by Miranda Lee
‘Harriet’s just left,’ she informed him unnecessarily. ‘She told me she’d quit, but she wouldn’t tell me why. As if I can’t guess!’
Alex suppressed a sigh as he snapped forward on his chair and adopted his firm ‘boss face’. ‘Why Harriet resigned is none of your business, Audrey. Please go back to Reception.’
‘I always thought you were heartless where women were concerned,’ she spat at him. ‘I just didn’t realise how heartless. That girl’s fallen in love with you. That’s why she’s quit. Blind Freddie could see how unhappy she’s been these last couple of weeks. It’s you! You seduced her that Friday you took her away with you, didn’t you?’
‘I did not seduce Harriet and she’s not in love with me,’ he stated, trying not to sound as shaken as he felt. ‘So please don’t go saying any of that to the others.’
‘I wouldn’t be bothered. But, just so you know in advance, I’ll be looking around for another job. Even if you didn’t do anything wrong with her, I don’t want to work for a man who’d let a fantastic girl like Harriet just walk out without fighting to keep her. Don’t you care how upset she is?’
‘Of course I care. But she can be very stubborn.’
‘But if she’s not in love with you, then why did she leave?’
‘I don’t know, Audrey. Maybe it has something to do with her break-up with Dwayne. Maybe she just needs a change.’
‘But she loved working for you.’
Alex was as close to weeping as he’d been in decades. ‘Look, I’ll give her a call later and see if I can change her mind.’ Even as he said the placating words, he knew he wouldn’t do any such thing. It was over.
‘Go back to work, Audrey,’ he said.
After she left, Alex sat there for ages, thinking about everything Audrey had said.
You seduced her. She’s in love with you. If she’s not in love with you, then why did she leave?
Could he be wrong in assuming she didn’t love him? If she did love him, it would explain a lot, especially if she thought he didn’t love her.
And why wouldn’t she think that, when he’d gone to such great lengths to make her understand that he didn’t do love and marriage; that any relationship they had was strictly sexual?
God, but he was an idiot!
Jumping up, he pulled on his jacket, grabbed his keys and headed out, telling Audrey as he passed Reception that he was off to get Harriet back.
‘Just as well,’ she threw after him.
Ten minutes later, Alex was only a block from the office, stuck in traffic.
‘Damn!’ he swore. He thought about ringing Harriet but decided that wouldn’t be good enough. He had to do this face-to-face. There was no option but to wait.
Chapter Twenty-five
HARRIET WAS CURLED up on her sofa, no longer crying but feeling terrible, when there was a knock on her flat door. It was a rather timid knock, so she knew it wasn’t Alex come to demand she return to work. Not that he would. Alex wouldn’t run after any woman.
Probably a neighbour, needing something.
It was Betty from next door, wanting to borrow an onion. She was a dear old love who found it hard enough to get up and down the stairs, let alone walk to the corner shop just to buy an onion. Harriet was happy to give her one.
‘Thanks, pet,’ she said. ‘I saw you come home earlier. Not feeling well? You do look a little peaky.’
‘I had a bad headache,’ Harriet invented. ‘But it’s gone now. In fact, I was just about to go out for a walk along the beach.’
‘Wish I could come with you, pet, but these old legs of mine won’t cooperate. Thanks for the onion.’
After Betty left, Harriet forced herself to put on leggings, trainers and a light sweater, then set off for a power walk to the beach. Exercise always did her good, as did the sight of the sea. There was something calming about watching the waves roll into shore. Something...spiritual.
The first sight of the blue ocean lifted her spirits. You will survive this, Harriet, she told herself. And, just think, soon you’ll have a baby to love. How wonderful was that?
* * *
By the time Alex reached Harriet’s address he was not a happy man, his frustration increasing when he couldn’t find a parking spot in her street for love nor money. In the end, he parked in someone’s driveway, knocked on their door and gave the startled woman a hundred dollars to let his SUV stay there for a couple of hours. Alex figured he might need a couple of hours to convince Harriet that he really, truly loved her. Lord knew what he was going to do if she didn’t love him back and didn’t give a damn.
It wasn’t like Alex to entertain negative thinking, but it wasn’t every day that he fell in love. He understood now why he’d been afraid of it. Because he had known, subconsciously, that when and if he fell in love it would be very deeply. Not to have his love returned would shatter him.
His tension increased as he hurried up the stairs of Harriet’s block of flats, his heart pounding along with his feet. When he knocked loudly on her door, the sound echoed through the whole building. When she didn’t answer, he knocked again. And again. And again.
A door opened along the way and an elderly lady peeped out. ‘If you’re looking for Harriet, she’s gone for a walk along the beach.’
‘Right. Thanks.’
Alex took off in the direction of nearby Bondi Beach, his long legs bringing him there in less than a minute. Thankfully, the beach wasn’t all that crowded. He searched along the wide stretch of sand but didn’t see her. And then she came into view, walking briskly along the promenade towards where he was standing in front of the Pavilion. She stopped as soon as she saw him, her body language not good. Her chin came up, her hands curling into fists by her sides. He couldn’t see the expression in her eyes, as she was wearing sunglasses. But he got the impression of barely controlled anger and heaps of exasperation.
In the end, she covered the few metres which separated them, her hands finding her hips as she planted herself right in front of him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she bit out.
‘I went to your flat, but you weren’t there. Your neighbour told me where to find you.’
‘That’s not what I asked you. Look, you’re wasting your time, Alex. I’m not coming back to work for you and that’s that!’
‘I haven’t come to talk to you about work,’ he returned in what he hoped was a calm voice. Someone had to be calm. Still, he took the level of her ongoing anger as a positive sign. She really didn’t have that much reason to be angry with him. Not unless her emotions were involved.
‘Neither am I going to keep sleeping with you!’ she said in a voice loud enough to have passers-by stare over at them.
‘Could we possibly have this discussion in private, Harry? I don’t appreciate your telling the world about our personal business.’
At least she had the good grace to blush.
‘Come on,’ he said, taking her elbow and leading her away from several curious onlookers. ‘We’ll go back to your place and have things out there.’
‘There are no things to have out,’ she muttered.
‘I beg to differ. We have lots of things to have out, mostly concerning your misconception about my feelings for you.’
Her laugh was wry and bitter. ‘I was never in any doubt over your feelings for me, Alex.’
‘You could be wrong, you know.’
* * *
Harriet knew she wasn’t wrong. The only reason Alex had come after her was because he didn’t like being left in the lurch, either in his office or in his bed.
‘If you think you can seduce me again, then you have another think coming.’
‘I never seduced you in the first place, Harry. You came to my bed willingly.’
‘You know what I mean. You engineered our being alone together so it would be harder for me to resist you.’
‘I plead guilty to that one.’
Wrenching her arm out of his hold, she hurried ahead
of him, not saying another word till she was standing by her front door fumbling with her keys.
‘You can come in,’ she threw over her shoulder at him. ‘But not for long. It won’t take long anyway, because there’s nothing you can possibly say to make me change my mind on this. We’re over, Alex. As hard as it might be for a man of your ego, I suggest you learn to take no for an answer.’
‘Hell, but you don’t make things easy on a man, do you?’ he ground out as he strode after her into her living room. ‘I almost pity poor old Dwayne.’
‘I suggest you leave Dwayne out of this,’ she snapped, banging the door after him and tossing her sunglasses onto the hall table. ‘Now, just get on with what you have to say.’
‘Okay, I will. The thing is, Harriet, that I love you. Sorry if that’s not the most romantic of declarations, but it’s hard to be romantic when you’re this angry.’
Harriet would wonder afterwards if she looked as shocked as she felt. All she could remember in hindsight was that her heart stopped beating and her body seemed to freeze on the spot. Nothing worked. Not her brain, her tongue or anything.
He started pacing, throwing snatches of words at her as he circumnavigated the room with long, angry strides.
‘I know I said I didn’t do love... And I don’t...or I didn’t... Till you came along. You changed everything... Loving you changed everything...’
He finally ground to a halt in front of her again, his handsome face all flushed and frustrated.
‘I love you, Harriet. And I want to marry you. I even want to have babies with you, which believe me is such an astonishing concept that it took me a while to get my head around it. But once I did, I saw that it could be wonderful. You’d make a marvellous mother. When you told me this morning that you weren’t pregnant, I actually felt disappointed. But I could hardly tell you that because at the time I thought you didn’t love me back. But then Audrey stormed in and told me that you probably did. So then I got to thinking that maybe you did love me, that that was the reason for your anger. But now that I’m here, I’m not so sure.’
He took abrupt hold of her shoulders and dragged her close. ‘Tell me that I’m not wrong, Harry,’ he demanded in a passionate voice which fairly vibrated through the air. ‘Tell me that you love me, because if you don’t, I don’t know what I’ll do.’
Harriet’s eyes swam with the impact of his declaration. He loved her. Alex loved her. He even wanted to marry her and have babies with her. Oh, God...
‘Please don’t cry,’ he said, then gathered her to him. ‘Just tell me that you love me.’
‘I love you,’ she choked out against his throat. ‘Oh, Alex...’
* * *
His heart almost burst with happiness and relief. She loved him. She really loved him.
‘And you’ll marry me, even if I don’t tick your check-boxes for a husband?’
‘You tick the most important ones. But, Alex...’
His heart tightened at the sudden wariness in her voice. Holding her at arm’s length, he looked deep into her still-teary eyes. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing. I hope... It’s just that I...I never imagined that you loved me. You were always so adamant that our relationship was about nothing but fun and sex. I honestly believed that if I was pregnant you’d try to talk me into having a termination. So I lied to you this morning. I lied and I...I’m sorry...’
His shock was evident. But it was quickly followed by delight. ‘So you are pregnant?’
She nodded, still looking slightly guilty. ‘I thought I was doing the right thing at the time.’
‘I can understand that. So you were planning on raising our child all alone, were you?’
‘I...I might have told you about it when it was too late for a termination.’
‘I sincerely hope so. Still, you’re going to have to marry me now,’ he said, smiling.
‘If you insist.’
‘I insist.’
He kissed her then, the kissing leading to more than kissing. Lots more. Finally, they moved into her bedroom. Afterwards, Harriet snuggled into Alex’s arms, happier than she’d ever been in her life.
‘I can’t believe that you love me,’ she murmured.
‘Fishing for compliments, Harry?’ he said softly and kissed the top of her head.
‘Not really. But feel free to give them, if you like.’
He laughed. ‘In that case, be assured that I love everything about you, including your obsessive sense of independence.’
‘I’m not that bad. Surely?’
‘You don’t think it obsessively independent to not tell the father of your child that you’re pregnant?’
‘I would have told you. In the end.’
‘I hope so. So when are we getting married?’
‘Not too soon. I don’t want a rushed wedding, Alex. How about we have the wedding in that little chapel you’re building up at the golf resort?’ she suggested, thinking it would be romantic to marry near where they’d first got together.
‘But that won’t be finished for months!’ he protested.
‘Does it matter?’
‘Would you live with me in the meantime?’
‘Of course. But I won’t be selling this flat. It can be the beginning of my property portfolio.’
‘Done!’ he said. ‘What about work? Will you come back to work for me?’
‘I don’t see why not.’
‘Thank God for that. If you don’t, I would never be able to show my face around there ever again. Audrey called me heartless. She even threatened to get another job. The only one who loves me there is Romany.’
‘Don’t be silly. Everyone there loves you. You’re a great boss.’
‘I don’t care about everyone else. Just about you.’
‘Oh, Alex...’ The tears came hard and fast then, tears of happiness and relief, all the emotion and tension Harriet had been bottling up over the past month finally set free.
Alex drew her close, his heart squeezing tight at the thought that he might have lost her today. Lost her and his child. It had been a close call. Too close for comfort. Never again, he vowed, would he let her doubt his love for her. Never, ever again. And, as he held her even closer, he felt sure that his mother would be pleased that he’d finally found true love with a wonderful girl like Harriet. Being a philanthropist was all very well, but being a good husband and father was just as important.
‘By the way,’ he whispered into her hair. ‘After the wedding, I’m taking you to Venice for our honeymoon.’
* * * * *
In case you missed it, book one in the RICH, RUTHLESS AND RENOWNED trilogy, THE ITALIAN’S RUTHLESS SEDUCTION, is available now!
And look out for book three, Jeremy’s story, coming soon!
Uncover the wealthy Di Sione family’s sensational secrets in the brand-new eight-book series THE BILLIONAIRE’S LEGACY, beginning with
DI SIONE’S INNOCENT CONQUEST
by Carol Marinelli
Also available this month
Keep reading for an exclusive extract of SLEEPLESS IN MANHATTAN, the first book in USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan’s enthralling new trilogy, FROM MANHATTAN WITH LOVE!
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Sleepless in Manhattan
by Sarah Morgan
PAIGE STOOD FOR a moment, thinking how unpredictable life was.
Who would have thought that herself, Eva and Frankie losing their jobs would have turned out so well?
Urban Genie existed only because life had laid a twist in her path.
Change had been forced on her, but it had proved to be a good thing.
Instead of fighting it, she should embrace it.
What had Jake said?
Sometimes you have to let life happen.
Maybe she should try to do that a bit more.
And maybe one day she’d look back and realize that not being with Jake was the best thing that could have happened—because if she’d been with Jake she wouldn’t have met—
Who?
Would she ever meet someone who made her feel the way Jake did?
She stood leaning on the railing, gazing at the city she loved.
The lights of Manhattan sparkled like a thousand stars against a midnight sky and now, finally, as the last of the guests made their way to the elevators, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy it.
“Time to relax and celebrate, I think.”
