It Started With... Collection. Miranda Lee

      ‘Justin?’ Rachel prompted, but Justin closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Better not to answer right now. The lies could wait. Till the time was right.

      He heard Rachel eventually sigh, then turn over and go to sleep, but he didn’t sleep for quite a while. He was too busy planning his strategy for getting Rachel to fall in love with him.

      Taking her to his mother’s for lunch tomorrow was an excellent first move. But it would only be the first of many.

      Justin hadn’t realised till that moment how bold he could be when he wanted something badly enough. Or how ruthless.

      ‘Rachel, my dear!’ Alice exclaimed shortly after opening her front door to them. ‘I hope you don’t take offence but you look simply marvellous! I can hardly believe it.’

      Rachel laughed and didn’t take offence. ‘It’s a bit of an improvement from the last time you saw me, isn’t it? No more dreary black for starters.’ In deference to Alice’s suggestion that blue would suit her, she was wearing a blue silk trouser suit that did look very well against her colouring. Her hair had taken ages to do that morning, and so had her make-up, but it was worth it to see the expression of surprise and pleasure on Alice’s face.

      ‘And Justin, love,’ Alice said, her gaze swinging over to check out her son from top to toe. ‘You’re looking ten years younger yourself. Whatever you’ve been doing with Rachel, keep it up.’

      ‘Mum. Really.’

      ‘Oh, don’t go all prudish on me. You know I can’t stand it when you do that. It reminds me of your father, who, might I add, was not in any way prudish behind closed doors. He just liked to act that way in public. Come along, you two. Come through to the back terrace. I’ve got a nice cold lunch all set out there, with a couple of delicious bottles of Tasmanian wine for us to try.’

      ‘Like father, like son,’ Rachel whispered to Justin when he took her arm and guided her down the long central hallway.

      ‘Behave yourself,’ he rasped back. ‘Or I’ll put you over my knee when I get you home tonight.’

      She shot him a cheeky look. ‘Would you? You promise?’

      ‘Have some decorum,’ he said, but smilingly. ‘We’re at my mother’s.’

      ‘What are you two whispering about?’ Alice shot over her shoulder.

      ‘I was telling Justin how much I like your house,’ Rachel said.

      ‘Which reminds me, Mum. I want you to show Rachel your teapot collection later. She’s into pottery and knick-knacks.’

      ‘Oh, wonderful. I’ll take her to a few auctions with me. We’ll have such fun.’

      They emerged onto the sun-drenched back terrace that looked like a new addition to the house, which was federation-style and inclined to be a little dark inside with smallish windows. Cosy, though, from what Rachel had glimpsed during her journey down the hallway. The terrace, however, looked like something that belonged to an Italian villa, with a lovely vine-covered pergola overhead and large terracotta tiles providing an excellent floor for the rich cedar-wood outdoor setting.

      The lunch set out on the table looked as if it would feed an army, with all sorts of seafood and salads, and two already opened bottles of white wine resting in portable coolers. The wine glasses waiting to be filled were exquisitely fine, with small bunches of grapes etched into the sides.

      ‘I’ll just get the herb bread out of the oven,’ Alice said. ‘Justin, pour the wine. I don’t mean to rush you into eating but a storm’s been forecast for this afternoon and I’m worried it might spoil everything. We haven’t seen the sun for some time and I wanted to take advantage of it whilst it was there.’

      She hurried off, leaving Rachel to openly admire the rest of the huge back yard with its large tract of lawn and neat garden beds along the side and back fences.

      ‘You were lucky to have such a lovely big back yard when you were growing up,’ she commented. ‘My parents were inner-city apartment people. Career people, too. Frankly, I often felt like the odd man out. I wasn’t surprised when they sent me to boarding-school. I was often in their way. Of course, I was upset when they were killed, but it wasn’t till I lived with Lettie that I knew the kind of love and attention that a child cherishes. She wanted me. She really did. She was always there when I needed her. I never felt that with my parents. So it was impossible to let her down when she needed me.’

      A wave of sadness hit her as she thought of Lettie and the cruel illness that had taken her. She didn’t realise Justin was there till he took her into his arms. ‘You are the kind of person who would never let any person down,’ he said softly. ‘A very special person. I am so lucky to have found you, Rachel.’ He tipped up her chin and kissed her so tenderly that it brought a lump to her throat.

      Was this the kiss of love? Could her heart’s desire be coming true this quickly?

      Alice clearing her throat had them pulling apart, but Rachel didn’t feel at all embarrassed. She was too happy for that. Alice looked happy too. Perhaps she was also hoping for what Rachel was hoping for.

      Rachel didn’t have the opportunity to find out till after lunch was finished. With Justin retreating to the family room to watch the final round of a golf tournament on TV, Alice was able to draw Rachel into the living room on the pretext of showing her the famous teapot collection. But the conversation soon turned from pottery to personal matters.

      ‘Has he told you about Mandy yet?’ she asked quietly.

      ‘He won’t speak about her at all. Or his marriage.’

      ‘Typical. His father was like that. Would never speak of emotional matters or past hurts. So, do you really love my son, Rachel? Or is this just an affair of convenience?’

      ‘I love him with all my heart,’ Rachel confessed. ‘But I daren’t tell him that. He told me right at the start he didn’t want my love. Just my companionship.’

      ‘Oh, is that what prudes are calling sex these days?’ Alice said with a dry laugh. ‘Companionship.’

      Rachel just smiled. ‘I don’t dare ask him about Mandy, either. Although I do know who she left him for. It was Carl Toombs. But I don’t know why. I can only guess.’

      ‘I see. Well, if he won’t tell you what happened then I will,’ Alice pronounced firmly. ‘That cruel bitch. There is no other word for her! She told my son that the reason she was leaving him for another man was because he was no longer physically attractive to her. Just because he’d put on a few pounds. At that time he was a dealer, working crippling hours. And slaving away on his own private projects with every spare minute, just to give her the best of everything. When he combined a sedentary job with take-away food and no energy to exercise then of course Justin put on some weight. But he was far from fat. Still, that’s what she called him the day she dumped him. Fat and flabby. And boring to boot. She also complained about their sex life, but what time did he have for fun and games when he was beating himself to death making himself rich enough for her? Not that Justin could ever have been rich enough for her, not compared to Carl Toombs. She wanted to justify her appalling behaviour and to do that she sacrificed my son’s self-esteem. It was wicked what she did to him that day. Wicked.’

      ‘Poor Justin,’ Rachel murmured.

      ‘He was shattered afterwards for a long, long time. His only refuge was in work and exercise. God knows the hell he’s been through as a man, emotionally and mentally. I can’t tell you how happy I am that he’s finally met a decent girl like you, a girl who can truly appreciate the fine man he is. You do really love him, don’t you?’

      ‘Alice, I’m crazy about him. As for Mandy, she had to be stupid not to appreciate what she had.’

      ‘That’s the strange thing. I honestly thought she did. She seemed to love Justin when she married him. And she always said she’d have a baby as soon as they