The Ex Factor. Anne Oliver

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ the bed, a bronzed god. An angry god. Angry because she’d found out what he’d conveniently kept from her the whole time they’d been together? ‘What’s wrong?’

       She sat up, dragging the sheet with her. ‘I worked a ladies’ luncheon today. Apparently your wedding’s going to be the social event of the season—’

       His eyes glinted with something like menace. ‘Care to fill me in on who the bride is?’ His voice was controlled but the muscle tick in his rigid jaw told another story.

       ‘That girl, Eleanor with the fancy surname—they had a photo of the two of you together.’

       ‘McDonald-Smythe. Hearsay, Mel.’ The bed dipped as he sat down beside her and cupped her elbows. ‘Don’t you know how the upper class loves to spread gossip and lies?’

       ‘You want to talk about lies?’ She tried to shake him off but his grip was relentless. ‘Why did they have a picture of the two of you at the Melbourne Cup?’

       He closed his eyes briefly. To remember or think up an excuse?

       ‘That was November,’ he said. ‘You and I’d gotten together—what—a week earlier? You knew I flew to Melbourne for the day. I met up with a lot of people, I didn’t think you needed a detailed inventory.’

       No. But there had been other times in those three short months when he’d gone interstate for job interviews, or off somewhere on business. He’d never asked her to accompany him.

       It simply highlighted what had been clear from the outset. ‘A waitress isn’t in your family’s grand plan for you.’ She jerked free of his hands and this time he let her go.

       He looked away, obviously aware of the truth in her statement but refusing to acknowledge what was expected of him. ‘What about my plans?’ His face darkened, the veins in his neck stood out like ropes. ‘As it happens I’ve been offered a geological position in central Queensland. And I’m taking it.’

       In the beat of angry silence that followed she held her breath. He inhaled, as if to add something, then paused. Why didn’t he just say it? she screamed silently. It’s been fun but now it’s over.

       She gritted her teeth. That was how it was supposed to have been for both of them. So why did it feel so bad?

       ‘Well, then, that’s good timing.’ She heard the unnaturally high tone in her voice as she reached for her clothes. She might think the bottom had fallen out of her inexperienced little world, but it hadn’t—she wouldn’t let it. ‘I heard there are jobs going up north at a new resort.’ She didn’t look at him but hardened and cemented her resolve. Better to leave than be left. Deep down she knew she’d never fit into his life. She couldn’t compete with the rich women who surrounded him.

       ‘Is that what you want, Mel?’ she heard him say behind her.

       ‘It’s time to move on,’ she said, turning towards him but not looking at him, hiding behind an over-bright smile and careless shrug. ‘The thing is, I’ve realised we’re too different to make anything more of what we have. We had some great times but it was never going to be permanent between us, Luke.’

       ‘You really believe that, then?’ He shook his head. ‘Either I’ve misjudged you or you’re one hell of a liar…’

       In her own bed, Melanie shook off the images she’d never been able to erase and stared at her ceiling in the dimness. Five years on, she realised perhaps she’d been the liar after all. She’d left Sydney the next day with a vow never to let a man get to her on that level again.

       But now that man was back.

      * * *

      Late the following afternoon, Luke negotiated the Lincoln-green Ferrari he’d hired through Sydney’s traffic as if he’d never left. A dream run after some of the overcrowded cities he’d lived in.

       Which gave him time to think about his father’s phone call that morning.

       He flipped his indicator and changed lanes. Scowled. When Dad had mentioned ‘getting down to business’ he hadn’t meant the string of restaurants he’d turned into a series of successful franchises over the years. He’d meant the business of Luke getting married and giving him a grandson.

       Still, Dad had finally accepted the fact that Luke had made his own wealth and didn’t want to inherit his fortune. Now he wanted to force it onto some poor kid who wasn’t even born yet.

       Dad was a stubborn man, and Mum—he shook his head—she went along with whatever Dad decided. As much as he loved her, he didn’t think he could stand such a docile wife.

       Which of course segued straight to Melanie—the antithesis of docile. She’d have given him more of an adventure than a marriage. What would his parents have made of her? he wondered, a wry grin tilting the corner of his mouth. The way she dressed, her take on upper-crust society and its conventions.

       She’d lured him into having sex in the ornamental fountain on the front lawn one hot night. His grin softened at the memory. He’d never looked at the water feature in quite the same way again, and poor Mum; she’d never got to the bottom of what—or who—had messed with her water lilies.

       Damn. He slammed a hand on the steering wheel and hit the accelerator, overtook a Porsche, slowed to an immediate crawl at the next intersection. Five years ago and the memory still made him hard. At least Adam’s suggestion that they go for drinks might take the heat out of his frustration.

       Seeing Melanie again had brought the past back. With his degree fresh under his belt, Luke had accepted his first job in the outback at age twenty-two. Five years ago he’d been back in Sydney on the lookout for something more challenging than the eight years he’d put into a Western Australian mining operation. Then he’d met Melanie.

       He’d done the unthinkable and fallen for her—so different from the women he’d always been attracted to—and when he’d won the position in Queensland he’d intended asking her to take a chance and go with him. But she’d had her own plans, on a different road—plans that didn’t include a husband and kids. Plans she hadn’t bothered to fill him in on.

       He’d been burned good. He didn’t intend for it to happen again.

       He pulled up in front of Adam’s apartment.

       ‘Hey,’ Adam said, climbing in with a neon-green feather boa around his neck. ‘Mind if we swing past the hospital on the way? Mel promised to lend this to a friend for a fancy-dress party and forgot to take it this morning. I told her we’d bring it by.’

       Luke must have grimaced or something because when he glanced Adam’s way, he was watching him. ‘Problem?’

       ‘No worries,’ Luke said finally. He could smell Melanie’s perfume on those feathers, as if she were in the car with them.

       ‘What is it with you two?’ Adam asked.

       ‘We knew each other a few years back.’ Luke checked his mirror, then eased into the traffic. ‘It was kind of intense.’

       ‘So that’s why she was so moody this morning.’ Adam leaned over to check out the stereo. ‘This is one fine car.’

       СКАЧАТЬ