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‘Whereabouts in England do you live?’ There was still so much he wanted to know.
‘In the Midlands, near Birmingham. I share a flat with a friend.’
She shared! From choice or necessity? ‘Did you get a settlement from your husband?’ The second he’d asked he realised it was a very personal question, too personal considering they hardly knew each other. Fortunately Lara didn’t seem to mind.
‘I wanted nothing from him,’ she announced bitterly. ‘I walked into marriage with nothing, I left it with nothing. He didn’t offer anything, I didn’t ask. I was glad to be free of him.’
‘Strong sentiments,’ he agreed, ‘but not very practical ones. He owed you something for the three years you gave him. Do you still work for him?’
‘Goodness, no!’ she exclaimed hotly. ‘He made me give up my job when we got married.’
‘What sort of a man is he, for God’s sake?’ Bryce was finding it difficult to contain his anger. ‘He doesn’t sound human. Didn’t your feelings, your needs, your rights, enter into the equation at all?’
‘Do we have to talk about this?’ she asked, her eyes shooting dangerous sparks of fire.
Bryce cursed his too-ready tongue and was grateful when the waiter appeared with their entrеe.
Lara’s baby octopus tart served with a Kakadu plum and chilli sauce had been served at exactly the right moment. She wished Bryce wouldn’t keep questioning her. It was only friendly interest, she knew, but some things were best kept private, and her catastrophic marriage was one of them.
She ought never to have said anything, and she was definitely beginning to doubt the wisdom of agreeing to become friends. Bryce Kellerman was a dangerously sexy man; it might be impossible to hide the attraction she felt. It wasn’t love, could never be love, but she couldn’t rule out the possibility that she would enjoy him making love to her. In fact her body went warm at the very thought and she kept her head bent over her food so that he shouldn’t see the sudden surge of colour in her cheeks.
But—so long as he stuck to his side of the bargain—there shouldn’t be a problem. The trouble was, would he? Or would he fall at the first hurdle? Would they both fall? Would the temptations of the flesh be too much for them?
What had happened to the grim determination that had carried her through the dark days of her separation and divorce? She had vowed to let no other man near, not for a very long time, if ever. And now here she was, only months into her freedom, agreeing to be Bryce Kellerman’s friend. What sort of a friend, for heaven’s sake? A man as sexy as he couldn’t possibly entertain the idea of a platonic relationship.
‘You’ve gone very quiet.’
His deep tone startled her, made her look at him with wide, disturbed eyes. ‘I’m enjoying my food.’
‘You’ve been attacking that poor octopus as though it’s still alive.’
‘Oh, dear.’ She smiled suddenly. ‘Actually it’s very delicious. How’re your prawns?’
‘As tasty as prawns in a lemon myrtle sauce can be,’ he answered with an approving nod. ‘You can never fault the food here.’
‘You eat here often, then?’ With other women? By himself? It was a top-class restaurant. Surely a bit out of his league?
‘Only when I’m trying to impress.’
‘You don’t have to impress me,’ she said with a quick smile. ‘It’s a pricey place, we can go Dutch if you like.’
He gave a disapproving wag of one finger. ‘Don’t insult me. I would never take out a girl if I couldn’t afford it. I’m not saying I’d do it every night, but…’ He let his words trail into silence.
‘I’m honoured, then,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
Their dishes were whipped away and their main course placed in front of them. They had decided to share a seafood platter. Lara tried to concentrate on eating but was acutely aware of Bryce watching her. Ignoring him was impossible and when their fingers touched as they both went for the same oyster, she drew back swiftly, feeling as though a savage volt of electricity had zapped through her.
His eyes asked the questions not his voice. What’s the matter? What did I do?
‘That was silly of me,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Why are you so nervous?’ There was a rough edge to his tone now, a frown darkening his brow. ‘Don’t you think I’ll keep my word?’
‘Of course.’ She grimaced and gave a weak smile.
‘But you’re not sure. You keep wondering whether you’ve made a mistake.’ He shook his head, mouth suddenly grim. ‘Maybe you have, maybe I made the mistake. We’ll call the whole thing off.’
‘No!’ Lara surprised herself by the quickness of her response. ‘I don’t want that. I could do with a friend.’
‘You have your aunt.’
‘Yes, but she’s family, there’s a difference.’
‘How?’
‘If I say too much to her it might get back to my mother and brothers. They don’t know all the ins and outs of my marital problems. Actually my mother thought the world of Roger. She couldn’t understand why I walked out on him. She did everything she could to try and persuade me to patch things up.’
‘You didn’t tell her the whole story?’
Lara shook her head. ‘No. She’d warned me about jumping so quickly into marriage. It’s what she did with my father. So I always pretended to be happy.’
‘So what excuse did you give her for the divorce?’
‘I just said I didn’t love him any more, that the magic had gone out of the marriage and I wanted out.’
‘And she believed that?’ He looked faintly sceptical. ‘OK, I’ll accept that you can’t talk to your aunt. But if you’re going to behave like a skittish kitten every time we accidentally touch, then I think we have a problem, too.’
‘It won’t happen again,’ she assured him, knowing that she sounded more confident than she felt. She wasn’t even sure why she was pleading for them to remain friends. It made no sense.
As they continued to eat Bryce talked about his childhood. He was an only child and envied Lara her four brothers. ‘My parents both worked and I was left to my own devices most of the time,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying they didn’t love me, but they were so taken up with their careers that they didn’t spare me much time. I was very lonely.’
‘Where are they now?’
‘Dad died two years ago. My mother’s remarried and moved to New Zealand. He’s an OK guy and she’s happy enough. How about your parents?’
Lara shrugged and pulled a wistful face. ‘My father walked out just after I was born. My mother brought us up on her own. She never found another man. My brothers are married now with families of their own.’
‘What did she think about you coming here? Did she want to come with you?’
‘She was pleased for me. Aunt Helen’s my godmother and has always regretted that she’s seen so little of me. But my mother’s afraid of flying. She’s happy with her grandchildren around her. They go and see her most days.’
‘Have you any children?’
Lara shook her head emphatically. ‘No, thank goodness.’
Roger had been definite about not wanting to start a family. ‘I can’t bear the thought of snivelling kids around me,’ he’d said.
‘You don’t want any?’ He looked at her long and hard, as if finding it difficult to understand.
‘Of course I do,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m just glad I didn’t have any with Roger. Because as sure as eggs are eggs he would have kept them from me once we divorced.’
‘It might have helped your marriage.’
‘Nothing could have helped that,’ she said fiercely. ‘It was the worst experience of my life. In fact it’s doubtful I’ll ever get married again.’
‘That’s a mistake. Not all men are like your ex.’
‘Maybe not, but I’m not prepared to take the risk. I shall get a new, better paid job when I go back to England. I shall buy my own place and answer to no one.’
A faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth. ‘What if you meet Mr Right? He’s out there for you somewhere, you know.’
‘Maybe,’ she shrugged. ‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The way I feel at the moment men are at the bottom of my list of priorities.’
‘You’ve allowed me into your life,’ he pointed out.
Lara gave a wry smile. ‘Am I crazy, or what?’ Was he hinting that she couldn’t be as anti-men as she proclaimed? Was he hoping that their friendship would turn into something more? Had he tricked her?
‘You’re not crazy, Lara.’
His warm smile made her stomach muscles bunch. This was going to be so much more difficult than she’d first thought.
‘You’re a very lovely lady who’s gone through a hard time. And I’m going to do my best to restore your faith in mankind.’
‘It’ll take a lot of doing.’
‘I have the time.’
Lara began to feel uncomfortable. Best change the subject. ‘How did you meet my aunt? She thinks very highly of you.’
‘As I do of her. She’s a great character—warm, kind, witty, charitable. We met at a mutual friend’s. I was fixing a door hinge and she asked whether I’d repair a broken rail on her veranda. We struck up a friendship and I go to see her whenever I can.’
‘That’s kind of you,’ said Lara. ‘Actually I think she regards you as the son she’s never had. What work do you do besides helping my aunt out when she’s in need?’ She still couldn’t believe that all he did was odd jobs. He simply didn’t look the type.
‘All sorts,’ he declared with a vague shrug, pausing in the act of spearing a succulent prawn.
‘You can’t tell me you left school or college, or whatever, with no qualifications, no job in mind.’ She refused to accept that.
He grinned wryly. ‘Well, let’s see. I started in law then decided it wasn’t for me. So I took a course in electronics, then computer programming.’ He studied the prawn on the end of his fork before popping it into his mouth. ‘If something interests me I find out all I can about it. I suppose I’m a bit of a jack of all trades and master of none. I’m a dab hand with a drill and a saw.’
‘I see. Where do you live?’ The more they talked the more interested Lara became, and she was unaware that she was asking the same sort of questions that Bryce had fired at her.
‘I have a little place not too far away. I’ll take you there if you like?’
‘Maybe one day,’ she agreed. But not yet, not until she got to know him better. Her aunt might trust him but it was early days. All Lara knew was that he’d eyed her lasciviously when they’d first met, and now he’d agreed to an innocent friendship. It didn’t add up.
‘You still don’t trust me?’
Lara was aghast that he’d read her thoughts. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘The look in your eyes. Your husband really did a hatchet job on you, didn’t he? It’s going to be my pleasure to prove that I’m nothing like him. Tomorrow I’ll pick you up and we’ll go out on the harbour. Would you like that?’
Although Lara would have liked to say no, that it was too soon to spend so much time together, she found herself nodding. ‘I’d love it.’ He’d cleverly guessed she would be attracted by the harbour.
His smile reached out and hustled her heart into overdrive, sent a hot, warning prickle over her skin, and for the rest of the evening Lara felt an awareness that was troubling. This shouldn’t be happening, she thought. I’m off men completely. What has this man got that is so compelling?
It was an easy answer. He oozed sex appeal. But it was not only that. Most men who were good-looking thought they were God’s gift to women and expected to be worshipped. Bryce wasn’t like that. She had thought so in the beginning but was quickly discovering her mistake.
He was forceful; he liked to get his own way—he’d shown that when he’d insisted they become friends—yet he was considerate too, more of a gentleman. He would never harm her, she was almost sure about that; her feelings would always be considered. Her aunt’s recommendation had been enough, but her own gut instinct confirmed it.
At the end of the evening she felt mellow and happy, and much more relaxed than she had in a long time. Bryce dropped her off at the door with the promise to pick her up at ten the following morning. She thought he was going to kiss her, felt the rapid thud of her pulses as his head swooped low, but all he did was drop a light kiss on her brow.
‘I’ve enjoyed this evening, Lara,’ he said in his deep, toe-curling voice. ‘I hope you have, too?’
She nodded, suddenly shy. ‘I have, very much.’
‘And I’m looking forward to tomorrow.’
‘Me, too. You’re very kind. You don’t have to go out of your way to entertain me, you know.’
‘Believe me,’ he said with a slow smile, ‘I wouldn’t do it unless I really wanted to.’
Those magnetic, smoky eyes of his darkened as he looked at her, sent tantalising shivers down her spine, twisted her stomach into knots. It was time to go in. She turned her key in the lock. ‘Goodnight, Bryce. Thank you again for a lovely evening.’
Helen was waiting up for her. Lara expected a rash of eager questions; instead her aunt said worriedly, ‘I’ve had a phone call from your mother.’
CHAPTER THREE
LARA’S eyes shot wide. Panic set in. ‘My mother is all right, isn’t she? Oh, Lord, I knew I shouldn’t have left her.’
‘Of course she’s all right,’ assured her aunt quickly. ‘It’s just that Roger’s been in touch and—’
‘Roger?’ queried Lara loudly. ‘What the devil did he want?’
‘He was asking about you. He apparently wants you back.’
‘What?’ Her mouth fell open; her heart slammed into her shoes. ‘I wouldn’t even want to be in the same room as him. I hope my mother told him where to get off. Would you mind if I rang her?’
‘I said you’d do it tomorrow.’
‘I’m going out with Bryce again tomorrow,’ she said, remembering.
Helen beamed. ‘You had a good time, then? He’s lovely, isn’t he?’
‘Yes, he is nice,’ she agreed, ‘but I don’t want you getting any ideas, dear aunt. We’ve agreed to be friends, and that’s all.’
Helen’s brows rose, as if to say, How can two beautiful people like you not fall in love? But she made no comment, merely smiled.
And when Lara went to bed she asked herself the same question. How could she stop herself falling in love with Bryce Kellerman?
