In the Boss's Arms. Barbara Hannay

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СКАЧАТЬ And if you’re worried about an equal exchange of information, I’m thirty-six, or perhaps I should say oops plus six,’ he added with a smile. ‘And…’ He paused.

      ‘And?’ She tried unsuccessfully to keep the curiosity out of her voice.

      ‘It’s my birthday today, too.’

      ‘You’re joking.’

      ‘Not at all.’ He pulled a wallet from his back trouser pocket and flipped it open on the bar. And there was his driver’s licence. Conway, Liam Cooper. And sure enough, his date of birth was the fifth of September.

      Alice frowned suddenly. Liam Cooper Conway. Where had she heard that name? Liam Conway. Mr Conway. Dr Conway. Professor Conway. Inspector Conway?

      No…she was dreaming. She’d never met him before. Besides, he said he was from Sydney. He had a New South Wales driver’s licence and he’d already told her he’d just arrived in town.

      ‘Anything else you’d like to know?’ he asked.

      She thought about this and was only a little shocked to realise this meeting might lose its gloss if she learned too much about this man. She shook her head. Right now Liam Conway was an intriguing Man of Mystery, a figure of limitless potential. He could be anything…

      What seemed more important than boring details like his occupation was the fact that he shared her birthday! Her star sign. My God, they were almost soul mates. She rewarded him with her warmest smile. ‘Happy birthday, Liam Conway.’

      ‘Thank you.’ He returned his wallet to his pocket and lifted his glass. ‘Are you going to finish your drink?’

      ‘I’m not sure that I should.’ She gave her cocktail a stir with her straw. ‘I don’t know what they put in these things.’

      ‘Hmm…the ingredients of a Screaming Orgasm. That’s a big question.’

      This time, when their gazes met, his eyes signalled a very direct, unambiguous message, a message so dark and sensual that she was both alarmed and excited. Her heart picked up pace, sweat filmed her skin and she felt a sensuous tug deep within her. Good grief. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this.

      Desperate to change the subject she asked, ‘Where were you on your sixth birthday?’

      Liam blinked as if his brain had been in a completely different country and it seemed to take him ages to compute her question. ‘Um—I was on my parents’ orchard down on the Granite Belt.’

      ‘So, while I was being born, you were stuffing yourself with peaches and plums?’

      ‘Possibly. Although I would have preferred ice cream if it was on offer.’

      ‘No party?’

      ‘My parents didn’t have much time for parties—except on significant birthdays.’

      For a moment he seemed lost in a cloud of darkness. He downed his drink quickly and then gave a little shake as if to rid himself of a ghostly presence. Alice had the distinct impression he was sorry he’d told her so much.

      ‘That’s why I like to celebrate now,’ he said but the intensity in his voice was at odds with his words.

      ‘I’m all for celebrating.’ But then she remembered that she’d had enough to drink, so her options for celebrating in a bar were limited. Perhaps it was time for her to leave.

      She pictured herself hopping off her bar stool, thanking Liam Conway for the cocktail and bidding him farewell. In her mind’s eye she saw herself walking out of the bar and calling a taxi to take her home. Back at her Edge Hill flat, she would listen to one of her favourite Spanish-guitar CDs and drink a chaste cup of hot chocolate, and then she’d read a paperback novel until she fell asleep.

      She knew exactly what she would do, what she should do. It was all very clear.

      But she didn’t move.

      ‘It really is bad luck to have your friends abducted by aliens on your birthday,’ Liam said quietly.

      ‘Yeah,’ Alice agreed with a rueful smile. ‘I was hoping I’d finished my run of bad luck.’ And immediately she regretted saying that. ‘Sorry, you’re looking for fun, not hard-luck stories.’

      Liam shrugged. ‘I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. Until I saw you.’

      His smile sent a delicious shiver right through her and she reached for her abandoned drink.

      ‘It was a guy who put those shadows in your eyes, wasn’t it?’ Liam said.

      She was too surprised to be cautious. ‘Yes.’

      ‘A rat?’

      ‘A toad.’ She might have smiled at that, but to her dismay the scene she’d tried so hard to forget leapt into her mind and her sorry state came tumbling out. ‘I—I came home early one afternoon and found him in bed with another woman.’

      Pressing a fist against her mouth, she struggled again with the horror of the memory.

      Liam looked genuinely upset. ‘Toad is too polite for a man like that. Some of us have a lot to answer for.’

      His unexpected empathy seemed to open the floodgates on the feelings she’d been working so hard to hide. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised,’ she found herself saying. ‘I’d been picking up the tell-tale signs that Todd was straying. I just didn’t want to believe it.’

      Tears sprang to her eyes. Annoyed, she blinked and Liam picked up a paper serviette from the counter. ‘Your mascara looks great,’ he said. ‘Don’t ruin it.’

      ‘Thanks.’ She dabbed at her eyes, took a deep breath and released a shaky little laugh. ‘You know, the thing that really upset me was that Todd added insult to injury by bringing this other woman into our bedroom.’

      ‘So you were living with this guy?’

      ‘He was my husband. I was married to the toad.’ She twisted a corner of the serviette. ‘He knew how much I loved that room. I’d taken such care choosing everything—the curtains, the carpet, the bed linen. The dressing table came from my grandparents’ place. They’d had it in their bedroom for their whole married life.’ Looking up, she said, ‘Sorry, I don’t expect you to understand.’

      Liam shook his head. ‘But I do understand. He didn’t just deceive you, he violated your special place.’

      Liam Conway wasn’t just gorgeous; he was sensitive, too. She’d almost forgotten such men existed.

      ‘I hope you got rid of him,’ he said.

      ‘Absolutely, especially when I found that this woman was one of many.’ She sighed. ‘Our divorce came through four months ago.’ And then she winced. Admitting her failed marriage always made her feel such a loser.

      ‘No wonder you still look a little shell-shocked.’

      ‘I’m СКАЧАТЬ