Temporary Intrigue (18 page)

It took a second or two to register.

“Not the tape I just gave you?”

“Well – I thought I was erasing another tape.”

He dropped his head and whacked his palms against it.

“Hell!”
He looked up, his hands spread appealingly. “How could you – oh, never mind.” She looked stricken enough without him pointing out that, as a secretary, she was an accident waiting to happen.

“All right,” he said. “Don’t panic. I’ll do it again. No need to mention it to Gail. It won’t be exact but hopefully it will pass muster.”

She wavered in the doorway.

“Is there anything I can do?”

He resisted the obvious reply that she had already done more than enough.

“Just bring the dictaphone in before you go.”

She delivered the dictaphone, eyed him uneasily and retreated.

By the time he had thrown another tape together, Josh felt he’d had more than enough for one day. He stood, stretched and walked to the window. The weather had changed again, with dark clouds building up.

Strolling to the door, he looked at the deserted outer office where Dimity’s work station was now in apple pie order. He grinned, guessing how she achieved that small miracle.

Thank God she was a temp. Otherwise he’d have the horrible decision of whether to sack her, transfer her to another section or leave her where she was, to continue making his life more of a muddle than it should be.

He didn’t have to think too hard to know he’d take the third option and risk the consequences. Seeing her every day was becoming a necessity, even though she had turned his life into such an emotional rollercoaster he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a professional distance without calling for a straitjacket.

But when her stint finished . . . he felt a rush of anticipation at the thought. Sydney wasn’t a world away. There hadn’t been time for much planning ahead, but he knew for sure he didn’t want her to disappear from his life.

Even though her chaotic work methods seemed contagious. His own desk had far more clutter on it than he liked. Gail would soon be quoting the workplace safety rules to him as well as to Dimity.

He ran his fingers abstractedly through his hair and grimaced. There was enough work on that desk to keep him going for hours, but he felt a strong need to be out of there. A walk around the foreshore wouldn’t hurt.

He saw Dimity as soon as he left the building, waiting in the bus shelter across the road. A couple of young louts loitered nearby, eyeing her with interest.

Josh cursed under his breath. What had happened this time?

As soon as there was a break in the traffic he sprinted across the road. She looked up sharply as he approached, then gave a wan smile of recognition.

“Déjà vu,” he commented. “Why didn’t you say you needed a lift? I’ll run you home.”

“You don’t have to,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. Come on, it’s going to be a filthy night,” he added as a flurry of wind and rain hit.

She didn’t need any more persuasion to accompany him to the hotel car park but she seemed a little ill at ease as they started out, sitting stiffly beside him with her handbag on her lap and her hands clasped over it.

“Something wrong with your car again?” he queried when they stopped at a set of lights.

“Shane and Leigh needed it.”

The darkness hid the involuntary clenching of his fingers on the steering wheel, but he knew she couldn’t miss the exasperated click of his tongue.

“Pardon?”

Her voice was cool. Even frosty.

“Nothing. Insect hit the windscreen.”

He was rather pleased with his restraint.

She said little except to remind him when to turn, but he sensed her tension gradually easing. He was content to drive in silence, enjoying the delicate fragrance that seemed so much a part of her.

“Did you get the tape done again?” she asked at last.

“Sure. I left it on your desk. Clearly labelled.” He glanced over at her. “It’s programmed so anyone who even
thinks
about erasing it will self-destruct.”

Her eyes met his and she laughed.

“You’ll be glad to get rid of me.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He put his hand out suddenly to cover both of hers, savouring their warmth and softness. “I wouldn’t say that at all.”

At first her hands remained still and tense under his touch. Then they relaxed. One of her thumbs stroked tentatively, caressingly, across his wrist. He caught his breath and tightened his hand once, twice, before returning it reluctantly to the wheel.

After a pause she cleared her throat.

“Would you like to stay for dinner? Sandy will be there. You can catch up with her while I take Shane to work. He’s cooked a stir fry.”

He hesitated. It had been a full-on week and she looked as tired as he felt. He should probably try to arrange something with her for the weekend instead.

But the thought of spending time with her away from the office was too tempting. Stir fry sounded good, too.

“Count me in,” he said, easing to a stop in front of her home.

They found Shane and Leigh lounging in front of the television. Mugs and plates littered the coffee table.

“How did the job interview go?” asked Dimity, eyeing the mess.

“We weren’t up in time. I changed it to tomorrow morning. My car won’t be ready until Friday so I thought you could take me before work.” Shane muttered his reply before looking away from the television. Seeing Josh, he gave him a startled nod.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for work?” demanded Dimity.

“I don’t have to go.” Shane’s gaze was already back on the screen. “They made a mistake with the roster.”

“You could have let me know sooner,” snapped Dimity. “I came home specially to take you. I’m surprised you’re not in bed, Leigh,” she added. “I gather you were too sick to come and get me.”

Leigh gave an unconvincing snuffle.

“I don’t like driving your car. Your brakes need adjusting. I noticed them the other day.”

Dimity rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“You’re both getting paranoid about the cars.”

“If there’s something wrong with your car, you shouldn’t drive it,” Josh said to her.

Shane made an impatient gesture.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. Leigh used to work at a service station so she thinks she knows all about cars. She reckons you should only have to
look
at the brakes to make a car stop.”

Which wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility, thought Josh, glancing at Leigh’s sour face.

“I’ll check it tomorrow,” Shane told Dimity. “I did a mechanics course a couple of years ago, remember?”

So why not check the damn car today?
Once again, however, Josh managed to keep his thoughts to himself.

To escape Leigh’s glower, he wandered over to a small corner table.

“Is this your father?” he asked, picking up a photograph and glancing around at Dimity.

She came closer to look at it with him. Her arm brushed his sleeve. The light fragrance drifted around him again.

If they had been alone he would have lowered his head to hers, let his lips rest on the soft blonde head, turned her slowly towards him . . .

“That’s him, yes, with Shane, when Shane was eleven. They’re alike, aren’t they?”

Josh nodded. Despite the age difference between the man and boy, they both had the same attractive smile.

Like Dimity’s.

“This is my mum.” To his regret she moved away, but returned almost immediately with a picture of a sweet looking woman.

“You’ve got her mouth,” said Josh, studying it.

“Really?” She looked both pleased and surprised. “Nobody’s ever mentioned that.”

“Aren’t there any photos of you?”

“A few in albums somewhere. I was usually the one taking the picture.”

And cooking the meals, cleaning the house, and generally working yourself into the ground, thought Josh with a jaundiced look at the photo of Dimity’s father.

He glanced at her paintings on the wall and was struck again by the strength and confidence displayed in their colour and style. In a way, they conveyed the same atmosphere as her home: attractive, individual, uncluttered.

Not at all like her desk.

“Those paintings really should be on show. They’re too good to hide,” he said, thinking aloud.

Leigh made a gagging noise.

“Vomit stations, everyone,” she called.

Shane laughed loudly.

Dimity flushed and bent to replace the photo. Josh met Shane’s eyes. Shane endured his glare for a few seconds then, muttering something about feeding Bert, got up and made a quick exit.

He was back in less than thirty seconds.

“Um – Sandy’s arrived,” he said. “She saw Bert heading up the street. She’s gone after him.”

Dimity looked ready to throw something at him.

“He must have got out through that broken paling in the fence. I thought you were going to fix it today!”

“Forgot.”

She leapt past him.

“He’ll be killed! He’s got no road sense at all!”

“Drama queen,” muttered Shane, but he looked shamefaced.

Leigh gave a loud sigh and used the remote to turn up the television volume.

Josh had no desire to be alone with them. Maybe he could help with the dog hunt.

Almost in a reflex move he picked up the dirty mugs and plates and took them out to the kitchen. The room was deserted, the back door wide open.

He was stacking the dishes in the dishwasher when Leigh came in. She walked across the room to the open door, looked out, then turned back to Josh.

“You don’t like Shane, do you?” Her voice was loud.

The childish question irritated him. He slammed the dishwasher shut and looked at her. His voice was as loud as hers.

“Maybe it’s none of my business, but if I saw my brother treating any of my sisters the way Shane treats Dimity, I’d give him a boot in his lazy backside and tell him to get out and learn something about giving rather than taking.”

Leigh glanced past him and smirked.

Josh swung round. Shane, flushed and indignant, was standing behind him. At the same time, there was a scuffling at the kitchen door. Dimity and Sandra appeared, hauling Bert between them.

One look at Dimity’s face as she straightened up showed Josh she had heard what he said. If her earlier mood had been frosty, now it was more like sub-zero. Thermal clothing would have been a comfort.