Nicola Marsh - Australia - Bundles of Joy

Yes, she’d finally admitted it. Despite being a realist with both feet firmly planted on the ground, despite all her silent protestations, and despite the fact that falling for a man like Lachlan would only end in heartache for them both, she was inches away from falling in love.

Women in love did stupid things. She’d seen it time and time again with her friends and office colleagues, not to mention first hand. Though, strangely enough, what she was about to do couldn’t be termed stupid. In fact, the tension between Lachlan and her had been building towards this since they’d first met. If she believed half the cosmic stuff Tahlia was into, she would almost say it was fated.

Taking a deep breath and tying her robe together, she ventured out of the bathroom. This was it. No backing down, no chickening out. No doubts about what he’d think of her body and whether she’d turn him on or not.

She wanted him and was determined to show him exactly how much. And if he was half the man she thought he was, despite his occasional insensitive comments, he’d accept her just the way she was.

‘Lachlan?’

The house seemed strangely silent. Dusk had fallen while she’d been soaking in the tub and no lights had been switched on yet.

‘In here.’ She heard a muffled reply and followed it into what she’d assumed was a third bedroom.

‘What are you up to now …?’ She trailed off as she opened the door and stepped into another fantasy.

‘Thought you might like a massage after your bath,’ he said, gesturing to the table set up in the middle of the room, covered in thick towels.

She stepped into the room, shaking her head in amazement. If she’d thought the bathroom had been impressive, it had nothing on this—a slow-burning fire, champagne on ice, lavender permeating the air from an oil-burner and soulful sax playing in the background. All in all, she could’ve spent a month in this room, as long as the man standing in the centre of it, with a proud grin on his handsome face, came with it.

‘If you’re trying to seduce me, you’re doing a good job.’ She smiled and crossed the room, standing on the opposite side of the massage table.

He shook his head. ‘This isn’t about seduction.’

‘Then what’s it about?’ Her heart thudded as he walked around the table and traced her cheek with the back of a finger.

‘I wanted to do something nice for you, to make you feel half as good as you’ve made me feel since I met you.’

‘But I haven’t done anything.’ She shook her head slightly, wondering if the prolonged soak had fogged up her brain as well as the bathroom mirrors.

‘You don’t need to.’ His hand dropped to her shoulder, where his fingers toyed with the collar of her robe, lightly skimming her heated skin beneath it. ‘You’ve made me happy just by being you. I haven’t dated in a while and have forgotten how special it can be with the right person.’

She stared at him, speechless. In all the years when her self-esteem had taken a beating, where had a guy like this been?

Correction, where had this guy been?

She’d been through the wringer with her weight issues, the accompanying hang-ups, the brush with an eating disorder that had ruined her chance at having children and the subsequent ramifications on her relationships with men since. Not to mention the hours of counselling that had left her questioning her own belief system rather than helping her overcome her problems.

And here, now, with just a few words, he’d made her feel whole again.

She blinked back the tears that had sprung into her eyes and reached up to twine her arms around his neck. ‘You know what I said earlier, about taking things slow?’

He slid his arms around her, the heat radiating off him warming her better than the slow-burning fire. ‘Yeah?’

‘I’ve changed my mind.’

And she set about showing him exactly how.

Keely floated into the office on Monday morning. She’d had the barest minimum of sleep for the entire weekend and didn’t care. She’d never felt so alive, so animated, as if she could take on the world and still have enough energy left over to tackle the solar system.

She had a pile of work to get through this week and, as she dumped her satchel and booted up her computer, all she could think about was Lachlan.

She would have to add one more criteria to her checklist for the perfect man: incredible lover.

If she’d thought his skill at kissing was impressive, it had nothing on his performance in the bedroom. And the lounge room. And the kitchen.

And if she’d thought massage was mainly used as a relaxation technique, she’d had to think again.

Scanning her e-mails quickly, she ignored the inter-office ones and opened Emma’s.

To: KeelyR@WWWDesigns.com

From: EmmaR@WWWDesigns.com

Subject: D&M

Hi Sweetie,

Got time for a D&M in the conference room?

Need a few details for Flirt website (and a few from your weekend away?)

C U in 10?

Em

Keely grinned. She knew her friends would be dying to hear the gossip from her weekend away with Lachlan and, despite the urge to keep them guessing, she fired off a quick reply.

To: EmmaR@WWWDesigns.com

From: KeelyR@WWWDesigns.com

Subject: Only 10?

Em,

Surprised you can wait 10 minutes.

Ideas for Flirt website coming along nicely.

Will bring my revamped work.

Have doughnuts and Macchiato at the ready.

C U soon.

K

Gathering up the Flirt file, she heard two beeps from her PC. The first e-mail was from Tahlia, reiterating what Emma had said and wanting ‘all the gory details’, the next from Lucy.

To: KeelyR@WWWDesigns.com

From: Lucy-PA@WWWDesigns.com

Subject: PM sucks!

K,

Took your advice, asked Aidan out for coffee.

Put the PM quiz to the test and he bombed, big time.

Wolf in sheep’s clothing doesn’t come close to describing him. How about ravenous wolf who devours his prey?

Dating is the pits.

How many men does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Three: one creep to screw in the bulb and two to listen to him brag about the screwing part. That sums up Aidan—Yeuk!

Luce (reformed dater)

Aidan a sleaze? Keely shook her head, hoping her lousy judgement in men didn’t extend to all facets of life. She could’ve sworn Aidan seemed like a nice guy, though appearances weren’t everything.

Feeling more than a tad responsible for urging Lucy to ask Aidan out, she typed a quick reply.

To: Lucy-PA@WWWDesigns.com

From: KeelyR@WWWDesigns.com

Subject: Forgetaboutit!

Luce,

Sorry Aidan the Ass turned out to be just that.

The solution? Get back out there. Your PM could be just around the corner.

Drinks, this Friday after work. Be there.

Let the search recommence …

K

Hoping that Lucy wasn’t too devastated about the Aidan fiasco, Keely headed out of her office, ready to face the music with her friends.

Several hours later, Keely sat in front of her PC and brought up the newest account that had just landed in her lap. Bountiful Babes promised to be a one-stop website for parents who needed the low-down on the joys of having children. Initially, she’d been reluctant to take it on—the fact that she loved kids and couldn’t have any rubbed in her face wasn’t good—but with the Rottie breathing down her neck she’d had no choice.

Besides, she’d sensed something else behind the Rottie’s urgency, almost as if they needed these new accounts to survive. Which was silly really, considering WWW Designs was one of the largest firms of its kind in the country.