Mike shifted. His leg rubbed against hers and inside her a coil of untouched longing started to unfurl.
This was such a mistake.
She needed to be getting ready for the bakery’s opening.
She needed to set a date to return to Sydney.
She needed this man.
When did that happen?
Mike tightened his arm around her waist while his other hand trailed up her thigh on its own search and rescue mission. Her body craved him. It craved every sexy inch of him. His hand was achingly slow and she grabbed it.
He lifted his head. ‘How bad do you want this?’
His voice was dripping with desire. She wanted to hear it again, and again. She needed to hear it. Lowering her head she kissed the spot at the base of his ribs, that lovely well she discovered set off a chain reaction.
He gasped.
She started to speak but he sat up staring into her eyes. His loving expression emptied her brain. Her unspoken words fell away as he bent his head to kiss her. She reached out and hugged him close to her. She couldn’t deny it anymore—she was seriously into him.
***
A couple of hours later she ran to the bakery from the Henderson house. The day was surprisingly warm. She tied her hair back, slid the belt in her jeans and generally straightened up. Her body ached and she wasn’t going to second-guess how that came about. Every cell in her body tingled and she loved it.
She turned the corner.
Shar was outside sweeping the front steps and when she got closer she ignored her sister’s raised eyebrow.
‘I bet you didn’t have your usual black coffee no sugar this morning.’
Rachael grinned. ‘No, and that’s all the news you’re going to get.’
She was followed inside the bakery. ‘I don’t need to ask, I can see how you’re doing.’
Inside, she pulled up, stunned. The bakery was shiny and squeaky clean.
Her sister was right on her heels. ‘Do you like? Our big day has finally arrived.’
The display cabinets were full of the minis. Shar had colour coded the cakes and they looked spectacular, like a rainbow arching in a semi-circle parallel to the back wall. The menu on the wall behind the counter could be read and everything had that lovely fresh new feel about it. Even the small sandwich bar looked bright and inviting.
‘I don’t like, Shar, I love it. It’s beautiful.’
She ran across to straighten one of the chairs, but there was no need. She was fussing over nothing.
‘Where’s Bob?’
‘He’s out the backyard putting up the tables and chairs, and Nancy’s decorating the last of the birthday cakes and I’m doing a last-minute clean before we open the doors.’
They’d invited everybody they knew and she loved Shar’s idea for a party in the backyard to showcase their new range. She spun around marvelling at the changes. It was her first glimpse of a full cabinet display. She studied each cake in turn, thrilled with how they looked under the shiny glass case. With their beautiful trims and colours the mini cakes looked too nice to eat.
‘Bob decided to double the order for the four-in-one boxes. He thinks that’s a real goer.’
‘Really?’ She checked behind the counter for anything missing. Her mind was finally kicking into gear.
Shar followed her about as she ran an eye over their small coffee display. ‘He took a couple of boxes down to the guys at his Men’s Shed meeting last week and they thought the price was good and loved the concept.’
She frowned. ‘They liked the concept? Interesting.’
Shar led the way into the kitchen.
She eyed Nancy who sat in the corner putting the final cherry on top of somebody’s sixtieth birthday cake. She held her breath as she watched her foster mother delicately place the cherry, as the final part of the centrepiece, in the froth of cream on the cake.
‘There!’ Nancy patted her sides. She looked up and held her hands out to Rach. ‘What do you think?’
‘Beautiful, of course. What do you think of the upgrade?’
Nancy’s eyes watered. ‘It’s better than the best of my dreams for this place. I’m so happy with it, I can’t believe what you’ve all done. And I love what’s on display; my biggest beef is I’m not allowed to taste any of them. I’ve got a good feeling about this.’
Shar gave the thumbs up. ‘Fingers crossed eh?’
Rach feigned a glare at her sister.
Shar held up her hands. ‘Okay, no fingers crossed, we are being positive. This will work.’
She tugged at Shar’s arm, her sister’s excitement infecting them all.
‘Of course it will work. This is a business, Shar, first and foremost, not some hit and miss affair. We’ve done some market research, we know to some degree what people like and the four-in-one will work.’
Shar nodded. ‘Okay, I get it. Oh Rach, I’m so wired I feel like a bean tossed on a hot barbecue jumping up and down going nowhere.’
She took her sister by the shoulders and steered her back into the bakery. ‘We open in five minutes. Okay?’
Shar spun around and gave her a swift hug. ‘I’m fine. I really am. I’ll deal with out here. Good luck.’
‘Luck?’ she asked.
Shar tossed her head back and laughed. ‘Gotcha! You’ve taught me well. We’ve made our luck and this is going to work.’
Before she closed the door, Shar gave her a quick wink. ‘I know the drill.’
Rach shook her head. ‘She is impossible.’
Nancy laughed. ‘I’ve so missed you, girls. Together you’re a tonic.’
‘Not sure about that sometimes.’
Nancy strolled past her. ‘I’m going to say a quick hello to a few friends and then I’ll go behind the counter. I think you and Shar will be busy in here today.’
Rach looked out the window, surprised at the number of people walking down the street towards them. ‘Some are your quilting club ladies.’
In the back corner of the yard she saw Mike help Bob put up a secondary awning. If the early crowd was anything to go by, they might need that last-minute shelter. He was as good as his word. His ‘might drop by’ meant something. Everything that man said meant something.
The oven timer rang out.
Hell’s bells.
She couldn’t think about that now. In seconds she grabbed her apron and pulled on her hair net.
***
Later in the afternoon, Rach switched on the dishwasher. There were only a few people in the backyard. She tore off her hair net and from the back window she spotted Mike having a very animated conversation with Bob and Nancy. He was slipping easily into their lives, into her life.
With Mike she forgot about work, forgot about her problems. For once in her life she just enjoyed being, and so much of that being time was with Mike. As if sensing she was watching him, Mike turned and caught her eye. In minutes he was at the back door.
She opened it and he swept her up into his arms. His head was in her hair, smelling, sniffing. ‘You smell of all my favourite things,’ he muttered.
Her body started to hum with his arms trailing slowly down her back. He was good; he was so very, very good.
Shar burst in and peered at the glass fridge on the back wall. ‘You got many four-in-one’s left? The people from Brown’s are here. I’ve put them in the front table in the corner, so you’ll be private.’
They broke apart.
‘They’re late, but that’s okay.’ She nodded at Shar. ‘Give me a few minutes. I’ve kept a set out for them.’
The doorbell rang out and her sister pulled a face. ‘It hasn’t stopped all day.’
After Shar had gone she wiped her hands on her apron and grabbed a pair of tongs. She playfully slapped Mike away. ‘This is it; the big guns are in town.’
He pulled her to him and stared at her. ‘You’ll nail it. This should be a doddle for you.’
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m okay for the client, but this i
s different, this matters.’
His big brown eyes took on that soft glow she loved seeing. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
‘You’ll slay ’em in there:’
With a deep breath she picked up one of the lemon meringue minis and moved onto the cherry tart. One by one she dropped a different mini onto the tray. Happy with the result, she picked it up and pushed open the sliding door and stopped.
Gordon.
He stood in front of the cabinets. She froze, unable to take her eyes off the man who could make or break her life. Her future was in his hands.
No. No. No. No. No.
Her heart hammered. Her feet stumbled as she stepped back, then she stepped forward. Unsure of what to do, she half-turned. In the corner of her eye she saw Shar nodding to Oliver. Her jaw dropped. Good god, what are they doing here?
Gordon turned. His eyes widened in surprise.
‘Gordon,’ she swallowed hard. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’ How lame was that?
Sensing Mike behind her, she stepped into the new cafe area of the bakery. She stared at Gordon, at Bob sitting with the Brown’s people, and at Shar by the till. It was strange, like an out of body experience, as if her whole life had come together for this one moment, and she couldn’t think of a sensible thing to do, or say.
Gordon waved his hands about, taking in the displays, the wall hangings and the empty display cases.
‘Good opening day?’ he asked.
She nodded.
‘So this is where you’ve been hanging out. Oliver and I did wonder.’ His voice sent a shiver through her. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
Mike stepped forward between her and Gordon. He held out his hand.
‘Gordon, Rach’s boss?’
Gordon gave him a perfunctory nod.
‘I’ve been hearing your name ever since Rach returned from Sydney. I’m Mike O’Malley. I’m a friend of Rach’s. I’ll show you into the back office if you like and give you both some privacy.’
She held her breath until Gordon reached out and shook Mike’s hand.
It seemed to take forever, but finally Gordon nodded. ‘Thank you. I appreciate that.’
Mike faced her, and something in the steadiness of his gaze helped calm her. He took the tray of treats out of her hands.
‘Shar,’ he called out. ‘Give these to the Brown’s people and I’ll join Bob in a minute.’
In most situations she took charge; she was unused to being a pawn. Even as he stood by the counter Gordon’s intimidating presence was seeping into her. She’d never noticed before the effect he had on her. For years she’d rocked up to all his team-building presentations, made sure she was first in line and had volunteered her services to help out on too many occasions to count. Why? What had it all given her except more angst?
Mike walked past her and she caught the steeliness in his eye, the same strength she saw when they’d stood outside Brown’s. It worked. Her mind snapped into gear and she straightened her shoulders. The butterflies in her stomach skittered back and forth as she walked up to Gordon.
‘Good to see you, Gordon, come on through. Oliver?’
Oliver shook his head. ‘No, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be fine here sampling a treat or two.’
‘Fancy a coffee as well?’ Shar asked him.
‘That sounds great,’ said Oliver. ‘Can I have a couple of those little strawberry thingies too?’
In the small office Rachael motioned for Gordon to sit at her desk.
‘I’ll get us some coffees.’
She closed the door behind her and ran into the cafe where she spotted Bob and Mike sitting in the corner with two other gentlemen.
‘Coffees?’ asked Shar.
She nodded.
She glanced past Oliver, to Mike who was seated with Bob. If she needed any more proof that Mike was a decent guy, it was right in front of her. In her heart she knew he’d do the right thing and lead Bob through this crucially important meeting with Brown’s. She could trust him.
Shar nudged her. ‘Wakey wakey, I’ve got the coffees. You take these.’
Rach took them and headed back to the office.
When they were settled Gordon eyed her.
‘You’re looking well, Rach. Country living must agree with you. I’ve never seen you look quite so … bright.’
What did that mean? She was so over second-guessing everything Gordon said.
‘Really? It’s been the most hectic day.’ She wasn’t fooled by his pleasantries, and sat up in her seat, ready and alert. ‘What brings you up this way?’
He shot her a quick glance before sipping his coffee. ‘Two things. First, we have a Chinese client who’s interested in purchasing a few properties, and Oliver is here to deal with that. It’s purely a little scouting expedition to see if there’s anything of interest here.’
She nodded. ‘And?’ she braced herself.
‘To see you.’
‘You know I’ve had family issues.’
Gordon held up his hands. ‘Rach, stop right there. I know that, but I have to ask why someone who is passionate in their work, and who has one of the best analytical minds I’ve ever come across, hasn’t objected to any of the extensions to stay here. We can do the bankruptcies by email. I don’t need one of my best working on that. You know that. Agreed?’
She nodded.
He leaned against the table to get closer to her. ‘I have to start asking some hard questions. Right?’
She grimaced, and tried hard to keep her hands still. Now was not the time to fidget and try to rub away the hard ball she could feel forming in her chest.
Over the years she and Gordon had never had a conversation about anything personal and certainly not out of the comfort zone of their respective offices.
‘Gordon, there’s no need to worry. Now that we’ve had our opening day I was planning on heading back next weekend.’
He sat back and eyed her with an expression she knew well. Her heart plummeted. Gordon was the most perceptive man she’d ever known.
‘Does Mike know you’re leaving this weekend?’
Stunned, she stared at Gordon. ‘You’ve got it wrong; Mike and I are not an item.’
His expression hardened. ‘Rach, listen to me. I think the world of you and will do whatever I can to get you over the line for a partnership, but I need to know you want it one hundred per cent.’
She stared, and could feel herself snapping back in place with him, in her usually subservient but watchful role.
She swallowed hard. ‘I understand.’
Gordon leaned back in his chair and smiled at her. It was a smile she’d never seen before; it actually reached his eyes and softened his expression. He normally rationed out his smiles. They appeared at Friday morning teas and were his usual short and swift varieties.
‘Do you? If a woman ever looked at me like you just did at Mike I would fight dammed hard to keep her. Don’t chase something you only think you want.’
What look?
She shrugged like it was no big deal. ‘We’re not like that.’
He stood up. ‘Don’t kid yourself, Rach. Anyway, I’m heading off. It’s been a long day and as much as I like your lemon meringue I could do with a steak and a cold beer.’
She stood up and met his eyes.
‘You mentioned partnership. Would you help me get it?’ she asked.
‘Of course, if that’s what you really want.’
She stood taller and nodded. ‘That hasn’t changed, Gordon.’
He frowned. ‘Okay, we’ll discuss it in Sydney. I’ll see myself out; it looks like you’ve got your hands full.’
Her hands trembled as she stood staring at the chair Gordon had just vacated.
I’m committed, I’m heading back.
Coldness crept into her and she rubbed at her forehead. She rummaged about in her bag for a Panadol, forgetting she no longer carried them.
It must be the right thing to do; she’d answer
ed Gordon as if on automatic pilot, so somewhere her subconscious had agreed it was the right thing to do. Reactions like that aren’t taught; she’d answered him within the next beat. She got it right.
So why was she beating herself up about it?
Shar knocked on the door and popped her head in.
‘That’s Gordon?’ whispered Shar. ‘Is he married?’
She shook her head. ‘No, he’s had the odd girlfriend, but nothing serious.’
‘I’m surprised. He is dapper with a capital D. You’ve kept quiet about him.’
Rach shook her head and Shar slammed the door shut.
Gordon’s words haunted her. Damn him, he’s got it wrong. She buried her head in her hands. He was right, she liked Mike, well, more than liked him.
She and Mike had both gone through difficult times over the past few weeks and had been there for one another. The gods in their wisdom had linked them together to help one another through a bad patch in their lives.
Well, the bad times were over. She had Gordon in her back pocket to help her get a partnership and things were ready for Caitlyn to join Mike. It was win–win from where she stood.
So, why wasn’t she thrilled? She’d waited years for Gordon’s approval. She’d put herself through the wringer to get that man on board.
Her career defined her; it was her life and she’d go back to Sydney and reclaim it. Mike would understand—he knew the corporate world.
A few doubts sifted into her mind, one after the other. Her main worries were how to keep up with Mike and the bakery. Weekly calls with Skype would not cut it anymore. Perhaps she could drive up every two months? That was doable. She hated having to say goodbye to everyone, especially as she’d settled in so well. The days had flown and hadn’t been the sheer drag she’d expected.
Could she say goodbye to Mike? The nerves in her stomach were blasting hot and sharp. She’d never experienced such a slow burn before, but she dismissed it. Once she’d explained it all to Mike and packed up her bag, she’d feel so much better. Whoever said saying goodbye was hard got that right.
Chapter 19
A Reason To Stay Page 17