‘You smooth charmer, Harpur,’ Hilary slagged an hour later as they drove away from Bramblewood Manor with a preliminary design for Gina and Shaun’s spa ready to work on. ‘You had her eating out of the palm of your hand.’
‘Indeed, as did you, missus, showing her the sunken bath and the floatation-therapy room. What a team we are,’ Jonathan said smugly. ‘And we’re building two treatment rooms instead of one, and installing a new steam room and sauna! Plus a relaxation room complete with fish tank. I hadn’t expected the half of it, to be honest.’
‘Imagine being wealthy enough to employ your own beauty therapist, and having the space for all of that. I’d spend my whole day in it,’ Hilary sighed.
‘Me too,’ Jonathan agreed. ‘We did a good day’s work today, Hammond. Thank you for dragging me kicking and screaming from my bed.’
‘We did, Harpur, and you’re welcome. Glad to see you back in the saddle.’ Hilary smiled at him.
‘I sent a text to make an appointment with Hannah,’ he said.
‘You took your time about it. No better woman to sort you out,’ Hilary declared. ‘Any word from his nibs?’
‘Yeah, I spoke to him on Sunday. He asked me did I want to go for a drink but I told him I was busy.’
‘And will you ever go for a drink with him again?’ She cocked an eye at him.
‘I might, just to show him I’m not as upset as he thinks I am, even though I am.’ Jonathan shrugged.
‘You do that. Nothing like a show of nonchalance to prick Master Leon’s conceit.’
‘A prick for a prick,’ Jonathan wisecracked and Hilary laughed, most relieved that glimpses of the old Jonathan were making their welcome appearance.
‘And what did you learn from this encounter with Leon?’ Hannah sat with her hands in her lap, studying Jonathan as he sprawled in the easy chair opposite her.
‘That I’m a fool. That I’m not a good judge of character. That I only saw what I wanted to see?’ Jonathan didn’t spare himself.
‘You’re very hard on yourself, Jonathan,’ Hannah said mildly. ‘Let me put it another way: you saw what you didn’t want in a relationship. Would I be right?’
‘I suppose so,’ he said slowly.
‘And what do you want in a relationship?’ she probed.
‘I want someone to love me and respect me as much as I love and respect them,’ he sighed.
‘Now you’ve said it, Jonathan,’ Hannah exclaimed in satisfaction. ‘Do you realize this is the first time that you’ve ever said that to me? The episode with Leon might have been very painful but it was your wake-up call. You will never let anything like that happen to you again.’
‘You’re right,’ Jonathan agreed. ‘I won’t.’
‘You’ve seen what you don’t want in a relationship. You’ve acknowledged that you want to be loved and respected. Remember we are all equal.’
‘You always make me feel I’m so worthy, Hannah, and I wish I could feel like that all the time.’ He shook his head.
‘Why do you think you’re not worthy?’ Hannah gazed steadily at him.
‘Umm . . . I don’t know . . . I suppose . . . probably because I’m gay!’ he blurted.
‘Aahhh, now we’re getting to the root of things,’ Hannah approved.
‘I don’t know why I said that. I thought I’d come to terms with who I am.’ Jonathan frowned.
‘Perhaps it’s just a final clearing for you, Jonathan, and that’s why you experienced what you did with Leon. Because at another level you know that you are worthy, and that it is an insult to think otherwise.’
‘I know, but the Church says being gay is wrong and a sin.’
‘The Church says many things, Jonathan,’ Hannah smiled. ‘What do you, the Divine Creation, say?’
‘I say I’m worthy!’ Jonathan smiled back at her. ‘Very worthy.’
‘Now you’re in tune with the Universal Language of Love. Remember you must first love yourself before you can love another.’
‘I am worthy. I am worthy!’ he repeated, walking to his car after the session. ‘I am Jonathan Harpur, the Divine Creation, and I am worthy of love!’
C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-N
INE
‘Look, why don’t you come for a week even, we’d love it, spend two days in the city and then we could go to Nantucket for the other five days. It would be fabulous. We could catch up and have fun just like the old days. Come after Millie’s exams,’ Colette urged as they sat on the Hammonds’ candlelit patio eating dinner on a warm Friday night in late May. Des and Colette were on a rare visit, having spent a few days in London. Colette had phoned Hilary to let her know that she was coming home and had inveigled an invite to dinner. ‘It’s been so long, and we’ve soooo much to catch up on,’ she’d said eagerly, looking forward to seeing her old friend more than she’d imagined. And it had been a fun reunion, hence the spur of the moment invite to visit them in the States.
‘Come on, bud, we’ve been asking you for years,’ Des exclaimed expansively, eyeballing Niall while he scoffed the organic fillet steak Hilary had cooked. ‘The girls would love it.’
‘We’ll think about it,’ Hilary interjected smoothly, offering Des another helping of fried onions and creamy mash.
‘Well it’s just we need to know a little in advance, that’s the only thing. We do a lot of entertaining.’ Colette helped herself to a small portion of baby carrots and petits pois. Hilary eyed the creamed mash longingly but decided not to have seconds. She felt like a horse beside Colette who was looking stunning in a pair of tight white jeans and a red Moschino body-hugging top that clung to her petite curves. Her tan was deep and golden, her blonde hair expertly highlighted, worn in a topknot with tendrils curling artfully to frame her smooth, unlined face.
Hilary was glad
