Chapter 1
It was the purple skirt that first caught his eye. A quick flash of it as he walked into the hotel bar. It was the kind of purple that oozed luxury and sophistication, decadence and richness. The kind of purple he could imagine looking elegant in his own bedroom, or office. As he followed the obviously flustered maitre d' to the table, he allowed his eyes to travel upwards to the owner of the purple skirt. A pristine white blouse was tucked neatly into the waistband and it hugged a clearly toned, enviously well taken care of body up to a slim, tanned neck which was being hugged snugly by a delicate silver chain. As the maitre d' gestured, with shaking hands to his table, he allowed his eyes to finish the journey whilst the associate he had come to see stood, extending his hand ready to shake. A curl of flaming red hair sat on the slim, tanned shoulder, red lips slightly parted, a small button nose and, he caught his breath in surprise, the most exquisite green eyes he had ever seen. He looked at the eyes beautifully framed by long, black eyelashes and heldbhis breath. It couldn't be. For all the time that had passed, he was absolutely certain it was.
"Sir?" The maitre d' had her hand raised, it was still shaking and the blush on her cheeks was travelling down to her neck as she fought against her breath hitching, "sir, are you okay?" A slight crack in her voice made her blush harder and she dropped her eyes as he looked at her; a flash of black catching and destroying the shimmer of blue. He smiled and cast his attention to the man stood before him. His eyes moved quickly over the slim, well fitted, clearly expensive suit, the gold cufflinks, the blue tie pulled loosely open to allow the cool air of the bar to travel inside.
"Mr Leech" at the sound of the barritone voice, the maitre d' dropped the menu uncharacteristically and scurried away whilst both men stood staring harshly at each other until the man who answered to Mr Leech smiled broadly, came out from behind the table and extended his arms wide.
"Troy!" grinning broadly, the man pulled him into a hug and held him tight.
"Get the fuck off of me, Brad." Chuckling slightly, Brad released his friend and patted him on the shoulder.
"You look good, brother." He nodded and motioned for him to sit.
"So do you." His answers were clipped and for everyone who was not to busy to look, it was clear that for one of the party, it was going to be an awkward evening.
Both men took their places at the table, and starred at each other. The conversation did not flow as easily as Brad remembered.
"How are you?"
"Busy, you?" Brad nodded,
"Me too. I am kept busy. By work, homelife." He nodded back.
"What did you want to speak to me about Brad." Brad stood suddenly, and extended his arm. He caught sight of the slim, gold band on his ring finger. Screwing up his eyes, he turned and saw a pair of legs making their way towards them.
"Troy, let me introduce you to my wife." Slim legs walked on impossibly thin heels. His eyes travelled up the familiar purple skirt, the pristine white blouse, the slim tanned neck hugged by the delicate silver chain. The curl of red had become a mass of scarlet but the eyes... the green had become darker, tauntingly haunting him as she extended a perfectly manicured hand owned by large, sparkling diamond rings.
"Troy, allow me to introduce my wife. Darling, this is an old friend, Troy Hallam." Troy took a steadying breath, the description of him was a stretch, but he extended his hand, grasping her small, delicate hand in his large, rugged one. Raising it to his lips he allowed himself a moment to rest longingly just above the back of her hand.
"Pleasure to meet you Mrs Leech." His voice didn't waver as he pressed his lips to her hand but he felt the shock of familiarity flow through him as he lifted his head and felt himself twitch.
"Troy." The way she said his name sent waves of pleasure coursing through his veins as his body came to life, remembering the times she had screamed it loudly, whispered it breathlessly and heartbrokenly cried it as he abandoned her.
