she liked.
You do want more, Gabby, Max had said. And he was right. She did. She wanted fun and excitement, friendship, a rewarding job. The things everyone hoped for, that she’d been denied too long. Most of all, she wanted him.
Looking at the tiny shapes below, she wished she’d gone first, wished that the last thing she’d seen had been Max’s face, felt his mouth against hers. She could just about make him out down there, standing away from the big red X, his arms outstretched as if to catch her. Would he? Was she putting her faith in too much? How messy would it be when it ended? Because surely nothing this amazing would last.
Gripping the rail with both hands, she hesitated.
She did have a choice. She just had to make it.
Could she take a chance? Dare she? She imagined him calling her name. Then she let go and jumped.
8
‘Oh. My. God. Oh. My. God. I don’t believe I did that.’
‘Good, eh? I told you it was fun.’ Max laughed at Gabby’s wide eyes and pink cheeks. She hadn’t stopped cursing and squealing since they’d unhooked her. And the fact he’d put that smile there fed his satisfaction no end. ‘Rate it for me?’
Her grin spread. ‘Five hundred and fifty thousand out of ten. Can we do it again?’
‘Oh, no, I’ve unleashed an adrenalin junkie.’ He shook his head. Another upside of it was that she hadn’t let go of him since then. She’d slipped her arm into his and leaned against him as if she was meant to be there. Amazing what throwing yourself off a building can do for a friendship. Never mind the libido. ‘They’ve closed the jump shop for today, sweetie. Stop pouting. Maybe we can go another day. If you’re good.’
‘I can be.’
‘I know.’ He saw the flicker of need there, heard it in her voice. But he’d promised himself he’d take it slowly with her. She’d had a point earlier—they needed to learn how to communicate. Good sex could only get better when two people knew each other well, right? After that, he didn’t know. Distance hadn’t worked for him. Maybe getting to know her, discovering all the faults that he could find in her, maybe that would dampen down this incessant craving to be with her.
Yeah, she must have faults. Trouble was, he hadn’t found any yet.
He walked her down past the city-centre shops, along the waterfront, stopping to point out the old harbour buildings nestled between new glass-fronted architecture. Tourists spilled from the cruise ship, smiling and laughing, some dancing to the buskers beating out an old popular song. There was a carnival atmosphere.
He squeezed her to him as they strolled, ignoring the guilt that he should be doing paperwork or preparing for a lecture he was giving to the undergrads tomorrow morning. And the fact he really didn’t know what he was offering her here. ‘There are a few cool bars over there where we can grab something to eat. This area’s changed heaps over the years. It used to be just a working dock.’
‘You know a lot about the place. Is this where you grew up?’
Although he usually felt uncomfortable talking about his past, he let it go. He could hardly encourage her to embrace new things without trying a few himself. Besides, she had this way of asking in such a way that he couldn’t help wanting to give her answers. ‘I’m a Jaffa, yeah— Just Another Fella From Auckland. I went to Marquis School in the city.’
‘Marquis, eh? Very posh. You rich, then?’
He laughed at her forthrightness. ‘Not really. Just circumstances. Then I had a few years at Otago University. A couple in Aussie, learning the trade. Then back here.’ He chose not to dwell on the early part of his life.
‘Did you both go to Otago?’
‘Both?’
‘You and Mitch. Duh.’
She often spoke about him and his twin as if they were joined at the hip. How to explain that from the age of six he’d been brought up as an only child? Any time he told anyone the truth it was greeted with too much pity. He didn’t need that. ‘Yes. We did the same course. It’s the best med school in the country.’
‘Must have been hard on everyone else there, all that Maitland alpha ego and rivalry. A real force to be reckoned with. Now look at you, both top docs in your field, at such a young age.’
‘Yeah, right.’ He didn’t mean to put an