Road Trip with the Eligible Bachelor

by Michelle Douglas

  Her words couldn’t hurt him. His heart had numbed and frozen over. ‘You’re saying you don’t trust me.’

  ‘Are you saying you’d never lie to me?’

  Of course he wouldn’t! He could say that till he was blue in the face, though. She’d never believe it. Phillip had done a right royal job on her.

  ‘Your actions speak louder, I’m afraid.’

  His parents and his relationship with her were two different issues!

  ‘I’m not some child that needs protecting and I refuse to ever be treated like that again.’

  He sat back. He scowled at his cake. Quinn drained her coffee. ‘Stop being so glum,’ she chided. ‘We’re supposed to be having fun, remember? You promised me dancing.’

  Quinn was running scared. That was what all this was about. He scrubbed a hand down his face. He had the rest of tonight, all day tomorrow and tomorrow night to work on her.

  If he dared.

  * * *

  Aidan woke to the piercing ringtone of his mobile phone. He fumbled for it. ‘Hello?’ he mumbled.

  ‘Aidan Carter Fairhall, have you seen the papers today?’

  His eyes sprang open. ‘Mum!’ He sat bolt upright in bed. He dragged in a breath. Right. ‘Hold on.’

  He padded to the door of his room and opened it. As requested, copies of all the national newspapers awaited him. He scooped them up and moved back to the bed. ‘I have them all here. Which one in particular were you referring to?’

  ‘All of them!’

  He flicked through to the society pages and then grinned. Perfect. ‘Ah...’ He hemmed and hawed, injecting what he desperately hoped were notes of equivocation and vagueness into his voice.

  ‘What on earth did you think you were doing?’

  ‘I was just having a bit of...fun.’

  ‘You’re practically pawing that woman in public!’

  ‘She’s a very nice woman.’

  His mother snorted.

  ‘Look, what’s the big deal? I went out. I had fun.’ The irritation that edged into his voice wasn’t feigned.

  ‘The big deal is that photographs like this—where you look drunk, not to mention lewd—will do untold damage to your political image! What on earth do you think you were doing?’ she repeated as if she couldn’t believe his stupidity.

  He scrubbed a hand across his chin.

  ‘Aidan?’

  ‘Do you know how far it is across the Nullarbor, Mum?’ Silence greeted him. ‘And it’s all just endless sand and scrub for mile upon weary mile. It gives a man time to think.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  The wobble in his mother’s voice made his gut clench. He wished he could’ve spared her all the pain she’d suffered in the last eight months. ‘Ever since Danny...’ He couldn’t finish that sentence. ‘For the last eight months I’ve thrown myself into work to try and forget, but it doesn’t work like that, does it? I need a holiday. I’m taking a holiday.’

  ‘You don’t have time for a holiday! You can have a holiday once you’ve been elected to office. You listen to me, Aidan. You are going to haul your backside out of whatever seedy hotel it’s currently residing in, you will say goodbye to your slutty little friend, and you will get yourself to the airport. Now! We have work to do if we’re to minimise the damage you’ve already done.’

  Slutty?

  ‘Do you hear me?’

  He thrust out his jaw. ‘No.’

  An indrawn breath reached him down the end of the phone. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  That tone had made him quail as a kid. A part of him was glad to hear it now. He hadn’t heard his mother this riled in a long time. But Quinn slutty? ‘No can do, Mum. I’m not ready to come home. I’ll call you in a couple of days to let you know my plans.’ And he cut the line.

  * * *

  They spent the day at the zoo.

  Aidan took every opportunity that presented itself to touch Quinn—a hand in the small of her back at the turnstile and again in the queue for the canteen, a brushing of fingers when he handed her a drink, the touch of arms and shoulders as they sat on a bench for a rest, a hand at her elbow when they ascended some steps. The startled glitter in her eyes and the flush that developed high on her cheekbones had him biting back a groan, along with the urge to rush her off somewhere private.

  He wanted her mind filled with the sight, smell and feel of him. He wanted it to plague her with the same insistence it gnawed at him. He wanted the frustration of unassuaged hunger to batter down all her defences until not a single one was left.

  He didn’t know how far he and Quinn could cultivate their relationship but, presented with the stark fact of parting company with her tomorrow, he knew he had to try something.

  She’s a single mother. Leave her alone. This is just lust. Scratch that itch elsewhere.

  He thrust out his chin. It went deeper than mere chemistry and it deserved to be explored.

  Aren’t you hurting your mother enough?

  A fist clenched in his chest. This had nothing to do with his mother!

  What would Danny tell you to do?

  Everything stilled. His mind went blank.

  ‘Will we get to see them eat?’ Robbie asked as they moved towards the big cat area.

  It had just been dinner time at the seal and dolphin enclosures. The boys had been fascinated.

  ‘Not today,’ Quinn said, reading a nearby sign.

  Robbie pouted. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Because lions and tigers don’t get fed every day. The zoo tries to mimic how they’d feed in the wild. It keeps them healthy.’

  Aidan nudged her arm. She started. He bit back a grin. ‘How’d you know that?’

  ‘You’ll be sorry you asked,’ she warned.

  He folded his arms. ‘Go on.’

  She shrugged. ‘I’ve been reading up on some of the latest research into human health and nutrition.’ He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. ‘It appears that just as it’s healthier for wild animals to intermittently fast, the same might be true for humans.’

  His mind flicked back to those textbooks in her car.

  ‘There are links that suggest fasting can decrease both the incidence and growth of some cancers, reduce the risk of developing diabetes, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s. It appears that fasting could promote cell renewal. I mean, the research is only in its infancy, but it is fascinating.’

  He listened in astonishment and then awe as she rattled off facts and figures with an ease that spoke of close scholarship. She eventually petered off with a shrug and an abashed grin that speared into his heart. ‘I told you you’d be sorry.’

  ‘It’s amazing and interesting,’ he countered. He thought of the way she’d just spoken, of the fire in her voice, of those darn textbooks and the lecture she’d given him that first day about his probable cortisol levels. He pulled her to a halt. ‘Quinn, why are you wasting all of this passion and talent? Why aren’t you at university, conducting your own research?’

  She stared at him for a moment and then pointed—to Robbie and Chase.

  Ah.

  In the next instant he rallied. ‘But there’s nothing to stop you from going to university now.’

  She glanced pointedly to Robbie and Chase again and then raised an eyebrow.

  ‘You could study part-time. You’d get government assistance while you were studying and—’

  ‘You mean I’d end up with a big fat student debt.’

  ‘And a bright and shiny qualification.’

  ‘Look, Aidan, I made my decision nine years ago when I found out I was pregnant. I have to work full-time to make ends meet, that’s non-negotiable, and I’m also a full-time mum. Studying even part-time would mean spreading myself too thin. Robbie and Chase deserve more than my part-time distracted attention. They deserve at least one fully involved parent.’

  He opened his mouth, but she held up a hand. ‘Maybe I’ll rethink that when the boys are in high school and a bit more self-sufficient.’r />
  By which time he didn’t doubt she’d have come up with a whole new set of excuses. Her shuttered expression, though, told him the subject was closed.

  * * *

  That evening they went to Adelaide’s night races.

  Quinn instantly fell in love with the pageantry, the colour and the sheer excitement.

  ‘Which one do you fancy?’ Aidan asked her as the horses paraded in front of them.

  ‘Number four,’ she said, selecting a giant chestnut. The jockey wore the exact same shade as Aidan’s shirt.

  ‘Come on.’ He took her hand and led her to one of the betting windows and handed her an obscene amount of cash. ‘Put it all on the nose.’

  ‘All?’ she breathed.

  He just grinned and it made her heart hammer. Heaven’s, how on earth was she going to adjust to reality again tomorrow? When Aidan would be gone. For good.

  She pushed the thought away. Tonight was for fun. There’d be time enough to miss all of this, to miss him, tomorrow.

  She watched the race with her heart in her mouth, gripping Aidan’s arm. As the horses hit the home straight she started jumping up and down and shouting along with the rest of the crowd, cheering on her horse with all her might. When number four crossed the finish line a nose ahead of the rest of the field, she flung her arms around Aidan’s neck. ‘We won! We won!’

  He swung her around before setting her back on her feet and grinning down at her. She eased away, the hard imprint of his body burnt on her brain. Did she really mean to let this man go? ‘I’m having the best time,’ she breathed.

  You don’t have any choice.

  ‘Me too.’

  Live for today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. It wasn’t a view she tended to subscribe to, but she threw herself into it wholeheartedly now.

  * * *

  Despite the heat that flared between them and its insidious insistence that throbbed deep in her blood, Quinn found herself laughing when she and Aidan entered the foyer of their hotel later that evening. Even the knowledge lurking at the corners of her consciousness that their fun was at an end couldn’t prevent her from holding tight to these last precious moments.

  The foyer was empty except for the concierge and a receptionist, and an elegant woman sitting stiffly in one of the easy chairs. Aidan froze when he saw her. Quinn frowned up at him, completely attuned to his mood. ‘What is it?’

  The woman rose, her chin tilted at a haughty angle. ‘Hello, Aidan.’

  Aidan turned to Quinn, his smile stiff. ‘Quinn, this is my mother, Vera Fairhall.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  AIDAN’S MOTHER!

  Quinn’s eyes widened and her jaw slackened. One glance at the other woman and she decided not to offer her hand. She swallowed and did her best to push her shoulders back. ‘How do you do?’ she said. She didn’t say, ‘pleased to meet you’. She doubted she’d be able to pull that lie off.

  Mrs Fairhall didn’t reply. Beneath her chilly gaze, Quinn’s flirty red skirt seemed too short and her cream silk singlet top too skimpy. Which, of course, was true on both counts. She wore her strappy black sandals again, the ones with the bows, and the look they received basically said, ‘woman of the night shoes’.

  She choked back a giggle. Oh, Lord, they were in the middle of a farce!

  ‘And who is this, Aidan?’

  Tension vibrated through him and Quinn’s desire to giggle promptly fled. His eyes flashed and his hands clenched. All of his easy politeness had disappeared, leaving a deep, burning anger she found hard to associate with him. She curled her hand around his arm and squeezed, tried to silently transmit that he not do or say anything he’d regret later.

  Eight months might’ve passed but he and his mother were still both in deep mourning. People did and said things they didn’t mean when operating under such stress. And Aidan mightn’t be drunk, but they had been drinking.

  He stared down at her for a moment and his face relaxed, and then a gleam she didn’t trust lit his eyes. He slipped his arm about her waist and pulled her in close to his side. ‘Mum, I’d like you to meet Quinn Laverty, the woman I mean to marry.’

  The foyer spun. Quinn sagged against Aidan’s side. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor, knowing if she didn’t they’d betray her. She closed them. What did he think he was doing? She should bring this lie to a close. It wouldn’t do any of them any good, not in the long run.

  ‘You expect me to congratulate you?’

  He coiled up as if he were ready to spring. She leaned against him harder to keep him where he stood.

  ‘Just once it’d be nice to hear you congratulate me on something that actually mattered to me.’

  The words might’ve been drawled, but she sensed the very real pain beneath them. An innate loyalty for this man shot to the fore. ‘Aidan,’ she chided. ‘We weren’t going to tell anybody about this just yet.’

  She lifted her chin and met his mother’s gaze squarely. She didn’t want to add to this woman’s pain, but she’d do what she could to prevent her from adding to Aidan’s. ‘It’s getting late.’

  The dismissal was unmistakable and Vera Fairhall’s eyes widened, and then they just as quickly narrowed. ‘I will leave the two of you to say your goodnights. Aidan, I expect you in my room—’ she gave her room number ‘—in ten minutes.’

  ‘I really think you ought to leave that till the morning,’ Quinn ventured.

  The other woman spun to her. ‘Don’t you dare presume to tell me how to deal with my son!’ And then she turned on her eminently respectable court shoe heels and stalked away.

  Once she’d disappeared from view, Quinn pulled out of Aidan’s grip, lifted both hands and let them drop. ‘What on earth did you tell her we were engaged for?’

  ‘I didn’t say we were engaged. I said you were the woman I mean to marry.’

  ‘You knew it’s what she’d think!’

  He scowled. ‘She said you were slutty.’

  Quinn went back over the conversation. ‘No, she didn’t.’

  ‘Not just then.’ He slashed a hand through the air. ‘This morning, when I spoke to her on the phone. She called you my slutty friend.’

  Quinn planted her hands on her hips. ‘What’s wrong with that? It was the look we were aiming for, remember? I’m supposed to be the wildly inappropriate woman.’

  He stabbed a finger at her. ‘She had no right to say it. It seriously cheesed me off.’

  That was more than obvious.

  ‘And just now she looked as if you were something unpleasant she’d stepped in.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter what she thinks of me.’

  ‘Yes it does!’

  Her heart started to pound. She pressed a hand against it. She was not going to travel this road with Aidan. ‘You’re going to have to tell her we’re not engaged.’

  He thrust out his chin and glowered at her. ‘Or you will?’

  Not on her life! ‘I’ll leave that particular joy to you.’

  He didn’t say anything. Tension crawled in all the spaces and silences between them. ‘I’m sorry if this hasn’t turned out the way you wanted,’ she whispered. She tried to find a smile. ‘But you’ve certainly galvanised your mother to action.’ She wanted to reach out and touch him, but the fire burning between them was too fierce and she was afraid of getting burned. ‘I just didn’t know that it would create so much upheaval in you too.’

  He dragged a hand down his face. ‘Quinn...?’

  She pulled herself up and glanced at her watch. She was not inviting him back to her room. ‘Please don’t lose your temper with her tonight. Try to get out of there as quickly as you can and sleep on it. See how you feel in the morning.’

  ‘Will I see you in the morning?’

  ‘Of course you will.’ To say goodbye. She turned and made for the nearest elevator. Aidan didn’t follow her and she didn’t look back.

  * * *

  Quinn hadn’t been in her room fifteen minutes when the phone ran
g. She grimaced and picked it up. ‘Hello?’

  ‘I suspect my mother is on her way to your room.’

  Oh, great. Just great. ‘You gave her my room number?’

  ‘No, but I know how she operates. She’ll have rung down to Reception to get it. Do you want me to come by to intervene?’

  Aidan and all of his sexy male temptation in her room? No way! ‘I’ll deal with it.’

  ‘Are you going to tell her we’re not engaged?’

  She let out a sigh and she didn’t care if he heard it. ‘No, but you’re going to have to.’

  A knock sounded on her door.

  ‘Goodnight, Aidan.’

  ‘A moment of your time, if I may?’ Mrs Fairhall said when Quinn opened the door.

  She’d have swept into Quinn’s room if Quinn hadn’t blocked the way. ‘On one condition—that you keep your voice down. My boys are sleeping next door and I don’t want them disturbed.’

  The other woman’s eyes flashed, but she nodded and Quinn let her pass.

  ‘You have children?’

  ‘Two boys—eight and six.’

  Vera’s gaze went to Quinn’s left hand.

  ‘And, yes, I’m unmarried. I’ve also been working in a low-level admin position and I have no tertiary qualifications worth speaking of.’

  ‘That’s none of my business.’

  ‘But it’s what you came down here to find out.’

  She suddenly realised she stood in front of Aidan’s mother in an oversized powder-blue T-shirt nightie with the words ‘Super Sleep Champion’ plastered on the front in big glittery letters. She pulled on the complimentary towelling robe provided for guests and tried not to feel at a disadvantage.

  ‘That’s not the reason I came down here, Ms Laverty.’

  Quinn gestured to a chair. ‘Would you like to sit?’

  ‘I won’t be here long enough to bother.’

  Quinn sat. She did so in the hope it would help ease the acid burn in her stomach. ‘You’re here to offer me money to leave Aidan alone.’

  ‘I see you’ve played this little game before.’

  Just the once.

  Vera whipped out a chequebook. ‘How much will it take?’