by Tania Joyce
Kelleigh froze. Her eyes widened and her arms tensed by her side. “What are you doing? You can’t pick the flowers in here.”
He ignored her concern and offered it to her. Her large emerald eyes glistened in the softening light while her hair danced in the gentle breeze. She looked radiant and it was starting to affect his pulse. “You faced a tough crowd tonight and we’ve had our own share of … interesting meetings, so I’d like to call a truce. Please accept this as a peace offering.”
From the look she gave him, she really did think he was an idiot.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, please take the rose.” She hesitated before taking the bloom carefully between her fingers to avoid the thorny stem. Holding it up to her nose, her eyes fluttered shut and her mood instantly transformed a she smelled its fragrant perfume.
Yes, he’d achieved his desired outcome; a smile. In spite of their opposition, he couldn’t deny how attractive she was. Being alone with her in this intimate setting was maybe not such a good idea, because his body was starting to react of its own accord.
“That … is the most amazing rose I’ve ever smelled.” She said, intoxicated by the rose’s scent.
“Pretty good, isn’t it?” He liked to think she was impressed. “We have this same species of rose growing at the end of the trellises at Gumtrees. They help us monitor the health of the vines. Roses are susceptible to disease, so if they get sick it’s a warning sign for us to act quickly before the vines are damaged.”
“You’re full of interesting facts, aren’t you?” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “Pity they can’t warn us about problems in real life.” She stared at the rose in her hand.
“I don’t know about that. Every time I’m around you alarm bells go off in my head.” He stepped toward her. “I should stay away from you but somehow always seem to end up crossing your path. Why is that? I can’t deny you certainly have me intrigued.” His heartbeat started to escalate while looking at her. He should leave now. Walk away. But his legs wouldn’t cooperate and held him firmly on the spot. He couldn’t deny she was exquisite.
With trembling hands, he stepped closer, cupped her face with his hands and kissed her. Her sweet lips against his again. Those alarm bells were clanging inside his head. So loud they’d wake up an entire town. Coming for a walk was a bad idea. Being around her filled him with want. Thoughts of Kelleigh had rattled his brain for far too long. His will power to keep his distance had gone; desire had taken its place.
But she didn’t respond in the way he expected. His brow furrowed when her lips tensed and turned hard like stone. Her hands planted firmly on the center of his chest and pushed him back with brute force. Before he could do anything, her hand flew through the air with a whoosh and slapped him hard, right on the cheek. It stung like hell and made his eyes water.
Blinking from shock and trying to ease the pain, he rubbed at the side of his face while Kelleigh glared at him with raging eyes.
“What the hell are you doing? How dare you?” she snapped.
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”
“It’s a bit late for that! I agreed to come for a walk with you. I was not leading you on or giving you an invitation to another romp in my bed. Do you think after everything that’s happened I’d want to be with you again?”
“I said I’m sorry. I got caught up in the moment.” How could he have been so stupid? This was the confirmation he needed to put a stop to all his crazy thoughts. Finally all his senses realigned. There would be no more confusion, flirtations or playful glances. And definitely no more peace offerings. He was done. From now on, he’d keep clear.
She huffed, pushed past him, chucked the rose into the garden bed and stormed off, back up the pathway to Harrigan’s.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he started off after her to ensure she made it back to the hotel safely. There was no way he would ever make this mistake again.
As he rounded the corner of the building moments after Kelleigh, she turned to face him. Her shoulders pulled back tightly. Her mouth drawn into a tight line. Yep, she was still furious. It had not been his intention at all.
She inhaled sharply. “Thank you for helping me with Brian tonight. But after everything that has happened, the work I have to do and your goal to stop our project, I think it would be wise not to see each other again while I’m here. I’m sure you agree it’s for the best.”
Kelleigh avoided looking directly at him, but he was glad she’d drawn the same conclusion. He hated seeing her upset after trying to kiss her, but he wasn’t going to waste any more of his time and effort. It was a lost cause.
“Sounds like a plan.”
As he turned to leave, her hand grabbed his forearm and his heart jumped in his chest. For a moment he thought she’d changed her mind, and he was ready to pull her into his arms. But no such luck. Kelleigh straightened her stance, her face void of expression.
“I’ll get Toru to send through our legal teams contact details. You can deal with them directly in the future. I want no part in your case.”
He nodded once, turned and walked away.
As he jumped in his Landcruiser he glanced sideways to see a JLR ute parked next to his. It must belong to Kelleigh’s team members. As his hands tightened around his steering wheel, a renewed determination flooded through him. It was finally good to see a definitive end to all his foolish emotions and attraction. He could refocus now. Gumtrees and his surrounding community was his priority and he’d do everything in his power to protect it. Whatever the cost.
Chapter 13
Paperwork littered every inch of Kelleigh’s desk. She grumbled with every keystroke as she reviewed the surveying data collected over the past few days on her laptop. She rubbed at her eyes and tried to clear her head. She’d hardly slept a wink last night, lying awake, tossing and turning and watching the clock click slowly toward dawn. All she could think about was Troy. She’d done the unthinkable in slapping him and couldn’t forget the hurt in his eyes when she said she never wanted to see him again.
She’d done it all to protect him. She had to keep him away from her so there would be no complications between them and no one got hurt.
When Troy had come up to her when Brian was venting his anger, she’d nearly thrown herself into his arms and burst into tears. She’d been terrified and all she wanted was for Troy to wrap his protective arms around her, hold her tight and get her out of there.
Spending time with Troy last night had changed her opinion of him yet again. He’d apologized for his outburst; she was impressed he was man enough to say sorry. He’d saved her from Brian’s onslaught and seemed to know what she needed, offering to take her for a walk. The brief moment back in her room was torture. All she could think about was the night they’d spent together. She wanted to get out of there as quick as possible but her fingers kept fumbling as she tried to tie her wretched shoelaces. Because all she could think about in that moment was dragging him back into bed.
But that would have been wrong. Clarity came to her as she walked next to him though the gardens. She had two and a half weeks left to finish her feasibility studies and then she’d be going back to Melbourne. Troy would be doing everything to stop the development from being approved. All these elements, along with her bucketload of problems back home, were not a good combination. She would’ve loved another night with Troy, but there was one major issue that scared her more than anything. She doubted she’d be able to keep control of her heart. Falling for him was not an option.
Resting her elbows on the table, she hung her head and buried her face in the palms of her hands.
How was she ever going to live with what she did to him? She’d never hit anyone before. After living for years in fear of Rodrigo’s short temper, she never thought she’d be the one to lash out. Looking at her hand, it was still red and stung. She hoped Troy was okay. She’d slapped him hard. Harder than she meant to or even thought was possible.
She wished she could change what had happened. Keeping up the façade that she was not affected by his presence was a constant struggle. Rambling on about work and her problems took her mind off wanting to feel every inch of his well-toned flesh. She’d thought babbling on about her issues would turn off any man. While her words may have been true, her actions certainly had not.
When he picked the rose, the prospect of security guards coming after them for vandalizing the grounds put her mind on track to ensure she kept her distance from Troy.
His kiss came out of nowhere and took her by surprise.
She wanted that kiss. Craved it. But knowing the stakes were against them, it took every ounce of her strength to stop. She couldn’t let it go on any further. Letting her shock, anger and frustrations consume her, she had pushed him away, regardless of how much her body ached to have him. She couldn’t afford to give in.
Then there was that slap. Where had that come from? She should’ve just pulled away, but no, she’d taken it too far. Now guilt ate away inside her.
She shook her head abruptly. What’s done is done. There was nothing she could do about it. She had to stay clear of him, focus on getting her job done and leave this town as soon as possible.
Her email pinged with a new message. Thankful for the distraction, she scanned the screen as she opened the message from Toru; he wanted an update on how the council meeting went. Asshole for leaving her to do it! How was she going to describe the meeting from hell? Kelleigh rubbed at her temples as an ache started to form in her head. This never-ending stress; who needed it?
Reading the entire email, she grew more disgruntled with every line. He was coming back up on Friday to meet the environmental auditors with her and attend the gala dinner at the Hunter Valley Wine Trade Festival on Saturday night. That would be right. He only wants to come back here for the fancy festival, all at the company’s expense. But if he wanted to hang out and schmooze industry representatives, suppliers, wholesalers and stockists—that was one task she’d gladly let him have.
A piercing beep burst from her laptop, making her jump. The red flashing banner alerted her to low battery life. She reached down beside her for her laptop bag to grab the power cable, and panic set in when it was not in the front pocket.
Throwing the bag on the ground, Kelleigh stood up and started to search her room. In her bedroom, under her jacket, through the pile of clothes, under the magazines and papers. The cable was nowhere to be found. Halfway across the living area she stopped in her stride and slapped her palm to her forehead.
Shit! I’ve left it at Gumtrees.
She’d been out on-site all day yesterday and had used Toru’s presentation on USB at last night’s presentation in the provided laptop. She hadn’t needed to use her own computer since her meeting at Gumtrees. She must have forgotten to pack the cable in her haste to get away.
She wasn’t one to believe in fate, the influence of the alignment of the planet and the stars, or unexplainable coincidences, but was this the universe giving her the opportunity to go and apologize to Troy?
She needed her power cord back and now had the chance to see Troy. Picking up the in-room phone, she called the kitchen to arrange her lunch-pack then finished dressing into her work gear, laced up her steel-caps and headed out the door.
As Kelleigh walked into the restaurant, she saw Grace restocking the fridge in behind the bar.
“Morning Grace,” she called out as she walked over to the counter.
“Morning, lovey.” Grace stood up and stretched her back. “How are you this morning? Brian was a bit of an ass to you last night, wasn’t he?”
Kelleigh winced and nodded. His frightening, threatening face still lingered in her thoughts.
“Is my order ready yet?”
“Be about another five minutes or so. We’ve been busy this morning.”
“Mind if I wait here?” Kelleigh asked as she took a seat.
“Not at all.”
Kelleigh sat up, startled when Grace approached her, looked at her through narrowed eyes and leaned on the counter in front of her. “I saw you leave with Troy again last night. Anything happen I should know about?” Her look was serious, curious, one of interest, but not menacing in any way.
Kelleigh blinked. Did Grace already know that she’d slapped him in the face? “Last night … we just went for a walk over in the gardens.”
“Anything else happen? I’ve seen the way you look at him.” She grinned, with the spark of knowledge in her eyes. “I’m no fool. It’s been there since the first night you lured him to your room.”
Kelleigh’s eyes widen in shock. “If I recall correctly, it was pretty even on getting each other in to bed. We were both consenting. And for your information … no, nothing else happened last night.” Other than she hit him and felt terrible about it.
Grace’s expression softened and a wide smile broadened across her face. “I’m just teasing you, lovey. Troy’s like my own son, especially since his mum was my best friend before she passed away. I know he’s a grown man and can do what he pleases, but I still like to look out for him. He doesn’t need his heart broken again, so don’t go messing with it if you’re only here for a few weeks.”
Kelleigh slipped her hands into her lap. Everywhere she went people wanted to tell her what to do. There’d been Rodrigo, her boss and now Grace wanted to meddle with her non-existent love life. “It was one night. He was willing and so was I. It won’t happen again, I assure you.” Her actions last night would definitely see to that.
“Pity a gorgeous gal like you doesn’t plan on staying around. While we love the tourists, the travelers and the seasonal workers, they all keep passing on through. We have such a beautiful region, full of possibilities. You just need to know where to look.”
Stay in the Hunter Valley? As if that would ever happen. It certainly wasn’t for her. She had her sister, Fran, back at home whose baby was due soon and her friends—although she questioned their true status since Rodrigo had skipped town. No, Melbourne was her home and always would be. In a place like this there were too many limitations for someone like her who worked in engineering and projects. The pay wouldn’t be as good for a start and there’s no way she wanted to work up in the mining districts. So even considering the idea for a fleeting second was ludicrous. And besides, she’d miss Franny way too much.
“Thanks, but I’ll be heading home in a couple of weeks so you have no need to be concerned about Troy. I have no intention of seeing him again. Well … after this morning. I’ve left my laptop’s power cord out at their office and I need to go and pick it up on my way out to Larry’s.”
Grace nodded, looking satisfied, yet disappointed at the same time. Kelleigh turned as the kitchen door swung open and a woman dressed in a white chef’s coat walked out with her lunch-pack, and slid it across the counter to her with a broad smile. “Say hello to Larry for us. We miss him coming into the pub. We all hope he gets better soon.”
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to give him the message.” Kelleigh nodded, grabbed her food and headed out to her car.
The stifling humid air struck Kelleigh when she walked out of the cool air conditioning. She yanked open the Landcruiser’s door, climbed inside and placed the food on the seat beside her. Away from Grace, she could breathe easily and didn’t feel like every move she made was being scrutinized. This trip was supposed to give her a break from all her problems, but somehow she seemed to be creating more for herself.
She peered out of the windscreen up to the threatening gray skies. Storm clouds loomed over the crest of the Brokenback Mountains heading toward the Valley. Great! This was not what she needed. Rain caused delays and she didn’t want to have to spend one more day in this place than necessary. She rolled her shoulders, trying to dislodge the knots and tension that had built up. Cranking the key in the engine, she ripped the vehicle into gear. With no more delays, it was time to visit Gumtrees.
Chapter 14
“Are you going to
tell me how you got that beauty of a red mark on your face, or do I have to guess?” Nick asked as he placed another case of wine on the pallet he was loading with Troy.
“You don’t want to know, mate.” Troy said, grabbing another box from the back of the cellar and placing it on top of the pile of wine they were getting ready to take to the trade show in two days’ time. Spending all morning responding to his lawyer’s emails, sifting through reports and looking for something, anything, to stop the JLR development had managed to keep him busy. Now getting ready for the show was also helping to keep his mind off last night with Kelleigh and the pain still lingering in his left cheek.
“Wouldn’t happen to involve a certain chick, would it? Kelleigh, by any chance? What on earth did you do to deserve that?”
Troy smirked, Nick was too observant. “It was a simple misunderstanding. I apologized to her for getting upset at our meeting, nearly threw Brian out of the pub because he was being an ass toward her and then afterwards, we went for a walk in the gardens. I thought things were going well. Then … I tried to kiss her. Of course, it didn’t quite go as planned.”
Nick burst out laughing. “Oh you poor bugger.”
“In some ways it worked wonders. It knocked the sense back into me. Remind me never to get involved with a woman with issues.” He added up the quantity of cartons of each type of wine and wrote them down on to his stock consignment sheet.
“Everyone’s got issues; except me of course.” Nick smiled cheekily as they headed out through the storage cellar’s sliding door and locked it securely behind them. “I wouldn’t give up on women just yet; she obviously wasn’t the right one.”
Troy sighed as they walked back through the production area to the work office at the front of the shed.
“Well, I’m not going out of my way to find her if she exists. She’ll have to come and find me.”
Nick shook his head as Troy walked behind him into the office and sat down in front of his laptop. Nick took the seat in front of the computer. Glancing over the stock sheet, Troy recalculated his totals and, once satisfied, handed the sheet to Nick. “Here. All done. Do you want to enter this consignment, or shall I?”