‘Oh, come on.’ Shana touched the petals of the single rose in the green vase on Alice’s desk. ‘You can’t expect me to believe that it isn’t your business.’
‘I don’t see—’
‘You and Liam are an item, right?’
‘Shana, really, I’d prefer not to—’
‘Don’t get all hot and bothered, Alice. Everyone in the office knows the answer. You tried to pull the wool over our eyes after the photo in the Cairns Post. We gave you the benefit of the doubt then. But we saw the way the boss was looking at you when you got back yesterday. The poor guy was practically drooling. The game’s up, girlfriend.’
Alice sighed. It was pointless to deny it. And Liam had said he didn’t care who knew that she was his woman. ‘Well, yes. I suppose you could say we’re an item.’ But she knew that Shana had developed a crush on Liam and that sour grapes could be an issue. ‘Just because we’re an item doesn’t mean I need to—’
‘Marry him?’ Shana finished for her.
‘For heaven’s sake!’ Shaking her head, Alice reached for a folder in the filing cabinet beside her desk. ‘I’ve only just met the man. I’m certainly not thinking very far into the future.’
‘Oh, come on, Alice. Are you telling me that one of the wealthiest and best-looking men in the region is red hot for you and you haven’t thought once about the long term?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m telling you.’
‘Alice, I’ve discussed this with your workmates, who know you and love you. And we all agree you’re a one-man girl. You haven’t got it in you to flit from guy to guy. You fall heavily for a man and that’s it.’
Alice sighed. ‘Can I ask where this conversation is heading? Are you trying to warn me off Liam?’
Shana’s eyes glinted knowingly, as if she was privy to a nasty secret, and Alice’s stomach sank as she remembered her workmate’s original question about whether there was a wife in Liam’s past.
‘If you’ve got something to tell me, spill it,’ she said. ‘Don’t treat me like I’m a naïve teenager with stars in my eyes.’ She’d just been through a horrible divorce, for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t going to rush into another mistake.
‘Well, do you know whether or not the boss has been married?’ Shana persisted.
‘I know he’s not married now, and that’s good enough for me.’ Alice was pleased that her voice was calm in spite of the frantic way her heart galloped.
She wasn’t thrilled that Liam had not volunteered any information about the women in his past, but she’d decided not to press him. Instead she’d chosen to trust him. She’d trusted him from the first moment she met him in the Hippo Bar and so far he hadn’t let her down.
Ah, yes, a smug inner voice whispered, but you trusted Todd for years and years and look where that got you.
‘OK, can you answer this?’ Shana asked. ‘Why has Liam Conway never driven a motor car?’
‘What?’ Alice gaped at her. ‘Are you crazy? Of course he drives cars. The man landed a plane, for heaven’s sake.’ And he’d produced his driver’s licence as proof of his birthday on the night they met.
It was possible that Shana’s smile was meant to be sympathetic, but it didn’t quite work. ‘The Sydney Morning Herald ran a story while you were away that questioned how Liam Conway could possibly land a plane when no one’s ever seen him behind a steering wheel,’ she said smugly.
‘That’s nonsense.’ Shana was only trying to stir up trouble. ‘Now, if you’re quite finished, I have work to do.’ She couldn’t stomach any more of this conversation.
‘I was only telling you this for your own good, but if you’re bent on defending the man no matter what, I’m wasting my time.’
Letting out an angry sniff, Shana turned and flounced back to her desk and positioned her chair and computer screen so there was no chance of eye contact.
Good, Alice decided, noting the other woman’s stiff, angry back. Now she could get on with her own work.
Movement at the bottom of her computer screen caught her eye and she saw a string of new email messages arrive.
Enquiries about the outback tours had been flooding in, thanks to the publicity Liam had attracted. He’d handled the media interviews brilliantly—was charming, articulate and perfectly comfortable in front of the cameras. And as a result they’d already drawn more interest in Kanga Tours than they’d dared to hope for.
It would be best to deal with the email messages quickly before she moved on to the list of phone calls she had to make. She scanned the email list and her heart bounced. One message leapt out from the screen—a private communication from Conway, Liam C.
Oh, heavens. Her skin flashed with nervous excitement as she clicked on it.
Can I invite myself to dinner at your place this
evening? I’ll bring takeaway and wine. What would you prefer—Indian, Thai, fish and chips, pizza?
You name it, I’ll find it.
Just have the green plates ready.
Missing you like crazy.
L
Alice felt her face burst into flames.
Missing you like crazy.
No way could she wipe the smile from her face. Thank heavens Shana wasn’t looking her way.
Missing you like crazy.
Liam’s mind was not on his work. He should have been dealing with everything that had piled up while he was away, but his concentration was shot to pieces. He couldn’t stop thinking about Alice. He sat in his office, staring at his computer screen, hoping she wasn’t too busy to answer his email immediately.
Missing you like crazy.
Perhaps he was crazy. Surely he was crazy to allow this to happen, to become so involved with a woman that he let her sidetrack him from his focus on his brand-new business enterprise.
He’d come to this city with a single-minded purpose, prepared to do everything that was needed to secure his company’s viability. But from the very moment he’d seen Alice in the Hippo Bar, he’d been a marked man.
He hadn’t believed it was possible to be so distracted, so obsessed. Alice was a miracle, his perfect woman. And to think he’d had to come way up north to find her. Right now all he could think about was this evening.
Please say yes, Alice.
Actually, in a perfect world he wouldn’t wait till this evening. He would summon Alice to his office, lock the door and explore the possibilities his wide desk offered. But of course that wasn’t going to happen, so he kept picturing other fantasies about tonight—the way he would rush through Alice’s front door, dump the takeaway food on her kitchen counter and start to undress her.
Say yes, Alice. The only possible answer is a big, fat yes.
Alice stared at the message from her boss, thinking thoughts so lusty and steamy she could hardly sit still.
All it took was a few words on a screen—Missing you like crazy.
Surely this wasn’t normal. Maybe it was some kind of post-divorce reaction? Perhaps, after almost a decade of struggling inside a failing marriage, she was finding Liam’s attention just too