PLAYING DIRTY WITH THE HOT CEO

chapter 29

Titus

Late morning finds me thigh-high in the cool river. I walked with Alan for about ten minutes to a place where the river widened and there aren’t so many overhanging trees to catch your hook on, but it’s still beautiful, the edges of the water tumbling over rocks, and the surface filled with dappled sunlight.

As it’s warm, we don’t need waders, and so I’m wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with a baseball cap and sunglasses to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Alan’s started me with a lighter, eight-foot-long rod with a four-weight class, a tapered leader, and a Pheasant-tail Nymph fly with a barbless hook. It takes me a bit of practice, but soon I’m back in the swing of it, and I spend a few hours casting and reeling. I catch two eight-inch brown trout, while Alan manages to land a ten-inch beauty.

Originally, I assumed Alan had brought me out here to talk business, but I’m pleased to find he’s happy to stay silent while we’re fishing, and it’s only when we stop halfway through and make our way to the two fold-up seats on the bank that he begins to chat.

He’s brought a flask of tea with him, and he pours us both a cup, then offers me a sandwich from a box. “Cheese and pickle,” he says. “I made ’em. Chef was quite disgusted.”

“You’ve been in England too long,” I tease, taking one.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Do you get back to New Zealand much?”

“Not since my parents died. I still have two brothers over there, but we’re not close, and a phone call a few times a year is enough to satisfy us. My life is here now, with the girls and their families.”

I nod, stretching out my legs and having a sip of tea.

“What about you?” he asks. “Are you close to your folks?”

I tip my head from side to side. “They’re good parents. I’ve never wanted for anything. But they’re both lawyers, and they work very hard. I was practically brought up by nannies, and I spent a lot of time with my aunt and uncle and their boys.”

“Your parents must be very proud of you, though.”

“Mum is. She’s Norwegian.”

“Hence the tattoos?”

“Yeah. She’s like a shield maiden. A force to be reckoned with. Dad was very strict and set high standards. He would lecture me for hours if I failed to meet them.” Alan’s brow furrows and, conscious of sounding a tad bitter, I add, “But I’m glad that they pushed me—they instilled a sound work ethic in me, and a sense of discipline without which I couldn’t have gotten where I am. And they’ve always pushed me to be independent.”

“So they won’t mind too much if you move here for a few years?” Alan grins, and I give a short laugh. “I know I haven’t convinced you yet,” he says, “but I still have time.”I have a bite of my sandwich, feeling guilty that I haven’t been completely honest with him. I should tell him I came here with no intention of staying, but it’s too late to say anything now, so I’ll have to continue with the ruse until we leave.

“You’ve landed yourself a beautiful girl,” he says. “Inside and out. Vicky adores her.”

“Aw. That’s nice to hear.” My stomach flips. Is he going to ask for details of how we met, or our lives together in New Zealand? I don’t want to have to lie to him again.

But he just says, “You have to hang onto the good ones. They don’t come around very often.”

“Mm,” I agree, thinking about her going down on me this morning.

We sit quietly for a while, eating our sandwiches and drinking our tea. It’s a gorgeous morning, and I listen to the water tumbling over the rocks, to the ducks quacking, and the cows lowing in the meadow, and I’m surprised how content, and maybe even happy, I feel.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” I say to Alan. “I’m having a great time.”

“If you stay, we could do this every weekend.” He smiles.

My returning smile is wistful. My own father never did anything like this with me. We never went fishing, or played ball in the garden, and the only time we watched a rugby match together was when he was entertaining in a box and I was allowed to tag along because I wanted to see the game.

It’s odd that I seem to get on better with Alan. Obviously, he has business reasons for wanting to keep me in England, but I like to think that’s not his only motivation.

“I don’t have a son,” he says as if he’s reading my mind, “and neither the girls nor their husbands are interested in fishing, so it’s cool to have someone to go with for a change.”

“Do you get out a lot?”

“Not as much as I’d like. You know how it is. Work is all-encompassing, and it’s easy to get caught up in it. Vicky’s had to rein me in a few times over the years, and drag me away from it all, make sure I take time to smell the roses. It’s important. It’s why I’m glad you have Heidi. She’ll keep you grounded. Does she want kids?”

My eyebrows lift. “Um… I’m not sure.”

“Sorry, that was a bit personal.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure she does. She loves children.” She’s too beautiful to stay single for long. Soon, she’ll meet the lucky guy who gets to marry her and have a baby with her.

I scowl at a frog jumping across the grass in front of me. I’m not going to think about Heidi meeting other men or I’ll end up in a bad mood.

Part of me wishes I could confide in Alan, admit what’s happened between me and Heidi, and ask for his advice, but I’m sure his business needs would skew his answers. It’s up to me to sort it out on my own.

I feel a wave of frustration that our time together is so limited. When we go back to our cottage, we’ll only have a day before we’re due to leave for New Zealand.

Hmm. What if I could extend our time together, at least until we get Down Under?

Now there’s an idea…