Nothing Left to Lose - Part Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Heidi had a meeting in West London; the last magazine interview was on Saturday morning. As she emerged from the tube station she caught her reflection in a shop window. Her tailored dress, heels and scarf made her look sophisticated, so far from the awkward teenager she’d been, but as she strolled down the street, she knew that she wasn’t a million miles away from the person she’d been.

Glancing at her watch she realised she was forty minutes early, not great. But she was only a few streets from Lucas' uptown penthouse, not that she visited very often. She hadn’t seen him other than the meal with their mother, so she took a left instead of right and started off for his building.

Approaching his address, a large doorway on a tree lined street, she spotted a taxi drawing level with his building, then aghast she felt her jaw fall open in shock. Stepping back into a nearby doorway she watched as out of the front door came a bare-chested Lucas his arm wrapped around Eleni, as they got close to the cab he pulled her into an embrace, kissing her on the lips. It wasn’t a ravishing passionate kiss, but it was familiar, something shared.

She was stunned. He’d only met her four days earlier, and now here they were obviously up to no good. The man had no scruples, and it seemed neither did she.

When the cab pulled clear of the kerb, she stormed the short distance to where he stood wistfully watching after the retreating vehicle.

                “What the hell are you playing at Lucas? I am NOT digging you out of this one!”

Lucas jump at hearing her voice was almost of cartoon proportions, then he spun around to face her, “it’s not what you think sis, I swear!”

He’d never defended himself so vehemently or passionately in the past, never cared that she knew all his secrets, but she wasn’t convinced, “she’s a woman Lucas and that ticks your box!”

                “Look she’s upset, apparently her dick of a husband is leaving her, she’s a mess.”

Heidi swallowed her own guilt, “so you’re consoling her by screwing her?”

                “Like I said it’s not what you think.”

She shook her head, “oh poor, poor Eleni! What is it with my family protecting her? I am your sister, not her. Saying that... I don’t want THAT kind of attention. Jeez.” She shook her head, “I came here to try and make things easier, cos I was starting to think there was more distance than usual between us. Why do I bother?”

                “What are you talking about?” He stood hands on hips glaring at her.

She shook her head, “I knew you were a slut, but sleeping with a married woman...your step sister no less. You REALLY have scraped the barrel this time. I’m out.”

He was still standing mouth agape when she stormed off, but as she rounded the corner of the street, she felt as though he had the last laugh. He was acting on his impulses, whereas she...she’d denied herself exactly that.

Over the next ten days Heidi kept a low profile, avoiding contact with her family, and completing the wedding dress for her mother. She refused point blank to be bridesmaid, having convinced her mother that she and Eleni were too different, that she’d feel so frumpy and plain if she was compared to the other woman. Fortunately her mother agreed after a long telephone debate. Which meant that whilst she wouldn’t be forced to dress like Eleni and appear beside her in every picture, her mother now had just one bridesmaid...and it wasn’t her.  She had presumed her mother would choose not to have any, but apparently the fragile Eleni couldn’t cope with anymore rejection.

The wedding was finally booked, and had been brought forward by two months to late November, Eleni was heading to California just after that for her three month stint, so it was deemed the most suitable time. The common theme of ‘we all bend for Eleni’ remained strong. Fortunately she was on time with the dress, so there was less stress than there could have been.

                “So where is it going to be?” She asked her mother during a phone call. “London? Athens? Cyprus?”

                “Chamonix!” She announced, “Cesare has a lodge there, we found a hotel that will provide a wedding breakfast...It’s perfect!”

                “France?” She shook her head in surprise. “You hate skiing mother!”

                “Maybe, but I love the snow, and think how beautiful the photos will look!”

As she hung up on that call, she looked across her desk to the post-it note Polly had left there earlier.

                “A Dale Booth called. Can you call him back?”

Underneath the words was a long distance number.

Turning away she called out to Polly, “I’m going out for lunch. See you in an hour.”

It was such a crossroads, calling Dale may well change her life beyond believe, with all that was currently going on she wasn’t sure she could cope with more upheaval, more trauma.

Sat on a park bench she closed her eyes, turning her face up to the bright sun, it was warm for early October, and her phone disturbed her silence.

Pulling it from her bag, she didn’t recognise the number displayed, normally she ignored cold calling, but for some reason she answered.

                “Hii-deeeeee?”

Only one person had that warm, husky voice.

She sat bolt upright, “Cosmo?”

A soft sigh echoed down the phone line, “ah, it is so wonderful to hear your voice again.”

                “You too.”

She knew she was smiling like an idiot, but she couldn’t help it.

                “I am between meetings...I have literally two minutes. But I wanted to speak to you.”

                “It’s lovely to speak to you. What have you been doing?”

He groaned, “work - travelling a lot. At home, well I am trying to prise my rather enduring wife out of my life.” 

The indirect mention of Eleni once again brought the image of her wrapped around her brother early the previous week. Cosmo had emailed her a few times and called her since, but she hadn’t discussed what she’d seen.

                “So you’ve heard the details for the wedding?”

She knew that Cosmo realised she was changing the subject but he played along, “of course. Cesare is...like a child with his excitement. He calls me almost hourly to arrange things. How is your mother?”

                “The same. But I’ve finally managed to get her agree that I won’t be bridesmaid.”

There was a pregnant pause, they’d almost argued the previous week when she had told him that she couldn’t stand beside his wife, that she felt so unattractive next to her. He was indignant in his response that she was more beautiful than her. But that wasn’t how she felt.

                “So there are no bridesmaids. It’s a second wedding for them both, I don’t think it’s a bad decision to keep things low key.”

That made her laugh, then in her best impression of her mother’s voice, she replied, “but she’s so devastated at the moment, I can’t disappoint her Heidi. She’s fragile, not strong like you.”

                “WHAT?” His anger was unleashed down the phone line for a moment, “Eleni is STILL a bridesmaid? She doesn’t deserve you, none of them do.” His voice was a hiss, “when are they going to see that bitch for what she really is?”

                “Don’t let it spoil this...us.”

                “I won’t. I promise, but I want people to appreciate you as I do. You can do ANYTHING Heidi Mortimer, you know that right?

When she got back to the office, the note from her US contact was still staring up at her from her desk. But Cosmo was right, she could do anything...and this was just a phone call.

“Hey Heidi.” Dale answered on the third ring. “Thanks for getting back to me. We are so excited to discuss things with you.”

She leaned back in her seat, resting the phone against her shoulder and smiled, “I’m glad.”

                “The board have agreed with my assessment, we would like to talk to you in person. Can you come out here? Show us your portfolio? Possibly discuss terms?”

She flicked up her work diary on the computer in front of her, “I have a family wedding at the end of next month. Is it too late to come out after that? I’ve got a few things on here until then.”

“December first ok? I’ll book you on a flight.”

Heidi wanted a special dress for the wedding, Eleni was a model with a beautiful body, she needed something stunning to at least try and compete, because for all Cosmo’s encouraging words, she NEEDED to feel good, needed to compete with the model, as childish as that seemed. But after days and days sat at the drawing board she had drawn a blank. On Saturday afternoon, that was no different, she opened a bottle of wine to try and loosen her mood, open up her ideas. Her solace was disturbed by the phone, answering, she felt a flush of heat at the voice she loved to hear.

                “Cosmo?”

He chuckled, “yes. How are you?”

Niceties aside she missed him, it was two almost months since he’d visited her flat, since he’d kissed her, and it’d suddenly become so difficult to remember him. When she closed her eyes, she could no longer see his face, his eyes or his smile.

                “Sad, fed up. Wish I was on some warm beach with you.”

He sighed, “damn, I’m not near a beach, otherwise I’d have flown you out to fulfil your wish. I miss you too.”

Heidi knew that tears were starting to well in her eyes, but she couldn’t do that, couldn’t spend what little time they had together crying.

                “So no beaches. Are you in Athens?”

There was a moment of silence before he said, “I called because I’m in London Heidi, I want to see you, I think we’ve waited long enough.”

Suddenly the room was spinning and her mind racing.

He laughed at her silence, “I’m to take that as a no?”

“No!” she gasped, “of course not, I want that...so much.”

Sighing, he replied, “haven’t we waited long enough?”

                “Has something happened? Something changed?”

He was quiet for longer than she was comfortable with. Eventually he spoke, “no, I just had to meet my sister...she has issues. Nothing too much. But I have been in hotels for most of the last month, I want to relax, switch off. I want you agápi mou!”

My love.

She gasped, desire, lust and anticipation flooding her veins and more poignantly her pelvis.

                “So what did you have in mind?” her voice was hoarse with the emotions washing over her.

                “Are you free today...for the rest of the weekend?”

When she confirmed he was, he sighed, “I was hoping that you were. I know it’s short notice, but a friend...he has a cottage, it’s about an hour out of London. It’s ours, if you’ll join me. I’m told the pub nearby sells very good food.”

She tried to speak but her breath was constricted in her throat.

                “I could pick you up in an hour?”

What was she worrying about? He was single, he’d left Eleni. They’d waited for a long time, plus no one would know. That was the biggest positive. So she was grinning when she agreed, offering, “Ok, but you have to help me find inspiration for a design for a dress for the wedding!”

                “That sounds like a deal!”

When the line went dead Heidi had sixty minutes to pack a bag. After ten minutes of jumping up and down on her bed with excitement, she had a shower, so glad she’d washed her hair the day before. Into a holdall she threw two sets of her best lingerie, sliding the third, a silver and lilac bra with the same colour lacy knickers, on. There was a lot unwritten between them and she had no idea what this weekend would entail. Though she knew what she wanted. She was so excited she felt an overwhelming need to wow him with how sexy she could be, but she knew that wasn’t what this was about. He wanted her, as she’d been on the beach in Cyprus, her...just her. And anyway, she didn’t want to scare him off with her over enthusiasm. So calmly she tossed away the sexy tops and short skirts that she’d look at for any other type of date and hunted for her skinny black jeans, teaming them with a pale blue strappy baby doll top. She’d added a few more demure outfits and some toiletries into the bag, and was sliding into her knee high flat boots when the doorbell rang.

She felt faint with excitement, he was here...