A Kiss To Remember Page 12

‘I suppose you can have visitors tonight,’ came the grudging concession. ‘But only for an hour or so.’

  Angie hated saying goodbye after so little time. Neither did she like leaving her mother in the hands of such a tyrant, but she could see the sense in her mother resting. Her father looked tired too. Wrecked, in fact. No doubt he hadn’t eaten properly since her mother’s attack and might need looking after himself.

  She decided then and there not to go back to Sydney with Lance in the morning. She would stay and look after her father for a while. The school wouldn’t fall apart at this time of the year if she had a week off—all the Year Twelve students had already left, and in two weeks the summer break would begin.

  She would probably have to return the following week to tidy things up. And, given the situation with Lance, she might even have to hand in her resignation. She assumed that becoming his mistress would necessitate a move to Melbourne. Much as she didn’t want to move to Melbourne to live, she’d passed the point where such considerations mattered. She would go wherever Lance was, to be with him as much as possible. End of story.

  ‘Why don’t you take Dad home, Bud?’ she suggested to her brother as they all walked along the hospital corridor. ‘Lance and I’ll buy some takeaway food and follow you as quickly as we can.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ came his curt reply. ‘Get plenty of it, though. I’m damned hungry.’ He stalked off, his body language telling its own story. Clearly they were not yet forgiven for the horrendous transgression of becoming lovers.

  ‘I’ll talk to him,’ Lance said.

  Angie sighed and shook her head. ‘I doubt it will do any good. He’s very angry with me.’

  ‘No. He’s very angry with me. And with good reason.’

  She halted, her head snapping round to stare up at him with questioning eyes.

  ‘That summer,’ he explained with a weary sigh, ‘after we got back to uni, Bud had some photos developed that he’d taken of all of us during my stay at the farm. They showed in living colour what he hadn’t noticed in the flesh; that you and I had... feelings... for each other. He accused me of having already seduced you. I assured him that I hadn’t, but he still went right off his brain. He told me if I ever touched you he’d kill me. He pointed out how young you were, and how innocent. He made me see you deserved a whole lot better than a cad and a spoiled bastard like me. Frankly, Angie, I agreed with him. I still do. And so do you. That’s why you won’t marry me.’

  Angie was shaking her head and trying not to cry. So that was what had happened all those years ago...

  ‘But I’m not as bad as Bud’s made me out to be,’ Lance added ruefully. ‘I think I might even be redeemable. I just hope it’s not too late.’

  Angie looked up at him again, frowning her confusion at his cryptic remarks. ‘Too late for what?’

  ‘Too late to win what I want,’ he said seductively, the brilliant blue of his eyes darkening as they caressed her. ‘You, Angie. I want you...’ And his mouth bent to hers.

  She flinched back from his kiss in the end, frightened by his growing sexual power over her. For she wanted him back—right now and in the most basic way. How could she possibly want him like that? Here, of all places, with her mother lying ill down the hallway, and with his giving her nothing but bewildering and probably hollow promises about redeeming himself.

  What kind of redemption was there for a man like him? she thought savagely. He was still going back to Melbourne tomorrow. In the end, any feelings he had for her weren’t strong enough to keep him here, by her side.

  No doubt he would send for her. Till she could move down there permanently there would be plane tickets and hotel reservations for romantic weekend rendezvous. And, weak fool that she was, she would fly to him and let him use her shamelessly. She actually felt perversely excited by the prospect.

  Her laugh carried both nerves and a bitter acceptance of her own folly. ‘Then you’ve got what you want, Lance. I’ve already agreed to become your lover.’ She refused to use the word ‘mistress’, which had connotations she did not like. It was too removed from love, sounding like a business arrangement rather than a personal one.

  ‘An agreement I will never let you back away from,’ he ground out, pulling her into his arms. ‘No matter what.’

  His kiss, this time, allowed no room for escape. It dominated and devoured, giving her a further taste of what was to come. She was trembling inside by the time he let her go, and it wasn’t all from desire.

  Dear God, what had she done, becoming involved with Lance like this? She might not have told him in so many words that she loved him but he knew it. Everything he did and said betrayed that knowledge. She wanted to scream, but instead she wound her arms up around his neck and pulled his mouth back down on hers, kissing him as violently and possessively as he had kissed her. When she finally wrenched her mouth away, her heart and head were pounding.

  ‘Don’t go thinking my agreeing to be your lover is a licence to treat me badly, Lance,’ she bit out breathlessly. ‘I will have your respect, or you can go to hell!’

  ‘If I ever fail to respect you, my darling, I’ll willingly go there myself!’

  Angie was taken aback by the fierceness of his vow. If she’d been a complete fool, she might almost have thought he truly loved her. Common sense, however, told her that Lance didn’t have the capacity for that kind of love. He’d never grown up with it and had married without it. His wanting her didn’t mean that he loved her.

  But she could pretend, couldn’t she? Pretend he loved her as much as she loved him. He did care for her, in his way. And he did want her. That much she could attest to. If last night was anything to go by, he wanted her one heck of a lot!

  Thinking about sex had a very agitating effect on her, and she whirled to set off down the corridor.

  Lance was hot on her heels. ‘I take it we’re off to buy some food. Or are we looking for somewhere private?’ he added on a drily amused note.

  Colour zoomed into her cheeks as she ground to a halt and glared up at him, her mouth opening, ready to reel off a ream of castigating words. But as she looked up into his face suddenly all she could see was that wickedly sexy mouth, all she could think about were the wicked delights that mouth could deliver.

  Self-disgust at her wayward thoughts had her eyes and mouth hardening. ‘Don’t go letting that kiss go to your head, Lance. Or anywhere else for that matter. I was merely making a point!’

  ‘And you made it very well, too,’ he returned with a twisted grimace.

  ‘Then stop being provocative.’

  ‘I wasn’t trying to be. I thought a touch of humour might defuse some of the tension flying around here.’

  ‘Well, it hasn’t!’

  ‘Yes, I can see that.’

  ‘I’m beginning to wish you hadn’t brought me up here.’

  ‘I can see that too.’

  ‘I don’t want you kissing me any more. Not up here.’

  ‘I don’t want you kissing me, either. It’s too bloody uncomfortable.’

  ‘I won’t. Don’t worry.’

  ‘Good. Let’s go, then.’

  Angie ground her teeth when he took off and she practically had to run to keep up with him. ‘Slow down,’ she grumbled.

  ‘Sorry. There isn’t time. I’ve wasted too much as it is.’

  He surged on ahead again and she raced on after him, her thoughts whirling. Wasted it on me, does he mean?

  Angie would have asked him, but his expression forbade her asking. Besides, she might not like the answer. She made a decision there and then not to ask Lance too many questions about anything. She had a feeling that she would never like the answers he’d give her, or the lies he might be forced to tell.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘Mr Brown ...’

  Everyone looked up from their plates when Lance spoke. They’d been seated at the kitchen table for a full ten minutes, eating their fill of the take-away food Lance and Angie had brought back to the
farm.

  No one had said much, everyone seeming to have private thoughts as they munched away on fried chicken, chips and fresh bread rolls. Angie was extremely irritated with Bud, who kept giving her and Lance scowling looks which would have raised considerable questions in her father if he hadn’t been so distracted.

  ‘Yes, Lance?’ Morris Brown said.

  ‘About that holiday you and Mrs Brown are planning...’

  ‘Yes, what about it?’

  ‘I know you’re a proud man, and would never accept charity, but it would give me great pleasure to give you that holiday. Please look upon it as a thank-you for the kindness you and Mrs Brown showed me when I stayed here that summer all those years ago. It was the best holiday I’ve ever had, and I’ve never forgotten it.’

  Bud made some kind of snorting sound, which brought a startled look from his father and a black glare from Angie.

  ‘You don’t think I should take Lance’s offer?’ Morris asked his son in a puzzled tone.

  Angie sent her brother a pleading look and he relented, if a little ungraciously. ‘Of course you should. He can afford it—can’t you, Lance?’ he added, clapping Lance around the shoulders in a pretend buddy-buddy gesture. ‘A few grand is a mere drop in the ocean to a Sterling.’

  Morris shook his head. ‘That’s not the point. It’s very kind of you, Lance, but I’m not sure Mother would like the idea. She doesn’t like being beholden to people. She’s never been keen on expensive presents, either.’

  Angie reached out to cover her father’s hand with hers. ‘Dad, don’t be silly. As Lance said, you and Mum gave him a free holiday, and now he’s giving you one back.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ he sighed. ‘But nothing too expensive, mind. And not too much travelling. Somewhere here in Australia. Somewhere really beautiful and peaceful.’

  ‘I know just the place,’ Lance said. ‘Orpheus Island. It’s one of the most northern and most beautiful of the Barrier Reef Islands, but also one of the most private.’

  And one of the most expensive, Angie thought, but kept her mouth shut. Bud didn’t say a word either, thank heavens, though his dark eyebrows arched in a way which suggested that he knew what a stay on Orpheus Island would cost.

  ‘Mother’s always wanted a holiday on one of those islands,’ Morris mused.

  ‘Then she shall have one,’ Lance pronounced firmly. ‘Angie, if I give you the money will you organise it? I think around May next year would be best. Your mum will be feeling up to it by then, and the weather up there is great at that time of the year.’

  Angie heard the first-hand experience in his voice and was reminded once again of the difference between their lifestyles. Lance had always been able to indulge whatever whim or fancy came his way— which included jetting off to all the exclusive romantic hideaways in the world. Who knew? Maybe she was just his latest whim or fancy?

  ‘May would be good,’ Morris agreed. ‘I’ll have picked the summer crops by then. And the neighbours would look after the animals for us.’

  ‘That’s settled, then,’ Lance said, sounding pleased.

  Morris scraped back his chair and stood up. ‘If you young ‘uns don’t mind, I think I’ll go for a walk down to the river. I have a damned awful headache and that usually clears it. I won’t be too long.’

  Angie watched her father’s dejected stoop as he pushed open the screen door and stepped out on to the side veranda. She hoped her mother was genuinely on the way to a full recovery because Morris Brown just wouldn’t be the same without her. They shared that kind of love.

  ‘It must be nice to be able to buy whatever you want,’ Bud said nastily, his small dark eyes gleaming at Lance with a bitter enmity. ‘Friendship. Approval. My Sister! God, Angie, haven’t you got any pride? Don’t you know that you’re only one of hundreds? When he grows bored with screwing you he’ll toss you aside like a used tissue. You’re nothing to him but a challenge, because you’re the only female he didn’t sleep with at the time of first fancying you. And now you’re no longer a challenge. You’re just another silly little fool who couldn’t wait to get her pants off for the great Lance Sterling!’

  ‘That’s enough!’ Lance snapped, spreading his hands out on either side of his plate and levering himself to his feet.

  Suddenly Angie was afraid. She’d never seen Lance look so threatening, or so furious. She dimly recalled Bud telling her that Lance had dabbled in many sports back in his uni days, including the martial arts. With his naturally athletic physique he wouldn’t need to recall too many of those skills to make mincemeat out of Bud if he chose to.

  ‘Outside, Bud,’ he bit out.

  ‘Lance, no!’ Her cry sent those blazing blue eyes flashing to her. ‘Please don’t,’ she pleaded.

  ‘I’m not challenging your brother to a duel, Angie. I simply want to straighten out some things.’

  ‘Are... are you sure?’

  ‘For Pete’s sake, Angie!’ Bud exploded irritably. ‘We’re adult men, not children. Besides, I can bloody well look after myself. I don’t need my kid sister to come to my aid. If Lance wants to shove my teeth down my throat, then let him try. A lot of water’s gone under the bridge since he was the super athlete of Sydney Uni. I can hold my own these days, in more ways than one. I’m certainly no longer the easily impressed country yokel who was only too happy to lick Lance’s boots in the old days.’

  Angie shook her head at her brother but said nothing. If he didn’t watch it, his teeth would get shoved down his throat. Fear filled her heart as she watched her brother and her lover stalk out into the yard, then over into the barn, shutting the doors behind them. She rather expected to see the walls shaking and dust flying out from under them, as one saw in cartoons, but all remained ominously silent for a good twenty minutes, then the doors slowly opened.

  They emerged together, Bud looking a little stunned but none the worse for wear. He wandered off in the direction of the river while Lance whirled and strode back towards the house. Angie raced out to meet him on the front veranda.

  ‘What happened?’ she burst out. ‘What did you say to him?’

  He stared at her for a few excruciatingly long and tense moments, before answering, ‘That’s between Bud and me, Angie.’

  ‘But... but...’

  ‘Don’t try to pry it out of Bud, either,’ he interrupted curtly. ‘It’ll put him in a very awkward position. Look, I’ve decided to drive back to Sydney straight away, Angie. The sooner I get back to Melbourne, the better. That way I should be able to return to Sydney by next weekend. What are your plans regarding your mother? How long will you be staying up here?’

  Angie’s head was whirling. She wasn’t at all sure what was going on. ‘I... I thought I’d stay at least a week.’

  ‘So you won’t be back in Sydney next weekend?’

  ‘No. I dare say Bud will have gone back by then, but I thought I’d take the Sunday night train back. I really will have to be back at school for the last week of the term. Lance, what’s going on?’

  ‘What do you mean? Are you still talking about what happened between Bud and me?’

  ‘No, I’m talking about you and me. What is it you want of me, Lance? What do you expect?’

  ‘Are you going back on what you agreed in the car on the way up here?’ he demanded, blue eyes immediately wary.

  Her chin lifted even while her heart contracted. ‘No. I’m not.’

  His triumphant expression unnerved her, as did the way his eyes slid down her body then up again. ‘You know what I want, Angie, but I’m not quite sure what to expect from you. Yet. Time will tell, though. I’m a patient man.’

  ‘Stop talking in riddles!’ she snapped. ‘You know I hate that kind of thing. Spell it out for me. Are you planning on flying up to Sydney for dirty weekends? Or do you expect me to resign and move to Melbourne? Don’t go thinking you’ll set me up in some sleazy flat somewhere. I won’t stand for that kind of hole-and-corner relationship. If I’m to be your girlfriend, it w
ill be a normal man-woman relationship, nothing nasty. I pay my own way and you pay yours.’

  He whistled at her tough stance. ‘That’s my Angie! All right, I’ll tell you all I can for now. I don’t expect you to resign and move to Melbourne. I’m going to move to Sydney, as soon as that can be arranged. You can stay living exactly where you are and working where you are... for the time being.’

  Delight raced through Angie. And relief. Tears of happiness danced in her eyes. ‘I can? Oh, Lance, that’s wonderful! Oh, you’ve made me so happy.’

  He said nothing for a moment, merely stared at her. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her with a passion that sent tremors rippling through both of them.

  ‘Tell me you love me,’ he rasped against her swollen quivering mouth.

  There was no hesitation this time, no thoughts of self-protection. ‘I love you,’ she said, her voice shaking.

  ‘And you’ll never love anyone else?’

  ‘I never have and I never will.’

  ‘That’s all I need to know,’ he ground out. ‘What time will you get back to your flat after work on Monday week?’

  ‘Around four-thirty.’

  ‘I’ll be there,’ he said, and, whirling away from her, hurried down the steps and over to his car. He didn’t look back at her, didn’t say another word.

  It wasn’t till the black car was speeding off down the valley road that Angie realised one crucial thing. Lance had not said he loved her back.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ‘Lance gone, has he?’

  Angie looked up from where she was sitting on the front steps, her eyes dull with depression. ‘Yes,’ was all she could manage without bursting into tears.

  It was some seconds before she realised that Bud was staring at her, a most peculiar look on his face. He seemed both astonished and puzzled, as though he was trying to see into her soul but without much success.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that, Bud,’ she snapped. ‘You don’t understand. I love him. I’ve always loved him. Ever since that first summer. I know you don’t think he’s worthy of being loved like that, but he is. Down deep Lance is a fine man. You just don’t understand him.’