Australia: Bundles of Joy. Nicola Marsh

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СКАЧАТЬ in that moment she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wouldn’t think, analyse or hold back this weekend. She would ‘go for it’ as Tahlia had advised, and damn the consequences.

      ‘Whatever you want.’ He hugged her tightly and she relaxed, knowing that at least for the next two days everything would be all right.

      Despite her fears, she did trust him. He seemed to be more intuitive than most men she’d known, so why shouldn’t she take a chance and see where it led her?

      ‘The girls were right. You are Mr Perfect.’

      He smiled and planted a quick peck on the tip of her nose. ‘In that case, I’d better start living up to my reputation. How about I draw you a mineral bath first and organise that massage you crave?’

      ‘Mmm … sounds like heaven,’ she said, knowing the only thing she really craved right now was him, but too scared to let go of all her reservations at once.

      He released her and she immediately felt cold, bereft. ‘Why don’t you get changed and I’ll call you when the bath’s ready?’

      She touched his cheek briefly, hoping he could read the clear signal in her eyes, the one that said I like you. A lot.

      ‘Thanks for inviting me this weekend. I’m really looking forward to it.’

      ‘So am I.’ He looked ready to drag her back into his arms and she didn’t move, already recognising it as a haven she could easily get used to. Instead, he gave her a gentle tap on the bottom. ‘Now go.’

      She grabbed her bag and headed into the bedroom before the anticipation of sharing more than a kiss with Lachlan sent her sprawling. Or, better yet, breaking one of the priceless antiques in his friend’s holiday home.

      Now wasn’t the time for clumsiness. She’d come to the decision that this weekend was about romance and she had every intention to enjoy it.

      Lachlan glanced around the bathroom for the final time, hoping Keely would like it. He’d always thought candles and flowers were reserved for a dinner table, but Will, his friend who owned this place—and a regular Romeo with the ladies from all accounts—had insisted the way to make a woman feel special was to use stuff like that in the bathroom.

      So he had and, though it wasn’t his thing, he had to admit the room looked pretty amazing. He’d never done anything like this before, but then he’d never liked a woman this much before.

      It had taken every ounce of his willpower not to drag Keely into his arms and never let go earlier. The expression in her eyes had almost begged him to, in stark contrast to her whispered words to take it slow.

      Despite her sassy attitude she appeared nervous, and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away. She meant too much to him and, though he might not ever take the relationship past the dating stage, who said they couldn’t date for months? Maybe years, if he was lucky?

      Marriage wasn’t for everyone, and he knew plenty of people who remained in partnerships without an official piece of paper their entire lives. Hell, he’d counselled more married couples than those who weren’t, and even if he hadn’t seen the devastation the institution could wreak first hand with his parents, he would’ve probably stayed away from it anyway.

      However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy a woman’s company in exclusivity and he had every intention of making the most of his time with Keely. If she let him.

      He’d glimpsed the vulnerability in her eyes repeatedly, as if she wanted to trust him but couldn’t, and, though they hadn’t discussed it yet, he had a feeling there was more to it than a past boyfriend. She retreated inwards at times, to a place she wouldn’t let anyone else into and, though he respected her privacy, he needed to discover the reason behind her occasional aloofness before it drove a wedge between them.

      Thanks to his deceitful mother, he stuck to the old adage ‘honesty is the best policy’ with an almost obsessive intensity and, though it might be too early to pry into Keely’s secrets, he needed to know the cause of that fearful expression in her eyes at times—and who, or what, had put it there—before they got in too deep. As for her strange withdrawal from him when he made the occasional joke, it hadn’t happened for a few days now and he’d lowered his guard, liking her warm, spontaneous side more and more.

      A soft knock at the door had him casting one last critical look around the bathroom before he opened it.

      ‘I thought you might’ve fallen in,’ she said, pulling the robe she wore tighter across her front.

      He tried to concentrate on what she’d just said, he really did, but it proved impossible with her standing there in a pale blue cotton robe looking like a cross between a knowing temptress and Orphan Annie.

      He’d never known a woman so full of contrasts—one minute the savvy city girl, the next a defenceless waif who looked ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.

      Luckily, the only trouble she would encounter here would be if he couldn’t control his raging libido. He felt like a teenager around her, a totally foreign feeling. He was usually a man in control, a man who prided himself on being so. Though right now, with Keely standing in front of him looking good enough to eat, he was having a damn hard time remembering it.

      However, if she wanted to take things slow, he would, even if he died of lust in the process.

      ‘No, just making sure everything was ready for you.’ He opened the door wider and gestured her in. ‘Come in.’

      She stepped past him and he caught a faint waft of apples. She used a fruity shampoo, and when he’d been away in Sydney he’d found himself consuming apples by the basketful just so he could enjoy the smell of them and remind himself of her. Pathetic, really, but who could blame him? She’d got under his guard so quickly and so thoroughly his head spun.

      He watched her mouth open slightly as she looked around, enjoying her reaction. Despite his feeling silly about the candles and flower petals, the appreciative gleam in her eyes vindicated his actions and made him feel ten feet tall.

      ‘This is incredible,’ she murmured, reaching out to take hold of his hand. ‘No one’s ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you.’

      He squeezed her hand before raising it to his lips and kissing it. ‘Take your time in here. Enjoy.’

      Keely stared at Lachlan, the muted light cast by countless candles illuminating his face in a sensual glow.

      The trouble he’d gone to in here had blown her away: the candles, the scented bubble bath, the rose petals floating on the water’s surface, the fluffy white bath sheet hanging on a towel warmer and the soft jazz playing in the background. The room almost drugged her with its ambience, yet she had to remain focused if she were to thank the man responsible properly.

      ‘Lachlan, I … I—’

      ‘Shh … I know.’ He held a finger up to her lips, effectively removing the need for her stuttered thanks. ‘See you when you get out.’

      Tears sprang into her eyes as he shut the door and as she stepped out of her robe and sank into the blissful warmth of the bath, she didn’t know if they were tears of gratitude or—dared she admit it?—tears of a much deeper emotion she’d vowed to avoid.

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