More Than Just One Night (The Selwood Sisters Novellas) by Claire Baxter Page A

shaking at the
thought.”
     
    True to her word, Cora waited till she
arrived in Sydney before phoning Alex. She’d booked a return flight for Sunday,
but no accommodation. If he wanted nothing to do with her, she’d find a hotel
in the city and spend the weekend shopping. But she really hoped it wouldn’t
come to that.
    Her heart thumping, she made the call. “Alex?
It’s me, Cora.”
    “Cora?”
     “I hope you don’t mind me calling.”
    She registered the slight hesitation before
he said, “What can I do for you?”
    She shut down the inappropriate words that
rushed into her head. She had to take this slowly, not behave like a mad woman.
“I wondered if you’d like to see me this weekend?” Oh, God, that sounded
ridiculous.
    “Is this a trick question?”
    “No.”
    He sighed. “I’m doing what you asked me to
do. I’m leaving you alone.”
    “Yes, I know.” She licked her dry lips. “What
would you say if I told you I was in Sydney?”
    After a short silence, he said, “What do you
want me to say?”
    Cora took a deep breath. “If you’re still
interested, I’d like to give us another go, and for that reason, I’m here in
Sydney. If you don’t want to see me, or you can’t because it’s bad timing, just
say so and I’ll go away. But if you agree, I’d like you to meet me anywhere
that suits you.”
    “For sex?”
    She gasped.
    “Because that’s all you want from me, isn’t
it? I’m not good enough to meet your family, or your friends, or even be seen
in public with you.”
    Even as she opened her mouth to deny his
words, she knew she had been guilty of treating him badly, and she couldn’t
lie.
    “Cora, I’m not interested in playing games. We
could have been great together, but you were more concerned with appearances
than with having a relationship. You couldn’t recognize something real right in
front of your face. I’m sorry you’ve had a wasted journey, but I won’t be
meeting you. Goodbye, Cora.”
    She held the phone to her ear and listened to
dead air long after Alex had hung up. What was she supposed to do now? Try and
find a seat on the next flight home?
    No . She hadn’t
come here to be a coward again. She’d had enough of living only half a life.
She wouldn’t go home until she’d tried to convince Alex that she wasn’t playing
games.
    She took a deep breath and dialled again. She
wasn’t surprised when Alex’s answer was a wary “Yes?”
    “I’m sorry, Alex. It must have seemed that I
thought you weren’t good enough, but I promise I never believed that for one
minute. It was never that.”
    She heard him exhale. At least he hadn’t hung
up on her.
    “If you’ll give me another chance, I’m ready
to try and have something real now. If you still want to, that is. I can’t
promise to be brilliant at it, but I will try.”
    “You’re serious?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hang on, someone wants to talk to me.” There
was a muffled noise on the line. Cora closed her eyes, the tension making her belly
quiver. “Right,” he said when he came back on the line. “So, tell me where you
are and I’ll meet you there.”
    “At the airport.”
    She heard the rattle of computer keys close
to the phone, then Alex said, “ Damn . I have a meeting that I can’t
cancel.”
    “It’s okay. I can get in a taxi and wait for
you somewhere.”
    “What about the hotel where we met? It’s not
far from my office. I’ll see you in the bar in...an hour and a half. No, sorry,
it might be more like two hours, I’m afraid.”
    “That’s fine. No problem. I’ll wait.”
     
    Alex’s home was small, but fully-renovated,
and only minutes from the city centre. She hadn’t seen much of it on Friday
night, though. All through dinner she’d been aware of tension coiling her
insides. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face while they talked, and by the
time they’d arrived at the house, she’d been desperate to feel his skin against
hers. They hadn’t even reached the