Brides, Babies And Billionaires. Rebecca Winters

       CHAPTER TWELVE

      THERE WERE FEW vehicles on the roads as Matt drove home after leaving Lauren at her hotel room in the early hours of the morning. Gently nudging her through her door and not following tested his resolve. Pulling it shut to enable him to walk away from her sweet smile, flushed cheeks and slumberous hazel eyes was the hardest action he’d ever taken.

      He could still feel her soft lips responding to his in the longest, sweetest goodnight kiss he’d ever had. No holding back. No expectations.

      He’d asked her to stay all night but understood her need for distance after their shared confessions and lengthy conversation after. It had been soul-searing for them both. They’d have distance all right, three days, two nights and who knew how many kilometres.

      He parked in his garage, switched off the engine and clicked the remote to wind down the roller door. Didn’t move. Didn’t want to go into that empty unit where her tantalising perfume lingered and her presence was now indelibly implanted into the atmosphere.

      Reclining the seat and pushing it back, he lay staring at the roof. New, clean, unmarked, like everything else he owned in Australia. Limbo land. Between the old and the unknown.

      He closed his eyes—body weary, mind wide awake. His impulsive kiss so long ago had caused repercussions he’d never have believed, and distress for Lauren. He’d allowed his perception of his parents’ relationship to affect his attitude. Love might not be blind but maybe it blurred faults in those you cared for.

      Lena and Mark, Duncan and Clair. There were other happy couples he knew too. Did his mother’s love override the pain of his father’s affairs?

      He yawned, ought to go in, get a few hours’ sleep to cope with the long day ahead. He’d miss her in his bed—probably lie awake remembering the passion they’d shared. Had those harsh, ecstatic groans of release mingling with her joyful cries come from him? His lips curled, his body shifted as he remembered her kittenish mews. He slept.

      * * *

      Lauren woke early, a faint ray of daylight competing with the street lamps to dispel the night. She quivered as memories teased her from sleep, and grew stronger, more vibrant. More intimate.

      She blushed as she recalled how forward she’d been, so unlike the compliant participant in her other relationships. Matt had gently encouraged her, kissed her until she was molten lava in his arms then taken her to the stars and beyond.

      It was because of those new and tumultuous sensations, followed by the sharing of their innermost secrets, that she’d asked him to take her back to the hotel. Part of her had longed to stay, to sleep cradled to his body and make love in the morning as the sun rose. The other half had felt vulnerable, shocked by her ardent responses, and needing solitude to decipher why now? Why him?

      A similar duel had her torn between knowing how much she’d miss him and feeling an inexplicable inclination to re-erect the defence shield round her heart. She had three days to...who was she kidding? Her surrender had been complete.

      * * *

      Thirteen hours later she pushed her dinner plate to the far corner of the table and opened the green patterned spiral notebook she’d bought in the quirky gift shop a few hours ago. Along with presents for friends’ future birthdays.

      She’d never been one for writing copious holiday descriptions, relying on photos, brief notes and her memory. She’d kept Matt’s image at bay as she drove, forcing her mind into work mode where nothing was allowed to intrude on the task at hand. New vehicle, new roads, though there were fewer freeways than in New South Wales.

      As she wrote and sipped delicious rose tea she noticed the small ceramic vases on the dining-room tables, each one unique and holding two fresh flowers and a sprig of greenery. Her vase with orchids was swathed in bubble wrap and secured behind the passenger seat of the car.

      Laying her new special green pen down, she cradled her cup, recalling his tenderness and sensitivity, and the way his passion, matching hers, had overridden both. No one had ever made her feel so feminine, so aroused. She relived the evening from the initial eye contact across the road to his reluctant expression as he’d closed her hotel-room door.

      Lost in reminiscence, she jumped when her mobile rang, rummaged for her phone with unsteady fingers.

      ‘Matt.’

      ‘Hi, having a good day?’

      His now oh-so-familiar raspy voice triggered a rush of heat through her veins. She leant her elbow on the table, and pressed her mobile tighter to her ear as if the action would bring them together.

      ‘Yes, I turned off at any interesting sign, and stopped at almost every town I went through. The autumn colours are incredible. I took lots of photos and bought a few presents.’ She was babbling, couldn’t seem to slow down.

      ‘Did you miss me?’ Deeper, hopeful tone.

      ‘If I say yes, you’ll claim an advantage. How did your meetings go?

      ‘Chicken. I missed you. Only had one. Where are you now?’

      She clutched her stomach to quell the fluttering his confession created, steadied her breathing, and fought for her normal placid tone when she replied.

      ‘Nuriootpa for the night. Tomorrow, who knows?’

      ‘You will be back on Friday?’ The teasing note disappeared. He sounded serious, surprisingly uncertain.

      ‘That’s the plan. Is there a problem?’

      ‘Not from my end. You’ll be getting a call from Clair in the next hour or so. We’ve been invited to their home in the Hills for the weekend.’

      ‘We?’

      ‘As in you and me, Lauren. Duncan wants to discuss the company’s current position, and the business proposal I pitched to him a couple of weeks ago in a relaxed atmosphere. They want you to come with me.’

      ‘Why? I’m not part of your deal at all.’

      ‘They like you.’

      Not exactly the answer she wanted to hear.

      ‘Lauren, I want you to come. You know them, said you liked them. If it’s our relationship worrying you, I promise nothing will happen between us unless you want it to.’

      Of course she wanted it to; the location was irrelevant. Last night had been the most wonderful experience of her life. The dilemma was the when and where.

      ‘A whole weekend in someone’s home is a giant leap from having dinner with them.’ With added pressure if they believed she and Matt were involved.

      He made an exasperated noise in his throat.

      ‘I wish I could see you, reassure you. Will you please consider it? Talk it out with Clair?’

      She