Page 53 of Strictly Business

Is it? Alice wondered. Not if Liam was offering to marry her out of a sense of duty, just as he had with Julia.

‘I can’t help wishing that Liam felt comfortable enough to tell me everything you’ve just told me,’ she said.

‘Perhaps I’ve jumped the gun.’

‘I’m glad you’ve talked to me. It really helps to know.’

‘Men find it harder to open up. Give Liam time, Alice. I’m sure he will want to talk to you about it, but not till he’s ready.’

‘Yes, well, I guess he’ll have plenty of time. I’ve had one bad experience of marriage and it’s made me ultra cautious, so I won’t allow myself to rush into anything.’

Julia nodded thoughtfully. ‘I guess that’s fair enough.’ And then she smiled. ‘If only romance could be simple and straightforward like it is in movies.’

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

STRAIGHTFORWARD romance?

Was it possible, Alice wondered over the weeks that followed. Nothing seemed to be turning out right. When Liam first told her that he planned to remain involved in her life, she’d more or less expected that he would want to carry on their relationship much as it had been before. They would be a couple who went out together. While they got to know each other better, they would continue to be lovers and at some vague point in the distant future, they would both decide for sure that they were ready for marriage.

But Liam, it seemed, had a different idea. He was friendly, caring, but... distant. Every so often he took her out to dinner, but he delivered her safely to her front door by taxi, and didn’t accompany her inside. And then there were long periods when she didn’tseehim at all. When her mother telephoned with an invitation to Sunday lunch to introduce Liam to the other family members, Alice made excuses.

She threw herself into her work, researching relentlessly, cataloguing any possible information that tourists in the Outback might want. She knew when and where magpie geese nested. She knew the best times to view the phenomenal rolling cloud formations called Morning Glory. She had every horse-riding or bike trail mapped and linked up with four-wheel drive connections.

Liam emailed or telephoned her almost every evening. They discussed the work he’d sent her and he kept her fully informed about developments in the business. Their conversations were relaxed and affable, as if they were good friends. There was no flirting. Not a breath of romance.

It was almost as if Liam planned an agenda for these calls. He engineered their conversations so that they talked about safe topics, so there was no danger of crossing into more intimate territory. They discussed the books they were reading, television shows they’d seen, current events, even politics. After her doctor’s visits Liam wanted detailed reports.

Alice found herself hanging out for that daily contact, but the careful distance, the complete lack of flirting or intimate exchange hurt. Not once did Liam say, ‘Missing you’.

She missedhimdesperately. She needed to see him, needed to touch him. She didn’t have so much as a photo of him and she longed for the sight of those light blue eyes and the special way he looked at her. She yearned for the warmth of his lips on her skin, the sure touch of his hands on her body.

But it was becoming unbearably clear that Liam’s feelings for her had changed now that she was carrying his child. He’d developed the same mindset for her as he had for Julia. Compassion. Concern. Guilt. Duty.

In her darkest moments Alice convinced herself that Liam probably wished he’d never made love to her.

But then... she would remember the breathless passion of his lovemaking... the way he could lose himself in the wild oblivion of it. How could he regret that?

Damn him.Shewanted it. She needed his hungry kisses, his strong shoulders, his loving hands, his lean, virile body.

On the day she felt the baby move, she decided it was time to take some action. She told him her exciting news as soon as he rang.

And she heard his excitement, too, in the sharp rasp of his indrawn breath.

‘Why don’t you come over, Liam? You could feel it, too. It’s so cute.’ She knew it was ridiculous, but she felt almost as wicked as Eve dangling the apple in front of Adam.

‘Why don’t you just tell me what it feels like?’ he said in a dry, unreadable tone.

‘Oh, it’s too hard to describe.’ She was stretched on the sofa, one hand gently tracing the swell of her tummy, wishing it was his hand there. ‘You need to feel it for yourself.’

She waited for him to say something, and was incredibly depressed when he didn’t.

‘Liam?’

‘I... I can’t make it tonight.’ He made a slight throat clearing sound. ‘Come on, Alice, tell me about it. What’s it feel like?’

The tension that had been building inside her broke. ‘I told you, it’s too hard to put into words.’ She almost hung up.

‘You’re angry,’ he said after a stretch of prickling silence.

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