Yesterday's Sins

  "Why?" She gave her boss a startled look.

  "He wants first refusal. He has relatives wanting to relocate. Do you want to handle it? Or would you prefer me to?"

  Kate hesitated, unsure if she was ready to face Alex. More importantly, did she want to have professional dealings with him?

  She glanced at Dave and surprised a compassionate gleam in his eyes. "Well?"

  "What price has he put on the lots?" she asked, playing for time.

  "Hefty." Dave's grimace was expressive. "These are the last premium sites anywhere close to the village."

  "Can I look at the plan?"

  They went into her office, spreading the plan on her desk. "His surveyor has sited the roads cleverly. Every mature tree has been spared felling."

  "Has he priced the individual lots?"

  Dave turned back the letter stapled to the map, unclipped it and handed it to her.

  "Whew. It will be exclusive." Kate was surprised. Clevedon was a very sought after rural dormitory suburb for the Auckland Metropolis but had never quite reached these dizzy heights.

  "What an understatement." He gave a crack of amused laughter. "Will they sell or sit a while?"

  "They'll sell," she said firmly. "There are so many people seeking small lots of land close to the village."

  "Do you want to contact Korda?"

  "Yes." She had to face him sometime. "Did he say which relatives were thinking of moving here?"

  She was curious. Reviewing those members of the Korda clan she knew, none seemed logical candidates for relocation considering he had left Australia rather than face their censure.

  "No." Dave stood up from the edge of the desk. "I'll leave you to handle this?"

  "Okay."

  After he'd gone, Kate sat for a few moments before calling Alex's business number. When his secretary briskly informed her neither Alex nor Gregori Nicolaides could be reached, she was relieved.

  Throughout the rest of the day she was on tenterhooks.

  As she liaised with Gavin Smith, seeking his input on the advertising launch, part of her mind worried her next meeting with Alex. She relaxed when, by the end of the day, she had no response to her message.

  "You off home?" Dave stopped at her office doorway, a sheaf of papers and listing books under one arm.

  "Yes." Kate tidied her desk, keeping her face averted from his shrewd gaze.

  "Heard from Korda?"

  "He's been in meetings all day. Gavin Smith wants no advance publicity until the official launch. Alex has plenty of time."

  Dave paused a moment, frowning as he studied her face. "It's not too late for me to take over if you find dealing with him threatening."

  Her heart warmed at his gruff anxiety.

  "Dealing with Alex isn't a problem." She'd come a long way from the hurt woman who hurled a vase of flowers at his handsome head. "I see him every week when I visit Sarah."

  "That's great news." Dave gripped her shoulder. "Does she know who you are yet?"

  "We want to let her get to know me first." Kate smiled at the man who'd been so very kind to her during the bleak years of her exile.

  "Build her trust and respect and she'll accept you." He hesitated a moment before asking warily, "Is there no chance of you getting back together?"

  "No."

  "That's a pity." He watched her expression, seeing more than she realized. "Are the barriers too high?"

  What would Dave say if he knew just how non-existent the barriers had been last night?

  Heat surged up her neck when she saw the gleam in his eyes. She made her excuses and left.

  A chill southerly whipped at her legs as she left car and walked to the letterbox. Engrossed in flipping through her mail, she didn't see the man in the shadows. He stood up as she stepped onto the porch, startling her.

  "Alex. What are you doing here?"

  "I came to see you." He lifted his hand and ran a finger down her cheek. "I didn't mean to startle you. May I come in?"

  Was she being stupid letting him come inside?

  "I only want to talk to you," he said, seeing her hesitation.

  Kate flushed, unlocking the door, allowing him to follow her inside. As she went to switch on the light to alleviate the evening gloom, he extended a hand preventing her. He took her handbag and letters from her nerveless fingers and tossed them onto a small table.

  "What do you want?" She hated the anxious note in her voice.

  "Are you okay?" He held her shoulders, his fingers gently kneading taut muscles. She nodded and he sighed.

  "Why?" The lengthening shadows made it difficult to discern anything from his expression.

  It was his turn to hesitate. "I was a trifle rough. Did I hurt you?"

  She stifled the uncharitable impulse to agree. His roughness was from acute need and she'd matched it with her own desperation.

  "Of course not, " she said, heat flooding up her face.

  He drew her into a tight hug and she relaxed against him, savouring his warmth.

  "I shouldn't have come here last night." His breath ruffled her hair.

  "Why did you?" Kate pushed against him.

  "To find out why you disappeared. Sarah was bitterly disappointed." She hadn't stopped to think of Sarah's reaction to her precipitate departure. "What did you tell her?"

  "I've become very adept at realistic excuses for her mother's absence. Explaining your departure was much easier."

  Hot, humiliated heat seeped into her face. She turned away, wrapping her arms around her body. Was his lovemaking a crude form of punishment?

  "Noni upset me."

  "And no one is allowed to upset Catriona without being punished?"

  "Oh you punished me. Admirably." So much for thinking those flowers were a romantic gesture. He didn't understand the meaning of the word.

  "Is that what you think?"

  "What else did you intend?"

  For several heart stopping moments, tension arced between them. With a sigh Alex turned away, extending a hand and flipping on the light and defusing the tension.

  Kate shivered as the coldness penetrated.

  "Can I persuade you to make me a coffee?"

  "I need to talk to you about Smith's Farm." Happy to drop the contentious subject, she switched on the electric fire and plugged in the kettle, then drew the curtains, shutting out the cold. "The approved scheme plan arrived this morning. Gavin Smith wants to have the sales launch next week."

  Alex didn't answer immediately. He sat in one of her comfortable armchairs. She was surprised by his frown.

  "How far away are the titles?"

  "The surveyors moved in today and as soon as they're done, the road works will begin." Kate poured coffee in pottery mugs. "Once the fieldwork is done, it's approximately three months until title."

  "The terms? Ten per cent deposit with the balance payable on title?"

  As he accepted the coffee, his grey eyes danced with amusement. And she realized she'd just demonstrated how little she'd forgotten about him and his tastes. Heat seeped up her throat and face.

  "Or fifty per cent if you want immediate possession," she said, flustered by his knowing look. "Which relatives are thinking of relocating here?"

  "Emily and Luke."

  She stared at him surprised. Of all his relatives, they were the very last pair she would have expected to want to leave Australia. "Why?"

  He looked at her over the rim of his mug. "Emily misses you and Luke wants to have his own practice and Clevedon is sorely in need of doctors."

  Kate was thoughtful. "Would they like Smith's Farm?"

  "Its premium location would be hard to better. Land there will grow into a very valuable asset. Clevedon is growing. And Emily would never want to be separated from Luke."

  "He's her only family."

  "Besides Sarah and I."

  Where does that leave me?

  A hot rush of blood seeped into her face and unable to hold his enigmatic gaze, she looked away.


  "How soon can I see the plans?"

  "Whenever it suits." Unable to sit still, she moved to the kitchen. Alex stood up putting his empty mug on the bench.

  "Are you free late afternoon tomorrow?"

  She walked across and picked up her appointments diary, opening it to check her commitments for the next few days. "I'll be free from three thirty onward?"

  "That's ideal. I've a parent interview with Sarah's teacher at three."

  "How's she doing?" she asked, hesitant at asking.

  "With distinction, she's a clever little puss." He paused a moment. "Her class is putting on an end of term play on Thursday evening. Would you like to come with me?"

  Startled by the unexpected invitation, she looked at him but his expression was unreadable. "I'd love to, what time?"

  "I'll collect you at six thirty. Sarah has to be at the school by a quarter to seven. Okay?"

  She nodded, excitement curling her toes. "Thank you so much," she hesitated, and then added, "and thank you for the flowers. They are lovely."

  "I noticed them. I never intended to make love to you last night, but I'm not about to apologize. I'd be lying," he said dryly. "Smith's Farm, three thirty?"

  She nodded her mouth too dry to speak.

  "I'll see you then. Goodnight, my dear." He bent his head and kissed her, and in two strides was gone, leaving her bewildered.

  What did he want from her?

  She had no answer.

  But the last thing she wanted to do was alienate him and derail the chance of establishing a relationship with Sarah.

  Later as she lay in bed, on the edge of sleep, reliving her delight in Alex's lovemaking, an elusive memory teased her. Engrossed in her dreams it slipped away.

  Chapter Ten

  Morning rain had given way to a brisk, chilly wind as Alex strode across the paddocks of Smith's Farm. Sarah danced beside him, a pale little moon flower, contrasting vividly with his darkness.

  Delight clutched at Kate's heart.

  "'lo Kate." Sarah raced towards her.

  Kate crouched down, catching Sarah's hands in hers. The warmth of the child's flesh was a soothing balm to years of denial. "Hello, Sarah. How was school today?"

  "Great. Mr. Owen had a talk to Daddy. They think I'm doing okay."

  Kate laughed, delighted at Sarah's insouciance, and lifted a hand to brush a strand of silky blonde hair back from her face.

  She glanced past Sarah at Alex, released the child's hands and stood up. A gust of wind blew hair across her face and he extended a hand and smoothed the errant strands back behind her ear.

  Her heart bumped at the casual touch.

  "You have the map?"

  "Here." She tapped her briefcase, trying to match his casual attitude. He was distracting, his masculinity and sensual good looks sending her senses into overdrive.

  "Nonna Emily's coming to live here." Sarah danced at Kate's side not wanting to be left out. "Daddy's letting me help choose the place to build her new house."

  "Nonna Emily will love living here." Kate extended a hand and the child clutched at it. "Where do you think she'd like best?"

  Her question was addressed to Alex but her eyes feasted on Sarah, as he scanned the field with its patches of bush. When he indicated they walk further into the subdivision, she jerked her attention back to the matter in hand. He paused close to a stand of manuka and puriri, their drab foliage bending in the wind.

  "Where are the boundaries of this lot?"

  Kate hunched down and opened her briefcase extracting the map and spreading it out. The wind caught at the edges nearly tearing it from her grasp. Alex crouched beside her and put one arm around her holding the map and her within the lee of his body.

  "It follows the lie of the land." Her voice trembled and she breathed deeply and her senses were filled with spicy aftershave and warm, healthy male. An errant pulse hammered at the base of her throat.

  "This lot begins about here and extends to take in that clump of trees to the left and goes straight back to the knoll overlooking the river." She sketched a hand in the direction of the gentle rise at the rear of the trees.

  "How big is it?"

  His deep voice rumbled against her back, he was so close. Her finger stopped under the lot area highlighted in black. "Some are smaller, a couple bigger. They are priced according to size. This residential subdivision has big sections to afford privacy."

  His mouth formed a soundless whistle at the asking price.

  "Our sentiments too, but they'll move fast." She grinned and looked up at him, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder.

  "I'd almost forgotten how beautiful you are," he muttered, his grey eyes darkening. Helplessly, she stared back, her breath coming in a shallow gasp as his hand grazed her chin and he claimed her lips in a hard, possessive kiss.

  "Why are you kissing Kate, Daddy?"

  Sarah's curious question made them break apart. Heat suffused Kate's skin.

  "Because she's so eminently kissable, possum," he drawled in an amused voice, releasing her but waiting until she'd refolded the plan and tucked it in her briefcase.

  Damn the man, he was able to rattle her with very little effort.

  Desperate to reclaim her professionalism, she concentrated on the scheme plan, pointing out the paint marked boundaries.

  Alex paused, hands in his pockets as he studied the land. He glanced at Sarah. "Do you think Nonna Emily would like to build a new house here?"

  Sarah hesitated and looked around with a worried frown. "But there's no road, would she have to drive across the grass?"

  Both adults laughed as Sarah's ingenious question dispersed the tension. Kate pulled out a small map and held it in front of the puzzled child.

  "See these marks?" She pointed to the wide roads marked on the maps and Sarah nodded. "Next week when the surveyors have finished, men will bring in their big machines and make new roads.

  "One road will come back here to Nonna Emily's new plot so she can drive her car to her house. Perhaps Daddy will bring you back and let you see them making the roads?"

  "Will you, Daddy?"

  Kate glanced at Alex to find him watching them with a hooded expression. "If I can't, Kate can bring you. Would you like that?"

  She took a shaky breath. She'd never expected this.

  "Yes please." Sarah's grey eyes shone with delight at the suggestion. "Could you bring me to have a look?"

  "Of course I can." Tears burned behind Kate's eyes. "The August holidays are nearly here, and the road works should be well underway by then."

  Alex was being generous. He was offering her far more than she'd ever dreamed. And far more than she deserved, given she'd deserted him and this child.

  "Can you draw up an agreement?" Alex scanned her upturned face. "I'll settle at the asking price. I don't want to lose it. Luke will love it. He wanted space, privacy and trees."

  This surprised her. Alex thought this block would suit Luke, not Emily.

  "Emily doesn't want a large area of ground."

  "Of course she doesn't." Had her wits gone begging? "The smallest lot is 1100 square meters, still quite large as sections go."

  They turned back towards their parked cars. Kate spread the map on the bonnet. "Lot three and lot ten are both 1100 square meters," Kate pointed out the two pieces of land to Alex. 'Three is to the left behind and includes that thicket of hawthorn. It's magnificent in the spring and gives the lot a permanence right from the beginning. Ten is on the south side, and has no trees as yet."

  "Can I walk over them?"

  "Sure." She folded the map and put it in her jacket pocket.

  Alex holding Sarah's hand walked beside her.

  She pointed out the approximate boundaries marked on the grass in orange marker paint. Alex looked closely at the hawthorn, fat buds beginning to swell with promise of their spring mantle.

  "What do you think Sarah?" he asked, careful to include the little girl in the decision. "Would Nonna Emily like
this one, or the one without the trees?"

  Sarah scrunched up her nose.

  And looked at the bare grass where they were standing to the one with the hawthorn trees.