by AK Leigh
He was sure he could almost reach out and grab the chemistry. At least, that was true on his end. Did she feel anything or was it all in his head? Had she given him any signals he’d missed? He had to know …
***
Carrie said, ‘Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of forensic evidence. The body was in the water for too long.’
Nina asked, ‘Any clothing or hair fibres in the ropes that don’t belong to the victim?’
Carrie shook her head. ‘Nothing. The ropes looked relatively new.’
‘So they could have been bought the day of the murder?’
‘Possibly.’
‘Which suggests premeditation.’ Nina glanced her way. ‘What do you think, Lizzie?’
She shrugged, ‘Not sure. Haven’t got to that part of the profile yet. But I have been wondering why the ropes are black. Any ideas?’
Nina opened her mouth to respond when a phone beeped.
Lizzie raised her index finger in a wait gesture, ‘Sorry. Give me two seconds.’
She rifled through her purse and pulled out her mobile. A text message flashed on her screen. She opened it, and couldn’t help smiling when she saw it was from Gabe. Her eyes devoured his message: Had a great time yesterday. Was wondering if you are free tonight? Maybe we can catch dinner then go for a walk so you can show me around this town? Gabe, x.
Her heart fluttered at the ‘x’ he’d ended the text with. Such a different reaction to the kiss Malcolm had added to his message.
She grinned like a silly schoolgirl with a crush as she darted off a reply: Had a great time too. I’m free tonight. How does 7 sound? Lizzie, x.
Hey, if he was going to end things with a kiss, she would comply. She pushed her phone back inside her purse. When she looked up, her sisters were both staring at her.
In as innocent a voice as she could muster, she said, ‘What?’
Nina teased, ‘Was that Gabriel?’
She rolled the consonants in his name and accented the vowels, the way it would be said in French.
‘Uh-huh.’
She tried to make it sound casual. Carrie opened her mouth, no doubt to offer a sarcastic quip, but another beep interrupted. That was quick.
Lizzie pulled the mobile out again as she heard Carrie mock, ‘Ooh, an immediate response. He wants to get into your pants baaaad.’
Lizzie poked her tongue out then read the reply: 7 it is. Where should I pick you up?
You don’t have to pick me up. We can meet somewhere.
Elizabeth, I’m a little old school. Please let me pick you up. It doesn’t have to be from your house if you’re uncomfortable with that. How about your office?
Old school. Was that why he hadn’t attempted to kiss her? Was he waiting for a signal from her that it was okay? She could give him a signal. One he wouldn’t miss …
Concentrate!
She focused back on the text. She usually avoided allowing men to pick her up from her home—there were too many psychos out there, so she was shocked when her fingers seemed to type by themselves: My unit is fine. She tacked the address onto the end and pressed send.
Seconds later, his response said, Great. I’ll see you tonight. Can’t wait, x.
Another kiss. Oh wow. Her stomach jittered with butterflies. She hadn’t felt that in her tummy since she had her first crush on Isaac Simmons in the second grade.
She inhaled to calm the feeling, then typed back, Me too.
She didn’t realise she was staring at her phone until she heard Nina coo, ‘I think someone’s in love.’
Lizzie’s gaze shot up, ‘It’s too soon for that kind of talk.’
They’d only known each other a couple of days. She’d dismissed Malcolm’s declaration of love after a few weeks of dating as being too soon. Love needed time to grow to be real. Love-at-first-sight was a myth.
Despite all the negatives her brain could pop up, reality set in. None of that had stopped him—or her—from tacking on a kiss at the end of their text messages. It hadn’t stopped the strange butterfly feeling. Or the way her body reacted at the thought of him.
Nina smirked, ‘That’s what your mouth says, but your face tells me something different.’
Carrie agreed, ‘Your face is doing something odd. Like whimsical, or something.’
‘Oh hush up, it is not.’
She knew it was though.
‘Hey, what aren’t you telling us?’
Lizzie gave Carrie a playful glare. Sometimes having sisters who knew you so well was not as good as it seemed. ‘He asked me out on another date. Tonight.’
Nina cheered, ‘Woo hoo. Three dates in three days. We have a new world record. And here I was thinking that was my territory.’
Big sister was referring to her cross-country shooting abilities. Ones that had seen her win national and international records and earned her a spot in the Australian Winter Olympics team. Twice. As well as a bronze and silver medal from said Olympics.
‘Ha, ha. But I don’t think a walk around the campus at work counts as a date.’
Carrie asked, ‘Did one of you ask the other to go for a walk?’
‘Yes. I did.’
‘Did you talk about yourselves or work?’
‘Both.’
‘Was there any touching involved?’
‘No …’ She hesitated as a memory returned: Gabe had touched her on the arm after she’d detected he wasn’t telling her the full story about his reason for leaving Perth. ‘Actually, sort of.’
‘Were any deep, dark secrets revealed or confessions made?’
He’d admitted there was something he had to tell her, and she’d told him about her parents being murdered, so …
She didn’t get a chance to say that before Carrie smirked, and said, ‘It was a date.’
‘Stop it.’
Carrie chuckled, ‘Take protection.’
Lizzie rolled her eyes. ‘All right, you’ve had your fun. Can we get back to the case now?’
‘We’ve been trying, but somebody has been preoccupied with lover boy.’
She shot Nina a look at the comment.
Her big sister laughed, ‘Okay, okay, enough teasing … frankly, I think we need to interview the husband.’
‘That’s going to be difficult to arrange with him in Perth.’
Lizzie preferred their interviews to occur in person. Easier for her to pick up on subtle body language cues that way.
Nina grinned, ‘He doesn’t live there anymore. He moved to Port Douglas as soon as the police cleared him. That’s one of the reasons I chose this case for us.’
‘So he couldn’t handle the heat?’
Carrie chuckled, ‘Then why’d he move to Far North Queensland?’
Nina and Lizzie laughed, then Nina added, ‘We can get there and back in a couple of hours.’
Carrie chirped, ‘Sister road-trip! I’m in.’
‘Yep. Me too.’
‘Excellent. When is everyone available?’
Carrie answered first, ‘Not until Friday for me.’
Lizzie screwed her face, ‘I have afternoon classes on Friday so we have to be back by three at the latest.’
Nina paused, thinking, then said, ‘If we leave here by ten, we’ll have plenty of time. That work for everyone?’
‘Perfect.’
Carrie nodded, ‘Yep … now, let’s pick out an outfit for Lizzie’s date!’
Lizzie rolled her eyes as her sisters dragged her to her feet. As they made their way to the bedroom, Lizzie sensed she was glowing. It felt like it was coming from the inside and emanating outward.
It was because of Gabe. Her body fizzled with the truth of the conclusion. Was it possible that her sisters were right? Was she falling in love with him? She shook her head. How was any of this even possible? Two days ago, she was contemplating whether The One even existed and declaring to Malcolm that it was impossible to love someone so soon. Now …
Could it be Gabe?
Her heart gripped tigh
t as one question filled her with fear: was it all too good to be true?
She drew in a breath. She was putting way too much pressure on both of them. No wonder she ended up bailing on men. The pressure was too much. Something made her want this to be different. Intuition buzzed in her. This time it was going to work out. She could feel it. She smiled.
‘There’s that weird look again.’
Lizzie nudged Carrie in the ribs, ‘You’re meant to be choosing an outfit for me.’
‘You are going to look smokin’. He won’t be able to keep his hands off you.’
Lizzie grinned, ‘That is the plan.’
Because she sure as hell knew she was going to be able to keep her hands off him.
Chapter 12
Gabe sipped his wine as he debated whether to settle the uncertainty he’d been feeling about Elizabeth’s dating life. He could ask her right out. Casually. Don’t come on too strong. He tried to sound that way when he asked, ‘Is it too early in our getting to know each other to ask about the man I saw you with at the café?’
Her eyebrow lifted, ‘You mean Malcolm?’
‘I guess so.’
‘He and I dated a month ago.’
‘And you’re still ... friends?’
She offered him a warm smile then seemed to understand where he was going with his questioning when she replied, ‘Yes. Just friends. Though this is probably the time to admit he’s been trying to win me back.’
He shuffled in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. ‘Are you …’
She shook her head, ‘I’ve made it very clear to him that I’m not interested.’
After a moment, he nodded. ‘Thank you for being honest with me.’
She smiled in a way that showed relief. Had she been holding onto it the way he was holding onto his secret? His was a lot more serious than an overeager ex.
She’s been really honest and open with me. And he wasn’t offering her the same in return. She deserved the truth. How could he broach the subject? It had to be handled in the correct way.
She interrupted his train of thought. ‘Are you okay?’
He focused on her and faked a smile, ‘I’m okay.’
‘Are you sure?’
He offered her a relaxed smile this time, ‘Yes … but since we’re on the subject, can I ask about–’
‘Other relationships?’
Oh, thank goodness she’d said it.
‘Yes.’
She shrugged, ‘Most of my relationships have been short-term.’
‘What do you consider short-term?’
‘Couple of months.’
It was obvious she wanted to leave it at that, but he couldn’t. He needed to know whether he was wasting his time. If she was unable to commit, or didn’t believe in monogamy, he wanted to know before he gave any more of his heart to her. It was a mistake he’d made before. He couldn’t bear to go through it again. Especially not with Elizabeth.
‘Do you believe in The One?’ She almost choked on the wine she’d taken a sip of.
He wasn’t surprised. It was a bit blunt. So much for not coming on too strong. He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry. That was a bit personal.’
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. ‘No. No, it’s fine. The question took me by surprise, that’s all.’
He nodded, ‘Not one a man stereotypically asks?’
‘Yes.’ She paused. ‘Do you really want to know?’
‘I do.’
‘I believe in The One. That’s why I don’t waste my time on those I know for sure aren’t him. I can usually tell within a couple weeks.’
‘How?’
Her mouth wrinkled as she thought about it. ‘I don’t know, I just know. My sisters think I’m picky and purposely look for faults, but that’s really not it. There’s something inside me. I just know.’
***
His expression faltered, as if he expected her to ditch him if he placed one foot wrong. She couldn’t blame him. Looking at it from the outside, it had been her typical MO.
She sighed, ‘I didn’t mean it the way I think you’re taking it. All I’m saying is I want the full package. I want to be free when the man with the full package turns up. That’s why I don’t hang around.’
‘And what does the full package entail?’
‘I want the butterflies and passion and trust and respect and …’
She paused. Would he think she was too sentimental if she finished the sentence?
A smile lifted one side of his mouth as he guessed her thought, ‘Love?’
‘Yes, love.’
His smile widened.
Was he mocking her?
She looked down. ‘Ignore me. I’m a bit of a romantic. My sisters tease me about it all the time.’
‘Well, I like it.’
She lifted her eyes, ‘Really?’
That was the first time a man had told her he liked her romantic nature. All of the others had told her she was far too idealistic. Some had even told her she had unrealistic standards or believed in a fantasy man who didn’t exist. She always responded to that with: should I lower my standards to please someone other than me? That one stumped them every time.
Gabe interrupted her thoughts. ‘Mm. There’s not many romantics like us left.’
She straightened and leaned forward, ‘You’re a romantic too?’
‘Guilty as charged.’
She laughed. ‘My sisters are going to have a field day with this.’
His expression flattened. He reached over and linked his hand in hers. ‘Let them. Let people say whatever they want. Makes no difference to me.’
The sensation of his warm hand pressing into hers squeezed the air from her lungs. His eyes locked hers. Her heart pounded faster; butterflies performed a winged ballet in her tummy; all of a sudden she felt hot.
Uh-oh.
As usual, her sisters had called it. She was falling in love with Gabriel Montcoeur. What was she going to do? And how was this even possible after such a short time? Surely it was all a dream? Men like him didn’t exist in real life. That’s what some of the others had tried to convince her to think. She’d always believed he was out there. The question remained: were the other men right ... or was she?
***
When he’d seen the low-cut curve-hugging red dress she’d worn for their date, he’d assumed there’d be no possible way he could feel tighter across his chest than he already did. He’d been wrong. The way she was staring hit him in the sternum like a sucker punch.
After a few moments, Elizabeth cleared her throat, and asked, ‘What about you? Relationships, I mean.’
He caught his breath. ‘Oh. I’ve had a couple of serious ones, but the last was about four years ago. My career has been my main focus.’
‘No time for a relationship?’
He nodded then caught a subtle change in her expression. She was assuming that meant he wouldn’t have time for her.
To ensure she understood his intentions, he added, ‘My romantic nature has led to hurt in the past. So I took a break from dating to focus on my career and myself. But lately I’ve been thinking I would like to start focusing on finding my soulmate again.’
She grinned, ‘You believe in soulmates too?’
‘Of course. Doesn’t everyone?’
She chuckled and shook her head, ‘No. Not at all.’
‘Well, I do.’
And I think I’ve found her.
He was almost tempted to say it out loud. But it would sound ridiculous, and probably scare her off. They’d only known each other a couple of days. There was no way he could admit this yet. Not out loud at least. She’d already said she had a tendency to dump those she didn’t see as The One.
The sensation in his chest told him he absolutely wanted to be her One. He would need to go slowly and be careful about expressing his feelings too strongly so she didn’t run away, and he could protect his heart a little bit.
All he had to do was remain aloof, standoffish. He could
do that. Hadn’t he been doing it the past four or so years?
She smiled at him. He felt his previous resolve melt away.
***
It was a little clichéd: standing at the front door of her unit after a fun date, the anticipation of a kiss floating between them like a warm summer breeze. Except … Gabe wasn’t making a move. She frowned. How many signals did she have to give the man? After he’d said he believed in soulmates, she’d been flirting with him harder than she had in years. She had not gone to the trouble, or let her sisters pick out this ‘love me’ outfit, to come back without getting what she’d been craving.
She decided to nudge him along. ‘I had a fantastic time, Gabe.’
After dinner, they’d walked hand-in-hand along the esplanade. She’d pointed out one of the night markets’ entries, some of the higher-end hotels, and the lagoon.
He grinned. ‘Me too.’
He still didn’t make a move. If she wanted to be kissed tonight, it was going to be up to her to make it happen. She took a step closer and clasped her hands around the back of his neck.
***
Charged pulses zapped through him. He could barely think straight when she caught his stare. The only thing his brain would let him focus on was the need to kiss her.
As if she’d read his mind, she whispered, ‘You can kiss me now.’
He brought his hands to her hips, then lowered his face so he could claim her lips with his. When they touched, he was sure he heard Elizabeth release a low moan, as if she’d been waiting for his kiss for a thousand years. To tell the truth, he felt the same way.
He tugged her body against his, suddenly needing the close, physical contact with her. Even though it was a temperate November night, her skin was hot under his touch. Or was it his own heat he could feel? She opened her mouth. He flicked his tongue inside. That was when his brain shut down completely.
Chapter 13
Don Silkstone
He’d searched through The North Queenslander newspaper, television reports, and online media all night. Nothing. There’d been no updates on the Baronie case since the announcement had been made that the Farris Triplets would be taking over the investigation. No news had to mean good news, right?