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If he wasn’t already too late.
‘Do you like this one? Shake it and it plays a tune, touch this bit and it’s soft and furry, this bit is rough.’ Millie held the toy over the pram. ‘And you can chew the rings on the end. The book says you’re going to want to start chewing fairly soon.’
Baby Costas gurgled quietly to himself and Millie leaned over and gently tucked the blanket more firmly around him. ‘I suppose we’d better be getting back. I need the rest of the afternoon to get ready. Believe me, it takes me that long to look even vaguely presentable. And even then I won’t look good enough for Leandro. If I’m going to tell him that I’ll stay married to him, I need to look the part. Don’t pull that face at me.’ She smiled down at him. ‘You try being married to someone who looks like him. It’s hard work, trust me. Especially when you start off with a face and body like mine. Come on—I’ll just pay for these and then we’ll wander home.’
She put the toy down on top of the pram. On impulse she added a little outfit that caught her eye. Then she made her way across the shop to pay. Standing in the queue, she stared down at Costas, automatically searching for a resemblance to Leandro.
‘Oh, my—just take a look at that.’ The girl in front of her in the queue gave a wistful sigh. ‘What are the chances of my losing ten kilos in the next five seconds?’
‘Forget it. Your best bet is to hope he likes curvy women,’ her friend said gloomily, pulling in her rounded tummy.
‘His type always go for the skinny sort.’
‘With blonde hair.’
‘Straight, long blonde hair.’
‘He is truly spectacular. If I had him in my bed I might actually decide that sex was a more attractive option than sleep.’
‘He’s coming this way.’
‘I’d give a million pounds just to be kissed by him once.’
Sensing the shift in the atmosphere and interested to know what kind of man could induce such enthusiasm among the members of her sex, Millie glanced up idly and saw Leandro striding purposefully across the store. Like a lion wandering into the middle of a herd of gazelle, the women all stared at him, transfixed.
Millie gave a whimper of horror. What was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in Paris? She hadn’t expected him to return to the house until dinnertime at the earliest. When they’d been together before,
he’d frequently missed dinner, working late into the evening. But here he was, in the middle of the afternoon, clearly looking for her.
How had he known she was here?
Aware that any moment now he was going to spot her and even more aware that she’d spent absolutely no time on herself since he’d last seen her, Millie slid out of the queue, turned her back and walked quickly towards the door.
The thought of him seeing her when she wasn’t prepared filled her with horror. Even the ‘natural’ look took her hours to achieve.
Furtively she glanced over her shoulder, taking a roundabout route via cots and prams so that he’d be less likely to notice her. She didn’t want him to see her like this.
She’d planned to spend the rest of the afternoon getting ready to face him. Ready to give him her answer. True, her outward appearance wasn’t going to make any difference at all to the eventual outcome of their relationship, but she knew she’d have more confidence with him if she was at least looking her best on the outside.
Another glance over her shoulder showed him frowning around the shop and Millie melted quietly out of the door, pondering on the fact that to be so ordinary as to be unnoticeable could be a blessing. In this instance, it had worked to her advantage, but once in a while it would be nice to be so beautiful that every man in the shop was staring at her.
Except that she didn’t want every man in the shop, did she? She just wanted Leandro.
A hand closed over her shoulder. ‘Excuse me, madam. I have reason to believe you’re in possession of goods you haven’t paid for.’
Millie froze. Several people passing turned to stare and she felt the hot singe of mortification darken her cheeks as she noticed the items she’d selected still sitting on top of the baby’s pram. ‘Oh, no.’ She turned and looked at the uniformed security guard. ‘I’m so sorry. I—I completely forgot that I’d picked them up.’
‘Don’t waste your time thinking up excuses.’ The security guard’s expression warned her that he was no soft touch. ‘I’ve been watching you for a few minutes. You were behaving in an extremely suspicious manner. Instead of taking a direct route to the door, you took a roundabout route, ducking down and quite obviously trying not to be seen.’
‘I was trying not to be seen,’ Millie said quickly and saw his expression harden. ‘I—I don’t mean by you. I was…’ Realising how much trouble she was in, she pressed her fingers to her forehead and the security guard’s mouth tightened.
‘We have a very strict policy about prosecuting shoplifters. I’d like you to come with me.’
‘I’m not a shoplifter!’ Her tone urgent, Millie put her hand on his arm, affronted that he’d think that of her. ‘It was a genuine mistake.’
He withdrew his arm pointedly. ‘If you just come back into the store, madam, you can explain it to the police.’
‘No!’ Millie was aware of the crowd gathering and wanted to disappear into a big hole in the ground. Why was it, she wondered desperately, that people were so fascinated by other people’s misfortunes? What pleasure did they gain from standing around, staring? Not one of them had stepped in to support or defend her. She was on her own. ‘You don’t understand.’ She licked her lips and tried one more time. ‘This was an oversight, nothing more. I saw something—someone—’
