This contract that was his bright idea was also the biggest mistake of his life. No matter what he did, the contract was underlined in everything. He saw it written in Scarlet’s face as she was near him.
Richard moved back to their table and settled in next to her. He placed an arm around her shoulders and brought her close. The waiter came to take their order. The men had steak while the ladies ordered chicken. It was so refreshing dining with women who weren’t afraid to eat.
“I’m pleased, Scarlet. When I have to dine with Wayne’s business associates and their dates I’m stuck with women who eat celery sticks for a living,” Lily said.
“I think I’ve proven by the size of me I like to eat.” Scarlet smiled, but even Richard noticed it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I don’t care for the food. Once you eat a steak cooked by Lily there is no going back,” Wayne said and smiled at his wife.
Richard gulped down his beer at the love shining between them. He couldn’t do this. He wanted that kind of affection for him and Scarlet. All he could think of was that damned contract. Late at night, when they were both sleeping, he’d wrap his arms around her and bring her close to his body. In those moments when her barriers were down he witnessed the wonderful woman she was. Always a smile and time for him.
“You cook?” Scarlet asked.
“Yes. Every meal time. Apart from when he needs to dine to impress.” Richard could tell Lily really liked her. What would Scarlet say if he banished the contract? Tore it up and made this thing between them real?
“Wow, Scarlet Hughes? I thought I saw you here.” He felt and saw Scarlet tense as an older woman approached. He saw the man behind her and recognised him from earlier.
“Hello, Mrs. Buttons,” Scarlet muttered. The cup she placed back on the saucer rattled.
“It’s been too long.” The woman held out her hand. Scarlet took it, but everything about her reaction seemed off. “And you remember my husband, of course.”
The husband placed a hand on her shoulder, and Scarlet’s hands went to the edge of the table. Her knuckles whitened from the grip she had on the damn thing. There was exposed flesh on her shoulder, and Richard noted the man’s fingers caressing her flesh.
“We haven’t seen or heard a lot from you, but your folks still live in the same—”
“That’s good. Really good. Sorry to be a pain, but do you mind? We’re about to eat dinner, and it’s a special time,” Scarlet stopped the woman and stared forward. Lily looked concerned, and Wayne clearly had already made his judgment on the man. Richard didn’t like it one bit.
“Oh. Okay, sorry to bother you.”
They left, but an uncomfortable silence descended round the group.
“You know, I don’t feel hungry at all. I’m going to go to my room.” Scarlet bounded up, and in the process knocked over her drink into her lap of her pants.
“We need to eat,” Richard said.
“Then eat. I really can’t stomach anything, and I need to call my son.” She batted away a waiter and charged for the elevator. Richard quickly made his excuses to his friends and joined her before the doors closed.
She wouldn’t talk to him, and she stood as far away from him as the lift allowed. A few minutes later they entered the penthouse suite.
“Who was that guy, Scarlet?” he asked as soon as they got into their room. She ignored him and went to the phone.
Richard knew she was calling Harry. Everywhere they went she called her son. He admired her for the devotion, but right now he wanted answers. “Don’t call him.”
She stared up at him with tears in her eyes and put the phone down. “Fine, what do you want to know?”
“Who was he?”
“No one?” Scarlet stared at him, and he saw the tears in her eyes. She was so close to losing it, her emotions ready to burst.
“He didn’t look like no one to me.”
Her hands crossed over her chest, and she touched her shoulder where the man downstairs had laid a hand on her. She screamed an ear piercing squeal. Richard jumped and watched her go into a frenzy.
“Why did you force me to wear these f**king clothes? Is this to highlight my whore status to you? To let everyone know you’re buying me for a week?” Each scream brought about a tug and a rip of the clothes he’d bought her.
“I don’t think of you like that,” he said. A lump formed in his throat, and he hated how bitter his world tasted. He’d done that. He had caused Scarlet to think of herself as a whore.
“What then? What more could you possibly want from me?” She collapsed in a heap on the floor. “I want it all to stop,” she sobbed.
The dam had finally burst.
Richard picked her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. She fought him a little when he began removing her clothing. He soothed and made sure she knew he was only there to offer comfort.
He ran the bath and put plenty of lavender bubble bath in. Her sobs continued from the corner, and he hated the sound. She sounded so lost and afraid.
Once he seated her in the warm water he didn’t like how distant and vacant she became, and he divested himself of his clothes to sit behind her.
He pulled her back and rested her body against him. Not saying a word they lay in the bath until her tears subsided. Richard was falling in love with this woman. He stared down at her head, and knew in his heart how much she’d come to mean to him. The contract had been a f**k-up on his part. He didn’t like waiting. The act had been nothing more than a child throwing its dummy out of a pushchair because mummy had said no to sweeties.
“That man downstairs is Harry’s father,” she whispered.
A pause and her hands rested on her stomach. He waited for her.
“In high school I was a mess. I looked a little like Opal. Over developed for my age, and the only attention boys gave me was to tease me about my size. Then one day a handsome young teacher came to the school, and he showed me so much respect. I thought I’d fallen in love with him. No other girl held his interest but me.”
Richard’s heart twisted in his chest. Already, from her reaction he knew he wasn’t going to like the ending to this story.
“By the end of term we were sort of dating. We’d hang out, and one day we kissed. So magical, at least I thought at the time. Nothing happened, just a kiss, and I was on cloud nine. Then about six months later his wife came back to town. She’d been away on some training or something. I didn’t know he was married.” Scarlet took a deep breath.