‘See you later.’ David had recovered enough from the reminder of his recent loss to smile at her.
‘Of course,’ Molly said gently, not even sparing Gideon Webber a second glance before walking away to join her parents as they stood together across the room.
Damn the man. Damn. Damn. Damn!
Today’s christening should have been a wonderful family occasion, full of warmth and love, with all of them doting on Peter James. Instead, because of Gideon Webber’s presence, it had become something of a nightmare for Molly. But it was a nightmare she intended putting an end to at the earliest opportunity.
‘You!’ Molly gasped her dismay the following morning as she entered the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee and found herself confronted by Gideon Webber, obviously doing exactly the same thing.
She had managed to excuse herself from the christening party the day before as soon as her parents had left, her claim of a headache completely genuine by that time.
She had certainly had no idea that Gideon Webber had spent the night here, too.
‘Me,’ he confirmed, his smile taunting her obvious displeasure at finding him here. ‘Coffee?’ He held up the coffee-pot in his hand.
A brandy would have been preferable after the shock she had just received. But that would only confirm for this man that she was some sort of dipsomaniac!
‘Thank you,’ Molly managed to squeak, through a throat that suddenly seemed extremely dry and lips that had gone numb.
What was he still doing here? she wondered wildly.
Unusually for December, the sun was actually shining, and the birds had been singing, too, as Molly made her way lightly down the stairs, filling her with pleasurable anticipation for the day ahead.
Anticipation that had just taken a definite nosedive!
‘Here—drink some of this.’ Gideon pushed a mug of steaming coffee into her unresisting hand. ‘Headache still bad?’ he prompted mockingly.
He was the headache! And, yes, it was bad—a terrible pounding had started behind her eyes and it hadn’t been there seconds ago.
‘I wasn’t sure whether or not you took sugar,’ he drawled as she sat down to take a much-needed swallow of the coffee—and almost choked on it. Not only was it unsweetened, it was also strong enough to strip the enamel from her teeth.
‘It’s fine,’ she managed to gasp, her eyes watering from the resounding slap Gideon had given her on her back. The thin green jumper she wore with denims was no barrier against the force of that hand.
Why hadn’t he just asked her how she liked her coffee? Or would that have been too easy?
Probably, Molly instantly answered herself irritably. It might also have deprived him of the pleasure of hitting her as well as choking her.
Okay, so he had stayed the night, for whatever reason. She accepted that, but that didn’t answer the question: what was he still doing here?
‘Crys and Sam have taken the baby and Merlin for a walk on the moors,’ he supplied economically, before sitting down in the chair opposite hers across the kitchen table.
As she had been rather late coming down it didn’t in the least surprise her that her stepbrother and Crys had already gone out for their usual morning walk with the dog. What she did find unsettling was the fact that she was left alone here for some time with a man who obviously despised her.
‘Don’t let me keep you from anything,’ she invited stiffly as Gideon still sat across from her, calmly drinking his own strong coffee.
He raised mocking brows. ‘What did you have in mind?’
She shrugged. ‘Having your breakfast? Packing?’ Leaving!
The sooner he made his departure, the sooner she could get on with relaxing—something she certainly couldn’t do around this man, either physically or mentally. Every remark he made to her, it seemed, had some sort of double meaning.
‘I don’t fancy breakfast,’ he answered her evenly. ‘But you go ahead.’
‘I’ll pass, thanks.’ She didn’t fancy breakfast, either.
But what about his packing? He was dressed casually today, in fitted black denims and a deep blue tee shirt, which meant he had his suit from yesterday to pack, at least…
‘It was a pity you left the party so early yesterday evening,’ Gideon drawled lightly.
Surely he hadn’t missed having her there? Or was it just that he hadn’t had anyone to sharpen his rapier tongue on once she had gone upstairs to bed? That was probably nearer the truth.
‘David had us all in hysterics with some of his more risqué stories of the acting profession,’ Gideon enlightened her dryly.
She would just bet that he had. In her experience, there was always more action going on behind the scenes than in front of the camera. Although, thankfully, she had never worked with David before, so none of those stories could have been about her.
She gave a grimace of a smile. ‘I’m sure we all have some of those we could relate.’
‘Even you?’
Why had that sounded like especially you? Or was she just ultra-sensitive where this man was concerned? In the circumstances, was that so surprising?
She moistened dry lips. The strong coffee might have woken her up, but it had done very little to quench her morning thirst. ‘Gideon, I think the two of us need to talk—’
‘Morning, you two,’ David greeted them heartily as he breezed into the kitchen, also dressed casually in denims and a tee shirt, his feet bare of socks and shoes, his dark hair still ruffled from sleep.
Molly stared up at him in stunned surprise; had David spent the night here, too? Obviously. It seemed she had missed more than risqué stories by going to bed early the evening before.
‘I don’t know whether it’s the bracing Yorkshire air or the champagne I drank yesterday,’ David said lightly as he moved to pour himself a mug of coffee, sipping at the strong brew with obvious enjoyment, ‘but I slept better last night than I have for months,’ he went on with satisfaction as he sat down at the table to join them. ‘So, where’s our godson this morning?’ he prompted interestedly.
Their godson… For the first time Molly realised that the three of them were forever linked by this connection to Peter James. That wasn’t so bad when it came to David, but Gideon Webber was another prospect altogether!
‘Out for a walk with his parents and Merlin.’ Gideon was the one to answer the other man. ‘You’ll have to excuse Molly, David; I don’t think she’s a morning person,’ he told the other man dryly, before turning to look at her mockingly.
She wasn’t at her best this morning, no, having so far received one surprise after another, but ordinarily she woke bright and ready for the new day.
Although somehow she didn’t think Gideon was necessarily referring to this morning…
Her gaze narrowed as she glared at him. ‘I’m not used to company in the morning,’ she bit out tersely.
‘Really?’ He raised sceptical brows.
He did mean something else.
This man had judged and sentenced her on the evidence of that one morning just over three years ago—just one morning, when… When what?
When she had been tousle-haired and heavy-eyed from lack of sleep. When she had obviously been suffering from the effect of too much wine. When he had seen her dressed only in another man’s shirt…
Yes, but…
Yes,