Bound by Their Love (20 page)

‘Wouldn't they set off the alarm?'

‘No, it cost a lot of money but they did a lot of testing until they got the right type of sensors that wouldn't go off if a field mouse ran across them.'

‘Impressive,' she said, as she went back to studying the gems.

‘So which ones do you like?'

‘All of them.' She paused and her fingers moved over to the uncut sapphires. He remembered saying sapphires would look beautiful on her the day they first met. Her fingers moved through the stones as she separated the ones she liked. ‘They're all so gorgeous, but I like this stone and its cut, and these ones too.'

Jeffrey closed the distance between them and put his hand on her shoulder, twirling his fingers through her hair. He looked down at the stones and the ones she pointed to.

‘The larger one is a marquise cut and the smaller ones are baguette cut. You have excellent taste; both of these cuts are used together a lot. Actually, baguette cut diamonds are a popular way to accent the main stone in engagement or dress rings.'

‘I'll take your word for it.'

‘As you should,' he said with a wink. He picked up the box and closed the lid. ‘Let me put these away and we'll go sit in the lounge room and,' he waggled his eyebrows. ‘Make out.'

She rolled her eyes. ‘After you've answered my questions.'

‘I was afraid you were going to say that.'

‘Told you, you couldn't distract me from my questions with pretty sparkles.'

‘It was worth a try.'

As he led Greta out of the studio and through the main part of the house, Jeff wondered if he could distract her. He'd had enough talking for one night.

Greta settled herself on the couch while Jeff turned on his stereo system. Music filtered through the speakers. She knew Jeff was going to try and distract her from the questions she'd asked him in his studio.

When he sat down she turned to him and placed her hand on his leg, rubbing up and down his thigh.

‘So why Fierro's.'

His leg tensed beneath her touch. His fingers curled around hers. ‘It was a favour for Scott, my agent. He knows the owners of the farm. There was going to be a celebration for the farm's fifty-year anniversary. They were looking to have a piece created to showcase their pearls. Scott told them he knew a jeweller. The fact that I lived locally pleased the owner and his family. I'd been living here for about eight months and was just starting to build up a clientele. I was happy to help them out.'

‘So it was just a one-off piece?'

‘Yes, they really liked what I did. They had so many people at the anniversary celebration asking about it, they decided to approach me to see if I'd make the odd piece for them to display. They knew they would be able to get high-end customers to buy the pieces.'

‘Sounds perfect, but I saw more than just a couple of pieces. ‘

‘Well, as time went by, they sold more and eventually we worked out an arrangement that fitted in with my custom work.' He lifted one shoulder. ‘It's ended up being a great relationship. The fact the staff at Fierro's respect my need for privacy, as well as everyone in town, meant I was happy to keep helping them out.'

Jeff was giving her a glimpse into small town loyalties. Any one person could've blabbed to the press about his location. But they hadn't and he'd repaid them by keeping his jewellery exclusive to Fierro's. Until now. He had a deal with Luciano.

‘And what about your deal with Luciano? Why do that now, after so many years of being so exclusive?'

Jeff smiled ruefully. ‘Basically, Luc wasn't going to take no for an answer. And believe me, I said no. Numerous times.'

‘So why did you cave?'

‘Because Luc never gave up on me. I tried to push him away after I returned from Europe.' As he rubbed his leg, she wondered if it was an unconscious movement or if his leg did ache. ‘Luc knew I'd been hurt in an accident. Not all the details, just that I'd been injured in a skiing accident. I didn't let him know I was living here until about two months after I started walking again. He would come up and take me out to dinner. Spend a little time with me. Made sure I didn't become a total hermit. I owe him. He's done a lot for me. The only time he's ever asked for anything, before designing this collection, was to make the weddings rings for him and his wife, Jasmine. He wanted something unique. I gave him that.'

Somehow, Greta had trouble reconciling the image of the man Jeff spoke about and the man who'd threatened her father.

‘There's more to him than meets the eye, isn't there?'

‘Much.'

‘I can't picture him being romantic at all. He seems too closed off for that.'

‘Trust me, Luc is completely different when he's around Jasmine. Even I don't recognise him.' Jeff took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. His eyes never leaving hers. ‘For the right person, anyone can be romantic.' He bestowed a soft kiss on her knuckles. Her skin prickled in anticipation of those lips kissing more than just her fingertips. ‘I think the time for talking is over.'

Greta leaned forward and whispered against his lips. ‘I think you're right.'

Chapter 21

The plane tilted slightly as it turned to start its descent into Perth. Greta sighed, not sure she was ready to get back into working in an office again. Not after spending the last week and half finalising the ad campaign in such tranquil surroundings. She was confident when she met with her father he would be pleased with everything she had achieved.

God, she hoped he was pleased. He'd been annoyed she'd not responded to any phone calls or emails the first two days she spent with Jeff. But they had been working on getting to know each other better. To her, building their relationship was more important than the work. A thought that still surprised her.

The longer they'd spent together, the more she and Jeff had connected. They hadn't said it in so many words, but by the time she stepped on the plane home she was confident they were in a relationship. He was coming down to Perth in just a couple of days, and instead of staying at the hotel he was going to be staying with her.

Greta pressed her fingers to her lips. Remembering the feel of Jeff's lips on hers as he kissed her goodbye. It had been so hard to turn around and walk onto the plane. To leave him behind.

As the plane touched down smoothly, she could admit to herself that she was totally in love with Jeff. It scared the crap out of her.

She'd never felt this way about anyone before. She had no idea what to do with these feelings. Greta was almost certain Jeff cared for her. He was so gentle with her, holding her when she'd been sick, and she'd had a couple of episodes.

‘Ms Adamas?' The voice of the hostess had Greta looking up.

‘Yes?'

The hostess smiled broadly. ‘Mr Courteux wanted me to let you know he has arranged for a car to take you wherever you need to go. It's been a pleasure to meet you. I hope you had an enjoyable flight.'

‘Thank you.' Greta unclipped her seatbelt and collected her purse from the seat next to her. She could definitely get used to travelling on private jets. It would be a step down to travel on domestic flights again.

She slipped out her sunglasses from their case and put them on before walking down the stairs to the waiting black car. She noted her luggage was being placed in the trunk of the car and a uniformed driver stood by an open door.

Greta nodded her thanks and slipped into the car. The moment she got her seatbelt on, her mobile rang.

She pulled it out, smiling when she saw Jeff's name flash up. ‘Hello.'

‘Greta, you've landed safely?'

‘Well, since I'm answering the phone, it's a safe bet that I've landed.'

She closed his eyes as he chuckled, the sound weaving down her spine. She wished he was sitting beside her and not hundreds of kilometres away.

‘I miss you, Angel. It's lonely in my studio. I liked knowing you were sitting close by me.'

Tears pricked behind her eyes. ‘I miss you too.' She whispered. ‘I wish you were here.'

‘Soon, Angel. We'll be back together soon.'

‘I know. I can't wait.'

A beeping sounded down the line. ‘Damn, I've got another call. I'll call you later this afternoon, after your meeting with your dad. Take care of you and junior.'

He hung up before she had a chance to say goodbye. A small smile played on her lips as she reviewed their conversation.

His words comforted her. Knowing he missed her. Calling her the moment she'd landed told her he cared. Could she hope he even loved her?

She took a deep breath and locked the memories of her time away. As much as she wanted to relive them over and over, she couldn't. She had to prepare for her meeting. That was why she was headed back to her apartment instead of her office. To get everything she'd worked on together. She wanted to make sure there was nothing her father could question her about with this campaign.

It had taken some smooth talking from her, Jeff and Luciano, but they'd been granted access to the mining site. Their access was conditional upon taking the required shots on a particular day the company specified. Fortunately for her, Luciano had been able to get a film crew and photographer organised in time. They got background shots and some of the mining equipment. They'd also decided to do the underwater filming of the oysters at the pearl farm. She pretty much had half the campaign completed. Now all that needed to be arranged were the photo shoots with the models and the jewellery, then organise the details of the unveiling of the collection.

There was no way her father could say she couldn't handle a big campaign, or that her innovative ideas were impossible to bring to life.

Before she knew it, they were pulling up out the front of her building.

The desire to surround herself with her familiar belongings was strong. While she'd loved spending time in Jeff's house, it was his house. The apartment was all hers. If they decided they had a future and wanted to take their relationship to the next level, where would they live? Would Jeff expect her to give up her job? Not that she'd let that happen. She would work out a way to have both and hope Jeff agreed with her decision. They hadn't really discussed anything beyond the pregnancy and her agreeing to let him know when her next doctor's appointment was so that he could join her.

All these thoughts crowded in on her as she rode the lift up to her home. She breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened. She was still feeling a little apprehensive getting into the lift.

Greta walked down the hallway reading an email from her contact at the mining site. It seemed management had been pleased with the footage she'd taken and wanted to know if she could come up with some ideas for them to use in possible future campaigns.

She skipped a little in excitement. The possibility that she could snag two big accounts in two months was unbelievable. She'd had no idea that the mining company was even looking for a new agency.

Greta quickly typed out a response saying she'd just arrived back into town but would work on it and get back to them within the week. If she pulled off this coup then there was no way her father could refuse her the position of vice president. No way could Graham ever compete with her now.

As she unlocked her front door, Greta tried not to think about the complication winning this account could mean to her life and her career. Instinctively her hand went to her stomach. The baby wasn't due for months. She had plenty of time to work out what she was going to do.

Placing her bag on the hall table, she made her way to her bedroom so she could shower and change. As she entered her room, her eyes immediately went to the picture sitting on her bedside table. She walked over and picked it up.

Would her baby look as perfect as Sheree's Greta? What if there was something wrong? What would she do then? What would Jeff do?

Her stomach churned and she threw the picture down on the bed and raced to the bathroom. She made it just in time. As she sat back on her haunches she breathed deeply, knowing her irrational fears set off her nausea.

There was no reason to think anything was going to be wrong with her baby. But for the first time since she found out she was pregnant, the reality of the unknown pressed down on her.

When Greta walked into her father's office, she bit back the sharp curse wanting to explode from her lips.

Seriously, couldn't she have one meeting to do with this account without Graham sitting in on it? Why did her father still have to throw him in her face at every opportunity? It's not like he'd invite her to any of his meetings with Graham.

‘Hi Dad.' She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He drove her crazy. But she loved him. Some days she even thought he loved her back. Now he was going to be a grandfather to her child. Maybe a grandchild would be the catalyst to improving their relationship. ‘How are you?'

‘Morning, dear. How was your trip? You look well rested.'

Greta looked at her father, trying to work out if he was being sarcastic or serious. She'd tossed her cookies not that long ago. She was sure she was still deathly pale. ‘Thank you, Broome's beautiful.'

‘Hmm, are you sure you didn't just go on holiday? You didn't exactly keep us up to date with what was happening,' Graham chimed in smugly, as if she'd personally slighted him.

Instead of fighting back with a snarky comment, Greta walked over to the coffee table and spread out some of her layouts. Set up her tablet so Dad and Graham could see the footage they'd filmed and some mock adverts she'd created.

‘I think once you've sat through what I'm about to show you, you'll both,' she paused and looked from her father to Graham, ‘see that I was definitely working and not having a holiday.'

‘I'll reserve my judgment until I've seen everything you've got to show us.'