‘Yup.’ Vik took his beer from the barman and clinked his bottle against Hudson’s.
Rita, one of the air ambulance’s Freewheelers, appeared from behind a group chatting. ‘You both should’ve followed the postcode for the campsite. Brings you right here.’
‘I’m not even going to ask,’ Hudson said discreetly to Vik while Rita plucked a bottle of beer from the barman’s outstretched arm; she’d obviously been up here already.
The atmosphere was lively, crowded; there were so many people Hudson knew and some he didn’t.
By the time he looked up again, the next guest to come into the room took his breath away.
He watched Nadia as she kissed a lady on the cheek, gave someone else a hug, chatted to another person. His collar felt uncomfortable again; he tried to stay engaged in conversation with Rita.
Nadia was stunning. Her blonde hair was curled more tightly in ringlets rather than her usual waves. Instead of the usual business attire, she wore a v-neckline, sleeveless, black and gold, sequinned dress that flared flatteringly from her hips and showed her slender legs.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. But he should or it would be obvious to her and everyone else how he felt.
And he was, in the eyes of everyone else, still married.
She spotted him watching her. Hudson tried to gather himself, act as though she was just another member of the team or one of their supporters. But he wasn’t sure he was doing a very good job. His racing pulse certainly said otherwise.
Vik and Rita had already moved away to talk to an older couple on their right, both long-term supporters of the air ambulance keen to catch up with some of the crew. The Skylarks were all happy to talk about their job, what it involved, make a bit out of their heroic efforts in this kind of setting when they knew it would help raise the air ambulance’s profile.
And now Nadia was at his side. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, a cheek that took on a delicate pink tinge at his scrutiny. She didn’t normally react that way; she was used to public appearances, people watching her, addressing a crowd. Out of the office, this felt completely different and perhaps it felt that way for her too.
‘You look beautiful.’ Hudson was sure his knees might buckle at any second, especially as the alluring aroma of a fruity, perhaps lavender-like perfume ignited his senses.
Hudson had vowed not to get involved with another woman until his kids were older and making their own way in the world. He’d thought it wouldn’t be worth the hassle, the fallout, the stress it might cause the kids, particularly Beau. But the more time went on, the more he realised he couldn’t control the way he felt. Nadia was fast becoming so much more than a colleague, a friend.
But would he ruin everything if he told her how he felt?
10
Nadia hadn’t been nervous at all when she’d arrived at the venue. The first thing she’d done in her beautiful room in the country house was fling open the window to hear the sea in the distance and let the sunshine filter in, and then she’d taken a long, luxurious shower and got dressed for the dinner dance.
She’d been to enough of these fundraising events to know how it worked. Everyone gathered in the same place, people you saw regularly in their smarter attire, those you rarely saw welcoming you with open arms, introductions to people she’d never met and would do her best to remember so as not to cause offence.
After coming downstairs, she placed a couple of bids on items in the silent auction, which would close when they were all called into the marquee for dinner. She never wanted to win at these things but she always placed bids to try to get the price up and thus raise more money for their charity. The circulating drinks would help the process, as would the two ambassadors behind the table of items who were explaining to newcomers how this all worked as well as sharing the details of all the prizes.They were good at it, the sales pitch side, and she left them to it and went into the reception room where crowds were gathered.
What she hadn’t quite expected as soon as she entered was to see Hudson at the opposite end, as though the crowds had parted just for them. In a tux, he looked more handsome than ever before and although she was eager to talk to him, her nerves made her stall her journey across the room so she could calm herself first. She talked to anyone who caught her eye, hugged supporters she’d known for years. Dorothy, stunning in the most spectacular turquoise dress, caught her and introduced her to a couple of friends she’d brought along. One of them was hoping to win the flight in the helicopter. ‘Who am I safest with?’ the woman asked Nadia. ‘Maya? Or Vik?’
Nadia smiled. ‘You’ll be safe with either of them. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you, shall I?’
Talk turned to helicopters when the woman told her she’d been up in one years ago, over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and all the while, Nadia could feel Hudson’s eyes on her.
‘It’ll be a different view,’ Nadia assured her, ‘but seeing Whistlestop River from up above is spectacular.’
The woman clapped her hands together. ‘Come on, Dorothy, come with me; I’m going to keep an eye on those bids and see if I can go a bit higher.’
And then she was there, in front of Hudson and when he told her she looked beautiful, she blushed. That kind of reaction wasn’t going to keep her feelings hidden, was it? But hidden was what they needed to be because he was married. Off limits.
With so many people in the country house, the temperature had risen and she was glad of a sleeveless dress. They worked together, had been this close plenty of times, if only she could remember that and try to act at least semi-human. And he wouldnever cheat, she knew that much about him, so she should do her best to keep things purely professional.
‘It’s a sellout,’ he said.
‘We had a few tickets left yesterday morning but the last few went. This could be our best fundraiser yet.’
‘What’s the fizz like?’ He eyed the glass she’d barely started.
‘I’m taking it slow. Just the one. I find it best at these things not to have too many drinks until it’s almost over.’
