He didn’t immediately reply, and her heart sank to the level of her sparkling shoes. ‘Yes, to your first question. Divorce proceedings are well under way. But to answer your second question: it’s not final yet. I’m still waiting on the decree nisi, let alone the decree absolute.’
‘Oh.’ It was all she could manage as disappointment speared through her. ‘I thought—’
‘You thought I’d be free by now?’ he said gruffly.
She chewed her lip and nodded. There was so much neither of them dared say. Undercurrents pulled them in the direction of possibilities best left unspoken. Such as what might happen between them if he wasn’t still legally married...
It was his turn to frown. ‘So did I. But it didn’t work out like that. The legalities... The property settlements...’
‘Of course,’ she said.
So when will you be free? She swallowed the words before she could give impatient voice to them.
He set his jaw. ‘I’m frustrated about it, but it’s complex.’
Millions of dollars and a life together to be dismantled. Eliza knew all about the legal logistics of that, but on a much smaller scale. There were joint assets to be divided. Then there were emotions, all twisted and tangled throughout a marriage of any duration, that had to be untangled—and sometimes torn. Wounds. Scars. All intensely personal. She didn’t feel she could ask him any more.
During their first meeting Jake had told her his wife of seven years wanted a divorce but he didn’t. At their second meeting he’d said the divorce was underway. Eliza had sensed he was ambivalent about it, so had declined his suggestion that they keep in touch. Her attraction to him was too strong for her ever to pretend she could be ‘just friends’ with him. She’d want every chance to act on that attraction.
But she would not date a married man. She wouldn’t kiss a married man. Even when he was nearly divorced. Even when he was Jake Marlowe. No way did she want to be caught up in any media speculation about being ‘the other woman’ in his divorce. And then there was the fact that her ex had cheated on her towards the end of their marriage. She didn’t know Jake’s wife. But she wouldn’t want to cause her the same kind of pain.
Suffocating with disappointment, Eliza stepped back from him. She didn’t have expectations of any kind of relationship with him—just wanted a chance to explore the surprising connection between them. Starting with a kiss. Then...? Who knew?
She cleared her throat. ‘I wish—’ she started to say.
But then an alarm started beeping, shrill and intrusive. Startled, she jumped.
Jake glanced down at his watch, swore under his breath. ‘Midnight,’ he said. ‘I usually call Australia now, for a business catch-up.’ He switched off the alarm. ‘But not tonight.’
It seemed suddenly very quiet on the terrace, with only faint strains of music coming from the ballroom, distant laughter from a couple at the other end of the terrace. Eliza was aware of her own breathing and the frantic pounding of her heart.
‘No. Make your call. It’s late. I have to go.’
She doubted he’d guessed the intensity of her disappointment, how much she’d had pinned on this meeting—and she didn’t want him to see it on her face. She turned, picked up her long, full skirts and prepared to run.
Then Jake took hold of her arm and pulled her back to face him. ‘Don’t go, Eliza. Please.’
* * *
Jake watched as Eliza struggled to contain her disappointment. She seemed to pride herself on having a poker face. But her feelings were only too apparent to him. And her disappointment had nothing on his.
‘But I have to go,’ she said as she tried to pull away from him. ‘You’re still married. We can’t—’
‘Act on the attraction that’s been there since the get go?’
Mutely, she nodded.
Their first meeting had been electric—an instant something between them. For him it had been a revelation. A possibility of something new and exciting beyond the dead marriage he had been struggling to revive. Eliza had been so beautiful, so smart, so interesting—yet so unattainable. The second time they’d met he’d realised the attraction was mutual. And tonight he’d sensed in her the same longing for more that he felt.
But it was still not their time to explore it. She’d made it very clear the last time they’d met that she could not be friends with a married man—and certainly not more than friends. He’d respected her stance. As a wealthy man he’d met more than a few women with dollar signs flashing in their eyes who had held no regard for a man’s wedding vows—or indeed their own.
When Tristan had asked him to be best man at his wedding he’d said yes straight away. The bonus had been a chance to see Eliza again. In her modest lavender dress she’d been the loveliest of the bridesmaids, eclipsing—at least in his admittedly biased eyes—even the bride. Tonight, in a formal gown that showed off her tiny waist and feminine curves, she rivalled any of the royalty in the ballroom.
‘This is not what I’d hoped for this evening,’ he said.
‘Me neither.’ Her voice was barely louder than a whisper as she looked up to him.
He caught his breath at how beautiful she was. Her eyes were a brilliant blue that had him struggling to describe them—like sapphires was the closest he could come. They were framed by brows and lashes as black as her hair, in striking contrast to her creamy skin. Irish colouring, he suspected. He knew nothing about her heritage, very little about her.
Jake thirsted to know more.
He—a man who had thought he could never be interested in another woman. Who had truly thought he had married for life. He’d been so set on hanging on to his marriage to a woman who didn’t want to be married any more—who had long outgrown him and he her—that he hadn’t let himself think of any other. Until he’d met Eliza. And seen hope for the future.
He cursed the fact that the divorce process was taking so long. At first he’d delayed it because he’d hoped he could work things out with his soon-to-be ex-wife. Even though she’d had become virtually a stranger to him. Then he’d discovered how she’d betrayed him. Now he was impatient to have it settled, all ties severed.
‘A few months and I’ll be free. It’s so close, Eliza. In fact it’s debatable that I’m not single again already. It’s just a matter of a document. Couldn’t we—?’
He could see her internal debate, the emotions flitting across her face. Was pleased to see that anticipation was one of them. But he was not surprised when she shook her head.
‘No,’ she said, in a voice that wasn’t quite steady. ‘Not until you’re legally free. Not until we can see each other with total honesty.’
How could he fault her argument? He admired her integrity. Although he groaned his frustration. Not with her, but with the situation.
He pulled her close in a hug. It was difficult not to turn it into something more, not to tilt her face up to his and kiss her. A campaign of sensual kisses and subtle caresses might change her mind—he suspected she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But she was right. He wasn’t ready—in more ways than one.
‘As soon as the divorce is through I’ll get in touch, come see you in Sydney.’ He lived in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, about an hour’s flight north.
Scarcely realising he was doing so, he stroked the smooth skin of her bare shoulders, her exposed back. It was a gesture more of reassurance than anything overtly sexual. He couldn’t let himself think about Eliza and sex. Not now. Not yet. Or he’d go crazy.
Her head was nestled against his shoulder and he felt her nod. ‘I’d like that,’ she said, her voice