For the Night: Complete Box Set (65 page)

‘Ok?’ Lucas whispered, as he squeezed my hand. I
looked up at him and nodded, attempting a smile. I bit my lip as I heard the
door being unlocked.

‘Lucas, Summer, welcome and happy Christmas,’
beamed Mr. Steel. He had a kind face and Lucas’s sparkling grey eyes. He was
good looking, not as good looking as Lucas, but then again who was? I
definitely felt overdressed. He was in a pair of trousers with a shirt and
jumper.

‘Dad, it’s so good to see you.’ Lucas leaned in to
give him a one armed hug and pat on the back. ‘Obviously this is Summer.’

‘Hello, Mr Steel. It’s a pleasure to meet you and
thank you so much for inviting me,’ I smiled, as I let go of Lucas’s hand and
offered it to his father. He shook it firmly and leaned in and gave me a kiss
on the cheek.

‘Please, we don’t stand on ceremony here. It’s
Greg and my wife’s called Sarah. She’s just sorting the gravy, which she’s used
my best damn brandy for.
Every
bloody year. I’ve just given her a flea
in her ear about it. I swear I’m locking it up next Christmas. Come on in,
she’s dying to meet you. It’s the first time Lucas has brought a girlfriend
home with him.’

‘Really?’ I laughed, feeling more reassured by the
second.

‘Alright, enough with embarrassing me Dad, and if
Mum’s got out the photo albums to show Summer how scrawny I was as a teenager,
I’ll be driving us both straight back to London.’

‘No you won’t,’ I laughed. ‘These I
have
to
see. I had to go through it all when you met my parents, it’s only fair.’

I gazed around in awe as we were waved in and his
dad closed the heavy wooden door behind him. We were in, what could only be
described as, a baronial hall, with an imposing sweeping old staircase and
beams as large as trees running overhead, with slender ones latticed all over
the walls. I’d never seen a Christmas tree so tall, all decorated in silver and
gold. Mr. Steel, or Greg as he’d insisted I call him, gave me some of the
history of the house as we walked across the uneven huge flagstones on the
floor. Lucas put his arm around me, to steady me, as I walked carefully in my
heels and I smiled my thanks at him. Greg opened another old wooden arched door
and led us into a massive family kitchen. I was immediately hit by the
delicious smell of the turkey cooking and my stomach rumbled. It was past two
o’clock, and we’d said we’d be here for one-thirty. I took a quick look around
to see the room was painted cream between the sandblasted light beams. There
was a lovely red Aga, an oak free-standing kitchen, a cosy dining table, then a
well-worn leather sofa and armchairs either side of a large inglenook
fireplace, which was already being put to good use, pumping out heat which was
more than welcome given that my dress had no sleeves.

‘Sarah, they’re here,’ called Greg, to a slender
tall woman with long jet black hair, who had her back to us as she stirred
something at the modern range. She turned around smiling, as she wiped her
hands on her apron before pulling it over her head. I drew in a breath to see
how stunning she was. She had the brightest blue eyes and darkest lashes, which
probably had no need for any mascara unlike mine. I could see Lucas’s features
immediately, the straight nose, chiselled cheekbones, the cheekily curved
arches of their brows.

‘Summer, I’m
so
pleased to meet you.’ She
strode across and before I had a chance to offer my hand, she’d thrown her arms
around me, hugging me tightly. ‘It’s ridiculous but I feel like I know you
already, what with your photo being on magazines, reading interviews with you
and watching your television appearances. I honestly never thought my son would
settle down and you seem so lovely, I can’t wait to get to know you for real.’

‘Mum,’ sighed Lucas next to me.

‘Well you’re thirty now, you’re not getting any
younger.’ She pulled back and held my shoulders as she ran her eyes over me.
‘Gorgeous dress, darling. You must tell me who the designer is, I’d love to
look at their collection. O Lucas, for your first girlfriend, you’ve picked a
very classy and beautiful one.’

‘You’re embarrassing her, and me. At least let her
get a word in edgeways,’ he groaned.

‘I’m sorry, Summer. I’m just so excited to meet
you.’

‘You too, Sarah, I can’t tell you how honoured I
feel for you to let me be a part of your special day at such short notice.’

‘Nonsense,’ she smiled, flashing the most perfect
set of teeth I’d ever seen. ‘He hasn’t stopped talking about you for over two
years. I was furious he didn’t bring you home last Christmas, I was prepared to
twist his arm this year. Greg, why don’t you open the Champagne and seat
everyone, I’m ready to serve up.’

‘What can I do to help?’ I asked.

‘Nothing at all, it’s all done.’

‘Dad, did you remember the Cassis for Summer’s
Champagne? If not, I brought a bottle with me.’

‘I remembered,’ he smiled. ‘Let’s go and eat, I’m
starving, then we can open presents.’

I blushed as Lucas put his arm around me when we
retired to the family room, the two of us on the sofa and his parents in the
armchairs, as they reached for the presents under the smaller tree. They’d
shown me the formal lounge and had said Lucas had insisted I’d feel more at
home in here, he was right. After seeing their dining room, which was my idea
of a banqueting hall, I was already over awed at the sheer scale and grandeur
of the place. I wasn’t used to all this, but after an amazing lunch, when we’d all
chatted and got to know each other better, I was feeling more relaxed. Greg had
helped get our cases out of the car, and I’d extracted the Christmas gifts,
leaving one in there to give to Lucas later, in private. I was thankful I had
enough money now to buy decent presents, or I’d have felt very embarrassed. I’d
got his dad an expensive bottle of brandy, based on Lucas’s recommendation, the
very same one that Sarah had put in the delicious gravy. For her I’d purchased
a pure raw silk scarf that Lucas had said was on her wish list.

I’d found it hard to buy for him, he said he
didn’t want anything, that he had everything that he needed now that he had me.
He already owned a ridiculously expensive watch collection and had all of the
designer clothes and gadgets he needed, so I’d really had to rack my brains to
come up with something he may like. James, his chauffeur when he needed one,
had picked me up first one night, when Lucas and I were going out for dinner,
so I’d questioned him. I had no idea Lucas had a motorbike, so James suggested
I book him tickets to a race event, which I did and I also booked him a day on
a racing track too. He was thrilled, though looked more touched when I gave him
a wrapped key card to my front door, and a picture of the empty drawer and
space I’d made for him in my wardrobe. He also loved a pair of silver cufflinks
engraved with L on one and S on the other.

‘I thought they could be multi-purpose, for Lucas
Steel or for Lucas and Summer,’ I shrugged as I blushed. He grasped my face and
gave me a chaste kiss.

‘I vote Lucas and Summer,’ he whispered against my
lips, making my heart beat a little faster. ‘Open yours.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ I gasped, as I pulled out a
white gold lariat necklace, with tiny diamonds interspersed through the chain
and a solid puffed heart at each end. ‘Lucas, I
love
it!’ He beamed as I
immediately put it on. My jewellery box was severely lacking. I’d never had
enough money to buy any and with the money I’d earned recently, setting up my
parents with their new home was my priority, then buying my apartment. He’d
also purchased me some white gold diamond stud earrings and tickets to go to
see the show
Dirty Dancing
in the West End with my best friends Mandy
and Jayne, which included dinner and champagne at a top hotel too. My absolute
favourite present though, without a doubt, was a framed picture of the two of
us on the red carpet together, the night he’d come to claim me. I forgot all
about his parents as I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him, making him
laugh.

‘I have another private present for you for
later,’ he said quietly in my ear, in a tone that dripped sex and sent a
pleasurable shiver down my spine.

‘Me too,’ I whispered back with a giggle. My fears
of having sex in his parents’ house had vanished the moment we got here and I
saw the size of the place. I’d been shown to Lucas’s old bedroom, which had
been turned into another guest room, so I could freshen up after dinner. We
were so far away from his parents, we virtually needed a Segway. I could scream
all I liked and I doubted they’d hear me.

‘I vote an early night,’ he added, with a familiar
twinkle in his eyes, as his parents were distracted unwrapping their gifts from
him. I just smiled back and squeezed his hand. I was having withdrawals, we
were constantly aroused around each other, insatiable, and we hadn’t been this
long without sex since we got together last month. We were virtually living
between the two apartments and had only had a couple of nights apart, even then
he’d insisted on nooners in my new trailer at the Studios, to keep us both
going.

His parents had got me a crate of French Cassis,
knowing I loved it with my champagne, or white wine, and a couple of crates of
genuine Champagne for Lucas. We stayed by the fire exchanging stories until it
was time for some cold cuts, cheese and biscuits and a glass of belly warming
port. I went to get changed into something more comfortable to snuggle in, to
watch a film. Thank God it wasn’t one of mine, I hadn’t dared ask if they’d
seen it. Watching his parents seeing me having sex on screen definitely wasn’t
the sort of impression I wanted to leave them with. When it was over I went to
help Sarah clean up, as Greg and Lucas argued about the football league.

‘Thank you so much for agreeing to see him,
Summer,’ she smiled, as she put her arm around me and gave me a gentle squeeze.

‘Why wouldn’t I?’ I smiled back. ‘He’s an amazing
man.’

‘I know what he used to do,’ she said quietly and
I whipped my head up to look at her in shock. Was she fishing, or did she
really know? ‘Well from the look of horror on your face he’s at least been
honest with you. I really hoped he would have been.’

‘I’m not sure I know what you mean,’ I replied,
trying to stall in case.

‘I think you do, I saw the panic flicker on your
face then. His history doesn’t bother you?’

‘I’m more bothered about his present and our
future. Why should his past bother me?’ I asked, still not convinced.

‘A friend of mine sent him a booking request,’ she
said, as she held eye contact with me and despite trying not to let that affect
me, I couldn’t help the mortification showing on my face.
Lucas had slept
with one of his mother’s friends?
And Sarah knew! I just wanted the ground
to swallow me whole. ‘Don’t worry, as soon as she saw his photograph and
realised who he was she backed off. She’s known him since he was a baby. I knew
he’d have been honest with you the minute he asked to bring you here. He’s
always been so honest, there’s no way he’d have wanted a serious relationship
with someone, when the risk of his past could jeopardise that if it came out.’

‘How long have you known?’ I asked, as I relaxed a
little, though I did wonder if I hadn’t been aware of his history whether Sarah
would have told me.

‘A little over three years. It’s good of you to
have covered for him, trying to protect him. He doesn’t know that I know, I
didn’t want to embarrass him. His father knows too, I swore him to secrecy.
We’re not exactly thrilled that’s how he chose to earn his money, I was
convinced he’d never quit and settle down, but then you breezed into his world
and turned it upside down. There’s not many women who’d take him on with that
past. I had the shock of my life when Lucinda told me. He’s so intelligent, he
could have done anything he set his mind to, why he chose this I just …’ She
shook her head and her eyes filled with tears.

‘Please don’t judge him. He was having a really
hard time when he lost his construction management job and was too proud to ask
you for help.’

‘So he turned to
sex
?’ She took a choked
breath, then reached for a glass of water.

‘It’s not how you imagine, I’m sure. There was
nothing seedy about it. He created magical evenings making sure women got
exactly the fantasy they’d dreamed of, catering for their every need from the
moment the night started, to when he left in the morning. He’s so respectful of
women and their wants and desires. If you judge him then you must judge me as
well, because that’s how we met,’ I added, hating that his mother thought ill
of him. She snapped her head up, the surprise written all over her face. ‘I was
nearly raped as a teenager and it terrified me to let anyone touch me after
that. I’d heard horror stories from my girlfriends of their first experiences
with naïve or boisterous men, so at the age of twenty-two I booked Lucas to
take my virginity. He made me feel so safe and secure, he taught me that it
wasn’t something to be feared, that it could be beautiful. It was a night I’ll
never forget, Sarah. He helped heal me, and not just me. He’s done it with so
many of his clients. Helping them move on from breakups and bad relationships,
tracking down friends of theirs for them, reuniting old lovers that had never
truly moved on.’ I felt a tear roll down my face at the thought that his mother
thought less of him.

‘I’m so sorry to hear what happened to you,
Summer,’ she sighed, as she reached out and squeezed my shoulder gently. I
smiled and wiped my face. ‘He was really like that with you? With them?’ She
asked quietly. I nodded and she covered her face as she blew out a sigh of
relief. ‘I had visions of seedy sex in back alleys and toilets, taking
advantage of vulnerable women and I hated that he’d been doing that.’