by Ally Blake
The music stopped.
The sun had set.
The room had cleared.
They were alone.
Somehow in the last few minutes, while his attention had been so caught up in her alone, the crew had crept quietly from the room. Even Chris was nowhere to be seen and it was his room. Their swaying stopped.
‘Where is everybody?’ Cara’s hand fell away, leaving his jaw cool where her fingers had made it warm.
‘Gone,’ he said.
‘But why?’
Maybe they thought we might like some privacy! he ached to scream at her, knowing that would hardly help the situation.
‘I couldn’t rightly say.’ He let her go and she leapt to a point far enough away that he could no longer feel her warmth. Her hands were wringing and she obviously didn’t know where to rest her gaze.
‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked, already knowing the answer. She shook her head.
‘I think I’d better go. I think I stayed long enough.’ Her hand moved to cover her stomach. ‘I think I drank and ate too much and had too much sun. And I think I had better lie down.’
Her face was beginning to look a little green.
‘It’s OK, Cara. Go lie down. I’ll get Room Service to send you up some Berocca and dry toast.’
‘Are you sure?’ she asked. ‘I’m sorry to have ruined your party.’
Adam looked around at the mess the crew had left in their wake. Finding the beseeching look in those green eyes too much to bear, he spun her on the spot and pushed her from the room. ‘Goodnight, Cara. Sweet dreams.’
And the look she sent him as he closed the door showed him exactly what those dreams would be. The green around her dilated pupils blazed, and it was only her hand resting lightly on her aching stomach that stopped him from wrenching her back into the room and making those very dreams come true.
Cara spent the next few days as far from Adam’s company as she could. It was bad enough hearing that the crew had a pool going to see who could correctly guess what had happened once they’d left Chris’s room, but having to face him with the remembrance of swaying in his arms imprinted all along her body was even worse. But thankfully he seemed to have found a lot of work to do regarding the show’s sponsorship, thus had turned up on set but rarely.
He had to know that he had her affections in the palm of his hand. She couldn’t even perk up the courage to try to be mates again. She had blown that ruse all too quickly by melting into his arms the minute she’d had the chance. Distance was best. Distance would make her feelings ease away, eventually. It simply had to.
So, by Saturday night, Cara was overjoyed when her best girls turned up to her hotel room for Saturday Night Cocktails.
‘Wow,’ Gracie said as she trundled into the hotel room, her eyes bright. ‘I can’t believe the security in this place. I was all prepared for a strip search and everything. If we didn’t have these little pass thingies you sent us, I fear we might have been shot.’
‘You’re not kidding,’ Cara said, knowing she had at least one tale she could share with her friends without breaking any contractual secrecy. Her cotton underwear story would make the ‘best-of’ list, she feared. Especially since Gracie and her jingling card were mainly to blame.
Gracie then turned to the doorway and beat a drum roll on her thighs. ‘And if that’s not news enough for you, Kelly’s back from her trip with Simon to Fremantle. Heeeeere’s Kell-Belle!’
Kelly came through the door with a, ‘Ta da!’
She gave Cara a much-needed hug and Cara hugged her back. ‘You look great!’
Kelly smiled. ‘And how the heck are you?’
‘You first,’ Cara said, carefully deflecting the attention away from herself. She hadn’t yet figured what she was going to tell her friends about…her last few days. ‘How was Fremantle, Kell?’
‘Good. Simon had to head over there to do some business so I decided to tag along. We caught up with his best man and I had the chance to meet some of the friends he made when he lived there. We had perfect weather. We stayed in an amazing resort. It was simply wonderful.’
Gracie raised her dark eyebrows. ‘Ahh the loving wife! All’s well between you two then?’
‘Really good.’ Kelly said with a charmed sigh that soon dissolved within an accompanying blush.
Gracie squealed. ‘Oh no, don’t get too gooey on us now, Kell-Belle. Soon all you’ll have to offer the Saturday Night Cocktails gang will be crochet patterns. Cara, I’m counting on you to keep us in the real world. Do you have anything to report? Or is the cone of silence still in place?’
‘It is, I’m afraid,’ Cara said. ‘Despite the pass thingies. But I can tell you the experience has been…more than I even hoped it would be.’
‘I am so proud of you, Cara,’ Kelly said as Gracie gave up on the details and went to check out the mini-bar. ‘Soon you will barely remember our names. We’ll wave to you as you trawl the red carpets of the world and you’ll look over, recognise us, almost, searching through your memory, clutching at the brief glimmer that you may have met us once.’
Cara finally stopped Kelly by placing a hand firmly over her mouth. ‘Stop it! Seriously, though, it’s really the same job with video cameras rather than still cameras.’
‘And more money, I hope? Don’t shoot down that fantasy, too!’
‘And more money,’ Cara agreed, her stomach warming at the thought of owning St Kilda Storeys entirely within the next few days. So far she had not managed to embarrass herself into losing her job, slow dance with the show’s sponsor notwithstanding.
‘High five to more money,’ Gracie joined in, holding up a hand ready to be slapped. When she was rewarded as such she said, ‘How are we going to do this? The mini-bar is stocked with enough to give us about half a cocktail each. Shall we order Room Service, or what?’
‘I’ve seen enough of the inside of this hotel room to last me a lifetime,’ Cara said, ‘so I thought we would trawl the hotel bar. And I’ve checked with my bouncer friends and they said it’s fine. No interlopers allowed so we can play there.’
‘Good idea,’ Kelly said.
‘But do remember, I have vouched for you guys. Be good. Do me proud. And whatever you might accidentally learn while here is to remain top secret. This is really important to me so—’
‘Yadda, yadda, yadda,’ Kelly said. ‘Lips shut tight. Besides I have something else to tell you that’s a heck of a lot more interesting than some nameless television show. We have something to really celebrate tonight.’
The tone in Kelly’s voice stopped Cara cold.
‘And what’s that?’
‘Simon and I are going to have a baby.’
Out of the corner of her eye, Cara saw Gracie’s mouth flop open and she knew she was doing just as good a fish impression herself. The two of them threw themselves at Kelly.
‘Kell-Belle!’ Gracie squealed. ‘That’s fantastic!’
‘Kelly, that is the best news ever,’ Cara yelled into Kelly’s ear.
When she finally extricated herself from the octopus arms of her friends, Kelly said, ‘All I can say is thank goodness for these pass thingies. If they hadn’t let me in tonight I would have scaled the walls to find you. And I’m not sure that Simon would have been impressed.’
‘Neither would I,’ Cara insisted. ‘By order of the Saturday Night Cocktails gang there will be no wall-scaling in your immediate future.’
‘And no cocktails,’ Gracie piped in.
‘But still lots of celebrations,’ Kelly said. ‘Come on, girls, let’s hit the bar. And the first round of apple juice is on me!’
‘So everything’s cool?’ Chris asked, leaning back in the dining chair in the hotel restaurant.
Dean nodded. ‘All chugging away nicely. The news about this show must be locked up real tight, as nothing has leaked at all. Our share prices are still steady.’
Adam nodded, soaking in the business talk like a much-missed elixir. It was track
able. It made sense. ‘We’ll know the minute the news hits the streets. There’ll be a bump to be sure.’
‘You mean you don’t think the shareholders will think I’ve gone mad and all jump ship?’ Chris asked, his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
Adam had the good grace to grin. ‘My sponsorship deal will make us bucketloads, mate, despite the fact that you are as mad as a snake.’
Adam, Dean and Chris all looked up as a threesome of laughing young women spilled from the lift and made their way across the empty foyer to the hotel bar.
But Adam’s gaze slammed to a halt once it hit Cara. She looked amazing in a chic white sleeveless top, a black knee-length skirt that clung to every curve and those seductive red shoes that did disquieting things to her walk. Her hair had been blow-dried straight and pulled back into a low pony-tail, a flirty fringe stopping just short of her lashes. She looked so unbelievably lovely Adam’s peaceful mood disappeared in an instant and his body began to twitch with discomfort.
‘Tell me they are some of your choices, buddy,’ Dean begged in a soft, distracted voice, ‘and I’ll be on your side against Adam come hell or high water.’
Chris laughed. ‘Sorry, Dean. The taller one in the middle is my stylist for the show, the other two I don’t know. Shall I call them over?’
‘No, leave them be—’ Adam began but it was too late. They had been spotted. So much for a night of business talk to get his head straightened out.
‘Cara!’ Chris called out, standing and waving.
Cara glanced their way and smiled. Adam was hit with that same light-hearted sensation that still took him by surprise every time she came into view.
Adam stood as the ladies approached. And Cara’s smile faltered the instant it landed on him.
‘Won’t you and your friends join us, please?’ Chris asked.
‘Three girls, three boys. This is just trouble waiting to happen,’ said one of Cara’s friends, a curvy brunette in a tight red dress. The other friend in the denim jacket slapped her on the arm but could not control her indulgent smile.
‘Good evening, Chris,’ Cara said, giving him a great hug. When she pulled away her gaze remained resolutely anywhere but upon Adam.
‘And you must be Dean,’ she said, reaching over to shake the other man’s hand. Adam watched as his friend all but melted under her sweet smile.
Finally she had no choice but to turn his way.
‘Adam,’ she said, leaning over to place a feather-light kiss upon his cheek.
He closed his eyes. He couldn’t help himself. He was better able to breathe deep of the moment, to memorise the supple softness of cheek against his, her light floral perfume, the brief grip of her small hand upon his arm.
When he opened his eyes she was pulling away and he was startled to find her eyes were closed too. She blinked them open as though she were becoming used to a suddenly bright light. Their green depths sparkled, crinkling at the edges for a moment as though questioning…what?
Then she bit her lip and pulled away, physically and mentally, all but hiding herself behind her friends as she made her introductions.
‘The one with the mouth is Gracie Lane,’ Cara said. ‘She’s a croupier in the high rollers room at Crown Casino.’
‘My advice is always choose red,’ Gracie of the curves and tight dress said, giving a little curtsy as she shook hands with each of the gents.
Adam watched in amazement as quiet, workaholic Dean all but split a seam to get to her first. ‘It suits you,’ he said, his ears turning the same colour as Gracie’s dress.
‘Hey,’ Gracie suddenly said, pointing an accusing finger at Adam.
‘Yes?’
‘You’re not Adam Tyler, are you?’
Adam nodded, then shook his head, not sure which bit of the question to answer first. Then, to avoid further confusion, he said, ‘I am he.’
‘Wow!’ She grabbed Cara’s other friend by the arm and tugged several times. ‘This is the guy who replaced you and Simon as the most photographed couple in Fresh magazine’s social pages after your wedding. Though of course he was the only constant in the couple, changing the girl on his arm as regularly as he changed his tie.’
Gracie looked back at Adam, with one eyebrow cocked cheekily as though daring him to deny it. He shrugged his response, which earned him a huge grin from Gracie, who looked around the room.
‘No new girl tonight?’
He shook his head and this time kept his mouth shut.
Her smile grew. ‘Fabulous! Then this should make for one heck of an evening.’
‘If you’re done, Gracie…’ Cara said.
Gracie linked her spare arm through Cara’s. ‘For the moment.’
Adam noticed that Cara looked a little flushed. It seemed these friends of hers were even more outspoken than she was. And that certainly did bode for an interesting evening. ‘And this is Kelly Coleman,’ Cara said. ‘Ever since she got back from honeymoon a few months ago, she’s been writing an insanely popular column called Married, and Loving It in Fresh magazine.’
‘Coleman is her married name. She’s married,’ Gracie reiterated swiftly, eyeing off each of the men individually. ‘And pregnant.’
Cara and Kelly both shot Gracie a look that said, Shut your mouth now.
‘Sorry. But at least now we can celebrate in style without having to tiptoe around the issue.’
‘You couldn’t tiptoe if your life depended on it, Gracie,’ Kelly said.
Introductions complete, Adam said, ‘Dean, why don’t you fix us up with a larger table? And, Chris, order some drinks.’
‘Cocktails,’ Gracie insisted.
‘Apple juice,’ Cara interrupted quickly.
‘Apple juice it is,’ Dean promised with a grin.
Once the table was set, they took their places, with Cara calling the shots. Boy girl, boy girl, boy girl, she ordered.
She had somehow managed to take the seat farthest from Adam, and he had the feeling it had been entirely deliberate.
CHAPTER NINE
WHEN their drinks arrived, sparkling apple juice with little umbrellas, no less, and they had ordered a round of potato wedges with sour cream and guacamole, the small spontaneous party settled into a companionable rhythm.
‘Well, since we can’t talk about the reason why we are all here, what can we talk about?’ Gracie asked.
Chris piped up. ‘How about you tell us all about young Cara here? She’s a quiet one. Keeps herself under wraps. She must know every last detail about my life but I know nothing at all about her.’
‘What do you want to know?’ Kelly asked, her eyes sparkling.
‘No, please,’ Cara begged. ‘I am seriously uninteresting.’
Adam blinked as she shot a glance his way. Even though the gang as a whole was relaxed, she was on edge. And by that glance he knew it was because of him. It was strangely comforting to know he wasn’t the only one who felt as if he were teetering on the edge of some inexplicable abyss.
‘Does she have a middle name? Did she have braces as a child?’ Chris asked. ‘How old was she when she lost—?’
‘Yes. No. And none of your business!’ Cara shouted.
‘I was going to say when she lost her first tooth!’
‘Sure you were.’
Chris reached out and gave Cara a chummy one-armed hug and she blushed adorably under the attention. Adam shuffled in his chair, knowing there was no way he could ever do that with her now, just reach out and hug her like that. It was as though as soon as their skin touched they were both scorched by the contact. He was achingly envious of his friend and his easy way with her. Even though he knew she saw Chris as nothing more than a friend, it was still a much more evolved relationship than the two of them had.
‘What about her love life?’ Chris asked, with his arm still casually draped over her shoulder. ‘She tells me there is no one out in the real world, but I can’t believe that. She’s just such a doll.’
Adam saw Cara
shoot her friends a death stare that would have stopped him in his tracks but they poked their tongues out in the face of such rubbish.
‘Believe it,’ Kelly said. ‘But if there was someone, he would be a puppy dog.’
‘All slobber and mess on the carpet?’ Dean asked.
The girls cracked up, though Cara buried her head in her hands, obviously knowing there was no point in trying to stop her friends once they were on a roll.
‘Oh, no,’ Kelly said. ‘That would be more trouble than they were worth. I mean that she goes for guys who are sweet and accommodating. Guys who do as they are told.’
‘Come on, that’s not true,’ Cara said.
‘Please,’ Gracie said, shifting straight to the edge of her seat. ‘Name me one guy you’ve dated who has ever said no to you and lasted another day.’
Cara’s mouth opened, then snapped shut tight.
Gracie grinned. ‘Yet, even though we have a distinct pattern in young Cara’s preferences, she has never settled down with a puppy dog yet.’
‘Right you are,’ Kelly said. ‘Maybe there’s something in that. Maybe what she really needs is an anti-puppy dog. Maybe what she really needs is someone with the strength to tell her to stay.’
Adam watched as Cara’s hunted gaze flickered from Kelly to Gracie before settling on him with a force that slammed him against the back of his chair.
He knew he was no puppy dog, far from it. And she obviously thought the same thing. And though she verbally denied the gist of the entire conversation, in that one look he knew that she knew they were onto something.
Cara was a woman who until now had dated yes-men.
Adam was anything but.
Cara was a woman who would unquestionably blossom in the arms of someone whose strength and will matched her own.
And Adam was such a man.
So what did she expect him to do about it?
Cara couldn’t handle another second sitting across from Adam. She had placed him there thinking it would be more comfortable than having to avoid brushing against his arm as they ate. But having him sitting directly across from her meant that she had no choice but to make constant eye contact. And those eyes of his spoke volumes she had no intention of indulging.
