Antarctic Affair

by Louise Rose-Innes

  She regarded him carefully. “Actually, I’ve decided to accept Max’s offer.”

  Taj felt like he’d been punched in the stomach.

  “You’re staying? When did you decide?”

  “About an hour ago,” she replied honestly.

  He took her face in his hands, “Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I would hate for you to do all this because of me.”

  He saw in her face he’d guessed correctly. She was about to give up her job, a promotion she’d worked years for, as well as move to a strange new country, and it was all for him. Part of him really wanted her to do it, but he was done with being selfish. It was too much to ask. Even with her in America he couldn’t promise her anything. The pressure and expectation would kill them.

  He kissed her gently on the forehead. “I love the fact you’re willing to do this for me. But I can’t let you,” he whispered.

  “What?” she cried incredulously. “I thought you wanted me to move to L.A.”

  “I do,” he agreed sadly, “but for the right reasons.”

  “What better reason is there,” she asked.

  He took her hands in his, “You need to do this because you want to work for Max, to make documentaries, to travel and see the world. Not because of me.”

  Georgina stared at him, her eyes wide with confusion.

  “It won’t work out between us, George. How can it? We’d be like ships passing in the night. You need stability, you told me yourself and I’m the last person in the world who can give you that.” He shook his head, helplessly. “You’d end up bitter and disappointed, and then you’d blame me.” He caressed her cheek, “I don’t want to be the one responsible for ruining your life.”

  He saw Georgina’s eyelids flicker as she tried not to cry. “Isn’t it worth a shot, at least?” she whispered.

  Taj shook his head. “I’ve done it before, many times. Trust me, it doesn’t work.”

  She looked so forlorn standing in the swish yacht club in her dirty boots with her dishevelled hair. The face he now knew so intimately was deathly pale, her blue eyes huge, and her lips quivered with emotion. He felt like a complete bastard, but he knew he was right. Still, he couldn’t have loved her more at that moment if he’d tried.

  She took a shaky breath. “So that’s it then?”

  He nodded. He didn’t have a choice. She’d end up leaving like all the other girlfriends he’d had in the past. It was inevitable, and when she did she’d leave his heart in a million tiny pieces and they would both bare the scars for life.

  To his surprise she didn’t try to argue. She merely glanced from him to Christina, who was still fuming outside, and with a bleak expression turned and walked away from him. He almost called out her name, but bit down hard on his lip instead. Only when she’d rounded the corner and he tasted blood, did he close his eyes in despair. Unable to face Christina, who had obviously got it into her head that she could convince him to stay with her, he slipped out the side entrance and went for a walk. When he went back to fetch his equipment, she was gone.

  Sporting enormous sunglasses because she’d cried so much on the flight to Santiago, Georgina followed the crowd through the maze of corridors to the boarding gate for Miami.

  “Thank God I found you,” a breathless voice said directly behind her making her jump.

  She spun around. “Oh Max, you startled me.”

  “Sorry,” he wheezed, “I had a few problems with the attorneys, but it’s all sorted out now. Here’s your contract.” He proudly handed her a stack of papers bound together in a neat little booklet.

  She froze. “Max, I’m literally about to board. I don’t have time to read this now.”

  He grinned and pulled a fountain pen out of his jacket pocket. “You don’t have to. Just sign. Trust me, it’s a good one.”

  He paused to catch his breath. Georgina stared at him in amazement.

  “How did you get in here?” she asked. “This is a transit lounge. They don’t let just anyone in here.”

  He grinned, “Honey, ol’ Max Copeland ain’t just anyone.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Do you want it in a nutshell?”

  She nodded.

  “You’re bound for a year and then have the option to renew the contract, or if you want, become a permanent staff member.”

  Still she hesitated. She’d only agreed before because she’d thought it would give her and Taj a chance, but now that bright idea had been blown out of the water, was there any point?

  “The pay’s excellent,” he added. “I had to fight for it, but…” he leant forward and whispered a figure in her ear. She balked. It was almost triple what she currently earned. She looked at the dotted line underneath where her name was neatly printed. It was tempting.

  Her flight was called and passengers started moving forwards in the line, bumping into her. How was she supposed to think when her heart had been smashed to smithereens, she thought wretchedly? There was nothing left for her in London anyway. Just an empty flat. She didn’t even have a cat because Charles was allergic. She worked so hard the only friends she had were colleagues. Charles had been her life, and now she didn’t even have that. Suddenly it all seemed hugely depressing.

  “Oh what the hell,” she sighed and grabbed the pen out of Max’s hand. Max turned around offering his wide back as a table and she scribbled her signature across the bottom of the page.

  “Done!” she exclaimed.

  Max beamed. “You won’t regret this, honey! Now get your little ass back here as fast as you can, so you and I can make lots of beautiful documentaries together!”

  She had to smile at him, “Max, you are incorrigible!”

  “Are you boarding, madam?” the lady at the gate asked her. She nodded and handed in her passport. The woman checked it and waved her through. She gave Max a hug and then turned to board the plane back to London and face her future.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Georgina returned home to her house near the beach in Santa Monica after a successful day of filming. She loved her new job. Max had been right, she didn’t regret her decision to come here for a second. Since she’d got off the plane two weeks ago, everything had fallen perfectly into place. Max had been a darling and helped her find a cute Cape Cod style house with a sea view on the hill in Santa Monica. It had cost a fortune but she’d bought it with the money her father had left her. Why not put it to good use, you only live once, right? And besides, what else was she going to spend it on? She’d had Amy and Claude round for dinner once, and Max had become a good friend, as well as being her producer. They were currently shooting a local programme to get her in the swing of things so there was no travelling involved, which was great because it gave her time to decorate her new place and get to know the neighbourhood. She’d often wondered if she’d bump into Taj living here, but so far she hadn’t so much as caught a glimpse of him. She’d bought in this area because even though she knew there was no hope, it made her feel closer to him somehow. Pathetic? Maybe, but as hard as she tried she couldn’t seem to get over him.

  The cover story she’d written on Taj had been a raging success. The April edition had flown off the shelves. Seeing Taj’s heart-breakingly handsome face smiling back at her off every newsagent shelf had been torture, and she couldn’t wait to finally leave London. Eric had been disappointed by her decision to resign, but after he’d heard about her break-up with Charles, he understood. Maureen had taken the assistant editor’s position and Georgina had been happy to let her have it. She’d sold the second article she wrote on Antarctica, The Life Changing Destination, to a well-known British travel magazine, and she planned to keep writing whenever she could.

  She was just throwing a green salad together and had poured herself a glass of wine when she heard the doorbell ring. She sucked the olive oil off her fingers and went to get the door.

  “Coming,” she called, as she padded down the hall in her bare feet. Because she had such warm, wooden
floorboards it had become a habit of hers to kick her shoes off as soon as she entered the house.

  Her hands were greasy from the oil and it took a few attempts before she could turn the brass knob far enough around to open the door.

  “Taj!” Her gasp of surprise was drowned out by her neighbour who unfortunately chose that moment to mow his lawn.

  “Come inside,” she yelled over the racket, and held the door open for him. He stalked past her close enough for her to smell his spicy aftershave which flooded her senses with bitter-sweet memories of Antarctica. Her heart was pounding, her cheeks were flushed and her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

  The second she closed the door blocking out the noise Taj turned to face her. For the first time she noticed he’d lost weight, his face was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. Despite all this he was still the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and seeing him again, six weeks after they’d spent that amazing night together, just made her realise that she was still as much in love with him as ever.

  ‘You look great,” he said, gazing at her.

  “Thanks,” she replied, shyly. Then because she didn’t know what else to say, “Can I get you a drink? A glass of wine, perhaps?”

  He shook his head. “Actually, I was wondering if we could talk for a minute.”

  “Sure.”

  She led him out onto the deck where she had placed two wicker chairs and a small table from which to admire the view. It was a balmy evening and the deck was bathed in sunlight.

  “Wow, it’s beautiful out here,” he mentioned, walking to the end of the deck and staring out over the gentle slope to the sea.

  “Yes,” she agreed. “It’s what sold the place to me. Living in London I never had a sea view. Every time I come out here I consider it a treat.”

  “I’m at the other end of the bay,” he said conversationally.

  “I was wondering when I’d bump into you,” she said softly.

  “I’ve been away,” replied Taj.

  She nodded, “Of course.” That’s right, he was always away. “How did you know I was here?” she asked casually.

  “I got hold of Max,” he said steadily, his gaze holding hers. She was suddenly very confused. “Why?” she whispered, terrified that he’d tell her he wanted to see how she was doing, or something equally mundane. Because if this started happening all the time, she was going to be a wreck. Suddenly moving to Santa Monica didn’t seem such a hot idea after all.

  “Don thought it might be a good idea.”

  “Don? I don’t understand?”

  Taj came and sat next to her. “Actually Don had lunch with Max the other day and Max told him you were here. I had no idea you’d taken the job. I assumed you’d gone back to London.”

  “I did,” she told him. “But only to resign and pack up. Max cornered me at the airport in Santiago and made me sign the contract. Thank goodness he did too, because this is the best decision I’ve ever made.” She swept her hand around to emphasise the fresh air and the twinkling blue sea the same colour as Taj’s eyes.

  He smiled, “You certainly seem happy.” She wished he wouldn’t do that. It reminded her all too painfully of laughing and joking with him on the Explorer. Her poor heart was not holding up too well here at all. She had to cut to the chase and find out why he was here, and if he intended on staying a while. Then at least she would know what she was in for.

  She blurted out, “So you found out I was living here and popped round to say hi?”

  “I’d forgotten how direct you could be.”

  “I think I told you before, I like to get to the truth of the matter. In this case if you’ve come over merely to say ‘welcome to the neighbourhood’ then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  She was surprised when he didn’t answer immediately. He mere sat there and watched her, his gleaming eyes seeing way too deeply into her tormented soul.

  “Can I ask why you’re being so civil?” he finally said.

  Georgina took a shaky breath, it was time she put her cards on the table.

  “I can’t bear to be friends with you,” she sighed. “I can’t hang out with you, walk on the beach or do whatever it is you Americans do with your friends, while I still feel the way I do. I’m afraid it’s very simple - my heart can’t take it.” She stared at her hands. “Please understand, it’s nothing personal,” then her voice broke, “I just love you too much.”

  “Oh George, I’ve been such an idiot,” he groaned. Her head jerked back in surprise. He leant across and took her hand. “Since I left you in Ushuaia I’ve been beside myself. I realised that day we docked that you had decided to give up everything in London and come here because of me and I flipped. I couldn’t do it. I thought the expectation would be too high, that we didn’t stand a chance, but not having you near me has been far, far worse.” He looked at her helplessly, “I’m miserable without you.”

  “You mean…? You want to give us a shot?” She must be misunderstanding him. This could not be happening.

  “No my sweet, darling George. I realised after I let you walk away from me that I loved you to the point of distraction. I’m not prepared just to give this a shot. I’m asking if you’ll marry me. I never want to see you walk away from me again.”

  “Oh Taj!” she flung herself into his arms unable to stop herself. He held her tightly, as she buried her face in his neck, tears flowing down her cheeks.

  “But are you sure? You were so adamant before. I’d hate for you to regret this later.”

  He covered her face with kisses.

  “I couldn’t be more sure. I should have carried you off into the sunset the day we got off the Explorer, but stupidly, I let you go. Luckily for me you came back, and for your own reasons, not because of me. You gave me a second chance, one that I may not deserve, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to pass up on it again.”

  Georgina gazed at him in wonder. “Please tell me this isn’t a dream?”

  “I can prove it’s not a dream,” he told her fishing in his jacket pocket and pulling out a tiny little box. Georgina stared at him incredulously.

  “I got this when I found out you’d come back to live here.”

  “I can’t believe this…” she sobbed.

  He sat her down on the chair, which was just as well because her legs were about to give way they were trembling so much. Grinning from ear to ear he dropped down onto one knee.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she told him, stroking his face lovingly. She couldn’t seem to keep her hands off him.

  He gazed up at her.

  “Yes I do,” he said firmly. “Because I’m not ever risking losing you again. I don’t care if we’re apart eleven months of the year, but for that one month I’m with you, I want to know you are mine in every sense of the word.”

  He opened the box and Georgina gasped in delight.

  “It’s exquisite,” she whispered. Taj took out the ring and slipped it on her finger, unlike the last one, it fit perfectly.

  “Oh Taj, its perfect,” she melted against him and he kissed her on and on until they were both gasping for breath.

  “Is that a yes?” teased Taj, staring lovingly into her eyes.

  “Yes, it’s a yes!” she cried, and closed her eyes as he kissed her eyelids, her nose and then her mouth.

  “These chairs aren’t very comfortable,” he complained huskily, a few minutes later and picked her up in one smooth motion. “I think it’s time you showed me the rest of our house.”

  “Our house?” she giggled. “You want to stay here with me?”

  “Well, yours is so much nicer than mine, although technically mine is closer to the beach.”

  “Mine has better views,” she countered.

  “True, perhaps I’ll just sell mine and we can use the money to travel, together.”

  She snuggled into his arms as he carried her into the house.

  “I still have a chalet in Switzerland, don’t forget,” she told hi
m. “We could flog that to add to our travel fund.”

  He laughed. “Perhaps you can exchange it for one in Vale or Tahoe. The skiing is just as good there.”

  “Now there’s an idea,” she whispered, “By the way you just missed the stairs, this is the lounge.”

  “If I don’t find the bedroom soon, the lounge is going to have to do,” he growled.

  Georgina laughed, “In that case, upstairs and to the right.”

  They never actually made it to the bedroom. Taj decided he needed to kiss her on every step and by the time they got to the top they were so overcome with longing and desire that even a few more metres was too far. It was many hours later that they finally found the bed, and by that time they were so exhausted that all they could do was wrap their arms around each other and fall asleep, safe in the knowledge that whatever challenges lay ahead, they would face them together, because staying together could never be as hard as staying apart.

  THE END