“What?” He gave her a puzzled look.
“Don’t overdo it. I can believe that I look well turned-out, or good for my age, maybe. That’s as much as I can expect.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded. “It’s okay, I don’t have a problem with that, but it does make me wonder about you.”
“Whether I have impaired vision?”
“Do you?”
He laughed. “No, I don’t. I can see you perfectly.”
“Hmm, well that wasn’t what I meant anyway. You could be having dinner with someone your own age, someone who really is beautiful. So, what is it with you? Why are you so desperate?”
“I’m not desperate.” He took a long drink of water, then put down his glass and met her eyes. “I can find a woman to have dinner with if I want to.”
Of course he could. One flash of his life-changing smile at that Sydney hotel and she’d agreed to have dinner with him. How could she possibly think that he didn’t have the same devastating effect on every woman he met?
“Finding a woman I want to spend time with after dinner is more difficult. I enjoy talking to you, and you have a great laugh once you relax. I like that. Is it so hard to understand?”
Flattered in spite of herself, she said, “I understand that we got on well—”
“I think that’s putting it mildly.”
“Okay, I get that we were drawn to each other, that there was some sort of…thing between us, but it was meant to be just one night. In private, not like this.” She gestured around the restaurant. “Doesn’t it bother you that people will look at us and wonder what you’re doing with someone so old?”
“You’re not old, but if they want to wonder about us, let them. You didn’t worry about what people thought in Sydney.”
She gasped, then reached for her water glass again.
“Sorry. That was—”
“True.” She looked up, and broke into a reluctant smile. “You were a bad influence on me.”
He grinned. “I hope so. Coralie—”
“Cora, remember?”
“Cora. Sorry, you’ve been Coralie in my dreams. You have no idea how glad I am to have found you again.”
She coughed as her water went down the wrong way. “Let’s get one thing clear, Alex. I agreed to have dinner with you, and that’s all I’m going to do. This isn’t Sydney, and things are different here. My daughter will be expecting me home tonight.”
“You have a daughter?”
“Yes.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty. Her name’s Fern. She normally shares a cramped little house near the uni with friends, but she comes home often because most of her clothes and shoes are at home. No room for them there, you see. She’s home tonight. Well, not right now — she’s gone out with a friend because I said I wouldn’t be home to cook dinner.”
And if Fern knew why she wasn’t home to cook dinner, she’d be shocked and horrified, or at the very least, would disapprove. It would be hard for any daughter to discover that her mother was out with a man she didn’t know. It would be particularly difficult for Fern who had idolised her father and clearly believed that Cora would be single for the rest of her life.
“I have a daughter too,” Alex said.
“Oh no!” She straightened. She would never forgive herself if she’d helped him to cheat on his wife. “Please tell me you’re not married.”
“I’m not. I’m divorced.”
She expelled a long breath, relieved that she hadn’t stumbled into the role of the other woman. She shook her head. “I can’t believe that I didn’t even ask before...well, you know.”
“I’m glad that you didn’t think you needed to.”
No, she hadn’t needed to ask. She’d known that he had integrity; she’d felt it in her bones. Relaxing a little, she said, “So, how old is your daughter?”
“Four.” He took out his wallet and showed her a picture of a cute little girl. Red-haired, not dark like him.
“She’s gorgeous.”
“I know. She looks like her mother.”
Ouch. Why should that bother her? It shouldn’t, but it did.
“What’s her name?”
“Sophie.”
“Couldn’t you have made the marriage work for her sake?”
He shook his head. Closing the wallet he said, “Don’t get me wrong, I would have tried, but my wife was the one who decided to end it. She had other ideas about what she should be doing with her life.”
“Why did she marry you, then?”
“Who knows? I don’t think she realised that work was such a big part of my life. She probably envisaged us jetting off on holiday whenever she felt like it.”
Cora snorted. “Not many people can do that.”
“Exactly. But she had a privileged upbringing and life with me was a let-down. She wanted to entertain all the time too. Parties are her idea of relaxing.” He sighed. “But not mine, I’m afraid.”
“Oh, I’m with you there. What about your daughter, though? Do you see her often?”
He grimaced. “It’s not easy. Her mother usually manages to find a reason not to let me see Sophie at the arranged time. And then, when it’s least convenient, she suddenly needs me to look after her.”
“Frustrating.”
“Yes, but there’s not much I can do about it. If I try to reason with her, she flies into a huff and refuses to let me see Sophie until she feels like it.”
“Have you been to court about this?”
“Of course, I’m a lawyer. But there’s only so much that can be done by the courts. I’m still dependent on my ex-wife’s cooperation, and subject to her whims.” He shrugged. “I just have to deal with it.”
“I suppose so.” She was glad her marriage hadn’t ended in divorce. Not that she was happy about the way it had ended, of course, but divorce had to be so difficult, especially where children were involved. She’d seen how bitter her sister Gwen had become about her marriage split.
Relaxing a little more she said, “I also have a son. Justin. He’s finished uni and he’s travelling, seeing something of the world before he settles down to work. He’s the one I’m keeping the business going for.”
“Oh?”
“In theory, my two sisters have an equal share in the company, but neither of them is interested in running it, and their daughters are still kids. My youngest sister, Lily, is happy to work there and draw an income, but until we sell the business and share the proceeds, it’s mine to manage, and then my son’s when he’s ready.” She looked away, remembering that she and Paul had talked of taking off on a cruise when Justin was old enough to take over. Plans they’d never had an opportunity to put into practice. She drew in a slow breath and turned back to Alex. “When Paul had his first heart attack, I promised him that I wouldn’t sell the business off, but I’d keep it operating and profitable for Justin. Keep it in the family. It’s what my father would have wanted too.”
“I see. So, your husband’s death was sudden?”
She took a moment to answer. She didn’t talk about that time in her life. With the exception of Eric, only family had been there at the hospital, and afterwards, she’d done her best to put the whole painful experience behind her. She certainly hadn’t wanted to discuss it with anyone, and the few friends she’d had back then weren’t the type to push — they weren’t the type to hang around waiting for her to open up either, come to think of it. Not that it had bothered her when they vanished. But anyway, sufficient time had gone by now, that she could think back over those harrowing days without feeling as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.
“He recovered from the first heart attack,” she said, then swallowed. “They operated, and he seemed to be getting better. Then, a couple of weeks later, he had another massive heart attack, and there was nothing they could do.”
Her voice sounded odd to her own ears. She pressed her lips together, willing herself not to lose it here in
the restaurant.
“It must have been terrible.”
After swallowing, she said, “Yes, it was. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Employees depended on Selwoods for their livelihoods; I simply had to pick myself up and get on with running the business. I suppose that helped me to get over the shock.”
Alex looked at her as if he wasn’t sure what to say, but the arrival of their meals saved him the trouble. Cora returned the smile of the young woman who delivered them; she was almost sure she’d gone to school with Fern.
Great. It would be just her luck for news of her date to pop up on whatever social media network was flavour of the month with Fern and her friends. Her appetite had gone missing, and she picked at the vegetables on her plate, avoiding the chicken.
“How many people do you employ?”
“Around forty-five. That’s the core workforce, but it varies. If we have a lot of projects on, we hire more people on a casual basis so that we can achieve the schedule we’ve committed to.”
“Do you get to Sydney often?”
She shook her head.
“There’s a daily flight.”
“Yes, but I can’t afford the time to go away more than absolutely necessary. When I really can’t avoid it, I try to get everything done in one visit.”
“Right. So, do you think you could manage to fit me in during a visit as well?”
“Fit you in? What do you mean?”
“I’d like to see you the next time you come to Sydney.”
Cora put down her cutlery and sat back, giving him a direct look. “Alex, that’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“It’s just not workable.”
“I’ll come here, then.”
“Alex, please understand. I’m a business owner with an image to maintain. I don’t want people to see me running around town with a younger man.”
“Is that the problem? My age?”
“Yes. No. Not entirely.”
She sighed. “I told you, I don’t date. People here still remember my husband. They’d talk.”
He smiled and God help her, her blood ran hot in her veins.
“What do you think they’d say?”
“That I’m—” She stopped. “It really doesn’t matter what they’d say. I’m not going to put myself in that position, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay by me. Not at all, and I like a challenge,” he said. “I don’t give up easily.”
Chapter 5
Lily was waiting at Cora’s office door when she arrived at work the next morning. She frowned. Lily was never early for work. On time, yes, but not early, because she ran around after her husband and daughter in the mornings, making sure they ate a good breakfast before leaving the house — and probably forgot to feed herself in the process.
“Is something wrong?”
Lily shook her head, then grinned. “Have you heard the news?”
“Only what I caught on the radio on the way in. Something about a sit-in protest at a library. Sounds like a dream. Think of all the books you could read—”
“Not that news. Haven’t you seen Gwen’s email?”
Cora shook her head. “I haven’t checked yet. I had other things on my mind this morning.”
“She’s coming home.”
After unlocking her office door, Cora gestured to Lily to enter and followed her inside. She dumped her handbag and pile of folders on the desk and walked around it to sit down. “For a holiday?”
“For good. She asked if she can use Mum and Dad’s old house if it’s not tenanted. You haven’t got anyone new to take over the lease yet, have you?”
“No, it’s still sitting empty. I don’t see any reason why she shouldn’t move in. Will she be on her own?”
“No! There’s no way she’d leave Melbourne without Becky.”
“Right. I wonder how Becky feels about moving somewhere new at her age, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough. When will they be here?”
“Soon. Within the next few weeks. She’s just packing up the house now, and selling off the furniture she doesn’t want to bring with her. Do you want to tell her about the house, or shall I?”
If she wrote the email her sister would read a hidden message in her words and refuse to come after all. She couldn’t seem to do anything right when it came to Gwen. Almost every conversation ended in a row or the silent treatment. She sighed. “You do it.”
“It will be great to have her living close by, won’t it?” Lily smiled and went on without waiting for an answer. “Did you have a nice meal last night?”
“Very nice, thank you.” Not that she’d tasted much of it — she’d be hard put to recall what she’d eaten, actually. Hopefully, Lily wouldn’t ask.
“What’s his name?”
“Alex.”
“Is he very good-looking?”
“Yes. Yes, he is,” she said with a sigh. “Too good-looking.”
Lily said, “I don’t think there’s any such thing as too good-looking. So, you’re seeing him again, are you?”
“Not exactly. I’m not sure. He said if I won’t go to Sydney he’ll come here, but I keep telling him that it won’t work. He doesn’t listen.”
“Why won’t it work?”
“Well, his age, for one thing. He’s younger than me.”
“Why is it a problem? How much younger is he?”
“Seven years.”
“Pfft.” Lily smiled. “That’s nothing. Are you really that uncomfortable with dating a man seven years younger?”
“Yes.” Tiring of the conversation, Cora took her handbag from the desk and slid it onto a shelf beside her. This talk wouldn’t get her anywhere but back to where she started.
“I assume he doesn’t have a problem with your age?”
Cora shook her head. “Though I don’t understand what he could possibly see in a bossy old battle-axe like me.”
“Oh, Cora, you must be kidding.” Lily laughed. “Yes, you can be bossy, but you’re also attractive, and clever too. Maybe he’s drawn to your brain? And he’s already seen whatever there is to see, hasn’t he?”
“It was different in Sydney. It was fun. It was supposed to be just one night, remember? It’s easier to be brave when you think you don’t have to face someone again.”
“Why shouldn’t it be fun now?”
“Well, he’s talking about a relationship.”
“Ugh.” Lily pressed her lips together, her eyes twinkling. “That’s the trouble with men today, they’re only interested in relationships. Where have all the good ones gone? The ones who were prepared to have meaningless sex.”
Cora grimaced. “I know, I know. I sound stupid. But I wasn’t planning on having a relationship when I met him.”
“And nothing happens unless you’ve planned it in meticulous detail, does it?”
Cora ignored Lily’s comment. “Having a relationship means that at some point we’d have to see each other naked with the lights on, and he’s not my husband. Paul had to accept the changes in my body; he was responsible for some of them. His babies caused the stretch marks and the caesarean scar, and then of course, you don’t really notice the effects of aging when you see someone every day and it’s a gradual process, and you’re aging yourself at the same rate.”
“I know what you mean,” Lily said. “I know I’m younger than you, but I couldn’t imagine letting anybody but Daniel see me starkers.”
Cora shook her head. “No, exactly. I don’t think I could cope with Alex’s reaction.”
“If he really likes you, though, he won’t care, will he?”
“I don’t know about that. I’m not convinced.” Cora flicked through the files on her desk, looking for the one she’d need for her first meeting of the day. “And besides, we’re on my home ground here. This is where I live and work. It’s where people know me, and those same people knew Paul.”
“You could go to Sydney to see him, and then no one would have to know about
him.”
“But I really don’t have the time for travelling backwards and forwards. I have a business to run. He’s busy too, but he’s happy to come here whenever he can, only...he doesn’t see why we shouldn’t be open about our relationship.”
“I have to admit, I don’t get that either,” Lily said. “It’s not as if you’re going to be cavorting with someone unsavoury. I mean, I know he’s a lawyer, but there are worse things he could be.”
Cora smiled. “True. He could be a tax auditor.”
“Or a politician,” Lily said. “I agree with him. You don’t need to hide him away. No one is going to think badly of you for having a relationship after all this time. You must get lonely.”
Cora sighed. It was true. Apart from her sister, she didn’t have any friends to speak of. She’d lost touch with her single friends after marrying Paul, and he wasn’t big on socialising, so the few friends they’d had as a couple early on, drifted away — apart from Eric, but the two men had known each other forever. She’d got on with Eric’s wife Dinah, but only because it meant she had someone to talk to when they were all together. She’d hardly seen Dinah since Paul died, and she only saw Eric on business matters.
She sighed. “I don’t have time to think about being lonely. Work keeps me occupied.”
“I know,” Lily said, shrugging. “But still.”
Cora shook her head. She was flattered that a man like Alex wanted to see her again. What middle-aged woman wouldn’t be? But flattering was all it was. Realistic, it wasn’t.
Chapter 6
Cora put the final touches to the first proper meal she’d cooked in ages — proper in the sense that she’d made every part of it from scratch, even the puff pastry for the Beef Wellington — while Alex sat at the table, watching her. He’d offered to help, but it was weird enough having him there in the house she’d shared with Paul, without seeing him doing anything so domestic as helping her prepare a meal.
She’d offered to cook for him, not because she wanted to impress him with her rusty culinary skills, but because of her apprehension about being seen around town with Alex by people she knew.
It was now four weeks since they’d had dinner at the Clarendon, and he’d phoned her several times. Every couple of days, in fact. Before long she’d anticipated his calls, waited for them, her stomach somersaulting at the sight of his name on her phone’s screen. Then, a week ago, the calls had stopped. She’d assumed that he’d come to his senses and given up on her. She’d been okay with that. Well, she’d told herself she was okay with that despite every cell in her body calling her a liar.
More Than Just One Night (The Selwood Sisters Novellas) Page 3
