by Sue MacKay
‘I’ll put it in the GPS.’ Molly settled into the seat and buckled in. ‘I know the way, but let’s play it safe.’ Seemed she wanted to get there as soon as possible.
They didn’t talk on the way, but when he pulled up outside the apartment block Molly indicated, he said, ‘I’ll walk you to the entrance.’ The sooner the better. He needed to breathe air not laden with Molly’s scent, and to put space between them. Then drive away, windows lowered and music on loud. He needed to stop, think about what he was doing getting to know Molly, before it got out of hand.
‘That’s not necessary.’ She grabbed her bag from the floor and elbowed the door open, snatching up the hairbrush that had fallen out of her bag.
The door shut with a soft click, but Nathan was already moving around to join her on the pavement. ‘When I see someone home I go all the way.’
Her emerald eyes widened as something akin to laughter sparkled out at him. ‘We don’t know each other well enough for that.’
‘You know what I meant.’
That was not disappointment blinking out at him. It couldn’t be. Then Molly proved it wasn’t. ‘That’s a relief. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what you were saying.’ Her eyes cleared, but there was a little twitching going on at the corners of her mouth.
Hell, he’d love to kiss that mouth. He needed to know if those lips were as soft and inviting as they looked. His upper body leaned forward without any input from his brain, but as he began to lift his arms, common sense stepped in. Molly would kick him where no man wanted a shoe if he followed through.
Stepping back, he looked around the area. The entrance was accessed immediately off the footpath where a bus stop was outlined. Nothing wrong in that, but it was so ordinary and Molly was anything but. He sighed, long and slow. It had nothing to do with him where she chose to live. This was getting out of hand. He was making up stuff without Molly saying a word. But he had to ask, ‘How long have you lived here?’
She was focused on a pebble, rolling it round on the pavement with the toe of one classy shoe, then, raising her head, she eyeballed him. ‘Since I moved to Sydney a year ago. I worked in a medical centre down the road while looking for a job in an emergency department anywhere in the city.’
‘I’d have thought there’d be plenty of opportunities in that time. You picky, or something?’ He added a smile to take the heat out of his question.
‘I got a job within weeks of starting at the medical centre, but a nurse I worked with came down with leptospirosis and when the manager asked me to stay on until she was back up to speed I didn’t feel I could let them down. They’d been nothing but good to me from day one.’
How many questions could he get away with? Pushing her wasn’t being fair, but he needed to learn more. Maybe the answers would dampen the ardour taking hold of him. ‘I’d have thought you’d move closer to the city, where the shops and nightclubs are.’
‘I like it out here.’ For the first time he heard doubt in her voice. ‘Neither do I mind the train trip. It doesn’t take long. Judging by the traffic the few times I’ve driven in, I think the train probably gets me there in less time than it takes you in that fancy car.’
True. ‘Where did you move from?’ So much for shutting up.
‘Adelaide. Before that, Perth.’ The pebble flicked across the path as she turned away. ‘I’m heading inside for some sleep. Thanks for bringing me home.’
His heart skittered. What was wrong with his last question? ‘Wait.’ What the hell for? Despite the tightening in his belly and groin brought on by those curves outlining her jacket and trousers, he had to let her go. He wasn’t ready for this. He’d bet Molly wasn’t either.
She paused to look over her shoulder. ‘Go home, Nathan. Get some sleep too. Being Friday, tonight’s bound to be hectic.’
Ignoring that, he said, ‘You want to come with me sometime when I take this...’ he waved at his car ‘...for a blast along the highway?’ What happened to not ready, and thinking things through? Damned if he knew, other than he wasn’t giving up that easily now that he’d started.
She stared at him as if he’d just asked her to fly to the moon in a toy box.
He waited, breath stalled between his lungs and his nostrils, hands tightening and loosening. What was the problem? He’d asked Molly to go for a spin, which meant sharing the small space and breathing her scent some more. No big deal. Yet it felt huge. It was a date. So what? About damned time. There’d been the occasional romp in the sack with women who understood that was all he was offering.
He knew instinctively that Molly would not want that with him. Then again, maybe she would, and he could have fun and walk away afterwards. Shock hit him in the gut. He didn’t want that with this woman. All or nothing. No half-measures. All had to be out of the question. She wasn’t his type. So it had to be nothing. About to withdraw his offer of a ride, he got a second shock.
Molly was grinning at him, and it was the most amazing sight. Beautiful became stunning, quiet became gorgeous and cheeky. ‘Only if I get a turn at the wheel.’
His heart must’ve stopped. Nothing was going on behind his ribs. His lungs had seized. It didn’t surprise him when his knees suddenly turned rubbery. How could he refuse her? Leaning back against the car to prevent landing in a heap on the damp asphalt, he asked, ‘You like driving fast?’ Fast and dangerous? He hadn’t thought dangerous would come into anything Molly did. She appeared too cautious. Appeared, right? Not necessarily correct.
‘Strictly safe and sensible, that’s me.’ The grin dipped.
Phew. He could get back on track, be the colleague who’d brought her home—and ignore the challenge he’d set himself. If only Molly’s mouth hadn’t flattened, because that got him wanting to make her smile again. ‘I promise I’ll be so safe you’ll want to poke me with needles.’ He straightened, took a tentative step and, when he didn’t fall over, began walking up to the main door, making sure Molly was with him.
He got no further than the entrance.
‘Thanks, again.’ Molly punched a set of numbers into the keypad.
‘I’ll see you to your apartment.’
‘I’m on the third floor. Think I can manage,’ she muttered. ‘See you tonight.’ The lock clicked and she nudged the wide door open. ‘I’m glad I went to breakfast. It was fun.’
Warmth stole across his skin and he had to refrain from reaching out to touch her. ‘Glad you came. Now, I’d better get going. I’ve got things to do before I pick Cole up from the airport.’
A frown appeared between those fall-into-them eyes. ‘I thought he wasn’t going to be around for her birthday.’
‘It’s a surprise. He managed to wangle a weekend’s leave. The rest of his contingent is on the way home via Darwin, while he’s coming direct from KL.’
‘There goes the shopping.’ Molly smiled. ‘She can’t work tonight.’
‘I organised that without letting slip what’s going on. I’ll tell her when I drop Cole off.’
‘Good on you. It’d be awful if she had to waste this opportunity of having time out with her man.’ Though filled with longing—for what, he had no idea—at least Molly’s sigh was better than her quiet, mousy look.
Not mousy. Not any more. Sauntering towards his car, he called over his shoulder, ‘See you tonight.’ Time to put distance between them before he did something silly, like ask why it had taken weeks for her to front up and socialise with the people she worked with. That would put a stop to getting closer.
Nathan remained beside his car until Molly went inside and the door had closed behind her. Then he got in and drove on to Coogee and his small piece of paradise, his mind busy with all things Molly. She’d tipped him sideways by wanting little to do with him.
Except go for a spin in this beast.
No matter what else came up, he’d find time to follow through on that. Hopefu
lly this weekend, so he could get to spend time unravelling the façade Molly showed the world.
Don’t think that’s going to happen in a hurry.
Better remember to get her number tonight.
Pulling up at traffic lights, Nathan tapped the steering wheel in time to the rock number playing on the radio. A strident ringing from the passenger side of the car intruded. Leaning over, he fossicked around until his fingers closed over a phone. Had to be Molly’s. His finger hovered over the green circle, but of course he couldn’t answer it. If for no other reason than she’d kill him.
A smile slowly spread across his face. Now he had a reason to return to her apartment and speak to her, and get her phone number at the same time.
CHAPTER THREE
‘HOT DAMN.’
Molly leaned back against her apartment door as it clicked shut and tried not to think about Nathan. Like that was going to happen.
A grin spread across her face. What a morning. They’d gone from grumping to talking to smiling and then he’d driven her home and insisted on walking to the entrance with her. He’d have come up here if she’d let him.
She looked around the tiny space, smaller than Gran’s chicken coop, and sighed, glad he wasn’t seeing this. The shoddy apartment block would’ve already given him reason to wonder why a nurse on a reasonable wage would choose to live here. But it was ordinary, wouldn’t attract attention.
She kept the apartment simply furnished with the bare basics in an attempt to make the rooms feel larger. The polished wood furniture came from her grandmother’s cottage after Gran died. The furniture had lain in storage until Molly had moved to Adelaide and set up house on her own. The only good thing about Gran’s passing was that she didn’t get to hear she had been right about Paul. She would’ve gone after him with her sewing scissors.
No one came to the apartment. Lizzie, her best friend back in Perth, kept saying she’d visit but never managed to make it happen with her job taking her offshore for weeks at a time. Molly missed her more than anyone from her previous life. They’d done so much together, shared a lot of laughs and tears, always been there for one another. But, more important, Lizzie had believed her right from the beginning when she’d said Paul hit her, and she hated him almost as much as Molly did.
Paul Bollard. Nathan Lupton. They were nothing alike. One evil. The other caring. Both could be charming, strong, over-confident. That spooked her. Paul had wooed her as though she had been a princess, at first making her feel like one. Nathan confused her, sometimes making her cross and occasionally, especially this morning, all soft on the inside.
She huffed the air out of her lungs. Nathan wasn’t wooing her and, by the expressions that crossed his face at times, had no intention of doing so. Fine. With a hideous marriage behind her, the wedding ring long gone in the bin, as of this week she was single and wanting to trust and love again, but she was very, very cautious.
Going out to breakfast had been the best thing to happen to her in a long while. She worked with a great bunch, and from now on she’d attend every get-together anyone proposed. She’d also get involved with more than the charity shop. Fake it till she made it. This latest and final version of herself would not be the socialite of the past, or the cowering abused woman. Married two years, separated for two, now alone. If nothing else, she’d become more caring and understanding of other people. Mrs Molly Bollard was gone for ever.
In the kitchenette she filled the kettle for a cup of tea. Sleep would be elusive while her mind was going over the morning. Pride lifted her chest. She’d managed to fit in with her workmates to the point she’d relaxed enough to forget everything that had brought her to that point. So much so, she’d even managed to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. Now, there was a step in the right direction, and she mustn’t stop at that. There was a city out there to get to know, and if she was careful not to keep her distrust to the fore, she didn’t have to carry on being alone, could make friends in all facets of her life.
Did Nathan go to the meals every time the staff got together? She chuckled. He wouldn’t do the shopping expeditions. She mightn’t be fully ready for a partner or even a lover, but spending time over a meal with a man who laughed, grumped, looked out for others, could not be time wasted.
The doorbell chimed. Molly spun around. No one visited her. Bang went her heart. Crunch went her stomach.
Knock, knock. ‘Molly, it’s Nathan. I’ve got your phone.’
Relief prodded her towards the door. How had he managed to get inside and up to her floor without knowing the apartment number? Peering through the peephole, she got a grainy view of the man who’d driven her home.
‘Molly?’ That familiar irritation was back.
She opened the door. ‘Sorry to be a pain. It must’ve fallen out of my bag with my hairbrush.’
Nathan was watching her with that intensity that was more familiar than his smiles. ‘You had a call. That’s how I found it.’
‘A call?’ she asked. ‘Who from?’
He shrugged. ‘I didn’t look. Figured you’d be cross if I did.’
‘You bet,’ Molly admitted sheepishly as she checked out the caller ID. An unknown number. Her smile snapped off.
‘Problem?’
‘What?’ She shook her head and glanced up at Nathan to soak up the warmth in his gaze. ‘No. Wrong number probably.’ As far as she knew, Paul only had access to the prison phone and that number was definitely in her contacts file so she could ignore it if he tried to get in touch. Anyway, he’d stopped calling her after his guilty verdict. Though who knew what receiving the divorce notice might’ve done to his narcissistic brain. He hated losing control over her more than anything.
The kettle whistled. Molly glanced toward the kitchenette. ‘Thanks for this.’
Nathan stepped through the door. ‘You into minimalist?’
Closing her eyes, she counted to four. Nathan should have left, not come inside. Yet it didn’t feel wrong. More like it was okay for this man to be inside her home; as if she wanted him here. Which was so far out of left field she had to stop and look at him again. All she saw was the good-looking man who’d brought her home gazing around her apartment as if it was a normal thing to do. It probably was, for most people. That had to be in his favour. She was not thinking about the pool of heat in her stomach. Not, not, not. ‘I’m making tea. Do you want one?’ Ah, okay, maybe that heat was getting the upper hand.
He hesitated, his gaze still cruising her living room.
He was going to say no. She got in first. ‘It’s okay. You’ve got things to do before picking up Cole.’ She wanted to feel relieved, but it was disappointment settling over her.
‘Thought you’d never ask.’ His gaze had landed back on her. His hands were in his pockets, his stance relaxed, yet there was something uncertain about him, like he didn’t know if he was welcome. Nothing to make her afraid, more the opposite. If such a strong, confident man could feel unsure then he was more real, human—flawed in a good way. ‘White with one.’
Her disappointment was gone in a flash. Replaced by a sudden longing for another chance at love. Truly? Yes, truly. Still had to go slowly, though. Turning her back on him before she fell completely under his spell and screwed up big-time, she said, ‘Would you mind shutting the door? I don’t like leaving it open. Never know who might wander in.’
‘No problem.’ A moment later, ‘In case you’re wondering, it was the old lady three doors down who told me which door to knock on after I described you.’
‘I guess that goes with the territory.’ She’d have to talk to Mrs Porter about telling strangers which apartment was hers. Except Nathan stood in the middle of her tiny one-bed home, waiting for a mug of tea. Not a stranger. ‘Take a pew.’ She nodded at the pair of wooden chairs at her tiny, gleaming wooden dining table. Her mouth dried as he sat and stretched those endless legs half across the k
itchenette.
‘Not a lot of space for a party, is there?’ He smiled.
She could get to like those smiles far too much. They warmed her in places that had been cold for a long time, places she’d held in lockdown for fear of making another hideous mistake. Reaching for the two mugs on the tiny shelf above the bench, she answered, ‘As partying wasn’t on my agenda when I needed a roof over my head, I’m not complaining. This suits me fine in that respect.’
He looked around again. ‘You’re not happy with your neighbour telling people where you live.’
‘I’m a bit circumspect about giving out personal info to any old body.’ Shut up. Too much information. She was not telling Nathan why she felt that way. Anyway, she needed to move on from all that. Paul was locked up. No one else wanted to hurt her.
Nathan was watching her, apparently casually, yet she’d swear he wasn’t missing a thing going on in her head. ‘I suppose you wouldn’t want just anyone turning up unannounced.’
She needed to be on guard around him. Always. ‘Exactly.’ Glancing around the room that had gone from tiny to minuscule the moment he’d entered, a flicker of yearning rose. Everything about her lifestyle since moving to Sydney had been average. Average suburb, average apartment, average car. Her job was a lot better than that, but the one at the medical centre had been on a par with the other things in her life. Nobody noticed average, which had been the intention. Except now she was restless.
‘I like it here, but it might be time to move somewhere more spacious, a place I can feel more connected. I come and go every day, along with everyone else in the apartment block, and all we ever do is nod and smile at each other.’ Once, that had been perfect. Now it seemed to roll out in front of her like an endless dark mat leading to a door going nowhere.
‘Where would you like to live?’
The phone rang, saving her from having to find an answer. The idea was new, and using Nathan as a sounding board would be stretching their new relationship a bit far. But then, this morning she’d have laughed if anyone had told her he’d be sitting in her apartment drinking tea right now.