talk.’
Laura could feel the anger rising inside her again. ‘About what?’ she asked sharply, knowing full well what Darren meant.
‘Anything,’ he said, looking straight at her. ‘My door is always open.’
As Laura left the room Darren sighed, finding that a Shakespearean quote summed up his feelings exactly: ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’ he muttered, as he heard the door close. He was worried about Laura, and furious with Jeff. What kind of man would urge his new wife to abandon her family name, especially when it meant so much to Laura and represented so much of what she had already lost? Didn’t Jeff understand her at all? If he ’d been in that lucky position – of being married to the adorable Laura – he’d want her totreasure her memories. They were part of who she was, not something to be discarded for the sake of Jeff’s ego.
He sighed. Before Jeff had blundered into Laura’s life, Darren had allowed himself to imagine elaborate scenarios in which Laura had eventually realised that the man she truly loved was sitting at his big desk, right under her nose … But the vivacious Laura would never have looked at a plodder like him anyway. Sighing, he reached for the file containing the department’s accounts. There was nothing like a pile of boring paperwork for distracting him from pointless daydreams …
As Laura made her way down the corridor to her own office, she felt annoyed and unsettled. She was only changing her name, for heaven’s sake. Why did people seem to think it represented a whole lot more? Clearly no one was happy about it. Except Jeff.
As she thought of her new husband, her heart soared with joy. They’d prove everyone wrong. She’d immediately order a new plaque for her office door that would read: ‘ Dr Laura Jones’. Eventually she and Jeff would have several little Joneses, and they’d all live happily ever after. At last she’d be part of a family again.
C HAPTER 6
‘E llie, are you in?’
Annoyed, Ellie recognised the voice – it was Tony Coleman from the factory. She’d been going to ignore the knocking on her front door, until she remembered that she’d left her new bike outside. He’d know that she was in.
Ellie opened the front door. ‘Yes, Tony? What can I do for you?’
His face red, Tony shifted from one foot to the other. His hands were behind his back, but Ellie could see that he was holding a bouquet of flowers.
‘Just checking to see that you’re okay, now that you’ve left the factory,’ he mumbled. ‘Everyone misses you, and since I was out for a stroll during my lunch break, I thought I’d call and see if there was anything you needed –’
With a sigh, Ellie stepped aside and gestured for him to step inside. It would be bad manners to leave him standing on the doorstep, although she hoped his visit would be brief. He was clearly moving his interest in her up a notch, and she knew she’d eventually have to tell him she wasn’t interested. She ushered him into the open-plan living room.
‘Would you like a cup of tea, Tony?’
He nodded, his face suffused with relief. He wasn’t being evicted straight away. He might be given enough time to explain his intentions.
In the kitchen, Ellie turned on the electric kettle, wondering how quickly she could get rid of him. She suspected that Tony was about to launch into some kind of declaration, and she wanted to make her position clear before he did, thus saving him from any embarrassment. She intended claiming that she was still grieving for her late husband, but she suspected that Tony would still try to persuade her that an occasional visit to the cinema with him would lift her spirits and couldn’t do any harm …
Ellie checked her watch. Alan would be calling by in the early afternoon, and she needed time to take a shower and get changed into something sexy before he arrived. She needed to get rid of Tony as quickly as possible.
As she carried a tray laden with
Laura could feel the anger rising inside her again. ‘About what?’ she asked sharply, knowing full well what Darren meant.
‘Anything,’ he said, looking straight at her. ‘My door is always open.’
As Laura left the room Darren sighed, finding that a Shakespearean quote summed up his feelings exactly: ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks,’ he muttered, as he heard the door close. He was worried about Laura, and furious with Jeff. What kind of man would urge his new wife to abandon her family name, especially when it meant so much to Laura and represented so much of what she had already lost? Didn’t Jeff understand her at all? If he ’d been in that lucky position – of being married to the adorable Laura – he’d want her totreasure her memories. They were part of who she was, not something to be discarded for the sake of Jeff’s ego.
He sighed. Before Jeff had blundered into Laura’s life, Darren had allowed himself to imagine elaborate scenarios in which Laura had eventually realised that the man she truly loved was sitting at his big desk, right under her nose … But the vivacious Laura would never have looked at a plodder like him anyway. Sighing, he reached for the file containing the department’s accounts. There was nothing like a pile of boring paperwork for distracting him from pointless daydreams …
As Laura made her way down the corridor to her own office, she felt annoyed and unsettled. She was only changing her name, for heaven’s sake. Why did people seem to think it represented a whole lot more? Clearly no one was happy about it. Except Jeff.
As she thought of her new husband, her heart soared with joy. They’d prove everyone wrong. She’d immediately order a new plaque for her office door that would read: ‘ Dr Laura Jones’. Eventually she and Jeff would have several little Joneses, and they’d all live happily ever after. At last she’d be part of a family again.
C HAPTER 6
‘E llie, are you in?’
Annoyed, Ellie recognised the voice – it was Tony Coleman from the factory. She’d been going to ignore the knocking on her front door, until she remembered that she’d left her new bike outside. He’d know that she was in.
Ellie opened the front door. ‘Yes, Tony? What can I do for you?’
His face red, Tony shifted from one foot to the other. His hands were behind his back, but Ellie could see that he was holding a bouquet of flowers.
‘Just checking to see that you’re okay, now that you’ve left the factory,’ he mumbled. ‘Everyone misses you, and since I was out for a stroll during my lunch break, I thought I’d call and see if there was anything you needed –’
With a sigh, Ellie stepped aside and gestured for him to step inside. It would be bad manners to leave him standing on the doorstep, although she hoped his visit would be brief. He was clearly moving his interest in her up a notch, and she knew she’d eventually have to tell him she wasn’t interested. She ushered him into the open-plan living room.
‘Would you like a cup of tea, Tony?’
He nodded, his face suffused with relief. He wasn’t being evicted straight away. He might be given enough time to explain his intentions.
In the kitchen, Ellie turned on the electric kettle, wondering how quickly she could get rid of him. She suspected that Tony was about to launch into some kind of declaration, and she wanted to make her position clear before he did, thus saving him from any embarrassment. She intended claiming that she was still grieving for her late husband, but she suspected that Tony would still try to persuade her that an occasional visit to the cinema with him would lift her spirits and couldn’t do any harm …
Ellie checked her watch. Alan would be calling by in the early afternoon, and she needed time to take a shower and get changed into something sexy before he arrived. She needed to get rid of Tony as quickly as possible.
As she carried a tray laden with
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