Road Trip with the Eligible Bachelor

by Michelle Douglas

  She spun around. ‘Your father and I didn’t have favourites!’

  Aidan lifted his chin. ‘Danny was everything you wanted in a son. He was your golden boy. Mum, I don’t mean to sound harsh, I loved Danny, but his life is not worth more than mine.’

  She sat as if in a dream. She reached out as if to touch him, but drew back at the last moment. ‘I didn’t realise that’s how you felt. Why have you never told me this before?’

  He shrugged.

  Her eyes flashed. Her hair quivered. ‘You stupid boy! You should’ve said something!’

  He blinked.

  ‘That rotten reserve of yours, Aidan! Danny was always effusive and affectionate. It was very easy to show him affection in return and to be demonstrative with him. It was always much harder to break through your reserve.’

  His jaw dropped.

  ‘I can see why you might think we favoured Danny, but, son, that just wasn’t the case.’

  It wasn’t? He’d spent all this time thinking he was the second son in every sense and yet...

  ‘Come along, Aidan, it’s time for us to catch a plane and head into this brave new world of ours.’

  He caught hold of her hand. ‘I’ve had a thought about our brave new world. Mum, you’re as passionate about politics as Dad and Danny ever were. Why don’t you stand for office?’

  ‘Me? But that’s nonsense!’

  ‘Why? You’re only fifty-three, and an energetic fifty-three at that. You know the ropes. You know how to play the game. You’d be an absolute asset to the party.’

  Her jaw dropped but he could see her mind ticking over as his idea took hold.

  ‘I’ll go and pack.’ Aidan rose, and he left with a lighter heart than he could’ve thought possible.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE MOMENT THE knock sounded on Quinn’s motel room door the following Saturday evening, a tempest burst to life in her stomach. The knock wasn’t loud—a firm unhurried rat-tat—but it was clear and distinct. It wasn’t enough to send a stampede of a thousand thrashing wings thumping through her.

  At least, it shouldn’t have been.

  She pressed a hand to her stomach, moistened her lips and eased the door open, fighting the urge to fling it wide to feast her eyes on the man who stood on its other side. She’d already feasted her eyes on him earlier in the day when she’d found him waiting for her and the boys at the entrance to Taronga Park Zoo.

  He’d feasted his eyes on her then too—just as hungrily, just as intensely, and with an intent that had made her stomach tighten.

  The boys hadn’t considered hiding their excitement. They’d hurled themselves at him, talking ten to the dozen. She’d envied them their lack of restraint. She’d have loved to have hugged him, but she hadn’t. She’d merely nodded. He’d given her a quick peck on the cheek and his scent had filled her with so much longing it was all she’d been able to do to not run away.

  Robbie and Chase had had the most brilliant day.

  She hadn’t. And she hadn’t been able to tell if Aidan had or not either. She’d tried to take pleasure in the boys’ joy, in the gorgeous views of Sydney Harbour and in the antics of the meerkats, but her awareness of Aidan drove everything else out of her. That awareness had grown as the day progressed—a deep prickling burn that wore away at her. Conversation didn’t ease it. At least, not the kind of polite surface chit-chat they’d maintained.

  She gritted her teeth. They’d maintain it this evening too if it killed her. And then they’d never see each other again and she’d be free to get on with her life. Whatever sense of obligation had prompted Aidan would be allayed.

  The thought made her want to throw up.

  It also made her want to heave a sigh of relief.

  He frowned. ‘Are you feeling all right?’

  She snapped a smile to her face. ‘Of course.’

  He stared at her. She stared back. Okay, polite chit-chat but with a little drop of honesty thrown in. ‘Are you sure you’d still like me to accompany you this evening?’

  ‘Why would you ask me that?’

  His voice came out deceptively soft. It raised gooseflesh on her arms. She tried to rub it away. ‘Aidan, this is a party to honour your parents. I imagine your mother, and probably your father too, will be far from thrilled that I’m attending as your date.’

  ‘You leave my parents to me.’

  Gladly, but would they return the favour? Or would she be trotted off to some quiet alcove and offered some other sweetie to disappear into the night and never return?

  ‘I won’t be offended if you’ve changed your mind.’

  The aggressive tilt to his chin made her mouth water. ‘I will be if you’ve changed yours.’

  She bit back a sigh. ‘Fine, okay. So be it.’ She collected her wrap and purse. ‘I guess we’d best set off. We don’t want to be late.’

  ‘Are you determined to treat this entire evening like an unpleasant chore?’

  That pulled her up short. ‘Of course not!’ But it was true. She expected this evening to be an ordeal. Which was hardly fair to Aidan. ‘I’m just concerned that...’ She’d ruin everything for him.

  ‘Well, don’t be.’ He took her wrap—a shot silk stole that matched her dress—and settled it around her shoulders. ‘By the way, you look lovely.’

  His breath disturbed the hair by her ear and sent a shiver arrowing down to pulse at a spot below her belly button. ‘Thank you.’ Her voice wobbled, betraying her.

  His grip on her shoulders tightened and he pulled her back against him to show her how much she affected him too. Her breath caught. She closed her eyes, but rather than help her regain her balance it only highlighted the hardness pressing against her.

  ‘If this were any other night I would do my best to seduce you here and now.’

  She wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to resist him if he did. With a superhuman effort she moved out of his grasp. ‘But it isn’t any other night. Besides, you look very debonair in your dinner jacket and black tie and it would be a shame to wrinkle you.’ She could just imagine his mother’s face!

  She turned. ‘I left the vamp behind tonight to dress as a lady. It’s how I expect to be treated.’

  He stared back at her, his eyes darker than she’d ever seen them. The very air throbbed. ‘Have I ever treated you as anything else?’

  ‘No.’ He hadn’t.

  ‘C’mon, let’s go.’

  He took her elbow. She had to grit her teeth and lecture herself long and hard to keep her inner vamp under wraps.

  * * *

  The party was held in the ballroom of one of the city’s grand hotels. It had glorious views of the Harbour and the Opera House. Lights twinkled on the Harbour and fairy lights winked on the two hundred guests—the elite of Sydney society—who mingled in all of their glamorous finery, and Quinn wished herself back into the isolation of the Nullarbor Plain and a night sky filled with an entirely different kind of light show.

  She’d known Aidan would have hosting duties this evening. She’d known he would have to leave her for long periods of time. She hadn’t minded. He’d introduced her to nice people. She’d made pleasant conversation. And it had given her a chance to observe him without his knowing.

  ‘I understand you and my son had quite the adventure.’

  Quinn swung from surveying the Harbour to find Aidan’s father holding out a glass of champagne to her. She took it—without a single shake or quiver and all while maintaining a smile. Well done her! ‘Happy anniversary, Mr Fairhall.’ She touched her glass lightly to his. They both sipped. ‘An adventure?’ she finally said. ‘Yes, I guess it was.’

  Mr Fairhall opened his mouth, but his wife chose that moment to glide up between them. ‘You look lovely this evening, Quinn. That dress is quite charming.’

  She and her aunt had spent an entire day searching for this dress. She’d told Mara everything, of course. Mara had chuckled and decreed that Quinn needed a dress fit for a lady—a dress fit for
Audrey Hepburn. And they’d found it. Pink silk shot through with the merest shimmer of black. Cocktail length with a scalloped hem, embroidered in black and with matching embroidery on the bodice. It was pretty, demure and very, very chic.

  Quinn, however, caught the underlying meaning to Vera Fairhall’s words. ‘Thank you, Mrs Fairhall. The dress cost a bomb, but it was worth every penny.’ She named the designer and had the satisfaction of seeing Vera’s eyes widen. ‘But we both know clothes don’t make the woman.’

  ‘That is very true, my dear.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘I hear you’ve had quite the day of it.’

  Had Aidan told her about their trip to the zoo? Or did she have spies? And, either way, did it matter? ‘Yes, indeed.’

  ‘I certainly understand if you’re feeling tired and would like to sneak away early to go and check on your children. I mean we can’t spare Aidan, of course, but we’d be more than happy to cover a taxi for you.’

  ‘I’m sure you would,’ Quinn said drily. ‘Your reputation for hospitality precedes you.’

  Tom Fairhall chuckled. Vera drew back. ‘I’m only trying to be polite, Quinn. I’d understand if you felt slightly out of place here this evening.’

  ‘Vera,’ Tom chided softly.

  ‘Not in the least,’ Quinn sent back with all the fake sincerity she could muster. ‘I see you even invited my parents. I do hope you didn’t do that on my account.’

  She gestured across the room. Vera swung to stare and her jaw dropped. ‘You’re that Laverty girl?’

  Quinn raised an eyebrow, but her stomach sank. ‘You don’t need to concern yourself with me, Mrs Fairhall. I won’t be troubling you for a taxi. I have a strong constitution and I don’t tire easily.’

  Vera stalked off. Tom patted Quinn’s shoulder. ‘Don’t mind my wife, my dear. She’s always been far too protective of Aidan. It’s just become worse since...’

  She glanced up uncertainly. ‘I understand that. I...’ She bit her lip. ‘I did say to Aidan it might be best if I didn’t come this evening.’

  ‘My son, however, can be very persuasive.’

  She smiled at that. ‘Still, I don’t want to ruin your or your wife’s enjoyment of the evening and if you think it’s best I leave, I will.’

  He stared down at her. He had eyes disarmingly like his son’s. ‘That’s very generous of you, Quinn, but no. While Vera can’t see it yet, we owe you a huge debt of gratitude. I’d unknowingly pushed Aidan into a course of action that was wrong for him and I didn’t know how to reverse it. You helped him do that instead.’

  So Aidan had stood up for himself? He’d turned his back on a political career? Her heart lifted. ‘I’m not sure I can take too much credit.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re being far too modest.’

  She recognised the guilt behind the dark amber of his eyes. ‘I don’t think you should feel guilty about pointing Aidan towards politics. Grief is a process. I think it helped Aidan more than hindered him.’

  He smiled then. ‘Thank you, my dear.’

  Her parents glanced in her direction, pushed their shoulders back and she read the resolution in their faces. ‘Now, off with you,’ she shooed, not wanting him to witness whatever was about to transpire. ‘You’ve neglected your guests for long enough.’

  With a chuckle he strolled off.

  She’d noticed her parents the moment they’d walked into the party—her father in an impeccable suit and her mother in sensible shoes. She wasn’t sure how long it had taken them to recognise her. She suspected a percentage of the room was abuzz with news of Aidan’s unsuitable girlfriend. Her name would’ve been passed from group to group and her parents would’ve heard it.

  Not that she was Aidan’s girlfriend.

  You’d like to be.

  It’d never work.

  ‘If you have any sense of shame whatsoever,’ her father said without preamble, ‘you will leave this party at once.’

  She and shame, at least her father’s version of it, had never been close acquaintances. She pasted a big fake smile to her face. ‘Hello, Daddy, lovely to see you too! You and Mummy look well. I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear that your grandchildren are healthy and happy.’

  ‘Don’t embarrass us in front of all these people, Quinn,’ her mother snapped.

  Quinn stared at them and shook her head. She hadn’t seen them in nine years. It seemed strange to feel so removed from two people who had once been so important to her. But it was a relief too. She couldn’t believe that once upon a time she’d wanted to be just like them.

  ‘So you have your sights set on the Fairhall boy now, taking advantage of a family’s grief, determined to ruin yet another man?’

  She lifted her chin. ‘The two of you lost any right to have a say in my life when you disowned me nine years ago. You are horrible people who lead sterile lives and I really don’t want anything to do with either one of you.’

  She’d have told them to go away, but Aidan chose that moment to return to her side. He glanced from her to her parents and back again. ‘Quinn?’

  ‘Aidan, these are my parents, Ryan and Wendy Laverty.’

  She didn’t say ‘I’d like you to meet my parents’, because that would’ve been a lie.

  She recognised the shock deep in his eyes. Perhaps she should’ve been a bit more forthcoming about her background on that long drive from Perth, but it had all seemed so separate from her. ‘My father is a vice chancellor at a nearby university and my mother is a leading researcher at another.’ She gestured to Aidan. ‘I expect you both recognise Aidan Fairhall.’

  They all shook hands, but nobody smiled. It didn’t surprise her when her father was the first to break the silence. ‘Young man, I hope you’ll take my advice and steer clear of this woman.’

  Beside her, Aidan stiffened.

  ‘I assure you that she is nothing but trouble and will only bring you grief.’

  ‘I’m afraid, sir, that I have to disagree with you. Quinn is a remarkable woman with more integrity and true kindness than anyone I’ve ever met.’

  Man, he was good. Smooth, unflappable and unfailingly pleasant.

  ‘And if you say one more disagreeable thing about her I will have to ask you to leave.’

  He managed to maintain his smile the entire time. She wanted to applaud.

  He turned to Quinn, effectively dismissing her parents. ‘Your drink is warm. Let’s go get you a fresh one.’

  And, with that, he took her elbow and whisked her off to the bar. She slid onto a stool as Aidan ordered their drinks, and when he handed her a mineral water she started to laugh. ‘That was masterfully handled.’

  ‘Jeez.’ He settled on the stool beside her. ‘And I thought my mother was a nightmare.’

  Quinn grinned. ‘She is.’

  He choked on his drink.

  She nudged his shoulder. ‘I want more for you than a woman who has been around the blocks a few times.’

  He winced. ‘You heard that?’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ As she’d no doubt been meant to. It had been said much earlier in the evening. There’d been some mention of all the baggage Quinn carried too. She’d taken that to refer to Robbie and Chase. When Aidan had turned back to her she’d pretended to be absorbed in studying the table decorations to save him from embarrassment.

  But he’d just witnessed her embarrassment.

  Was an embarrassment shared an embarrassment halved? She grimaced and sipped her drink. She suspected it might in fact be an embarrassment doubled.

  ‘I’m sorry, Quinn. My mother—’

  ‘Aidan, we put on one heck of a show in Adelaide. Your mother has every right to her reservations. She only has your best interests at heart.’

  ‘Your parents don’t, though.’ He reached out to squeeze her hand. ‘I didn’t know they’d be here this evening.’

  She squeezed it back before releasing it on the pretext of lifting her drink. The less she and Aidan touched the better. ‘Neither did I. I’m sorry if the
y came as a shock to you. I probably should’ve been more candid about my background, but...’ She glanced up at him. ‘It all feels so remote from who I am now.’

  Something burned in the backs of his eyes. ‘We can leave if you want to.’

  ‘Absolutely not.’

  ‘I’m not buying into this casual nonchalance for a moment, sweetheart.’

  Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She forced her chin up. ‘But I do have my pride. I have absolutely no intention of giving either your mother or my parents that kind of satisfaction.’

  He swore so softly she hardly heard it.

  She sent him a smile. ‘Besides, I promised your father I’d be one of the last to leave.’

  He smiled then too. ‘Wanna dance?’

  She slid off her stool. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

  * * *

  Aidan walked Quinn to her hotel room. Neither one of them spoke. He didn’t touch fingers to her elbow on the pretext of guiding her. He didn’t take her hand. He didn’t touch the small of her back. He kept his hands firmly—and deeply—in his pockets, did what he could to control the rapid pounding of his heart and reminded himself to keep breathing.

  One foot after the other

  One breath after the other.

  He could do this. His hands clenched. He could do this.

  They reached her door. They both stared at it for two beats rather than at each other. Finally Quinn seemed to give herself a mental kick and fumbled in her purse for the plastic key card.

  He took it from her, inserted it into its slot and pushed the door open a crack. Quinn stared up at him, her eyes wide and uncertain, her lips a tempting promise in the dimly lit corridor.

  You can do this!

  He didn’t step any closer. He would lose all pretence of control if he did that, if all of her sweetness pressed up warm and inviting against him.

  Still, he couldn’t resist dipping his head to kiss her.

  Her lips met his, hesitant perhaps, but undeniably awake to the consequences that could ensue.

  She kissed him back as if inviting those consequences. More than anything, he wanted to back her into her room and kiss her until they were both mindless with need. He ached to peel her clothes from her body and explore every inch of her to find what would make her gasp, what would make her moan, what would make her call out his name. He wanted to make love with her, frantic and fast. He wanted to make love with her painstakingly slow. He wanted to lose himself in the mindless pleasure they could find with each other.