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Would he want her to stay now he’d fallen prey to a momentary lapse of the senses? And now that he’d had to issue a warning that he wasn’t for her? Probably not.
So how, if she made the decision to leave rather than the agony of being pushed, could she do it?
It would be so much easier to do nothing, she thought unhappily. On the other hand, how was she going to cope with seeing him again, the memories of being kissed, the pain of that rejection?
But—I need three hands, she thought miserably. I can’t just abandon Nicky.
‘Alex,’ Mrs Mills said anxiously as she shook her awake very early the next morning, ‘Miss Spencer is here and I’m afraid she wants to take Nicky away with her. Stan is trying to track down Mr Goodwin in Brisbane but no one seems to be able to find him at the moment. Will you come and speak to her, please?’
Alex sat up and rubbed her knuckles across her eyes. ‘Say that again,’ she requested huskily and incredulously, then, ‘No, I got it, but—but what can I say to her? And there’s no way we can stop her. He’s her son.’
‘But don’t you think—’ Mrs Mills lowered her voice a notch ‘—that for Nicky’s sake, some negotiations, or whatever, need to be made between Miss Spencer and Mr Goodwin—and Nicky should at least be able to say goodbye to his father if that’s the way it’s going to be? He’s still asleep, by the way.’
Alex rubbed her face and combed her fingers through her hair. ‘Um—yes.’
‘And you are his personal assistant, aren’t you? Mr Goodwin’s.’
‘Yes.’
‘I’ve put her in the pink sitting room. I’ve persuaded her to let Nicky sleep. And I’m going down now to make some coffee for her, for you both. Please, Alex,’ Mrs Mills pleaded. ‘This is a very awkward situation for me!’
Alex sighed, then she hugged Mrs Mills quickly and pushed aside the bedclothes. ‘I’ll be down in a few minutes. I’ll just have a quick shower and get dressed.’
Cathy Spencer turned from the window as Alex entered the pink sit
ting room. Her eyes narrowed and hardened as they fell on Alex wearing jeans, a soft green track top and with her damp hair hastily tied back.
‘Personal Assistant, according to Mrs Mills,’ she said bitterly. ‘I should have expected it to be very personal, Miss—Hill, isn’t it?’
Alex stared at her. Cathy Spencer looked like a different person from the one she’d met in the penthouse foyer. Gone was the fire and the passion, gone also was the gloss. She looked tired and strained. Even her clothes were sombre, a black polo-neck sweater over indigo jeans, a buff trench coat and high-heeled boots. Her river of dark hair—it didn’t seem to possess the life it had had—was clasped at her neck.
‘Miss Spencer,’ she said and gazed at her levelly, ‘it’s not personal at all. And this—’ she gestured to take in the surroundings ‘—has only come about because Nicky took a completely unexpected shine to me after you left him with a father he’d never met.’
Alex stopped, then attempted to articulate her next thoughts. ‘Please believe me, I don’t—I know it’s not my place to make judgements so I’m simply stating the facts. And that is all there is to it.’
To her amazement, she saw Cathy Spencer put her hands to her face, and she saw tears dripping through her fingers.
‘Oh,’ Alex said. ‘Oh, please don’t—I didn’t mean to make you cry!’ She looked around a little desperately and spied the tray Mrs Mills must have delivered while she was showering. ‘Let’s—let’s have some coffee.’
Cathy took her hands from her face and sniffed. ‘Sorry,’ she said huskily and blew her nose, ‘but the reason I’m here is because my mother died yesterday.’
Alex looked horrified. ‘Oh, no! How? I thought the operation had been a success. Look, please sit down.’
Cathy sat after a moment’s hesitation. ‘It was a success but she had a heart attack out of the blue.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Alex took her a cup of coffee, then sat down opposite with her own. ‘I lost my own mother, and father, a few years ago, so I know what it’s like. I’m so sorry.’
‘Thank you. Nicky also loved her dearly and she was wonderful with him.’ She grimaced. ‘Better than I was, actually. She had so much patience. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. Of course, that’s not why I’m so sad.’
‘No,’ Alex agreed, and waited.
‘I feel guilty that I may not have let her know how much I loved and appreciated her. I feel terrible because she was too young. I can’t help wondering if she had some sort of presentiment and that’s why she insisted I must tell Max about Nicky.’
She stopped and shook her head. ‘She always said I should, but I don’t take kindly to people telling me what to do even when I know they’re right. Then a month or so ago she said she would if I didn’t—that’s what’s made me wonder if she had a premonition … But I don’t think anyone could understand how hard it was to do.’ She stopped helplessly. ‘Then I didn’t know how Max and I would react to each other and whether Nicky would sense it.’
She broke off and closed her eyes, then looked across at Alex. ‘How are Nicky and Max getting along?’
‘Pretty well.’
