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While Nick strode upstairs to his office to make the call, Lizzie hunted down the printout of the email Catherine had sent through — the details of her villa by the sea. She’d spent all afternoon eyeing it longingly, but now she wasn’t sure. Nick had looked so tired when he’d come in. Obviously travelling between the barn and his office in London was really taking its toll. How could she now ask him to drop everything and go on holiday with her?
Plus there was Sally to consider. Sally, who she conveniently kept forgetting. No matter how much he continued to deny they were serious, what sort of woman did it make her that she was considering tempting Nick into an affair, when he was already sleeping with someone else?
Sighing wistfully, she scrunched the picture into the palm of her hand and climbed the stairs to join him.
‘That’s great news, Dan,’ she heard him saying on the phone when she quietly eased the study door open. ‘Damages for rape, blackmail, defamation of character . . . yes, we’ll take whatever we can. By the time he’s had his lawyer read through that, Charles will rue the day he ever hurt her.’ He smiled when he noticed Lizzie and put Dan onto speakerphone. ‘I’ve got Lizzie with me now, Dan.’ He glanced at her. ‘Dan was just saying he’s filed the lawsuit. Charles has a week to answer the charges.’
‘So soon?’ She’d assumed this would drag on for months.
Nick grinned. ‘I think Dan’s pulled strings we’re not allowed to ask him about. You’d have to take the fifth on that, hey buddie?’
The American chuckled. ‘Sure thing. Suffice to say there’s a ground swell of support for you here, Elizabeth. Seeing what you’ve gone through, and how you’re standing up to him rather than letting him get away with his shameful behaviour, has encouraged more and more women to come forward with their own experiences. I’m quietly confident.’
Nick laughed. ‘Dan and the word quiet do not go together in the same sentence. Seriously though Dan, we appreciate all you’ve done on this. I owe you.’
‘You don’t owe me a damn thing,’ Dan’s voice boomed back. ‘Consider us even. Now, you folks relax and leave it in the capable hands of your American friends. I’ll keep you updated.’
Nick said goodbye and cut the call.
Perching on the edge of his desk, Lizzie felt dazed. ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is all happening so fast.’
‘Dan’s a good man with a lot of important connections. He’ll get us the right verdict, trust me.’ He pulled his chair out slightly so he could look at her properly. ‘It’s a crying shame we can’t put Charles in jail, where he belongs, but at least this way he’ll be ruined and your reputation back in order.’
Lizzie chewed her bottom lip. ‘I’m not so sure it will be that easy. Restoring my reputation, I mean.’
‘It will,’ he asserted, his voice allowing no argument. ‘When the outcome of this civil case hits the media, everyone will know who is the victim here. It will work out, Lizzie. Trust me.’
She nodded, on the verge of tears again. Two weeks ago she’d been staring down a cold, dark tunnel, with no exit in sight. Now one was being dangled, teasingly, in front of her nose.
‘What’s that?’ he asked, noticing the sheet of paper balled up in her hand.
Quickly she glanced down, feeling foolish. ‘Nothing really.’
‘What does nothing really mean? Is it something, or isn’t it?’
She rolled her eyes at him. ‘Okay, it’s something that seemed like a good idea earlier, after the altercation with the journalist.’ Feeling oddly nervous, she attempted to smooth out the printout. ‘The other night, you asked me to picture something to make me relax. A beach you said, with sand and warm turquoise water. Well, I could really do with a bit of that right now. I mean, staying here has been terrific, exactly what I needed, but now the press know I’m here.’ Her mouth ran out of words and she ended up shrugging awkwardly.
‘You want to go on holiday for a while?’ he asked softly.
‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘It occurred to me I haven’t had a break for years. Now seems like a good time.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Just a few days, you know. Maybe a week? If you can’t take the time off, I’ll understand, I know how busy you’ve been.’
‘You want me to go with you?’ he blurted, looking totally shocked.
‘Well, yes, obviously. I mean it wouldn’t be much fun on my own.’ Heck, she couldn’t think of anything worse. Leave Nick when, by the sound of things, she only had a short time left with him? The thought knotted her stomach. ‘Of course if you don’t want to come . . .’ She let the sentence hang.
He shook his head. ‘No, I mean, yes.’ A rueful grin spread across his face. ‘I’ve never been good at double negatives. Yes, of course, if you’d like me to come, I’d love to join you.’ He frowned slightly. ‘When were you planning on going?’
Oops. She tried to look shamefaced. ‘I was thinking, maybe tomorrow?’ His eyebrows shot skywards. ‘I know it’s short notice,’ she added quickly, ‘and I can wait if you need to sort stuff out, but . . .’
‘You really want to get away?’
Her mouth felt dry and her heart was thumping away like the clappers. All she could do was nod. This was more than just a break in the sun. It was her and Nick and a romantic hideaway. It was a fantasy, a pipedream, but one she so desperately wanted to come true.
‘You don’t muck around when you set your mind on something, do you?’ He ran a hand through his hair, which she now understood was his way of taking time out, pausing to think. ‘I should be okay, as long as I can work wherever we’re going. Where is that, by the way?’
Joy swept through her, exploding out in a bubble of laughter. ‘Sardinia. I’ve got a friend who has a villa there.’ She waved the picture under his nose, but he barely glanced at it.
