Marriage: For Business or Pleasure?

He looked her up and down, admiring the subtle changes to her appearance: the gold streaks in her now shoulder-length hair, the svelte body packed with more curves than a racetrack, the elegant wardrobe. As a teenager she’d been pretty. As a woman, she was stunning.

With a confident toss of that luscious hair, she fixed him with a newly acquired haughty grin.

‘Actually, you’re the only one who seems to bring it out in me. Now, back to business?’

Curiosity ate at him. To bring her back here, this precious business deal of hers had to be important. In that case, he wanted to be one hundred per cent appraised of the situation before he started discussing anything with her.

He raised an eyebrow, rattled the folder and gestured at his bare torso. ‘I don’t do business like this. Where are you staying?’

To his delight, she blushed, her gaze lingering on his chest a few seconds too long. ‘The Phant-A-Sea in Noosa.’

Oh, this just got better and better.

‘But I don’t expect you to drive all that way just to meet me. We can do this here—’

‘I was heading into town after I’d finished up here anyway. Why don’t I meet you there around five? We can discuss this over drinks.’

‘That won’t be necessary—’

‘But it will.’

He leaned closer, her awareness of him evident in the widening of her pupils, the tip of her tongue darting out to moisten her bottom lip, and his gut clenched with how badly he still wanted her.

Maybe he should tell her the truth now and be done with it.

But then, where was the fun in that?

‘Give me some time to clean up, take a look at your proposal and we can discuss it over a Shirley Temple.’

He scored another direct hit with reference to her favourite drink back then, her lips compressing into an unimpressed line.

‘This isn’t some trip down memory lane. This is business.’

His glance strayed to her lips, lush and pouting, before sweeping back to her eyes, registering the shock of arousal that made a mockery of their business.

‘So you keep saying. Business. Ri-i-ight.’

To his surprise, she laughed. ‘You haven’t changed a bit. Still the charmer.’

She was wrong, dead wrong.

He’d changed and, come five o’clock, she’d discover exactly how much.

Propping on the bonnet, he crossed his ankles. ‘Is it working?’

‘Nope, I’m immune to rebel charmers these days.’

‘Pity.’

His glance slid over her, taking in every delicious curve, earning another blush.

‘How long are you in town for?’

‘For as long as it takes.’

She’d gone cold again. Retreating back into the business at hand…

His glance swept the distant cane fields he loved so much, encompassing the sugar cane that was as much a part of him as his Italian heritage, wondering what she’d make of him once she discovered his real business these days.

Would she be impressed? Probably, though in all fairness what he did or where he came from had never been an issue with her.

They’d been friends before lovers in the old days, travelling on the same bus to school every day even though she’d attended the private grammar school and he’d gone to the local high school.

She’d pretended to ignore him at first so he’d done his best to rile her with constant taunts about everything from her shiny shoes to her long red pigtails. And when her fiery temper had sparked her into retaliating by ramming his bike with hers, their friendship had been cemented.

She’d never given a damn about the gaping hole in their social circles: the richest girl in the district hooking up with the Italian working-class farm boy.

But other people had. He’d heard the whispers, the innuendos, about her slumming it with him before she got married to a suitable man.

He’d let it taint what they had, had ended it for good before things got out of control. But he’d never forgotten how dating her had made him feel. Simply, he’d wanted to be a better man for her.

All ancient history, and as he refocused he knew that impulsive kiss was a stupid move.

He didn’t do impulsive any more. Every decision he made was carefully weighed, evaluated and executed with the utmost precision. He wasn’t at the top of his game these days for nothing.

Pushing off the car, he tapped the bonnet.

‘You better get going. Give me a chance to finish up here and meet you later.’

‘Fine.’

He opened the car door for her and watched as she buckled up. Déjà vu hit and an irresistible impulse came over him in spite of all the resolutions he’d just made. He leaned in quickly through the open window.

‘Hey, Red?’

‘Yeah?’

He grinned and tweaked her nose just as he used to. ‘You kiss even better than I remember.’

Before she could respond, he straightened, chuckling at the instant indignation sparking her beautiful eyes as he strode towards the farmhouse.

Chapter Two

BRITTANY pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks as Nick strode away.

The man was a menace.

In less than ten minutes he’d managed to unbalance her, unhinge her and undermine her.