Sharon couldn't sleep at all that night. She kept pacing around her room. She was careful though not to wake her sleeping daughter. She was almost jealous of her daughter, sleeping peacefully and not besieged by the troubles of the world like she was, in this case, the troubles of the heart.
Her mind was moving round in circles, a core of aching desire still pulsing inside her.
Why had she gone to the party? Why? It might have saved her pride but that was no comfort to her now.
She could have made some excuses. She could have stayed at Cor fun as they had planned, met David at some later date, apologised and given him his present. She knew he would have understood and as for Brenda, she could have cooked up an excise of being held at work.
She could have avoided the party totally and avoided meeting Bryan again.
She traced the bruised line of her lips with her fingers, her heart constricting with pain. Oh God, she wanted him so much. She had been running for so long, she had forgotten that she would never stop loving him. It was the kind of love that came once in a lifetime. The kind of love that never fades.
She made some coffee and forced herself to sit down. Questions plagued her. Who was the woman in the yellow dress? From her own bitter experience, she knew that one woman could never satisfy him. From what Brenda had said, she knew how her own behaviour must have looked at the time of their parting. He assumed that she had been seeing Gerhard all the time. The fact that she and Gerhard had got married must have confirmed all his suspicions.
It served him right, she thought spitefully. He may think whatever he liked. She had no intention of seeing him again. Tonight had been a mistake she had no intention of repeating
She checked on her daughter still sleeping peacefully and breathing gently undisturbed.
She finally fell asleep on the couch as dawn was breaking because she was scared that in her troubled state, she might toss and turn and disturb her daughter's rest.
She woke two hours later feeling terrible
The thought if driving down to Kendal filled her with dismay. over had fixed the appointment for her as soon as he knew that she was back from holiday and there was no getting out of it. She had found refuge in her work before. Perhaps she would find it again.
Struggling up from the couch, massaging her aching muscles, she switched on the percolator before taking a hot shower. The water splashed all over her, easing her tiredness and she wondered for the millionth time how she could love a man who obviously took her for granted. She halted her thoughts, not wanting to think about him and yet unable to stop herself.
She dressed while she took her coffee, choosing a black, button through cashmere dress with a matching gaberdine cost and soft leather boots. It was chic and fashionable and very business like, which was what Oliver expected when she was representing the company. She pulled her hair back into a neat chignon and made up her face, carefully hiding the telltale circles beneath her eyes.
Ready on time, she collected her briefcase, portfolio and handbag and left the flat.
Gabriel was in the hall as she went down and she gave instructions about her daughter. 'You are early', he said with a smile.
'I am going to Kendal, remember, I told you last night and I also gave you instruction concerning Deborah.
'And you? I am more interested in what you didn't tell me'. He shot her a long hard look and she knew that he could see right through her careful make up.
'What are you talking about?'
'Bryan Ferdinand. It is far early on the morning for games, cousin'.
'I haven't got time'.
'Look, I left a perfectly good party just as it was hotting up to drive you home --so I think that you owe me some explanations', his smile was sweet, softening his words.
'I'll tell you later', she said knowing that he was only concerned about her. 'But I really must go now or I'll be late. Oliver would kill me'.
'The forecast is snow up North', Gabriel said looking through the newspaper. Sharon didn't really care.
'Well if I have to stay over, Oliver would be footing the hotel bills.And I trust that Deborah would be in great hands. That was one got from having a working woman as a mother. See you later'.
In the car, she switched on the radio but the music and loud chatter frayed her nerves so she switched it off again and concentrated on her driving.
She was sorry that she had not been paying much attention to her daughter lately and though Deborah was a smart quiet understanding girl, she knew that she missed her mother.
The kisses in the morning before rushing off was not enough and if not for the fact that she had got her registered in one of the great private schools so that she wouldn't miss her too much but have friends of age to play with and it was the family of one of such friends that had baby sit her while she went to the party the previous day.
It had been quite a while that she had taken her out on a picnic or a date between just the both of them and she vowed silently to make it up to her.
She focused on the weather. The motorway was fairly clear from the midlands upwards though the sky was heavy with snow.
She arrived at Kendall with one hour to spare and decided to have coffee.in a tiny tea house she found on the main road through the town.
Oliver's prospective client lived in an enormous architect designed house, a few miles out of Kendall. She drove through the gates with a ten minutes to spare.The meeting went well though it took all afternoon.
Oliver believed in the personal touch and be ause his time was short, Sharon had gradually become one of his top sales executives as well as a designer. She was beautiful and we'll groomed and she knew what she was talking about.bOliver had told her that she was the perfect advertisement for the company. It was true that being one of the designer, she knew the business inside out. It was a challenge that she enjoyed almost as much as she enjoyed her banking career and because of the challenge and enjoyment she derived from designing, she was wondering if she was ever going to go back to banking anymore. She must admit that the sakes trips were comparatively rare.
Though based in Los Angeles, the company was breaking out into the British market and other outlets.