The phone rang, and she let it ring and ring until she could bear it no longer. But when she snatched up the receiver it was Chris at the other end of the line.
‘I’m in the pub,’ he said, his voice barely audible above the background hum. ‘We’re going on to a club and I’ll stay over at Nick’s tonight. Will you be okay?’
‘Of course,’ she told him firmly. ‘I lived on my own for three years. Have a good time.’
No way was she going to spoil Chris’s evening, she decided as she fell into bed. Alex was right. Lee couldn’t hurt her, and his chances of gaining custody of Maisie were remote. For some reason she had allowed him to frighten her, as he had done during their marriage, but she was no longer a timid young girl, struggling with the demands of a new baby, she was an independent woman and she could stand up to Lee.
She slept surprisingly well, and woke just as it was getting light, a small sound from outside her bedroom door warning her that Maisie must be awake.
‘Maisie!’ Usually the little girl liked to snuggle down in her bed for an early-morning cuddle, and she frowned when there was no reply.
The sound came again, and she recognised it as the loose floorboard at the top of the stairs. Her heartbeat slowed again as she berated herself for being over-imaginative. It must be Chris trying to creep up to bed without waking her, she decided, and she knotted the belt of her robe around her waist and opened her bedroom door—her scream echoing throughout the house as she came face to face with her ex-husband.
‘You frightened me, Lee. What are you doing here? How did you get in?’ She was shaking so hard that she had to lean against the wall, acute shock making her feel so sick that her brow was clammy with beads of sweat.
‘That lock on the back door was never very secure. I used to live here, remember?’
‘What do you want?’
‘To talk to you. But maybe you’ve got company?’ His sly smile infuriated her, and she stood away from the wall.
‘Well, I haven’t. I’m here on my own, apart from Maisie. Not that it’s any of your business,’ she added, as she checked on her daughter and found her still asleep. ‘You’d better go downstairs. I’m surprised Maisie hasn’t been disturbed already. You have no right to break into my house,’ she told him as she slammed about the kitchen, the familiarity of filling the kettle and making tea giving her a measure of control over the situation. ‘What’s so urgent that you had to talk to me at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning?’ She knew why he was here, of course; he had hoped to catch her with her lover. But his words stunned her.
‘I want Maisie for Christmas.’
‘Gift wrapped?’ she queried sarcastically, and his face tightened.
‘Don’t get clever with me. Louise is planning a big Christmas celebration. Her parents are coming for dinner, and she thought it would be a good time for them to meet Maisie. They’re going to be her new grandparents after all.’
‘Maisie isn’t even four years old yet. She’s too young to spend Christmas away from home,’ Jenna argued.
‘When I win custody the Love Nest will be her home.’
Jenna’s brows shot up. ‘The Love Nest?’ she repeated faintly.
‘It’s Louise’s house—my house, after we’re married. Louise has got it all planned. She’s bought loads of presents for Maisie, and she wants to dress her up and—’
‘Stick her on top of the Christmas tree?’ Jenna finished for him furiously.
‘So you’re refusing to allow me to spend Christmas with my daughter? That’s not going to look good in court. I’m trying to come to an amicable arrangement—but then you always were a bit unbalanced.’
‘How dare you?’ Jenna glared at him wildly, but then took a deep breath; she was playing straight into Lee’s hands. ‘All right, Maisie can spend Christmas Day with you. But you bring her back on Boxing Day. After that we’ll go to court and see if we can come to a fair arrangement over access.’
Lee gave a satisfied smile. ‘Great, Louise has other arrangements for Boxing Day anyway. Here, let me do that.’ He took the kettle from her and poured boiling water into the teapot—and then over her hand.
‘Lee, watch what you’re doing—you’ve burned me.’ Jenna thrust her hand under the cold tap, blinking back tears as her skin began to blister.
‘Sorry, my hand slipped.’
‘Rubbish! You did that on purpose, you bastard. How can I possibly let Maisie go with you?’
‘Don’t you worry. I’ll treat her with kid gloves,’ Lee promised cheerfully, and for once she believed him. Lee needed Maisie; he wouldn’t do anything that would jeopardise his chances with his girlfriend, which meant he had to prove that he was a perfect father.