Free Just for Fun by Rosalind James Page B

needles.”
    “No worries. I know what diverts my own mind.” He smiled
down at her. “When I’m trying to forget something else. I reckon he may be the
same.”
    “Rugby will do it,” she agreed. “I think I’m going to duck
in for a moment myself. Will you wait for Zack?”
    “Course.”
    He’d been nervous too, Nic admitted to himself while he and
Zack waited in their turn for Emma. Nervous that she wasn’t going to turn up,
that she’d changed her mind, that he really was going to have to get that court
order. Whatever Claudia thought, he could see how torn Emma was by all this. He
reminded himself never to underestimate how fiercely she would fight to protect
her son.
     

Chapter 10
    “We should leave for Mum’s at about nine,” Claudia told
Nic on Saturday morning, moving briskly into the kitchen area where he sat
lingering over his toast at the breakfast bar. “I said nine-thirty, as you
wanted to do the morning.”
    She was ready to go, he saw. Already made-up, and dressed in
casual but snug crop pants that flattered her willowy, elegant figure. “Done
with this?” she asked, reaching for his plate.
    He held onto it. “In a minute. Geez, Claud, you could at
least let me finish first.” He took another sip of tea, looked out the
floor-to-ceiling windows at the terraced garden, the sun shining on the foliage
in the large square planters set around the spacious patio area. “It’s a gorgeous
day out. Want to bunk off here, run away to the beach with me?”
    “Mum’s expecting us,” she reminded him.
    “Maybe we could do it tomorrow,” he suggested.
    “That won’t work. You’ll be lying on the couch half the
day.”
    “Maybe she could come here. While I lie on the couch. Come
on,” he coaxed. “We could swim, fool around in the water. Find a quiet spot to
get up to a bit of no good.”
    “You have a game tonight.”
    “And I need to relax, get right for that. Long Bay in the
sunshine sounds perfect.”
    “It’ll be full of people,” she objected. “If I wanted to
watch Polynesians play rugby, I’d be coming tonight, wouldn’t I?”
    “Sorry,” she amended at his shocked expression. “It’s been a
long week. I’m getting a lot of pressure on the Fonterra deal. And all the
wedding details . . .” She trailed off. “I need to get the guest list sorted. I
need to tick this off the list, make some progress.”
    “If it’s really Zack you’re upset about, we should discuss
it,” he said. “We hardly got started, the other night.”
    “Nothing to discuss. Not till you get the results, and talk
to Oliver again. Are you going to get ready to go? We need to leave in fifteen
minutes.” She motioned at him, and he heard the click . “Get a move on,
Nic, or we’ll be late.”
    “Did you just snap your fingers?” he asked incredulously.
    Her defenses came up in a flash. “You’re being so slow. Finish your toast and get dressed, please. We need to go.”
    “Don’t snap your fingers at me,” he said quietly. “And don’t
talk to me like I’m a kid. I know you aren’t too happy with me just now, but I
hate that. Both things. Please don’t do them again.”
     
    He was looking out a different window an hour later, but still
wishing he were at the beach. Sitting in his future mother-in-law’s painfully
correct lounge, filled with the latest modern decorating trends, from the inevitable
black leather couches to the completely transparent Plexiglas coffee table.
    “I need at least eighteen more spots for clients,” Claudia
was saying. “I can’t see any way to cut this down. Nic, do you really have to
invite so many of your teammates?”
    “Yes,” he said briefly.
    “I understand you want your friends there,” Elizabeth,
Claudia’s mother, said in a tone that was obviously meant to be soothing, but
that set Nic’s teeth on edge. As if he were a recalcitrant child who needed
coaxing. “Maybe we could free up some spots if everyone didn’t bring