Where did your heart go? (The Heart Trilogy Book 1) (46 page)

In his room down the corridor James pulled a shirt and some trousers out to wear that evening. The afternoon had been almost perfect; the only thing that would have made it more so would be for Stephanie to be standing right here with him now. He had tried to search her soul through her eyes but he had still found them cloudy and guarded. It was going to take him some time to break through the barrier that held her heart, the barrier that in a way he had helped to build. Crossing to the window he looked out onto the city stretched out before him. London had started to help him bring Stephanie back into his life, now he was just counting on the fact that he was also her secret admirer.

Chapter 55

As they listened to the applause at the end of their dance Mitchell had the chance to turn to
Charlotte and said.

“Did you spot our parents dancing
together?”

“No I missed that, were they?” she gasped.

Mitch nodded and pulled her close for a kiss.

“You were fabulous out there” he said.

“So were you” she finished “Together we are a perfect team”

They left the stage and ended up in a huddle with all the
rest of them, the girls from her team and the guys from his; they were like one big family.

Breaking apart they all then had the short wait to find out the results. They crowded in the wings to hear Arlene announce the winners and then it still took a moment for the result to sink in. Their groups were sharing a joint second place as they all headed onto the stage. The applause seemed even louder as Charlie and Mitch took centre stage and through their hands joined each of the groups together. After shaking hands with Arlene and the rest of the judges they cleared the stage and joined in the applause for The London Beats, who truly had been magnificent. After the rush started to fade they grabbed their bags from the practise rooms and headed into the auditorium to find their families.

On the way back to the hotel Charlie leant against Mitch on the backseat and closing her eyes relived the lift once more. He held her tightly as she soared above him and when she opened her eyes he was still holding her tightly. When they reached the hotel Charlotte and Mitchell crossed the lobby and headed up to their room. They both needed a shower amongst other things and then they had some time before dinner this evening. Mitchell also had to go and see the Manager regarding the possibility of work following this morning’s practise session.

Heading into their room Mitchell shut the door and then watched as Charlotte flopped onto the bed. He crossed the room and then paused to take a moment to gaze at her. A slight hint of sweat still lay upon her smooth skin as she reached out to him and he could linger no longer from her touch. Removing his top and kicking off his shoes he watched her watching him, drinking in the shape of his body as he crossed to the bed and she sat up to receive him. Pushing her back down his body covered her and their lips joined them together. When they eventually pulled apart Charlie felt her whole body flushed underneath her clothes and she knew she had to get out of them now. She crawled out from beneath Mitch and hopped off the bed.

She saw him looking quizzically at her as she stood in front of him and slowly started to remove her dress, the dress she wore to dance in. Charlotte watched him start to get up to help her but she stepped backwards and shook her finger at him. Mitch grinned at her boldness as he watched the straps fall away from her body and the dress pooled at her feet. Stepping out she wore just a strapless bra and lace panties, black against her pale skin, which was slightly tinged pink. Mitchell could wait no longer and he was off the bed too as he shrugged out of his trousers and stood in his underwear too.

“I want you now” he breathed, as he drew her into his arms once more.

“Me too” she replied as her fingers touched his warm skin and the charge crackled between them. They danced backwards to the
bed and fell onto its softness; Charlie was once again beneath him as he kissed his way down her skin and then carefully removed her silver shoes. Then as his lips travelled back up he hooked his fingers under her panties and she arched her hips so that he could pull them off. Her hands were in his hair as his fingers and tongue set to work on her already quivering body. Leaving her wanting he moved further up to her nipples and then back to her lips as he rolled over and she lay on top of him.

Charlotte smiled down at him and her eyes sparkled with love and lust as she moved down his body in return and released him from the tight confines of his underwear. Mitch leaned up slightly to watch as her lips followed her hands and took him into her mouth for the first time. Lying back he surrendered to her tongue as she flicked it over him until he could take it no longer. Pulling her up Mitchell was about to roll her back over again but she pushed him down and stayed on top. Easing onto him she sighed and almost came instantly but she pushed on through the first wave and started to move slowly against him. He held her hips close and moved with her, rocking and rocking as their breath got faster and faster, their kisses longer and stronger. Looking directly into each other’s eyes they reached the brink and then toppled over together.

Mitchell held her tightly as he watched her eyes close and she drifted off to sleep still locked onto his body. He kissed her gently on her lips and then closed his eyes too, the adrenaline had departed and left them limp after the dancing and the love making. When Charlie eventually woke up she tried to move out of his grasp but he still held her tight. She kissed him on his lips and was rewarded as his eyes opened and drank her in once more.

“I’m starving” she said, rolling off him and leaning back against the pillows.

“Mmmmh me too, shall we get dressed and go out or should we get room service?” Mitch asked

“I feel too tired to go out”
Charlotte replied “And I don’t really want to get dressed” she finished, a wicked grin lit up her face.

Leaning over Mitchell picked up the phone and rang down to order them some food before turning back to Charlie.

“Shall we have a quick shower before the food arrives?”

“Yes” she replied, as they headed into the bathroom. Under the water they were still unable to take their hands off each other. Charlie wondered if sex could be addictive as at the moment she was definitely under its powerful spell. Wrapped up in the hotel robes they sat on the bed and tucked into their steak sandwiches.

“So how do you think things are going with our parents?” Charlie asked, between mouthfuls
.

“It’s hard to say really, perhaps we will see how they are at dinner tonight” Mitch replied.

They finished their food and lay back on the bed together, appetites satisfied.

“So do you fancy coming over to mine next weekend?” Mitch asked

“Yes, no college now so I’m kind of free anytime” Charlie replied

“Are we still going to dance at the Rock on the River event the following weekend?”

“You bet, Mum won’t tell me who the headline act is yet as they are making a big announcement at the end of next week on the radio”

“The guys are all up for coming down and Dad said he would sort out a minibus and drive them” Mitch finished.

“Great, as I think Julia is quite taken with Simon” Charlie said, smiling over at Mitch.

“Oh no not more matchmaking” Mitch groaned, in a light hearted way and pulled her close.

“Shall we go and check out the pool and spa area?” Mitch said

“Sounds good to me” Charlie replied, as they both located their swimsuits and grabbed towels.

It was pure luxury to ease into the cool water of the pool and then afterwards in the Jacuzzi which helped to massage their aching muscles.

“I could get used to this” Charlie murmured, leaning her body into his.

“Me too, talking of which I suppose we ought to be ready a bit earlier for dinner so that I can go and talk to the manager” Mitch said, looking up at the large clock on the wall.

“Just don’t agree to anything before you talk to me” Charlie joked, although deep down she was deadly serious. She didn’t like the way the receptionist had flirted with Mitchell earlier, right in front of her.

“I won’t” he replied, as he planted a kiss on her lips before they climbed out of the warm bubbles.

Once back in the room Mitch had another shower, a shave and got dressed quickly and phoned reception again to find out where he needed to be.

“Will you be ok to meet me in the bar?” he asked. She gazed at him in his dark trousers and floral
shirt; he looked amazing and so sexy.

“Yes, it will give me time to paint my nails and get ready” Charlie replied, wishing she could rip off his shirt and jump on him again.

Running the bath she slipped out of her robe and sauntered past Mitch who slid a hand down her spine as she passed.

“God I wish I didn’t have to go” he said, pausing at the bathroom door. He watched Charlie slip under the bubbles and smile seductively up at him. He had unleashed a monster but he loved it.

“Off you go Mitch, I’ll see you later. I’ll be the sexy one at the bar” she said.

“But beauty takes time and effort” she finished, as she slipped her hands beneath the water.

“If you’re not down in an hour I’m coming up to find you” he finished, blowing her a kiss “Don’t open the door to any strange men” he joked. She blew him a kiss back and watched as he left.

Alone in the water she shaved everywhere and felt the feelings of desire coursing through her as she closed her eyes and relived all their love making to date. For a virgin yesterday she was more than making up for lost time today she realised. Getting out she smoothed some moisturiser over her body, followed by a liberal spray of perfume too. Looking in the mirror she tried to decide if she looked any different as she certainly felt different. Opening the wardrobe she found her new floral dress, it was short with a jagged hem line that rose and fell as she walked. She wore no bra underneath as it held her snug under the bust and after a little consideration she put some knickers on. With nails, hair and make up done she surveyed the result in the mirror.

Suddenly feeling nervous about heading downstairs alone she grabbed her phone and rang her Mum.

“Hi Mum”

“Hi Charlie, are you ok?” I asked.

“Yes thanks, Mitch has gone for a meeting with the hotel manager and wants me to meet him downstairs in about ten minutes but I don’t want to go on my own” she finished.

“Ok, I’m nearly ready too so do you want to come up to my room?” I said. It was always nice to know that my daughter still needed me.

“Cool Mum, I’ll be up in a bit” she finished, as the phone line went dead.

I dropped a quick text to Sarah and Chris saying I would meet them in the bar and then I finished getting ready.

When Charlie knocked on the door I pulled it open and surveyed the beautiful young woman who stood there. She looked beautiful and she was glowing with love and happiness.

“Hey Mum, you look hot” Charlie said. She took in her Mum’s black dress and heels, sexy but sophisticated at the same time.

“Is that your new dress?” I asked.

“Yes, do you think Mitchell will like it?” she asked, as she twirled around in front of me.

“Of course he will, you look beautiful” I finished.

Grabbing my handbag I took one final look in the mirror and smiled. Tonight was a night for happiness and joy, for celebrations. Tomorrow I could go back to real life and try to make sense of all my feelings that had tumbled into my head.

Chapter 56

We left the room and headed down the corridor to the lift. It was a little after seven and I could already feel the butterflies coming to life inside of me. I had originally wanted to keep James waiting a bit longer, but I kept up with Charlie’s faster past. I knew she was eager to find out how the meeting had gone between Mitchell and the Hotel Manager. As we dropped down into the lobby of the hotel I could see that Charlie kept staring at me. I guessed that she was trying to ascertain what my feelings were towards James and the reunion of yesterday. I couldn’t begin to talk to her about them as I still didn’t know how I felt yet. My mood kept swinging wildly from happiness and light that he was back in my life to worry and darkness that it could all go wrong again.

We alighted in the reception area and looked about to see which way the bar was. Charlie pointed that it was down the corridor to our left so we walked in that direction. I steeled myself and took a deep breath as we walked through the doors together. There at the bar stood Father and Son, identical in physique just different colouring. Mitchell was dark haired, his father blond. Charlotte skipped away from me and flew into Mitch’s arms, as if they had been apart for an age. I could feel my heart pounding out of control in my chest. I reached up to push aside a tendril of hair that had fallen across my face and I could see the visible shake to my hand. How did he still manage to make me feel this way even from this far away?

I watched the smile break across his face as he looked me up and down, so slowly it felt as if he was peeling away the layers with his eyes. I could feel the blush creeping upon my cheeks as I smiled back and stepped towards him. Aware that our children were watching James moved aside and I stepped into the gap between him, Mitchell and Charlotte.

“Evening Steph, you are looking gorgeous this evening” James said

“Hi James, thanks for the compliment. I like your shirt” I replied, feeling my tongue stumbling over the words.

“Would you like a glass of champagne, as we are celebrating tonight” James asked.

“Yes, that would be lovely” I replied. I watched as James pulled the bottle from the ice bucket on the bar. Blushing even more I remembered the time we had spent playing with ice cubes. James arched his eyebrows and grinned back at me, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

James handed glasses of champagne to all of us and then raised his.

“To Mitchell and Charlotte for the most fabulous dancing I have ever seen” James said. As we clinked glasses I watched my daughter smiling, Mitchell had his arm protectively around her. Putting my glass down on the bar I pulled out my phone
.

“Stay there” I said to the two of them. I snapped a couple of shots of them and then one of the bar staff headed over.

“Would you like me to take one of all of you?” she asked. I looked across at the three of them and they all nodded.

“Ok, that’s very kind of you” I replied, handing the girl my phone. I started to head towards Charlie but James stood aside and I found I was standing between James and Mitchell.

“Say cheese” she said. We all did and then for good luck she took another one to be sure as we all held our glasses aloft. Standing next to James I felt his hand resting on my shoulder, the imprint of his fingers seemed to burn through the fabric of the dress.

He let his finger run slowly down the sleeve and onto my bare skin and I tried not to jump at the touch. At that moment, with the champagne tickling my throat with its bubbles I just wanted to lean back into James’ embrace as if we had never been apart. Then we spotted Sarah and Chris at the door of the bar and I beckoned them over to join us.

“Champagne” James asked, as he motioned for some more glasses and another bottle. Mitchell and Charlotte moved aside slightly so they could talk privately as I handed Sarah a glass.

“Thanks James” she said, noticing immediately how his hand had dropped from my arm. James handed the other glass to Chris and there was a moment of silence between them.

I knew how angry Chris had been when James finished with me and had not spoken to him since the New Year incident. I watched Sarah pause as if to diffuse a situation before anything started.

“Thanks man, but I’d rather have a beer” Chris said “I’m sure Charlie won’t mind if I toast her with a pint” he finished. Charlie smiled across at her Uncle
.

“No I don’t mind” she replied, flashing him a huge smile. I knew that Chris still wanted to have some words with James, but even he knew that now was not the time. As soon as Peter and Pam appeared we were shown to our table. Charlie wanted to sit next to Mitch so they took up the one side next to Pam and Peter. Across from my daughter Sarah and Chris took the seats, which left James and I to sit opposite his parents.

Being so close to James meant I was constantly aware of his body next to mine, how was I going to get through a whole meal when I knew my appetite had deserted me. Scanning the menu I let my daughter lead the conversation as she talked about the dance competition with Mitchell joining in here and there. We all made our choices from the menu and James ordered a couple of bottles of red and white wine for the table.

“So how is Ross-on-Wye these days?” Peter asked me.

“
Nothing changes there, in fact the town is quietly dying on its feet. There are even plans to close the library and the swimming pool” I replied.

“That’s awful news” James said “I have such fond memories of the pool” he finished. I blushed again at his reference to our past and the place where it all began.

“Closing Libraries that’s barbaric” Pam responded “How can people not care about important services”

“It’s not the people Pam, they are campaigning hard to save both places, it’s the council” I replied
.

Sarah was listening at the end of the table as she worked part time in the Library and I had been listening to all of the issues facing them over the past eighteen months.

“Don’t get me started Pam, it’s not as if I need my job to survive but many of my colleagues do and it’s not just Ross it’s the whole county” she finished. I could see her anger bubbling to the surface, along with sadness at what the loss would mean to their loyal customers.

“We must visit Ross and relive some memories” Peter said to his wife.

“Why don’t you come down in a fortnight’s time as
Charlotte and Mitchell will be dancing again at the Rock on the River event I have been helping to organise” I said.

“Sounds like a great idea” Pam responded. Peter nodded in agreement.

“Aren’t you being roped in to drive the lads down in a minibus so they can perform” Peter asked James.

“I believe I am Dad” he replied.

“So Stephanie, what do you do for a living?” Pam asked

“I’m a radio DJ on Love Shack Radio, it’s a local station and we tend to stick to music from the sixties through to the nineties” I replied, as our starters arrived at the table.

“Yes it’s really good” James said. I turned to look at him “Mitchell told me so I looked it up and tuned in” he finished. Now I understood his wry smile when I had mentioned my secret admirer as he had possibly caught some of the requests that had been made on air. The conversation died a little as we all tucked into the food. My appetite which I thought had deserted me, returned at the sight of scallops in a cheese sauce and I cleared my plate. James started to pass the wine around and I poured myself a glass of red for a change. I noticed him watching and realised that he didn’t know that I now had a palate for red wine as well as white.

“So Mitchell, how did your meeting with the hotel manager go?” I asked, across the table.

“Ok, I need to give it a bit more consideration but he would like to run weekend breaks on certain themes and one of them is Dirty Dancing”

“Yes, we definitely made an impression at practice this morning” Charlie replied, smiling at Mitch.

“You made an impression on a lot of people today” Sarah said “a standing ovation no less”

“People were dancing in the aisles, just like the film” Pam said, joining in “You two look great together when you dance”

“They look great together even when they’re not dancing” Peter said. I watched
Charlotte lean over and give him a peck on the cheek.

“Like Mother like Daughter” Peter finished, looking directly at me from across the table.

“I’m just not as good a dancer” I replied.

“Give over” James replied, taking a sip of his wine and remembering all the times we had danced together in the past “
Steph and I can do a passable waltz” he finished.

The waiters arrived with the main courses and once again I was happy to tuck in as conversation flowed around the table.

“So when did you learn to waltz” Pam asked.

“When we were away for my birthday” James said “A lovely couple in the ballroom of the Blackpool tower gave us a lesson” he finished.

“Jack and May” I replied, still recollecting their names. We exchang
ed a brief look as we recalled what else had happened that long weekend.

“If you’ll excuse me” I said, getting up from the table. The memories threatened to engulf me so I headed to the rest room. Sarah had followed me and as I leant on the counter by the mirrors she tapped me on the shoulder

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“Yes, just so many memories keep surfacing. Everything just feels so surreal really I am still struggling to get my head around it all” I finished.

“I know this won’t help much but I can see from the way James keeps glancing at you that he still cares, cares very deeply” she said. She passed me a tissue as a solitary tear slipped out and kissed my hot cheek.

“
I know and I guess deep down inside I know that I still love him but I am so scared of getting hurt again” I said, finally acknowledging aloud my true feelings.

“Well no one can answer that one for you, you may just have to find the courage to take the chance” Sarah replied. She squeezed my shoulders and I fell into her arms for a hug.

Returning to the table the plates had been cleared and everyone was trying to decide if they could squeeze in a dessert. As I sat back down next to James he turned to smile at me.

“Is everything ok?” he asked.

“Yes” I replied and hid behind the menu.

Charlie and Mitch were the only ones who could squeeze any more food down so the rest of us ordered coffee. Suddenly there was a commotion at the restaurant entrance and we all turned to see what was happening. Then I noticed it was Arlene Phillips and one of the other judges from the competition and they appeared to be heading in our direction. Stopping at the end of the table where Mitchell and Charlotte sat, I saw them drop their spoons in shock.

“Mitchell,
Charlotte, sorry to interrupt your meal but I was wondering if I could have a moment to talk to you both”

Mitchell quickly stood up and reached out to shake her hand and that of the other judge.

“Yes that will be fine” he stammered. Charlotte stood up too and I watched them follow her out of the room.

“Oh my God” said Sarah “I can’t believe I just saw that” she finished.

“Wow, its so exciting” Pam said, joining in “I wonder what they want to talk to them about?”

As I sat and joined in the conversation I felt a soft touch on my knee beneath the table. I glanced across at James who was still talking to his Mum and Dad and then feeling courageous I placed my hand on top of his. He jumped slightly but carried on as if nothing was going on, a sparkle winked in the corner of his eyes. Then he turned his hand over and linked his fingers through mine and it was my turn to hide the shock from the rest of the table.

Charlotte and Mitchell had been gone for a while so James decided to order some more drinks from the bar. His parents excused themselves and headed back to their room, leaving just the four of us. Knowing that they would have to walk back through the bar we left the table and found a couple of comfy sofa’s in the corner.

“So what would you like to drink?” James asked.

“I’ll get these” Chris said, standing up too.

“Gin and tonic” Sarah said.

“Same for me thanks” I replied.

“I’ll come and help” James said, leaving the two of us alone on the sofa.

“So, have you decided what to do yet?” Sarah asked.

“I’ve already told him I want us to be friends first and see how things go but I can’t deny that the spark between us is still there” I finished, sitting down in the opposite sofa.

“Just don’t forget that we are here for you, me, Chris and I suspect Charlotte too” Sarah finished, looking across at the two men standing at the bar.

As they waited to order Chris turned to James.

“I hope you know how much you hurt Stephanie” he said
.