The Millionaire's Proposition

by Avril Tremayne

  Refresh, refresh, refresh…

  Come on—respond!

  Fifteen minutes later his phone buzzed.

  Text message.

  His stomach clenched as he reached for his phone. Because he just knew.

  And, yep, there it was.

  Play Time. Sunday. Noon. My apartment.

  Scott hurled the phone across the room.

  Chapter Thirteen

  KATE SAW THE Whitsundays girls in their usual corner table at Fox on Friday night, cocktails already in hand, and thought, Thank heaven. A rowdy, uncomplicated girls’ night out was exactly what she needed.

  Jessica, who was facing the entrance, was the first to notice her across the crowded floor of the bar area, and she waved enthusiastically as Kate squeezed her way across the floor.

  Willa slid a Manhattan—Kate’s favourite cocktail—to her as she collapsed into her seat.

  Kate, surprised and touched by Willa’s prescience, kissed her.

  ‘I knew you’d need it.’ Willa’s smile was full of sympathy. ‘How did the case end up?’

  Kate eased the elastic from her hair and ran a tired hand through the strands. ‘Victory for Team Cleary.’

  ‘Fantastic!’

  ‘But it was harrowing, even for a jaded cynic of a lawyer.’

  ‘You’re not a jaded cynic,’ Willa said. ‘Or you wouldn’t care so deeply.’

  Kate felt a little prickle of tears—and that just underscored how wrung-out she was, because she never let her emotions show in public. She blinked the tears away, smiling determinedly.

  ‘Whatever I am, I sure need this!’ she said, picking up her glass and half draining it. ‘And now—a fun topic of conversation, please.’

  Amy laughed. ‘Well, you’re just in time to hear Willa tell us about her most romantic moment with Rob. Will that do?’

  ‘That will do very, very nicely!’ Kate said. ‘But first…’ She drained the rest of her Manhattan and signalled to a passing server for another round of drinks for all four of them. ‘Better! Okay, Willa darling, spill it!’

  ‘I’m not sure you guys will think it’s romantic, but…oh, God, it is!’

  ‘Don’t make us beg!’ Amy said.

  ‘Well… Rob recommended me to a chief financial officer…’

  ‘And…?’ Amy urged.

  ‘For a vitamin distribution company.’

  ‘And…?’ Jessica prompted.

  Willa sucked her mojito through a straw. ‘Rob told him I was super-bright!’

  ‘And so you are, my darling,’ Kate said.

  ‘And…and brilliant!’

  ‘Nice,’ Jessica added.

  ‘And that I knew about foreign-owned entities, so maybe I could help find a creative solution to a problem the company was having.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Okaaaay… That’s not exactly floating my boat just yet, but I’m hoping something juicy is coming up.’

  Willa beamed around at them, glowing with love. ‘The CFO said they’d had a dozen accountants try to find a solution and fail. He said Rob had assured him I would be able to help. And I did! And I got paid!’ She sighed, all satisfaction, and sucked up another mouthful of mojito. ‘Isn’t that romantic?’

  Kate, Amy and Jessica stared at her, and then Amy burst out laughing.

  One by one the others started laughing too.

  ‘Hey, it’s not funny,’ Willa protested, but she had a smile lurking too.

  Jessica said, ‘Well, it’s not exactly rose petals strewn over the bedcovers.’

  Amy looked at Jessica. ‘Seriously? That’s your romantic fantasy? I would never have picked it, Miss I-can-play-basketball-and-change-a-car-tyre-when-the-game’s-over.’

  ‘Well, I can change a car tyre,’ Jessica said. ‘But I’d like a rose-petal-strewn-bed for afterwards. With candlelight. And being hand-fed ripe strawberries in the midst of it all. Lovely.’ She raised her eyebrows at Amy. ‘Why? What’s yours, Miss Personality-plus?’

  ‘Easy. A defender,’ Amy said definitely. ‘Someone who will ride in like a medieval knight on a destrier, catch me up and save me from…from…’ She stopped, smiled a little sheepishly. ‘Well, from danger,’ she finished, then sighed. ‘That’s romance.’

  All three looked expectantly at Kate.

  ‘Oh, no,’ she said.

  ‘Come on,’ Amy begged.

  Jessica sniggered. ‘I’ll bet it has something to do with Big Burt the handy vibrator.’

  Kate felt herself blush—and then blushed harder when three jaws dropped simultaneously as the girls took in her colour change.

  ‘No way!’ Amy said.

  ‘Not…not exactly,’ Kate said, and then she threw in the metaphorical towel. ‘Okay, you asked for it. It does happen to involve Burt. Not Big Burt, but his namesake. Burt Lancaster. And Deborah Kerr. And, no, Jessica, that does not mean I want to be in a three-way with Burt and Deborah, who are, in fact, both deceased. And, no, I never wanted to have sex with Burt Lancaster when he was alive either.’

  ‘So what does it mean?’

  ‘It means—Oh, dear, this is kind of embarrassing! Okay, it’s all about my obsession with From Here to Eternity, which I really need to outgrow. And you have got to watch that movie, Jessica! It should be mandatory viewing for all women.’

  ‘Okay—it’s on the download list!’ Jessica said promptly.

  Kate ran a finger around the rim of her empty glass. ‘When you get to the scene at the beach their passion is just so…so strong… And there’s nothing they can do about it except acknowledge it and know that it’s going to happen. They’ve been swimming, and they’re at the shore, and she’s lying on the sand, and then he’s there with her, and she’s in his arms. And he’s kissing her like he can’t help himself, with the waves breaking over them… And when she runs for drier ground he follows her, and drops to his knees, and basically…basically falls on her—like he’s so damned hungry for everything about her… Well, whew!’ She waved a hand in front of her heated face. ‘That is some scene.’

  Jessica was, likewise, fanning herself. ‘It beats Willa’s chief financial officer and my rose petals, that’s for sure. And it gives Amy’s destrier a nudge too.’

  Kate laughed. ‘Well, suffice to say if a man kisses me like that in the surf I’m his. From here to eternity.’

  There was a moment of respectful silence.

  And then Willa smiled. ‘There’s one thing I need to add to my own account,’ she said, all smug. ‘When Rob spoke to that vitamin-company CFO he said…’ Pause. Blink. ‘He said…’ She paused again, went all dreamy-eyed. ‘He said he’d trust me with his life.’

  ‘Oh…’ said Amy.

  ‘Oh…’ said Jessica.

  ‘Oh,’ said Kate. Deep breath. ‘In that case, you win.’

  Willa was glowing. ‘Yes, I do, don’t I?’ she asked, delighted.

  ‘I wonder what Chantal would say?’ Amy mused. ‘About her most romantic moment, I mean.’

  Willa pondered that, eyes half closed. ‘It would be something to do with dancing. The romance of swaying against a man, having him hold you close, showing you just by the way he looked at you that you were his…’

  Four sighs as their fresh round of drinks was deposited—and then four dreamy sips.

  ‘So Chantal’s in your camp, Willa. She’s already had her moment,’ Amy said. ‘With Brodie, I mean, at Weeping Reef. Because that’s what happened, right? The dance, the look that everyone could see?’

  ‘It was sizzling,’ Willa said.

  Amy drained her glass. ‘No wonder poor Scott got bent out of shape.’

  Kate felt the blood drain from her face. What? What? ‘Scott?’ she said, and thanked all the saints in heaven that her voice had come out halfway normal.

  ‘Oh, yeah—you don’t know the story,’ Willa said, sounding sad. ‘Scott and Chantal were an item at Weeping Reef. The item. Until Brodie came on the scene. Actually, they were an item even after Brodie arrived. Chantal and Brodie didn’t seem to like
each other—except that they did, if you know what I mean, and just didn’t recognise it. I think I was the only one who saw what was happening. Scott certainly didn’t, and he was blindsided. Chantal was dancing with Brodie—which was no big deal. She loves dancing. Lives for it. But she could never get Scott onto the dance floor, and he never had a problem with her dancing with other men. But that night it was…more. Like a…a flash. The way they moved together…the way they looked at each other. Everyone knew in that one moment that Chantal and Brodie belonged together.’

  Kate remembered asking Scott to dance at that dinner. Him telling her he didn’t. Ever. Remembered him insisting on absolute fidelity in their contract.

  ‘So what happened?’ she asked through her aching throat.

  ‘A huge argument—which ended with Scott slugging Brodie. Brodie took off, leaving Scott and Chantal at the resort together…but not together. Not at all together. Looking back, it all seems so needlessly dramatic, given nothing actually happened between Chantal and Brodie. But Scott and Brodie haven’t spoken since.’

  Uh-oh. Awkward. ‘Actually, they…they have spoken,’ Kate said, and took a quick silent breath to steady her nerves for the inquisition.

  The three girls stared at her, waiting.

  Kate took a slow sip of her Manhattan. ‘I was having coffee with Scott, at the marina across the road from my place, on Sunday morning. And Brodie walked past. His boat’s moored there.’

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Amy squealed. ‘I don’t know what part to ask about first. Coffee with Scott? How did that come about?’

  ‘We’ve seen each other a couple of times since Willa’s party.’

  There was a long pregnant pause.

  ‘It’s nothing,’ Kate said.

  More silence.

  ‘Really nothing,’ she insisted. ‘There was an…an attraction there, and we wanted to see if there was anything worth exploring. That’s all.’

  ‘And is there?’ Jessica asked.

  Kate took another sip. ‘No. There really isn’t,’ she said, and felt the truth of that, the pang of it, pierce right through her heart. It took her a moment to recover from that certainty, to find her voice again. ‘Anyway, Sunday morning he was in the area, so—’

  Amy choked on her drink. ‘In the area? Are you sure there’s nothing worth exploring?’

  ‘Yes, in the area, and, no, there’s nothing worth exploring,’ Kate insisted, but she could feel the heat slash across her cheekbones. ‘He buzzed my apartment and I went down to meet him.’

  Very important to get the message out that he hadn’t stayed the night at her place. She was a little embarrassed about hiding what was a straightforward arrangement from her friends, but she couldn’t seem to up and confess. And it wasn’t only the confidentiality clause stopping her. It just felt too…painful, somehow, to share.

  ‘And what happened?’ Amy asked.

  ‘While we were sitting there drinking our coffee along came Brodie.’

  ‘And then…? Come on, Kate,’ Amy urged. ‘The suspense is killing me.’

  ‘All right. I’m just trying to remember it.’ As if she didn’t! ‘There was some…tension. Yes, now that I think back there was definitely tension between them to start with. But I left them talking while I went to order, and by the time I returned, it was all quite amicable between them.’

  ‘Thank God,’ Willa said. ‘They were so close, back in the day. Closer than brothers. It hasn’t felt right, their estrangement.’

  ‘So what happened next?’ Amy asked. ‘Is Brodie still here? I’d love to see him. And did they talk about Chantal?’

  Chantal. The name whipped through Kate’s bloodstream, breath-stealing.

  Jealous. She was jealous—of something that had happened eight years ago. Because one woman had sneaked past Scott’s defences, where she couldn’t go. Where she was resolutely blocked from going. She picked up her glass to take another sip of her cocktail, realised it was empty but had no recollection of drinking it. Too much, too fast.

  ‘I don’t know what happened then because I left them to it,’ she said. ‘I knew they hadn’t seen each other in a while, and I… I had work to finish. I haven’t spoken to Scott since.’

  Which wasn’t strictly correct…but was still true. Officer Cleary and Lorelei had spoken to Scott—not Kate.

  ‘Nobody was throwing punches, if that’s any comfort to you,’ Kate added. ‘And one thing I do know is that Brodie is still in Sydney, because he’s giving me a sailing lesson tomorrow.’

  ‘Oh! You are so lucky!’ Jessica said. ‘I’d love to learn to sail.’

  ‘Well, it’s only one lesson,’ Kate said. ‘All I can really expect is to find out if I’ve got what it takes or if it will be like the time I tried Tai Chi—nice idea, but not going to happen. Why don’t you come too, Jessica?’

  Jessica sighed. ‘Nah—I’ve got kickboxing tomorrow.’

  ‘Why don’t you ask Scott to teach you if you’re really interested, Jess?’ Amy suggested. ‘He’s the absolute best. Better than Brodie—even though Brodie’s the one who’s made it his career.’ She turned to Kate, looking quizzical. ‘In fact, Kate, I don’t know why you don’t ask Scott to teach you. At least he lives in Sydney, so you’ll get more than one lesson out of him.’

  Kate busied herself snagging a server and ordering more drinks. By the time she’d done that, she had her poker face on. ‘From what I’ve gathered, Scott doesn’t sail any more.’

  ‘That’s true,’ Willa said. ‘You know, Weeping Reef was so beautiful, and we were all so excited to be there, but a lot of things went wrong. Things that…that changed us, I guess.’

  ‘Ain’t that the truth,’ Amy murmured. And then she took a deep breath, seeming to shake off a thought. She smiled—very brightly. ‘But that was then and this is now, so let’s drink to moving on. Onwards and upwards, ladies. Onwards and upwards.’

  The girls clinked glasses, although Kate wondered if her empty glass actually counted.

  ‘The music is starting and they’re opening the bar off the dance floor,’ Jessica said. ‘The crowd should spread out soon.’ She looked at the packed bar area. ‘I wonder if there’s a rose-petal-sprinkler in amongst that lot who might be persuaded to ask me to dance.’

  And then Jessica gasped, her eyes wide as saucers.

  ‘Well, bite me!’ she said. ‘Maybe I will come along tomorrow, Kate. Because Brodie looks mighty hot.’

  ‘Huh?’ Amy swivelled in her seat and squealed.

  Willa was the next to look. ‘Oh, my God. I told Rob to join us here, but…but…how…?’

  Kate turned very, very slowly as a cold finger of dread trailed its nail down her back.

  Rob, Brodie…and Scott. Heading across the floor towards them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ‘LOOK WHO I roped in!’ Rob said as the three men reached the table.

  And then everyone was standing, exclaiming, hugging, laughing. Even Jessica, who’d never met Brodie, was in there.

  Everyone except Kate, who stayed in her seat with a fixed smile on her face, watching the reunion.

  There was a general scrabbling for chairs while Brodie went off to the bar for beer and the next round of cocktails was delivered.

  Rob sat and drew Willa onto his lap. ‘Scott called to see if I wanted to go for a beer with him and Brodie, but I persuaded them to join us here instead,’ he explained.

  ‘I’m so glad you did,’ Amy said. ‘Because we were just talking about them.’

  Scott sent Kate a brooding look, which started her heart thudding.

  But all he said was, ‘I’ll go and find some extra chairs,’ before stalking off.

  Brodie was soon on his way back, carrying three beers as he cut across the small, still deserted dance floor rather than squeeze through the crush of drinkers spreading out from the bar.

  He slid the beers onto the table and Rob snatched one up.

  Jessica looked up at Brodie conspiratorially. ‘We’ve been talking ab
out our favourite romantic moments, Brodie. What do you think is better? Impressing a CFO with your business acumen—and no prizes for guessing who that one belongs to—strewn rose petals on a bed, a knight on a charger or From Here to Eternity?’

  Brodie laughed. ‘Are they the only options?’

  Amy slapped her hand over Jessica’s mouth—no doubt staving off any mention of dancing cheek to cheek in the Whitsundays.

  ‘Can’t take her anywhere,’ Amy said, and quickly redirected the conversation.

  Kate was relieved. Not only did she not want to hear the Chantal story again—not with Brodie at the table and Scott on approach—but she didn’t want to let any red-blooded male into her guilty From Here to Eternity secret. And especially not Scott, who would laugh himself into apoplexy over it.

  Scott had one of his false smiles in place as he handed a chair to Brodie. ‘I had to promise to go back and have a drink with a group on a hen-night bender to get that chair, Brode!’

  Brodie laughed as he took the chair. ‘Don’t pretend that’s a hardship,’ he said, and then grimaced an infinitesimal apology as his eyes flickered in Kate’s direction.

  Great. Brodie had seen her with Scott for all of ten minutes and yet he knew. Or maybe Scott had shared all the salacious details—perhaps with an offhand And soon she’ll be all yours, Brodie.

  Scott carefully didn’t look at her—just positioned himself between Amy and Willa.

  Brodie slotted his chair in beside Kate. ‘Ready for tomorrow?’ he asked, raising his voice a little over the rising sound of music that was being cranked up to encourage dancers to take to the floor.

  ‘I’m still game if you are,’ she said, leaning in close so she could be more easily heard.

  ‘Oh, I’m game,’ he said with an easy smile.

  Such an easy smile. A natural smile. A smile that reached his eyes. Green eyes, like Scott’s—but deep and warm, not cool and cautious.