Then she’d quit modelling and gone into the family firm, where she’d held roles in different departments until her father’s death six months ago. Never owned a pet, enjoyed dancing, fashion and shoes. As he came to the end of the sheet he looked back up at her and caught her studying him.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘I think I’m getting the facts. I know your birthday, where you were born and a bit about your family. Your mum is called Bea, your stepdad is called John and his son is called Max and he is fourteen.’ She stopped and he was aware he’d flinched as more memories cascaded in.
Two years after Bea decided to stay with her husband, John had married someone else, and Liam could still remember his mother’s grief when she’d found out. He’d seen the anguish in her grey eyes, heard the sound of muted tears in the night, seen her feet drag and heard her voice snap. It had only been then that he’d begun to understand what his mother had sacrificed for him and he hadn’t known how to handle that.
So he’d renewed his efforts to make his dad better, make him reform, make his parents be happy again. To no avail. So in the end at eighteen he’d done what he’d thought was right. He’d joined the army. He’d known that once he had a new ‘home’ and independence his mother would be able to leave. Finally accepted too that his father was not going to change.
Then Bea had reconnected with John, by then divorced and the father of a three-year-old son, Max. Bea and John got married and Liam was happy for them. But he knew that he had thwarted their chance of an earlier life together, a chance to have children of their own. And that created an awkwardness and a discomfort and so he stayed clear as much as he could, wanted to allow his mum a second chance to have a happy family life.
But he’d put none of the detail on his fact sheet. All Ava needed were facts, not the grim story that shadowed them. Facts were important.
‘That’s right.’
Ava nodded. ‘I’ve been thinking about this. Are you going to tell your mum the truth about us?’
‘No. The fewer people who know, the better. The best way to keep a secret is to make sure it is a secret.’
‘I get that but she is hardly going to be happy that her son is dating a Casseveti. I’ll need to meet her during this charade and that will be awkward, to say the least. So why put her through it? Surely you can trust her to keep the secret?’
‘It’s not just my mum. It’s John and Max as well. It doesn’t seem fair to ask her to keep it secret from them. And Max is only fourteen. It seems even more unfair to ask him to keep a secret like that or to lie for us. I won’t ask her or her family to do that.’ Wouldn’t complicate her life or upset her family dynamic in any way.
‘That is a fair point. But—’
‘It does make it extra hard on you. I’m sorry. I’ll shield you as best I can when we meet her. And we’ll keep it brief.’ That would hardly be a surprise to any of them. Liam kept his visits short and polite. ‘And whilst my mum will have some negative feelings, she knows you aren’t to blame for your father’s actions.’
Ava hesitated and then shrugged. ‘OK. This is your show. Could you arrange for us to meet them once we have figured out our act properly. Before we go public?’
‘Sure. And what about your mum?’
‘We will have to tell my mother the truth. She knows who you are and about my father’s request.’
‘Will she keep it secret?’
‘Yes. My mum is the Queen of Spin. She will see that our relationship can be spun to Dolci’s advantage. She won’t mess with that.’ Ava gave a decisive nod and glanced down at her printed agenda, then up at her computer screen, tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. This must be exactly how she looked in a business meeting.
She looked up. ‘Right, next on the agenda—we need to get our story straight. Get our facts lined up in a row.’
She rose to her feet and headed towards the whiteboard. ‘I thought we could plot out a timeline, work out some plot points. Then I’ll type it up.’
‘Sure. Good plan.’ And it was...yet something wasn’t right with the current scenario. Sure, they now knew more about each other but...
Moving along a few seats, he watched the unconscious grace with which she moved. As she reached for the pen, again her nail colour caught his eye, the pale pink a perfect complement to the grey of her suit, the crisp businesslike white of her shirt. Her lips a perfect match. Liam frowned, tried to home in on what his instinct was trying to tell him.
Knew it was not that he had a nail fetish.
‘Right,’ Ava said. ‘I’ve thought about this and it’s really important we figure out when our “relationship”—she made quote marks in the air —started. The times have to add up and stand up to scrutiny. We can’t say we were having a romantic dinner at The Ritz if that’s the day they were closed for renovations.’
‘Agreed.’
‘Good. So...’ She broke off. ‘Are you listening?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I am, and you’re right. All that is important but...’ He hesitated. ‘We’re doing this all wrong.’
‘I don’t understand.’
He wasn’t sure he did either, but he trusted his instincts and this was too important to ignore them. ‘You are right to say that this will only work if we can pull it off, and to do that we need all these facts. But this isn’t the way to collate them.’
‘Why not?’