He's Captured My Heart (Captured Series Book 1) (31 page)

I am so relieved to hear that. I had originally planned to go to today’s hearing with him to provide some moral support, but instead, here I am staring at my gruesome reflection in my bathroom mirror. I look worse now than I did last night. How the hell is that possible? What’s the saying? It will get worse before it gets better?

My phone chirps with another text:

Alex: On my way back. My parents are at the hotel xoxo

Libby: Yes I know Kieran told me earlier x

Alex: You better not be working!

Libby: Been in my room all day and now I am BORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alex: If you are up for some fresh air maybe we could go for a walk later

Libby: Sounds perfect. Thank you x

Alex: See you soon xoxo

I decide to call the estate agents. I hope there’s someone still in the office. I
did
tell them I would let them know my decision today.

“Eric, hi. It’s Libby Stewart.

“Libby! I didn’t expect to hear from you today after everything. You’ve just caught me.” Well, he obviously reads the papers. “How are you?”

“I’m all right, considering. I look worse than I feel.”

“As long as you’re resting and not working too hard. That’s quite an ordeal you went through.” He pauses before asking, “So, Libby, what can I do for you?”

“Well, Eric, you can start by telling me you haven’t sold the flat.”

“No, Libby. I said we wouldn’t put it on the market until I heard back from you.”

“Well, don’t put it on the market. I will instruct my lawyer to make a formal offer tomorrow,” I say. Eric shrieks down the phone.

“Oh, Libby, that’s wonderful! The current owner will be thrilled. They were looking for a quick sale,” he tells me. We spend another few minutes talking before ending the call. I feel as if I’ve made the right decision. A new start. I make a very quick call to my lawyer giving him instructions for the offer and
tell him I want the missives concluded as quickly as humanly possible.

There’s a knock on my room door. I consider not answering, but I’m a nosey so-and-so. I get up from the dressing table and leave my bedroom, calling out that I will just be a minute. I open the door to a stunning woman who is maybe in her late forties or early fifties. Sophisticated. The minute I look into her eyes, I know exactly who she is. I would know those beautiful, brown eyes anywhere.

Alex’s mother.

“Mrs. Mathews,” I say, offering her my hand. She steps in the door and embraces me instead.

“Elizabeth! How are you, dear? And please, call me Sarah.”

“Come in, please,” I say, gesturing towards the couch. I wasn’t ready for this.
God, where is Alex? He should be here
.

“Sorry to drop by unannounced. Richard said I shouldn’t, that I should wait until Alex was back, but I couldn’t wait another moment. I just couldn’t sit another minute knowing you were here alone after what you went through. I had to come and see how you were for myself.”

“It’s fine. Can I get you anything to drink?” I ask her.

“No, I’m fine. I should be asking you if
you
need anything.”

“I have had an endless supply of visitors today. If I drink any more water or cups of tea, I think I’ll burst.”

She laughs genuinely. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I should have thought—you’re probably wishing for some peace and quiet. I should let you rest,” she says, standing up.

“Don’t be silly. Stay. Alex will be back shortly. I am sure he wants to see you, and you obviously want to see him,” I reply with a smile.

She sits back down. At my mention of her son’s name, she smiles. A mother’s love and admiration. I can’t believe I am sitting here looking so bad. It’s not just my face that looks a mess. I’m also just wearing shorts and a vest top.

“As long as you’re sure. I don’t want to put you out. You must be tired.”

“Can I be honest with you, Sarah? I am not that tired just now, but I am fed up with being stuck in this room. I don’t know what my father will say, but I have got to go back to working tomorrow,” I say.

“What do you mean? Never mind what your father will say. I have something to say on that matter myself,” Alex says, closing the door. “Evening, Mom. Did you have a good flight?” He leans down and gives his mother a kiss on her check. Her eyes light up.

He walks over to me, sits down on the arm of the couch, and drapes his arms round me lightly, giving
me a kiss on my forehead. His mother watches us closely.

“Yes, Alex, we had a good flight.”

“So, Libby…work? Really?” he asks in a flat voice. “It’s too soon to go back. You have to give yourself time to recover.” Sarah nods in agreement. “And anyway, you’d frighten the guests away.” He’s grinning, trying to lift my mood, which he obviously senses.

“Hey, you,” I say, as I playfully slap his arm.
Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have done that with his mother sitting there. First impressions and all that
. She’s watching us with a look of amusement.

“Babe, are you hungry? You okay eating here? Or would you like to go out,” Alex asks.

“I am a bit peckish. What about you, Sarah?” I turn to his mother, much to Alex’s surprise. “You and Richard are more than welcome to join us here. I don’t feel up to going anywhere in public just yet. No, let me rephrase that: I don’t feel up to getting dressed for dinner.”

“Are you sure, Libby?” Sarah asks in a warm voice.

“Yes, of course I’m sure. Why don’t you call Richard and ask him?”

Alex gives me another kiss. Sarah calls Richard. While she’s on the phone, I head into the bedroom. I won’t dress up, but I will get dressed, and I could stand something warmer to wear. As I rummage through the wardrobe, I feel Alex enter the room. I pull out leggings and a jumper. I keep my back to
him and remove my shorts before pulling on the leggings.

“I love that ass.”

“Alex, watch your mouth,” I say, scowling.

“You didn’t have to do that. I didn’t expect you to entertain my parents this evening. Are you sure you’re up to this?” he asks.

“Yes, I’m fine. Although I would prefer it if I looked better.”

“Oh, baby, you look beautiful. A few bruises can’t change that.” He wraps his arms round my waist and turns me round to face him. The look in his eyes is only of concern, but I want the longing and passion back in his eyes. “Libby, don’t look at me like that.”

“Alex, I want you to kiss me.”

“Libby, I want to, I do…but I am scared that I might hurt you,” he whispers in my ear. His breath against my neck sets off my desire for him. I stand on my tiptoes. He seems edgy. He must know what I’m going to do, but he’s not stopping me. My lips meet his in a long, slow kiss. It takes him a few moments for him to respond, but when he finally does, the pain on my lips is worth it.

He pulls back slowly.

“Are you okay? That wasn’t too sore?”

“I’m tougher than I look, you know,” I say with a wink. “Now go talk to your parents. Order up some food and wine and some more bottled water for me.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Just something light,” I say, chasing him from the room. I need a few minutes before going back to his parents. “By the way, I called the estate agents earlier. I’m putting an offer in on the flat.”

“That’s great news! I know how much you love it.” His smile is warm and encouraging.

“I do love it. I still think it’s too big for me alone, so I’m still thinking about taking Kirsty on as a flatmate.”

The evening as a whole is going well. His parents are easy to get on with—they remind me of my own—and it’s obvious that Alex has the same closeness with his parents as I have with mine. They are extremely proud of his achievements. The evidence is there in front of me.

Sarah takes great delight in telling a few old stories about Alex’s childhood, much to his displeasure. I learn he was a bit of a handful compared to her other two children, and looking at him now, why does that not surprise me? Even from a very early age, Alex and Michael were the very best of friends. They shared tears, tantrums, and even girlfriends over the years. The last bit, of course, I am well aware of.

Both boys went all through school together and then on to the same university. Alex worked extremely hard to get a degree in business finance and Michael in economics. Sarah says Michael is like her third son; she loves him just as much as her own
children. But like her own, he was always managing to get into bother with her as well.

She tells me about a time when they were both about fifteen and had come home late and so drunk that they could barely string two words together between them. She had wanted to kill them both, but instead Richard pulled a few strings, and both boys found themselves waking up in police cells the next morning. They never, and still haven’t, returned to her house drunk. I laugh at that.

I catch Alex from the corner of my eye shaking his head at his mother and mouthing,
No more
.

She goes on to tell me Alex was always very independent and always looking for a challenge, something he could, as she says, “sink his teeth into.”

The evening was going along great.

“So, Alex. Will you still be attending Katherine’s premiere on Wednesday?” Sarah’s tone changes from the warmth that was in her voice speaking about Alex to being flat with the question.

“I really haven’t thought about it, what with everything that’s happened these past few days.” His arm grips me tighter as we sit together on the couch. “We were all planning to go together—Libby, me, Libby’s parents, Michael, and, I think, Libby’s friend Kirsty.”

“Alex! I can’t face the media looking like this! It’s been bad enough the last few days. You might be used to publicity, but I’m not.” Imagine this face
amongst all those stunning models and actresses! I also couldn’t cope with all the questions.

“Well then, Mom. There’s your answer. That should make you happy. We’re not going,” he says sharply.

“Alex,” I say, facing him. “I said
I
wasn’t going. That doesn’t mean
you
can’t go.”

“Libby—”

I cut him off. He was going before we started seeing each other, and although I still wonder if there wasn’t
something
going on between them, I do know they he considers her a good friend. I can’t stand between him and his old friends. “Alex, you’ve planned to go from the start. She’s expecting you. Why should that change?”

“Because you need me here,” he says. “I’ll call your dad. He’s brought forward next week’s meetings in London to Thursday, seeing as I was down there anyway. I’ll see if he can change it back.”

“I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, you know. If your meetings are all set, why change them now? I know my parents are still going. Why don’t you take your parents?” Sarah chokes on her wine. “Are you all right?”

“There is no way—no damn way on earth—that
I
will be going.” Sarah sounds angry. I wonder what the history is behind her obvious hostility.

“Sarah, enough,” Richard says.

“Sorry, but you both know how I feel about her. I’ve never hidden the fact.”

Alex shakes his head at his mother and mouths,
enough
. So there
is
a story to Katherine Hunter. Does her story relate to what I heard Alex and Michael talking about?

Alex’s mother politely changes the subject. The rest of the evening passes by quickly and without further incident. After another hour or so, I am tired, really tired. I feel myself closing off from the conversations going back and forth. I lean into Alex’s shoulder, trying not to yawn, but I can no longer hold it in. I feel myself drifting off. Maybe I will dream of Alex’s hands all over my body. Now
that
would be a good dream.

“Libby, I’m sorry. We shouldn’t be keeping you up. You need to rest up after what you’ve been through,” Sarah says, her sweet voice waking me from my daze. “You should’ve said something. Come on, Richard.” She pulls her husband by his arm. I go to get up and see them out, but Alex pushes me back into the couch. His mother comes over to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “It was lovely meeting you, dear. You are such a beautiful, brave young woman, and I do hope we’ll be seeing much more of each other.”

“And you. Thank you,” I reply.

Richard Mathews says good night, and Alex sees his parents to the door. “Alex, what room are you in?
So I can get you on the way to breakfast in the morning,” says Sarah.

“I’m staying here.”

“Oh, right. I didn’t think,” his mother says, flustered. He’s caught her off guard. “Good night, Alex. See you tomorrow.” She gives him a kiss before leaving.

The next morning, Tuesday, I awaken to an empty bed. I roll over, and there is a note from Alex on his pillow: