by Miranda Lee
Today was no exception.
‘Derek and I are very much in love. Something you could never identify with. When people are truly in love they want to spend every minute of every day with them.’
‘I’m surprised you came home today at all, then,’ he countered quite sharply. ‘Or will your lover be dropping by later?’
Sarah flushed. ‘Derek’s working today.’
‘Doing what?’
‘He owns a gym.’
‘Aah. That explains it.’
‘Explains what?’
‘Your new shape.’
So he had noticed! ‘You say that like there’s something wrong with it.’
‘You looked fine the way you were.’
Sarah’s mouth dropped open. ‘You have to be joking! I was getting fat!’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
Sarah rolled her eyes. Either the man was blind, or he cared about her so little that he’d never really looked at her before.
‘Maybe you just didn’t notice.’
Nick gave an offhand shrug. ‘Maybe I didn’t. Still, I suppose it’s not up to me to tell you what to do.’
‘I’m glad you’ve finally realised that!’
‘Meaning?’
‘I couldn’t count the number of times you’ve interfered in my life, and my relationships. Every time I brought a boyfriend home in the past, you went out of your way to make him feel stupid. And me to boot.’
‘I was only doing what your father asked me to do, Sarah. Which was to protect you from the money-grubbing creeps in this world.’
‘They weren’t money-grubbing creeps!’
‘Indeed they were.’
‘I’ll be the judge of that from now on, thank you very much.’
‘Not till your twenty-fifth birthday, madam. I have no intention of letting you fall into the hands of some gold-digging gigolo at this late stage. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I did that.’
‘Huh. I can’t see you ever losing any sleep over me.’
‘Then you’d be dead wrong, sweetheart,’ he grated out.
Their eyes met, with Sarah sucking in sharply at the momentary fury she glimpsed in Nick’s face. It came home to her then just how much he’d hated being her guardian all these years. No doubt he would be very relieved when she turned twenty-five next year and his obligation to her father was over.
‘I haven’t given you that much trouble, have I?’ she said, her softer voice reflecting her drop in spirits.
As much as she accepted Nick would never be attracted to her, she’d always thought that, underneath everything, he liked her. Not just because she was her father’s daughter, but because of the person she was. When she was younger, he’d often told her what a great kid she was. He’d said she had character, and a good heart. He’d also said she was fun to be with, proving it by spending a lot of his spare time with her.
Of course, that had been a long time ago, before Nick had become a success in his own right. When that started to happen, he’d begun to ignore her. Then, after her father died, the rot had set in completely. It was patently obvious that she was now reduced to nothing more than a responsibility, a responsibility that he obviously found both tedious and exasperating.
‘Does he know how rich you’re shortly going to be?’ he demanded to know.
Sarah’s mouth thinned. Here we go again, she thought angrily.
Yet there was no point in lying. Better she answer Nick’s questions now than to have him put Derek through the third degree on Christmas Day.
‘He knows I’m going to be rich,’ she bit out. ‘But he doesn’t know the full extent of my inheritance.’
‘He’ll know once he shows up tomorrow. People who live in this street have to be multimillionaires at least. It won’t take him long to put two and two together.’
‘Derek’s not a fortune-hunter, Nick. He’s a very decent man.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just know.’
‘My God, you know nothing!’ he flung at her. ‘Your father thought he was protecting you with his will. Instead, he set you up for disaster. He should have given most of his money away, donated it to some charity, not left it in the hands of a girl such as you.’
‘What do you mean, a girl such as me?’
He opened his mouth to say something but then obviously thought better of it. Instead, he picked up her bags and carried them along the hallway to her room, the stiff set of his shoulders very telling. After dumping her cases just inside the door, he retreated back out into the hallway.
‘We’ll continue this discussion later,’ he said in that deceptively quiet manner he always adopted on the odd occasion when he was in danger of losing his cool.
Over the years Sarah had learned to recognise this tactic of his. Nick hated losing his temper. Hated losing control. He preferred to act like the consummate ice-man, both professionally and personally. She’d rarely heard him yell. He didn’t even swear any more, as he once had.
But his body language could speak volumes. So could his eyes.
Though not always. He did have the ability to make them totally unreadable. But not straight away. If you were watching him closely, you could sometimes glimpse what was going on in his head before he drew the blinds down.
‘We’ll have morning tea in the kitchen,’ he pronounced, ‘then we’ll adjourn to my study and talk.’
‘Not about Derek,’ Sarah retorted. ‘I have no intention of listening to you criticising someone you haven’t even met.’
‘Fair enough. But I have lots of other things to talk to you about, Sarah. Important issues connected with your inheritance. I want to have everything settled before Christmas.’
‘But I don’t turn twenty-five till February,’ she protested. ‘We have the rest of my summer break to settle things!’
‘No, we don’t. I won’t be here.’
‘Where will you be?’
‘I’m spending most of January on Happy Island.’
Sarah’s heart sank. She knew Nick had a holiday house there. But he rarely used it at this time of year.
‘Flora never said anything about that when I called.’
‘The subject probably didn’t come up.’
‘There’s still the week between Christmas and New Year,’ she argued, feeling very put out with Nick’s choosing to go away for so long.
‘Yes. But I’m having a guest stay during that week. And you have your new boyfriend, who you freely admit you wish to spend every minute of every day with. Better we settle everything whilst we have the chance.’
‘But I have to decorate the tree today.’
‘I just want a couple of hours, Sarah. Not all day.’
‘What about tonight? Can’t this wait till tonight?’
‘I’m going present-shopping tonight.’
Sarah sighed. Wasn’t that just like a man to go present-shopping at the last minute?
‘Come on,’ he said abruptly. ‘Let’s go downstairs.’
‘I need to go to the bathroom first,’ she said quite truthfully.
‘Fine,’ he replied with another offhand shrug. ‘I’ll go ahead and tell Flora to put on the kettle.’
Sarah shook her head as she watched Nick go. Derek didn’t know what he was talking about. Dolling herself up tomorrow and sucking up to a pretend boyfriend wasn’t going to make a blind bit of difference. She was nothing to Nick but an obligation that he obviously wanted over and done with. It was clear to Sarah that he couldn’t wait for her twenty-fifth birthday to arrive.
Suddenly, she felt the same way. She was sick and tired of letting her feelings for Nick distress her. Sick and tired of secretly pining for what would never be.
Time to move on, girl. Time to get yourself a life. One that doesn’t include Nick!
CHAPTER THREE
FLORA was in the kitchen, cutting up the caramel slice she’d made that morning, when Nick walked in with a face like thunder.
‘Wasn�
��t that Sarah at the door?’ she asked.
‘Yep. She won’t be long. You can put on the kettle.’
Flora turned to pop the caramel slice back in the fridge before switching on the electric kettle. ‘It’s good to have her home,’ she said. ‘Isn’t it?’
Nick scowled as he slid onto one of the four stools fronting the black marble breakfast bar. ‘Speak for yourself, Flora.’
‘Come, now, Nick. You’ve missed her. You know you have.’
‘I know no such thing. Ray was out of his mind to make me that girl’s guardian. I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when February comes round, I can tell you.’
‘I suppose it has been a big responsibility,’ Flora agreed. ‘Especially considering how much money she’s going to inherit. What do you make of this new boyfriend of hers? Do you think he’s on the up and up?’
‘Who knows?’
‘It’s strange that she hadn’t mentioned him before last night, don’t you think? It makes me wonder what’s wrong with him.’
‘I’ve just been thinking the same thing. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.’
‘I guess so,’ Flora said. ‘So how does she look?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She told me last night that she’d been exercising and had lost weight. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.’
‘Yeah, I noticed.’
‘And?’ Flora asked, exasperated with Nick’s reluctance to elaborate. He was just as bad as Jim sometimes. Why was it that men didn’t like to talk? It would be nice to have Sarah home, just so she had someone to chat with occasionally.
‘I thought she looked fine the way she was.’
‘Isn’t that just like a man? They never want the women in their life to change. Aah, there she is, the girl herself. Come over here, love, and give old Flora a hug.’
Sarah’s heart squeezed tight when Flora enveloped her into a tight embrace. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged her like that.
There’d been no hug from Nick this morning. Not even a peck on the cheek. He never touched her, except accidentally.
Her gaze slid over Flora’s shoulder to land on the man himself. But he wasn’t looking her way. He was staring down at the black bench top, looking highly disgruntled.
Probably wishing he were at golf.
‘Oh, my,’ Flora said when she finally held Sarah out at arm’s length. ‘You have lost quite a few pounds, haven’t you? Still, now you can have a big piece of your favourite caramel slice without feeling guilty,’ she added before turning away to open the fridge. ‘I made it for you first thing this morning.’
‘You shouldn’t have, Flora,’ Sarah chided, but gently.
‘Nonsense. What else do I have to do? Did you know that the whole of the Christmas lunch is being catered this year? Nick says it’s too much for me. All I’m allowed to do is make a couple of miserable puddings. I ask you!’
She rolled her eyes at Sarah, who was thinking to herself that Flora had aged quite a bit this past year. Her face was very lined and her hair had turned totally grey.
‘Not that I’m complaining, Nick,’ Flora went on. ‘I do know I’m getting older. But I’m not totally useless yet. I could easily have baked a leg of pork and a turkey. And some nice hot veggies for those who don’t like salad and seafood. Still, enough of that. What’s done is done. Now, sit up there next to Nick, Sarah, and tell us all about your new boyfriend whilst I pour the tea.’
Sarah smothered a groan, but did as she was told, though she didn’t sit right next to Nick, leaving one stool between them.
‘What would you like to know?’ she asked with brilliant nonchalance.
‘How old is he, for starters?’
Sarah realised she had no idea.
‘Thirty-five,’ she guessed. One year younger than Nick.
Nick’s head swung her way. ‘Handsome?’
‘Very. Looks like a movie star.’
Was she crazy, or did Nick’s eyes glitter when she said that?
‘How long have you been seeing each other?’ Flora asked.
Sarah decided to use the truth as much as possible. ‘We met shortly after last Easter. I hired him as my personal trainer.’
Nick made a small scoffing sound.
Sarah ignored him.
‘Why haven’t you mentioned him before?’ Flora asked.
Sarah winced. She should have realised she’d get the third degree about Derek, from both Nick and Flora. Again, she decided to stick to the truth as closely as she could.
‘We haven’t been boyfriend and girlfriend all that time,’ she replied. ‘That’s a more recent development. He asked me out for a drink one night after my workout, one thing led to another and … well, what can I say? I’m very happy.’
Sarah smiled, despite the lurch within her chest.
‘And very healthy, too,’ Flora said with a return smile. ‘Don’t you think so, Nick?’
‘I think she looks like she could do with some of your caramel slice.’
Sarah found a laugh from somewhere. ‘That’s funny coming from you. All your girlfriends have figures like rakes.’
‘Not all of them. You haven’t met Chloe, have you?’
‘I haven’t had the pleasure yet.’
‘You will. Tomorrow.’
‘How nice.’
‘You’ll like her.’
‘Oh, I doubt it. I never like any of your girlfriends, Nick. The same way you never like any of my boyfriends. I’ve already warned Derek.’
‘Should I warn Chloe?’
Sarah shrugged. ‘Why bother? It won’t change anything.’
‘Will you two stop bickering?’ Flora intervened. ‘It’s Christmas, the season of peace and love.’
Sarah almost pointed out that Nick didn’t believe in love, but she held her tongue. Sniping at Nick was not in keeping with her resolution to move on. But he’d really got under her skin with his remarks about her being skinny.
When Flora presented a plate full of caramel slice right in front of her, she couldn’t really refuse. But she did take the smallest piece and proceeded to eat it very slowly between long sips of tea. Nick chose the biggest portion, devoured it within seconds, then had the gall to take a second salivating slice. The lucky devil had one of those metabolisms that allowed him to eat whatever he liked without getting fat. Of course, he did work out with weights every other day, and swam a lot.
Although thirty-six now, he didn’t carry an extra ounce of fat on his long, lean body. Really, other than some muscling up around his chest and arms, Nick hadn’t changed much since the day they’d met.
Physically, that was. He’d changed a good deal in other ways, matching his personality to suit whatever company he was in, sometimes warm and charming, at other times adopting a confident air of cool sophistication and savoir-faire, both personas a long way from the introverted and rather angry young man he’d been when he’d first come to live at Goldmine.
Though he was never angry with me, Sarah recalled. Never. He had always been sweet, kind and generous with his time. He’d made a lonely little girl’s life much less lonely.
Oh, how she’d loved him for that!
Sarah much preferred the Nick of old to the one sitting beside her today.
In the beginning, when he’d launched himself into the business world, she’d admired his ambition. But success had made Nick greedy for the good life, feeding on hedonistic pleasures that were as fleeting as they were shallow. Other than the holiday house on Happy Island, he owned a penthouse on the Gold Coast and a chalet in the southern snowfields. When he wasn’t working at making more money, he flitted from one to the other, always accompanied by his latest lady-love.
Whoops, no. Amend that to latest playmate. Love was never part of Nick’s lifestyle.
Her father had always said how proud of Nick he was. He’d lauded Nick’s work ethics, his intellect and his entrepreneurial vision.
Sarah could see that, professionally, th
ere was much to be proud of. But surely her father would have been disappointed, if he’d been alive today, at the way Nick conducted his personal life. There was something reprehensible about a man whose girlfriends never lasted longer than six months, and who boasted that he would never marry.
No, that was unfair. Nick had never boasted about his inability to fall in love. He’d merely stated it as a fact.
Sarah had to concede that at least Nick was honest in his relationships. She felt positive he never spun any of his girlfriends a line of bull. They’d always known that their role in his life was strictly sexual and definitely temporary.
‘Glad to see you’re still capable of enjoying your food.’
Nick’s droll remark jolted Sarah out of her reverie, her stomach contracting in horror once she realised she’d consumed a second piece of caramel slice without being aware of it.
She kept her cool, however, determined not to let Nick needle her further.
‘Who could resist Flora’s caramel slice?’ she tossed at him airily. ‘Next Christmas we’ll get back to having a smaller Christmas lunch, Flora, and you can cook whatever you like.’
‘You won’t keep your father’s tradition going?’ Nick asked in a challenging voice.
‘Is that what you think you’ve been doing, Nick?’ she countered. ‘When Dad was alive, Christmas lunch was a gathering of true friends, not a collection of business acquaintances.’
‘Is that so? I think perhaps you’re mistaken about that. Most of your father’s so-called friends were business contacts.’
Nick was right, of course. But people had still liked her father for himself, not just for what they could get out of him. At least, she liked to think so.
But maybe she was wrong. Maybe she’d seen him through rose-coloured glasses. Maybe, underneath his bonhomie, he’d been as hard and cynical as Nick.
No, that wasn’t true. He’d been a kind and generous man.
Not a brilliant dad, though. During her years at boarding-school he’d often made excuses for not being able to come to school functions, all of those excuses related to work. Then, when she came home for school holidays, she’d largely been left to her own devices.
If she was strictly honest, things hadn’t been much better when her mother was still alive. A dedicated career woman, Jess Steinway had been totally unprepared for the sacrifices motherhood entailed upon the arrival of an unexpected baby at forty. Sarah had been raised by a succession of impersonal nannies till she went to kindergarten, after which Flora had taken over as carer before and after school. But Flora, warm and chatty though she was, had mostly been too busy with the house to do much more than feed Sarah and make sure she did her homework.
