The Boss's Virgin. CHARLOTTE LAMB

Why now? Fate had a strange sense of humour. Only one more week and she would be Tom’s wife. Why had they had the accident, crashed into the man’s car, at this particular time?

      She tried to sleep, but was awake most of the night. The flashback kept coming. Her brain was her enemy and would not let her forget. As the hours wore on, her head began to ache. She was first hot, then cold, twisting and turning in the bed, hearing the tick-tick of the clock on her bedside table as though it beat in her blood.

      Eventually she did fall into a heavy, stupefied sleep from which she woke abruptly when her alarm went off at nine o’clock. She felt like death as she stumbled out of bed.

      After a shower she dressed in jeans and a clean white T-shirt, then went downstairs to make coffee.

      Samson gave her an angry greeting. She was usually up well before this time, and like all cats he had a good sense of the time, especially where meals were concerned. While she moved about he kept brushing against her, slithering between her legs, making his demand calls. Miaow. Miaow. Where’s my breakfast? Where’s my food?

      After giving him a saucer of milk and cereal, she let him out of the back door, watched him streak through the little garden, then she poured herself orange juice and sat down to sip it. After contemplating the idea of some toast, she decided against it—she really wasn’t hungry.

      The dressmaker arrived half an hour later, bright and cheerful in a neat grey skirt and blue blouse. ‘Lovely morning, isn’t it?’ She said as Pippa opened the front door.

      ‘Lovely.’ In fact Pippa hadn’t noticed; she had been too preoccupied. Now she glanced around, absorbing the bright spring sunshine, the blue sky, the tassels of catkins on a hazel tree in her garden, the frilly yellow daffodils and deep purplish blue of hyacinth. She had planted them last year; this year they had come up without her help.

      ‘Yes, lovely,’ she agreed. Another one of Fate’s little jokes, this wonderful weather, the beauty of the morning. It should have been stormy, threatening, not full of light and hope. The weather did not fit her mood at all. ‘Can I get you some coffee, Mrs Lucas?’ she asked, stepping back to let the dressmaker into the hall.

      ‘Thanks, I’d love some later, but I’d like to get on with the fitting first; I have a busy day ahead.’ Mrs Lucas considered her, frowning. ‘Aren’t you well, dear? You’re very pale.’

      ‘We went to a party last night, and on the way home we had a bit of an accident.’

      ‘No! Was it serious? Anyone hurt?’

      ‘Thank heavens, no, and the car wasn’t badly damaged, but it was a shock.’

      ‘Of course it was. Bound to be. No wonder you’re pale. Well, I won’t take up too much of your time. There isn’t much to do; the dress is nearly finished. I just want to check that it fits perfectly. Have you got everything else, now?’

      ‘Almost everything.’

      ‘Good girl. Well, get your jeans and T-shirt off, stand on that chair, and I’ll slip the dress over your head.’ Mrs Lucas stood waiting while Pippa obeyed her. The silk and lace dress was carefully held between her two hands and once Pippa was in position she delicately lifted her hands and the dress dropped over Pippa’s head and rustled softly as it fell to her feet. There was a small mirror on the wall opposite her; Pippa could see a partial reflection of herself, looking strange and unfamiliar in that dream dress. What was it about a bride that left a romantic glow?

      Mrs Lucas got busy with pins, tucking in her waist a fraction, clicking her tongue. ‘You’ve lost weight again! Another pound, I’d say.’

      ‘Sorry. I’m not dieting, honestly. I can’t think why I’m losing weight.’

      ‘Oh, it often happens to brides. Wedding nerves, rushing around, forgetting to eat; they always seem to lose weight. Don’t worry, I can cope.’

      Her mouth full of pins, she adjusted the set of the lacy bodice from which Pippa’s head rose so vividly, with that frame of bright chestnut hair lit by morning sunlight. Pippa watched her mirrored image with uneasy green eyes. Everything seemed surreal, unlikely—was that really her?

      And if she seemed strange to herself now, she was going to feel much stranger in a week, after her wedding.

      Looking at her watch with a groan, Mrs Lucas got up from her knees. ‘I must go; I’ve got so much to do today. I’ll just take the dress off, Pippa, before you get down. Next time you see it, it will fit you perfectly, I promise. You’re going to be a lovely bride.’

      The silk and lace softly, sibilantly, lifted over her head. Mrs Lucas inserted the dress back onto a hanger inside the plastic carrier in which she had brought it, and zipped up the carrier.

      ‘Have you got time for that coffee?’

      ‘Sorry, no, not really. See you soon.’

      She was gone a moment later. Pippa put her clothes back on and made herself black coffee, sat sipping it, trying to shake off her disturbed and uneasy mood.

      In a week’s time…just a week now…she would be Tom’s wife. She should be radiant, over the moon. A woman’s wedding day was supposed to be the happiest of her life—so why didn’t she feel happy?

      Maybe all brides felt this sense of doom, the fear, the sinking in the pit of the stomach close to nausea? Far from being happy, she had a strong feeling that she was about to make the worst mistake of her life.

      She must stop thinking like that! What was the matter with her? She was going to be happy. She wouldn’t let herself think negative thoughts.

      She went to bed early that evening and was up in good time to get to work. Tom was always there early, and expected her to be early too. Working in an insurance company wasn’t exactly thrilling, but the job paid well and the work was never complicated or difficult.

      Monday was always a calm day; the postbag was light and their workload was easy enough to deal with as they always tried to clear their desks by Friday afternoon, so she was able to go to lunch a little early that day, to give herself time to get to Bond Street, and then hopefully grab a snack before she went back to the office.

      She caught a bus, then walked anxiously, hurriedly, to the bridal shop, relieved to see that the pearl and rose coronet was still in the window. The assistant sat her in a chair in front of a mirror, brought a wedding veil and the coronet for her to try on.

      Pippa gazed at herself, smiling; it really was perfect, just what she wanted.

      ‘You look lovely,’ the assistant told her, and Pippa thought she looked pretty good, too.

      ‘It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for,’ she confessed. ‘I’ll take it.’

      Then the smile went and her eyes widened in horror as she saw a reflection of the street outside behind her shoulders.

      A man stood there, staring at her: tall, elegantly dressed, his black hair brushed and immaculate.

      In the mirror their eyes met. His were fixed and glittering, bright and hot as burning stars. Pippa stared into them, her stomach turning over, grew icy cold and fainted.