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‘Just as well,’ she threw after him.
Ten minutes later, Alex was only a block from the office, stuck in traffic.
‘Damn!’ he swore. He thought about ringing Harriet but decided that wouldn’t be good enough. He had to do this face-to-face. There was no option but to wait.
Chapter Twenty-five
HARRIET WAS CURLED up on her sofa, no longer crying but feeling terrible, when there was a knock on her flat door. It was a rather timid knock, so she knew it wasn’t Alex come to demand she return to work. Not that he would. Alex wouldn’t run after any woman.
Probably a neighbour, needing something.
It was Betty from next door, wanting to borrow an onion. She was a dear old love who found it hard enough to get up and down the stairs, let alone walk to the corner shop just to buy an onion. Harriet was happy to give her one.
‘Thanks, pet,’ she said. ‘I saw you come home earlier. Not feeling well? You do look a little peaky.’
‘I had a bad headache,’ Harriet invented. ‘But it’s gone now. In fact, I was just about to go out for a walk along the beach.’
‘Wish I could come with you, pet, but these old legs of mine won’t cooperate. Thanks for the onion.’
After Betty left, Harriet forced herself to put on leggings, trainers and a light sweater, then set off for a power walk to the beach. Exercise always did her good, as did the sight of the sea. There was something calming about watching the waves roll into shore. Something...spiritual.
The first sight of the blue ocean lifted her spirits. You will survive this, Harriet, she told herself. And, just think, soon you’ll have a baby to love. How wonderful was that?
* * *
By the time Alex reached Harriet’s address he was not a happy man, his frustration increasing when he couldn’t find a parking spot in her street for love nor money. In the end, he parked in someone’s driveway, knocked on their door and gave the startled woman a hundred dollars to let his SUV stay there for a couple of hours. Alex figured he might need a couple of hours to convince Harriet that he really, truly loved her. Lord knew what he was going to do if she didn’t love him back and didn’t give a damn.
It wasn’t like Alex to entertain negative thinking, but it wasn’t every day that he fell in love. He understood now why he’d been afraid of it. Because he had known, subconsciously, that when and if he fell in love it would be very deeply. Not to have his love returned would shatter him.
His tension increased as he hurried up the stairs of Harriet’s block of flats, his heart pounding along with his feet. When he knocked loudly on her door, the sound echoed through the whole building. When she didn’t answer, he knocked again. And again. And again.
A door opened along the way and an elderly lady peeped out. ‘If you’re looking for Harriet, she’s gone for a walk along the beach.’
‘Right. Thanks.’
Alex took off in the direction of nearby Bondi Beach, his long legs bringing him there in less than a minute. Thankfully, the beach wasn’t all that crowded. He searched along the wide stretch of sand but didn’t see her. And then she came into view, walking briskly along the promenade towards where he was standing in front of the Pavilion. She stopped as soon as she saw him, her body language not good. Her chin came up, her hands curling into fists by her sides. He couldn’t see the expression in her eyes, as she was wearing sunglasses. But he got the impression of barely controlled anger and heaps of exasperation.
In the end, she covered the few metres which separated them, her hands finding her hips as she planted herself right in front of him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she bit out.
‘I went to your flat, but you weren’t there. Your neighbour told me where to find you.’
‘That’s not what I asked you. Look, you’re wasting your time, Alex. I’m not coming back to work for you and that’s that!’
‘I haven’t come to talk to you about work,’ he returned in what he hoped was a calm voice. Someone had to be calm. Still, he took the level of her ongoing anger as a positive sign. She really didn’t have that much reason to be angry with him. Not unless her emotions were involved.
‘Neither am I going to keep sleeping with you!’ she said in a voice loud enough to have passers-by stare over at them.
‘Could we possibly have this discussion in private, Harry? I don’t appreciate your telling the world about our personal business.’
At least she had the good grace to blush.
‘Come on,’ he said, taking her elbow and leading her away from several curious onlookers. ‘We’ll go back to your place and have things out there.’
