No copyright infringment intended! I'm just borrowing these wonderful characters...and will be returned to their owners safe and sound once I'm done having fun with them! (apart from Cat who is all me!) Thanks!
Chapter One
"So…I'll just put these files away, and then we can get going, alright?" Vicki asked me, picking up a huge pile of files and hauling them over to the cabinet.
"Sure," I smiled. "I'll erm…go wash these whilst I wait." I tried to be helpful as I collected together a handful of dirty coffee mugs and wandered through to the kitchen, contemplating just how much coffee my cousin could get through in one afternoon.
Five minutes later I was heading back to the office, hearing voices. One, being that of my cousin, Vicki…the other, undeniably male. I frowned, wondering who would be showing up at almost eight at night, without making a sound to alert my senses to their arrival.
"Like I keep saying, you could knock." I heard my cousin reproach the male voice.
"And you're not yet tired of making that unnecessary request?" Asked the voice, the hint of a self assured smile could be heard upon his lips.
Vicki sighed and stepped away from him, just as I pushed open the door and returned to the office. "Erm…hi." I looked at the two people confused. Who was he? And more importantly, why had he suddenly shown up here at this time of night? Vicki obviously knew him, perhaps he was her boyfriend?
Vicki looked up surprised, almost having forgotten I was here. The male turned towards me then too…and I froze in my tracks. If he, in fact, was her boyfriend, my cousin was the luckiest woman I knew.
He was simply the most beautiful man I had ever seen. Hang on, are we allowed to call men beautiful these days?! Well, he was - no doubt about that! With his almost shoulder length curly brown hair and chiselled jaw line, complete with dimple - he was the most delicious specimen of a male creature I had seen in a long time. Unconsciously I attempted to tame my long wavy red hair and felt somewhat dowdy and unworthy stood before him with my rather flawed figure - a top model I most certainly wasn't.
"Hi," the beautiful male stepped forwards, "seeing as how Vicki appears to have lost her manners, I shall introduce myself. I am Henry." He announced, sounding rather regal as he thrust his hand towards me.
"Erm, I…er…" I stammered and then blushed, feeling totally juvenile. Berating myself for my foolishness almost caused me to miss the coolness of his touch, almost.
As he raised his eyebrows in a silent smirk, I caught sight of Vicki rolling her eyes out of the corner of my own.
"Cat, this is Henry. A…erm…" she seemed to be searching for the correct term for him, "a friend," she decided on. "Henry, this is my cousin, Catalina. She's visiting for a few weeks."
"Your cousin?" He grinned.
"Yes," Vicki continued, "from England, our Mothers are sisters. And she's family, so erm…no, you know…" She shrugged.
"No picnics?" Henry laughed and glanced towards Vicki again, apparently sharing an inside joke I didn't get. When had picnics suddenly become taboo?
"No, I mean it Henry." She warned him and I continued to feel most bemused by their strange exchange.
"I promise." He held his hands up in mock surrender. "She's family, I get it." He smiled.
I couldn't help it, I grinned at him. The smile lit up his entire face causing him to look even more beautiful than I first thought…his smile really should be classed as a lethal weapon, I thought to myself with a smirk. Bet he could strop traffic with that! I laughed out loud to myself and then tried to cover it with a cough.
"What?" Vicki asked me.
"Oh…nothing." I shrugged, feeling like an idiot again and scratching my head as a ruse, I turned away from the pair of them momentarily.
"Anyway, we were just going to dinner, so erm…if it wasn't important Henry?" She asked him, hinting at him to get to the point of his visit, or leave.
"You were? Perhaps I could join you?" He flashed that killer smile my way.
"I don't think our choice of meal would suit your, erm…palate." she seemed to mock him.
I found myself frowning again for the umpteenth time in the last few minutes. I didn't get their friendship at all, it really was most strange. They must know each other quite well to banter back and forth the way they did, yet I suspected there was much more to it than either were letting on. Perhaps they had been lovers, but it hadn't worked out and now a friendship was awkward.
"Ya know…you two have rather a strange friendship." I blurted out.
"You don't know the half of it." Vicki muttered with a tired sigh.
Ah ha! So I was right, ex-lovers.
"Look, Henry. Did you come over for anything in particular? Or can we get going?"
He shrugged then, his hands going behind his back. "Hadn't seen you in a few nights. Thought I'd come to see how you were, any interesting cases?" He began to saunter around the office.
"Nothing I need your help on right now, no."
"Oh, so you work together?" I suddenly realised, feeling like an outsider in this conversation.
"Sometimes." Henry answered me. "I help her out with some of the more….interesting cases." He stopped at the desk, perched on the edge and turned to face me with another smile.
Damnit! He has to stop smiling like that, otherwise I might not be responsible for my actions, I thought.
He laughed to himself then, almost as thought he could read minds. That wasn't possible right? But all the same I blushed and broke the eye contact.
"So, if you don't need my help. Perhaps I can take two ladies to dinner?" He offered.
"Fine!" Vicki threw her hands up in the air. "Come to dinner with us then. But…are you actually going to eat?" She asked.
"It has been known to happen." He shot back.
Okay, now that was weird! Why would she say something like that to him? He didn't look as though he had an eating disorder. Sure, he was slim…but attractively so, not skeleton like. There was definitely something they were hiding here. Just as I was contemplating them, as they almost glared at each other, the phone on the desk rang and Vicki jumped.
As she answered the phone, I flopped back down onto the old couch along the back wall of the office. Maybe we weren't going to get out tonight after all.
Henry decided to take a seat next to me. "So, Catalina, " he started.
"First, if you want to be my friend, you call me Cat." I corrected him. "Catalina sounds too pretentious."
He smiled, "Catalina, what part of England are you from?" He wondered.
"Oh, just…a small town. Not many people have heard of, particularly not over here. Everyone outside the country tends to think we all live in London and are best friends with the Queen or something." I laughed.
"I know England quite well myself." He turned towards me, placing his arm along the back of couch.
"Oh, you do? That's cool. I live in Lincolnshire." I answered his question.
"Which is not far from Nottingham, is it not?"
"No, you're right, I live about an hour away. How did you know?"
"As I said, I know England well. Can't say the same for the current Queen though." There was that smile again.
I nodded and smiled at what I presumed was a joke, before glancing towards my cousin on the phone. "So, how did you two…."
"What? Now?" Vicki suddenly shrieked, interrupting our conversation as we both turned towards her. "Yes, alright," she sighed, "I'll be there soon." She hung up then and turned to me apologetically. "Sorry, that was Mike,"
"Celluci." Henry bristled.
Vicki ignored him. "He wants me to go down to the station. They have a police line up from that mugging I witnessed last week. I'm sorry." She offered me a wane smile.
"Don't worry about it," I shrugged, "can't be helped. We'll have dinner another night."
She nodded. "I promise. Feels like we haven't had any time to catch up yet." She reached for her jacket, "and I really do want to hear how the rest of the family are doing." She added, honestly. "I erm, I don't know how long I'll be, so why don't you order some take out and I'll be quick as I can."
"That sounds fine. Don't worry about me, just hope they catch the scum who mugged that old lady." She'd told me all about it earlier that afternoon, once I'd dragged myself out of bed.
She nodded. "Well…" she paused, pulling her mobile phone from her jacket pocket to call a cab. "I'm sorry to run out on you anyway."
"I'll keep her company." Henry volunteered.
"Henry." She eyed him suspiciously.
"What?" He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'll be on my best behaviour." He flashed her a cheeky grin.
Vicki rolled her eyes. "Is that alright with you? I could be pretty late…"
"Oh, don't worry." I waved off her concern with a flap of my hand. "You know I live the hours of a vampire." I joked.
Henry's head whipped round to glare at me and then back to Vicki. I failed to notice, my focus being on Vicki's rather shocked looking expression, before she exchanged worried glances with Henry.
"What?" I asked, having had many people find my sleeping habits strange, but not that shocking. "You know since I lost my job that I tend to sleep all day and stay awake all night. A bad habit I got into really. But, I prefer it. I seem to be most creative at night, and I kind of like the peace."
Her expression relaxed a little then and, unknown to me, Henry's demeanour calmed again too. "Oh, yes, I remember…"
"I think we shall get on just fine." Henry smiled at Vicki, inching closer to me and placing his arm around my shoulder.
"Well…just behave." She warned him the way you would a small child. "I mean it Henry."
"I'll be the perfect gentleman." He scoffed, raising his eyebrows sharply.
Vicki sighed, and somewhat reluctantly, headed out, speaking hurriedly on her phone ordering a cab.
Vicki was much later home than I think she planned that night. So late, that by the time she got back, Henry had had to leave and I had taken myself to bed. Meaning that by the time I woke sometime after noon, Vicki hadn't been up too long herself.
"Morning," she smiled, meeting me in the kitchen and fixing herself a coffee, "well, afternoon," she laughed with a small shake of her head as she caught sight of the clock on the microwave. "Sorry I was so late last night."
"Oh., that's alright." I reached into the fridge for the milk. "I was starting to get a little worried. But Henry said you'd be fine, he seemed to know. What took so long anyway? Mike wasn't a problem was he?" I wondered. I knew their history, we might have lived a continent apart but we emailed often and told each other just about everything, or so I thought.
"No, he was alright." She pulled herself up to sit on the kitchen counter and blew across her mug to cool the liquid down. "Just after the line up I had some forms to fill in, files to look through, statements to sign and all that. But, at least we got our man." She looked triumphant.
My cousin lived to catch the bad guys, she'd been a cop not so long ago, a damn fine detective with the Canadian Metropolitan Police department. Until her vision problems had started and she'd then been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa - a debilitating eye condition that slowly led to blindness. So, she'd left the force, refusing to work a desk job, and set up her own private investigator business thus allowing her an outlet for her passion.
"So…erm, was everything alright here? I mean, was Henry…." she faded off.
"A perfect gentleman, as he promised." I assured her with a smile. "Actually," I sat down at the small kitchen table, "He's very charming." I admitted.
"Mmm…I don't doubt that." She huffed.
"And he's incredibly…beautiful." I continued, feeling my cheeks flush at my confession. "He has such incredible eyes, seem so wise for someone his age. As though he's seen the world, and then some. And that killer smile of his is to die for." I sighed.
"You don't know the half of it," Vicki muttered under her breath so as I only caught the odd word. "Hang on, you don't…like him, do you?" She seemed rather afraid of the very idea.
"Why? Is he off limits? Do you want him for yourself? I couldn't blame you if you did. He really seems an amazing guy.."
"Oh, he's off limits. But not because I want him or anything. No, he's tried that…didn't work."
"Oh…so he's attached then? Or are you two ex-lovers?" I suddenly dared ask.
"What?" she almost choked on her coffee, "why ever would you think that?"
"The way you talk to one another, mocking each other, in some strange familiar, yet awkward way. And you don't seem to…I dunno, you seemed worried about leaving me here with him."
"Henry and I…." She sighed, trying to decide how to explain him without giving too much away. "I've known him about a year now, but we've never been lovers, well not really." She smiled wryly. "And…we're just good friends and sometimes partners, business partners…you get close to someone working with them and we tease each other. You know me, I'm a tad cocky and stubborn as a mule and he pushes the right buttons at times."
"So, why the over concern leaving me with him? He really was very sweet last night, let me have all the pizza and everything. And he's so interesting to talk to. I admit I find him very intriguing and very, alluring." I grinned, looking down into my tea to avoid her gaze.
"It's just…Henry can be a little…intense at times. He's very smooth and very persuasive. Just…don't go falling for him, he's totally the wrong guy for you, believe me."
"Well," I shrugged , somewhat disappointed. "I suppose I can at least enjoy the view, does he come around here often?" I tried to ask casually.
"Usually when I need him he's around. But…Cat, promise me you'll be careful with him? Don't go back to his place alone or let him talk you into anything, promise? Aunt Jenny would never speak to me again if I let anything happen to you."
"Nothing will happen to me Vic. I can take care of myself. But, for you…I promise I'll be careful."
"Thanks." She smiled and swung back the last of her coffee. "Right, I had best get back to work." She hopped down off the counter and returned to her office. It amazed me that even though she'd gone to bed later than me, she had still been up before me.
To my disappointment, there was no sign of Henry at all that day. But, at least we had finally managed to get out for our dinner as planned that night. It had been nice to reminisce and laugh about our childhoods over a leisurely meal, and probably drink far too much as well - but it had been a fun night.
The following day was the total opposite. A new client had come to Vicki with a long sob story of her missing child. The police had no leads on her little boy and she was coming to the end of her tether to find out what had happened to him. I know the story had touched Vicki and she immediately took the new case on, working furiously to find the lost child.
I would have helped if I could, but there wasn't much I could do that Vicki and her assistant Coreen weren't already doing, so Vicki had told me to go and enjoy myself, that her work shouldn't spoil my vacation. Wandering the streets of Toronto alone weren't quite the same though, and after a couple of hours of shopping I had returned to her place where I had taken up root in her lounge with a stack of DVD's and popcorn.
Which is where Henry found me that night.
Sat watching some terrible horror movie, he made me jump as he sidled onto the sofa next to me.
"Oh God, don't do that!" I held my hand to my chest, feeling my heart pounding.
"Sorry," he smirked, "didn't mean to scare you."
"When did you get here anyway?" I moved in my seat to face him. "And…why? It's getting late isn't it?"
"A few moments ago, and yes it is. Why? Because…." his hand reached along the back of the sofa and toyed with a tendril of my hair, "I wanted to see you again."
I looked up at him and our eyes met for a moment. I know that I promised Vicki I was going to be careful around him, for whatever reason she had. But…I was slowly losing my resolve.
"Oh really?" I asked, not allowing myself to believe him. I didn't handle compliments very well and always thought people, men especially, were making fun of me.
"Yes. Really. Though I did offer Vicki my help with her case, but, well…she told me you had been abandoned all day…so…"
"So?" I wondered what else he was going to say.
"Do you want to get out of here? We could go for a walk? Maybe, get a coffee or something?" he suggested.
"Erm…" I thought about it briefly. I had promised Vicki, but…then she had left me to my own devices all day and some company, his company might be nice. "Sure." I smiled at him, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off.
He smiled too, stood up and gallantly offered me his hand to help me up.
Stopping briefly by the office doorway as I pulled my jacket on, Vicki looked up. "We're going out for coffee." I told her. "You want anything?"
"Ooh…a cappuccino would be great." Coreen looked up with a hopeful smile.
"Sure." I replied. "Vicki?" She hadn't answered me yet and was glaring at the man waiting patiently behind me.
"Didn't we talk the other day?" She asked me then. "Didn't I explain something?"
"We're just going out for coffee Vic. I'll be fine." I rolled my eyes, her over protectiveness and warnings about Henry were starting to annoy me.
"You don't have a clue." She muttered, looking down at the computer again.
"Look, do you want anything or not?" I asked, now fastening my coat.
"Sure, whatever." She shrugged nonchalantly, pretending she no longer cared.
"Ready?" Henry asked, offering me his hand.
"Yes." I smiled, grasping his hand willingly with a conceited grin back at my cousin. She glared at me again and I just poked my tongue out at her before Henry led me out in the Toronto night.
The following few days, my mood seemed to depend on whether or not Henry made an appearance at the office. I waited all day in anticipation of seeing him that night, having long since given up on seeing him during the day. I figured either his real job kept him busy all day, that he worked nights or he simply had the terrible sleeping habits that I did! But, it was always a joy whenever he came into the office and I always found an excuse to be in there when he was.
There was no point in denying it, no matter what I had promised Vicki, the man was delicious and I was insanely attracted to him and nursing a rather large crush.
More to come very soon...