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That soon.
‘Provide me with all the relevant paperwork involving your debts, and I’ll take care of them.’
‘When?’ It sounded so mercenary, but she was past caring.
‘The funds you so urgently need will be available in your bank tomorrow. The balance authorized immediately after our signatures appear on the marriage certificate.’
This is business, she reminded herself bitterly, with no sentiment or trust where money was involved.
However, it rankled…badly. Her chin lifted a little and her eyes assumed a deep sapphire-blue.
‘I want to continue running my restaurant.’ It was her pride and joy…more. And she refused to give it up.
Wolfe’s expression hardened. ‘You can retain the restaurant as an investment,’ he allowed equably. ‘But your continued involvement will be minimal.’
She suddenly had trouble regulating her breathing. ‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard.’
No quarter given in those obdurate words, and she barely resisted the temptation to tell him exactly what he could do with his proposal.
Think, a tiny voice prompted in silent warning.
She had everything to lose if she walked away from him.
What price pride in the face of wisdom?
Besides, marriage didn’t have to mean for ever.
If she gave him an heir…
Yet how could she walk away from her own child?
The whole scenario was fraught.
‘You can’t expect me to give you an answer now?’
‘Tonight.’
‘I’m due at work.’ She spared a glance at her watch, and stood to her feet. ‘Oh hell, now.’ Staff were at a minimum, and she could ill afford to be late. ‘I finish somewhere between eleven and midnight.’
Wolfe signalled the waiter, extracted his wallet and paid the bill. ‘I’ll drive you.’
She was walking quickly. ‘I can take a train.’
‘But you won’t.’
What was the point in arguing? A car would reach her destination more quickly than public transport.
Minutes later he disabled the locking mechanism of a top-of-the-range black Lexus, saw her seated, then he slid in behind the wheel and eased the car into the stream of traffic.
The Rocks area held numerous cafés and restaurants, and Lara directed him to double-park outside her own.
Wolfe handed her a card with his mobile-phone number. ‘I’ll expect your call.’
She slipped it into her purse, inclined her head, then sped quickly down a side alley to the back entrance, and used her key in the lock.
In the small back-room space she discarded her outer clothes, donned her chef’s uniform, tied on an apron, wound the length of her hair beneath a protective cap…and went to work.
They were one staff member down, which made for chaos in the kitchen, with delays and short tempers as three pairs of hands attempted to do the work of four.
Shontelle acted as maître d’, taking reservations, welcoming patrons, ensuring they were seated.
Sally held the position of head waitress, and both girls had been with Lara’s from the day the restaurant had opened. Long-time friends who were equally as dedicated to the success of the restaurant as Lara herself.
Together they’d enjoyed the good times, and had stayed on to help Lara battle through the financial mess left by her business partner.
Around ten the rush began to ease as customers lingered over dessert and coffee, and by eleven the numbers had dwindled down to a few.
It was a relief when the last patrons left, the doors closed, the kitchen staff finished up, and all that remained was the nightly cleaning. Something which didn’t take long as Sally lifted chairs onto tables while Lara vacuumed the floors.
There hadn’t been time to give Wolfe’s suggestion much thought, except in fleeting moments which in no way encompassed the big picture of marriage, children…intimacy.
How was she going to deal with that?
Being so aware of the man, his sensual chemistry and the way it affected her. His sexual partner…and knowing, to him, it would just be sex.
That love didn’t enter the equation, and never would.
Could she live with him and pretend?
Lara moved the vacuum cleaner with increased speed in an attempt to expend some nervous energy.
For heaven’s sake!
Wolfe was offering a way out.
What other option did she have?
Disappear and assume another identity? Contact the police and report the loan shark for harassment?
Sure…like either of those scenarios would work!
Besides, it wasn’t part of her nature to run from anything.
Marry a billionaire, enjoy an enviable lifestyle, and bear him a child or two.
A hundred…oh, why not go for broke and make it a thousand…women would jump at the chance.
So what was the big deal?
Just a little matter of emotional engagement…hers.
Wolfe Alexander affected her like no other man she’d met. At seventeen, she had melted at the initial moment of introduction, almost frighteningly aware of the degree of raw sexuality he exuded. A teenage crush that had lingered long and almost brought her undone.
She’d moved on, matured, indulged in a brief relationship or two…but there was no one who’d come close to Wolfe, or the emotions he roused.
‘That’s it, we’re done.’
The sound of Sally’s voice brought Lara back to the present, and she switched off the vacuum cleaner, stowed it in the cupboard, then changed into her outdoor clothes.
‘I need to make a phone call.’
She had three choices: use the phone here, a phone booth, or the phone in the hallway at her boarding house.
‘I’ll plug in some music and wait,’ Sally directed, removing her earphones.
They had a steadfast rule—no female staff left alone this late at night.
‘I won’t be long.’ Lara extracted Wolfe’s card and crossed to the phone, all too aware the nerves in her stomach had twisted into a painful knot.
Seconds later she cursed beneath her breath as she keyed in a wrong digit and had to start over.
Wolfe answered on the third ring, intoning, ‘Alexander,’ in a voice that sounded deep and slightly more accented over the phone.
‘Lara.’ She identified herself at once.
‘You’ve reached a decision?’
It was hardly the time or the occasion for small talk, and she didn’t even try. ‘Yes.’
‘And?’
Heaven help her. She gripped the handset a little tighter. ‘Yes.’
Lara wasn’t sure how she expected him to respond.
‘I’ll be in touch tomorrow with relevant details.’ There was a click and the line went dead.
It took a second or three for her to realize he’d cut the connection, and her fingers tightened momentarily before she replaced the handset.
He at least could have acknowledged her acceptance!
Oh, get real, a silent voice chastised. What did you expect?
Forget sentiment…there was none.
So what did she care?
Even thinking about Wolfe in the role of husband accelerated her pulse and did strange things to her equilibrium.
Oh, for heaven’s sake…get over it! He’s just a man, like any other… And she knew she lied.
Ten years down the track she still retained a vivid recollection of his erotic kiss… Worse, the oral foreplay he’d metered out as a stark warning, and the way it had affected her.
What would he be like as a lover?
Don’t go there. At least not now, not yet.
For, if she allowed herself to go down that path, she’d never make it to the wedding.
Best not to think too deeply…and keep busy!
It was time to check the windows, external doors, set the alarm, lock up, then pull down the security grill and padlock it.
A nightly routine they executed in tandem before walking briskly to the nearest train station.
Lara took a deep breath, turned and collected her bag, then she signalled Sally she was ready to leave.
It wasn’t until they’d boarded the train that she remembered a vital phone call she should have made to the loan shark, begging a further twenty-four-hour extension, and the promise payment of the total funds would be made in cash.
Something twisted painfully in the region of her stomach as she checked the time, and her heart began to pound.
The week’s loan extension ran out at midnight.
She needed to make that call…fast. Explain, give Wolfe’s name as verification the money would be paid.
Please hurry, she bade silently as the train sped towards their station, and as they disembarked she had to restrain herself from running to the boarding house.
The inner-city suburb of Darlinghurst contained some less-than-salubrious streets where numerous bedsits and boarding houses existed in old converted homes. The dark of night and dim street-lighting hid their daytime grime and general state of disrepair.
Definitely not an area in which to linger long, and as far removed from Lara’s former apartment as chalk from cheese.
Lara’s relief was palpable as she entered the house via the front entrance, and she extracted the requisite coins from her purse to feed the pay-phone.
Seconds later the phone rang out, and she redialled, hoping, praying, for an answer. But there was none, and a second later a male figure appeared out of nowhere, a hard hand angled beneath her jaw, and she was lifted off her feet, then slammed against the wall.
Fear, stark and terrifying, almost made her pass out as the man’s face came within inches of her own.
‘Pay up by midnight tomorrow. Or else.’ His grip tightened. ‘Blink if you’ve got the message.’
Lara instantly obeyed, almost choking beneath his relentless grip, then he released her and disappeared out the front entrance as she subsided to the floor in a state of shock.
‘Hey. You OK?’
She looked up in dazed terror, recognized a male tenant, and tried to speak…except no sound came out.
‘You need help?’
