To Have And To Hold

The rest of those six weeks were wonderful because Alix knew she had him to herself, socially, that was; he spent a great deal of time in meetings and conferences, and it was eventually announced that he had been made a director in the boardroom game of musical chairs. And he was still only thirty. When he took her out at first Alix thought it was merely to emphasise to Donna that he wasn’t interested, but after two weeks the company hummed with the news that Donna had got a new job and was leaving immediately. Whenever Rhys was free he took Alix to the theatre and concerts, to dinner in ethnic restaurants where he laughed at the doubtful face she pulled as she tried food she’d never heard of before, let alone tasted.

Although Alix had known him most of her life there were many things about Rhys that she had yet to discover; he had never treated her as an adult before, so their conversations were different, making her feel closer to him. And he seemed to have changed since she’d seen him last, become a little harder perhaps. For Alix these weeks became a period of learning about Rhys, and her own experience had broadened so that she was able to look at him with more mature eyes. And the same went for him, she supposed, but she had always been completely open and natural with him, so there was less for him to learn.

When he went back to Australia she went to his flat to collect him, so that she could drive him in his car to the airport and then drive it back to Kent, to garage it at his parents’ house. His flat was in a modern block with an entry-phone system. Because she was feeling unhappy at his leaving, Alix had bought a lurid witch mask and put it on when she rang the bell.

Rhys’s laugh crackled over the intercom. ‘A great improvement. Come on up, Alix.’

His bags were all packed and standing ready in the hall.

‘How long will you be away this time?’ she asked him.

‘Not sure. A couple of months, maybe.’ His eyes settled on her face. ‘Have you ever thought of getting yourself a flat in London instead of commuting every day?’

She thinned her lips expressively. ‘Flats in London cost the earth to rent.’

Rhys held up some keys. ‘How about using this one, then, while I’m away?’

Alix’s eyes widened with pleasure. ‘Rhys! Do you mean it? Oh, that would be great, great, great!’

He laughed and tossed her the keys. ‘Don’t have any rave-ups and don’t upset the neighbours. OK?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Let’s go, then.’

They reached the airport and he turned to her. ‘Goodbye, urchin.’

Alix swallowed and blinked hard. ‘I’m going to miss you, Rhys.’

He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face, looked down at her with strange intentness. ‘Then remember this,’ he said softly, and bent to kiss her.

At last it was a real kiss, not that of an indulgent friend, but the kiss of a man to a woman. Letting her know masculine curiosity and desire, softly exploring her mouth, drinking in its moist sensuality, deepening to demand a response. At first taken by surprise, Alix was completely still, but then she gave a low moan of wonder and joy, opening her lips to him, finding herself caught in whirling timelessness, clinging to him as she experienced overwhelming sexual need for the first time in her life.

When he lifted his head there were tears of happiness in her eyes.

‘Idiot,’ he said, and kissed the tears away.

‘Wow!’ she managed on a choking laugh. ‘That was really something!’

He grinned. ‘You should get me on a good day.’

‘Yes, please,’ she said fervently.

He laughed and tweaked her hair. ‘Goodbye, urchin. Take care of yourself.’

He unloaded his bags, turned to wave to her as he went through the doors. But it was a while before Alix had recovered enough to start the car and drive home.

Alix moved into his flat the next day, enjoying hanging her clothes beside his in the wardrobe, putting her things out as if they were sharing the place. Not that there was much of Rhys’s stuff there; he was hardly at the flat long enough to make it look lived in, and he seemed to take most of his clothes with him. She got into bed that night, her thoughts full of him, when the phone rang.

‘Hello, Alix.’

‘Rhys! How did you know I was thinking about you?’

‘Telepathy. You settled in OK?’

‘Yes, fine.’

‘I forgot to tell you to forward any post.’

‘Will do.’ A little disappointed, Alix said, ‘Is that why you rang?’

‘No.’ His voice changed a little. ‘I called to ask you to marry me.’

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_07b9d058-5e56-57ee-b4a3-9d45c9978502)

‘ALIX? Alix, are you still there?’ Rhys demanded when the silence had lengthened and she still hadn’t replied.

‘Y-yes, I’m here,’ she said faintly. Then, on a note of understanding, that was, however, unable to hide the disappointment, ‘It was a joke, right?’

‘No joke, urchin. I’m asking you to be my wife.’ Again there was a long silence. ‘Alix, don’t do this to me. Is it yes or no?’

From somewhere, out of the overwhelming joy that filled her heart to bursting, out of the dizzying happiness that filled her head, her every sense, Alix was able to say with some dignity, ‘I shall have to think about it.’

‘You’ve got two minutes,’ Rhys said in amusement.

This time she was silent for only two seconds. ‘Yes, of course I’ll marry you, you idiot! Oh Rhys, oh Rhys, oh Rhys!’ The happiness bubbled in her voice, then changed to awe as the future she’d always dreamed about shone before her. ‘Oh, Rhys!’

‘Can’t you think of anything else to say?’ he complained.

‘I’ll try.’ She gave a watery chuckle.

‘And if you start to cry the deal’s off,’ he warned.

That made her laugh properly. ‘I do wish I could see you.’ She rolled on to her stomach. ‘Tell me where you are,’ she commanded. ‘I want to picture you there, proposing to me.’

‘It’s just a hotel room like any other—except that the fridge is bigger to hold all the beer.’

‘I’m in your bed,’ she told him with satisfaction. ‘And I’m wearing the top of a pair of your pyjamas that you left behind. The dark blue silk one.’

‘I never wear the tops,’ he told her.

‘Oh, good. Think how much money we’ll save,’ Alix said happily.

Rhys chuckled. ‘We’ll get officially engaged when I get home,’ he told her. ‘In the meantime keep it under your hat.’

‘Can’t I even tell the parents?’

‘Oh, sure.’ His voice changed a little. ‘But don’t expect them to be surprised.’