“Sell Selwoods? You mean, you’ve considered it?”
“Yes. I spoke to my son, because I thought he might want to take a different direction in life, and if so, there would have been no need to keep it in the family, but it turns out that he does want to take over one day, and so...” She shrugged. “What are you grinning at? I’m not going to sell it. I can’t.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“What?”
“The fact that you even considered it means a lot, but I don’t want you to sell your family company. It clearly matters to you, so why should you?”
“Because the way things are, we couldn’t make a relationship work.”
“Of course we could. Granted, we couldn’t be together full-time for a while, but there’s no need to rush things, is there?”
She frowned, waiting for him to continue.
“You might have been over-thinking our situation.”
“Over-thinking it?” Mortified, she felt a flash of heat in her cheeks. Was he saying that it was only short-term for him? That she’d been wasting her time looking for solutions to the obstacles keeping them apart.
But if that was the case, why was he here? Why go to so much trouble to be with her. It didn’t make sense. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I seem to have misunderstood.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think you have, but you might be making it more complicated than it has to be. We have something special here, do you agree?”
After a pause, she nodded. “Yes.”
“So, let’s take it slowly.”
“Slowly. Does that mean non-exclusive?”
“Hell, no.” He laughed. “I have no intention of sharing you.”
“Does that go both ways? You won’t see anyone else?”
“No, I won’t. I’m not going to do anything to wreck this.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Slowly means spending time together when we can, and not trying to live together full-time until it happens naturally.”
“You think it will happen naturally?”
“Well, you said your son wants to take over Selwoods one day, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“So, when that happens it might be a good time for you to think about moving to Sydney. We do have the rest of our lives after all. We don’t have to rush into making plans.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it with his.
“You’re not looking for a stepmother to Sophie?”
His eyes widened. “Is that what you thought? I want you to like her, and heck, I hope you’ll grow to love her, but you don’t have to be more involved with her upbringing than you want to be. I’m not looking for someone to make my life easier, if that’s what you were worried about.”
She released a long breath, tension leaving her along with it. “Maybe I was. You’re right, I have been over-thinking. It’s in my nature, I’m afraid. I’m a control freak, and I’ve been used to managing by myself since Paul died.” She turned her hand over, gripping his. “My sisters tell me I’m bossy. I’m not going to be the easiest woman to have a relationship with. Do you think you’ll be able to put up with me?”
He smiled. “I have plenty of character flaws of my own, you know.”
Flaws? Yeah, right. From where she sat, he was perfect. His face, his body, everything about him. A surge of physical memories took her breath away, and it was followed by a wave of unfamiliar emotions.
“I think your need to be in control of everything including our relationship might have something to do with fear. Since you lost your husband, it’s natural that you’d be afraid of losing anyone you got close to. It’s easier to put up roadblocks to getting close in the first place, isn’t it?”
“I thought you were a lawyer, not a psychologist.”
He grimaced. “Sorry. You can tell I’ve been giving this plenty of thought while we’ve been apart.”
“And you’ve had plenty of time to do so.”
“You said it.”
She sighed. “How long are you in town for?”
“I’ve booked a room at the Clarendon for tonight. I’m flying back to Sydney tomorrow evening.”
“Cancel the room. Stay here.”
“What about your daughter?”
“She won’t be home tonight, but it wouldn’t make any difference — we’ve come to an understanding.”
He nodded. “I’m very pleased to hear it, and I’d love to stay here, but only if you agree that we’re in this for the long-haul, and we’ll work out any logistical issues as they arise.”
She took a deep breath. “I agree. No matter what happens from now on, we’ll work it out. Together.”
He broke into a broad smile. “Finally.”
“Yes.” She smiled back at him. “Finally.”
About the Author
Claire Baxter writes contemporary romantic fiction of all lengths. Her short stories have been published in commercial women’s magazines around the world, while her novels have been translated into 20 languages, and have finalled in the Romance Writers of Australia's Romantic Book of the Year Award, the Booksellers’ Best Awards, the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and the Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Awards.
Before following her passion to write full-time, Claire was an award-winning corporate communications manager. Earlier, she worked as a translator and a PA.
Claire grew up in Warwickshire, England, but for more than 20 years has called Australia home. She considers herself lucky to live near one of Adelaide’s beautiful metropolitan beaches where she loves to walk and think up stories.
Website: www.clairebaxter.com / Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
About the Author
More Than Just One Night (The Selwood Sisters Novellas) Page 7