The Antique Love (13 page)

“Yes, but not
this.
” Penny stared over her shoulder at David, horror-struck. “I never guessed he’d been stealing. How could you do this? How could you do this to Granddad? After everything he did for you.”

David gave a short, contemptuous laugh. “This shop was going nowhere without me. It was me who brought the biggest customers in. Your granddad was bad enough, but you’ve got your head in the clouds. You’ll never make a go of it without me.”

Penny’s face felt tight and stiff.

“You’ve said enough.” Kurt didn’t move. A terrifying coldness entered his expression. “What did you think?” His eyes raked David contemptuously. “That you could afford to get careless? Did you think Penny was too stupid to guess something was wrong?” He watched David’s sneer falter and took a step forward. “Time to call the police.”

He stretched out a hand to where his phone lay on the desk and was about to pick it up, when Penny leapt for his arm with a cry.

“No.” She put her hand over his urgently. “No, don’t. Don’t get the police in. It will kill Granddad.”

Kurt’s eyes were hard on hers, his arm unbending under her fingers.

“Think about it,” she urged in a low, quick voice. “It will drag our shop’s reputation in the mud, and worse than that, my granddad will be made to look a fool when he’s just a generous, trusting man.”

Kurt said nothing for several seconds. He looked into Penny’s stricken face for what seemed an age before lowering his arm slowly. He turned to David, his expression one of stony contempt. “It sickens me to do this, but I’ll make you a deal. You sign every damn paper Penny’s solicitor sends to you. Then you never, ever set foot in this shop again. The day you so much as whisper a word to Penny or her granddad is the day I call the cops and have you slapped in jail for theft. Understood?”

David curled his mouth in an attempt at derision. “I just took what was owed me. There’s no way Penny can run a business. I told her, she’s a pathetic romantic. She— “

“Get out.” Kurt didn’t raise his voice. He stood perfectly still, but a terrifying sense of threat emanated from every inch of his solid frame.

David backed away toward the door, the sneer not leaving his face. The bell jangled as he pulled the door open, and he lifted his head to look one last time at Penny. “Don’t imagine this guy’s interested in a nobody like you,” he said. “Your mother was somebody. But you? You’re nothing and nobody.”

“Get out.” Kurt moved forward with such icy ruthlessness that Penny leapt to clutch at him, to hold him back—but there was no need. The shop bell clanged furiously as it slammed shut. They listened to David’s hasty footsteps retreating down the street, and then there was silence, broken only by the sound of Kurt’s quick breathing.

Penny put her hands over her face. For a moment or two, Kurt didn’t move, and then his strong arms enfolded her. She stood stiff and unyielding with her eyes squeezed shut beneath her hands. Kurt held her, pulling her resistant body towards him until her cheek rested on his chest.

“It’s okay. It’s all right now,” he said.

She felt his warm breath flutter over her head. She didn’t speak. David’s words were like physical blows.
Your mother was somebody, but you’re nothing and nobody.
A rush of nausea swept over her, making her feel faint. She knew she should be stronger—should find the courage to stand tall and pull away from Kurt’s embrace—but she was afraid that if she moved so much as an inch she would dissolve into tears. She thought of the years of contempt in which her grandfather’s partner had held them both—years when they had shown David nothing but generosity and kindness—and the feeling of nausea strengthened and became so overpowering, she sagged against Kurt’s chest.

“Here, come and sit down.”

She felt herself being pushed gently into a chair. She laid her head down on her desk and heard Kurt retreat into the kitchen.

Your mother was somebody. But you’re nobody.
The words pounded in her head with every beat of her pulse.

“Drink this.” Kurt gave her a gentle shake. He had returned with a glass of water. She lifted her head dizzily and took a few sips until the swimming sensation subsided, and she could try and pull herself upright.

“Take your time.” Kurt hunkered down beside her and took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry.” He was looking up at her anxiously. “I would never have allowed him into the shop if I’d guessed. Was he always like this?”

“No.” Penny shook her head a little too vehemently, and the dizziness returned. She leaned back in her chair. “No. When he first started working for Granddad, he was great. Always charming and chatty in the shop. No one would have guessed at this.” Her voice broke, and she took another sip of water, trying to control herself. “But the whole time, he was lying in our faces. I don’t know what I’m going to tell Granddad. He really trusted him.” Her face began to crumple, and she felt Kurt tighten his grip on her fingers. She lifted her eyes to find him gazing over her shoulder at the door where David had just left, his expression so intensely grim she recoiled. He caught her movement and turned his head. Instantly, he softened.

“Don’t worry,” he said, catching her shocked expression. “I’m not going after him. But it would give me great satisfaction to give him the beating he deserves.” His eyes darkened, and he glanced longingly at the door. “But I guess that isn’t going to help you much.” He focused his gaze on her, relaxing his grip on her hand. “You need to tell your granddad the truth,” he said.

She nodded. “I know. If there were any way I could keep it from him…” She wiped her wet cheek with her sleeve. “But he has to know. We couldn’t possibly hide it from him. But oh, Kurt—he’ll be devastated.” She raised her head, eyes blurred with tears. “And then he worries about me so much. This will just make it worse.”

Kurt looked down at their joined hands and turned her fingers over in his, frowning. Then he gripped her hand reassuringly and looked up.

“How about I go with you? To tell your granddad, that is.”

“Would you?” Penny stared at him. “You don’t have to but…” She left her sentence unfinished. Having Kurt to support her would relieve her of so much of the anxiety of breaking the news. Her granddad would stop worrying about her—or at least, wouldn’t worry about her quite as much—if he thought she had Kurt’s support.

Kurt heard her unspoken words and nodded.

“No problem. We’ll go together.” He got to his feet and drew her up after him. “Okay?”

She nodded her relief. “Thank you. Granddad’s out tonight. With some friends. And I’m going to an auction tomorrow. How about if we speak to him tomorrow evening? You can stay for dinner if you like?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

They stood and looked at each other a little awkwardly. It sounded as though Penny had just given Kurt an invitation to meet the parents.

In a rush to break the awkwardness, she said the first thing she thought of. “Shall I buy you a drink? I feel like I owe you one.” As soon as she’d said the words, the heat mounted to her cheeks. Now it sounded like she was asking him out on a date, for goodness sake. And acting awkward made it seem even more of an issue, but the realisation just heightened her embarrassment.

Kurt looked equally ill at ease. “Well, that would be great, but actually, I need to get going. I have plans for tonight.”

“Oh, of course.” Penny turned to tidy her desk as though their conversation were the most natural thing in the world. Of course he had a real date with a real girlfriend. He was still on his quest to find a wife—he didn’t have time to waste socialising with Penny.

“And how is the dating going?” She cursed herself furiously.
How is the dating going? What sort of an inane question was that?
She carried on righting the files David had turned over, her mind whirling. On Monday morning, she would probably find out they were all in totally the wrong order.

Kurt cleared his throat. “Actually, I’m not on a date tonight. I’m meeting Cass.”

She turned, brows raised in surprise. “The girl we met out riding?”

He nodded. “I’m sponsoring a charitable project. It involves the stables. Cass offered to help.” There was a hint of earnest emphasis to his explanation. “It’s kind of a business meeting,” he added.

“Sounds interesting. Hope it works out.” Penny accompanied her words with a smile that barely matched the emptiness she felt. “Granddad and I will just have to cook you something special. It’s the least we can do.”

She congratulated herself on her answer. It had just the right amount of cool friendliness. They spent the next ten minutes companionably shutting up the shop, and it wasn’t until Penny was alone on the tube on the way home that she allowed herself the luxury of feeling miserable. In the space of an hour, she’d found out her business partner was a liar and a thief, she’d come on to a guy she was falling in love with and been given a brush off because he was meeting someone else, and now she was going home to pretend everything was fine to a grandfather who worried too much.

By anyone’s reckoning, it had been a dreadful day.

* * * *

Later that evening, Kurt saw Cass into a cab after their productive meeting and headed home to his apartment. It was a cold, clear night. As clear as it ever would be in London’s neon-lit streets. It was at times like these he missed Wyoming. At this time of year, the sky arched over the plains, clear and heady, exuberant with stars whirling away into infinity. It was the sort of wildly romantic landscape which would appeal so strongly to Penny. He could imagine her, eyes wide with silent wonder, gazing up into the firmament. For a moment, he had an intense longing to be there beside her, sharing her wild joy in the night’s rich landscape.

Then he looked down at the littered street and kicked an empty takeaway box into the gutter. He’d discovered the hard way that life wasn’t all stars and romance. It was the only lesson his father had ever taught him. He’d watched his father reach for the stars, only to find them crashing around his ears, leaving him a broken man and his children shattered. Kurt had long since determined never to follow the same path. The arc of his life since leaving home had followed a safe, predictable trajectory. He’d worked hard in a sensible business, where the numbers he dealt in every day followed a totally logical pattern. Now he wanted to find someone to share that ordered life with him. But that someone would have to conform to his ideal, be happy to lead the same secure, predictable life at home as he’d forged for himself in the workplace. Not someone who made his heart leap uncontrollably whenever he saw her. Not someone who made him feel dangerously out of control as soon as his arms were around her. Not someone who had fragile dreams of her own which he was in danger of shattering by acting selfishly.

His house would soon be ready to occupy, but other than that, he had fallen far behind in his ordered life plans. Trouble was, whenever he thought of the effort of getting back on the dating circuit and meeting other women, everything seemed flat and lacklustre. Maybe when he’d moved into his new house and Penny was no longer part of his life. Maybe then he’d be able to move forward.

He shrugged his shoulders against a sudden biting draught of wind and strode home, without looking up at the sky again.

* * * *

Penny finished laying the dining-room table for Sunday dinner and took a step back.

“Lovely,” said her grandfather. He paused on the threshold to survey the freshly laundered tablecloth, the cutlery and glasses, all exactly aligned. “But maybe you should move the flowers another centimetre to the left.” He looked serious, but there was a definite twinkle in his eyes when they rested on her.

Penny coloured. Her attempt not to give her granddad any idea how nervous she was about the evening failed. He knew her too well. She’d fretted with slightly too much intensity over what to serve and whether to put out her mother’s china service before finally deciding it would be better to be informal. An inordinately long time had been spent deciding what to wear. She had just changed out of a slightly too formal black dress to come downstairs in dark jeans and a blue cashmere top. Now, for the last ten minutes, she had fussed about arranging and re-arranging the dining table so that everything was to her satisfaction.

“I thought Kurt was coming over to discuss the accounts. Or does he have some other intentions I need to know about?” Her grandfather gave a mock questioning look over the top of his glasses. He was eying Penny in a way that made her feel even more ill at ease, if that were possible.

“It’s just business, Granddad, that’s all,” she said quickly.

Any further questioning was cut short by a strong, single rap on the front door that made Penny jump. She slipped thankfully from the room. When she pulled the front door wide, Kurt was standing on the step with a bottle of bourbon in one hand, loosening his shirt collar with the other. Penny’s already quickening pulse took a leap. Only Kurt could wear a pale pink shirt and make it look masculine. He leaned forward, bringing with him the fresh scent of the evening air, and kissed her cheek.

“Everything okay?”

Penny glanced over her shoulder down the hallway. “Yes,” she said in a low voice. “I haven’t told him anything yet, though.” She raised her eyes to his. “Thanks for coming. It means a lot.”

“No problem.” Kurt dipped his head with the courteous nod which never failed to make her heart jump. Her grandfather appeared suddenly behind her.

“Come in, come in,” he called affably. “Don’t keep Kurt on the cold doorstep.”

Penny drew aside to let Kurt enter, and the two men shook hands. Although Kurt’s back was to her, she could make out an appraising look in her grandfather’s eyes as they greeted each other. Daniel was tall, but Kurt stood a couple of centimetres taller, and he seemed to dominate their house as soon as he stepped over the doorstep. Penny’s grandfather appeared satisfied with what he saw, releasing Kurt’s hand with a small nod before leading the way into their sitting-room.

“What can I get you to drink?”