Dark Oil (34 page)

It was as if someone had opened a tap and her feelings were pouring out of it, her feelings for Jack. If there was one man she could love in the world it was him. If there was
one man she stood a chance with, it was him. What was that, she thought? If there was one man she could love?

She shook her head. “What's wrong with you, girl?” she asked out loud. She did love him. She did! She ran as fast as she could. He had stopped at the traffic lights, waiting to cross. “Jack!”

He turned around. His eyes were red and swollen, his expression that of a little boy. She stopped. She had never seen him like this. Jack was so strong, invincible. Was he crying?

She caught her breath. “Are you all right?”

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “I will be. I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Yes. Thank you. How did you know?” She figured he'd understood from the phone conversation.

“I can see it. You're beaming. So, I'm happy for you. I can tell it's what you wanted.”

“Of course it's what I wanted. Who wouldn't? You have no idea how relieved I am.”

“I think I do. It's in your eyes.” The lights changed. He turned his back on her and started to cross.

Her phone rang. It was Jean. He told her of his first conversation with the new government. “Really? That's excellent news, Jean! All right, we'll talk again later.” She hung up and ran after Jack who was getting further and further ahead. “She caught up with him, panting. “That was Jean. The new government's keen to talk. They even mentioned immediate reinstatement if we can agree on certain conditions. Isn't that wonderful?” He didn't answer. “Jack?”

He barely glanced at her. “That's a great start.”

It wasn't the reaction she'd expected. Perhaps the jet-lag had hit him and he really needed a break. “Do you want to grab a bite or a drink in a café? Or go to the Louvre?”

“The Louvre? God, you're unbelievable! Give me a few hours, an afternoon to get over the fact I'll never hold you in my arms, will you?” He stood still on the footpath, shoulders drooping, letting the busy city-dwellers push and shove their way past him.

Suddenly, he reached for her and pulled her close. “I'm sorry. I can't help it. I have to tell you. I love you. I've never loved anyone like this before.” He lowered his head, his lips finding hers instantly. His kiss was soft and warm, all spring and no autumn.

She kissed him back, her heart in her throat, tears now running down her cheeks. He left her breathless, and then stepped away. “I'm sorry if I crossed the line, but I had to have something of you. I'll let you go back to your husband, now. Again, congratulations on sorting out your problems. I'll leave Global Oil. You won't see me again. You won't have to worry about me.”

She stared at him in disbelief. What was he talking about? He was leaving Global Oil? And what was that he'd said as he'd kissed her? He loved her? There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much she needed to explain. “It wasn't Tim on the phone,” she started with a sense of urgency.

“It wasn't? I don't understand.” His right eye was twitching.

“No, it wasn't Tim. Tim and I are separated. It was my mother. She isn't sick. I thought it was cancer again. It's not. A benign cyst. That's all it is. Benign!”

She laughed and yet another tear escaped, rolling off her nose as she looked down. She had a lot more to tell Jack, but there was so much happening at the same time. The joy, the relief at knowing her mother was safe, were overwhelming. And then, Jack had said he loved her. She was still taking that in.

He cleared his throat. “I'm so happy for you. And. . .so happy for me!” He chuckled as his big, gentle hand caressed her arm. Even through her coat it made her shiver.

When she looked up at him, his eyes were upon her, intense, jewel-like. She could see he was searching her face for clues. Her lip quivered. “You said you loved me.”

His gaze was tender, now. He leaned forward, so close to her she felt his breath and the warmth of his skin. “I do love you. I have for a long time.” He touched her hair with the lightness of a summer breeze. “What about you? Do you think you could love me? I know you might not be ready, it might be too soon, but I can wait. As long as it takes. If there's a chance. That's all I have to know. Is there a chance? Because I thought there wasn't and it was killing me, just killing me.” He was rambling on, speaking faster, probably with excitement.

She nodded. She wanted to scream “I do, I already do”. Instead, she put her hand on his face. “There's something I need to ask you, though.”

He whispered in her ear. “Anything. Anything you want.”

“About Ange.”

He stepped back, frowning. “Ange? What do you mean?”

She crossed her arms. Was he becoming defensive? Would she be able to trust him? A knot formed in her stomach. “Did you steal her from Martin?” She wanted to know because if she was going to be in this, it'd be for the long run. She'd want it to be forever.

“Do you really think I'm that kind of man?” He bit his lip. Lara was the woman of his dreams, but perhaps he wasn't the man of hers. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter, that they'd build on whatever it was that they had. He couldn't. He needed to feel that she held him in high esteem, as he did her. Her opinion meant the world to him.

It meant the world because if he was going to be in this it'd be for the long run. He wanted it to be forever. He asked the question again. “You think I'm that kind of man? It's important to me that you understand I'm not.”

She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but kindness and respect. She had her answer. She dropped her head, chin to chest. “No. You're not. I know you're not.”

He thanked her with a smile. “I met Ange at a house-warming party. I'd never seen her before. You know me, not one for office get-togethers. I had no idea she was Martin's wife. In fact, she'd already left Martin. They were separated. We went out to dinner once, nothing but dinner, and wouldn't you know it, Martin arrived at the same restaurant with some friends. He made a terrible scene. Ange never told me who she was. To this day, Martin believes I was seeing his wife behind his back when I wasn't. So there you have it. If it's a crime to think someone's unattached, really nice and to go out to dinner with them, I'm guilty. Because that's all I did with Ange.”

Lara covered her mouth with her hand. “I'm sorry. I never should have thought badly of you. You just never defended yourself. Martin kept going on about it and you never really stood up for yourself. After what happened with Tim, well. . . all you need to know is that he betrayed me.”

He took her hand in his, gently rubbing her fingers with his thumb. She loved the sensation of it, how special it made her feel. It had been years since a man had done that to her.

“Look, I've told Martin exactly what happened on many occasions. It makes no difference. He doesn't believe me, he never will. I guess he's trying to hang onto the thought that she left because of me, not because of him. I can understand that.” He truly could. If he
ever lost the love of his life, he'd probably end up as bitter and twisted as Martin. If he ever lost Lara. . .

This time it was Lara who drew Jack closer. She put her arms around him and let her lips explore his neck, up and down, with the fire of true love. When he couldn't take it anymore he grasped her locks, gently pulling her head away and planted a kiss firmly on her lips.

“Wait!” She had taken a step back and was fumbling in her handbag. “There's something I have to do. I promised Tim I would consider letting him come back. And. . .where are they?”

Jack's heart sank. So things were still evolving with Tim. She hadn't locked him out for good. She was considering letting him come back. Where did that leave Jack? Did she want a fling while she was separated? Just a fling? How would he cope with that? It wouldn't do. It wasn't enough. He loved her.

He was about to shake his head, to say he couldn't, when she pulled two rings out of her bag: an engagement ring and a wedding band.

She stood on her tip toes, leaning over the bridge's railing, her hair blowing in the wind. “Tim, I never break a promise. I've now considered letting you come home and here's my answer.”

She threw the rings one after the other into the vast green waters of the Seine. They disappeared without a sound and she imagined them twirling their way down to the river's bed, landing on a rock, a spectacle for the fish. Perhaps one day someone would find them, scoop them up in a net. Perhaps it would be someone in love with no money for a ring, and the jewels would bring more joy than they had ever brought her.

She sighed with relief. She was free now. Free to start over, and ready to take a risk, because that was the only way she'd ever end up perfectly happy. She slipped her arms around Jack's neck. Instinctively, he leaned towards her. He pressed his lips against hers, but as their tongues met she gasped, opening her eyes.

In shock, she pulled away, bringing both hands to her face. Her mouth dropped. She stared. “I remember. I remember now.”

Jack trembled. What was it she'd remembered that would stop her, again, in the middle of a kiss? Something that would make her take Tim back? No. He told himself that wasn't going to happen. He could trust Lara. He knew it now. He smiled. “What is it?”

She gazed into his sparkling green eyes, then over to the cold waters of the river. Her hand found his and she squeezed it. “You saved me,” she whispered, and rested her head against his chest. “You took a bullet for me. I'd completely forgotten. The doctors told me there might be things I wouldn't remember, but this. . .You saved my life!”

He brushed the hair off her face. “The truth is, you saved mine.” He'd been searching all these years for love, so long he'd come to think he'd never find it. He put a hand on her back and the other behind her knees and swept her up off the ground. He held her in his arms, against his heart, and then twirled her around.

They laughed together at the innocent joy they both felt as they became dizzy, the cobblestone streets, the pretty stone buildings on either side of the bridge, the smiles of the passers-by spinning around and around until they were nothing but a stream of colours.

Jack finally sat on the bench with Lara in his arms. His heart was pounding more from sheer happiness than from the effort of dancing on a bridge in Paris, holding the woman of his dreams. He kissed Lara on the forehead, then the lips. “John—sorry,” he said, pinching his nose, “
Jean
—was right. I only understood one thing he said, but it was worth it.”

“And what was that?”

Jack imitated the French accent. “A new beginning is a gift.”

She laughed and warmth filled her heart. She thought back to when she'd first met Tim. It had never been like this with him. She had never been so utterly enchanted.

“Yes, an absolute gift.” She hadn't always felt that way. She'd tried her hardest to hang onto her marriage, hoping year after year that it would improve. She'd made excuses for her husband's lack of interest in her. She'd resisted change, thinking it could only have led to loss. Now she knew better. It was a chance to start over, to learn from her mistakes.

She rested her head against Jack's chest. She was exactly where she wanted, in Paris, in the arms of the man she loved, at the dawn of a new life.

There was no better place to be.

She Who Dares

by Jane O'Reilly

The Ugly Duckling
meets
Top Gear
when a plain Jane mechanic comes face-to-face with the bad boy of rally racing. . .

Nic Sinclair spends most of her time hiding under the bonnet of a car. With her obsession with engines, a total lack of feminine wiles, and a stepsister who looks like Barbie, she understands that it's the safest place to be.

But when Nic's stepsister sells her half of their vintage car business and does a runner, Nic is forced to set down her wrench and deal with the fallout. Soon she's engaged in a battle of wills with her new business partner, superstar rally driver Sebastian Prince — a battle he dares her to win.

Lost in Kakadu

by Kendall Talbot

An action adventure novel set in the Australian jungle where two unlikely people prove just how attractive opposites can be. . .

It's pretentious socialite Abigail Mulholland's worst nightmare when her plane crashes into an ancient Australian wilderness. Things go from bad to downright hellish when rescuers never come. As she battles to survive in an environment that's as brutal as it is beautiful, Abigail finds herself also fighting her unlikely attraction to Mackenzie—another survivor, and a much younger man.

Mackenzie Steel is devastated by his partner's death in the crash, the only person with whom he shared his painful past. Now, as he confronts his own demons, he finds he has a new battle on his hands: his growing feelings for Abigail, a woman who's as frustratingly naïve as she is funny.

Fate brought them together, but they'll need more than luck to escape Kakadu alive. Could the letters of a dead man hold the key to their survival?

The Lies We Tell

by Elizabeth Dunk

From the author of
Arranged to Love
comes a romantic story of forgiveness, secrets, small towns and second chances.

Ten years ago, Todd Lansing stood over his father's grave, his heart thumping out curses on Sia Collins for causing his death. When he returns to Oberon and sees Sia again, his heart thumps with a different emotion, one he fights with all the anger he still feels.

Sia didn't commit the break-in that ended up killing Mr Lansing, but to admit that would send her father to jail. She has rebuilt her life in the small town, atoned for her accused crime, and carved out a niche using her talent with paint to reach out to the community, raise funds, and support her family.