herself, instantly transported back to Crete.
Nick was holding her face in his hands, his lips close to hers, and the breeze was floating tendrils of her unbound hair around them both.
‘The colour of the ocean, deep and clear. The colour of the sky, bright and endless. The colour of your eyes…’
She shook her head before she could think too much about the kiss that had followed.
‘Blue.’
‘Cool!’ Sofia flicked her glance to her watch. ‘I have to go shopping. He’s taking me out to dinner tonight, and I just feel I need to get into something a little less—black.’ She paused and pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes filmed with tears. ‘It’s just so hard being reminded all the time.’
‘It’s bound to be. A shopping trip is probably just what you need—but can I get you anything now?’
Sofia sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘No. I’ll be fine. I have to get going. Nick and I have a lot of things to organise with the company and everything. You know how it is.’ She rose and headed for the door, but halfway through stopped and turned around. ‘He asked if you were coming, but I told him you probably wouldn’t be able to get a babysitter at such short notice. He didn’t seem to know you had a kid. You haven’t told him?’
He knows!
Ice formed in her veins, yet somehow she managed to force her jaw to work.
‘Ah. No, not yet. We haven’t had much chance so far to catch up, that’s all.’
Another sniff and a shrug later Sofia was gone. Alex sat stunned, her breathing shallow and fast, her mind racing.
He knows.
But how much did he know? How much had Sofia told him? She’d never shown much interest in children in general or in Jason in particular. What could she have given away? Maybe there was still time.
In a flash she maximised her computer screen and finished typing the letter before printing it off. She read it through once more and nodded. Perfect. All it needed was her signature.
She was doing the right thing; she was sure of it.
In a moment it was signed and sealed and ready to be dropped off on Nick’s desk before he was back from seeing the tenants.
She took a deep breath and, suddenly parched, reached for her glass of water. It was empty. She stopped by the small office kitchenette to fill it, popping the envelope on the adjacent benchtop while she poured the cool spring water. She was standing at the dispenser, with her back to the door, when she felt it.
Something wasn’t right.
Hairs prickled on the back of her neck and her heart belted out an erratic beat that reverberated in her head, spelling out exactly how she felt. Scared.
Quickly she turned, feeling his presence before there was so much as a sound.
Water sloshed over the glass’s rim, but she hardly noticed or cared. ‘Nick! You startled me.’
He was leaning against the doorway, hands in pockets. Strange how even in such a casual stance Nick could look all man. Relaxed, comfortable—predatory.
Slowly he peeled himself away from the doorway and moved closer.
There was no telling what he was thinking. His dark eyes were unfathomable. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her, filling all the remaining space in the tiny kitchenette. She swallowed. Until Nick moved she was stuck here, with a brimming glass of water the only thing between them. As defences went, it wasn’t much, but somehow just holding it there made her feel better. If only she could hold her hand steady.
‘Sofia took me for a tour of the properties yesterday.’
‘Yes, I heard.’
‘It’s a large portfolio. I was impressed by the quality of the holdings.’
‘That’s good.’
Alex winced at her lame responses, but how was she supposed to concentrate with him in the room? It was all she could do to keep her hand from shaking and spilling some more water.
‘I imagine it takes quite a bit of accounting skill to keep up with it all.’
‘Not really,’ she said, studying the glass and using all her powers of concentration to will it to stay level. ‘Once the systems are in place—’ What am I thinking? If he wanted to imply that she couldn’t do the job, it would be in her interests to agree with him. She jerked her eyes up to meet his.
‘Actually, you’re right. It’s very complic—’
Nick jumped back before the wave of spring water could collect him fair in the chest, and Alex realised she hadn’t just kicked up her chin when she’d changed her response.
Even with his quick evasive action the water landed at his feet, beading droplets over the sculpted black leather of his Italian shoes. In a flash he relieved her of the glass, and its remaining contents, and deposited it on the benchtop alongside the letter—his letter while she stood there dumbfounded.
‘You’re jumpy, Alexandra.’
She looked up at him, preparing to apologise, but he took her shoulders in his large hands. Instantly every cell in her body seemed to contract and freeze.
‘Do I make you so nervous?’
She sucked in a necessary breath—only to find the oxygen she so desperately required infused with the scent of this man. Heat replaced the coldness she’d been feeling, warming sensations and desires she’d thought long buried. Under her discount designer jacket and tailored shirt her breasts felt swollen and firm, aware of even the slightest brush of fabric over the points of her bra. And now that feeling coiled downwards, stirring feelings long since forgotten.
She sighed. There seemed little point in denying it. ‘Yes, I guess you do.’
He laughed, softly and openly, his breath curling warm against her face as his thumbs gently traced the line of her collarbone, almost hypnotising her. The flesh tingled under his touch. Alex felt her eyelids flutter. Oh, God! He hadn’t forgotten how to make her feel good, just as her body hadn’t forgotten how to respond to his.
‘But why, Alexandra, should I make you nervous? I am just a man. A man who, after all, you know—intimately.’
Something about the way he spoke made her look at him—really look at him. Why was he doing this to her? She willed her body not to be carried away by his touch, but that same body seemed intent on ignoring her. After all, this was just what she’d dreamed of, night after lonely night—being with Nick, enjoying his touch. Now her dreams had become reality, at least in part, and it was so hard to deny herself that for which she’d yearned so long.
Only she had to. Her lips felt desperate for moisture as she finally spoke.
‘That was a long time ago. It’s ancient history now.’
‘Maybe. But sometimes the past can pave the way for
