He didn’t mean to be hurtful, Briony reminded herself as tears blurred his small soapy body. It was easy to distract his attention from ‘daddies’ to bears as she reminded him that she was taking him to the Zoo, but as she read his bedtime story, she wondered wryly why the writers of children’s stories always assumed that their readers’ worlds encompassed two solid, dependable parents with neatly outlined ro
les in life.
Tonight she had managed to sidestep his questions, but she could not do so for ever, and for the first time it struck her that her son might eventually grow to resent her for what in his childish eyes might seem to be her deliberate denial of his father. The injustice of the thought brought fresh tears. If Nicky was adult she could explain to him properly, but by the time he was it would be too late.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE good weather held, and on Saturday morning Briony dressed Nicky in the beautiful Italian woollens Gina’s mother had sent him for Christmas. The jumper and little trousers had been a little on the large side at the time but now fitted him perfectly, and her heart swelled with maternal pride as they set off hand in hand.
Paolo worked for an uncle who ran a wine importing business in London, and as he had to be in the office on Saturdays, he offered to give them a lift.
Riding in a car was a treat for Nicky, and he chattered constantly, drawing Briony’s attention to wondrous new sights.
The Zoo was crowded, but with the morning stretching ahead of them there was no need to rush. Briony had brought Nicky’s pushchair for when he grew tired. It was only when she saw other children that she appreciated how well behaved her own son was. He stared at the animals in awed delight, his concentration drawing admiring smiles from other adults. Holding his hand and feeling his solid body pressed against her in trust and love, Briony felt almost overwhelmed with emotion.
Before they began the long trudge home she bought him an icecream, mopping up the drips and spills as he licked it enthusiastically.
As she had expected, he was tired when they got off the bus. He had gone off to sleep in her arms, and as she put him in his pushchair he opened his eyes drowsily to smile at her.
The day had turned unseasonally hot and sticky. Gina had gone to spend the afternoon with some friends who lived on the other side of London, and when she had put Nicky down for his nap Briony changed into an emerald green and white striped bikini and went to lie out on the lawn.
Her book failed to hold her attention and gradually her eyes closed and her body relaxed into the rug, the warmth of the sun beating into her.
She woke up with a start, conscious that she was no longer alone, her mind still fuzzy with sleep.
‘Gina?’
‘I hope not,’ a cool, male voice drawled laconically, its owner coming to stand over her, his eyes appraising her curves beneath their flimsy covering.
‘Kieron!’ His name was a shocked whisper, her eyes clouding over as she tried to comprehend what he was doing in her garden. He was dressed casually in cream jeans and a thin cotton shirt open to the waist, a pair of tinted sunglasses in one hand.
‘You left this in my car,’ he announced, producing a thin lipstick case. ‘It must have rolled out of your handbag.’
His eyes were still on her body and she forced herself not to move. Since Nicky’s birth her breasts had become slightly fuller, but her waist and hips were still as slender as ever, her skin smooth and firm.
‘You could have kept it until Monday,’ she said in a shaken voice. ‘Or are you just checking up on me? Making sure my migraine wasn’t just an excuse not to come to work?’
As she spoke her eyes went instinctively to Nicky’s bedroom window which overlooked the garden, and her voice automatically lowered. She daren’t think about what might happen if the little boy woke up and saw them.
‘Don’t be stupid,’ Kieron said in clipped accents. His gaze had shifted to her lips, still sore and swollen, and as Briony moved uncomfortably under his look she realised that he had suddenly gone pale, his eyes fixed on the creamy swell of her breast. Her bikini top was brief and revealing, the marks of his fingers plainly discernible against her pale flesh.
‘Did I do that?’ he demanded tersely.
Anger blazed briefly.
‘Are you in any doubt? Do you think I enjoy being mauled about like that? Encourage it even?’
‘Well, if you do, you can’t get much satisfaction out of Matt,’ he said cruelly. ‘Adoring reverence is more his style.’
‘Perhaps I find that a pleasant change.’
He reached for her before she could stop him, grasping her wrists and pulling her to her feet.
‘Well now, let’s just put that to the test, shall we?’ he began pleasantly.
Her heart thundered against her flesh, the tip of her tongue moistening the lips nervously, a sensation close to terror shivering across her skin.
His hands left her wrists and slid gently round her waist, his eyes holding her captive like a fly in amber. The creaking of the gate freed her. Gina and Paolo were standing there staring in astonishment, and Briony’s heart sank. One look at Gina’s face was enough to tell her that her friend had guessed the truth.