‘How far advanced are you with your plans?’ he asked.
‘As far as I can be from up here. I’m working through my father’s property development company to search out potential sites, talk to architects.’
‘You’re on such good terms with your father?’
‘I haven’t always been. We clash. Perhaps we’re too alike. But he and my mother started the company together—she was an interior designer, he a real-estate agent. They started by flipping houses and went on to apartment blocks and commercial developments. The partnership fell apart when he left her for his assistant. But the point is, my mother left me and my sister her shares. So of course I work through the company.’
‘You’re at a crossroads in your life,’ he said.
‘So are you,’ she said. ‘I’m interested in what path you might take after tennis.’
Work. She was talking about work. Did he have to walk that path alone?
He would usually keep such matters very close to his chest. But suddenly he wanted Nikki’s opinion, her business smarts and maybe—No. He was not seeking her approval. That would imply something he didn’t want to acknowledge.
‘Okay. The options. I’m tempted by a directorship of a big sporting goods company.’
She nodded. ‘Could be a plan. Keeps you in the world of sport and is prestigious. As long as the directorship would be an active role, not just there for them to have you on their masthead for prestige. I suspect you would get easily frustrated by a passive role.’
‘You’re right about that,’ he said. She was both shrewd and perceptive. ‘There’s also an opportunity with an elite tennis coaching ranch in the US.’
‘Might you find it too difficult to be training others when what you really still want to do is to be out there competing yourself?’
‘You’ve nailed it,’ he said, shaken at how she seemed to read his mind. It was disconcerting.
‘There is another option.’
She smiled. ‘Now I hear some excitement in your voice.’
‘Excitement and a touch of trepidation,’ he admitted.
‘Spill.’ She leaned a little closer to him.
‘Sports commentator for one of the big cable networks. Covering the major tournaments. All around the world.’
‘Wow. You’ve got the knowledge, the screen presence, the personality. I could really see you doing that.’
‘But it would involve the kind of peripatetic lifestyle I’ve been living since I was a teenager. Perhaps I want to put down roots.’
‘Where?’
He shrugged. ‘Ideally Australia. It’s home and my parents aren’t getting any younger. But I’ve lived in the UK and the US too.’
‘It’s all very exciting for you, isn’t it?’ she said.
Not half as exciting as being here with you.
He looked up to see a waitress heading their way bearing a tray. ‘I see our starters heading our way,’ he said, welcoming the opportunity to change the subject. ‘I’m ready to eat.’
‘Me too,’ she said. ‘But we can’t touch a thing until I’ve taken shots with my phone for Maya. We mustn’t forget the reason we’re here. I don’t want to let my friends down.’
Max pretended to grumble. Made to snatch up the little ‘fusion’ tacos with an Asian filling before she finished her photo. Complained he would faint of hunger if she didn’t let him start on the tuna slices with a spicy soy dipping sauce and a wasabi mayo. Told her it was torture to keep him from the fritters.
But he liked her loyalty and commitment to her friends. Loyalty wasn’t something he’d experienced from a female companion. But then perhaps he’d been too focussed on his game to be able to give it in return.
‘Okay, we can start now,’ she said. ‘Sorry to have made you suffer.’
‘You don’t look sorry at all,’ he said. ‘I think you enjoyed torturing me.’
‘I’m admitting to nothing,’ she said with a delightful curve of a smile.
He held back on his hunger. Ladies first had been a strict rule at his house when he’d been growing up. He always followed it. At the table. When it came to opening doors. In bed when his lover’s pleasure was as important as his own. He watched Nikki as she savoured her tuna, making little oohs and aahs of appreciation and tried not to think of how she would react if he were to make love to her. He had to suppress a groan at the thought.
‘Aren’t you having any?’ she asked, innocent of the not so innocent thoughts that were occupying him.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I was waiting for you to go first.’
‘Why thank you, I appreciate that,’ she said, oblivious to any play on words.
‘Try the corn fritters—they’re scrumptious.’ She caught his eye. ‘Watch out for the sambal that accompanies them, though. It’s really spicy. I know you don’t like it too hot.’
He might surprise her, if he ever got the chance. ‘Yes, scrumptious,’ he said as he sampled the food. How he wanted to sample her.
‘What do you think about the restaurant and the menu?’ she asked. ‘What shall we report back to Maya?’
‘I’m no foodie,’ he said. ‘But it’s a bigger menu than at Big Blue, going by their room-service menu.’
‘You haven’t actually eaten in the Big Blue restaurant?’
‘Privacy and anonymity, remember,’ he said.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘Though I don’t think anyone has recognised you here tonight.’
‘They were too busy taking selfies in front of the sunset to notice anyone else, I think,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘The last time I was here one girl had three changes of clothes for her photographs.’
‘Now they’re all heads down eating. Which is just what I want to do too. I hope the main courses won’t take too long.’
‘Be patient,’ she said. ‘The service is very good here. Another thing to report back on.’ He was good at being patient when it came to the food, impatient when it came to having her in his arms again.
The sun had finally slid into the sea and the place was lit by strings of glowing lanterns. The white foam of the surf glistened where it caught the light. Even over the chatter of guests and the clatter of dishes he could hear the water pummelling the cliffs. ‘It’s very atmospheric,’ he said. He’d nearly said romantic but caught himself in time.
‘It is, isn’t it? I might suggest to Maya they invest in some of those lanterns. I really like the effect.’
‘It’s an impressive menu too,’ he said. ‘A good mix of Indonesian and Asian food with Western dishes too. People from all around the world come to this island. The variety is excellent. Vegetarian and vegan choices too.’
‘It’s impressive all right. I notice here they specialise in barbecue foods. I wonder if Big Blue should specialise to make their menu stand out.’
‘Desserts,’ he said immediately. ‘Really fabulous desserts. That would draw the punters in, I reckon.’
Her eyes widened. ‘I didn’t think of you as a dessert fiend.’
‘I had to suppress a lot of cravings when I was training. There’s a lot you don’t know about me.’
Her eyes glazed over, narrowed a little. ‘And I have ten nights to discover it,’ she said, her voice low and husky.
Max was too astounded to reply. He wondered if he had underestimated lovely Nikki when it came to the not so innocent thoughts.
CHAPTER NINE
WOULD MAX EXPECT her to go to bed with him tonight? It was all Nikki could think about as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him in front of the carved wooden gate to her villa. Surely the thought must be playing on his mind as much as it was on hers? Not to mention the urgent signals her body was sending her. My needs, remember?
She wanted him. She really wanted him. But she still didn’t know him v
ery well and to be intimate with someone who was still virtually a stranger had never been part of her romantic game plan.
She’d always been a commitment type of girl. Admittedly she’d been a schoolgirl at the time but she’d dated Ray for six months before they’d made love—her first time.
Perhaps it was to do with her upbringing by her religious mother. One of the reasons her mother’s last years had been so miserable was because her religion didn’t recognise divorce. While in the eyes of the state her mum had been divorced, in the eyes of her church she wasn’t. There’d been no thought of a second marriage for her, despite her father having wed his mistress to make her wife number two. Her mum had drummed into both the girls that sex should be part of a committed relationship. Nikki had discovered the truth in that herself. Now she wasn’t so sure.
Maybe now was the time to stir up her life a little and do things differently. Take what she wanted without worrying about where it might lead. By agreeing to the no-label fling she’d taken the first step. With Max.
Kadek had picked her and Max up at the restaurant in the truck. He’d just said goodnight and was headed back to Maya and the baby at his house at the back of the resort. Nikki listened to her friend’s footsteps on the wooden walkway until they faded into the distance then disappeared altogether.
The silence between her and Max seemed to stretch out for too long—although it was probably only seconds. She became intensely aware of the sounds of the evening on the warm, tropical night. Birds rustled in the trees above them. Some kind of insect gave an intermittent chirrup. The sea swished gently onto the sand of Frangipani Bay. There was the distant crow of a rooster—they seemed to crow without timetable at all hours of the night. And her own breathing, too rapid, making her feel faint. Perhaps from the rich fragrance of frangipani that hung in the air. Or was it because she was alone with Max for the first time since that hungry, passionate kiss had changed everything between them?
It was ridiculous to feel so nervous. She was a grown-up woman of nearly thirty. Not a starstruck adolescent. She turned towards him. His face was illuminated by the lantern above the gate. He looked very serious and impossibly handsome. She was awestruck at the thought she had him in her life, even if the time had limits on it.
‘I...er...would like to ask you in for a nightcap. But—’ She stuttered away into nothing. How did she say this?
Without speaking, Max gathered her into his arms and held her close. It felt so good to be back close to him, his warmth and strength. Her dress swooped low at the back and he stroked her bare skin until she relaxed against him. ‘But you’re worried I might try to seduce you,’ he said, his voice deep and rich and laced with humour, his breath ruffling her hair, his hands warm on her body.
She pulled back within the circle of his arms so she could look up at him. A hint of his endearing grin lingered and his eyes were warm. Her heart seemed to flip over inside her chest. ‘How did you know?’
‘A lucky guess,’ he said. ‘Or it could be that I’m learning to read you.’
‘Oh,’ she said, disconcerted that he could understand what she was feeling without her having to say a word. ‘It’s not that I’m worried. Just... I want to. I want you. But it seems too soon. I... I told you I haven’t had a fling before. I don’t know the rules.’
‘No rules, no labels, remember?’
Wordlessly she nodded, bowed her head so she looked down at her feet, feeling awkward and more than a little foolish. If they only had the one night she would probably rush him inside to the bedroom. But it was a big turnaround for her to contemplate sex as part of a fling with no future. She would feel so much happier if she knew him a little better before she took that step. Even though it might be a kind of torture to wait. Even though he might lose interest if she put him off.
He tilted her chin with his fingers so she was forced to look up at him. His eyes searched her face. She could see an undisguised desire in them but also a warmth of understanding that surprised her. Sexiest man alive. This man could pick and choose from a waiting list of women who wouldn’t hesitate to take their clothes off for him.
‘Of course I want to take you to bed,’ he said. ‘You’re gorgeous and sexy and I can’t think of anything more wonderful than making love to you, Nikki Lucas.’
She thrilled to hear his words and an answering desire shimmied through her. ‘Me too. I mean, I want to make love with you too. But—’
‘When you’re ready,’ he said.
‘It’s not that I’m a prude or anything but I—’
He laid a finger on her mouth to silence her. ‘You don’t have to explain or make excuses.’
‘It’s just that I’ve always—’
He followed his finger with his mouth in a brief kiss that left her breathless. ‘I tell you what,’ he said. ‘How about I leave it for you to seduce me?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘When you’re ready, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a way to let me know you want to have your way with me.’ He gave an imitation of a wicked leer that made him look more handsome than devilish.
‘Oh, I think I could manage that,’ she said, laughing. She could already think of several ways. When the time was right. She felt instantly more relaxed and happier once he’d taken off the pressure. Pressure, she realised, that was self-imposed. He hadn’t tried to push her into anything.
He kissed her again. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back—a long, slow, exploratory kiss. It was a kiss that acknowledged mutual desire, that agreed they both wanted more than kisses and—importantly—that insisted there be mutual respect.
‘Are you going to invite me in?’ he asked, still holding her close, his breathing not quite steady.
Nikki hesitated for only the merest fraction of a second but it was obviously enough for him to pick up on. ‘I’ll sit on one sofa and you can sit on the other, look don’t touch,’ he said.
‘That’s a plan,’ she said, not liking it in the slightest but seeing sense in it.
He put on a woeful expression. ‘It’s not late and if I go next door I’ll only sit out in the courtyard and think of you on the other side of the wall.’
So he did that too? ‘Would you really?’ she said, wondering if she should admit to doing exactly the same thing, deciding she should maintain at least a semblance of mystery. She most certainly wouldn’t admit she fantasised about him soaping his magnificent body in his outdoor shower.
‘Of course. Then I might dive into the pool and wonder if you might be doing the same thing.’ If he did that, and she heard him splashing, she’d drive herself crazy imagining it and wondering if he swam naked. Her breath caught. She wanted to see him naked.
‘You...you could come into my courtyard and swim. Or...or we could sit on the sofas opposite each other as you suggest.’
‘Or do both?’
‘What about—?’
‘I can swim in my shorts,’ he said.
He must think she was a real prude if he’d picked up on her thoughts about what he might wear to swim in her lap pool tonight. She wasn’t ready for naked just yet. But she wasn’t a prude—and she looked forward to showing him that. But not tonight.
She reached into her purse for her key. ‘I’d only sit on this side of the wall and think about you if I let you go,’ she said. She inserted the big, old-fashioned metal key in the door. ‘So please do come in.’ He followed her over the threshold.
‘Ah, the bliss of the air-conditioning,’ she said, holding her arms up to the chilled air. Even at night it was hot and steamy.
Max looked around him with obvious interest. ‘It’s just like my villa but the mirror image. Nice to see you’ve added some personal touches. I like the Balinese puppets on the wall and the prints you’ve got propped up against the desk.’ He picked up one of the framed photographic prints. ‘Is this the abandoned
seaweed farm near here? The colours of the water are incredible.’ She nodded. Tourism was beginning to overtake the traditional industry of seaweed farming. ‘And this black and white view of Mount Agung is so atmospheric.’
‘They’re by a local photographer,’ she said. ‘I bought some other knick-knacks too, so I could personalise the place.’
‘The more I look around, the more I see,’ he said.
‘I’ve lived here for six months. The villas had only just been finished when I arrived. It’s my home. For the time being at least.’ When she’d first come to the island she’d thought she’d never want to go back to Sydney.
She noticed he put the frame back in the precise spot he’d taken it from. ‘How long do you think you’ll stay up here?’ he asked.
‘Not much longer. I’ll need to be in Sydney to decide on sites for my swim clubs.’
‘Are you frightened of going home?’ he said quietly.
She felt herself flush. ‘Frightened? Of course not. All the fuss with the media will be over. Hopefully the runaway bride is yesterday’s news.’ But she’d go back to Sydney single. The thought of having to face the dating scene again was not an appealing one. Especially when she’d be comparing every man she met to Max.
‘Are you worried about Alan?’ he said.
She shrugged. ‘Not really. When I first saw you here I thought he’d sent you and I felt fearful. He continued to make threats against me for months after the wedding. Scary stuff.’
Max’s hands curled into fists. He cursed in extremely uncomplimentary terms about Alan.
‘Don’t worry,’ she hastened to assure him. ‘My father paid him a visit and there have been no more threats. In fact, my sister informed me just yesterday that Alan has recently been seen around town with a wealthy widow.’
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