Chapter Five
Diana’s look of concern turns my insides.
She didn’t ask, but she’s aware there’s a problem, and I wonder if Daniel has spoken to her.
Diana and Peter have been nothing but hospitable.
I hope they don’t think I’ve thrown it back in their faces somehow as they stand outside their beautiful home and wave us off on our journey back to Sydney.
As we head down the drive, I note Peter turning back to the house almost immediately, but Diana waves until she is a dot in the distance.
I feel like shit. There was no sign of Daniel this morning and who could blame him.
I walked away. God knows he must be pissed off.
I couldn’t be any more unprofessional if I tried.
I want to cry, but I don’t. Stiff upper lip and all that, plus Richard has a super sensitive emotion radar which is on high alert.
He doesn’t know what happened, but I’m sure he can tell I’m preoccupied and upset.
He talks all the way home because it’s his way of keeping me busy.
As much as I don’t like it, I have to accept what has happened and put it down to another experience.
A different one, granted. I don’t think I’ve ever walked away just before the juicy bit.
Ever. Never mind the fact he’s my boss’s boss.
Only time would tell if it was the right thing to do.
I’ve got to get a grip on myself when it comes to men.
Especially a beautiful Australian one, but I can’t get him out of my head.
A horrible, empty feeling fills me as I open my front door.
Now I’ve left the Grant’s vibrant, colourful home, the solitude of my one-bedroom flat isn’t so welcoming.
I realise how lucky I am to stay in such a beautiful location.
I’m six floors up and my view over Sydney Harbour still sends a shiver of excitement down my spine.
When I open the door which leads onto my balcony, I hear the sounds of Darlinghurst life below me.
I should be thankful, not wallowing in self-pity.
I need to pull myself out of this rut and get busy, so I unpack and wash my clothes from the weekend.
I shower, throw on my comfy tracksuit bottoms, and begin a long email to Lucy.
There is so much to tell her and it seems as if we haven’t been in contact for so long, even though I spoke to her four days ago.
As I furiously type away, my phone vibrates. I don’t recognise the number, but the company has landed a huge contract, ironically, in the UK. It’s so late, but I knew I’d have to work some odd hours because of it. I answer in my sing-song voice, “Good evening. This is Hannah May.”
I attempt to sound upbeat, but then his deep sexy tones drown my eardrums causing a swirl of images before my bleary eyes.
“Hello, Hannah May.”
I pause for a second. “How… how did you get my number?”
“I’m a partner, Hannah. I have everyone’s number.”
“Of course, you do,” I mumble.
A heavy silence separates us briefly. When he speaks, there’s an element of weariness to his voice, or it could be sadness. “I wanted to say sorry about what happened.”
I want to speak again, but the lump in my throat blocks my vocal cords.
My legs curl defensively under my body as the tips of my fingers soothe my worried brow and I close my eyes.
My breath is the only sound as I exhale and then clear my painful throat to talk.
“You have nothing to be sorry about. I treated you badly. I’m the one that should apologise. Have I pissed you off?”
He laughs while I wonder if I’m too familiar with him, but I thought we were over the exec and PA thing.
“I’m not pissed off. Hurt and disappointed you didn’t stay, but not pissed off.”
Shit. Now I feel worse. He used the ‘H’ and the ‘D’ word. Double blow!
“God, it’s not you. It’s just I’d already made my mind up about one-night stands and rushed relationships. I can’t risk any more heartbreak. I’m sorry.”
He exaggerates a sigh. “I didn’t phone to get an apology, but thanks anyway.”
I’m such a twat. What if he wants to talk business? “Oh?”
“I knew there had to be a reason you ran away. You’ve said it yourself, you didn’t want a one-night stand. I’m unsure what it was that made you decide it could be, but if I’m just after a fuck, I don’t make polite conversation for hours beforehand.”
“Oh,” I won’t deny I’m surprised by his blatant honesty.
“So, I wondered if I could see you again.”
“Um...” I want to. I really want to, but…
“I’m sure there was something going on between us. Am I alone here or—”
“No, not at all. It’s just… maybe… I got the wrong impression.”
“And what impression was that?”
“I’m not sure… I’ve heard some stuff and—”
The worry is clear in his tone when he interrupts. “Heard or read?”
I tell a white lie and regret it as soon as it leaves my mouth. “I Googled you.” I don’t want him to know that Richard is my source of information. It will only cause problems for my boss.
“Right.” His disappointment is obvious .
“I’m sorry.”
A heavy sigh leaves his lips, “I thought you would. I want to say I don’t know why you did, but I’d be lying.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re new in town and on your own. It’s understandable. I get that, although, you could have used a more reliable source. On-line click bate has a shitload of crap on it.”
“Yes, I suppose it does.” Now I really have an overwhelming urge to Google him. What the hell does it say? His beautiful voice interrupts my thoughts.
“So, shall we start again? Being friends, I mean.”
I openly contemplate his offer with a little more humour. “Hmm... just friends?”
“Well, to begin with.”
My nervous giggle is a bit of a giveaway and he adds, “It would always be more than one night.” How do I reply to that? I don’t. I’m too busy trying to calm my out of control, beating heart. He continues, “I was hoping we could get together again after the weekend.”
With deep breaths, my nervous energy hits the pit of my stomach. I’ve felt this way before. Rob promised me so much and look how that turned out. As tempted as I am, I don’t want that agony again.
“The problem is, I promised myself that this time away would be all about me.”
I sense his smile down the line. “Which is why I want to prove to you that for me, this is all about you. Tell me what you want, and what you hoped for, Hannah, because I think I can help you with that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m sure you wanted me to kiss you and do a lot more besides, but you stopped it. Tell me why?”
I think for a second. “It’s like most things in life. You hope what you’re doing is right and it’s not a waste of time. That it will go somewhere. I suppose just for once, I wanted to believe in the happy-ever-after.”
“You still can.”
God, if he were here I’d kiss him, stroke the back of his neck with my fingers, then lick his olive skin. I desperately want all of this, but my guard is up.
“It might take some time to trust anyone again. I think my ‘happy-ever-after’ is ‘far, far away’.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
His response surprises me and I wish I could have seen his face when he’d said those words.
Is he serious? I want to look into those beautiful hazel eyes to make sure everything he says is the truth and not some clever way to conquer me.
As these thoughts run through my mind, he takes the words right out of my mouth.
“We need to talk face to face.” With that, he confirms my mind reading suspicions. “Please, just come back to the farm.”
“What, now?”
“Yes. Why not? I’ll send my driver to pick you up.”
“Daniel, I can’t drop everything at a moment’s notice. I have a job to do. Richard needs me more than ever this week, so unless it’s an emergency, I can’t do it.”
His disappointment is obvious. “No, of course not.” I bet he thinks I’m brushing him off again. I hope he doesn’t, so I suggest, “You could come here?”
“Shit. I would, but I have a meeting first thing. I can’t reschedule. My diary’s full this week.”
“Then it looks as though we’re both busy.”
“What about this weekend? I’ll send a car for you Friday at six?”
“I’m not sure. An entire weekend? It could be dangerous.”
“Come on. Give me another go.” He is determined, but the playful tone of his voice isn’t lost on me. And so, I give in and answer with my own little joke .
“You really don’t like being turned down, do you?”
“That’s not the reason I want you here.”
“I know and because of that, I’ll be there.”
“You’ll come?”
“Yes, but just to talk. I can’t make any promises.”
“I haven’t asked you to. All I want is to make this right. My driver, Jack, will be there on Friday to pick you up from the office.”
“Then I suppose I’ll see you Friday.”
“You will.” There’s a pause before he speaks again. “Just give me a chance.”
“Okay, Daniel. We could both do with another chance.” I smile to myself.
“All right then, I’ll see you.”
“Not if I see you first.”
He laughs, “Night, Hannah. Sleep well.”
My heart thumps from the very tone of his incredible accent. “Night, Daniel.”
I hit the red button, hold the phone close to my chest, and close my eyes. There’s no one else around, so I bask in my excitement, squealing and jumping around like an excited toddler. I can’t stop my ridiculous grin and I couldn’t be happier.
By the time I’ve finished my energetic celebrations, I’m knackered.
I close the mail to Lucy and decide to finish it another time.
I wouldn’t know what to say about Daniel, anyway.
Plus, she’s bound to worry and think I’m not making the right choices.
I’m in such an excited tizz, I don’t want anything to dampen my mood.
All I want is to sit back and bask in the excitement of the weekend to come. I can’t wait to see Daniel again.