Yet at the same time he’d always been determined not to repeat the mistakes his parents had made. He was going to pursue Ainsley and see if she could be the missing link in his relationship DNA.
At this moment everything seemed easy, but he knew it wouldn’t be. He didn’t love her. In fact he wasn’t sure he had the capacity to love. He only knew that he wanted her and it was damn hard to work when he kept thinking about her. And he thought—knew—that Ainsley felt the same way about him.
Having her officially as his own would take away the doubt and hopefully the jealousy. He called Ainsley’s office and found out that she was in Milan. Good, he thought. That gave him the time he needed to plan.
His mother’s engagement to Roman had planted the seeds of his own engagement. To Ainsley. As his mum had said when he ’d left…don’t wait until it’s too late.
Ainsley flew back from a meeting in Milan and arrived at Heathrow close to midnight. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep in Steven’s arms. But she hadn’t seen him in over three weeks. The logistics of a relationship like theirs was harder to figure out than she’d expected.
Steven had gotten his mother to agree to the interview, and she was using every contact she had to try to get in to see Malcolm Devonshire. But she had almost given up. Okay, that was a lie; she wasn’t going to give up on getting him until the issue was on the newsstands.
She walked down the gateway wheeling her laptop bag behind her. It was one of those with a compartment for carry-on clothing as well and she found it was perfect for the short-haul business trips she took a lot of the time. Especially in the spring when all of the fashion weeks were in full swing and she traveled every week.
She turned on her BlackBerry as soon as she was down the gateway and found a message waiting for her from Cathy, informing her that a car would be picking her up at the curb.
It was times like this when she really adored her assistant. She was too tired to even think of dealing with a cab. She walked out of the terminal building, past the barriers and saw Steven standing by his car, leaning on the hood and watching for her.
She was so happy to see him. She had forgotten how much she liked his handsome face and that half smile of his made her feel like she really was home.
“Are you my ride?” she asked.
“I am. I figured the only way we’d be able to see each other was in the middle of the night when the rest of the world doesn’t need us.
“Is that the only bag you have?” he asked.
“Yes. I hate to wait for luggage, so I ship it wherever I’m going.”
Steven walked beside her and a part of her liked it. He opened the door for her and she climbed inside, relaxing back against the leather bucket seats as he climbed into the car.
He was playing music by one of the newer Everest Group recording artists, Steph Cordo. “This song is so popular right now. You must be excited to have a company artist doing so well.”
“No, I’m not. I’m trying to beat Henry financially,” Steven said.
“You are? Is that one of the stipulations of the deal with Malcolm? I know you are all competing.”
“Yes. How was Milan?”
“Busy. But it was a productive visit. We’re getting ready for the fashion shows coming up in the fall.”
“Do you go to them all?”
“Usually. We sponsor a runway for upcoming artists and do other events,” she said.
“Do you like it?”
“Most of the time. When I get home I generally take a week off to recover.”
She glanced out the window and realized that they weren’t heading toward Notting Hill. They were on the A3 heading south. “Where are we going?”
“My place.”
“Oh.”
“Is that okay?”
“Yes,” she said. “I’m going to need a ride to work tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t. You’re taking the day off.”
“I am?”
“Yes. As luck would have it I have the day off, as well. I thought we’d spend it together.”
She smiled to herself. “That sounds wonderful.”
Her eyes drifted closed for a minute and when he stopped the car, rousing her, she found they were in a large rustic garage.
“We are at my country house in Cobham,” Steven said.
She had spent little time outside London and she wished it were daylight so she could see the Surrey countryside surrounding his house. “I slept the entire way. Sorry about that.”
“You were tired,” he said. He got out of the car and took her bag from the trunk. He led the way up the path from the garage to the house. It was very modern and large, especially compared to the townhomes she was used to.