The Beautiful Widow by Helen Brooks Read Free Book Online Page B

listened to the cab drive off. Her heart was thudding like a drum and she had a feeling she could only describe as panic. She held a hand to her chest, shutting her eyes.
    It was a minute or two before her breathing steadied and she straightened. The house was quiet; clearly her parents had retired for the night and just left the hall and landing lights on. She walked through to the small kitchen and dining room at the back of the house, dumping her portfolio and the plans and other bits and pieces on the table before opening the French doors that led into her parents’ tiny square of garden. This had originally been a backyard with an outside lavatory when the Victorian terrace was first constructed; now most of the householders had done the same as her parents and converted the space into a paved patio surrounded by potted plants and leafy ferns where they could enjoy a meal alfresco.
    Toni sat down on one of the pretty wrought-iron chairs, resting her elbows on the table as she massaged tense muscles at the back of her neck. The tiny space trapped any warmth in the air during the day, making it very pleasant come nightfall, and the heady perfume from the white lilies and clematis and little geraniumswith brown and green striped flowers that smelled of cloves and limes from dusk till dawn gradually relaxed her senses. She shut her eyes, lifting her face up to the black night sky in which a million stars twinkled.
    Why had Steel Landry affected her so badly? It wasn’t like her to be so skittish or given to fancies; she was normally down-to-earth and logical. When she thought about it her circumstances had changed dramatically in the last few hours; she ought to be down on her bended knees thanking God for him, not quibbling about whether to take the job or not. Thanks to him, in a year or two she could envisage affording a proper family home for the girls, somewhere like this little house where the three of them could be happy. A mortgage on a little terrace with a small outside place for the girls to play wouldn’t be beyond her and would be far better than a bedsit or flat for the twins. Paying for after-school care until she was home; continuing the girls’ ballet lessons, which they’d adored and had to give up after Richard’s death; holidays—suddenly they were all on the agenda again.
    Toni hugged herself, a dart of joy causing her to smile. It was all going to be all right, she could get her life on an even keel again and once she’d dealt with the debts she’d feel in control once more. And she’d been ridiculous about Steel. It was just that she’d never met a self-made multimillionaire before, never felt such power and charisma radiating from a mere human being. That was all it was.
    She nodded to herself. Poor man, when all he’d done was help her; thank goodness he hadn’t been able to read her thoughts.
    The ‘poor man’ was at that moment sitting in the back of the cab having—what was for Steel—the very unusualexperience of feeling regret. His mouth set in a grim line, he scowled at the passing scene outside the window as he told himself he’d been crazy to employ Toni George. The smartest thing he could have done was to conduct the interview quickly, let her down gently and show her the door. That way he wouldn’t have had to see her again. The last thing, the very last thing he needed was to be lusting after a woman who worked for him; a woman in the throes of coping with the aftermath of what had clearly been an unhappy marriage and who had two small children.
    He forced himself to lean back in the seat, unlocking tense muscles one by one. Dammit, she might be beautiful and intelligent and gutsy, but so were thousands of other women out there. He should know—he’d had his fair share of female companions in his time. So what—here the muscles he’d relaxed tightened again—made Toni George different from the rest? Because different she was. In fact he didn’t think he’d ever