The Boss's Virgin

They kept their voices very low, neither of them wanting the boy to hear what they were saying.

‘I made a terrible mistake when I married her,’ Randal dryly said. ‘If I’d known what she was really like I wouldn’t have got involved, but I was a lot younger, and she was really lovely.

‘Still is.’ Pippa shrugged. ‘Don’t deny you couldn’t stop looking at her; I saw you staring.’

His mouth quirked sideways in amusement. ‘Well, she is quite a knock-out! In fact, I’d say she’s lovelier now than ever. She knows how to dress and use make-up.’ He gave her a mocking smile. ‘I knew you were jealous, little green eyes!’

‘I was not!’ she flared immediately, and he laughed.

‘Oh, yes, you were. But you didn’t need to be! I told you that yesterday. Yes, she’s drop-dead gorgeous, but I’m not a romantic boy any more. I want a woman to have a lot of other qualities. Beauty isn’t everything. In fact, beauty isn’t very much at all. It’s just a façade. To be a real woman you need a heart, warmth, caring. And I want a woman with a sense of humour, brains…all Renata offers is what she looks like, and that isn’t enough for me now.’

His grey eyes were deadly serious; she had doubted him yesterday but now she was ready to believe him. She had seen the cynicism in his face as he watched his ex-wife. Renata didn’t take him in.

Johnny ran into the room a moment later and his father got up to greet him, raking back his slightly dishevelled black hair.

‘Hello, enjoyed your cartoons?’

‘Yeah. When are we having lunch?’ the boy demanded.

Randal looked at his watch, made a surprised face. ‘It’s half past twelve. Do you want to go down now?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘You’ve got ice cream round your mouth,’ Pippa gently reminded him. ‘Maybe we should all go to the bathroom before we leave?’

‘Okay.’ Johnny streaked away and his father shuddered.

‘I wish I had his energy! Not to mention his stomach. He’s hardly digested that ice cream but already he’s thinking about more food!’

‘He’s a growing boy!’ Pippa grinned; she found Johnny’s unashamed delight in food amusing. But then she liked the boy a lot; in some ways he reminded her of his father, in other ways he was very much himself. She had grown very fond of him.

After lunch Johnny and Randal changed into their riding clothes to go to the stables. Pippa curled up on a couch in the sitting room and watched a TV programme.

While Johnny was putting on his boots, Randal said quietly to her, ‘You’re sure you won’t come?’

She shook her head, keeping her face blank. ‘I’d rather stay here and rest.’

He hesitated, eyeing her shrewdly. ‘I hope you aren’t planning to bolt again? You will be here when we get back?’

She tossed her hair back, making a face. ‘Oh, don’t be tiresome! Just go, will you?’

Johnny appeared before Randal had the chance to say anything else, and the two of them left.

As soon as they had gone Pippa hurried into her bedroom and packed everything. She could not stay here; she had a sense of impending disaster. It was blindingly obvious that if she didn’t get away she would find herself being stampeded into marrying Randal, and every time she thought about that violent alarm bells went off inside her head and heart.

She took her case down to Reception and asked them to get her a taxi to the nearest railway station.

‘Will the other members of your party be staying on, or are they leaving too?’ the receptionist asked, looking at her suspiciously, obviously wondering if she was bolting without paying the bill.

‘Yes, they’re staying tonight, but they’ve gone riding at the local stables. They should be back in a couple of hours. Their luggage is all upstairs.’

The receptionist rang a taxi firm, then told her, ‘The cab should be here in ten minutes.’

She sat down and waited, gazing out into the hotel grounds. The trees tossed restlessly in the brisk wind but the sun was shining and wallflowers in a large raised bed sent waves of strong scent into the hotel foyer.

The taxi arrived and drove her to the railway station. She was lucky; there was a train to London only a quarter of an hour later. She got to town in time to catch her connecting train into Essex and was back at her cottage by six.

Her nerves were on edge, wondering if Randal would ring, but the evening passed without hearing from him.