Page 55 of Strictly Business

He was trying to sound casual, but there was an anxious undertone that tore her heart to shreds.

‘Everything I said before was wrong, Liam. Instead of giving you an earful, I should have told you that I – I miss you. I miss you so much.’

There was a beat of silence. ‘I thought you wanted to take a step back – so you could get some perspective.’

‘I know, I know. I laid down the law and you’ve been trying to do the right thing and now I’m acting like a spoiled princess because I don’t like my own rules.’

She fancied she heard the softest of chuckles.

‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ he said. ‘But you are, after all, a pregnant princess, so why don’t you adjust the rules to suit yourself?’

‘This should be a two-way thing.’

‘Yeah, I agree.’ There was a pause, and then, ‘I can be as close to you as you want me, Alice.’

As close as you want me... Just as well she was sitting down, she went straight into meltdown. ‘Oh – um that – sounds – well, I’d love to see you.’

‘When? Where?’

Here. Now.

Whoa. Calm down. Take a deep breath. It was mega-important to get this right, to handle things calmly. Inviting Liam to her house was how this had all begun. ‘How about – um – an outing then?’ Good grief, she sounded so prim, like one of the aunts. ‘What about a picnic?’

Actually, she’d been fantasising for weeks about taking Liam up into the mountains, finding a quiet clearing in a rainforest. She could picture it all – Liam stretched out beside her on a picnic rug, where she could feast her eyes on him, touch him.

‘A picnic? Where?’

‘Kuranda. It’s gorgeous up at the top of the range. There are craft markets and the rainforest is just beautiful. And we can take the Skyrail.’

Bless Julia for telling her about Liam’s accident. She didn’t want to add tension to their date by insisting on a car journey.

‘The Skyrail’s brilliant. It takes you right across the rainforest canopy,’ she added. ‘Actually, we could take it one wayand come back down the range by the scenic railway. I’ll bring a picnic lunch and we can breathe some mountain air and take a walk in the rainforest and just kick back.’

‘You’ve convinced me. It’s a terrific idea. When? Tomorrow’s Saturday. Is that too soon?’

‘Tomorrow’s fine.’ Fine? It was fantastic. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

This time, as she hung up, she let out a littlewhoopof triumph. A whole day with Liam. At last.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

IT RAINED the next morning. The storm started early, not long after midnight – a proper tropical downpour with thunder and lightning and rain thick as rope. By eight-thirty, when Liam was due to arrive, the heavy rain showed no signs of letting up.

In a cloud of gloom Alice waited for the call that would tell her he wasn’t coming. After all, what was the point? They would see nothing from the Skyrail, and a picnic was impossible.

But there was no phone call. And at eight-thirty-two, a taxi pulled up outside her flat and a big, shiny black umbrella and a pair of long, blue jeans-clad legs dashed up her front path.

She threw open her door and there was Liam, looking only slightly damp and good enough to eat.

‘I thought you might not come.’ She knew she was grinning madly.

‘Couldn’t break our date.’ He grinned back at her.

What a pair of grinning fools they were.

‘Well, come on in,’ she said, as a gust of wind brought water scudding across her little porch. ‘At least I can make you some coffee.’

They went through to her kitchen. Feeling strangely nervous she tried to look busy, attending to the coffee pot, mugs, sugar, but as she worked she could see Liam in her periphery, coming closer.

---