Chapter 2

Clare flicked through a take-away menu and chose some food for them both. After she had ordered it, she opened a bottle of wine and began to clear up the kitchen while Charlotte played happily in her rocker chair.

It didn't take an expert to see how down and depressed Erica was. She had never seen her sister dragged so low before — she had always been the strong one out of the two of them. It seemed more than just a case of the baby blues. Clare instinctively knew it was more serious than that.

She thought about how she could help her sister as she loaded the dishwasher and tidied round the kitchen. The first thing she intended to do was to have a long serious chat with Chris. He needed to be made aware of just how bad things were. The way things were heading, a divorce was imminent and the only people to gain from that mess would be the solicitors.

No, tomorrow she was going to speak to her brother-in-law and listen to his side of things. Maybe between the three of them they could find a solution to all the problems.

Chris was rather shocked to receive a phone call from Clare. He was sat reading a paper during a break in the meetings. When the caller display told him his sister-in- law was on the other end of the line, he thought for one horrible moment something awful had happened.

"Hello Clare?"

"Chris, we need to talk..."

They managed to cover an awful lot of ground over the next twenty minutes and Chris was left with a deep feeling of inadequacy and guilt. Clare had explained just how depressed his wife was. He honestly had not realised she was so miserable. He soon began to realise just how serious things were. He also felt even guiltier about kissing Connie. He had really stepped out of line and he needed to make amends before he lost everything that was important to him.

They ran out of time and Chris agreed to call Clare that evening. He needed to ask her advice about a few things and he hoped that she could help him with his fledgling plan. He just prayed it wasn't too late...

Chris was packing his laptop away on Friday afternoon when there was a faint knock on his office door.

"Come in," he said loudly, trying to recall if he had answered the last email from Mr Wong.

"Hello, would you like a coffee?" Connie's voice was sweeter than a mug of chocolate and but this time it had no effect at all.

"Hello Connie. No thanks, not this time — I'm leaving early for once," Chris told her as he moved some of the files on to his shelf.

"Oh, do you have something nice planned?" she asked curiously, her eyes flickering with interest.

"As a matter of fact, yes - I am taking my wife away for a couple of days. She deserves spoiling for a change." He smiled lightly at Connie, noticing the way her face fell in sharp disappointment.

It made him feel like a bastard, but he needed her to know that he couldn't offer her what she was obviously looking for. He loved his wife and he had no intention of risking his marriage for a quick fling with another woman - even if she was an incredibly sexy woman...

"Oh that's nice," said Connie flatly.

"I hope so," replied Chris. "She needs to know how much I love her." He looked pointedly at Connie, just to make sure she truly got his message.

She backed away and said coolly, "Okay Mr Langdon. Have a nice weekend," With a flick of her long hair, she flounced out of the office without a backwards glance.

"Pack some things — we're going away for the weekend." Chris said as he dumped his laptop case in the study

Erica looked at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra head. "Are you insane?" she asked. "And who exactly is going to care for our daughter over the weekend?" she added sarcastically.

"I am..." Clare walked through the front door carrying a small holdall and a carrier bag full of toys. She had had great fun shopping at Toys-R-Us and she was looking forward to sharing them with her niece. Okay, so Charlotte might be rather young for Miami Barbie, but a girl needed to learn about accessorising as early as possible.

"What's going on here?" Erica asked, suddenly realising that she had been set up.

"What's going on is that WE are going to a nice hotel and YOU are going to be pampered for a couple of days." Chris was beginning to enjoy the look of astonishment on his wife's face.

"Sis, just shift your backside up those stairs and pack! Charlotte and I have cartoons to watch." Clare took her jacket off and walked into the lounge where the baby was lying on her colourful play mat. She cooed at Clare and began to kick her legs excitedly in the air.

For a moment Erica felt a twinge of jealousy when she saw how Charlotte reacted to Clare. It was clear that the baby adored her.

"Just go!" Clare said when she turned to see Erica watching her and the baby. "We will be just fine without you — I promise."

Wishing she had as much confidence, Erica disappeared upstairs into their bedroom and threw some clothes in a small bag. She didn't exactly know what to take as she had no idea what kind of hotel they were staying in. Just in case she packed a decent dress and matching shoes.

Chris was stood checking his watch by the time she came back downstairs. "Ready?" he asked slightly impatiently.

"I think so..." Erica felt anything BUT ready. The thought of leaving her daughter even for two days was scary. They hadn't been apart since she had been born.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked Clare again, feeling hot tears pricking her eyes as she watched Charlotte playing with a new toy.

"Yes we'll be fine. Enjoy yourself Sis - you need some time out." Clare smiled reassuringly and Erica felt slightly better. She knew Clare was right. She did need some time out and she also needed some time alone with her husband. It appeared that he had finally worked out all was not well in their little world.

Chris reversed the car down the drive and drove through town towards the by-pass. Erica was silent for several miles and he began to wonder if she going to ignore him all weekend. He bloody hoped not — that was hardly the point of the exercise.

"When did you plan all this?" she asked suddenly.

He turned to look at her for a moment. "Clare rang me after she saw you," he admitted. "She was worried and thought you needed a break." He braced himself for a barrage of abuse about all the crimes he had committed recently, but she said nothing. She just nodded and returned to staring out of the window.

After a while the silence began to un-nerve him and he turned the radio on. Pop music played out as the car slowly ate up the miles and Chris decided to leave it up to her when they talked about stuff. They had all weekend to sort things out. He just hoped that he hadn't left it too damned late.

Chris turned into a long gravel driveway and slowly headed towards the main building. It was a beautiful country house hotel, surrounded by green parkland and ancient trees. The cream stone façade looked like it belonged in a Jane Austin novel and Erica was immensely impressed.

They walked into the elegant reception and Erica began to wish she had dressed up a little more. She felt like the poor relative who really ought to be entering via the servants' quarters, not the main entrance.

Massive oil paintings hung on the walls and huge vases of fresh flowers were placed on every available surface. The whole décor screamed good taste and class. She couldn't help wondering how much the room had cost — it was likely to be expensive.

Chris checked them in whilst Erica loitered to one side, reading the extensive list of services offered and worrying whether Clare was coping with her daughter. She was desperate to call home and check, but she knew Clare would just tell her she was being over-protective.

"Come on," said Chris with a faint smile. "I have the key."

Erica nodded and followed him as he ascended the stairs. The last time they had stayed in such a luxurious hotel had been the year before Charlotte was born. She smiled as she remembered they had barely left the room in the five days they had stayed.

The smile faded as she realised Chris was probably expecting something similar this time round. Despite the novelty of being here, she found it hard to summon up the enthusiasm for sex. Tiredness still dominated her brain and most of her was simply looking forward to an uninterrupted nights sleep.

Their room turned out to be a suite. It had a large living room overlooking the park at the rear of the house, complete with floor to ceiling french windows and an elegant balcony. The bedroom was just as large, dominated by a king size bed and an open fireplace stacked with logs. A luxurious en-suite bathroom was off the bedroom, complete with expensive bottles of toiletries.

It was beautiful. It must have cost a fortune and Erica was about to comment as such, when she thought better of it. Maybe all the overtime Chris had been putting in had actually been for a good reason. She decided to just enjoy the moment — it seemed churlish to criticise his apparent thoughtfulness.

"If you want to go and soak in the bath, we can go down for dinner at eight o'clock. Is that alright?" Chris asked as he began to unpack his own bag.

"Yeah, fine." Erica pulled out her wash bag and disappeared into the bathroom to run a bath. Before long the fragrant scented water beckoned her in and she lay relaxing in the hot steam while Chris watched the television in their living room. It was absolute bliss and gradually all the stresses and strains began to ebb away.

She was almost asleep when Chris came in and reminded her that it was nearly eight o'clock. Yawning heavily, she clambered out and dried herself on a thick towel. The big problem now was what the hell she going to wear. If she had had any idea that they were coming to a hotel of this calibre, she might have taken more care with her packing.

Her dress thankfully looked semi okay when she examined her reflection critically in the mirror. Her hair badly needed cutting, but a haircut was a luxury she did not have the time for these days. With a sigh, she pinned the unruly waves back in a chignon and stepped into her shoes.

"Ready now?" Chris asked patiently.

"I guess so," she said, adding a touch of lipstick. "Do I look okay?" she asked suddenly, not sure what prompted the question.

"Always," he said.

For a moment they looked at each other, both remembering the infinitesimal things that had kept them together in the years since they had met and fallen in love.

Chris looked away and glanced at his watch, breaking the spell. "Come on," he said briskly. "I'm starving..." He opened the door and held it while Erica passed him, her dress swirling around her legs.

He watched her as she walked away down the corridor. Her dress reminded him of one she had worn many moons ago. That had been crimson red, cut low at the front and clingy in all the right places. He recalled how he had spent the entire evening of their date struggling to control a hard-on. He smiled fondly as he followed her down towards the staircase.

Erica silently undressed and climbed into the huge bed. She was almost dead on her feet; the large meal and several glasses of wine were having a soporific effect. She had also been up since before five this morning and the thought of sleep was blissful.

Chris finished in the bathroom and came to bed, switching off the lamp on his side. As soon as he climbed under the covers, Erica felt herself tense up, expecting him to pounce on her.

Much to her surprise he kissed her lightly and rolled away from her. She was left feeling slightly rejected and despite her best efforts, almost disappointed. But she was too tired to really care, so she curled up and shut her eyes. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Chris listened to her rhythmic breathing and turned onto his back. He had made a deliberate decision to not try and rush things — and that included sex. If he tried to force the issue, he knew she would feel he had only brought her away for one reason only.

And that simply wasn't the case. Sex was important, but not as important as his wife being happy. If she needed time, then he was happy to let her take that time. He could wait a while longer — although it was not easy when she lay next to him, sexy as hell.

It took a long time for him to fall asleep.

"I have booked you in for a few things," announced Chris over breakfast.

"Such as?" said Erica warily, before eating another delicious croissant. It was amazing how good the food was — and how lovely it was to actually have the opportunity to eat it without having to jump up and down every two seconds.

"You said you needed a haircut — so you have an appointment in the salon at eleven o'clock. Then after lunch, I thought you might like a spell in the beautician's. They said you could have whatever treatments you fancy.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah — don't you want it?" Chris said nonchalantly. "Hey if you don't — I'll go instead. I rather fancy a massage..." his voice trailed off when he saw the glare she threw him.

"Just kidding!" he laughed. "Anyway, I'll be busy having a golf lesson while you are busy being pampered."

Once she thought about it, Erica decided that she might enjoy all this pampering. It would be nice to have someone else fussing over her for a change.

By five o'clock, Erica was trimmed, primped and waxed to her hearts content. She wandered back up to their suite feeling a million dollars. For the first time in ages she felt relaxed and almost inclined to think about sex. There was a spring to her step as she waltzed down the corridor towards their room.

A tall gentleman walking in the opposite direction threw her a quick assessing smile, blatantly checking her out. She gave him a small flirty smile in return, enjoying the brief attention. His hungry look made her feel sexy and desirable. This was something that had been conspicuously absent for a long time.

Chris was stretched out on the bed when she let herself into the room. His eyes were closed and for a moment Erica thought he was asleep, but then he sat up slightly and said, "Hey, had fun?"

"I think so," she replied with a faint smile. Quickly she turned towards the tall mirror and examined her reflection. The stylist had chopped a fair amount off the length of her hair, but she had cut layers into the thickness and it actually looked a lot better. The natural wave lent body to her style and Erica was immensely pleased with it.

Her skin felt smooth and soft and she reached down to stroke the curve of her calf, enjoying the unfamiliar sensation of hairless skin. She watched her hand sliding up the smooth skin, enjoying the sensual feeling of bare flesh beneath her fingertips. As she lifted her eyes back to her reflection, she realised Chris was watching her.

The expression on his face was taut and she suddenly sensed the unmistakable sexual tension in the air. For a moment they watched each other, eyes locked via the mirror. It was strangely erotic and Erica felt her body reacting to the voyeuristic aspect.

She slowly ran her hand up her bare leg, lifting the skirt she was wearing to reveal the top of her thigh. It was a thrill to expose her body like this. Suddenly she felt in control; the power of her femininity giving her a boldness she'd not known for a long time.