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‘I was stupid. I don’t even know why I did it.’ He pulled himself up with a jerk. ‘Yes, yes, I do…of course I do.’ He mocked himself with an angry laugh. ‘It was because I worked damned hard to get where I am today. Dave and I started Westons—the two of us—and we agreed that it would always be just the two of us…And then Dave went and got himself killed and pulled the rug out from under me. He knew I’d left him my share of Westons in my will!’
‘You weren’t married,’ Rachel pointed out.
‘Neither was David! He could have waited, couldn’t he?’ he said, with a logic that didn’t bear examination. ‘He should at least have asked me about it first! So, I thought, OK, a silent partner, I can handle that…but then you started insisting on “helping”. So I figured to let the business slide just enough that it wouldn’t cost me too much when you decided it was all too hard—but, no, instead you announced that you were going try stepping completely into Dave’s shoes. I couldn’t stop you while you had the deciding share, but I figured if I kept the pressure on I might eventually be able to persuade you it was a bad idea—especially if you were also having hassles with people like the council and the IRS.
‘And then Armstrong lucked out with those snaps. It seemed like the hand of fate. I wasn’t looking to do anything illegal, just create enough embarrassment to give me an excuse to demand you resign. And when Stiller agreed to play along, keeping our future prospects looking rocky, that seemed like the icing on the cake…’
‘And you couldn’t resist decorating the frosting,’ Matt crunched out. ‘The nudity wasn’t enough; you had to add the whip?’
‘Yeah, that was purely stupid. I guess I got carried away with my own cleverness. And sending out that second set of photos was even dumber. I mean, I woke up afterwards and thought, What am I doing?’ He rubbed a hand across his unshaven face. ‘I was jeopardising everything I’d worked for—and for what? So I destroyed the negs and prints and hoped the hell it would all go away if I ignored it.
‘I even went to see the psychologist I used to work with when I was in the police. I’ve spent the past week working out that I’m the one who’s the problem. Hell…the fact is that Dave is dead and I do need another partner to share the load. I’ve just been resenting it so long I couldn’t see the wood for the trees…And the stupidest part of it is—Rachel’s proved to have far more guts and go than some of the competitors I let get the jump on us…’
‘The question is, what happens now?’ said Matt, when Frank’s well of remorse had run dry. ‘Or rather what does Rachel want to happen?—since I think it’s her call.’
She struggled with conflicting feelings. ‘Maybe I haven’t been at it as long, but I’ve worked hard for Westons, too—I don’t want to throw all that away. But after what you’ve done, I don’t know if I could ever trust working with you again,’ she told Frank slowly.
‘In that case we either dissolve the partnership or I buy you out, I suppose,’ he said tiredly, showing no elation at either prospect. ‘I guess if you’re going to be a rich man’s wife you won’t even have to work…’
Rachel ignored the dig. ‘But that would mean you win,’ she instantly objected. ‘I don’t see why you should get away scot-free.’
‘I won’t—seeing that we have the KR contract in our pockets, the value of your shares has just shot up.’
‘What’s the matter with Rachel buying you out?’ suggested Matt, causing both their jaws to drop. ‘I think she’s proved capable, don’t you? And I’d be happy to help her put up the capital. There’s no reason why she couldn’t run the business herself…’
‘Westons without a Weston?’ Frank came back to furious life. ‘Look, Rachel, don’t rush into anything—think things over for a few days. I’m sure we can work something out…OK, I did some bad things, but nothing I can’t make up for, and nothing illegal except maybe when I used Dave’s old key to get into your place and pinch those photos back…and maybe that redirection thing with your mail…’
‘I don’t believe the gall of that man!’ stormed Rachel as she and Matt walked out onto the footpath a few minutes later. ‘Saying that maybe we should be thanking him!’
‘He’s right, though, isn’t he? But for him we wouldn’t have gone public with an engagement. And unbeknownst to him, by mailing those photos he did bring us together. So I guess we could regard him as our unlikely cupid.’
Cupid. As in the god of love.
Rachel halted under a street-lamp, placing a staying hand on his arm. ‘Matt,’ she said earnestly, as he turned towards her. ‘I—I want you to know I admire you more than any man I’ve ever known!’
This reckless accolade brought an indulgent smile to his lips. ‘That sounds extremely promising. Would you care to take that statement one step further…?’
The overhead light threw his eyes under the shadow of his brow, but she knew they were fixed on her flushed face. She didn’t blame him for mocking her. ‘I know you probably won’t believe I love you—’
‘Any more than you dare believe that I love you?’
‘After the way I failed my first test of faith.’ She faltered under his tenderly caressing tone. ‘Everything was so right and then I let it all go wrong.’
‘Some very wise and wonderful woman once told me that what goes wrong in one’s life doesn’t always turn out to be all for the worst.’ He reminded her of her own words as he picked up both her hands and carried them separately to his warm lips. ‘In fact, sometimes it can force us to be at our best. You were right to be angry with me. I should have been as open with you as you were with me. I don’t want to have any more secrets from you.’
Her hands tightened on his, her eyes shining with tears. ‘I told you, I don’t need you to explain.’
‘But I need to say the things I should have said before. I need you to know that your faith in me is justified.’ His voice became rougher, more choppy, as he told her about the alleged rape that had ended his boyhood and blunted his burgeoning sexual curiosity.
‘It was nothing dramatic—just a silly girl lying to cover up the fact she’d been having sex. Her boyfriend got rough one night after a dance, and when her parents caught her sneaking home she panicked and claimed she’d been attacked. When her parents called the police she didn’t want to get her boyfriend into trouble so she pointed the finger at me, because I’d been at the dance and she’d seen me leaving on my own about the time she and her boyfriend took off on his motorcycle. She swore black and blue that she’d been a virgin and I’d threatened to kill her if she told anyone what I’d done.’
Now it was Matt clinging to Rachel’s strong fingers as he sketched out the rest of the ugly story. ‘I didn’t have an alibi and I was remanded to prison because there were no beds available in the juvenile facilities.’ His eyes briefly reflected a glimpse of the shattered boy he had been. ‘I was in there for three days.
‘I was pinning my hopes on getting out when the forensic testing came through, but—’ here he offered her an ironic smile ‘—all the charges were dropped when a private detective hired by Dad caught the girl and her the boyfriend together, and she confessed. Thank God Mum and Dad stood by me, but it was rough being treated like a sex-fiend when I was only just getting interested in sex. It certainly curbed any urge to experiment. For a while I was scared that any girl who showed she liked me was going to accuse me of rape. Maybe that’s partly why I fell so hard for Leigh…her apparent unattainability made her seem safe…
‘I had to wait for you to come along to discover the full potential of love between a man and a woman…’
There, in the warmth of the summer night, Rachel fell in love with him all over again. She drew their joined hands against her breast, letting him feel the beat of her steady heart. ‘I can’t take away the hurt you’ve already suffered, but I’m glad to be the woman you waited for. I’m just sorry to have given you such a bad time.’
