to pick and choose, but he certainly has quite a reputation within the company.’ She made a yearning face. ‘I just wish he’d ask me.’
‘He hasn’t, then?’
‘Fat chance. Not with Donna around. I mean, just look at her.’
Both girls turned to watch Donna Temple as she walked along the opposite side of the street. In her late twenties, she was rather severely dressed, in a beautifully cut suit that outlined a good figure, walked with head high, aware that she drew admiring glances, and was completely assured and sophisticated.
Alix’s heart sank a little—but not very much; she had been in love with Rhys for so long that it had become part of her, but it made her very thoughtful. She had never considered Rhys in the light of other women before; OK, she knew he’d been out with girls, of course she did, but it had never even occurred to her that he might fall in love and marry someone else. She had always been so sure of him. But only now did she realise that there was competition out there. And the competition, in the shape of Donna Temple, might be dangerous.
That was her first reaction. Her second was jealousy. No way did she want to think of Rhys making love to another woman. But there again, she had somehow known that Rhys had become a man of the world, in every sense. But so long as the girls in his life had been shadowy, mythical creatures and could be put down merely to experience, then it hadn’t mattered, but it came as quite a shock to see one in the flesh, as it were.
Was Rhys really attracted to that kind of woman? she wondered. Or was he just amusing himself while he waited for her to grow up? Alix decided it just had to be the latter, although she wasn’t quite so sure of Rhys as she had been, and she waited with anxious eagerness for him to come home.
From time to time news of him filtered down to her, either at work or at home. From South America he had moved straight on to another project in Australia, so it was over three months later before she heard that he was finally returning to England. The office buzzed with the news, because there was also a rumour going around that old Mr Weston was retiring at last, so there would be a big reshuffle among the directors. A lot of people thought that this was the main reason Rhys was coming home.
Alix heard the rumours but was too concerned with her own reasons for wanting to see Rhys again to think anything else very important. He was due to fly in on a Friday, and everyone, Alix included, thought that he would go straight to his parents’ home for the weekend. She could hardly contain her excitement, and had asked for the day off so that she could be waiting for him when he arrived, but a draft contract for a power plant in one of the Gulf states had to be finished and she had to work. Frustrated, and longing for the end of the day, Alix had to sit at her desk and wish the hours away.
But in the afternoon the phone on Kathy’s desk rang. She listened then swivelled round towards Alix. ‘Hey! Guess what? That was the girl on Reception. She says Rhys Stirling has come here straight from the airport.’
‘He has?’ Alix’s face lit with excitement she couldn’t hide.
But Kathy thought it was just eager interest and said, ‘Now you’ll be able to see for yourself how gorgeous he is.’
‘You think he’ll come in here?’
‘I should think so; he usually comes to say hello when he gets back.’
‘And goodbye when he goes,’ chimed in another girl.
It was quite a large office with about a dozen girls and young men, all doing more or less equal jobs, situated on the fifth floor of the building. The directors’ offices were on the floor above, so no one saw Rhys as he went up in the lift to see Todd Weston. Alix made for the cloakroom to check her make-up and brush her hair. When she’d last seen Rhys it had still been a mass of short curls, but she wore it longer now, so that it caressed her shoulders in a shining, golden mane. Not having expected to see him, she’d put on normal working clothes: a skirt, and sweater over a shirt, but the skirt was tight enough to outline the slimness of her hips and the sweater a shade of blue that emphasised the sea-blue of her eyes. Anyway, it would have to do.
When Rhys finally came to the office over an hour later, Alix was standing at a filing cabinet over by the wall, and had her back towards him. She heard his voice and began to quiver with excitement so strong she thought her heart would burst, but she didn’t turn round. No one had told Rhys that she was working here and she wanted to take him completely by surprise. He worked his way down the room, greeting everyone he knew by name, came to say hello to Kathy. Then he glanced past her at Alix and said, ‘You’ve got a new girl, I see.’
Alix took a deep breath and swung round, her face radiant. ‘Hello, Rhys.’
Rhys’s eyes widened incredulously. ‘Alix?’
With a laugh of pure delight, she ran to him and threw her arms round his neck in spontaneous joy.
He gave a whoop of astonished laughter, and put his hands on her waist to lift her up and swing her round. ‘Urchin!’ And then he kissed her, right there in front of them all. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’ he demanded when he straightened up.
‘I work here.’ She still had her arms round his neck and he his hands on her waist, and to Alix it was the best moment, ever. ‘I’ve been here for months.’
‘And no one told me?’
‘We wanted it to be a surprise.’
‘It was certainly that.’ His grey eyes laughed down at her. ‘I shall have words to say when I get home.’
‘Are you going now?’
‘In about half an hour. I’ve got a car laid on. Want a lift?’
‘Of course.’
‘OK. Meet me out front.’
He went to let her go but she pulled him closer and stood on tip-toe to murmur in his ear, ‘I’m glad you’re home, Rhys.’
His eyes met hers for a moment, saw the radiance in their depths. ‘Still?’ he asked, only half teasingly.
‘Still,’ she answered with sincerity. ‘Always.’
He brushed her lips with his, then said, ‘See you later,’ and walked out of the office.
‘Well!’ Kathy exclaimed as soon as he’d gone. ‘You’re a dark horse. I thought you said you didn’t know him.’
Alix came back to earth to find everyone staring at her, which made her blush. ‘Oh, no; you never asked me. You just took it that I didn’t.’
Some of the others came to cluster round and Kathy gave her a shrewd look. ‘You could easily have told us. Why didn’t you?’
‘I wanted to surprise him.’
‘Well, you certainly did that. And you obviously know him very well,’ one of the men said.
Alix coloured again at the emphasis that had been put on the last two words. ‘Oh, yes. I’ve known him nearly all my life. We live next door to each other, you see.’
Faces cleared and people went back to their desks, a few picked up phones to pass on the tit-bit of gossip. Kathy looked as if she longed to do the same,
