Falling for the Lawyer - By Anna Clifton Page 0,65

revelled in the fact that at least now she was the one tossing the gambling chips into the game of life—it was nothing short of exhilarating.

But her odds in the game she was in couldn’t be good. Even putting aside the unpredictable reception she might receive from JP, whether she would find him out at the airport was less than certain. International departures were chaotic at the best of times and he could have checked in by now and be waiting in some flight lounge she couldn’t get into.

Her other problem was time. From memory, check-in for international flights was ninety minutes before departure. If he was going at eight then he’d have to check-in by six-thirty. It had just gone six o’clock so she would be running very close to missing him completely.

To make matters worse it seemed every red light was plotting against her. She squirmed and wriggled impatiently, willing each one to return to green immediately. Over and over again she silently cursed the poor driver for his adherence to the road rules and his careful driving. Yet eventually he swung up into the departures drop off zone and handing him notes to more than cover the fare she jumped out of the cab without waiting for change and ran into the terminal.

Searching the airport crowds like a strobe light she did some quick circuits around the long, snake-like queues of people winding backwards and forwards in front of the check-in desks, their luggage piled high in front of them. But there was no JP.

Scanning the screens listing departures she found a Qantas flight bound for London that was due to leave at eight. That had to be the one he was going on and yet she’d circled the whole Qantas check-in area several times and there was still no sign of him.

With a galloping pulse and a nervous gait to her walk she paced anxiously through the crowd, searching hopelessly for that mop of dark blonde hair, the chiseled jawline and cheekbones, the penetrating blue eyes. Yet with every passing minute hope was dying inside her. He simply wasn’t there, and no amount of roaming through the crowd would change that.

As anger dissolved into despair she finally sunk down onto a chair and dropped her head into her hands. JP had clearly gone through immigration and would not be coming out. Very soon he’d be on a plane heading back to the UK leaving more questions than answers plaguing their short relationship. And with searing pain ripping her apart she wondered whether she’d ever see him again.

“Do you mind if we sit down?”

Alex sat up and removed her hands from her face to see a young mother with two small children standing in front of her.

“No, no, of course. Please do,” Alex replied quickly as she shifted herself up to one end of the bench. The woman gave her an appreciative smile and Alex returned it before gazing out across the crowd again. And that was when she saw him.

JP McKenzie was strolling around the check-in area, not more than ten metres away from her. He was without luggage and his hands were resting casually in his pockets as though he might be looking for someone. Alex climbed slowly to her feet but then she couldn’t move any further. She didn’t have to.

As though sensing the weight of her gaze at his back he swung around and spotted her immediately.

Alex watched him in disbelief, doubting her own eyes. But then she knew she could never have conjured up the expression on his face as he regarded her thoughtfully; he was giving nothing away.

Alex folded her arms. Now that she’d found him she felt grumpy again. But then a smirk crossed JP’s mouth and he crossed his own arms, mimicking her own feisty stance, tilting his head to one side in challenge.

She walked towards him and he eyed her curiously, his gaze drifting over her figure in her gym gear. She stopped about a metre in front of him, her arms still crossed, her lips pressed together in taut repression of the anxiety and ecstasy of seeing him again.

“What can I do for you?” he asked smoothly.

“Can’t you guess?” Alex snapped, revealing more nervousness than she wanted to.

“Enlighten me,” he crooned, his dark blue-eyed look resting heavily upon her.

“An explanation would be nice,” she blurted. “About how you feel comfortable leaving like this without letting me know you’re going.”

JP regarded her with a mixture of amusement and