“Coming…” She quickly switched off the hair drier, laid it on the vanity bench, then grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it around the nakedness she hadn’t bothered to cover before, secretly revelling in a sense of wanton expectation. She opened the door to find her mother still loitering in the hall, watching for her to emerge. “Who is it?” Nicole asked, wondering why she appeared anxious.
Linda Ellis looked at the happy glow emanating from her daughter and felt her own heart tighten with concern. That same aura of happiness had been totally blighted by the man Nicole had picked up with again. If that happened a second time, it would be completely her fault for not ever having stopped to count the cost of trying to save Harry. A futile sacrifice in the end. And this sacrifice by Nicole could also end in wretched grief.
“It’s him,” she said flatly.
“You mean Quin?” Nicole asked, the sparkle in her eyes disappearing under a sudden cloud of worry.
Linda nodded.
Frowning heavily, Nicole hurried down the hall to the kitchen where the house telephone resided. Linda trailed after her, disturbed by this direct contact with the man who had never wanted to meet her, never wanted anything to do with Nicole’s family. She propped herself in the kitchen doorway, needing to eavesdrop on the call, needing to know where all this might be leading
Nicole snatched up the telephone receiver which had been left waiting for her on the kitchen bench. Her heart was racing, her stomach fluttering. “How did you get this number?” she demanded, the fear of Quin encroaching on her real life shooting through her mind.
“I looked it up in the telephone book,” he answered matter-of-factly.
“It’s in my mother’s name,” she snapped back.
“The same name, Linda Ellis, attached to the debts I paid off, including the mortgage on a house in Burwood,” he drawled.
Nicole paused to take a deep, calming breath and to get her wits in order. Of course Quin had enough information to find her. The question was…why bother? He never had before.
“Calling me at home is not in our deal,” she stated pointedly.
“I am calling out of consideration for you, Nicole. I didn’t think you’d like coming to my apartment tonight and not finding me there.”
Not there tonight? The sexual excitement she had been trying to contain all day took a dive into disappointment. Anger at herself stirred. She was letting Quin get to her far too much. A determination to halt that process put a coolness in her voice.
“Thank you for letting me know you’re forfeiting the twelfth night of our deal in favour of something else.”
“I have no intention of forfeiting any night,” he whipped back.
“You just have, Quin.”
“I’ll be home tomorrow. A mere postponement.”
“We made the arrangement—Fridays and Mondays. I’m not available to you on any other nights.”
“Be reasonable, Nicole.” His voice was very terse now. “I’m in Melbourne. A business meeting ran over and—”
“And, as always, making money comes ahead of being with me,” she cut in bitingly. “That’s fine, Quin. Your choice. But don’t expect me to accommodate your choice.”
She could hear him exhale a long breath of exasperation at her refusal to oblige him. Nicole felt pleased with herself for not giving in to him. Score one for me, she thought, remembering how she’d done whatever was needed to fit around his work in the past.
However, her moment of grim satisfaction was abruptly ended by Zoe rushing in from the living room, calling, “Mummy! Mummy! Come and see what’s on television.”
Nicole swung around from the kitchen bench, caught sight of her mother in the doorway and shot her a wildly pleading look.
Zoe was swiftly scooped up in her grandmother’s arms. “I’ll come and look,” she was assured and carried back into the living room.
“But I want…”
“Shh…”
The door was shut behind them, keeping them both out of earshot.
Nicole was gripped by shock, the childish voice of her daughter still ringing in her ears as she fearfully wondered if Quin had heard it. The suspended beating of her heart broke into an erratic pounding when he spoke again.
“Mummy?” The puzzled query was followed by a sharper question. “Whose child was that, Nicole?”
Her mind wrenched itself out of its distressed daze and flew to desperate defence stations. “The daughter of one of my friends. They dropped by to—” she deliberately huffed over the lie before adding “—but that’s none of your business, Quin. Thank you for calling to warn me tonight is off. Is Friday night a firm date or can I expect another cancellation?”
He huffed. Or rather a long heated breath hissed through his teeth. “You’ll be seeing me,” he said curtly, and ended the connection.
Nicole fumbled the receiver back onto its holder and sagged against the bench. That was too close a call. The relief of having come up with a swift explanation for Zoe’s presence still had her trembling inside.
It hadn’t occurred to her that Quin might contact her at home. He never had in the past. But then they’d been living together and working for the same bank. When she’d visited her mother, he had viewed it as time out from their relationship and didn’t intrude on it.
This was a different situation and she could hardly criticise Quin for giving her a courtesy call. She should have been more prepared for possible glitches in their arrangement. Although he had her e-mail address, e-mailing was not an immediate means of communication unless one was sitting at the computer all the time. And she would not have logged on before leaving this evening.
Shame wormed through her as she thought of how fixated her mind had been on having sex with Quin. He was starting to dominate her life again and she had to protect herself from that. Fourteen more nights…what if she didn’t want to end it?
Nicole shook her head angrily. That was crazy thinking. Right now she was caught up in indulging her sexuality. Quin was good for that but not for anything else. If she didn’t keep everything in perspective she’d be in bad trouble. And right now Zoe needed her attention.
She quickly entered the living room to find her daughter sitting on Nanna’s lap, placidly watching “The World Around Us” program on television—no apparent upset at having been ignored by her mother. Nicole paused for a moment, taking in the two people who did occupy the central core of her life.