Temporary Intrigue (22 page)

She pocketed it and Josh shepherded them all downstairs, where a taxi waited for the annoyed Malcolm.

In Dimity’s car, they put Amanda in the front passenger seat from where, almost asleep, she directed Josh to her home. He made sure she was safely inside, returning to the car as Dimity was getting out to move to the front seat.

He caught her coat lapels, pulled her towards him and kissed her lightly.

“Want to make me a coffee when we get to your place?” His lips moved to her neck and followed a trail from her ear lobe back across to her throat. His arms went around her. Dimity leaned into him, relishing the pressure of his chest against her breasts.

“I want to talk to you,” he added into her ear.

Her heartbeat, already racing, went up another notch. She wasn’t sure she was ready for this.

Seeming to sense her sudden tension he looked down at her and tilted her chin up with his finger and thumb.

“We’re only going to talk. You don’t have to make any decisions.”

He bent his head and took her lower lip between his, nibbling on it gently but with growing, rhythmic intensity until she gasped and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

“Yet,” he added, pulling her close before releasing her.

They were silent for a while on the way to Dimity’s home. She nestled her head against the back of her seat so she could watch Josh sideways as he drove through the rain that had begun to spatter down. The slug of gin was certainly having its effect, she thought, trying to stifle a yawn.

“I think Malcolm gave me his drink by mistake and spiked Amanda’s,” she murmured drowsily.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Getting engaged hasn’t slowed him down from what I’ve heard.”

Dimity woke up and sat up.

“He’s engaged? Who on earth would want to marry Malcolm?”

Her incredulity seemed to please Josh.

“Who knows? Apparently she’s quite a bit older than him but her family’s very rich. Malcolm doesn’t want to lose her – or at least her money – but he also doesn’t want to stop philandering.”

The rain became heavier as he turned off the highway.

“She can’t be the girl I saw him with. That’s why he wanted me to keep quiet about her,” Dimity surmised.

Josh threw her a frowning look.

“Is that what you were talking about on the balcony? Was he annoying you?”

She hesitated, then told him about Malcolm’s brunette girlfriend and Shane’s job.

“That’s blackmail!”

“He was drunk,” Dimity pointed out. “And it wasn’t really blackmail, because I told him I didn’t care whether Shane kept the job or not.”

“How do you think Shane will get on with Malcolm?”
“I don’t know.” Dimity sighed. “It’s Shane’s business. He can work it out for himself.”

“I’m sure he will.” Josh took her hand. She squeezed his fingers then released them as they turned into the downhill stretch that led towards her street.

The car suddenly gathered speed.

“This is pretty steep, remember,” she said.

Frowning in apparent concentration, he didn’t answer.

They were descending far too quickly.

Through the rain sheeting against the windscreen Dimity could see the T-intersection rushing towards them.

“Josh!”

“No brakes.” His voice was grim but calm. “Hold on.”

The car hurtled downwards. The brick house facing them from across the road at the bottom of the descent seemed only metres away.

Josh reached for the handbrake.

Dimity pressed her knuckles to her mouth, then screamed as a pair of headlights suddenly appeared out of the darkness on their left, blazing towards them.

As they shot rapidly and dangerously across the wet intersection, with the oncoming vehicle’s horn blaring in fury, Josh somehow managed to direct the car onto the reserve beside the brick house. At the same time he pulled as evenly as he could on the handbrake. The car bounced across the ground for several metres before coming to a bone-jolting stop.

Josh didn’t know whether he reached for Dimity or vice versa but suddenly they were locked together, each holding the other so tightly it seemed they would never let go.

And that was absolutely fine with him.

The certainty hovered somewhere on the edge of his consciousness while the horror of the past few minutes slowly receded. This was exactly where he wanted her to stay, held close in his arms, safe from . . .

Safe from what?

The question and its possible answer, also floating somewhere in his mind, were lost as Dimity’s head finally stirred against his shoulder.

“That was some ride,” she whispered.

“Hey, you should see me when I really get started.” He kissed her ear and rocked her gently, murmuring more inanities until he judged their respective blood pressures had returned to something like normal. Then he released one arm, activated his mobile and punched a number.

“Who are you calling?” Dimity watched him curiously.

“Taxi.” He made the call, saying they would wait on the road at the intersection.

“Can you make it to the corner?” He grinned at her. “Or should I sling you over my shoulder like a caveman?”

“Mmm.” She appeared to consider the idea with interest before rejecting it. “We could have walked across the reserve to my place. It’s not far from here as the crow flies.”

“I think we’re entitled to indulge. Besides, I’ll need a taxi from your place. Come on, we’ll lock the car up and leave it here. Tomorrow I’ll get it towed to the garage that looks after the hotel’s cars.”

He kept his arm supportively around her while they walked to the corner under the shelter of the umbrella Dimity had thrown in the car when leaving home.

“I think Leigh might be right,” she said. “I should get those brakes checked.”

“Whatever gave you that idea? Apart from the fact my foot was almost through the floorboards–” His arm tightened as she stumbled.

The taxi arrived within minutes. In the back seat he wrapped his arms around her again, his cheek against her head during the short ride.

“I still want to talk to you about a couple of things,” he said softly when they were almost there.

“Why not come in? I’ll make you that coffee.” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

“You’ve had enough excitement for one night.” He grinned in response to her barely audible chuckle. “I’ll call you in the morning to make sure you’re okay.”

When the taxi stopped he asked the driver to wait, and walked to the door with her. There were lights on in the house and he could hear Shane and Leigh squabbling. For once, he was glad to know they were there.

“I’d forgotten I’ll be running my workshop at the community centre tomorrow,” Dimity said suddenly. “What if I call you during the day?”

“How will you get there with your car out of action?”

She grimaced.

“Hadn’t thought of that. I’ll throw myself on Leigh’s mercy.”

“There’ll be nothing to catch you. What time do you want to leave? I’ll take you.”

She tried to protest but he overrode her. She didn’t really have much time to object because as soon as they arranged a time, he cut off any more talk with a long kiss from which they both surfaced breathless.

“Hurry up before I change my mind and stay,” he told her huskily. She closed the front door with a lingering look that would have had him sending the taxi away without him if he hadn’t known the others were there.

He was relieved in the morning to see she had apparently suffered no ill effects from the night’s misadventures. She had several large boxes of painting supplies ready for the workshop as well as her two watercolours from the living room, which she planned to use to illustrate a lesson on technique.

“I called the garage,” Josh said, loading the boxes into the back of the car while Dimity slid the paintings under the passenger seat. “They said they’d get your car around this time. I was going to drop the key in later, but if someone’s there when we go past we can give it to them now.”

“Good thinking.”

Josh headed back to the spot where the car had come to such an ignominious standstill the previous night. They arrived at the same time as a tow truck, driven by a pleasant-looking young man in blue overalls.

“I’m Dave,” he said, when they introduced themselves. “You spoke to me earlier,” he added to Josh. “Looks like you had a lucky escape.”

“Tell me about it.” Josh grimaced, remembering the wild plunge. “It seemed to be the brakes, but you’ll check it all over, won’t you?”

“Sure will.” Dave accepted the key and wrote down Dimity’s mobile number. “I’ll get in touch as soon as we know what the trouble is,” he said. “But that probably won’t be until Tuesday.”

They left him attaching a tow chain to the car and drove to the community centre. It was only a few streets from Dimity’s home, a sprawling brick building in a spacious yard landscaped with native trees and shrubs. A brushwood fence surrounded the complex.

Other tutors were already setting up for weekend workshops. Josh helped Dimity lug the supplies to the room allocated to her, a sunny area with windows looking onto the yard. Several noisy children in the eight to ten years range had already taken possession of the large work tables, while their parents waited to hand over lunch boxes and meet the teacher before escaping.

“I’ve heard the hardest part of rearing children is knowing when to let them go, but they don’t seem to have a problem.” Amused, Josh watched the rapid departure of the adults then eyed the children, who impressed him as ominously hyperactive. “Can you handle this lot?”

“Absolutely. We’ll have a ball.”

Dimity was looking at various art works on the wall.

“I won’t bother bringing my paintings in after all. These will do.”

“It’s a pity not to let them see your work,” protested Josh.

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, with the quick smile that never failed to set his blood pounding.

After watching her settle the children and start them working on a painting task until the latecomers arrived, he could see her confidence was well-justified.

“Want to join in?” she asked with a wicked grin, noticing he had stationed himself at a safe distance while the fledgling artists daubed their paper with all the colours of the rainbow.

“No way. They’d laugh at me. As an artist I make a good marketing director.” He looked around the room, where more children were arriving. “How on earth are you going to keep them occupied for two days?”

“Easy.” Eyes sparkling in anticipation, Dimity rattled off the programme of activities.

“So well organised.” He shook his head admiringly.

“I know.” She chuckled. “As a secretary I make a good teacher.”

Their eyes met in an intimate smile, then she gave an annoyed exclamation.

“Shane made some muffins for the kids for their morning tea. I forgot to bring them.”

“I’ll go and get them,” offered Josh.