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This book is set in London and as such uses British English throughout.

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Chapter One

TEVIS

His office had floor to ceiling windows to one of the best views in London, overlooking the River Thames. Below him on the street stood the journalist and photographer who had followed him everywhere for the last three days. So far he hadn’t given them the opportunity of getting any closer to him than seeing him through glass. He presumed they were from Citrus Gem Magazine and they were hoping to get to her through him. If they were still on his tail, then they weren’t having any luck finding Claire either.

His thoughts as he looked out weren’t on the journalists but on Claire. Since she left he had focused all his efforts on trying to find her, delegating his work to the firm’s directors. He hadn’t let go of the reins, hence still being in the office. It was a conscious decision to realign his work so that he could have more personal time.

Personal time he wanted to spend with Claire. He would find her, even if it took him a lifetime.

The security gates to the underground car park slid open and he watched the black vehicle drive past the photographer who snapped away as if his life depended on it. Tevis knew the images would not reveal anything of interest. The driver of the vehicle was his friend Sam Rendall, one of the few people besides family members who had a device to activate the gates. Five minutes, perhaps less, Sam would be in his office providing an update on his investigations into Kathryn Tyler and her daughter Fay—his Claire.

Claire had been his every waking thought, the instigator of every action he’d taken over the last few days. Some might have called it an obsession.

He called it searching for the love of his life.

One long weekend was all he’d had, but he had known it from the moment she’d argued with him in that feisty, no-nonsense way of hers. Her loss was a pain deep inside that wouldn’t go away. He wished he’d been able to read her better, to understand that although she’d keep her promise she would go when she’d fulfilled it. Her fear had been that deep. He thought he had more time to convince her that it was possible to deal with it, but he hadn’t.

The door to his office opened and he turned to face Sam Rendall. His personal assistant knew to allow this visitor through, no matter what Tevis was doing. He cut straight to the chase, no pleasantries were needed.

“Any more information?”

“Yes,” Sam responded, his face for the first time in days containing a smile. “I know who Claire’s father is. I’ve booked a private jet. We’re leaving now and I’ll fill you in as we travel.”

Tevis was already half way across the room.

Chapter Two

CLAIRE

The sun was warm on her back as she ambled past York Minster with her camera slung over her shoulder. Even the cathedral’s gothic magnificence failed to tempt her to linger and take some shots.

She was getting little pleasure from her photography. It seemed so empty, lonely even, not having someone close to share her work with. Her father loved everything she did, he had several of her images on his studio wall. Somehow it was no longer the same. She wanted to share her work with Tevis.

It was too late. She'd pushed him away. Without realising it, by falling in love with him she'd allowed him to put his mark on everything she did, everything she thought.

The city of York, in the centre of Yorkshire, was home. Here the only family she had now lived. Her father had moved here to hide Claire from the press, to give her a normal life. When he'd met and later married Sarah, he'd found contentment and that had flowed over to Claire. The birth of her little half-brother Elliot had been the icing on the cake. Her father wasn't replacing her mother, Claire had known that. He'd found a different happiness with Sarah. She brought serenity to a house full of creativity and cushioned them from the world outside, just when they'd needed it the most.

Claire walked on down High Petergate, passing the specialist craft shops and the small bookstores. She strode under the arch set in the city wall and glanced across at Exhibition Square. For a moment she was tempted to visit the Art Gallery, but she knew it would only be a time wasting exercise. For three days she'd put off asking her father the questions she knew would provide her with painful answers.

It was time to put old ghosts to rest.

Crossing the road, she picked up her pace. Fifteen minutes later she opened a gate set in the old high stone wall and let herself into the garden at the back of her father's house. She knew where he'd be, in the studio down at the end by the old oak tree. Sarah and Elliot were playing together on the lawn and as she passed them she stopped for a couple of minutes to chat and to play with the little boy.

As she stood again, Sarah smiled at her. “It's been good to have you home for a few days. Elliot has missed you”.

“I've missed him too—I've missed all of you.”

“You should come home more often.”

Claire could see the concern in Sarah's eyes.

“I'll try to in future. I still have things to sort out.” They both knew what those things were—the press and her old life pressing back in on her. She hadn't spoken about Tevis to her father or to Sarah, but she suspected they knew there was something else. “I need to talk to Dad. Is he busy?”

“You know he's never too busy for you,” Sarah laughed.

Claire smiled back before walking further down the garden. The studio was purpose built, soundproofed and had floor to ceiling windows. Her father liked to look out at the garden when he was working. She could see him at the piano, his head cocked to one side as he listened to the notes he was putting down. She stood for a moment, watching him as he worked.

He seemed to sense she was there, turning to look at her.

Erland Tyler grinned at her through the glass and waved her in. Her father never looked any different. His hair, just long enough to run his fingers through was now greying, but his face didn't seem any older. A few more laughter lines crinkled around his eyes and Claire sensed Sarah and Elliot had put them there.

She waved back and walked into a world of peace. The noise of traffic in the streets beyond the house ceased with only the notes her father tinkered with on the piano cutting through the silence.

“That's beautiful, Dad.”

“You like it?” he muttered as he turned to face her.

“Love it.”

“It's only the first few bars, but I think I've got something.”

They were skirting around the conversation they both knew was coming. She stalked around the studio, looking through the door to the room containing her father's recording equipment. Many prominent names from the music world had spent time in these rooms working with Erland Tyler. She stepped over to the piano and traced the curve of the instrument with her finger. Her father had never stopped her putting fingerprints on his treasured possession. He didn't say anything now.

“Dad, I want to ask something about you and Mum.”

“I've been waiting for you to bring it up for years,” he smiled at her encouragingly. “It seems the time is now right for you?”

How could she ask the question— the one that had haunted her for years? She couldn't do it without explaining why she needed to know. It wasn't fair to put him through the pain without him understanding how important this was to her.

“Something happened back in London and I made a decision based on what I thought I knew.” Claire dropped down on the sofa near her father's piano. “I might have made a huge mistake.”

It wasn’t ‘might’, she was certain she had. Life was impossible without Tevis and she’d walked away without even saying good-bye. Without giving him a chance.

Her father sat down in his old battered chair opposite her and relaxed. “Go on.”

“I've fallen in love.”

“Does he love you?”

The memories of his kisses, of the moment he’d declared his love to her, flooded through her mind. She’d never said it back, only putting her love in her leaving note.

“Yes.”

Erland looked at her in surprise. “Then why are you so bloody unhappy?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Claire, you're my daughter. I've loved you since the moment I set eyes on you. I know your every mood, every mannerism. I haven't seen you like this in years.”

“I broke it off with him—walked out and left him a note telling him to forget about me.”

“Seems a little harsh, Claire, leaving him that way.”

“I told him I was leaving. He didn't want to let me go. He said we could work everything out but in the end, I needed to get away.”

“Why?”

Claire looked away from her father and watched Sarah still playing with Elliot on the lawn. She was on her back with the little boy trying to tickle her.

“Because of who I am—because of Mum.” She looked back at her father and smiled sadly. “Citrus Gem Magazine found me again.”

“I know.” He rubbed the arm of his old leather chair. “I may seem vague at times,” he said wryly, “but I keep up with the news”. “I'm sure Tevis Drummond can handle the press.”

“He shouldn't have to. They will make his life hell.” She knew the fear showed on her face. She'd never been able to hide it from her father.

“And you don't think he'll be going through hell now you've left him?” He pointed to Sarah and Elliot and then at Claire. “Don't you think I would rip the world apart looking for the three of you if I lost you?” He leant forward in his chair and reached for Claire's hand. “If you love him, there is a way around all this. Go back and face your problem. Do it with him or without him. But do it. You won't be happy unless you do.”

“I need to know the truth, Dad. Did you and Mum love each other?”

“Why have you waited so long to ask?”

She looked him in the eyes. Erland Tyler, her father, had never lied to her. “Because I wanted to believe you did.”

“You think what happened the day Katherine died means we didn't? Claire, your mother and I loved each other deeply. I will always love her but not in the way you think.” He smiled gently at her. “Sarah has taught me what love really means and I hope you have found the same.” He eased himself out of his chair and sat down next to Sarah on the sofa, pulling her to his side.

“I loved Kathryn, I worshipped the ground she walked on. I was her best friend, the one person she could rely on when she needed to be loved and cared for.”

“She didn't love you?”

“She thought she did. We both did. When we found out she was pregnant with you, we were ecstatic. I proposed on the film set and we were married on a beach near one of the locations used for filming.” Claire could hear the smile in his voice. “I was in love with one of the most beautiful women in the world and she was carrying my baby.”

“What went wrong?”

“Nothing went wrong.” He smiled sadly. “It was never right. She didn't love me in the way I loved her. Kathryn kept our marriage a secret, I should have understood why, but I didn't. She told me it would hold back her career, but from the time you were a toddler, Kathryn was falling in love during every new film she worked on. She was addicted to the high, to the romance, and she couldn't break the habit. She would end each affair at the end of filming and come home to us. To where she felt safe, to where she knew she would be welcomed.”

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