Falling for Mr Wrong (13 page)

Over a pot of tea and homemade shortbread biscuits, Nate learned Maude had two children. A son living in New York and a daughter in Tel Aviv.

“So Tilly was named after your sister?” He carefully returned his delicate doll-sized tea cup to its matching saucer.

He poured himself a refill of the strong brew wishing for a more solid man-sized mug rather than a tiny cup with enough liquid for two large sips.

“Yes, my twin sister died of polio when she was eight.” Maude paused before reaching into her bra for a handkerchief decorated in pink flowers. Blotting her eyes she said, “to this day I still wonder why God chose my sister Matilda over me.”

Tilly placed her hand over Maude’s. “Oh Aunty.”

Nate saw the dark cloud pass across the older woman’s face and his gaze wandered before focussing on the clock.

Tilly continued gently stroking her aunt’s hand with her fingers. Looking at him she said, “As you know, I was born after three boys and named Matilda.”

“Yet you go by Tilly,” he said stretching back into his chair.

“Matilda is popular,
now
. It’s an old-fashioned name and besides, I preferred Tilly.”

“It suits you.” He caught the flush of pink on her cheek before quickly kissing the nape of her neck.

Tilly noticed that Nate avoided anything remotely personal about himself and successfully steered the conversation back to her or Maude’s family each time it threatened to focus on him.

Recalling his confidence on the beach and his manner when challenging the reporters, there was no way he could be described as an introvert. It seemed he wore his self-assurance with the effortlessness that a man applies his aftershave. With ease.

Perhaps he was reclusive. Weren’t many writers loners?

Then Maude asked, “so Nate, Tilly tells me you’re a writer? Do you write fiction or non-fiction? I’ve always wanted to write a book,” Maude sighed with content.

“Non-fiction.” He sat back in his seat. “Tilly has told me so much about you and your life here, I’m sure there is a book there.” He pointed to her head.

Tilly nodded. “Aunty Maude has received lots of awards from the Israeli Government for all her community service work over the years.”

Nate deserved an award for playing the role of attentive fiancé so well. Not wanting to admit it, but she liked the brush of his warm lips against her skin and the spicy male scent of his aftershave wafting past her nostrils. A couple of times she had bitten her lip to stop herself from taking a giant whiff of his intoxicating scent.

Despite the success of the evening, she had an uneasy feeling about the relaxed manner in which he had charmed her aunty. There was nothing to point her finger at, so perhaps it was the tiredness and the stress from their great escape.

Was it only this morning she had called Nate for help? It seemed like a week ago. She stifled a yawn.

“Come-on sleepy head, we should get going.” Nate said with a determined voice.

“I have a spare bed and Tilly can stay here for the night.” Maude suggested with a wave of her hand.

“I’m sorry Mrs Winters, but I think Tilly should stay at the hotel with its 24/7 security.”

Maude looked at him with a defying glint in her eye. “I have lived here for fifty years – it’s perfectly safe.”

Determined to have it all done
his
way was written across his face with the skin tightly stretched across his jaw. “The hotel is safer for Tilly.”

Not wanting to have Nate and Maude start a spat, she placed a reassuring hand over the older woman’s. “Aunty, as much I want to stay here, Nate is right. Remember what happened in London?”

“I want you to be safe. Go with Nate but I expect to see you tomorrow.”

“Of course.” She leaned over to kiss her aunt on the cheek. “It’ll be great, won’t it Nate?”

“Sure,” he said through clenched teeth, ignoring her frown and the cute way her hands rested on her hips. Tours really were not his thing.

Nate yawned before downing the remainder of his double espresso, his body weary beyond belief.

The hackers were gone, but his blog page had had no updates for the past couple of days. That was unheard of. His readers were used to a variety of daily posts. With his email inbox at capacity and his editor calling him on an hourly basis, Nate’s frustration surged.

At three in the morning, he had a lengthy discussion with his newspaper’s editor before making a number of decisions. After writing a detailed blog post about Tilly, he gave his assistants full access so they could review and publish reader comments.

He needed to convince Tilly to return to London rather than gallivanting around Jerusalem on some spiritual tour. He also had to hide her mobile phone less she go on to the internet and discover his true identity. Too tired last night, she had left her phone in her bag before retiring. It had been easy to hide it in his backpack and he had even made sure to mute it, lest it rang out. He just could not take a chance on her reading his blog until he had time to explain.

Raking his fingers through his hair, Nate ignored the continual pings on his phone indicating the arrival of more emails. Until the caffeine kicked in, his brain was functioning on less than three hours of sleep.

A door opening drew his eyes to Tilly stepping from her room.

“Good morning,” he said as she shuffled towards him.

“It’s just morning,” she added flatly, refusing to look at him.

His gaze travelled appreciatively up the length of her legs, over the knee-length denim skirt and short sleeved shirt she wore. “If I’d known my fiancée wasn’t a morning person, I would’ve organised one of these for her.” He raised his empty espresso cup.

“Your
fiancée
can make her own coffee,” she said with a flippant voice, waltzing right past him.

“I’ve got tickets for London,” he said tentatively. He decided on a soft approach, before physically carrying her, caveman style, to Ben Gurion airport if needed.

She swung around to look at him. “No, not yet,” she pleaded in a soft voice.

“Tilly, I agreed to bring you here, but I didn’t agree to prance around on some…tour.” He could not pretend he was interested in wasting a day here rather than returning to the security of his beloved hometown.

“A day or so won’t make a difference,” she shrugged. “What’s the hurry?”

He bit his lip lest he snap at her. “I want you safe.”

“It’s safe here,” she said with a shrug that made him want to hoist her over his shoulder and find a taxi.

His fingers tapped the granite bench. “It’s safer in London.”

“I want to spend time with my aunt.”

“You had one week with her.” His fingers continued a staccato rhythm on the tabletop.

“Nate.” She crossed her arms, sending him a sulky look. “Being with Aunty Maude is important to me and I’m sorry you can’t see that.”

His voice lowered. “You can come back after we end our engagement.”

A shadow crossed her face before she looked away and took in the breakfast buffet he had ordered from room service.

Hoping to brighten the mood between them, he asked whether Tilly would prefer something more Australian – “Vegemite toast, perhaps?”

“No thanks, this Israeli brekkie is fine,” she replied with a clipped tone before busying herself with a tuna and salad sandwich.

Perhaps some caffeine could make her see reason. “How do you take your coffee?” He popped a pod into the coffee machine. That worked! Happiness rather than annoyance was now etched across her face.

“Milk and one sugar thanks.” She sidled towards him or perhaps it was the coffee she was more interested in?

The machine whirled and a minute later, he stirred in a teaspoon of sugar before handing the latte to her.

“Thanks.” She took an appreciative sip.

“If we’re going to face your aunt and her inquisition, you’ll have to pretend you like me.”

Her shoulders stiffened and he bit back a chuckle.

“You’re cute when you scowl.” He took a step closer to whisper in her ear. “Perhaps I should just kiss some sense into you?”

Her cheeks flamed. Stumbling away from him, coffee sloshed over the rim of her latte glass. “No, that’s not necessary.”

He mopped the spill with a tea towel. “Tilly, we’re in this together,” he said, standing tall.

“Don’t I know it.” She banged her plate down, before rubbing the back of her neck. Giving him a cool glare, she added, “and just so you know, I’m not a virgin and my parents would not insist on me marrying
you
just because we had sex.” She lifted her brow. “So ponder that, Mr-know-it-all. And next time, you play the over-endearing fiancé, I will imply your manliness is not up to par.” With a toss of her head, she took her sandwich, a couple of hard-boiled eggs and coffee before heading to her bedroom. She could not help the smirk etched across her face seeing him statue straight, his mouth wide open.

Last night, when fibbing to her aunt, tension had gripped her as though a giant fist had twisted her insides into a knot. After fleeing London, she had spent one week with her aunt and had never said a word about Nate, his secure apartment or his over-protective manner.

Worried that Maude would not believe their engagement to be real, she needed to ensure they both played the part of loving married-to-be’s. His over-bearing, stuffy behaviour was driving her to distraction. So were his kissable lips. She dragged in a shaky breath.

At his best, he was most charming.

At his worst, he was still charming.

No wonder she was falling for him. But he was so wrong for her.

Last night, walking back to the hotel, surrounded by the history of Jerusalem, she could understand why her aunty had chosen this old city over the country town of her birth. It was drawing her in. Returning to her every day life in Australia was becoming less appealing. Here, she had a sense of belonging, a sense of being.

On a note pad, she wrote out a to-do-list while eating her sandwich. Being a tour guide involved two years of studying in English if she hoped to qualify. In the meantime, she could help her aunty and also earn extra money doing babysitting and nannying. But first, she needed to speak to Immigration about extending her stay.

Tomorrow, she would leave Nate. It was easy enough to catch a public bus and she could hide out a little longer. A sharp pain of regret hit her tummy when she realised she would be leaving Nate. Right guy, wrong time? She could not take a risk that he would persuade her to return to London with him. She simply could not do it. Apart from Nate, she had no one there – no family, no real friends. Sure she had met some people and had acquaintances, but could she trust them? What would she do all day? She could not work, nor could she go out in public. She was unable to do anything other than hide out in an apartment all day. What if Sebastian did not recant his story? Could she threaten him with the pictures on her phone? Going to London made her uneasy. Could she do it with Nate supporting her?

She shook her head. The easier option was to wait it out till she become old news. She had stood up to the press and look what had happened. Even with Nate by her side, there was no guarantee that they would listen this time around.

She scratched her chin. She really needed to research him and his book on the internet. Last night, she had been too tired, so she was determined to check his online profile today. Reaching into her bag, she did not find her phone in its usual place. Checking the bag thoroughly, she came up empty handed. Frustration zipped along her spine. Where was it?

Drinking the rest of her coffee, she opened the door and called out, “Nate have you seen my phone?”

“Are you sure you brought it back?” came a reply from the kitchen. “Check with your aunt if it’s there.”

Looking at the clock she squealed. “Nate, we need to get going. The tour starts soon.”

Hours later Nate slid an arm around Tilly’s waist guiding her to an empty table at a café in central Jerusalem. “I didn’t want to spend the day here, but I have to confess it’s been fascinating. Your aunt is so knowledgeable and makes it all interesting, not like she’s reciting stuff.”

Tilly nodded, her heart pounded feeling the warmth of his hand pressed against the small of her back. “To be a tour guide here, you have to study for two years, pass an exam and then do ongoing assessments and learnings,” she informed him.

They sat and he groaned, stretching his long legs out. “It’s good to sit.”

A waiter brought their iced coffees to them.

“
Toda raba
.” Tilly thanked the youth.

Nate’s fingers crept across the table to hers and her breath hitched. Their gazes met and she caught the flirtatious sparkle in his eyes. “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?”

She eased back into her seat. “Aunty Maude can’t hear you. You can take a break from the attentive fiancé for a while,” she said with a flirtatious tone. He had been the perfect gentleman today. Every small touch of his fingers had made her skin leap for joy. She had even confessed bits and pieces of life in the Porter household. Nate seemed interested in her and the tour. Her insides had been warm and gooey during the day when they held hands. There were moments when she believed they were a couple and then her mind questioned whether she would have the strength to leave him tomorrow. If she remained here, would he stay with her? Was there a future for them? She took a long sip and pondered the possibilities. Honesty was important to her. Tonight, they needed to talk. But for now, they were together and to her, it was real.

She looked up to find him looking at her, his dark eyes glinting with danger.

She shivered, but not from the cold. She wanted him in a way that was foreign to her. Never once with Travis had she had the urge to tease him and suck his finger. Their sex life had been okay. Before leaving Australia, she believed it was because of her. If she had been a better lover, Travis would not have cheated on her. But now, with lust pummelling through her veins, Tilly wondered if the problem was Travis? There was one way to find out. A zip of anticipation rocketed through her tummy, as her breath quickened.