In the Australian's Bed: The Passion Price / The Australian's Convenient Bride / The Australian's Marriage Demand

He leant back in his seat again, still holding her eyes firmly captive with his. ‘What if I said I wanted you to be, more than anything I’ve wanted in a long time? What if I told you to tell this Alex he’s history? What if I asked you to stay at my place next weekend instead of the Casino?’

She should have protested at that point. But she was too enthralled with thinking about what it would be like to spend next weekend with him, staying at his place.

‘I have this wonderful harbourside apartment with all the mod cons and only a short ferry ride to Darling Harbour,’ he went on when she foolishly stayed silent. ‘We could paint the town red on Saturday night, or stay in, if you prefer. Then on Sunday we could have lunch down on the waterfront somewhere. You must surely get a lunch break. Unfortunately, I have to be in court first thing Monday morning, or we could have made it a long weekend.’

Angelina finally found her voice. ‘What is it you expect me to say to these extraordinarily presumptuous suggestions?’

‘Right now? Nothing. I wouldn’t like to be accused of rushing you into anything, like last time. I’ll call you later this week. Or you can call me earlier than that, if you’d like. Here…’ He whipped out his wallet from his jeans and extracted two business cards. ‘You got a pen on you?’

She did, in fact. She kept one in her skirt pocket. She fished it out and gave it to him. He flashed her a quick smile before bending to the task of adding some numbers to the first card before handing it over. ‘That first number is my private and unlisted number at home. The second is my cellphone. Now, write yours down for me on this…’ And he handed her a second card, along with the Biro.

She stared down at the white card which said simply ‘Jake Winters, Lawyer’ in bold black letters, along with an office address and phone number in smaller lettering underneath.

She turned it over and jotted down both her numbers, all the while thinking to herself, what was she doing?

She wasn’t going to say yes to his invitation. How could she? OK, so she was tempted. She was only human. What woman wouldn’t respond to what Jake was making her feel at this moment? As if she was the most beautiful, most desirable girl he’d ever met. What had he said? That he wanted her to be his woman more than anything he’d wanted in a long time.

The devil would be proud of him!

Sixteen years ago, she’d fallen for such a line, hook, line and sinker. Well, she had, hadn’t she? But sixteen years had taught Angelina to recognise the signs of a dedicated womaniser. You didn’t have to have jumped into bed with that type to recognise their trappings. Jake had them all. The car. The clothes. And the charm.

Angelina knew beyond a doubt that being Jake’s woman was only a temporary position, whereas her being Alex’s mother was forever. Allowing herself to be seduced a second time by Alex’s father was just not on.

At the same time, she was curious to learn a little more about him, and his life. This was the man she was going to have to entrust her son to, possibly sooner than she’d anticipated. After all, once Dorothy moved up here and found out dear Angelina at the Ambrosia Estate was a single mum with a fifteen-year-old son who just happened to be the dead spit of Jake, the cat would be out of the bag. And as much as Jake might try to abdicate his responsibilities where Alex was concerned, Angelina knew that her stubborn son would not let him get away with that. No, Alex would force himself into Jake’s life whether Jake wanted it or not.

‘I’m not promising anything,’ she remarked coolly as she handed back the card. ‘But you’re welcome to ring me. I might agree to have lunch with you. Alex wouldn’t mind my having lunch with an old friend.’

‘I’m sure he won’t,’ Jake said as he tucked the card back into his wallet. ‘It’s hardly a grand passion between you two, is it?’

‘You know nothing about my relationship with Alex.’

‘I know enough,’ he stated with an arrogance which was as unsettling as it was wickedly attractive. Why, oh, why did she have to find him so exciting?

Maybe she shouldn’t agree to lunch with him. Even lunch might be a worry, especially down at Darling Harbour, with its air of away-from-home glamour and glitz. Sydney could be a very seductive city. Angelina often found herself losing her head a bit when she was there and spending more money than she should. Especially on clothes. She had a wardrobe full of lovely things she rarely wore.

She would have to weigh up the pros and cons of lunching with Jake before his call. If she thought there was any danger of making a fool of herself, she would not go.

‘I’ll look forward to ringing you,’ Jake said, and slipped his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans. ‘Meanwhile, surely you have some questions for yours truly? Don’t you want to know how come I’m a lawyer and not in jail?’

Angelina shook her head at him in frustration. He was like a rolling bulldozer, difficult to stop.

‘I’m sure you’re going to tell me, whether I want to hear or not.’

‘You want to hear,’ he said cheekily. ‘You know you do.’

So Angelina listened—yes, in rapt silence—whilst he told her everything that had happened to him since that fateful night. She marvelled at his good fortune, and couldn’t help feeling a bit proud of him. Both Dorothy and her husband had clearly been wonderful, but Jake must have worked very hard to accomplish what he had.

Not that she intended telling him that. He was smug enough as it was.

‘And to think I worried myself sick that I’d been responsible for your going to jail,’ she said when he finished his tale of miracles.

‘Did you really? Oh, that’s sweet. But you were sweet back then. Very sweet.’

‘Don’t count on my being so sweet now, lover-boy. I’ve grown up. I might not live in the big bad city but a number of Sydney’s more successful swinging singles have stayed at the Ambrosia Estate over the years. I know all about men like you.’

He laughed. ‘Tell me about men like me.’

‘You work hard and you play hard.’

‘True.’ He picked up his coffee-cup again.

‘You like your own way and you don’t always stick to the rules.’

‘Mmm. True, I guess.’ And smiled at her over the rim of the cup.

‘You’re all commitment-phobic sex addicts who change girlfriends as often as you do your cars.’

Jake almost choked on the last of his coffee. ‘Now, wait here,’ he spluttered. ‘That’s not quite true.’

‘Which part is not quite true?’ she asked tartly.

‘I’ve only had two cars in the last few years. A navy Mazda and the yellow Ferrari I’m driving today.’

‘Surprising. OK, so what’s the girlfriend count during that time?’

He looked a bit sheepish. ‘I don’t have that many fingers and toes. But what about you, Miss Tough Cookie? Or shouldn’t I ask?’

No way could she let him find out there hadn’t been anyone since him. His ego would probably explode. And his predatory nature would go into full pursuit mode.

‘You can ask, but I’m not into the kiss-and-tell scene,’ she tossed off. ‘Let’s just say I’m a big girl now and I run my own race.’

‘Even when your father was alive?’

‘After my not-so-successful rendezvous with you, I learned to be more sneaky.’

‘You’d have to be with a father like yours around,’ came his rueful remark. ‘So! Did your dad like this Alex of yours? Or didn’t he know about him?’

‘He adored Alex.’ Too late, Angelina wished she hadn’t started that silly subterfuge.

‘An Italian, is he?’ Jake said drily.

‘Half. Now, no more questions about Alex, please. Aah, Dorothy’s back,’ she said, spying the lady herself walking along the path towards them, accompanied by a portly, grey-haired man in his fifties. ‘She seems to have brought the real-estate agent with her.’ Fortunately, not one Angelina knew personally.

But when Dorothy swept in with the news she had secured the property and that she was here to get the owner’s signature on some papers, a panic-stricken Angelina jumped to her feet and offered to find Arnold for them.

‘But why don’t you want them to know about Alex?’ Arnold said when she cornered him in the barrel room of the winery five minutes later.

‘The man with the woman who’s buying your place is Alex’s father,’ Angelina explained reluctantly. ‘All right?’