Her heart kicked. Was he thinking of the seventy dollars he’d paid out for her expertise? But the advice had worked so how could he complain? She’d simply been standing in for Michelle whose knowledge was worth every cent of that money since it had produced a week of peaceful nights.
‘She mentioned a Tammy,’ he went on.
‘Tammy’s gone. I’ve stepped into her place,’ Serena rushed out.
He cocked a quizzical eyebrow. ‘New to the job then?’
‘Not exactly new,’ she quickly defended. ‘I’m Michelle’s sister. I’m well acquainted with the business she’s been running for the past five years. And I have an affinity with animals, just as she does.’
‘So you’re helping out your sister.’
‘More a case of helping each other. I wanted to get out of Sydney.’ The words tripped out before she could bite them back.
‘What did you do in Sydney, Serena?’
Danger…danger…danger…
If he connected her to Lyall Duncan now she’d die a million deaths. Not only that, she needed to cover her tracks on the animal front. Leaving herself open to an accusation of false pretences would not be good. Her mind zinged into overdrive, wildly seeking an escape with honour.
‘I practised a lot of psychology.’
It wasn’t a lie. Dealing with Ty’s clients had been like conducting a therapy session more times than not. The salon policy demanded that everyone have a smile on their face when they left. One way or another, you had to make them feel good, happy if possible, at least better than when they had arrived. Of course, listening was the big thing. And the clients lay in curved couches when they were having their hair shampooed and conditioned, same kind of relaxation as they’d get in a psychiatrist’s office.
‘May I have the leash, please?’ she quickly asked, seeing he was digesting this information at the speed of light and deciding a fast getaway was essential. Cleo was making no objection to being cuddled so shouldn’t cause any delay.
Fortunately, Nic handed the looped strap to her as he commented, ‘I thought you said you weren’t a qualified psychologist.’
‘I’m not,’ she conceded, swinging towards the van. ‘That doesn’t stop me from using it to get the result I’m aiming for. ’Bye now,’ she tossed over her shoulder as she got her legs moving away from him.
He didn’t pursue her, though she felt his gaze burning into her body, making her acutely conscious of being watched and examined from head to toe. It was a huge relief to put the van between them.
‘Back at one o’clock?’ he called as she opened the driver’s door and leaned in, bundling Cleo onto the passenger seat.
She popped back out to say, ‘Yes. One o’clock,’ then climbed into her own seat and shut the door with too much force, revealing an anxiety to depart that she hoped he wouldn’t pick up. Her fingers worked very fast attaching Cleo’s safety harness and her own seat belt. She didn’t exactly burn rubber driving off but her inner tension only began to ease when she was well on her way to Holgate.
Escape made good.
Except she had to face Nic Moretti again at one o’clock and she knew he hadn’t yet wiped her off his slate. It was possible that the smile and the welcoming charm had been employed to put their association back on a friendly footing—more comfortable all around since they would be seeing each other every Monday. Also very diplomatic if he happened to need more help with the dog.
But the curiosity about her background…her life in Sydney…that demonstrated personal interest beyond what was required to promote congenial meetings. It smacked of wanting to get close to her, and close was very dangerous to Serena’s peace of mind. Not that she had any around him anyway. The man had a sexual magnetism that had all her nerves going haywire.
She had managed to cut him off at the pass this time, but what about the next and the next and the next? Maybe she should just say she’d been a hairdresser and have done with it. Let him link her to Lyall Duncan. It would undoubtedly cool his interest.
She’d probably fuelled it with her reference to psychology. Stupid move! Though it had seemed brilliant at the time. Brilliant and satisfying, seeing the respectful assessment of her being recalculated in his eyes. Why knock that down? She deserved respect. Everybody did. There was nothing shameful about working in a service industry. Didn’t he service people, too, creating architectural designs to please them? Just because he made more money…
Serena sighed away the ferment in her mind.
There was nothing she could do to change the status of wealth. And if Nic Moretti was such a snob, he deserved to be misled about her status. Not that she would actually lie, but he could mislead himself as much as he liked. It should be interesting to see what he came up with next!
Nic congratulated himself on the deductions he’d made about Serena Fleming. She had been in Sydney until very recently and grooming pets was not a job she usually did. It was her sister’s business. More likely than not, Serena had held some kind of consultancy position where pushing the right buttons with people would serve her very well. And charging a whopping fee came naturally to her. Definitely a smart businesswoman who was not backward in coming forward.
Though that latter attitude did not apply to sex.
Nic wondered why. Surely she was the type of woman who went after what she wanted. Why back off last Monday night? Was it because she’d suddenly found herself not on top of everything, control completely lost?
He could empathise with that shock to the system.
It hit hard.
On the other hand, he certainly wasn’t averse to trying another dose of it, if only to see how far it went. Nic smiled to himself, pleased with the thought that Serena had been out for the count in their clinch, every bit as much as himself. But for Cleo…
Nic’s smile broke into a grin as he realised Serena had been using Cleo as a shield just now. All he had to do was think of some ruse to get her guard down so they could meet on ground they might both find highly satisfying.
One o’clock.
Having made a point about punctuality Serena arrived on the dot. It was disconcerting to find the front door wide open. Should she call out or ring the bell? Was Nic Moretti home or was the house being burgled?
Cleo pranced straight into the foyer. Naturally the dog was confident of entering its own domain. The leash Serena held was pulled tight before she could decide what to do. Then the dog yapped and Nic Moretti strolled out of the kitchen.