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The Boss: A Cozy Romance 51
He paused and his expression softened. ‘Whereas you’ve got it all in front of you, my dear. You can do it right, you will do it right, and once you find someone to love, someone to have children with, you need never be alone again.’‘But—’‘No, Alex.’ He shook his head. ‘You will always have my affection and I’ll never forget what you did for Nicky.’ He smiled but not with his eyes. ‘The other thing is, you look so lovely tonight, I wouldn’t have been the only man who wanted to kiss you.’If she’d been rejected once tonight, Alex thought, this was even more comprehensive, and the shock of it saw silent tears well and stream down her cheeks.Max Goodwin moved abruptly, but before he could do or say anything that was how Margaret Winston found them.‘Oh, there you are, Mr Goodwin!’ Her expression was distressed as she came through the gate. ‘I’ve been searching high and low. Your absence is becoming noticeable—’ She broke off. ‘Why, Alex! What’s happened to you?’‘Margaret, could y
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She stopped and shook her head. ‘She always said I should, but I don’ttake kindly to people telling me what to do even when I know they’re right. Then a month or so ago she said she would if I didn’t—that’s what’s made me wonder if she had a premonition … But I don’t think anyone could understand how hard it was to do.’ She stopped helplessly. ‘Then I didn’t know how Max and I would react to each other and whether Nicky would sense it.’She broke off and closed her eyes, then looked across at Alex. ‘How are Nicky and Max getting along?’‘Pretty well.’‘And you say he took a shine to you?’Alex smiled faintly. ‘I made a bit of a hit with Nemo. From then on I was in, but he’s a great little boy.’Cathy Spencer sipped her coffee, then put her cup down with something like decision. Alex held her breath, expecting to have to somehow fend off Cathy claiming Nicky and taking him away, but she got a surprise.‘Have you any idea how I got myself into this mess—what is your name?’‘Alex
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 53
MONTHS later, Alex could remember word for word what she’d said to Cathy Spencer, her stunned reaction to it, and how the rest of that fateful morning had panned out.Cathy had still been staring at her, wide-eyed and with an expression of growing guilt, when Mrs Mills had come in with a remote phone.‘Mr Goodwin would like to speak to you, Miss Spencer,’ she said, and handed the phone to her.Alex got up. ‘We’ll leave you alone,’ she murmured.‘Thanks.’ Cathy stared at the phone for a moment as if she were afraid it was going to bite her, then she put it to her ear. ‘Max?’‘Where was he?’ Alex asked Mrs Mills as they retreated to the kitchen.‘Out jogging, apparently. He hadn’t told anyone and he hadn’t taken his phone. Does she want to take Nicky?’Alex hesitated. ‘I don’t think so. I think she seriously wants to do what’s best for Nicky. She’s also just lost her mother so she’s pretty fragile.’Mrs Mills heaved a heartfelt sigh. ‘They were good together, you know. Maybe th
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 54
‘Thank you.’ She put her purse down on the settee and shrugged. ‘I’m not sure what that means, but it sounded like a compliment so I’ll take it as one.’ ‘It was a compliment—to a special girl. But.’ He paused. Alex squared her shoulders. ‘It’s not going to work, is it? I mean, if you marry her, you won’t need me and—’ ‘Who said I was going to marry her?’ ‘Just about everyone I’ve spoken to in the last—’ she gestured ‘—forty- eight hours.’ ‘Who?’ he insisted. Alex heaved a sigh, ‘That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but your sister, your cousin, your housekeeper.’ He grimaced. ‘I’m sure my secretary put in her vote too.’ Alex thought for a moment with a slight frown in her eyes. ‘Funnily enough, she didn’t.’ She put her hands on the back of the settee and studied them for a moment, then looked up to see him watching her narrowly. ‘Are you?’ ‘Going to marry Cathy?’ He paused and she thought she’d never seen his features so finely sculpted, his mouth so chiselled—or his emotions so
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 55
FOUR months later Alex had a busy and fulfilling lifestyle.Her job at the Chinese Consulate as assistant to the Liaison Officer had proved to be a treasure. Whereas at Wellford’s she’d worked alone and often from home, in this job she was required to be out and about and to deal with the public.She’d had to acquire a working wardrobe and, while it didn’t equal the wardrobe Max Goodwin had provided her with—she’d left all those clothes behind—she bore little resemblance to the girl who’d looked like a bluestocking and dressed that way. She’d also made friends at work.At home, as she’d foreseen, Patti had been delighted with Josie, and Josie had taken to her new lifestyle of having two homes, two mistresses, with aplomb.She’d also been a lifesaver. Coming home to the little dog rather than an empty flat had made a difference. Riding around with her in her bike basket on the weekends was fun.Knowing she had someone to leave her with during working hours was a relief.Not that
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 56
She looked upwards and gasped. ‘Y-you?’ she stammered.‘Yes,’ Max Goodwin agreed as he dropped down on the bench beside her, and Josie was momentarily distracted. She curled her lip at him, revealing her sharp white teeth, then went back to her bone.‘I see nothing has changed there,’ he said with a grin. ‘She’s still anti- men. How are you, Alex?’Alex stared at the choice of sandwiches in her hands for a second, then put them back into the plastic container, and for a moment wondered, in a panic-stricken kind of way, if she’d been struck dumb.She swallowed and blinked, then looked at him at last. ‘I’m fine, thank you! What a coincidence, meeting you here in the park. Is Nicky—?’ She broke off as the thought struck her and she looked around.‘No. He’s with his mother at the moment. You’ll be pleased to hear he divides his time between us quite happily.’‘You didn’t—’ She hesitated.‘No, I didn’t marry Cathy.’ He paused and waited, but Alex was unable to do more than moisten h
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The train journey from Central to Helensvale took over an hour and then there were no buses. So she took a taxi to Paradise Point and decided to walk over the bridge from there. She and Nicky had done it a few times; it was a pleasant walk. But she stopped and bought herself lunch first and ate it in the park, feeding the seagulls the scraps of her fish and chips.She stopped again at the top of the bridge and looked down at the waters swirling below.Because it was a fine Sunday there were plenty of water craft about from jet skis to houseboats. There were fishermen on the beach and picnickers in the park. Looking south towards Surfers Paradise, and west towards the hinterland, though, there were dark clouds building, giving warning that this magic day could also bring storms.Looking north, she had a view very similar to the one she’d had from her guest bedroom, a view of water and mangroves and casuarinas.She stirred and took a deep breath. Sweat was trickling down between her
The Boss: A Cozy Romance 58
She flicked through the clothes hanging up—at least half of them she’d never worn—and hesitated over the least formal outfit, the one she and Margaret Winston had decided on for the river cruise Alex had never gone on.Slim navy trousers with a sea-green blouse and matching espadrilles. Funnily enough, she reflected, it was the most colourful outfit of the lot and Margaret, she remembered, had insisted on it.Was now the time to be thinking about clothes, though? she mused as she dressed with hands that were slightly unsteady. But she had no idea what was to come, did she?Max was already in the kitchen when she came down and he’d opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. There was also a tray of canapés on the kitchen table that Mrs Mills must have left for him. Tiny cucumber sandwiches, cheese straws, a little bowl of olives, vol-au-vents with savoury fillings, nuts and dried fruits.He looked up as she came into the kitchen. ‘We could go through to the den.’‘Here is fin
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