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‘Yeah.’ His smile was a shadow of its usual self, but at least it appeared. For all of a second. Then he went serious again. ‘Wow.’ He paused. ‘Thanks for telling me.’
She scrunched deeper into the sofa. ‘I don’t like to think about him.’
‘No.’ He’d gone pale again, staring at the low coffee table in front of them, looking too tired to move.
‘I guess you have to decide whether you want anything to do with Patrick,’ she said softly.
Alex shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t want to know him.’
‘That’s OK, Alex.’ She smiled at him a little sadly. ‘You don’t have to.’ She held his hand, her heart aching for the hurt in his. ‘Your phone hasn’t beeped.’ It must be a record.
He jerked. ‘Oh, I turned it off. I’d better check it.’
‘Give it to me.’
Their eyes met. Silently he handed it to her. She didn’t look at it, most certainly didn’t switch it on. She put it on the arm of the sofa.
Two disappointed people. Couldn’t they forget the past for a few hours? Abandon the search for answers? Just breathe and let rest soothe the aches they both had. She reached forward and unlaced his shoes. ‘You’re tired. You need to get some sleep.’
Neither of them had had a decent night’s sleep all week. She took his hand and stood, tugged until he drew his feet in and stood too. She let him up the stairs—past her landing and on up to his bedroom. She undid his tie, his buttons on his shirt, his trousers, slid them from his body. ‘Lie down.’
He got into the bed. ‘I want you to stay.’
‘I am.’ In her pink-pig pjs she joined him.
‘I—’
‘Just go to sleep, Alex.’ She put her arms around him. Hugged him close. Cared for him.
CHAPTER TEN
ALEX didn’t want to move—couldn’t. Way too content. Dani lay beside him, curling into him, warming him more comfortably than the softest wool blanket. And now nothing else did matter. Because just resting together like this was so complete. The questions faded, the need for answers, and the bitterness disappeared the way wisps of clouds did beneath the heat of the sun—just, like, that.
All that he needed right now was right here.
In the early morning he looked across at her. Still asleep, she looked so beautiful. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful. And he wanted to see her happy. He wanted to see her have some fun—and not just that kind of fun. His heart leapt up, somersaulted, and bellyflopped back into his chest. He was interested—in her and everything about her. The caring she’d shown last night had melted something inside him. Her telling him that about her father…he knew that had been hard. He knew how private she was, how protective. But she’d done it because she’d thought it might help him. And it had in more ways than she’d expect. It had made him see clearer—see her clearer. Now he needed to know even more. He needed to know everything—why she was so alone and what she hoped would happen when she found her brother.
He slipped out of bed. First he had to shower and get down to the office so he could make plans. But some of the peace from last night remained in his system. He felt freer somehow—less angsty about Patrick. He couldn’t even think his relaxed state was from fantastic sex—they hadn’t even had sex last night. Sharing a trouble—was it as simple as that? He glanced back to the sweet dreamer in his bed. No. It wasn’t that simple. Not at all.
Alex appeared just before lunchtime, wearing jeans and tee. Dani stared—shouldn’t he be at work?
‘Come on.’ He grinned. ‘We’re bunking.’
She gestured to the pile of letters in the tray on her desk. ‘I can’t.’
‘Cara won’t mind, will you, Cara?’ He magnified the impact of his smile with a wink.
‘Course not. Go on, Dani.’
‘Where are we going?’ she asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
He led her to his car. ‘I realised that you’ve only been in New Zealand a couple of weeks and all you’ve done is work. You haven’t had much fun.’
He was certainly in a play mood. She looked sideways at him—he was a different person from the tired, hurt man she’d seen last night. Now he was all colour and charm again. Her heart lifted and the smile bubbled out of her. ‘So what we are doing?’
‘It’s a surprise.’
Dani felt excitement tingle in her tummy. So much for keeping her life free from getting more complicated. Complicated wasn’t anywhere near enough of a description of her life—especially her feelings now.
‘I brought your jeans and trainers. You might want to get changed.’
She wriggled in the passenger seat of his car, slipping off her skirt, laughing at his all too frequent glances towards her. ‘Concentrate on the road!’
He pulled up near a big sports field. There were a couple of buses already stopped on the side of the road; the sound of people chattering carried through the trees.
‘It’s a rec afternoon for one of the Whistle Fund’s beneficiary schools. They need some help with the kids.’ He sent her an embarrassed kind of glance. ‘Not that great a surprise, I guess. You up for it?’
She looked ahead through the trees to the football fields where orange cones were being set up and kids in trackies and trainers milled in a kind of amorphous mass. ‘Sure, I like exercise.’
‘I know.’ His grin was pure shark.
She turned and went faux school marm on him in retaliation. ‘But aren’t you going to get behind with your work?’
‘I can catch up tonight.’
And he would—the man worked round the clock. ‘Admit it.’ She poked him in the ribs with her finger.
‘What?’
‘You love it. There’s nothing else you enjoy more than your wheeling and dealing. You’re a banking and business geek. And you’d be lost without it.’
His eyes slid sideways. ‘OK, I like it.’
‘No.’ She maintained her authoritarian tone. ‘You love it.’ He did—she’d seen him at work. He was happy there.
‘OK, I love it.’ He sighed and smiled at the same time. ‘But I also like bunking now and then too.’
Yeah, but being the head of the family bank was his natural home—whether he was bloodstock or not. He was good at it too.
They walked over to where the few adults were being sorted by the whistle-wearing coach. ‘Skills and drills first, then games later.’
The kids were broken up into groups of eight and they worked them out—practising passes, forward and back, running games, short drills, team building.
Dani laughed—working her group while surreptitiously watching Alex work his crew just alongside her. His time at his ‘boys’ own outdoors’ school was evident and it was equally clear he must work out a lot still—but then she knew that already.
She wasn’t totally useless herself—she’d enjoyed her self-defence classes and working out at the gym. She might be on the curvy side, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t fit. She jumped up and caught a ball someone accidentally lobbed into the middle of her kids.
‘Good catch,’ Alex murmured. ‘Nice to see a woman who isn’t afraid of balls.’
‘I like playing with them,’ she answered, all soft sass and an oh-so-innocent smile.
He chuckled, shaking his head at their lame innuendo. She giggled too and got on with exercising her group for the best part of an hour—catching his eye too often and sharing that smile.
But the best bit was when the games of touch rugby began. A lightweight version of the thump-you-to-the-ground national sport—only in this you disarmed your opponent with a touch, not a tackle. Dani shouted encouragement to the kids whom she’d helped drill. Another hour slipped by until there was a grand winning team. Alex strolled over to where she was standing, applauding them with her gang.
‘The winners want to play the leaders,’ he said. ‘You keen?’
‘Absolutely.’
Some of the kids weren’t that little and Dani felt her competitive spirit k
ick in. She looked along the field at Alex. They were on the same team. It was a nice feeling.
The game was fast, fun. Early on she got the ball, passed it straight to him and watched him run—all sleek speed and power. The try was easily scored.
The kids stood no chance against him.
At the end of it Dani asked him, ‘You wouldn’t let them win?’
Alex laughed and shook his head. ‘It’s good to learn how to lose. Besides, they wouldn’t respect us if we didn’t play an honest, hard-out game.’
He was right, of course. Except Dani wasn’t sure he’d ever had to learn how to lose. She walked with him to where the coach was looking harassed. Now it was all over, some of the kids were tired and heading towards cranky.
‘We’ll load the shed,’ Alex said. ‘You guys head back. It’ll be easier if Dani and I do it when you’re all gone.’
The coach hesitated for all of half a second. ‘Thanks.’ He immediately started rounding everyone up—ordering them back to the buses.
‘Bye, Alex.’ One of the young players from his group hovered near.
‘See ya.’ Alex grinned and waved before turning to gather more of the gear and head towards the shed.
Dani looked at the young teen, saw how her round eyes swallowed Alex whole, how the colour swept into her cheeks before she turned and ran away. Dani smiled; she knew just how overwhelmed the poor girl felt.
