Helplessly, she watched him go over to the desk, exchange words with the clerk, and then he was turning, looking at her again.
Breathe.
She forced herself up onto unsteady feet.
He was walking towards her, eyes narrowing, softening, and then he was holding out his hand.
‘Ash...?’ His eyes were green, filled with confusion and curiosity. ‘I’m Theo Molenaar. But I’m...’ He hesitated. ‘I was expecting...’
His tone was friendly, his accent light. There was kindness in his face, a smile hiding at the corners of his mouth. She felt her lips curving upward. She liked him, just like that. Easy as pie.
‘You were expecting my brother.’ She put her hand into his. ‘I’m Mia Boelens.’
His fingers flexed around hers, warm and just firm enough.
‘So, Mia...what’s the story?’ Something in his eyes wouldn’t let her go. ‘Are you Ash’s business partner? Is he coming?’
‘Ash is coming, yes—and, no, I’m not his business partner.’
A wisp of hair was tickling her neck. She tucked it behind her ear and glanced at her feet, noticing the hem of her slouchy grey trousers skimming her patent loafers. Theo was smartly dressed in a blue suit and crisp white shirt. His brown shoes were well-polished. She’d been in writing mode when Ash had called and that was how she’d left the house. Without looking, she couldn’t even remember if she was wearing a plain white tee-shirt under her jacket, or the black one with the feminist slogan. Certainly, she wasn’t dressed to impress. There hadn’t been time.
She lifted her eyes to his. There was warmth behind the intensity of his gaze; something else too which was playing havoc with her pulse. ‘Unfortunately Ash has been delayed. He’s stuck on a train. It’s not his fault—it’s a signalling fault.’
His eyebrows quirked. Maybe he was amused. She moistened her lips. ‘This meeting is very important to my brother, Mr Molenaar—’
‘Stop!’
The breath caught in her throat. She’d screwed up.
‘My name is Theo.’ He was smiling properly now. White, even teeth.
She exhaled slowly, feeling a small wash of relief. He was going to listen. Maybe she was actually going to pull this off.
‘Okay, Theo.’ She smiled. ‘As I was saying, this meeting is very important to Ash. I came here hoping to persuade you to change the venue...’ if only he’d stop looking at her so intently ‘...to split the difference, time-wise. Ash doesn’t want to postpone or cancel. He said this was the only window you had.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘So, what are you proposing?’
She swallowed hard. ‘Greenwich.’
‘Greenwich...?’
‘Ash’s train is coming in a stone’s throw from there, so going to him will save time, and...’ She took a deep breath. ‘I thought you’d like it because there’s a planetarium.’
For the first time he broke her gaze. He shifted on his feet, pressed a hand to the back of his neck and when he looked at her again his eyes were cooler, guarded. ‘What makes you think I’d like the planetarium?’
Her heart clenched. She’d unsettled him somehow, just when she needed to keep him onside. She considered his hotel. Small. Exclusive. Discreet! There’d been no photographs of him online... He was a private person, intensely private. Maybe he was made that way, or maybe he was hiding something...
Hal had been good at that. Hiding. Stealing from the business to fund his gambling habit. Throwing her off the scent with expensive weekends away paid for out of a bogus inheritance. Ash had been the one paying...and when he’d started noticing discrepancies in the balance sheets, when he’d raised his doubts about Hal with her, what had she said? She’d said that Hal would never do such a thing, that he was too smart, too honest, too much in love with her ever to hurt her or their little family.
But she’d been wrong—catastrophically wrong! Was Theo Molenaar hiding something too? Was he another Hal?
He was looking at her intently, green eyes full of complications. Maybe it didn’t matter what he was. The only thing that mattered was securing Ash’s chance to pitch to MolTec.
She smiled, gave a little shrug. ‘I saw an article about you having your eye to the telescope and I thought—’
‘That I like the stars?’ The tension faded from his eyes. ‘That article was going with a metaphor about business expansion.’ He hesitated, eyes fixed on hers, and then his face took on a boyish shyness. ‘But, as a matter of fact, I do like astronomy. The big bang theory, the expanding universe...’ He smiled. ‘The oldest planetarium in the world just happens to be on the ceiling of a canal house in Franeker—can you believe that? I went when I was a boy, and ever since I’ve been fascinated by the stars; I even have my own telescope. So, actually, you weren’t too far off the mark.’
He’d trusted her with something private. The touch of colour at his cheekbones gave him away, or maybe it was that tiny glimmer of vulnerability she could see behind his eyes. She searched for some moisture in her mouth, something to swallow so she could speak. ‘I just want to help my brother, Theo...and the planetarium seemed like a happy compromise.’
He shifted on his feet. ‘Your brother’s lucky you’re willing to go the extra mile for him.’
She was close, she could feel it. All he needed was one last nudge. ‘Actually...’ Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag. ‘The observatory’s six miles from here.’
He lifted an eyebrow, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. ‘Six miles? In that case, I’ll order us a car.’
Theo pressed the phone tightly against his ear as a police motorbike weaved through the nearby traffic with its siren blaring.
‘See if you can fix something for Wednesday and, if that works for Thorne, change my flights.’ He pictured his assistant’s face. ‘I’m sorry, Trude.’
Trude laughed. ‘I’ve no doubt your gratitude will be reflected in my imminent pay rise!’
A smile tugged at his lips. ‘If you can reschedule the meeting without ruffling Thorne’s feathers,
