Marriage Material

‘Hi.’ She paused. ‘What is it? Come on, it’s dinner time. Hurry up.’

Sebastian had rung to let her in on his project. She wanted him to get a project and he had obeyed. But how on earth would he tell her his project involved the babe moulding him for marriage? If he was in the same room he just knew that Melinda would scuff him about the ears and accuse him of making a play for the woman. Which he most certainly wasn’t. The thing was, he needed Romy. He needed her passion, her energy, her faith in a happily ever after.

Though Melinda would do anything for him, she could not do this. She just would not understand. She had gone straight from home into Tom’s arms and had lived ten solid years with her wonderful family.

‘Put Chris on.’

‘He’s doing his homework.’

‘Come on. Put my nephew on or I’ll call you Mindy forever and ever.’

‘Fine. Chris!’ she shouted out so that even the neighbours would hear. ‘Uncle Seb’s on the phone!’

Sebastian heard the muffled noise of footsteps thundering down the carpeted stairs.

‘Here he is.’

‘Thanks, Mindy.’

‘You little—’

‘Hey, Uncle Seb! Mum said you’re taking us out Sunday. Where are you taking us?’

‘I was thinking the zoo.’

‘Yeah? Cool!’

Sebastian felt all his cares slip far, far away as he slumped back into his soft chair and listened to the excited babble of his young nephew.

CHAPTER FOUR

AROUND eight o’clock that night Romy and Gloria tumbled into Fables on Flinders in a mass of coats and scarves. The bar, with its wood panelling, burgundy leather seating and lawyerly clientele, may as well have been a law firm with a liquor licence.

Romy ordered a glass of white wine. ‘You need more colour in your life, Gloria,’ she said as Gloria sipped on her Black Russian through a straw.

They soon spotted Alan with a few of his cronies. He waved them over. They were like clones of every other man in the place, the men Romy associated with on a daily basis. They were young and successful in their tailored suits and handmade shoes but, considering their profession, these attributes were tempered by male-pattern baldness and premature pessimism.

‘We hear you have stolen Alan’s meal ticket,’ one of the guys said.

‘Jealous?’ Gloria asked.

The guy shrugged and said nothing and received a good ribbing from the others.

‘I am sorry, Alan,’ Romy said. ‘He didn’t get any encouragement from me.’

‘Don’t worry, Romy,’ Alan said. ‘I’ve had a day to get over it. And I’m sure I will be able to put food on the table this winter. So is he giving you any trouble?’

She shrugged. ‘Nah.’ But that was the worst part. Since his recipe fax she had jumped every time her intercom had beeped or her phone had rung. She had expected him to come back, or send another fax or at least call. And since he had not, her nerves were shot.

‘He’s a big pussycat,’ Gloria said.

‘It’s the big cats that you have to watch,’ Alan said. ‘They’re smooth, they’re quick and they’re lethal.’

‘Thank you, Alan. I’ll be sure to remember that.’

Beside her, Gloria drew in a sharp breath and Romy saw her eyes widen. Romy followed their direction to find her very own tomcat standing by the table, with a Cheshire grin spread across his face.

‘Evening, Alan,’ Sebastian said. ‘Hi, boys.’

The men all gave him hearty handshakes. Even after having dumped their firm he was still obviously a very popular bloke. A man’s man.

His attention turned to Romy and her stomach flipped. With his hair slicked back, face freshly shaven, wearing an immaculate charcoal-grey suit with a matching overcoat he was a knockout. She could sense Gloria all but batting her mascara-loaded lashes beside her.

Who was she kidding? He was a woman’s man if he was anything. Though decked out in similar garb to those around him, Romy recognised that he was like a lion amongst the surrounding pack of hyenas. Ideas and plans bubbled excitedly to the surface just looking at him. Plans about their plans, of course.

‘Were you looking for me, Sebastian?’ she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

‘That I was. Thought tonight was as good a night as any to get started on our project.’

Romy flinched. Her gaze swung around the table and she found several pairs of desperately eager eyes turned her way. If they knew that she, Romy Bridgeport, hard-nosed divorce lawyer, thought she could help Sebastian Fox, renowned playboy, land himself a wife for life there would be no living it down. But of course if she kept such a high-profile, lucrative client happy by succeeding in the task, then she would be lauded as the most innovative and hands-on divorce lawyer in town. Even partnership material?

So before any incriminating questions could be asked, she slithered out of the seat. ‘Of course. No time like the present.’

Gloria plonked down her drink and made to follow. Romy all but shoved her back into her place as she shot her a warning glance. ‘Stay, Gloria. Have one for me.’ And keep your mouth shut!

She grabbed a hold of Sebastian by the elbow and all but dragged him from the table. Her friends waved their goodbyes amidst some barely hidden jokes and catcalls.

‘What was that all about?’

‘You just happened to be the topic of conversation before you arrived. They warned me you could be trouble.’

‘What with?’ He paused and then it seemed to dawn on him. ‘With you?’

Romy’s face burned in an instant, one of the pitfalls of having such pale skin. ‘I hardly think that is what they meant.’

He appraised her face as he led her out the front door. ‘They had cause to think as much. But you know what? You must be the first attractive woman for whom I have not had one thought of marrying.’

‘Lucky me.’ She had no idea whether to feel relieved or offended. She shot him a look as she slipped by and searched his face for any sign of the same intense reaction her body suffered in his presence. He smiled blandly back and she decided it was a one-way street.

Well, that was all the better. Physical attraction was a fickle thing. It came and it went and so long as one of them was completely unaffected it would slip away, unspoken. And nobody would be left a blithering, humiliated mess, which was the best one could hope for in a situation like that.

‘But since you are already engaged I guess that lets us both off the hook,’ Sebastian said.

She glared at him. ‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning you won’t be looking to me as some sort of available suitor to take you away from all your worries.’

‘And what worries would those be?’ she asked between clenched teeth.