Читать книгу When Love Is True - Joan Kilby - Страница 8

Evan presented her with a dozen red roses wrapped in gold paper and gave her his trademark brilliant smile. “Is that any way to greet your long-lost love?”

She cradled the blooming flowers in the crook of her arm. Primly, she said, “You’re not my love now.”

He laughed and kissed her quickly on the mouth. A whiff of his aftershave, leather and sandalwood, caught her unaware and transported her back to the past. To a brief but intense history of tumbled beds and Sunday brunch in fine hotels, to violin concertos and kisses in the rain.

Flustered, she backed away. “I’d better put these in water.” Seeing Evan sling his canvas-and-leather satchel down inside the door, she added in alarm, “You can’t stay here.”

“I know that.” His lighthearted Aussie drawl always made it sound to Chloe as if he were on the verge of laughter. “Your lumberjack would chop me up for kindling.”

“Don’t call him that,” Chloe said. “Daniel’s a good man.”

Her heart beating rapidly, she walked briskly back to the kitchen. She could feel Evan’s gaze on her bare legs and his powerful presence in her house. Daniel’s house. Dropping the bouquet in the sink, she faced him. “Didn’t you get my last letter?”

Evan’s light blue eyes burned into hers. “The one where you told me not to write anymore?” A sound from the high chair made him glance past her shoulder. His deeply tanned skin paled. “Is this your daughter?”

“Brianna.” Chloe found a tall, square vase in the cupboard and filled it with water. “She’s—”

“Fourteen months old last week,” Evan said. Chloe stepped aside and he walked toward the little girl who was smearing strawberry yogurt around her tray. “G’day, Brianna,” he said softly. “How’s it going?”

Brianna lifted a round trusting face and displayed her yogurt-covered fingers for his inspection. Evan studied her intently, then turned to Chloe. “She looks just like you.” He paused. “I can’t see anything of me or Daniel in her.”

Chloe busied herself arranging the roses. “Naturally, she’s like Daniel.”

“So you’ve had a DNA test?”

He sounded disappointed. Did he really wish Brianna was his? Fear clutched at Chloe. What if he contested the issue of paternity and sued for custody? Daniel would be devastated and Brianna would be traumatized. “Y-yes, yes, we have,” she faltered, not looking at him. “She’s definitely Daniel’s child.”

Evan tipped up her chin and searched her face. “Liar.”

Chloe blushed and pulled away. “All right, we haven’t, but this is her home and Daniel is her father.”

“Do you really imagine I’d try to take her away from a stable, secure family?” Evan shook his head. “What would I do with a toddler, anyway? A refugee camp is no place for a child. At least not for fortunate kids like Brianna who have a home.”

“Have you finished your stint in Sudan?” Chloe rinsed a cloth in warm water and wiped Brianna’s hands. Relief flooded through her. He wasn’t going to upset the fragile balance she’d finally achieved in her life, in her marriage. Anyway, she wouldn’t let him. “I thought you were there for two years.”

“They let me off a month early for good behavior.” Chloe’s eyebrows rose and he admitted the truth. “I got a recurrence of malaria, a bad bout. I went to Paris to recuperate but the City of Lights isn’t much fun when you’re sick and on your own. So then I decided to head home, stopping on my way to visit my brother in Victoria.”

“How is Jack?” she said.

“I haven’t seen him yet. I came here straight from the airport.” Evan moved closer and stroked his knuckles lightly down her arm. “Did you really not want my letters? Or did the lumberjack force you to put me off?”

“Don’t call him that!” Chloe shivered at Evan’s touch. Unsettled, she slipped sideways out of his reach. “Daniel doesn’t even know about our correspondence. I made the decision to stop writing myself. In fact, I burned all your letters the day we moved here.”

He winced. “That was cruel.”

“You know we can’t continue to have a relationship.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, anchoring her fingers in the waistband of her skirt. “How did you find me at this address?”

“Your husband runs a business out of his house and he’s listed in the Yellow Pages. It didn’t require Sherlock Holmes to track you down.” He glanced around at the warm maple cabinets and the granite countertop. “It’s nice. Daniel’s a good builder, I’ll give him that.”

“I was just going to have some lunch,” she said, softening her tone a little. She went to the cupboard and took out a can of tuna. “Will you join me?”

“Yes, but put away the canned fish.” He brought his satchel into the kitchen and proceeded to pull out a portable feast. “Remember how we used to talk about going to Paris?” he asked Chloe, placing a luscious circle of brie and shrink-wrapped pâté on the counter. “Since we didn’t get there together, I’m bringing Paris to you. Pain de campagne,” he went on, handing her a heavy round loaf. “Olives. Italian, not French, but still…Dried muscatel grapes and—” with a flourish he produced a foil-capped bottle “—real Champagne.”

Chloe burst into delighted laughter. “Evan, you are the limit! But this is just what I needed today.” She got Brianna out of her high chair and set her on the floor with some toys. Then she cleared the newspapers and flyers off the dining table. She started to bring out the everyday plates, then changed her mind and got a stool to reach into the top cupboard for the set of good china her grandmother had given her as a wedding present. Real champagne all the way from France deserved crystal flutes.

“Do you have an ice bucket for the wine?” Evan asked.

“I have a plastic bucket in the laundry room.”

For some reason this struck them both as hilarious. Suddenly a party atmosphere had taken over, as they unwrapped the food and poured the wine together. Conversation and laughter bubbled along with the champagne. Chloe ate ravenously and drank with abandon, as if this might be her last meal. She hadn’t felt so alive in months. Maybe not since Evan left, a tiny voice whispered. She brushed the thought aside and let him refill her champagne glass. His tales of adventure ranged from Sudan to Istanbul to the glittering restaurants and theaters of Paris.

Chloe took in his chiseled features and golden hair. His thin V-necked cashmere sweater looked sophisticated and sexy over designer blue jeans. She watched his long fingers restlessly toy with the cutlery. Fingers that had brought her unparalleled pleasure had also saved lives and comforted the sick.

“What was it like in the refugee camp?” she asked. “It must have been awful.”

Shadows filled his eyes, hinting at never-to-be-forgotten scenes of horror. “It’s like nothing you can imagine. Hell on earth. Patients arrive in a continuous stream, and the suffering is beyond imagining—limbs hacked off, women raped almost to the point of death, mutilated children, disease, starvation…We do what we can, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, but there’s no respite.

“Horrible as that is, I could cope with it. But it’s what I couldn’t do that tormented me, the hundreds of people I had to turn away because the clinic simply didn’t have the resources to treat them all.” He tilted his glass to his lips, but he’d already drained it dry. “Have you got anything else to drink?”

“I’ll go see.” Chloe got up, staggered a little and laughed. “I’m not used to drinking in the afternoon.” She wagged her finger at him. “You’re a bad influence.”

“Good,” he replied with a wicked grin. “You look as though you could use shaking up.”

“I do not!” she said hotly. “I have a great life. A wonderful husband and a beautiful child.”

Suddenly remembering Brianna, she glanced around the room in a panic. Her heart flooded with relief. The baby was playing quietly with her activity center. Feeling her mother’s gaze on her, Brianna looked over and raised her arms to be picked up.

“There you are, pumpkin,” Chloe cooed, gathering her into her arms. “You’re being such a good girl.”

“Unlike her mother?” Evan drawled.

Chloe ignored that and went to the fridge with Brianna still in her arms. “There’s some Chateau Cardboard,” she said, eyeing a box of white wine wedged between the milk and the orange juice.

“Oh, my, you have come down in the world,” Evan teased. “I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

Chloe felt her cheeks flush. “Or there’s Glenlivet.”

“That sounds better,” Evan said. “A couple fingers of scotch ought to cure what ails me.”

Chloe got down the bottle of expensive whiskey with a feeling of misgiving. This was Daniel’s one luxury: he allowed himself a single drink before dinner on the weekends. Still, she couldn’t let Evan think her marriage had dragged her down—although by comparison to his life her surroundings must seem boring and hopelessly provincial.

She tried to put Brianna back on the floor but the little girl cried, so Chloe put her in her high chair and cut her a hunk of the chewy country bread that Evan had brought. “That’ll give your gums a workout.”

Leaving Brianna to eat, Chloe poured Evan a drink. He got up from the table and came into the kitchen, where she handed it to him.

“Come on, you have to join me.” He grinned. “Might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.”

She hesitated for a moment, then with an answering grin and a shrug she sloshed a small amount into another glass. She was just drunk enough not to worry about consequences.

Evan sipped his scotch, leaning against the counter and gazing down at her with an indulgent smile. “How have things been with you? Made lots of friends in this neck of the woods?”

“We don’t have many neighbors yet. The lots haven’t all sold and only one other house has been built so far—that of the man we bought the land from. His wife works, and anyway we don’t have much in common. A fisherman lives down the road, but when he’s not out on his boat he’s in the pub.”

“But you could drive into the city. Visit your old friends?”

“We don’t have a second car,” she explained, adding defensively, “but we will, soon. I’m going to be teaching ballet. I’ve printed up and distributed leaflets.” She stopped herself with a small sigh. “Nothing will happen until school starts in September.”

“A whole month away.” Evan watched her carefully. “Your lumber…Sorry, your husband must be quite something to keep you satisfied out here in the sticks.”

She shrugged unhappily. “He works long hours during the summer, traveling up island and even across to Saltspring Island.”

“Leaving the missus all alone and lonely,” Evan said softly.

“I’m not…” she started, then broke off. She was lonely. But that wasn’t Daniel’s fault. “He has to take every job he can get. Come winter, work will be scarce.” The champagne and the whiskey were making Chloe confused. Did she resent Daniel for having to defend him or Evan for making her see how dull her life was? Daniel had built her this house, but then he’d left her imprisoned like a princess waiting to be rescued.

“Where is he now?” Evan reached out to tuck a tendril of her hair behind Chloe’s ear. “Will he be home soon?”

“He’s in Duncan. He won’t be home for hours.” Chloe held her breath. At the end of the U-shaped kitchen, she didn’t have much room to maneuver. Evan was so close, just a touch away, and so tempting. Gazing into his sky blue eyes, she could easily imagine that she was still in love with him and he with her.

“I’ve missed you, Chloe,” he murmured. “Missed your smile, your touch.” He bent his head, his lips inches from hers. “I’ve been lonely, too.”

Chloe started to strain toward him, then suddenly stopped herself. This was crazy. Her heart beat fast as she backed away, only to find herself hard against the counter. “You’ve been gone two years. You must have had other women.”

“In the camp we were four to a room, with a few fitful hours of sleep a night. Not exactly a romantic setting.”

“In Paris, then.” He was too handsome not to attract women. And what man could resist being pursued?

Right now he was doing the pursuing, edging closer until his hips brushed hers and his hands skimmed her arms.

“Ah, French women—they’re charming and chic.” He captured her hand and kissed the palm. “But we have a connection, Chloe. Our minds work the same way. Our hearts beat as a single unit.” He placed his hand below her left breast. “I can feel your heart beating now, like a small wild bird.”

Chloe licked her parted lips, helpless as that wild bird to stop what was going to happen next. Nor did she want to—she craved Evan’s kiss with a kind of madness. It was all she could think of; the need to feel his mouth on hers, his hands on her body.

She slid her arms around his neck and drew him to her, hungrily tasting his lips, his tongue. So familiar, yet so exotic—a postcard of paradise, remembered and yearned after, finally within reach. The kiss went on and on, erasing her will and replacing it with feverish need. Dimly she heard a clattering, metal on tile, and couldn’t make sense of the sound.

Yet a hole had been torn in the silken sensuality that Evan had wrapped her in. Thoughts of Daniel broke through, flooding her with guilt and regret. What was she doing?

She broke apart and pushed Evan away. “Stop! I can’t do this.”

Afterward, Chloe couldn’t have said what made her glance over at Brianna in her high chair. A mother’s instinct? Guilt, that her daughter should witness her mother betraying her father?

Except that when she did look, Brianna’s eyes were glazed, her face was blue and her mouth wide open in some awful parody of laughter. While Chloe had been kissing Evan, Brianna had been choking on a piece of bread.

Chloe screamed.

Evan reacted instantly, his training overriding his aroused state to thrust Chloe aside and reach for Brianna. He dragged the baby from her high chair and scooped his finger into her mouth. Then turning her over with one hand under her solar plexus, he gave her a sharp rap between the shoulder blades. Nothing happened. “Call 911.”

While Chloe grabbed for the wall phone, he repeated the thump between Brianna’s shoulders, his mind leapfrogging ahead to the possibility of a tracheotomy. Pray God it wouldn’t come to that. He repeated the maneuver a third time, and a chunk of half-eaten bread came shooting out of Brianna’s mouth.

Instead of reviving, however, she lay limp and unresponsive in his arms. He lay her on the counter and loosened her clothes. A finger at her neck found a thin, erratic pulse, but her color was still cyanotic. How long had she been without oxygen while he and Chloe had kissed? Guilt played no part in his calculations; becoming emotional would only impair his ability to treat the child.

He bent to cover Brianna’s mouth and nose with his own mouth and breathed lightly. Counting, one, two, three. Again, one, two, three. And again. Come on, darlin’. Yet even as he calmly proceeded to work at resuscitating her, his thoughts ran wild on a parallel track. Brianna could be his daughter. Why had he thrown away his chance with Chloe? If Brianna lived, he would change; he’d settle down. He would—

Brianna coughed. Her small lungs heaved and shuddered. Her skin began to turn pink. Evan’s vision blurred. Thank God. Thank God.

Gathering up the child, he held her to his chest for a moment, feeling her heart race as she hiccuped and sobbed, then let loose a huge wail that had Chloe reaching for her, clutching her and swaying as she tried to soothe her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.” She glanced at Evan. “Should I cancel the ambulance?”

“Yes, but we’ll still take her to the hospital.”

“Why?” Chloe asked. “She’s breathing. She’s fine.”

“We don’t know how long she was choking, and even after the obstruction was removed she was unresponsive.” Evan held a finger in front of Brianna’s eyes and slowly moved it from side to side. She followed in one direction, then stopped watching. “You need to have her assessed.”

“Do you mean for brain damage?” Chloe asked, horrified.

He could see her thoughts. A moment’s indiscretion might mean a lifetime handicap for Chloe’s daughter. “It takes six minutes before oxygen deprivation causes brain damage. I think she’s fine, but we need to make certain. Let’s go. The sooner, the better.”

“Neither of us can drive. We’ve been drinking,” Chloe said, shame twisting her features.

“It takes a lot more than that to make me drunk these days,” Evan said dryly. Alcohol had become something of a problem for him; one he was doing his best to ignore.

“I can’t leave this mess. Daniel will know you were here.” She looked around at the bottles and glasses, the dirty plates and scraps of food—evidence of an afternoon of debauchery. Her shoulders sagged. “I’ll have to tell him, anyway. Especially if Brianna is…” Her eyes welled with tears and she shook her head. “Oh, God.”

“Listen to me.” Evan took her by the shoulders. “Brianna choked on a piece of bread, when you weren’t looking. No one watches a fourteen-month-old baby constantly. It could have happened anytime—while you were stirring a pot on the stove or while you were making a sandwich.”

“But it didn’t! It happened when we were—”

He gave her a little shake. “Chloe, I’m telling you this for your sake. For Daniel’s sake. You do not have to tell him you were kissing me. Understand? It would only make things worse.”

Part of him wondered why he was giving her this advice. If Daniel divorced Chloe, he could have her. He’d come here not just to see his brother but also to see her. To find out if he was still attracted, if he was in love, how much he wanted her. A lot, obviously. But was it enough to disrupt all their lives? Enough to marry her? He thought he’d settled the matter once, and then he’d found he couldn’t stay away. He still wasn’t ready to give up his freedom, but what he hadn’t counted on was his gut reaction to Brianna. If she was his daughter, how could he just leave without fighting for her?

He got Chloe and Brianna into his rental car and headed out on the narrow coastal road leading into the city. Chloe called Daniel on her cell phone, her fingers pleating the fabric of her skirt.

“Brianna’s fine, I’m sure she’s fine,” Chloe kept saying. “We’re just getting her checked…” She broke off, eyes scrunching shut as she realized what she’d let slip. After a pause, she added, “Evan. He’s in town to see his brother.” There was a longer pause. “He saved her. Okay, I’ll see you there. Hurry.” She hung up and turned to Evan. “You’ll stay, won’t you, until Daniel gets there?”

“Of course,” Evan said, gripping the steering wheel. Despite the way Chloe had responded to his kiss, she seemed to feel something more than loyalty to her husband. Could she actually love the man? Would she still feel that way if he proved not to be Brianna’s father? Would she stay with Daniel if Evan asked her to leave with him?