The Temptress (17 page)

‘Thanks, Henry, you did great. Go and get some
sleep. See you tomorrow.’

‘You did great too, all things considered. See
you both in the morning.’

‘Night,’ replied Mike. ‘Miss McQueen, are you
sure that you don’t need the hospital?’

‘Honestly I just want to get home and see my
little boy, especially after seeing
him
tonight.’

‘You really had no idea he was the mark until
you were in the bar?’

‘No, but I have a feeling his wife knew exactly
who I was and set us up. I have some serious thinking and strategising to do tomorrow.’

‘Do you love this French dude?’

‘The French “dude” is called Luc, Luc
Le
Grand
it seems,’ I replied, as I pondered his question. ‘No, it’s not love
I feel for him, how could it be? We spent one night together six years ago and
haven’t seen each other since.’

‘You have a kid by him and judging by rumours
around the office you don’t get attached to guys because one broke your heart,
I just figured it was him.’

‘Rumours around the office?’ I uttered, shaking
my head in despair. ‘No, he didn’t break my heart, but even after only one
night, he definitely … holds a place in it. I guess the idea of what might have
been hasn’t helped me get over him, not when I look at Tristan every day and
see him staring back. We had … we
have
this insane chemistry together.’

‘Well he seems pretty bent out of shape over
you, after so long too. Why didn’t you go and find him?’

‘You make it sound easy,’ I laughed. ‘I was in
a foreign city for a few nights and other than his first name and his body, on
an intimate basis, I knew nothing else. I’ve never done that before or since. I
was so ashamed, that I snuck out of the room in the morning without even saying
goodbye. Not a lot to go on when I found out I was pregnant. He only knew me by
my first name too. I don’t want this being “rumour” at the office. Even Violet
doesn’t know all of this.’

‘Wow, then I feel seriously honoured,’ he
nodded, as he navigated a roundabout.

I thanked him as I grabbed my briefcase from
the boot and retrieved my house keys, quietly letting myself in. It was still
early, but I’d definitely have missed Tristan’s bedtime. I don’t know who was
more shocked when I limped barefoot into my lounge, me to see Tristan was still
up, albeit in his pyjamas, fast asleep on Dom’s chest, or Dom to see me with a
ripped dress, brown eyes and a bloodied swollen knee.

‘O my God,’ he mouthed. ‘Go and change quickly,
before he wakes up and sees you.’

‘What’s he doing up?’ I whispered, as I hobbled
past.

‘He wanted to wait for you to kiss him
goodnight and I couldn’t say no.’

‘Gave you the big eyed pout, did he?’ I smiled,
looking at him with his thumb in his mouth, his long lashes fanned on his
cheek.

‘Please, I’m immune,’ Dom scoffed.

‘Right,’ I nodded and slowly made my way
upstairs. I went to wash my knee and my hands first, there was blood all down
my leg and it was swollen and bruised. I cleaned it up and put a bandage around
it, then stripped off and dressed in some sweat pants and a t-shirt. I scraped
my hair back and removed my lenses, blinking a few times to hydrate my dry
eyes. When I looked back at myself in the mirror I sighed. No wonder he hadn’t
been sure if it was me, I looked so different now, better, I was me again. I
winced as I touched my bruised wrist and found a support bandage to put on it
and made my way back out, jumping to find Dom sitting on my bed. ‘Where is he?’

‘I put him in bed, he’s spark out. Sorry he
really wanted to stay up to say goodnight, I knew he’d fall asleep anyway, I
didn’t see the harm.’

‘You did right,’ I sighed, as I sat next to him
and patted his thigh. ‘Thanks.’

‘What the hell did you do? One night back in
the field and you come home looking pale as anything and like someone’s beaten
you up.’

‘Long story short?’ I asked, as I glanced up at
him. He nodded. ‘Unbeknown to me the mark was Tristan’s father.’

‘What!’ he spluttered, the look on his face
just how I imagined mine was, when I saw Luc staring at me.

‘Why don’t you go down and open a bottle of
wine. I’ll give you the full version. I’d just like to go and give him a kiss.’

‘Never a dull moment with you, baby sister,’
Dom sighed, kissing the top of my head.

‘Tell me about it,’ I smiled weakly. I made my
way to his room, crept to the side of his bed and stood for a moment looking
down at him. Dom had laid him on his back and tucked the duvet around him. He
still had his thumb in his mouth and his overlong hair, that was in desperate
need of a good cut, had tumbled over his eyebrows. I gently swept it back,
leaning down to plant a delicate kiss on his forehead, then picked up his
elephant and tucked it in next to him. Henry was right, Tristan had all of Luc’s
features, in fact the only thing he’d got from me was those amber flecks in his
dark brown eyes. He really was his father’s son. The question was, now that I’d
found Luc, what was I going to do about it?

Lulu

Six Years Ago

I rang Coco’s doorbell, my thumb nail in my mouth,
nervous as to how she’d react. Not only was it early on a Saturday morning, she
never surfaced on a weekend until about nine-thirty and I was a good hour
earlier than that, I was about to shock her with my news. I had a feeling that
she wasn’t going to be happy. I heard banging inside and had visions of her
wrapped in her duvet, bouncing off the walls as she tried to find her way to
the door through sleepy, hung-over eyes. I knew she’d been out with Dom last
night, I’d declined which had shocked them both. The three of us always went
out together at least once a week. Rarely did any of us hook up as a twosome. I
giggled as the door was flung open and she presented herself exactly how I’d
imagined her. I knew my best friend too well.

‘Lulu?’ she groaned. ‘What the hell? It’s the
middle of the night!’

‘It’s eight-thirty in the morning, I brought
pastries and tea,’ I volunteered, holding up the cardboard tray and bag I had
dangling from it.

‘Tea! I need caffeine at this hour, lots of it.
Since when do you bring tea?’ She flicked her head for me to enter her
apartment, so I squeezed past.

‘Lounge or bedroom?’

‘Lounge,’ she yawned, ‘or I’ll just fall asleep
again. Besides Dom’s crashed out in there.’

‘He didn’t pull?’ I uttered, flabbergasted.

‘He’s blaming you. He says being out with me on
my own turns me into a cockblocker, because everyone thinks we’re a couple and they
take no notice of him. When it’s the three of us they either think he’s gay, or
damn lucky.’

‘People
always
take notice of him,’ I
retorted, as I plonked myself down. ‘He’s too good looking for his own good.’ I
grabbed an almond croissant from the bag, then passed it over to her to take
the other one.

‘Hmmm, delicious,’ she nodded, taking a small
bite. I handed her the take out carton and she took a sip, then shook her head
with a grimace. ‘This? Not so much. Seriously, what’s with the early call and the
tea?’

‘I’m pregnant and the smell of coffee’s making
me feel sick,’ I shrugged, thinking honesty might just be the best ploy. She
looked at me wide eyed, then burst out laughing and shoved my shoulder.

‘You’re too funny, especially at this time in
the morning. I need to make coffee, I really can’t drink this. What were you
thinking, bringing
bloody
tea. You want one?’

‘
No
, I just told you that I’m pregnant
and it makes me feel sick,’ I repeated, wiping the icing sugar off my lips. She
stared at me for a moment, as if trying to make up her mind if I was being
serious, or joking.

‘No way,’ she gasped, plonking her croissant
back down on the table.

‘Yes, way,’ I nodded with a sigh, as I picked
up my tea.

‘Well how did that happen?’

‘I had unprotected, hot, crazy French sex at
precisely the right time of the month, that’s how it happened.’

‘Luc?!’ She looked at me stunned, her big green
eyes wide awake now.

‘Don’t you think I’d have told you if I’d been
having sex with anyone else, let alone another Frenchman, after
him?
’

‘O. My. God. How far along? I mean that was …’
she stopped to count on her fingers. ‘You’re about seven weeks?’

‘About,’ I nodded, as I tried my tea again. I
screwed up my face as well. ‘This tea is bad.’

‘Isn’t it? Seriously, I can’t even be in the
same room as you with a coffee or you’ll be sick?’

‘Just don’t sit next to me with it, don’t say I
didn’t warn you.’

‘Well, what are you going to do?’ she asked.

‘Move to another chair if you try it.’

‘Not about the damn coffee, the baby?’

‘I don’t know,’ I sighed. ‘That’s why I’m here,
I needed your advice. I mean part of me is terrified. I’m twenty-four years
old, single, my business is very demanding and my life seems to revolve around
it. All I know about the father, other than sexual stuff, is his first name, so
it’s a little bit daunting. But then part of me is thinking I’m
twenty-four
years old, single
still
, my life seems to revolve around my business and
every time I think about the father I get a warm, tingly feeling all over.
Maybe this is a good thing?’ I looked at her for support, but she stayed quiet
and just looked at me. She always did that, she always made me talk things
through until I reached my own conclusions. ‘I think about him all the time,
Coco. He was a one night stand, but I can’t get him out of my head. I buried
myself in work because, until him, no man has ever given me a reason not to, no
man has seemed interesting enough to not be at work for, then your bloody
sister has to go and have a hen night in Paris and I met
him.
What if no
one ever compares again? What if I never have sex like that again? Is my life
just going to be work, work and more work? I want someone to love. I need love
in my life. Who better than his baby?’ I wiped a tear from my eye as I looked
down at my stomach and put my hand over it. Coco gently put hers on top as she
sighed.

‘I think you’d be an amazing mother, but I
worry about you doing it without a father around. You wouldn’t be alone if you
chose to, as you’d have me and Dom, but it’s not the same as having a man who
loves you, to help out. Yes, you work too hard because you have nothing to look
forward to when you come home, so this would definitely change that. I’ve also
never known you be this crazy about a guy before, especially not one you only
knew for one day and two nights and whose baby you’re thinking of having. But
if you’re going to keep it, doesn’t he have the right to know. Shouldn’t we try
and find him to tell him? See what he has to say?’

‘How? What do I know about him, other than he’s
called Luc and got me to drop my knickers within hours of meeting him, then
gave me the best night of my life?’

‘You don’t remember where his apartment was?’

‘No,’ I groaned as I covered my face with my
hands, ashamed of myself. ‘Too busy kissing on the way there, too busy fleeing
in the morning. I honestly don’t think I’d find it again. The only connection I
have is the club we went to. God, if I hadn’t lost that damn card with his
phone numbers on, or been so ashamed of being a sexually liberated woman with a
stranger for one night in my life, things could have been so different.’ I felt
tears rolling down my cheeks, I’d never had a connection with a man like that
before. I had a feeling I’d really fucked up, that I could have had something
really special with him. Coco put a cushion on her lap and pulled me down onto
it as I started to sob. She just let me cry out my tears of frustration as she
stroked my hair.

‘What’s going on?’ came Dom’s voice, as he
wandered in just wearing a pair of low slung jeans. His muscular torso, without
an ounce of fat on it, reminded me of Luc’s. I took a wobbly intake of air,
trying to calm myself down.

‘She’s got a frog in the oven,’ stated Coco.

‘We’re eating frog for breakfast?’ he uttered,
a look of distaste on his face. I sniffed and giggled at the same time as I
tried to dry my eyes.

‘She’s pregnant, with
his
baby.’

‘
He
does have a name,’ I moaned, as I
sat up and wiped my face. Everyone referred to Luc as
him.

‘Holy shit. Switch Coco, go and make me some
coffee, I need it, especially after that revelation. I’ll look after her.’

‘No coffee, she’s got morning sickness and I’m
looking after her.’

‘She’s my baby sister and she needs me.’

‘She’s my best friend, she needs me.’

‘
She’s
lying right here and she needs
both of you,’ I replied as I dried my tears. Dom came and sat on the coffee
table in front of us and took both of my hands in his.

‘What are you going to do? What do you want to
do? You know you’ve got me if you need me.’

‘Got
us
,’ Coco uttered, as she slapped
his arm.

‘Anyone would think you two were the twins, the
way you bicker,’ I sighed. ‘O Coco, go and make some coffee for you both, you
obviously need it. Just bring me the washing up bowl and don’t complain if I
heave.’

‘Thank God,’ she smiled and kissed my temple.
She shrugged off the duvet and headed out, Dom immediately taking her place and
putting his arm around me.

‘No wonder I woke up cold,’ he muttered, as he
curled the discarded duvet around his chest. ‘You ok? Really?’

‘I will be,’ I nodded, as I smiled up at him. ‘I
was just shocked when I found out.’

‘Which was when?’

‘A couple of days ago. I was so busy with work
I didn’t notice I’d missed my periods and when I realised and did the test, I
just needed a few days to process it. How can I have been so stupid, Dom? I had
unprotected sex, the first time ever, with a guy I barely know anything about?’

‘Don’t beat yourself up, we’ve all been there,
well most of us have. And you knew he was crazy about you, that’s why you ran
the next morning, you knew he could have been a keeper and you were protecting
your heart. Just like you’ve always done. Have you ever hooked up with a guy
that fast before?’

‘No,’ I replied, with a shake of my head as I
chewed on my croissant again.

‘So you felt something for him that you didn’t
with other guys. I mean you make guys wait centuries to sleep with you
normally, you thought he was special, where’s the shame?’

‘Centuries,’ I snorted.

‘You’re talking to five minute man here, trust
me weeks is centuries to me.’ He leaned forward and grabbed Coco’s croissant,
taking a sizeable chunk out of it.

‘She’ll kill you. I didn’t know you were here,
I only got two and you know how she needs sugar after drinking,’ I warned.

‘I need sugar, I’ve just found out I’m a bloody
Uncle,’ he mumbled through his mouthful.

‘Might be an Uncle,’ I corrected.

‘Sis, you’re going to spend the rest of your
life asking yourself
what if
over this reportedly super-hot and sexy guy,
don’t add to it by asking
what if
about his baby as well. Have it,
you’re a grown woman, financially independent, with a good support system. It
will be a memento and permanent reminder of your perfect Parisian day and night
with him. We’ll be here for you.’

‘Dom,’ I smiled as I stretched my neck up and
kissed his cheek. ‘That means so much, thank you.’

‘Mum and Dad will be over the moon, they keep
complaining I’m never going to make them grandparents,’ he nodded, polishing
off Coco’s croissant.

‘If I do keep it we are
not
telling them
it resulted from a one night stand, or I’ll never hear the end of it. The fact I’ve
had unprotected sex will be bad enough. I’m going to get the lecture of a
lifetime, at twenty-four!’

‘You’ll always be their baby.’

‘You know these
what if
regrets? I often
wonder how much I could have teased you if I’d been born a few minutes before
you.’

‘Right, one washing up bowl, the two coffees
are on the way next,’ Coco confirmed as she handed it to me. ‘Where’s my
croissant?’

‘The fat pregnant one ate it, she’s got
really
bad cravings already,’ Dom advised with a flick of his head at me, making me
pinch his side in protest, forcing him to yelp.

‘Dominic McQueen, you’re the fat one, a big fat
liar, you have icing sugar on your top lip and the tip of your nose,’ Coco
scolded. ‘And don’t you
ever
call my pregnant best friend fat again or
I’ll … I’ll …’

‘You’ll what?’ he taunted.

‘Tell everyone we’re a couple, that you love
pussy, big pink juicy pussy,’ she grinned, with a wink in my direction. Dom
shuddered and leapt off the sofa.

‘Stop!’ he groaned.

‘Plump pink succulent moist pussy,’ she teased,
making him pull a face and cover his ears.

‘You know I hate it when you say things like
that, I’m going to need the washing up bowl, I feel physically sick.’

‘Join the club,’ I groaned as my stomach roiled
and I clamped my hand over my mouth.