tonight then? You’ll be there?’ She was still holding his hand.
Mac leant in, kissed her cheek. Same perfume, he thought. ‘Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.’ He let go first.
But he did miss it. Ginny arrived with the others, and waited for him. But he didn’t come. Halfway through her meal a text arrived: Sorry Ginny, got to head out a bit earlier. Have a good night. Thanks for the coffee. M x
She sighed, disappointed. She’d been looking forward to more time with him. But maybe his life was too firmly elsewhere now. Squaring her shoulders, saying a silent prayer that he come back safe, she smiled across the table at Madeleine, whose eyebrows were raised in a silent ‘Are you alright?’
Ginny lifted her glass, smiled, and toasted her friend.
Seventy-two hours after he’d unwillingly stood Ginny up at dinner, Mac grinned at his very good mate and fellow NZSAS soldier Nick Scott. From inside the plane the engines roared, and he had to strain to hear what Nick was shouting at him.
‘So, did you see her?’
‘Who?’
‘Don’t be so fucking coy. Did you see her?’
‘Yeah, we had a coffee.’
‘Is that what you call it up in Auckland? Coffee?!’
Mac laughed. ‘No, mate, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re just friends. How about you? See the lovely Philippa on your days free?’
‘Hell, yes, I did. Every square inch of her. Several times.’ Nick shot him a grin. ‘Jealous?’
‘I’d be stupid to be jealous of another man for catching up with his fiancée.’
‘Yeah, well, I’ll give you that.’ Still grinning, Nick went back to the final check of his pack.
Nick was a bloody good mate; the best. The second son of a wool farmer from a big station that ran up into the Otago hills, he was happily engaged. Mac admired the way Nick was able to keep one foot in his NZSAS life, and the other so firmly in his life outside.
By comparison, Mac had been swallowed into the intense training of the unit, and once he was through the initial probationary period and could start to show his capability and commitment, the others in his unit quickly became his friends — family even. Although he felt some disquiet about how distant he was from his old life, he thrived on the intensity of his new job, and the deeper he got into life with NZSAS, the more certain he was that he’d made the right decision and that the sacrifices were worth it. Well, he thought wryly, most of them were.
Mac nodded to one of the British Special Forces guys they were teamed up with for this exercise. ‘Good to go,’ he said.
‘So.’ Nick shouldered his pack and ’chute as they moved down the transporter. ‘This friend of yours, she’s still under your skin then?’
‘I told you — we’re just friends. End of story.’
‘Bullshit! You’ve been a miserable son of a bitch since you’ve come back. I reckon you need to put a bit more work in.’
‘Fuck off, mate,’ Mac said good-naturedly, waiting for the signal to go.
‘Will do.’ Mock-saluting, Nick disappeared out of the plane.
Mac grinned; Nick had a way of telling it like it was. He moved to the back door, looked out, and leapt into the black below.
Chapter 4
The afternoon of interviewing had gone … well enough. Two of the candidates had been promising, and the last a complete waste of time. But two was enough for a shortlist and feeling motivated, Ginny stayed on at the office, wrote up reports for her client and emailed them off.
She spun her chair to look at the whiteboard where all her current and potential jobs were sketched out.
If it came through, the RK Investments and Strategy role would demand a lot of time, but with the long gap between invoices for that kind of project, she’d need other work to keep the bills ticking over. With Christmas around the corner she wanted a healthy end to the year, otherwise January and February would be uncomfortably tight.
Which reminded her: an established client had mentioned a
Mac leant in, kissed her cheek. Same perfume, he thought. ‘Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.’ He let go first.
But he did miss it. Ginny arrived with the others, and waited for him. But he didn’t come. Halfway through her meal a text arrived: Sorry Ginny, got to head out a bit earlier. Have a good night. Thanks for the coffee. M x
She sighed, disappointed. She’d been looking forward to more time with him. But maybe his life was too firmly elsewhere now. Squaring her shoulders, saying a silent prayer that he come back safe, she smiled across the table at Madeleine, whose eyebrows were raised in a silent ‘Are you alright?’
Ginny lifted her glass, smiled, and toasted her friend.
Seventy-two hours after he’d unwillingly stood Ginny up at dinner, Mac grinned at his very good mate and fellow NZSAS soldier Nick Scott. From inside the plane the engines roared, and he had to strain to hear what Nick was shouting at him.
‘So, did you see her?’
‘Who?’
‘Don’t be so fucking coy. Did you see her?’
‘Yeah, we had a coffee.’
‘Is that what you call it up in Auckland? Coffee?!’
Mac laughed. ‘No, mate, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re just friends. How about you? See the lovely Philippa on your days free?’
‘Hell, yes, I did. Every square inch of her. Several times.’ Nick shot him a grin. ‘Jealous?’
‘I’d be stupid to be jealous of another man for catching up with his fiancée.’
‘Yeah, well, I’ll give you that.’ Still grinning, Nick went back to the final check of his pack.
Nick was a bloody good mate; the best. The second son of a wool farmer from a big station that ran up into the Otago hills, he was happily engaged. Mac admired the way Nick was able to keep one foot in his NZSAS life, and the other so firmly in his life outside.
By comparison, Mac had been swallowed into the intense training of the unit, and once he was through the initial probationary period and could start to show his capability and commitment, the others in his unit quickly became his friends — family even. Although he felt some disquiet about how distant he was from his old life, he thrived on the intensity of his new job, and the deeper he got into life with NZSAS, the more certain he was that he’d made the right decision and that the sacrifices were worth it. Well, he thought wryly, most of them were.
Mac nodded to one of the British Special Forces guys they were teamed up with for this exercise. ‘Good to go,’ he said.
‘So.’ Nick shouldered his pack and ’chute as they moved down the transporter. ‘This friend of yours, she’s still under your skin then?’
‘I told you — we’re just friends. End of story.’
‘Bullshit! You’ve been a miserable son of a bitch since you’ve come back. I reckon you need to put a bit more work in.’
‘Fuck off, mate,’ Mac said good-naturedly, waiting for the signal to go.
‘Will do.’ Mock-saluting, Nick disappeared out of the plane.
Mac grinned; Nick had a way of telling it like it was. He moved to the back door, looked out, and leapt into the black below.
Chapter 4
The afternoon of interviewing had gone … well enough. Two of the candidates had been promising, and the last a complete waste of time. But two was enough for a shortlist and feeling motivated, Ginny stayed on at the office, wrote up reports for her client and emailed them off.
She spun her chair to look at the whiteboard where all her current and potential jobs were sketched out.
If it came through, the RK Investments and Strategy role would demand a lot of time, but with the long gap between invoices for that kind of project, she’d need other work to keep the bills ticking over. With Christmas around the corner she wanted a healthy end to the year, otherwise January and February would be uncomfortably tight.
Which reminded her: an established client had mentioned a
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