‘I get the feeling there may have been a man involved?’
She shot him a sharp look to find him watching her intently and her breath stilled in her throat as he said, ‘I recognise the signs.’
Nat contemplated another snappy quip but the world of understanding in his words compelled her to answer without any obfuscating. ‘There was.’
‘What happened?’
She regarded him for a few moments. ‘I think this is where I tell you it’s none of your business, isn’t it?’
A small smile played on his mouth as she called him on his hypocrisy. Shrugging, he said, ‘Just trying to pass the time.’
Which was reasonable enough but didn’t explain why she felt the need to answer, to open up to him. One look at the sexy Italian doctor and she lost her mind. She didn’t bother to point out they could pass it just as easily by talking about his stuff because, frankly, she was tired of listening to men talk about women who used to share their lives.
‘It became… untenable.’ She waited for the barb in her chest to twist again, like it always did when she thought about Rob and their crazy crowded relationship. Her, him and his ex-wife.
Curiously it didn’t.
He didn’t say anything, so she continued. ‘So, I left. I didn’t plan to leave Perth but then I hadn’t planned on it being so hard to still move in the same circles.’
She glanced at him, wondering what he was thinking, wondering if he empathised. Was that why he’d moved to the other side of the world? To escape the memories that were there,waiting around every corner? ‘When the property settlement came through I just… left. Took my half and relocated.’
‘That took courage.’
‘Yeah, well, it doesn’t seem so brave now I’m being kicked out of my apartment.’
He crossed one outstretched leg over the other. ‘Do you have a plan B?’
‘The rental market in Brisbane is tight. I only need a couple of months but no one’s going to be keen to rent to me for such a short time. I don’t really know anyone well enough to crash with them for long periods of time, apart from Peyton, who I went to school with in Perth. She works in Audiology and part time in the operating theatres at St Auburn’s. I stayed with her for a couple of weeks when I first arrived but her husband walked out over two years ago and she has a three-year-old with high needs. I can’t impose on them again.’
Nat took a breath as the weight of her problems seemed to squeeze her lungs. ‘The short answer is, I don’t know. But I’ve put out some feelers so I’m sure something will show up. It’ll work out; it always does.’
As soon as the words were out the lights flickered on in the lift and the air conditioning whirred to life. Nat laughed. ‘See?’
He smiled, which made her a little giddy, then, as the lift shuddered and began its descent, he vaulted to his feet and held out his hand. Nat hesitated for a fraction before taking it, letting him help her up, the lift settling on the ground floor as she rose, causing her to stumble once again.
Involuntarily she placed her hand against his chest to steady herself, aware that his other arm had come around to help, cocooning her against a solid wall of man. Nat copped a lungful of something spicy and for a brief, dizzying second, she considered pushing her nose into the patch of neck his skewed tie had revealed to see if she could discern the exact origin.
His lips were close and his gaze seemed to be suddenly fixed on her mouth and all she could think about was kissing him. The strong thud of his heart directly below her palm seemed to travel all the way down her arm, rippling through every nerve ending in her body.
The very louddingof the lift saved her from totally losing her mind. ‘Oops, sorry,’ she apologised, pushing away from him, uncharacteristic colour creeping into her cheeks, as her pulse hammered at her neck and her temples.
The doors opened and a small crowd of maintenance people as well as department staff were there to greet them, clapping and cheering, and Nat’s blush intensified. Smiling awkwardly at the attention she did the only thing she could – high-tailed it out of the lift without a backward glance.
Alessandro had not long been home with Julian, early that evening, when the doorbell rang. He opened it to a middle-aged woman and ushered her in. Debbie Woodruff was the tenth applicant for live-in nanny he’d interviewed.
He had no intention of the crèche being a long-term solution for Julian. Yes, it was open twenty-four hours a day and Julian seemed to like it there, at least when Nat was on anyway, but he’d already been dragged halfway round the world. His son deserved stability.
And that was one thing hecouldgive him.
Debbie seemed very nice and was plainly well qualified. Julian was polite, as always, saying please and thank you as Camilla had taught him, eating carefully, playing quietly. But he wasn’t enthused. And Alessandro had to admit he wasn’t either.
He wasn’t sure what he wanted. Someone to love Julian, he guessed. Not for it just to be another job. A pay cheque. What his son needed was a mother.
Hismother.
Guilt seized him as he saw Debbie out. The one thing Julian needed the most, and he couldn’t give it to him. It was his job. He was the father. He was supposed to provide for his son.
Alessandro entered the sitting room. Julian looked at him but didn’t smile or acknowledge him. He sat next to his son and wished he knew how to bridge the gap. Wished his father had been around to be a role model for him, instead of the distant provider. Wished he hadn’t let Camilla alienate him from his own son.
