Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series

by Nicole Flockton

  No, he was better off being single, and then no one would get hurt. To appease his need for a child, he’d live vicariously through his goddaughter Abby.

  Alex stood, pleased with the decision he’d just made, ignoring the voice inside of him telling him he would be a lonely old man.

  Better a lonely old man than a man who continually hurts the people he cares most about.

  As he walked out the door, he made a mental note — he should go and thank Sophie for finally making him see reason.

  A relationship between them would never work.

  Chapter 6

  The sound of the water gently swishing against the shore had the calming effect Sophie wanted.

  It had been a hell of a week. After her discussion with Alex in their office, he had gone out of his way to be painfully polite and correct with her. There was no gleam in his eye. No little touches to her arm or cheek. No flirtatious smile. He had become the consummate professional work colleague. She didn’t like it.

  You got what you asked for, the insidious little voice in her head taunted her. You wanted professionalism and that’s what you got. So suck it up.

  Sometimes she wished she could grab that voice out of her head and smash its sarcastic tone with her foot. She plonked herself down on the soft sand, still warm from the setting sun. It had been a hot day and now, with the sun starting to set, the temperature was cooling and it was turning into a balmy evening.

  She loved living close to the river, being able to unwind with a walk along its shores, inspecting the sand for shells, and enjoying the coolness of the water as it bubbled and gurgled around her ankles.

  What you really want is Alex to be sharing it with you, the voice in her mind taunted again.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  For a moment, Sophie thought her imagination had conjured up Alex. She turned and squinted, looking up at the figure looming over her.

  “Alex?”

  He laughed softly as he sat himself down next to her. “Were you expecting someone else?”

  “Umm no, not at all, I’m just surprised to see you here, that’s all.”

  Neither spoke for a few moments. Sophie’s mind was full with questions she wasn’t sure she could ask.

  Why had he come here?

  What did he want?

  How had he been able to find her?

  “You know, all you have to do is ask. I think I said it once before, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”

  Heat filled her cheeks and she tried to fool herself into believing it was from the sun and nothing else. This man sitting beside her was a contradiction. He’d all but ignored her the whole week and now he’d deliberately sought her out.

  “I don’t believe this is a coincidence, Alex. It’s not a place frequented by a lot of people. So why are you here?”

  “This isn’t a social call. It’s a business one.”

  Sophie’s spirits deflated all at one. His tone had turned so serious. She stood abruptly. The calmness that previously filled her evaporated, like a cloud of perfume after it left the bottle.

  “So why didn’t you just call me? It would’ve saved you a lot of time and hassle in trying to find me.”

  “Because this isn’t something I wanted to say to you over the phone. I thought it better if I said it to your face.”

  Hollowness filled her stomach, as if she’d been kicked right in the middle. Her legs started to shake as a feeling of dread swept over her.

  Was Alex here to tell her she was being removed from her position as NUM … again? She wracked her brain and recalled the last five days on the job. She’d handled any crisis that had come up calmly. She’d soothed one of her nurse’s ruffled feathers when a young intern blamed her for an incident that was his fault. She’d filled in when required. There was no way she hadn’t handled herself with anything other than professionalism. Even Phoebe had said she was handling her position so much better this time. Unless Neil had managed one last hoorah before he left. One last attempt to try to get rid of her.

  It didn’t make sense though; if this were a work situation wouldn’t Alex handle it at the hospital? Searching her out after hours didn’t make sense.

  She tried to speak, but nothing came out. Clearing her throat, she tried again. She wasn’t going to be weak about this. She would be strong and handle anything Alex had to say. “Just tell me what you’ve come here to say and then go, Alex.” She failed the moment the words left her mouth. Instead of sounding strong, they came out as a tortured whisper, but when Alex tried to comfort her she shrugged him off.

  “Sophie, what is it? What’s got you so upset?”

  She closed her eyes and raised her head up to the sky, taking a few deep breaths as she told herself to calm down and take whatever Alex was about to say in her stride.

  “It’s nothing, Alex. I’m prepared for the worst, so give it to me. Actually, I’ll say it myself.” She straightened her back and looked him directly in the eyes. “When do you need me to clean out my desk?”

  He burrowed his brows in confusion. She watched as his mind processed what she’d just said. “Clean your desk out? Why on earth would I want you to clear out your desk?”

  A small seed of hope blossomed in her belly. Had she got it wrong?

  “You’re not here to tell me I’m being removed from my position as NUM again?”

  “No!” The word burst out of Alex like a firecracker. “I’m not here to tell you that. I don’t understand any of this, Sophie. Why are you so sure you can’t do your job? From what I’ve seen, you go above and beyond your duties. You’re doing a wonderful job.”

  She didn’t want to tell him of the doubts she constantly battled with each day. Each time the phone rang her heart leaped into her throat, expecting the person on the other end of the phone was someone from administration asking her to go up to CEO’s office. At the end of each day, she breathed easier knowing she had completed another day successfully.

  No, she didn’t want to let Alex in on something so personal. What happened to her in the past was in the past and couldn’t be changed. Each day was a clean slate and she made sure there were no blots.

  “It’s nothing, Alex, just old history. Something you don’t need to know about.” She started to walk back toward her apartment, willing and hoping that Alex would believe her and let it go. That he wouldn’t want to delve into her deep, dark secret.

  An arm on her shoulder stopped her retreat.

  “You’re running away again, Sophie.” He swiveled her around so she faced him. She almost lost her footing in the fine sand and had to grip his forearms. His skin was warm under her touch.

  How she wished she could lean her head onto his hard, muscular chest and let him enfold her. Let him take away all her doubts and insecurities. Let him make her feel whole again.

  “No.” This time the word was wrenched from her. “No, Alex, I’m not running away. I just don’t have to tell you everything about me. Can you please just say what you have to say? I’m starting to think there is nothing to tell and it’s all a ruse.”

  Alex’s eyes darkened against her accusation. It was clear he didn’t like his character being questioned. “I do not lie, Sophie. I thought you knew that about me.”

  This time it was Alex who started walking away. But he grabbed her hand as he went past her. She tripped slightly but managed to keep her balance as she followed him.

  He started talking as briskly as he was walking. “We have been invited to attend the formal welcome dinner of the new CEO tomorrow night.”

  They had reached the steps that led from the river foreshore to the roadway to her building. She hopped from one foot to the other as she slipped on her flip flops.

  “And the reason you couldn’t tell me this over the phone is?”

>   It was a simple request from administration, but the way he had said it earlier made it sound like something sinister was about to happen.

  “I wanted it to come from me so you would know that it wasn’t some sort of elaborate plan to get you alone again.”

  It was Sophie’s turn to be confused. “Alex, I wouldn’t think that at all. Not after this week.”

  “What do you mean not after this week?”

  They were getting into uncharted territory again. The area they’d managed to dance around when they saw each other at the hospital.

  “Well, you’ve been entirely professional with me since our discussion after our failed dinner outing. I’ve appreciated your effort, Alex.”

  “Are you trying to sound condescending, Sophie? Because you’re doing a good job of it.”

  They were getting nowhere. Words were being twisted, misinterpreted, and said in entirely the wrong manner.

  How had the conversation gotten so drawn out and so far off track? All Alex needed to say was they had to attend a dinner. But somehow they’d discussed her insecurities and other things that hadn’t needed to be said.

  “Come on,” she said with a groan of frustration and grabbed Alex’s hand, all but dragging him the rest of the way down to her building. As they entered the foyer, Cliff gave them a friendly smile.

  “I see you found her, Dr. Scavoni.”

  “Yes, Cliff, your directions were exact.”

  “Glad I could help, sir. Everything all right, Miss Franklyn?”

  “Yes, thanks Cliff,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Sophie had always been safety conscious and made sure she told Cliff where she was heading and approximate time of return. Until this moment, she’d been pleased with the arrangement — now she wasn’t so sure.

  She pressed the call button for the elevator with more force than was really necessary.

  “It’s usually polite to ask someone if they’d like to go somewhere with you?”

  Alex’s words were softly spoken, with a hint of a challenge in his tone.

  “We can talk here if you like?” she countered.

  The lift came and Alex answered her question by walking in and pressing the number for her floor.

  “Your place will be fine,” he said, holding the doors open.

  She stepped in and strode to the back of the compartment. The journey to her floor was short.

  As she made her way to the apartment, she took a few calming breaths, determined to get the conversation on track and find out the pertinent details. Then show Alex the door. She didn’t plan on spending a lot of time with him.

  She held the door open, letting Alex precede her into her home. The room was dark, as she’d closed the blinds against the sun. She pressed a button and the soft whirr of the automatic blinds filled the room, breaking the silence that had surrounded them for the last few minutes.

  “How did things get so out of hand?” Alex mused. “I was just going to come and tell you about the dinner. The time and location of where it was being held, and then be on my way.”

  His words were the same ones she’d voiced in her mind.

  “I don’t know, Alex, but you seemed to prevaricate around the issue from the moment you arrived.” She walked over to the hall table, opened the drawer, and extracted a notebook and pen. “So why don’t you just give me the details and then you can leave.”

  She flipped the pad open and looked at him in expectation.

  He almost looked like he was going to argue with her again but stopped.

  “Okay, you’re right. Perhaps I should’ve just phoned you with the details.”

  “Hmm, might’ve been a good idea,” she murmured with a smile.

  She was rewarded with a chuckle from him and the sound reverberated down her spine. It had been so hard to push her feelings aside but she’d managed. She’d survived the week and she could survive a dinner surrounded by work colleagues with him.

  She looked up to see him looking intently at her. His expression was unreadable and if she were honest with herself, she didn’t want to know what he was thinking.

  “The details, Alex?”

  She watched as he gave his head a small shake. “Details? Oh right, the details. Dinner is at seven, formal attire, and it’s going to be held at the Quintent Restaurant at the Phoenix Casino Complex.”

  As she wrote the details down, her pen stumbled over the Casino Complex. They were going back to the scene of their first encounter. She’d vowed to herself it would be a long, long, long time before she entered that complex again, if ever.

  “Sophie, are you okay with that?”

  It was like Alex knew exactly what was going on in her mind and perhaps he did. Perhaps he’d already dealt with the shock of having to go back to where they first met. Perhaps that was why he decided to tell her in person, to let her know he was fine with the location and didn’t have a problem with it.

  “Sure, Alex, why wouldn’t I be? The restaurant serves fabulous food and the atmosphere is exactly what the hospital would want to portray to the new CEO.” She placed the pad and pen down with deliberate movements, trying to come up with a reason for her quiet moment. “I was just thinking how to get there? Whether to drive myself or make use of my father’s driver. Although arriving in a chauffeur-driven limousine to a dinner might not go down well. It could seem a little pretentious.”

  “Sophie,” Alex spoke, interrupting her continuous flow of words. “Is that a roundabout way of asking me to drive you?”

  The words that had flowed freely from her mouth just seconds ago dried up with his offer. Was that what she’d been doing, angling for him to offer to drive? Did she really want him to drive her? Did she want to spend time traveling in the close confines of a car with him? Did she have the power not to succumb to his masculinity and the attraction that was never far from the surface?

  If she wanted to keep her sanity, her head was telling her it would be safer for her to travel alone. But her heart was saying, Go with Alex, go with Alex.

  “What would everyone say if we turned up together?” she asked. The last thing she needed was more gossip about her.

  “Why would it matter if we turned up together? We tell them we live close by and thought it more beneficial to drive in together.”

  “But that’s not true, we don’t live close by.”

  “How do you know that, Sophie? You don’t know where I live.”

  That was true, she had no idea where he lived but he knew where she did.

  “In fact,” he continued conversationally, “we live very close by.”

  A nasty suspicion was starting to form in her mind. She’d seen the moving truck outside her apartment block when she’d arrived home on Wednesday night. Alex wasn’t at work on Wednesday because he was moving into his new place. It didn’t connect until that moment.

  “Please don’t tell me that you’ve moved in here?” She silently begged him to say no. No, he hadn’t moved in at all. But all she had to do was look into his face to see the truth.

  “We’re almost neighbors now, Sophie. We could even car pool if we like.”

  What had she done to deserve this? Was it because, for once in her life, she’d stepped out of her comfort zone and slept with a stranger?

  It felt like someone or something was messing with her life. First Alex turns up at the hospital as the new director and now he turns up at her safe haven — her home.

  All her original questions from their first meeting at the hospital came rushing back.

  Had he known exactly who she was when he sat next to her that night?

  “I know what you’re thinking, Sophie, but it’s not true. I had no idea you lived here when I bought the apartment. It’s just a fluke that we find ourselves in this situation.” />
  “You know what I think?” Sophie countered. “I think fate is playing a cruel trick on us. Throwing us together like this all the time. And I for one don’t like it.”

  She held up her hand as he started to speak. “With regards to tomorrow night — I’ll make my own way. But thank you for the offer.”

  With a sense of déjà vu, she walked toward the door and held it open for him. “Goodbye, Alex.”

  She thought for a moment that he was going to say more, but relief flooded her like a sudden downpour floods a drain when he started toward the door.

  “Not goodbye, Sophie, just good night.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you around.”

  She closed the door on his retreating back. If only it was that easy to close him out of her life permanently.

  No, that wasn’t true. She would love to have Alex in her life — she just couldn’t do it. Not yet, anyway.

  • • •

  Sophie stood and surveyed the contents of her wardrobe. What exactly did they mean by formal? Formal as in the type of dress she wore to the New Year’s Eve ball or formal as in a little black dress would suffice? She wished she’d taken the time to ask Alex last night. She supposed she could always go and ring someone in administration and see if they knew about the dinner. Or …

  The phone ringing jarred her from her dress dilemma. She was glad for the distraction.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Soph, are you up for a bit of retail therapy?” She released the breath she was holding. It was Phoebe. How glad she was to hear her friend’s voice and not Alex’s. Whenever she thought about Alex, he seemed to turn up on her doorstep. Shopping was just what she needed to get herself out of the funk she was in.

  “Absolutely, where do you want to meet?”

  “I knew you’d be up for it, especially seeing as you’ve got that swish dinner to go to tonight.”

  “How did you know about that?”

  Phoebe laughed down the phone. “Oh honey, you know I always know everything that’s going on.”