“So,” Matt continued, “in summary, I guess my point is—what is going on with you and Lexi Tanner?”
Damned if he knew the answer himself.
“Mate,” Matt said, “I haven’t seen you this wound up about a woman in over ten years. What’s the deal?”
“Nothing.” Maybe if he said it out loud, he’d believe it.
“Yeah, right.” Matt disregarded the answer with a dismissive flick of his hand. “You’re falling for her, aren’t you?”
“No. I am not,” Adam denied vehemently.
“Then you won’t mind if I ask her out?” Matt smirked again.
Try it and I will kill you.
“Not at all. Go ahead.” Adam buried his face in the newspaper, knowing his eyes had narrowed to dangerous slits.
“I’ll take her for dinner. Or on a romantic harbor cruise. Hey, would you mind if I borrowed the mountain loft for a weekend? Maybe she’ll spend a couple of nights there with me.”
“Over my dead body,” Adam snapped and then shook his head as he realized he’d walked straight into a trap.
Matt threw his head back and laughed. “Relax, brother. I’m not interested in her.” His tone changed. “You are, damn it. You like the woman. Do something about it.”
“You know that’s not a possibility.” Adam refused to look at him.
“I know you think it’s not an option. You’re wrong. The past is in the past. Leave it there. Let go, mate. You’ve had enough pain in your life. It’s time to move on.”
Adam shot him an acid look. He didn’t speak. Matt knew the pain hadn’t passed. It never would.
“Your life didn’t end ten years ago.”
“Yes,” Adam said, his voice as dead as his heart. “It did.”
“You have a chance to start over. Something’s telling you it’s time, and you know it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have reacted this way to Lexi. You would just have filed her away with all the other numbers.”
Shit, Matt’s words made sense. He reacted differently to Lexi. He couldn’t cut her out of his thoughts or his life. Something made him go back to her, repeatedly.
“Adam, give her a chance. Give yourself a chance.”
He shook his head again. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
They both knew the answer. Adam pursed his lips and remained silent. He didn’t quite trust his voice.
“You scared?” Only Matt would have the audacity to ask.
He grimaced. Yes, goddamn it. He was frigging terrified.
“Same old story, huh? You get involved, you get hurt.”
Shit, what did Matt think? That he was a selfish git? “Not just me, mate.”
“Ah.” Matt nodded. “You’re worried you’re going to break her heart. Very chivalrous of you.”
The sarcasm was not lost on him. He resisted the urge to swear at his friend.
“She’s an adult woman,” Matt said. “She can make decisions for herself.”
Yes, Lexi was indeed an adult woman. He’d become intimately acquainted with just how adult she was. That didn’t mean letting her into his life was the right decision.
“We’re different. We want different things out of life.”
Matt looked surprised. “You know her well enough to know what she wants from her future?”
Damn. He had an answer for everything, didn’t he? “I know her well enough to know what’s important to her.” He didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to see what mattered to Lexi. People did. Lexi cared, AJ didn’t. Not anymore. That made for irreconcilable differences.
“You don’t have to have similar beliefs and thoughts to get on.”
“There has to be some common ground,” Adam countered.
“Mutual attraction isn’t common ground?”
That stumped him. He and Lexi shared a mutual attraction. He had no idea if she liked him but he was certain she was attracted to him. His body stirred and he subtly shifted the newspaper onto his lap before he embarrassed himself. “Mutual attraction doesn’t last.”
“It doesn’t have to. I’m not asking you to marry the woman. I’m asking you to give her a chance. See where it goes.”
For a good few minutes, Adam remained silent. He wanted to give Lexi a chance, wanted to see where it would go, yet the very idea scared him shitless. What if she demanded things he couldn’t give? What if she began to care for him? Worse, what if he began to care about her?
Rubbing his hands over his perpetually tired eyes, he gave up. “Can I agree to think about it for now?” he asked, keen for Matt to drop the subject.
“Can you promise to do that?”
“If I do, can we change the subject?”
“We’ll talk about the Melbourne deal,” Matt agreed.
“Then I promise to think about it.”
Matt assessed him carefully, then nodded. “Lewin agreed to the price but he wasn’t altogether happy with the conditions attached. He wants affirmation that none of his staff will be compromised.”
“I can’t give him any guarantees.”
“Give him something. He’s giving you his company.”
Adam considered his request. “Right. Three months trial period. I’ll guarantee every job for three months. It’s up to each individual to prove his or her worth in that time. More than that I won’t offer.”
“Sounds fair. We’ll run it by Lewin at the meeting.” He leaned forward and took out the in-flight magazine. “Interesting…” He flipped a page. “Very interesting…” Another page. “Hmmm…”
“Okay,” Adam finally snapped. “What the bloody hell is so interesting?”
“I’m thinking, you’re giving a bunch of complete strangers a real chance, an opportunity to prove themselves, and yet…”
He knew he’d regret asking. “And yet?”
“And yet you’re not willing to give Lexi a second thought.”
“Change the subject.”
“Sure.” Matt flipped another page of the magazine. “This is the easy part of the negotiations. All I need is a signature. Pretty simple, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Right. So remind me again what you’re doing here?”
Crap. Matt wasn’t going to let this rest. He knew his reason for going to Melbourne had nothing to do with business. He just needed to get away from Sydney. Needed to put some space between himself and Lexi before he did something irrational. “Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“Let it go.”
“You’ll think about it?”
“I said I would.”
“I’ll let it go.” This time, he did.
Adam tried to focus on the headlines but his concentration was shot. Promising Matt he’d think about Lexi hadn’t been hard. Forcing himself not to think about her was damn near impossible.
* * *
Adam stared dumbfounded at the woman standing before him. Christ, what was she doing in Melbourne? Furthermore, what were the odds of bumping into her on the street like this?
“Tracey?” Apart from looking a couple years older, she’d hardly changed. A few lines around her eyes, a different hairstyle and perhaps an air of maturity that hadn’t been there before.
“Don’t look so shocked, Adam,” she said. “It’s just me.”
Just me? Did she have the foggiest idea what seeing “just her” did to him? It wrenched his heart and twisted his stomach and tortured his mind.
“What are you doing in Melbourne?” He had to stop coming to this city. Every time he did he bumped into a woman who shook him to his bones.
“I’m here on business.”
“Business?” She hadn’t been working last time he’d seen her.
“Yes. I’ve started up a clothing line for children.”
Logical choice. She had an eye for fashion and a way with children. “How’s it going?”
“It’s doing well in Perth, now I’m trying to bring the label to Melbourne.”
“And?”
“So far, so good. If the line proves successful here, I’ll go to Sydney next.”
“Good luck. I hope it works out.” He did. He just didn’t want her in Sydney.
“Thanks. What are you doing here? I thought the business mogul never left his office.” Her voice held no malice, just gentle teasing.
“We’re purchasing a company here.”
“Are you still driving yourself so hard?”
Sure, the concern in her voice touched him—she was the one person who understood why he drove himself the way he did. Didn’t mean he wanted to stand around and chat. His mind already searched for an escape, an excuse to leave before she started asking questions.
“Hey, you know how it is,” he answered casually. “When there’s work to be done, someone’s got to do it.”
“I spoke to your mother the other day,” Tracey said. “She’s worried about you. She said you’re involved with another cancer charity.”
Fuck, couldn’t they just make polite conversation about the weather or something? They hadn’t seen each other in years. Did she have to drive to the heart of the problem within two minutes of meeting him again?
“I’m not involved. Someone approached me and I gave her the money. That’s all. Matt’s doing the follow-up.”
She touched his arm, left her hand there. “Even now, you’re not able to move on, are you?”
He simply was not prepared to go there. “How is my mother? Do you still see her so regularly?”
Her brow puckered and she frowned. “We meet every few months. I like the contact and so does she. We both find it comforting.”
“Yeah, Mum always did like you.” Then, because he had to ask—even if it damn near killed him—he said, “How is your family? How are the boys doing?”
She gave him a sad smile. “They’re wonderful. Getting big now. Jason’s already five and Corey’s going to be three next month.”
Adam knew that. He made it a rule never to forget their birthdays. Sent them gifts every year.
“You should come and meet them sometime.”
Enough. He had to get away. “I’m sure I will. One day,” he said as he checked his watch. “Is that the time? My next meeting starts in ten minutes and it’s three blocks away. I have to run.”
She frowned again, her eyes filled with hurt and sympathy.
“Hey,” he said and impulsively hugged her. “It’s good to see you again.” He surprised himself by meaning it. It was nice seeing her. It just wasn’t nice remembering everything he associated with her.
She hugged him, squeezing him close for a minute. “You too, Ad. Take care.” She stepped back. “I mean that. Look after yourself.”
Adam nodded, gave a tight smile and walked off.
“Send my love to Matt,” she called after him and he lifted his arm in acknowledgement.
Her gaze cut into his back long after he’d turned the corner and walked out of her line of vision.
Chapter Ten
Lexi’s footsteps echoed through the empty offices, the odour of fresh paint sharp in her nose. The walls were now a mint green, the color chosen specifically for its soothing hue. She didn’t need to close her eyes to picture the place furnished. The couches and armchairs were being delivered on Monday week—plump, inviting seats with bold, bright prints that would appeal to kids of all ages.
The new coordinator would also arrive on the same Monday. After extensive interviews, Lexi’d found the perfect person to head up the program: Abbey Perkins, a young, dynamic social worker.
Someone knocked on the door and she turned to the sound, expecting it. Matt had scheduled a meeting and she was excited to update him on the progress.
Only it wasn’t Matt who stood in the doorway.
Adam.