With their dinner reheating in the oven, Max had taken himself off to a laundry space. He’d insisted that it was no trouble to disinfect Ellie’s clothing and put it through the washing machine and dryer. It would be good to go in the morning. He’d been so keen, in fact, it had been difficult to avoid the impression that he found her wearing his clothes as disturbing as Ellie did, albeit for very different reasons.
He seemed to keep himself very busy for the rest of the evening as well. He made up the spare bed and helped Ellie sort the baby gear and then he made more than one phone call to speak to Jet, who was on duty again in the emergency department.
‘That guy Nigel looks like he’s going to make it,’ he informed Ellie eventually. ‘He’s been to Theatre. The knife skated over his ribs and the damage was pretty superficial. His ankle’s been fixed. He’s got a good concussion but his C-spine checked out clear.’
‘Oh…thank goodness for that. If it had turned into a murder investigation, I would have had to stay in the country for court appearances or something, wouldn’t I?’
Max gave her an odd look. ‘Yeah…I guess. But you weren’t planning on leaving immediately, were you?’
‘As soon as I can.’ Ellie found a smile to give Max. ‘Don’t worry. We won’t be messing up your lifestyle for too long. We might even be able to go back to the motel tomorrow.’
The look she got now was almost a glare. ‘I don’t think so. Not with the type of clientele that place attracts. The police will be swarming around for days, I expect.’
‘If Nigel’s going to be all right, maybe they won’t need to talk to me again,’ Ellie said hopefully. ‘I was worried about what to tell them.’
‘The truth,’ Max suggested.
Ellie’s eyes widened. ‘You mean my real name?’
‘No, not that bit.’ But Max looked less than sure. Then he gave his head a slight shake. ‘It’s not doing any harm,’ he said. ‘And it seems to be working so far. I’d stick to McAdam if I was you.’
Ellie had reason to remember the advice the next day, well after Max had gone to work and she was alone in the apartment with Mouse. She had her baby in her arms when the knock came at the door. For a moment, panic set in. It could be the police. It could also be Marcus. What if he’d had someone watching and had been informed that she’d moved in with Max? He’d had enough time to catch a plane from Auckland and find her here, without any protection other than a locked but probably flimsy door.
Heart thudding, she went to peer through the peephole on the door.
‘Max?’ A feminine voice called. ‘You home, babe?’
The image through the peephole was distorted. Ellie could see what appeared to be the longest pair of legs she’d ever seen. Long and sleek and black. Like the hair that flowed from the woman’s head. She opened the door and then wished she hadn’t. The woman really was long and sleek. She towered above Ellie, thanks to the stiletto heels that finished the look of her tight leather pants. Ellie was back in her newly cleaned maternity jeans and baggy sweatshirt that had both gone a rather odd, patchy colour from being bleached. She had never felt so short and dumpy and dowdy.
‘Ahh…’ The woman’s rapid up-and-down glance said it all. ‘Is Max here?’
‘No. He’s at work.’
‘Damn. I’ve got something I think he’ll be quite excited about.’
Ellie didn’t doubt that for a second. This woman would be just his type. Heavens, she already had biker chicks’ pants on. She could sling a leg over the back of his bike and put her heavily bangled arms around his waist and ride off into the sunset at a moment’s notice.
‘I’m Gina,’ the woman said. ‘I’m a…friend of Max’s. And Rick’s,’ she added with a confident smile.
Ellie nodded. She tried, and failed, to smile back.
‘And you are?’
It was right then that Ellie remembered the advice and it was simply too tempting not to use it.
‘I’ll Ellie McAdam,’ she said.
‘Oh…’ Perfectly sculpted eyebrows shot up. ‘Max’s sister?’
‘No.’ This time, Ellie managed a smile. ‘His wife.’
Maybe the advice hadn’t involved using the fraudulent relationship as well as the name but Ellie couldn’t resist. She couldn’t even summon sympathy for how Max was going to explain his way out of this after she’d gone.
‘And…’ Gina’s gaze dropped to the baby in Ellie’s arms. ‘Oh, my God…’
Ellie didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Gina was obviously having no problem coming to her own conclusion.
‘Um…’ Her visitor had been holding something in her hands, which she now held out. ‘I can see why he’s on the lookout for a new property. This one might be really great for you guys.’ Gina wasn’t one to let an opportunity slip past, evidently. ‘I met Max…and Rick at a bike show recently. I’m a real estate agent and Max gave me his details. Said he was on the lookout for a new property. This just came into the office and it’s kind of special so, of course, I thought of Max.’
‘Thanks.’ Ellie’s smile was genuine now. Sympathetic, even. She could well believe that Gina had thought of Max. What woman wouldn’t?
Max didn’t appear to have returned the interest, however.
‘Gina? Gina who?’ He’d brought Chinese food home with him and the aroma was seriously tempting as he unpacked the carry bags.
‘She didn’t say. Gorgeous looking, though. Leather pants and long, dark hair. Said she met you and Rick at a bike rally or something.’
‘Oh-h…We did pop in on a Ducati show a couple of weeks back. Yeah…rings a bell. We swapped cards but I gave hers to Rick ‘cos he was thinking he might give her a call.’
‘She left you brochures. Said you were looking for a property to buy?’
Max grimaced. ‘I should be but I really can’t be bothered. I might just move back in with Rick when Jet gets another stint away with the army.’
‘What’s wrong with this place?’
‘I’ve only got a sub-lease for three months. Sarah reckoned she wouldn’t be away any longer than that, though I can extend it if she doesn’t come back. She took this on as a two-year lease.’
‘Oh?’ Ellie was distracted, both by the tubs of hot food now on the table and the reminder of her old flatmate. ‘I must email her and see how things are going with Josh.’
‘Good idea. Might give me a shove in the right direction.’
‘Which is?’ Ellie pulled the disposable chopsticks apart. Max was opening the tubs and she’d never felt so hungry in her life. She must be getting better, she decided. Her body was coming back to life.
Max saw her practically drooling and he grinned. ‘Good to see you looking hungry. Steak with black bean sauce in that one. This one’s chicken and ginger and that’s stir-fried veggies ‘cos it looked healthy. There’s a bucket of rice so dig in.’ He dipped his chopsticks into the first container and started filling his plate. For a minute or two they were both preoccupied with their food but after a few mouthfuls Max paused and glanced at Ellie.
‘I guess the right direction is settling down,’ he said sadly. ‘I’m thirty-six. I can’t ride round on my bike and move from place to place for ever. I like it here in Dunedin so maybe I need to put some roots down. Buying a house seems like a good first step. What do you think?’
A