More Than Neighbors (11 page)

“And I’m glad to have a friend like you. I really am, Leo. I don’t know what I would’ve done today without you.” Leopold studied the sweet, slightly swollen brown eyes that smiled at him, her wet cheeks a little paler than usual. In spite of it all, he thought her the prettiest woman he’d seen in his life. Once again, he felt a familiar twitch between his legs. Annoyed at himself for feeling lustful when all Cat needed was a shoulder to cry on, he purposefully moved away from her.

“I’m pleased I could help.” He was relieved his voice didn’t give him away.

“I’ll go home now, I’m exhausted.” Catalina picked up her coat and shoes, too tired to bother putting them on. Her neighbor accompanied her to the door.

“Come here, Leo.”

Uh-oh
. Leopold could sense what was coming. He reluctantly obeyed, and leaned forward. Catalina rested her free hand on his cheek and stroked his brow with her thumb, while her tortured neighbor clenched his teeth in a heroic effort to suppress a moan. “Thanks, friend,” she said softly, and she rested her lips on his.

Unable to stop himself, he held her tight. Catalina’s arms encircled his waist, and he heard her shoes fall to the floor behind her. Then he kissed her forehead and, determined, pulled away. “Sleep well, Catalina,” he said to her in a hoarse voice, and quickly turned away so that she couldn’t see his face.

The next few months flew by. Catalina and Leopold saw each other often, but in spite of that, his plans to seduce her basically ground to a halt. Some evenings they’d play chess at her place, or they’d meet when Cat was walking the dog and he was out for a run. Leopold had taken her sailing a couple more times, and they’d both really enjoyed themselves, but he was no closer to sleeping with her than he was months before.

He was aware that Catalina had decided he was just a friend, and although she occasionally affectionately touched or kissed him, he was under no illusions: he knew her well enough by now to see that she was equally as affectionate with everyone else. So, his frustration mounting, Leopold decided to play dirty and devised a fail-proof Machiavellian plan.

As the weather began to grow milder in the weeks leading up to Easter, the school where Catalina taught organized a number of excursions so that students could paint in the open air. On the one hand, the change in routine was welcome, but on the other, having to keep a constant watch on the kids was exhausting for the teachers, so when Catalina got home, all she wanted to do was sleep.

One Saturday, Leopold invited her to dinner at the restaurant where he’d hoped to take her the day her student had died. Catalina was only too happy to accept the invitation. They hadn’t seen each other for a few days, but when he went to pick her up that evening, Leopold felt like it had been months. His neighbor wore a pair of skinny black pants, a gauzy semi-sheer blouse in shades of blue, and an elegant pair of high heels. Leopold found her irresistible, which made him even more determined to see his wicked plan through.

“This time you’ve surpassed yourself, Leo.” Cat greeted him with one of her dazzling smiles.

“In what way?” he asked, as he leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek. As ever, Catalina’s scent, a mixture of shampoo, crisp perfume, and clean clothes, went straight to his head, but he reminded himself that the night was still young, and he made an effort to keep cool.

“Fiona was green with envy when I told her where you’re taking me for dinner. I explained that having rich and influential friends has its advantages.” She gave him an impish look.

Especially friends who haven’t slept with a woman for months and are on the verge of exploding
, Leopold said to himself, though nothing on his face gave him away. “I’m glad you like my plan. I’m sure you’ll find it a memorable night,” he assured her enigmatically.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the headwaiter showed them to a table for two next to the immense windows from which they could admire the spectacular London skyline: the city’s skyscrapers, the rotund Gherkin building, and the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral were all silhouetted against a shimmering sky.

Cat looked around excitedly. “I love this place!”

“You’ll like the food, too, it’s delicious,” Leo replied. “I’ll order a nice red.”

“OK, but remember, I can only have one glass,” she said, still gazing at the magnificent cityscape.

“Don’t worry, I remember.” Leopold was pleased that Catalina, whose eyes were fixed on the view out the window, didn’t seem to notice the hint of guilt in his expression.

The dinner was lovely. Leopold tried to be particularly engaging, and they chatted contentedly the whole evening. Absorbed in the conversation, Catalina didn’t notice Leopold refilling her glass, and she just kept drinking, with no reason to distrust him. When he filled her glass for the third time, Leopold was already noticing a subtle change in the young woman’s appearance. Her eyes were even brighter than normal, her cheeks were red, and her usual tremendous exuberance had doubled. Leo decided that with a few too many drinks inside her, his neighbor was like some electrified atmospheric phenomenon.

Every time Leo said something to her, Cat took his hand and squeezed it affectionately. When the waiter approached with the dessert menu, she told him that she’d never had such good service anywhere, and the warm look on her face made the young man turn bright red. He looked at her in bewilderment. Fascinated, Leopold observed the devastating effect the alcohol had on her, feeling rather guilty for what he’d done. Still, when Catalina asked him whether he’d seen the waiter refilling her wine glass, he shook his head with an innocent expression. During dessert, Cat continued to sip her wine, until Leopold finally decided she’d had enough and set it to one side. By now, she was too drunk to notice.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” she suddenly announced, trying to stand but wobbling. Leopold quickly paid the bill, took her by the arm, and accompanied her to the women’s bathroom door. After waiting a while, he decided to check on her discreetly and found her hugging the bathroom attendant, who was sobbing inconsolably on her shoulder. “Oh, Leo, I’m glad you’re here. This is Lisa. Her landlord’s threatening to kick her out, and she’s distraught.” Her eyes were flashing gold with indignation.

“What a dreadful situation,” he said, staying calm as he pulled out his wallet. He handed the woman a hundred pounds in notes. “Here, Lisa, perhaps this’ll get you out of trouble for a while.”

A little embarrassed, and unable to believe her eyes, Lisa thanked him effusively and hugged Cat once more, tears in her eyes. When he’d managed to pull them apart, Leopold put his arm around his neighbor’s narrow waist and led her out of there as quickly as possible. As they headed to his car, Catalina continued to thank him for his generosity. “Leo Sinclair, you’re the kindest man I know, you’re a true gentleman, an angel, a . . .” Leopold put her in the passenger seat before she could go on.

On the way home, Cat rested her warm hand on her neighbor’s thigh and affectionately stroked his leg, giving him an instant erection. Oblivious, she kept thanking him profusely for his act of kindness. “You’re the best person in the world. I’ll tell Diego. He’s sure you’re a total dickhead, but I’ll tell him the truth, I’ll open his eyes, I’ll—”

“We’re here,” he announced, relieved, gently separating her hand from his leg before his self-control went out of the window.

Leopold held her around the waist and guided her to her apartment door. She struggled with her handbag for a while before he finally snatched it from her, took out her keys, and opened the door. Stumbling, Catalina managed to reach the living room and, with clumsy fingers, tried to unbutton her coat. Seeing that she was incapable of doing it, her neighbor moved her hands away and undid the buttons for her. With her coat off, her hair a little disheveled and her eyes rather glassy, Cat slung her arms around his neck.
This is it!
he thought to himself with satisfaction, trying to hush the little voice fighting to make itself heard in his head.

“Thanks, for everything, Leo. I love you loads.”

Catalina rested her lips on his mouth, upon which Leopold forgot completely that he was a gentleman, and that a gentleman would never take advantage of a lady, however drunk she was. With an imaginary swat, he batted away the little angel whispering in his ear, while the little red devil settled himself on his shoulder to watch the spectacle. With a yearning he’d contained for so long, he explored Catalina’s mouth with his tongue, and her passionate response inflamed him even more. He grabbed her backside and pulled her hard against him, feeling the blood rush to his brain.

Still kissing her, he slipped a hand under her blouse and slid it over her chest, pushing aside her lacy bra. He traced circles on her nipple with his thumb, and the soft moaning coming from Cat’s throat made him lose any last vestige of control.

He pulled away from her lips, bent over her neck, and delicately nibbled her, while Catalina, eyes closed, pressed herself ever closer against him, making absolutely clear the intensity of her desire. Her hand explored under his shirt, and the soft touch of her fingers on his chest muscles took him to the brink of exploding.

A little roughly, he threw her onto the living room sofa, pounced on her, and pushed aside her gauzy blue blouse until a creamy and perfect breast was fully exposed. With a passion he’d never known until then, he swooped down and eagerly began to suck her nipple, while Cat, enveloped in a thick cloud of desire and alcohol, lifted her thighs, inviting him with a desperate groan. Leopold struggled with her belt buckle and was just about to unbutton her trousers when, stammering, his neighbor said, “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Leopold lifted his head from her chest and looked at her pale face in disbelief. Reacting with superhuman speed, he lifted her in his arms, carried her to the nearest bathroom, opened the toilet lid, and held her head while she brought up her entire dinner. When it finally seemed like Cat had nothing left in her stomach, Leopold left her sitting on the cool marble floor, wet a towel with cold water, and cleaned the young woman’s face.

Catalina was only half-conscious, so Leo took her in his arms again and carried her to the bedroom. He gently deposited her on the bed, removed her shoes, finished unbuttoning her tight trousers, and, with difficulty, pulled them from her long legs, making sure to look away as he did so. Then he unbuttoned her shirt and set it aside.

For a few seconds, her fabulous body, now clad only in skimpy black, lacy lingerie, was exposed in front of him, and he was left openmouthed. With a deep sigh, he covered her with a blanket and sat staring at her face, her long eyelashes dark against her white cheeks.

His neighbor had certainly not lied when she’d told him about the effect that alcohol had on her, he thought as he lifted a damp lock of hair from her face with infinite tenderness. He was instantly overwhelmed with guilt for almost having taken advantage of her. Lying with her head on the white pillow, her silky shoulders bare above the covers, Cat seemed young and vulnerable, and once more Leopold deeply regretted his despicable behavior. The dreadful excitement he’d felt earlier was still there, but it no longer controlled him. For heaven’s sake! If his neighbor hadn’t announced that she was feeling unwell, he’d have taken her right there on the sofa.

He could not have stooped any lower.

He had never in his life gotten a woman drunk in order to make love to her; he didn’t know what was happening to him to make him lose his head like this. Suddenly tired, he pulled off his jacket, then removed his shoes. He undid a few buttons on his shirt and lay on the bed beside Catalina, watching the covers rise and fall with her breathing.

Cat turned toward him, lying on her side, her knees bent and one of her hands tucked under the pillow. Leopold was spellbound by her, despite her paleness and the smudges of mascara on her cheeks. Taking great care, he moved closer to her and put his arm around her waist.
I’ll go home in a minute
, he promised himself drowsily, but before he knew it, his eyelids closed and he fell into a deep sleep.

CHAPTER 13

The sun’s rays roused Catalina from her slumber. Her head thundered as if a thousand drummers were playing inside it. With a heroic effort, she managed to lift an eyelid for a few seconds, but the intense daylight that poured through the window made her close it almost immediately.

Eventually, she tried opening her eyes again, and she almost screamed when she found Leo lying beside her in the bed, his fingers entangled in her hair as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Oh, God! What had happened the night before?

Cat’s mind was blank. Despairing, she tried to jog her memory, and gradually some images became clear. She’d gone out for dinner with Leo . . . yes, she was starting to remember small things: the restaurant was stunning, with spectacular views; they’d chatted and laughed together. But, try as she might, she couldn’t recall anything else.

She looked at Leopold, still sleeping, oblivious to the world. His silver hair was untidy, and stubble was beginning to show on his cheeks. His shirt, unbuttoned halfway, revealed his tanned chest, and his expression was quite vulnerable, making him seem younger. Then she realized that all she had on under the sheets was her underwear. Oh no! Had she slept with him? Anxious, she bit her bottom lip and felt her cheeks flush. It seemed like she had. She’d slept with her neighbor and she could remember absolutely nothing!

Taking care not to wake him, Catalina freed her hair from his grasp and slowly stood, her head feeling like it was about to burst. In the bathroom, she rested both hands on the sink and groaned when she saw her wild-looking face. She took a couple of pills from the medicine cabinet and swallowed them with a little water, then used soap to remove the rest of her makeup.

She returned to the bedroom, found some shorts, a T-shirt, and a change of underwear, and went back to the bathroom to stand under a hot shower, trying not to think of anything as she washed her hair. When she finished, she dried off, brushed her teeth, and returned to the bedroom. Leo was still asleep, so Catalina sat in the chair by the bed and watched him, wringing her hands with anxiety.

Within a few minutes, Leo opened his gray eyes, which were immediately lucid, and met Cat’s nervous gaze. Leopold ran his eyes over her long legs, damp hair, clean T-shirt, and hands that wouldn’t keep still, and a mildly teasing smile spread across his lips. “Good morning, Catalina.”

Cat heard something overly intimate in his voice, and she felt herself blush again. “Leo, did you and I . . . ?” Not knowing how to continue, she bit her bottom lip, embarrassed.

“What is it, darling?”

Hearing him use that term of affection, Cat shivered and her hair stood on end. “Oh, my God!” she exclaimed, hiding her flushed face behind her hands. “What happened last night? I don’t remember a thing.”

“What do you want to know?” Cat detected a wounded quality in his deep voice, so she made the effort to lift her face toward his, and without taking her hands from her eyes, she peeked through her fingers at him.

“I’m sorry, Leo, but I simply can’t remember what happened last night,” she confessed, dying of shame.

“Are you telling me you have no memory of the passion with which we made love? Have you wiped from your mind your pleas that I make you mine? Have you forgotten how you screamed for more?” he asked with a wounded expression.

Horrified, she silently nodded. “I don’t . . . I’m not sure . . . what happened . . .” she stammered, feeling more uncomfortable than she ever had before, and she broke off again. Unable to bear Leopold’s downcast look and with a dreadful feeling of guilt, Catalina sat on the edge of the mattress and put her arm around his waist, trying to console him. “I’m sorry, Leo, I swear I don’t remember anything.”

“Maybe this’ll jog your memory,” he answered, and he gently pushed her back until she was lying on the bed. Cat stared at him, mortified, but didn’t move. “First, I kissed you on the lips . . .” His mouth lowered onto hers, and he began to kiss her delicately. Though Catalina was completely rigid and unresponsive, she didn’t move away. “Then I began stroking you like this . . . ,” he whispered against her lips, with a husky voice that made her shudder as his warm hand found its way under her T-shirt and rested on one of her breasts, stroking the nipple through her bra with his thumb.

Completely still, Cat just looked at him with her eyes wide open.

“And just when it started to get really interesting . . .” His hand traveled down her smooth belly in a hypnotic caress and began to fiddle with the button on her shorts. “You started shouting that you were going to be sick!”

Leopold lifted his gaze and, raising an eyebrow teasingly, he stared into eyes that looked back at him in astonishment. “Do you mean . . . that you and I . . . ?” Cat’s breathing was labored.

“That’s right, Catalina. I’m sorry to say that we didn’t make love.” The profound relief that showed on her expressive face made him smile in spite of himself. “I see you’re happy to hear the news.”

Catalina sat up and a massive grin lit up her face. “You can’t imagine how happy.”

“Why?” her neighbor asked, a little put out.

“Would you like to wake up in bed one morning beside a man, not knowing how the hell you got there, and with no idea whether you’d slept with him or not?”

“Beside a man? No, to be honest,” Leopold joked, but she paid no attention.

“Good God, for a moment I felt awful! Leopold Sinclair, you gave me the fright of my life! Why didn’t you tell me from the start that nothing happened between us?” she demanded.

“You’re not the only one who likes a laugh,” he replied with seriousness.

With a snort, Catalina got up from the bed. “You should take your things and get out of here.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to finish what we started last night?” Leopold let his hand glide from her shoulder to her wrist in a suggestive caress, but Cat snatched her arm away and pointed at the door.

“Get out!” she exclaimed, furious.

“All right, I’m going,” Leo replied with feigned resignation; it was obvious he was enjoying the situation. With an irritating lack of urgency, he picked up his jacket and shoes, and as he passed Catalina, now fuming, he bent over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “I won’t let you drink with anyone but me, I must protect you from yourself . . .”

She merely glared at him, saying nothing, but her face flushed again. Satisfied that he’d had the last word, for once, Leopold went home.

For the next few days, Catalina did her best to avoid him. Leopold no longer bumped into his neighbor walking the dog in the evenings, and their long games of chess abruptly ended. Much to his regret, he had to admit that he missed her. Harry continued to introduce him to women, but Leo showed no interest. He was obsessed with Catalina, and knew that he wouldn’t be able to forget her until he’d made her his.

“Are you in love with someone?” Harry asked him at one point.

“Me?” He dismissed the idea with a scornful chuckle that sounded fake even to him. “Don’t be absurd! Why would you think I’m in love?”

“I don’t know. You’re acting strange. You don’t like any of the women I’ve introduced you to. Whenever I speak to you, it’s like you’re on another planet. Leopold, what’s going on? You can tell me, for fuck’s sake, we’ve been inseparable since school.”

Leopold noted the concerned expression on his friend’s round face. “It’s nothing, Harry, I promise. Maybe it’s work. I’m just a bit stressed.”

The explanation seemed to satisfy Harry. “That’s what I told Lisa, but she’s convinced you’re in love with someone we don’t know.”

“Your Lisa has an overactive imagination,” he responded with feigned indifference.

“Ha, I’ll let her know.” Satisfied, Harry began talking about cricket, his favorite topic of conversation, and Leopold breathed a sigh of relief.

Two weeks later, he rang the bell at Catalina’s apartment. When she opened the door, she discovered her neighbor standing there, looking his most dignified.

“Hello, Catalina.”

“Leopold.”

He was surprised to hear Cat call him by his full name, and he didn’t like it. And there was no sign of the delicious smile with which she used to welcome him. “May I come in?”

She hesitated for a few seconds but eventually gestured for him to enter.

“I see you’ve been painting . . .”

Cat had green paint on her cheekbone and an orange mark on her chin, while the old paint-covered apron she used to protect her clothes left no room for doubt.

“Very observant,” she replied.

The two of them stood in her living room, facing off like boxers preparing to do battle. “I wanted to apologize, and to ask for a favor,” he began, his face devoid of emotion.

“A favor, you say? You have some nerve.”

Leopold clenched his already tightly clamped jaws even more. “I’ll start with the apology. I’m sorry I filled your glass several times.” He got straight to the point, his words tumbling out, as if he’d been holding his breath until then.

“So you admit it, huh?” said Cat, hands on her hips and an eyebrow arched.

“I admit it.”

“May I ask what you thought you were doing? I told you the effect alcohol has on me.”

“I knew full well what I was doing.”

Catalina was dumbstruck by his shamelessness. She finally asked, “And what were your intentions? I thought we were friends. I trusted you.”

Hearing her words and seeing that he had hurt her feelings, Leopold shuddered, as if he’d received a blow to the stomach. “I wanted to seduce you,” he confessed.

“
Seduce
me?” she parroted, opening her mouth in astonishment.

“Seduce you.”

Cat managed to shut her mouth, and it was a few minutes before she could bring herself to say anything. Her neighbor, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm.

“I don’t get it. We were friends. You don’t seduce a friend, and you certainly don’t get her drunk to do such a wicked thing.” Listening to herself, she sounded exactly like none other than Mrs. Dawson, a religious education teacher she’d once had.

“You’re right.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“The thing is, Catalina, it has been a long time since I’ve slept with a woman.” Leopold couldn’t believe those words were coming out of his mouth, but he preferred not to stop to think about it, so he cleared his throat and continued. “And at that moment, you were the nearest woman at hand. I’d kissed you a few times, and you didn’t seem to dislike it, but you didn’t seem eager to go any further. I suppose I was a bit desperate.” She thought it a feeble explanation, but she waited for him to finish. “I’ll never try anything like it again, you have my word.”

“So basically what you’re saying is that you got me drunk to try to sleep with me because I was the only woman available.”

“More or less, but when you put it like that, it sounds terrible,” Leopold replied stiffly.

“You can’t say something like that to a girl and expect it to sound okay, Leo; it’s totally unacceptable, and you of all people should know that. It certainly doesn’t help a woman’s self-esteem.”

“I’m sorry, Catalina, I just wanted to explain—”

“Stop.” Cat raised a hand to interrupt him. “I think I understand pretty well. Despite everything, however, I’m glad that’s all it is. For a moment, I thought the curse had come true and you’d fallen in love with me.”

“No, it’s not that,” he hastened to say.

“As for not minding you kissing me, yes, that’s true,” Catalina continued. “I haven’t been with anyone for a long time, either; I suppose people’s basic needs surface now and again. In sum, Leo, we have two options: One, we could have a fling that would end sooner rather than later because neither of us is the kind of person who falls in love, and we’re polar opposites.” He tried to cut in, but Cat didn’t let him. “Or two, we could leave things as they are, see each other occasionally as we’ve been doing until now, and limit ourselves to being friends.”

Leopold opened his mouth again, but she placed her fingertips on his lips to stop him from speaking. “I, for one, prefer option two. Flings pop up as often as daffodils in spring, but finding a friend whose company you enjoy, someone you can talk about anything with, is much more difficult.”

Leopold, for a reason unbeknownst to him, found all of this philosophizing rather humiliating. His pride somewhat wounded, he replied with apparent indifference, “I also prefer the second option.”

Catalina looked at him, elated. If Leo had persisted with his plan to seduce her, she’d have had a hard time resisting. “Great. Now tell me about this favor you wanted,” she said.

“Well, my mother’s asked me—or perhaps ‘ordered me’ would be more accurate—to spend some time at Hallcourt Abbey.”

“You’ve mentioned your family home to me before. What’s the concern?”

“It’s been the Sinclair estate for centuries, and that’s the problem.”

“You don’t want to sell it, do you?” Catalina’s eyes opened wide.

“Of course not, Catalina. Would you mind not interrupting me every three seconds?” he said, exasperated.

“Oh do forgive me,” she retorted, making a face.

“My mother’s obsessed with me getting married and having children to carry on the family name and estate, and I suspect she wants to introduce me to one of her candidates while I’m there.” Cat gazed at him with keen interest, but this time she didn’t cut in. Her neighbor gave her a tentative look. “I told her I’d be coming with my fiancée.”

“Are you back with Alison?” she asked, slightly shocked.

“Of course not. I told her I’d be coming with you.” Once again, Catalina was left speechless, so Leopold took advantage of her silence to fill her in. “It’s not the first time she’s done something like this, and believe me, it’s pretty awkward, if not downright unpleasant.”

“And what if you just refuse?” she asked, regaining her voice.

“You don’t know my mother; she’d make my life impossible with her chiding and complaining. Turning up with a woman will ensure that she leaves me in peace for a while.”

Catalina was about to tell him that his mother must be a bit “difficult,” but she bit her tongue. “I’m sorry, Leo, I can’t do it. I’ve decided to go to France for a while to paint. At any rate, the whole plan sounds ridiculous. I wouldn’t feel comfortable trying to trick another person, especially if that person is your mother.”