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‘I admire you.’
He leaned forward in his chair. In a strange way, she felt as though they had more in common than she had realised, even if for very different reasons. Stacie’s wounds were on the inside.
Troy had endured a physical loss that had taken away his chosen career. But there must have been emotional fallout from that, too. How strong and determined he must be to reinvent himself the way he was doing.
‘I should head home, Stacie.’ Troy’s words were low. He got to his feet. ‘Thanks for dinner and the coffee. I really enjoyed your company.’
She could have thought that she’d made him want to leave, made him uncomfortable with her questions. But a glimpse into his eyes before he shielded his gaze told differently, because there was reciprocal consciousness there.
And now he was leaving.
Troy seemed equally determined not to notice her other than in a very neighbourly way but perhaps he was finding that resistance a little difficult.
Stacie walked Troy to her front door. The little dog followed, and shot through the door the moment Stacie opened it.
Stacie called him back, and he returned, but reluctantly. He’d been headed straight for Troy’s house again.
‘If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay here.’ Troy turned and for just a moment his gaze searched hers. ‘He should realise how lucky he is to get that open-handed welcome.’
Nothing else was said, not a single word to indicate that anything had changed—but, oh, those words seemed to be about more than a Houdini poodle with a penchant for escaping. Troy had felt welcome. And she was glad about that.
Stacie looked into Troy’s eyes, he looked into hers, and she knew that he wanted to kiss her, and that she wanted it too. They might have both done their best to ignore it, but that desire had been there since they’d met.
While her mind refused to think its way beyond that knowledge, time seemed to inexplicably slow down as Stacie yielded to his searching gaze. Troy hesitated on the threshold. His head dipped towards hers, just a little. Just enough for her to catch her breath.
She wondered how it would feel to have his lips meet hers. To be held by his strength. To hold him.
What was she thinking? Stacie couldn’t think this way. She’d been hurt. She was still hurting. In no way could she put herself at that kind of risk emotionally again!
‘I … Goodnight, Stacie. I really should go.’ He straightened and took a step back. A moment later he was gone, limping into the darkness, and Stacie was inside the house. She’d walked to her sewing room before her thoughts reformed. Once they did, she stood in the centre of the room and bit her lip.
Had he truly thought about kissing her just then? He had; she hadn’t imagined it.
What had happened to her great plan not to be affected in that way by him?
‘You sabotaged it by inviting him to dinner, Stacie Wakefield, that’s what!’ She spoke out loud to force herself to acknowledge it.
CHAPTER FOUR
THREE days passed. Troy worked hard on his orchards and the time slid by, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t conscious of his neighbour. He’d come close to kissing her at her house the night they’d shared dinner there. Troy should never even have entertained that impulse, but he had.
Stacie had figured out things about his past vocation that night, too. She’d realised that he’d been ruthless enough to push his way to the top in a field where there was little room for emotion, and to do well in that field until injury had taken him out.
God, he missed that life. It was the only thing that had made him feel right about himself, a vocation where the emotional lack his mother had constantly bemoaned was a benefit.
‘I’m sorry Carl’s not here again, Troy.’ Stacie’s words were apologetic, professional, but also just a little breathless. Soft flags of colour stained her cheeks. ‘He’s out at a meeting with one of our key orchardists.’
‘It’s okay. I wanted to check on the plant briefly, that’s all.’ Troy hadn’t stopped by hoping to see her. He told himself this, but his gaze still lingered on that soft colour.
Stacie was a nice woman, kind, determined, and with her own life plan. And, if creating dog-coats and accessories as a successful home-based business seemed a rather unusual goal, it was still a very hard-working one. Particularly while she was holding down another full-time job at the same time. Troy should value her for those things and leave the rest alone.
This had never been a problem for him before. And Stacie was completely unlike any woman he’d have said might be even a halfway suitable match for him.
Linda had been the only one he’d felt was right, and she’d walked away quickly enough once it had become clear that the damage to his knee was permanent. Not that Troy would have expected anything else of her. If she hadn’t made that choice, he’d have made it for her.
Yeah? So why did it sting, then?
A sting against his pride and plans, he supposed.
‘Did you come to town to join in the after-work hour we’ve got on at the pub?’ Stacie held a bunch of invoices in her hands. She shuffled them as she waited for his answer.
It was raining outside again, another light fall just audible on the roof of the building. The machinery had come to a stop on the processing floor below.
Stacie followed his glance through the plate-glass windows to the floor. ‘Most of the crew goes. It’s a good social event.’
For some reason, Troy pictured Stacie with water droplets gilding her fall of straight hair. He would lift his hand and brush the droplets away …
‘When I think of off-duty team-bonding exercises the ideas usually involve extreme sports and other calculated-risk activities.’ But he couldn’t do those now, and Stacie was waiting for his answer. ‘Carl did mention this at the start of the week.’
Troy had had no intention of entering any kind of social whirl in Tarrula, work-related or otherwise, so he’d pretty much put the idea out of his mind.
Nevertheless, it might be a good opportunity to get to know staff in an informal setting. He’d briefly greeted them all on the first day, but that was about it.
‘Do you go to these staff get-togethers, Stacie?’ It shouldn’t have been a particularly important question, yet the thought of her out at a pub with a bunch of men from the plant brought about a jealous and protective instinct in Troy that he didn’t want to acknowledge. It was quite ridiculous, and one-hundred percent inappropriate.
‘I go along most weeks.’ Stacie shifted to start tidying the contents of her desk. ‘It’s usually a fun time.’
‘Then we’d best get going.’ The rest of the plant was quiet now. Troy started downstairs to check the building while Stacie gathered her things and secured the office for the night. Stacie watched Troy’s broad back disappear down the staircase that led from the offices, and she noticed that the descent was awkward for him. She made her way downstairs to join him and they drove separately, with Troy following Stacie as she led the way. Minutes later they walked into the pub together. It was silly, but for a moment Stacie almost felt as though they were on a date.
Sure, Stacie. A date that includes every other employee at the plant.
She mustn’t think of it in that light, anyway! Yet, as she walked at Troy’s side, she was very aware of him, of the breadth of strong shoulders as he moved at her side, of that uneven gait that he seemed to hate so much.
She’d seen the definition of muscles honed by years of attention to physical fitness. She’d held her breath and hoped he would kiss her, and pushed all those thoughts and reactions aside since. They threatened her equilibrium, the fragile truce she’d built with herself.
So this work hour was fine. She’d introduce Troy around again, if he wanted that. Enjoy the social outing for what it was. And she would not think about the appealing and intriguing aspects of him—case closed!
Stacie’s sigh was audible enough that it reached Troy’s ears, even in the pub’s noise-filled environment. He glanced her way, and then wondered if perhaps he shouldn’t have. She looked rather lovely in profile, as she had with her head bent over her desk. And when he’d nearly given in to the temptation to kiss her …
How had he missed the depth of her subtle loveliness at first? Yet even then he’d been aware of her.
Well, he would just have to stop being aware, before thoughts like that got both of them into trouble.
Troy looked around. The pub was a decent-sized place, with bistro dining in a room tucked away to the left and a separate room dedicated to poker machines. The bar was long with dark wood polished to a dull sheen and green hard-wearing carpet on the floor where it wasn’t bare, wooden planks.
The smell of beer and a low buzz of after-work humanity filled the place. For a moment Troy saw another bar, another bunch of people: army mates relaxing at their favourite haunt in a Melbourne suburb they frequented when they were off-duty.
His guys. Their pub. A whole other world that had been all of Troy’s world.
‘Stace, how about a game of pool?’
‘Getting a bit dry over here, Stace. How about a round of beers for us?’
A couple more calls accompanied Stacie’s entry into the pub.
Stacie gave a general smile. ‘Maybe a bit later. I’m busy just at present.’
As he and Stacie stepped further into the room, Troy heard one man say to another, ‘She’s a nice girl, but she always keeps her distance, doesn’t she?’
‘I reckon some bloke’s hurt her along the way.’
‘Nah. She seems happy enough.’
Stacie wouldn’t have heard the interchange, but Troy tended to agree with the first man. He, too, suspected Stacie had withdrawn from the game because she might have been hurt in it.
She was made to be in a relationship, to share all those soft and tender emotions with someone who would welcome and appreciate them. If she’d tried that and it hadn’t worked out …
Oh yes, and you’d be more suitable for that?
Of course not. Absolutely not. It would just be a shame for Stacie to go through life alone, in Troy’s opinion. Although, Troy himself couldn’t pursue such a path; he wouldn’t have enough to offer her on that emotional level.
‘Good to see you here.’ Gary Henderson stepped forward, clapped Troy on the back and nudged Stacie with his elbow. ‘Well done on bringing Troy along, Stace.’
‘It’s a nice way to end up the week, Gary.’ Stacie’s words were cheerful. Her glance dropped to the beer in Gary’s hand. ‘You’re set, so I’ll just get drinks for us. Troy—what would you like?’
She walked to the bar to order for both of them.
Troy spoke with Gary for a bit and then chose a table towards the back of the bar. Stacie joined him with their drinks. One and two at a time, men made their way over to speak to them. Stacie greeted each person and exchanged a few words, making Troy’s second-time around getting-to-know-you job easy for him.
It was teamwork, and Troy appreciated it. But in this social setting it felt too much like dating her. That wasn’t a good feeling to allow himself to drift into, yet at every moment he was utterly conscious of her.
‘Stacie, how about introducing us?’ The words came from a woman who approached their table.
The brunette had a load of inquisitiveness in her gaze that sharpened even more as she got a good look at Troy. ‘Oh, you know what? We can do it for ourselves.’
Her glance became coy. ‘I’m Aida Gregory, the sister of Dan Gregory from your plant. And you’re obviously the gorgeous new plant-owner.’
The woman pulled up a chair. She laid her fingers over his arm as she offered some confidence or other.
Troy leaned back in his chair, removing himself from her reach without making the action too obvious.
‘I should go mingle.’ Stacie started to get to her feet.
‘We both should.’
Troy would have joined her, but before either of them could move, another two people pulled up chairs. Conversation became general. Troy welcomed it; He didn’t like the pushiness of Aida’s type.
You’re only interested in one woman, and she has a much more refined presentation.
He wanted to deny that interest, but Troy forced himself to acknowledge it was true.
Under cover of conversation in the group, Stacie let her gaze wander again in Troy’s direction. He didn’t seem interested in the gorgeous Aida. Other men were clearly smitten by the brunette’s stunning looks, but not Troy.
Why hadn’t he succumbed when Aida poured on her particular brand of interest? Or was he secretly interested, but waiting for the right moment to reveal that interest? As Andrew had done with Gemma.
‘This was a good idea.’ Troy’s breath brushed her ear as he added, ‘People are different outside of the work environment, and they seem a good bunch. It’s halfway like off-duty time—’ He broke off to answer someone’s question about future plans for the plant.
Stacie was rather glad of the interruption. She needed a moment to regain her equilibrium after that feeling of his breath in her ear.
The conversation went on around them and Stacie told herself to just try to be on her guard. At least to keep her reaction to Troy from everyone else until she could get it under control for herself.
But guarded did not equate to unaware; Stacie acknowledged that when she and Troy left the pub an hour later. In the few short steps to their cars, Stacie felt Troy’s presence at her side, registered every movement of his body, every breath, his body heat, the scent of his cologne. She’d done so from the time he had stepped into the office at the plant this afternoon but, now that they were alone, all her reactions came to the surface much more strongly.
‘I hope you enjoyed—’
‘I think the evening without Carl there was probably a good chance for me to—’
They stopped and faced each other beside her car. In the semi-darkness beneath the street light, his face seemed to be all shadows, harshness and mystery rolled into one, and Stacie wanted to search out all of his secrets, to know him.
And she couldn’t, because she’d been hurt, and her reaction this evening as she’d braced herself for Troy to return Aida’s interest made it clear that she’d allowed herself to become too interested in him.
The smart thing seemed to be to get some distance from Troy. Right now!
‘Well, the dogs will be hungry.’ Stacie fumbled until she got her car-door open and slid into the seat, only to then look up into Troy’s face and not be able to shift her gaze away.
‘Yes. We should get home.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Each of us to our own homes, I mean.’
Not going home together, of course, although they would be driving at the same time and headed in the same direction.
Words wouldn’t come so she simply started the engine while he moved to his car, and they both got out on the open road.
His headlights followed from a distance. It was silly, but she felt oddly secure knowing he was there. There was something about Troy that simply made her feel that way. Stacie aspired to be strong, but she wasn’t managing very well when it came to overcoming her attraction to him.
She was starting to wonder whether she would get past it, and that was about the stupidest thought she’d had since she’d believed Andrew must love her.
A jerk in the speed of her car was the only warning Stacie got before the engine cut out and the car coasted to a stop. She only just managed to get it off the road.
‘What happened?’ Troy drew in behind her, got out of his car and strode straight to join her as she stepped out of the vehicle.
‘I don’t know. I had plenty of fuel. It just stopped.’ She popped the bonnet, took the torch she kept in the glove compartment and held it while they tried to look for any possible problem.
After a minute he turned to her. ‘It’s too dark. I think we might have to leave it until daylight.’
‘The mechanic’s shop won’t be open again until Monday. It’s probably not worth phoning roadside assistance at this hour. They’d potentially only tow it into town and leave it on the street anyway.’ Stacie locked the car. ‘It’s been serviced recently.’
‘Things happen with machinery sometimes. It’s not your fault. Let’s get home; it’s cold out here.’ Troy led the way to his car. It was a spacious vehicle, yet for Stacie it felt like no space at all as the darkness enveloped them in their own private world and he turned the heater up to warm her.
It was probably just as well that they arrived outside her home within minutes.
