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Restlessly, he stared at his phone while an idea kept swirling around in his head. Finally, he smiled and reached for the instrument. There was a way to get one particular Sutherland away from Cape Town and regular family meetings. Their new hotel in London was supposed to be his next project, but he had enough to keep him busy over here.
It would be very good exposure for Zoe’s firm and, most importantly, she’d be in another country. By the time she returned, he’d be over this silly thing he had for her, and life would return to normal.
*
Zoe sat upin bed and touched her cheeks. They were wet. She switched on the light and got out of bed. It was still very early, but she was not going to sleep again. Not after the dream she’d just had.
Fed up with herself, she walked towards the kitchen. She was twenty-seven, for goodness’ sake. Surely she should be over the fact her father had left them when she was still in school.
She put on the kettle, got out the coffee. It was this business with Dale that probably triggered the whole thing again. It left her unsettled.
Why, after all this time, she still remembered the day her dad had left, she didn’t know. They had all been doing homework and he’d called them to come and say good-bye. At first she thought he was going on one of his many trips. But that particular time the suitcase was much bigger, and his smile hadn’t quite reached his eyes.
She didn’t remember what he said. But she did remember how she felt—that somehow if she’d been different, if she’d been better, he would not have left.
Her phone rang. It was Hannah. Smiling, she answered. “Hi, Sis, it’s so nice to hear from you! Where are you?”
“Still in New York,” Hannah said.
“You sound tired.”
“That I am,” Hannah said. “Oh, my goodness, Zoe, I’m sorry. I only now realized the time. It must still be very early on your side of the world and you were probably still sleeping after a date with… who is the new man in your life again? Stephen? Is that the right name? Or is it Bruce? Or is Bruce the guy you dumped earlier this year? You go through them so quickly, I’m never sure,” Hannah teased.
“It could have been Stephen, I’m not sure. I’m not with anyone at the moment.”
“Hmm, so he lasted two whole months, if I’m not mistaken. You ditched him again before he could ditch you?”
Zoe sighed. “He was getting annoying.”
Hannah was quiet for a few seconds. “You never date a guy long enough to let him do the ditching.”
“We know firsthand that men don’t stick around, don’t we?”
“That is unfortunately true. Just don’t forget that you’re a beautiful, smart woman. Any man would be lucky to have you.”
Zoe looked down at herself and smiled. “Thank you for saying that, although if you could see me now…” She giggled.
“Send me a picture. I miss sitting around in pyjamas with my sisters,” Hannah said. “Anyway, I’m phoning to congratulate you. Caitlin seems to be still dating Don Cavallo and she tells me you’re going to do the interior decorating for the Cavallos’ new hotel. The one they’re planning to build near the Kruger National Park.”
“Well, then Caitlin hasn’t spoken to her boyfriend today. I’ve declined the offer.”
“Why would you do that? This is a great opportunity for you, Zoe.”
“There is no way I can work with him. He is just too damn annoying, too overbearing, too bossy, too… male.”
“Well, if you put it like that…” Hannah said, giggling.
“I love what I do and I’m at the point in my business where I can decide with whom I want to work. And I definitely don’t want to work with Dale Cavallo. Ever. But please, let’s talk about something else. So, will you be home for Christmas? We haven’t seen you in ages.”
Hannah laughed. “I’ve never heard someone change the topic so quickly. But okay, yes, I’m coming home for a week over Christmas. I haven’t seen you guys since…” She trailed off.
Zoe grimaced. Damn it, they couldn’t talk about anything without mentioning the bloody Cavallos. “When we had to sit through a lunch with the Cavallos at their mother’s restaurant. We all had to be nice to them because Caitlin liked the oldest one.”
“Don’t remind me,” Hannah growled. “If Caitlin decides to keep Don, we’ll probably be forced to do that often.”
They talked for a few more minutes before Caitlin said good-bye. Frowning, Zoe put down the phone. She had to try and get away for a while. Hannah was right—between their mother and Rosa, the Cavallos’ mother, hardly a week went by without a get-together of the two families. And if she wanted to get Dale Cavallo out of her mind, she had to find a reason not to see him.
All her instincts were warning her not to get involved with him in any way. The one time in her life she’d ignored these voices, she’d been hurt. Well, okay, her pride had probably been more hurt than anything else, but still.
