Page 4 of Possession Under the Southern Stars

He notices and frowns a little. Then he says, “She asked me to make sure one of our conservation officers was present when she called, and you’re the only one around.”

That brings me down to earth with a bump. Elora and Zoe, who work in the conservation office with me, are both away. His words suggest that neither he nor Whina wants me personally—any one of us would have done. I stiffen, thinking,Hallie, you’re such an idiot.

He obviously spots the way I’m angry at myself and mistakes it for indignation, because he blinks. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean to imply that you w-weren’t my first ch-ch…” He stares at me. He looks oddly alarmed. Then he closes his eyes.

“You okay?” I ask, bemused. I’ve never heard him stutter before.

At that moment, his phone starts ringing. He opens his eyes and, without looking at me, answers it and puts it on speaker.

“Fraser Bell,” he announces, his voice brisk and businesslike.

I look down at my hands. This is the board chairperson, and I need to concentrate on my job and act professional.

Fraser would never be interested in me in a million years anyway.

Chapter Two

Fraser

My heart is banging on my ribs, and I have to fight not to get up and stride out of the room.

Normally, Hallie wears her white lab coat to work, but today she’s in a hot-pink skirt and a white top that makes me think of cotton candy in a summer fair. I bet she tastes sweet, too…

Argh! No! I mustn’t think things like that!

I can’t believe it’s happening again. Anger bubbles up inside me at my own foolishness. It’s been nearly eighteen months since my affair with Ginger ended. I’ve dated a couple of girls since then, and I honestly thought that maybe Ginger had cured me of The Stutter, because neither of them turned me into King George VI.

It hasn’t happened with Hallie before, either. I’ve been very careful to compartmentalize and keep her in the ‘colleagues’ box in the dusty attic of my brain since she began working here. So I was completely unprepared for the way my ability to form words vanished just now with one glance from her gorgeous dark eyes.

It would happen at the moment that Whina Cooper calls, too.

I make sure not to look at Hallie as Whina answers with, “Kia ora Fraser, Whina here.”

“Kia ora, Whina,” I say briskly. “You’re on speakerphone, and Hallie is in the room as you requested.”

“Kia ora, Hallie,” Whina says. “Thanks so much for coming in on a Sunday.”

“That’s okay,” Hallie replies, “no worries at all.” Her voice is like a summer’s day, full of sunshine. She’s such a positive person. I really like that about her.

Concentrate, Fraser.

“I’ve briefed Hallie on the p-problem,” I say. Cursing myself under my breath, I stare hard at the phone, making sure not to make eye contact with Hallie.This is business. This is business.I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I explained the situation the museum is in.”

“Thank you,” Whina says slowly. Ah… did she pick up on the way I stammered? If so, that’s very bad news, because she knew it happened with Ginger. But she continues, “So, Hallie, you’re aware that the majority of our funding has fallen through?”

“Yes,” Hallie says. “What a run of bad luck.”

I glance up at her, and she gives me a small smile. She’s trying to make me feel better.

Despite my best intentions, our eyes lock, and for a moment I can’t look away. I think about the first time we met. Simon, the head of HR who’d taken over when Ginger left, had hired Hallie to work in the conservation office. Usually I took part in the interviews for new staff, but I’d been visiting the Australian Museum in Sydney, discussing a possible exchange of exhibitions, and Simon had gone ahead with the interview without me. It had frustrated me beyond measure, because if I’d been there, I’d have been able to make sure we hired someone else. Instead, he’d given Hallie a tour on her first day and brought her into my office, and I’d come face to face with the brown-haired and brown-eyed, beautiful and curvy girl without any warning.

I could have been in real trouble from the start, except that Hallie had mentioned her boyfriend in our very first conversation, so I knew immediately she was out of bounds. That made it easier for me. Off she went, into the colleagues box, and as a result I’ve managed to remain stutter-free for the entire year.

And then everything went tits up at the dinner party the other evening. I arrived to find Hallie with red eyes and discovered she’d just broken up with her ex. She looked so upset, and I really felt for her, because I know too well how dismal a breakup can make you feel. Wanting to cheer her up, I sat beside her, squashed up on Elora’s tiny sofa, for the evening, and even though I didn’t do or say anything completely out of order, I know I overstepped our professional boundaries and flirted more than I should have.

I told myself I was just trying to make her feel better, and the fact that The Stutter didn’t make an appearance convinced me I was safe. But now it’s reared its ugly head, which tells me I’ve been a complete idiot, and she’s broken out of her box, and I’m in big trouble.

Whina is talking, and I drag my attention back to the moment as if it’s a feral dog I’m trying to get under control.

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