nearest tray and headed for the door. She didn’t need to put up with this.

A light rain was coming down so she decided to take a taxi instead of calling the car service.

Alistair was arriving when she stepped out onto the sidewalk.

He pulled her into his arms saying, “I’m sorry, love.”

“It’s not enough. You were late and then, by suggesting that I come here alone, you threw me to the wolves.”

He stepped back and touched her cheek. “Anna.”

Her emotions were ready to erupt. She had endured enough for the evening. “I’m not staying, Alistair.”

His tone reminded her of someone speaking to a small child. “I promised to put in an appearance. Twenty minutes and then we can get a late dinner.”

“No. This is not working for me.” She couldn’t make eye contact with him. “Take care of yourself, Alistair.”

She signaled to the taxi driver and opened the door.

He touched her bare arm. “Let’s not end the evening this way.”

Climbing into the taxi, she gave the driver her address and he pulled away from the curb. Her first thought was that she let Brenda Waterman win. But she didn’t want to live her life in turmoil, doubting the actions of her partner.

It was unfair. Alistair was brilliant, intense yet sensitive, but it wasn’t enough. She needed someone she could depend on.

Letting herself into her flat, she allowed the tears to slide down her cheeks. She was going to miss him desperately. In a short time, he had infiltrated all of her defenses. Why did it have to end this way?

Anna collapsed onto the sofa and sobbed. Everyone else around her knew how this would end but she had pretended otherwise. She had allowed herself to hope that their relationship would deepen and mature. But Alistair wasn’t about permanence or creating a lasting bond.

Within the hour, he rang the bell to her flat. She buzzed him up but dreaded the confrontation. She wasn’t ready to defend herself.

Opening the door, she stood back and invited him in. At least she had washed her face and changed out of her dress.

“I appreciate you checking on me, but I’m fine.”

He roughly caught her arm. “I’m not.”

She raised her voice. “I’m sorry, Alistair, but I can’t live this way. I don’t know if you are over Brenda or not, but I’m done with the gossip and pitiful glances.”

He let go of her and stepped back. “I wanted to see you this evening. My flight was delayed and I thought it would save time if you met me there. I should have realized that it would be a setup for you.”

She shook her head. “I can’t trust what we had. I know you will disappoint me. You already have.”

He spoke without any emotion. “This issue is not mine. You are carrying around baggage from your childhood. You believe that you’ll be hurt or disappointed again so you shut others out before that happens. There is nothing that I can do or say that will dislodge that belief from you. You have to decide to let it go.”

She could feel tears forming in her eyes. “I want to be in a relationship where I don’t have to chase my partner for a scrap of attention.”

He clenched his jaw. “I don’t understand what has changed between us. You have been busy and have barely returned my calls.”