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‘You can’t,’ Leila said. ‘Please don’t make me a promise that you cannot keep. I want to ring my mother but I am too scared. I don’t want to know that she’s disowned me and that she might want nothing to do with my child.’ Leila let out a breath. ‘Maybe if I have a girl and call her Jasmine...’
‘Okay, let’s not make any decisions about that yet,’ James said hastily, because the more he heard about Jasmine the less he liked her. ‘I’ll try to at least not make things any worse with your parents, but I do promise you that I won’t cheat. Can you believe that much?’
Almost.
She wanted to believe that much, that this beautiful man actually wanted her, that love was coming into her life.
‘I’ll try.’
‘Bloody hell,’ James said. ‘Best speech of my life, lukewarm reception.’ He gave her his smile. ‘I’ll take it.’
Leila had her sleep and James played the stock market, but every now and then he looked over to where she was sleeping, and at five, he called her name.
‘You’ve got work.’
‘I know.’
‘Now, I know that I’m going to sound really chauvinist,’ James said, ‘but I don’t want you working nights, not because I don’t want you working nights but because...’
‘I don’t want to go in either.’ Leila smiled because she wanted tonight to be with him.
‘Can you call in sick?’
‘No.’
‘You can.’
‘I won’t do that to them,’ Leila said, and took a breath, ‘though I was thinking of telling them that I won’t be coming back,’ Leila admitted. ‘Maybe on occasions but I like that season ticket that you got me for the orchestra and I love watching them rehearse.’
It was the biggest compliment she could give him, that this very independent princess might trust him enough to take care of her.
‘Tell them that this is your last night,’ James said.
Which meant, if he wanted to hear her play, then he’d be going along tonight too.
James took a turn on the bed as Leila showered. She came out of the bathroom and dried herself in front of him and she did not turn her back and James did not move. Leila went over to the dressing table and took out her underwear that she had chosen and bought for herself and put them on and then did her make-up.
And he still did not move.
Leila walked over to the wardrobe and selected her favourite new robe, in the palest mint green. She slithered it on and then she met his eyes.
‘Are you going to offer to help with the buttons?’
‘Nope.’
Leila put her arms behind her back and looked at him watching her body as she struggled with the small buttons.
‘Will you help me with my buttons?’
There was no please but he jerked his head and she went over and turned around and stood holding her hair up as he sat on the edge of the bed.
‘Please?’ James said, watching the spread of colour on the back of her neck.
‘Please,’ Leila said.
For every button her spine got a kiss, for every kiss her thighs loosened till he easily pulled her to his lap to do the last buttons to her neck. When they were done he did not turn her to face him; he just pulled her further back into his lap and his mouth met the heat of her neck.
She wanted to turn but his hands held her hips, and his mouth was at the back of her ear so she could both feel and hear his ragged breathing as she pressed back into him.
‘I’ll call in sick...’ Leila offered, and not just for him!
‘It would be wrong to let them down at the last minute,’ James said as he released her from his knee.
She stood, but did not meet his eyes, and as she put on her veil and left she did not ask what he would be doing tonight while she was working.
They both knew where this night would lead.
* * *
Leila told the manager and Habib that this would be her last night playing at the restaurant and the manager let out a sigh. He had been expecting it, not just because he had worked out that she was the fiancée of James Chatsfield, but because of the way Leila played he had known that they would not have her for long. More and more the clients were asking for her. More and more the restaurant grew quiet as she played.
‘You’ll come and see us though?’ he checked.
‘Of course,’ Leila said. ‘I love dining here.’
The restaurant was very busy and at first Leila quietly played. She did not look up, yet she knew the very moment that James walked in.
She heard the murmur of the guests as a very well-known man entered, but more than that her heart knew and for a moment her fingers, which had never missed a note, faltered.
