couldn’t seem to lift her spirits. A black cloud hung over her head. It was only a matter of time before it all poured down on her.
After they’d eaten and moved into the living room, she still couldn’t relax. She couldn’t get interested in the unfolding legal drama on television. She had enough legal drama of her own right now.
And she was terrified her mother would call and put pressure on her to give her father more time, or to beg her to change her mind. She didn’t want the stress of even talking to her mother right now and certainly not in front of Nick.
An idea occurred to her.
“I think I’ve got cabin fever, Nick. Let’s go out for a drink somewhere.”
He blinked in mild surprise and put aside some paperwork. “Will one of the local pubs do?”
“Yes, there’s some lovely pubs around here. And can we turn our cell phones off, please? Let’s not have any interruptions.”
He shot her an odd look. “If that’s what you want.”
Half an hour later they were sitting in the corner at a local pub, sipping their drinks. The hotel was on the heritage listing as were many buildings in the Hawkesbury district.
“Any special reason for the cabin fever?” he asked, leaning back in his chair, his eyes watchful.
It sounded a ridiculous thing for her to say now. They’d been out of the house a lot lately and cabin fever was the last thing she’d have.
She wrinkled her nose. “I guess it’s more that we haven’t had much time to ourselves.”
He nodded. “And all that with your father didn’t help either, does it?”
She gave a silent gasp. “Wh-what?”
“With Porter being in hospital.”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “Yes.”
His look sharpened. “You’ve been tense all night. Are you sure you’re telling me everything? He’s not taken a turn for the worse, has he?”
“No, he’s fine.” Panic bounced inside her. She had to get thoughts of her father out of Nick’s mind and onto something else. Otherwise she might give herself way. “Brenda called me, you know.”
He straightened in his chair. “What? When?”
“Sunday morning after you went to your father’s place. She said she was returning your call.”
The look in his eyes turned hard and dangerous. He would be a formidable enemy. “She did, did she?”
“So you didn’t call her?”
“No.” His gaze focused back on her. “Did you think I had? Is that why you didn’t tell me before now? You’ve been worrying yourself sick about it.”
“No, that’s not it at all. I figured you just wanted to tell her to stay away from you.”
“I’d already told her. And she knows the score. She was just trying to cause trouble.” He stared at her. “And succeeded.”
“No, she didn’t.” Brenda had tried to make her doubt Nick, but in the end she hadn’t succeeded.
Nick’s eyes were razor-sharp. “You’ve been upset all evening. In fact, you haven’t been yourself since Sunday at the party.”
Somehow she held it together. Sunday was when she’d learned what her father had done.
“I told you it’s because of everything else.” She swallowed past her dry throat. “I believe you, Nick. I swear I believe you.”
He studied her face, taking his time to measure her words. Finally a gentle look came into his eyes. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Her heart tilted inside her chest.
In the end they stayed for over two hours, talking about nothing much in particular and listening to a folk singer. Sasha could feel the tension easing out of her as the wine took hold.
“I think that did us both good,” Nick said on the drive home.
She leaned her head back against the leather seat and smiled sideways at him. “We should do it more often.”
He chuckled. “I believe you’re slightly drunk, Mrs. Valente.”
“Enough to take the edge off my pain,” she said without thinking.
His scowl was instant. “You’re in pain?”
She bit her lip and thanked heaven he had to concentrate on the road. “I had a headache before,” she lied. “I thought it was going to turn into a migraine.”
He darted a look at her. “Do you often get migraines?”
“No.” But she had the feeling she may well start after all this.
Without warning, he gave a crooked grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll kiss you better if it returns.”
“Then it’ll be worth it.”
“Don’t say things like that when I’m driving,” he pretended to growl.
She just smiled.
They arrived home and he parked the car in the sweeping driveway, but something happened inside her as she watched him come round to open the passenger door. A sense