Page 46 of Strictly Business

‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘I accept that.’ His fingers traced a pattern on the arm of the chair. ‘And thanks to your ex, your ability to trust your instincts has taken a battering.’

She nodded.

Liam’s head dropped to one side as he frowned at her. ‘You look tired. Perhaps we should talk about this some other time.’

‘If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to get this sorted out now. And I’m too wired to try to sleep now, anyhow.’

He waved her towards the sofa. ‘Then for heaven’s sake take the weight off your feet.’

Obediently, she sank into the deep chocolate velvet sofa opposite him and curled her feet beneath her.

As Liam watched her, his mouth curved in a small, sardonic smile. ‘So, how far down your list are we? I must say I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so soundly rejected.’

‘Have you been rejected before?’ she asked, surprised.

‘Yes,’ he said calmly. ‘Once. It seems a long time ago now.’

He didn’t seem particularly upset by the memory, but crazily enough, Alice felt jealous of the woman Liam had once loved. She wanted to ask him about her, but how could she do that when she was slap bang in the middle of yet another rejection?

‘Maybe you should tell me why you think we should be married, Liam?

His shoulders rose and fell quickly as if he’d drawn a sharp breath. And Alice wondered what had happened to her own breathing.

If Liam spoke of love, if he promised her undying devotion, her common sense would fly out the window. She would be helpless, lost in her need for him, at sea with his love as her only life belt.

‘I want to offer you protection,’ he said. ‘To shield you. I hate the thought of people in the office or other business associates making you feel uncomfortable – talking about you behind your back.’

His answer was exactly what she’d expected, what she’d feared. ‘That’s – that’s very gallant. But I’m afraid people would only talk about our shotgun wedding instead.’

In the dim lighting his eyes watched her with an intense, ferocious blaze. ‘So you’re determined that marriage is out of the question.’

If you don’t love me. ‘Yes. I’m still getting over a bad marriage experience. I need time.’

A barely perceptible tremor ran through him, shocking Alice so that she almost dashed across the room to wrap him in a bear hug.

‘So,’ he said, recovering quickly. ‘Let’s talk about alternatives.’

Somehow, alternatives didn’t sound as appealing as they should have. Alice struggled to remember that she had to be sensible.

‘I’m not sure what you mean by alternatives, but I must admit I’m not too keen about having everyone in the office watching me as I grow bigger and fatter with the boss’s baby. I think I should resign.’

Liam frowned and his fingers drummed a tattoo on the arm of the chair. ‘Don’t resign. Take leave. You can take it for as long as you want. If you like, you could even do some work from home. You could concentrate on a total revamp of our outback tour contacts.’

‘Okay. Actually that would be wonderful. Thank you.’ She would relish having as much time as she needed to gather all the updated information from the outback-tourist options.

‘What other problems do you foresee?’ Liam asked her.

‘I don’t think there are any others that involve you.’

‘I’m your baby’s father. I’m involved. Get used to it, Alice.’

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

WELL, well, Alice thought, Liam might be talking about fatherhood, but clearly he was back in boss-mode, supremely comfortable with making decisions and planning strategies.

‘What about your family?’ he asked her. ‘How will they react?’

Wincing, she closed her eyes. ‘I’m afraid they still haven’t forgiven me for the divorce. I’m not sure how I’m going to pluck up the courage to tell them about this.’

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