Holiday Affair (17 page)

What is it about the man that causes me so much grief?

Lissy lay in the sun, and the combination of the warmth and the beer lulled her into a light doze.

After a productive morning interviewing the chief and his sons, Nick finally returned to the hotel. Dropping off his laptop and rucksack in his room, he made his way to Lissy’s room, an apology on his lips. He grimaced as he remembered her anger and the baleful glare she had sent him as the four-wheel drive vehicle had bounced out of the village. Tapping lightly on her door, he waited patiently so he could deliver his apology. He knocked a little louder, but there was still no answer. He listened; all was quiet. Shrugging, he made his way to his room to write up his notes. She must have gone exploring, so he would apologize over dinner.

A couple of hours later, Nick logged off, stretching and rolling his stiff shoulders. He couldn’t wait to tell Lissy of the progress he had made today. The information he had written up would speed up the finalization of their research and they would be finished sooner than he had hoped. He would be free to move on and leave Armidale and head back out to the Islands once the research report was written and published.

He frowned to himself as the reality of leaving Armidale and returning to the Islands on a permanent basis filled him with dismay.

That’s what I want, isn’t it? Yep, get away from all this
emotional stuff.

Now it was time to go to the bar and hope Lissy would speak to him, so he could apologize, again, for the misunderstanding today.

Lissy was sitting on a stool at the bar, her tinkling laugh drifting across to Nick as he walked in past the pool. A silk dress clung softly to her curves, her lightly tanned shoulders contrasting with the gold hues of her dress. A tall man leaned in close to Lissy, in an intense conversation as she sipped on a cocktail with a little umbrella poking from the side.

“To fortuitous meetings.” The words drifted across to Nick standing at the door. Nick walked across the tiled floor to the bar, his footsteps alerting Lissy to his arrival.

…

Lissy sensed his anger as he approached the bar. She sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for the harsh words.

He was so predictable, she could read him like a book and he was spitting fire. She could see it in his eyes and his shoulders.

He walked over to join them and before Lissy could introduce Nick to Jim, they greeted each other by name. A lot of backslapping and banter ensued.

“Jim and I worked together in Auckland a few years ago,” Nick said, turning to Lissy.

“If you could call it work,” Jim said laughing. “It was more party, party, party, if my memory serves me correctly.” Lissy listened politely as they caught up on mutual acquaintances.

Nick looked across at her at her and asked if it was okay by her if Jim joined them for dinner.

“Well, actually—” she started to say.

Jim took pity on Nick and interrupted. “I’d be delighted to, man. I’m sure Lissy is okay with that.” Jim turned and winked at her.

It was an enjoyable evening and much discussion took place on their research project, leaving little time for personal discussion. When they bid Jim farewell, Lissy said good night to both men and turned to leave.

Nick took her arm.

“Dr. McIntyre, there are some things we need to discuss about today’s interviews.”

Lissy felt her arm burn where Nick held her. Jim said good-bye to them both, oblivious to any tension, and left, promising to catch up with them before they left the island. Nick continued to hold Lissy’s arm.

“Will we walk and talk, or will you come to my room?” he asked.

She pulled her arm from his grasp, turned and said sarcastically, “Oh no, Nick, not again. You’ve already exhausted that line. I won’t fall for it twice.” He nodded tersely. “We’ll walk.”

They stepped from the restaurant onto the sand and Lissy reached down and slipped her high sandals off. Nick put his shoes next to hers and their fingers brushed as they reached across to the grass. She pulled back crossly as though her fingers were burned and felt a degree of satisfaction when she saw the frown on his face.

The soft white sand was still warm to their bare feet from the sun. They walked past the Polynesian flares that flamed in the soft breeze lighting the path along the beach.

The sighing of the waves breaking on the beach filled an uncomfortable silence. The shadows cast by the flames highlighted the gold in Lissy’s curls and Nick’s stomach clenched with desire. He reached out for Lissy’s hands and pulled her over to a seat on the edge of the lawn overlooking the moonlit lagoon.

“Sit down, Lissy…please.” He sat next to her and ran his hand through his short hair.

“I’m sorry about today. I took too much for granted.

I’m used to working alone. I didn’t think about how much it would upset you.”

He put his hands up over his face. “I usually think too much about you and my feelings, but no matter what I do it seems to upset one of us.” He reached over and flicked his fingers through her short curls, looking at her trying to read the expression on her face.

“How are we going to get some equilibrium in our relationships, Lis?”

She looked across at him and tentatively reached out and placed her hand on his.

“It’s all right, Nick. I can understand what happened. I overreacted. It’s all about communication.”

“Let me communicate with you now,” he said, his voice rough. “Let me tell you how I felt when I walked in and saw you laughing it up with Jim. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut.” He reached out and placed his hand over hers. “I was so jealous. All I could think was, ‘Why can’t she look at me like that?’”

“It’s simple, Nick.” Her voice was soft and he had to bend closer to hear what she was saying. She looked back at him, her expression serious. “Physically, we are attracted to each other; however, our minds and emotions are not involved. We have trust issues. We can’t be involved because intellectually and sensibly we both know it’s not what either of us want out of life.”

She took his hands and looked at him, and her voice shook with emotion. “I don’t believe that any relationship between us would last and you don’t trust me, anyway, even if I wanted a relationship with you. So I’m not going to sleep with you anymore because it isn’t doing either of us any good. No matter…” Her eyes filled with tears and she reached for his face with both of her hands. “No matter how much my body is burning for yours.” The sadness on her face dispelled all desire and calmness descended over him.

“We’re a sad pair, Lissy. Wouldn’t it be easier to give in and see where it takes us?”

“No way,” she said, moving away from him and crossing her arms in front of her soft breasts. “It would give us a lot more grief in the long run.” She stood. “I’m going to bed now, Nick. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He knew she was slipping away from him and maybe, just maybe, it was too late to win her back.

Nick watched as Lissy ran lightly across the sand to the grass, picked up her sandals and disappeared along the path to her room.

…

Lissy tossed and turned all night and came to a decision.

When the research report was finished and the publication underway, she was going to look for an associate professorship at another university. It was time to spread her wings anyway. She would look for something in New Zealand or North Queensland where she could continue her research in Pacific history. Feeling better now that she had reached a decision, she headed off to the restaurant for breakfast. Half an hour later, sitting at a table that overlooked the lagoon to the west and the garden rooms between the balcony and the sand, she still could not help herself glancing across toward Nick’s room, hoping he would join her for breakfast. As she sipped pungent Brazilian coffee and nibbled on a sinfully rich pastry, she tried to focus her mind on the research she had to finish and forget about the man who was causing her so much confusion.

Nick rose from the chair in front of the fire and walked over to the windows overlooking the lawn where he’d played cricket and tumbled with his brothers and sisters when they were kids. The week in the Cook Islands had flown by and he and Lissy had arrived in Sydney late yesterday afternoon. The call for their connecting flight to Armidale came over the loudspeakers and Nick picked up his bag and turned to Lissy.

“Ready?” He was polite, as she had not spoken to him about anything other than work-related matters since their walk by the lagoon. She had worked on her laptop on the flight from Rarotonga to Sydney, and when the battery power had run out, had pulled out a novel from her bag and remained immersed in that until they landed.

Lissy looked at him. “Oh, I meant to tell you. I’m flying to Coffs Harbour. I’m going home for the weekend.” Nick felt bereft at the thought of getting on a plane without her by his side after spending the whole week with her. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder before he headed for the steps down to the tarmac. He felt her flinch.

“Are you okay getting back up the mountain on Sunday? Do you want me to come and get you?” he asked.

“Thank you, but I’ve already made arrangements to come back up on Sunday night. Have a safe trip. I’ll see you Monday in the office.” She turned back to her book and he felt summarily dismissed. He walked slowly to the flight attendant at the counter, boarding pass clenched tightly in his hand. It took all of his willpower not to look back at her. His jaw was clenched and he had a feeling of impending doom in his chest. Something was wrong. It was not in Lissy’s nature to be cold and dismissive.

Tessa walked in with two cups of coffee and broke his reverie, as the smell of freshly baked scones enticed him to join her by the fire.

My heart may be breaking, but I still have my appetite
.

He shook his head angrily.
Where did that come from?

“Now, Dominic, tell me about your trip to those beautiful islands. And then I want to know why you are so sad.” He reached for a warm pumpkin scone and savored the taste of the warm treat drenched in butter.

“Comfort food for me, Mama?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do not like to see any of my children unhappy. You have not been your happy-go-lucky self since you came back to the university. You have become
uomo anziano irritabile
.” She reached over and placed her hand on his tanned arm.

“It is Melissa that makes you so sad, isn’t it?” He leaned over, ignoring her question and put his head in his hands, impatiently brushing his shaggy hair back from his eyes.

“Time for another haircut, Mama.”

“Don’t change the subject,” she said. “I am not going to let it go. I want to know what is going on, Dominic.” It was a relief to finally let it all out. “It’s Lissy, Mama, not Melissa and not Dr. McIntyre. She is driving me crazy.

We didn’t have the best start.”

He told her about their meeting in the Whitsundays, and Tessa indicated she was not surprised that they had met before.

“I knew as soon as I saw the fireworks between the two of you that first night Tom brought her to meet us that you already knew each other. The fireworks almost lit up the veranda, but she looked so sad.”

“I feel bad about that. I think Tomas was serious about her,” Nick said.

Tessa laughed. “In his life planning maybe, but there was no spark between them. Besides, there is the lovely Jill, and I can see the beginning of a spark there. Tomas is much more reserved than you, my firstborn son. You have always shown your emotion, no matter how serious a professor you think you may be.”

He looked at her and groaned. “So the whole family knows?”

“Only your sisters and I have noticed. It has been the subject of some lively discussion between us when we have coffee. There is a bet on when you will get together.” Nick burst out laughing. “Mama, you are incorrigible and you encourage my sisters to be the same. However, the bet won’t be won.”

Tessa sat on the side of his chair and put one hand on his shoulder.

“Why are you frightened, Dominic?”

Thoughts scattered through his mind as he tried to find the simplest reply that would convince her that he could not have a relationship with Lissy.

“I can’t trust my feelings, Mama. I was so let down by Olivia and Rebecca. I can’t trust that Lissy won’t leave me as well. Besides, even when I’ve offered my heart to her, she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t believe in love, and neither do I.”

“Pfffft.” Tessa dismissed him, her hands accompanying her words with a very European gesture.

“Listen to me, my son.” He looked at her as she took his face between her beautifully manicured hands.

“You were young when Olivia left you, and I never saw you look at her like I see you look at Melissa. You only thought you were hurt by Rebecca. Your pride was hurt both times. Both of those young ladies were astute enough to realize that there was no enduring love to be had with you. But with your Lissy, it is different. The electricity crackles between the pair of you, even when you are on separate sides of the room. Tell me son, how would you feel if you thought you were never going to see her again?”

Nick looked at his mother for a long moment without answering and eventually Tessa stood and gathered the cups. As she walked to the kitchen, she said, “Take some time to think about that, Nick.”

What his mother was telling him about Lissy was the truth; he knew that in his heart. He walked to the window and gazed out over the green lawn, his heart in turmoil.

Lissy hadn’t lied to him; she had been true to herself from the beginning. The problems had been caused by his lack of trust, in both himself and in Lissy. He had accused her of manipulation and deceit.

Well done, Nick
.

Sunday night
, he thought. I will be waiting for her when she comes home.
We’re going to talk about this once
and for all…but with absolute trust and honesty.

He bid his mother farewell, and headed for the university to work on his research report, much happier than he had been for weeks.