an adult with a good career and great friends. It’ll achieve nothing, and only cause pain.’
A car drove past, the driver beeping in customary rural friendship. Matt checked the time, then cradled her face in his hands.
‘Most assuredly an adult, Lauren Taylor. Beautiful and desirable.’
He intended the kiss to be gentle, reassuring, but almost lost control when she returned it with enthusiasm. Her hands slid up his chest to tease his neck, heating his blood to near boiling. Her body pressed to his fuelled the urge to have her alone somewhere quiet and private.
He broke away, expelling the air from his lungs, gasping in more as he feasted on her blushed cheeks and brilliant eyes. His hand shook as he redid his seat belt and started the engine.
As he struggled to find his voice again he mulled over her confessions of the last few days. He needed to know everything if he was to help her completely overcome her insecurities before she left.
Before she left. The very idea depressed him. Having her near lifted his spirits.
‘In five hundred metres turn right.’
The GPS interrupted his thinking and he slowed down.
LAUREN’S LIPS TINGLED from his kiss, and her heartbeat loped along in an erratic rhythm. She wanted to be alone with Matt, wasn’t ready for a whole weekend with comparative strangers who’d probably invited her for his sake. Her first sight of the property increased her reservations.
Well-maintained tall hedges formed the property’s boundaries with ornate stone columns and high elaborate gates protecting the entrance. She could see neatly trimmed red-and green-leafed plants skirtinged the winding gravel driveway, and a variety of trees and shrubs hid the house from view.
Matt pressed a button on a matching bollard, answered a disembodied voice and the gates swung open. They passed through, and for Lauren it was like entering another world, where money was no object and the traditions of generations would be strictly upheld. She had no logical reason for the feeling yet it was strong and overwhelming, negating all the assurances Matt and Clair had given her.
She gripped her hands in her lap, drops of sweat slid down her back and her stomach churned. Having lunch in public, with eating and waiter service taking up time, hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected. The dinner function had been so noisy, so crowded and bustling, interaction had been kept to a minimum.
She’d been coerced into a weekend with Matt and the Fords, dining with them three times a day, sitting with them in the evening. She’d be alone with Clair while the men discussed business. What did she have in common with a rich, influential woman whose life revolved around her husband, family and society friends?
She... Oh, they’d stopped as the car rounded a curve. Wide expanses of lawn had been laid as a fire break on the sides she could see. Ahead stood the house, a beautiful sprawling example of a colonial family homestead with a shady wide veranda on all four sides. It was painted in muted shades of green and brown, including the shutters, to blend with the surroundings. A peaceful harmonious haven. A millionaire’s paradise.
She was vaguely aware of the lack of engine noise, then Matt’s hand covering hers, raising the hairs on her skin, triggering warmth deep inside. Somehow it intensified the trembling she tried to hide.
She looked into sympathetic blue eyes and wished she’d been more honest and refused the invitation. So much hung on the impression he made this weekend, and she’d be a liability he’d regret.
‘I’m sorry, Matt. I made a mistake. This is a mistake. The dinner was one thing—this is way bigger. You and Duncan talk business, sport, topical news. You were brought up in the same social environment, probably went to the same private school. I’ll never fit in with your elite circles.’
A guttural rumble came from his throat and he placed two fingers on her lips. She swatted them away.
‘Clair is a caring, generous person with all the social skills. I’m a computer geek with hardly any. We’ll run out of conversation in minutes.’
His features hardened, sending an icy chill shooting across her skin as if she’d entered a supermarket freezer. She pressed into the seat, wishing she could disappear into it.
‘Those statements are beneath the person I believe you are, Lauren. They met you and thought you were a charming, intelligent, and gracious young woman. Duncan’s exact words when he asked me to thank you for your kindness to Ken. And, believe me, Clair would never have invited you just to make equal numbers.’
He stroked her hair, clasped her nape and gently drew her upright. His gaze intensified as he studied her face. What was he searching for? And why? His smile obliterated her logic and created chaotic fantasies.
‘They’d like you to have a relaxing weekend in one of the most beautiful places in South Australia, the same as I do. I’m sure Clair knows we’re attracted to each other but there’s no way she’ll say or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.’
Shame made her blush and she bit her lip. She gave him a remorseful smile, and flattened out her hands with linked fingers in supplication.
‘I guess deep inside I know that’s true. Sometimes the insecure child overrides the logical technician. Being with you plays havoc with my rationality.’
Too late she heard what she’d admitted, knew from his smug grin he’d understood, and wouldn’t hesitate to use it to coerce and cajole her.
‘You’ve just paid me one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had. If I wasn’t parked in view from the house, and constrained by my seat belt, I’d put it to the test.’
He covered her lips, teasing and coaxing yet with an underlying restraint. She returned the kiss, safe in the knowledge it could go no further. For now. She wound her arm around his neck to hold him closer then let it slide slowly away when he lifted his head. Embraced the surge of power at the emotion in his voice when he whispered in her ear.
‘And don’t think for a second I won’t remember every word and every touch next time we’re alone.’
Bringing her breathing under control as they drove up to the house, she silently echoed his words. Except she’d remember them as long as she lived.
* * *
Clair was waiting on the front steps and came out to meet them, leaning into Lauren’s window.
‘Glad you made it. We’ve opened one of the garage doors for you round the back. I’ll meet you there.’ She didn’t comment on the five-minute time gap from gate to front door.
They parked and Matt was unloading the boot when she joined them, giving Lauren a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. So different from the casual greetings from her family. Did her reticence cause the awkwardness between them?
‘Do you need a hand with the luggage?’
‘She’s brought less than any woman I’ve ever travelled with,’ Matt chipped in as he received the same greeting. ‘And that includes
