by Nicola Marsh
A mantra taken from her mum’s handbook to life.
‘He loved you, right?’
Wade nodded.
‘Then I think you have your answer right there.’ She tapped her chest. ‘If it was my heart and I had people I cared about, I’d rather make the most of whatever time we had together, even if it was only phone calls, than field a bunch of useless questions like “How are you feeling?” or “Is there anything I can do?”’
She lowered her hand and continued. ‘I wouldn’t care about how often I saw the person or waste time worrying over trivial stuff like the length of time since we spoke. I’d remember the good times and want to live every minute as if it were my last.’
‘Dad did travel a lot the last two years...’ He straightened, his frown clearing. ‘Thanks.’
Uncomfortable with his praise and wishing she hadn’t blabbed so much, she shrugged. ‘For what? Being a philosophising pragmatist?’
‘For helping me consider another point of view.’ Wade gestured at the office. ‘Dad did a great job building this company and we were close. Until he got distracted.’
His frown returned momentarily and she knew it would take more than a few encouraging words from her to get him to change his mindset and let go of the guilt.
Deliberately brusque and businesslike, he shuffled papers on his desk. ‘I’m here to ensure the company regains a foothold in the publishing market.’
‘I thought that’s why I’m here.’
She’d hoped to make him laugh. Instead, he fixed her with a speculative stare.
‘How do you do it?’
‘Do what?’
‘Live your life under a spotlight. Fake it for all those people.’
Increasingly uncomfortable, she shrugged. ‘Who said I was faking?’
He ran a hand over his face. ‘Something my annoying stepmother said, about WAGs leading fabricated lives.’
A shiver of foreboding sent a chill through Liza.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did Babs Urquart know something? Or was she making a sweeping generalisation?
Lord, if her fabricated life ever became known they were all sunk and Wade would look at her with derision and scorn, not the continued interest that made her squirm with longing.
‘Guess we all put on a front when we need to,’ she said, thankful her voice didn’t quiver. ‘Nothing wrong with it if no one gets hurt.’
He didn’t reply and his stare intensified.
‘Is that what you’re doing with me?’ He placed his palms on the desk and leaned forward, shrinking the space between them. ‘Putting on a front?’
Smart guy.
‘Why would I do that?’
Yeah, as if he’d buy her feigned innocence.
‘Because you’re running scared. I want to date you, and I’m pretty damn sure you want to date me, but we continue to do the avoidance dance.’ He beckoned her closer with a crooked finger. ‘What I want to know is why.’
The longer he stared at her, his dark eyes intent and mesmerising, the harder it was to remember the question let alone formulate an articulate answer.
‘Already told you. We work together. Too complicated.’
Her breath came in short, choppy punches, as if her lungs squeezed tight and wouldn’t let the air out fast enough.
Her excuse for the breathlessness constricting her chest and she was sticking to it.
‘Technically we don’t work together. I’m here as an interim. You blackmailed me into giving you a job.’ He waved a hand between them. ‘You and me? We don’t exactly fit the mould of corporate colleagues who shouldn’t fraternise.’
He wore the smile of a smug victor. ‘Got any other excuses?’
Yeah, Liza had plenty, but she’d never divulge the real reason she couldn’t date Wade. Not in a million years.
‘For now, don’t we have a book launch to attend?’ She stood, put some much-needed distance between them. ‘How’s that for an excuse?’
‘Damn flimsy, if you ask me,’ he said, his gaze sweeping over her in admiration.
‘I didn’t.’ She swept up her portfolio and tucked it under her arm. ‘Email me the book-launch details and I’ll meet you there.’
His frown returned. ‘It’s two blocks away. Makes sense for us to go together.’
When she took too long to respond, he added, ‘I’ll walk you back to your car afterwards. You know, in case you think I’ll bundle you into my car and try to take advantage of you.’
She couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Okay.’
Wade shook his head. ‘You’re an exasperating woman, but if your marketing skills are half as good as your bio, Qu Publishing is going to love you.’
Her heart gave a funny little quirk at the L word tripping so easily from his lips.
As long as his publishing company was the only thing that loved her.
For as much as Liza secretly yearned for Wade, she didn’t have room in her life for love.
Not now.
Not ever.
NINE
LIZA LITHGOW’S STYLE TIPS
FOR MAXIMUM WAG WOW IMPACT
The Hair
For the ultra-glam events like the MVP Awards (and especially if your guy is favoured to win the Most Valuable Player award) it pays to indulge in a trip to a hair salon. Even if you don’t go for a fancy up-do, blow-dried sleek hair is always in vogue.
For maximum do-it-at-home WAG wow, try the loose knot. It’s sophisticated and relaxed and sexy all at the same time. The perfect ’do if you’re aiming for understated elegance.
Here’s how you do it:
Wash your hair.
Add a volumising mousse to damp hair.
Blow-dry hair from the ends to the roots to create more volume.
Use a comb to tease the crown.
Using fingers, gather hair in a low ponytail.
Secure with a band.
Fix into a loose bun with bobby pins and let strands fall.
Finish with a light spritz of hairspray to secure.
If you’re dying to try a different look but don’t have the length required, hair extensions are an option.
But make sure they blend with your colour and get an expert to do them.
You don’t want a clump of hair dislodging at an inopportune moment (like when the TV cameras are panning to you when your guy wins that MVP award!).
‘Did you learn anything new at the book launch?’
‘Yeah.’ Wade screwed up his nose and rubbed his chest. ‘Cab sav and spinach-feta quiche don’t mix.’
Liza laughed. ‘That’ll teach you for scoffing an entire tray of hors d’oeuvres.’
‘I didn’t have dinner. I was hungry.’ The corners of his mouth curved. ‘Your fault.’
‘How do you figure that?’
‘You wouldn’t have dinner with me.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘That’s because you said we had a book launch to attend. For work. Remember?’
He heaved a sigh. ‘Believe me, it’s all I think about.’ He took her hand as they entered the underground car park. ‘Next to you, that is.’
An illicit thrill shot through Liza. She shouldn’t be so happy Wade ranked her next to his precious business, not when she was determined to keep him at bay, but she couldn’t help it.
The guy was seriously hot and she’d bet he invaded her thoughts a heck of a lot more often than she did his.
‘We’re not supposed to do this, for a million reasons—’
&nbs
p; ‘Can’t think of one right now.’
He’d pinned her against the wall before she could blink and plastered his mouth to hers.
The feel of his commanding lips wiped all rational thought from her mind as her body responded on an innate level that scared the hell out of her.
With this one, scorching kiss she remembered in excruciatingly vivid detail how he’d kissed his way all over her body.
How he’d caressed and stroked until she’d been out of her mind.
How he’d licked and savoured every inch of her skin until she’d melted.
His hands slid over her butt and pulled her flush against him.
Damn, how could something so wrong feel so right?
Liza wriggled, needing to push him off, get in her car and head home to Cindy.
Instead, as he changed the pressure of the kiss and touched his tongue to hers, she combusted.
She arched against him, revelling in the feel of his hardness. She wound her fingers through his hair, angled his head and kissed him right back, pouring every ounce of her repressed yearning into it.
He groaned. She moaned.
His hands were everywhere. Her skin blistered with the heat generated between their bodies.
He didn’t stop. She didn’t care.
Until the sound of a car engine starting on the level below penetrated the erotic fog clouding her head. And she realised what the hell she was doing.
She broke the kiss and dragged in great lungfuls of air, her ragged breathing matching his.
‘Don’t expect me to apologise for that,’ he said, resting his forehead against hers, his hands clasping her waist, leaving her no room to move.
‘I would, if I hadn’t enjoyed it so much.’ She rested her palms on his chest, wishing she had the willpower to shove him away. ‘You won’t take no for an answer, will you?’
He straightened and smiled down at her. ‘You’re only just figuring that out?’
‘Maybe I’m a slow learner.’
‘Or maybe you’re running from something when it’d be better to confront it and grab it with both hands?’ He squeezed her waist. ‘By it I mean you should be grabbing me, of course.’
Laughter bubbled up in her chest and spilled out. She loved an intelligent guy. She loved a funny guy more. Love being figurative. Totally.
‘I really need to get home and work on the marketing campaign.’
He humphed. ‘And I really need to get home and work on it too.’
He released her and snapped his fingers. ‘Here’s a thought. Why don’t we head home together and do some work?’
She chuckled. ‘Don’t hold your breath expecting me to ask your place or mine.’
‘Not happening, huh?’
She shook her head. ‘Nope.’
He ducked his head, nuzzled her neck, and the buzz was back. ‘And there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?’
Her libido whimpered and rolled over.
Her mind yelled, ‘Easy!’
‘Uh...no,’ she said, too soft, too breathy, too needy.
‘Sure?’
His lips brushed the tender skin beneath her ear and trailed slowly downward where his teeth nipped her collarbone with gentle bites that made her body zing and heat pool low in her belly.
Sure? She wasn’t sure of anything, least of all how she would get to her car, get in and drive home without him in the passenger seat.
‘Wade, you’re so—’
‘Addictive?’ He licked the dip between her collarbones.
‘Wicked?’ He deliberately brushed his stubbled jaw along the top of her breast.
‘Sexy?’ He edged towards her mouth, his lips teasing at the corner.
‘Persistent,’ she said, holding her breath as his lips brushed hers once, twice, soft, taunting.
As a car’s headlights panned over them, Liza nudged him away. ‘That’d be a great boost for the book’s marketing. ceo and wag caught in compromising position underground.’
‘All publicity’s good publicity,’ he said, completely unruffled while she felt dishevelled and flustered and turned on.
‘Beg to differ.’ She tugged down her jacket, straightened her blouse and smoothed her hair. ‘Are you walking me to my car or not?’
‘Lead the way.’ His arm swept forward in a flourish, and as she passed him she could’ve sworn his hand deliberately brushed her butt.
Wade didn’t play fair.
Then again, the way her skin tingled with awareness and her body seemed lit up from within, did she want him to?
* * *
Despite the urge to run from Wade as fast as her legs could carry her, Liza was glad he’d walked her to her car.
She wouldn’t have made it otherwise. Her knees shook so badly after their impromptu make-out session in a dark corner of the underground car park, if it hadn’t been for his steadying arm around her waist she would’ve definitely stumbled.
And her head was shrouded in a passionate haze, her only excuse for slipping up and not waving him away before they reached her wheels.
‘You drive this?’
She slipped out of his grasp and fumbled for her keys. ‘Yeah, why?’
‘I pictured you in something swift and sporty.’ Bemused, he walked around her ten-year-old people carrier. ‘You could fit an entire football team in the back of this thing.’
Or a wheelchair, but that was on a strictly need-to-know basis.
‘I like big cars.’ She tried not to sound defensive. And failed, if his raised eyebrows were any indication.
‘So it seems.’
She flicked the remote button to unlock the doors but he laid a hand on her forearm and stopped her from opening the driver’s door.
‘Wait.’
She couldn’t. Because if she spent one more second around him in this befuddled mess she’d fall into his arms and beg for a repeat of that one memorable night they’d spent together.
‘I really have to go.’
In response, he moved in closer, placing a hand on either side of her waist and pinning her between cold, hard metal behind and hot, hard body in front.
‘Come home with me.’
Her heart lurched with longing but before she could protest he rushed on. ‘You doubted my sincerity the first night we were together? Then let’s start afresh. Make tonight our night. No work. No excuses. Just two people who are crazy about each other indulging their mutual passion.’
His heated gaze bore into her, unrelenting, demanding an honest answer. ‘No complications at the office tomorrow. No second-guessing. Just you and me and an incredible night to be ourselves.’
Ah hell.
Liza was tempted. Beyond tempted.
Her body strained towards him of its own volition, miles ahead of her head in saying yes.
But what was the point? One more night would only solidify what she already knew.
She could easily fall for Wade Urquart given half a chance.
And she couldn’t. Not with her responsibilities. Not with her life plan.
It wouldn’t be fair to encumber a guy with Cindy’s full-time care and she would never leave Cindy to fend for herself.
It was why she never considered a long-term relationship, why she would never marry.
Normally it didn’t bother her. But she’d never met a guy like Wade before, the kind of guy who elicited wild fantasies, the kind that consisted of homes and picket fences and a brood of dark-haired, dark-eyed cherubs just like their dad.
‘Stop thinking so hard.’ He placed a hand over her heart and it bucked wildly beneath it. ‘What does in here tell you?’
To run like the wind.
But she swallowed that instinctive response and reluctantly m
et his gaze.
She had to refuse.
But an incredible thing happened as her eyes met his.
She saw a confusing jumble of hope and vulnerability and desire, every emotion she was feeling reflected back at her like a mirror.
No guy she’d ever been with had been so revealing and in that moment she knew she couldn’t walk away from him. At least for tonight.
‘Okay,’ she said, mimicking his action and feeling his heart pound beneath her palm. ‘But this is a one-off, okay? We don’t discuss it again or bring it up at the office.’
‘Okay,’ he said, swooping in for a kiss that snatched her breath and quite possibly her heart.
* * *
Liza didn’t remember much of the short drive to Wade’s Southbank apartment. She could barely concentrate on the road with his hand on her thigh the entire time.
He didn’t speak, sensing her need for silence. She couldn’t speak, not without the risk of blurting how he made her feel. Uncertain and flustered and on a high.
Hell, how bad would it be come morning after another amazing night in his arms?
She shouldn’t have agreed, but the part of her that had had the life she’d planned ripped away following the phone call from her financial adviser’s office still craved a little indulgence.
She was doing her best: with the biography, with the marketing job, with caring for Cindy.
She deserved a little break, deserved to feel good, and Wade was guaranteed to make her feel incredible, albeit for a few hours, tonight.
His penthouse apartment was everything she’d imagined: glossy wooden floors, electrically controlled slimline blinds, glass and chrome and leather. Minimalist chic. Reeking of money.
Not that he gave her much of a chance to study it, for the moment they stepped down into the split-level lounge room he had his arms around her and backed her against a sleek marble-topped table.
‘Do you have any idea how much I want you?’ he said, framing her face with his hands, staring deep into her eyes.
The depth of his need shocked her, as if he’d given her a glimpse right to his very soul.
He shouldn’t want her this much. It wouldn’t end well.
But she’d come too far to back out now and she couldn’t even if she wanted to. For she needed him just as badly. If only for tonight.
