scared stiff of me, that’s the truth. You’re scared stiff of what I can make you feel and what I can make you do. Come Friday night, you will tell me you love me. Right there, in that office. Even if I have to smack your bare bottom to get you to say it. And that’s a promise!’
Jessie was speechless, her heart pounding at the images he evoked. And the feelings. This couldn’t be love, she told herself. This was just lust. He’d totally corrupted her last night.
‘That’s not love,’ she whispered shakily.
‘What is it, then?’
‘It’s torture.’
‘Aye, it’s that too, till you surrender to it. I’ve surrendered to my feelings for you. So when are you going to do the same? No, don’t answer that. I can be patient. Just remember I’m never going to let you go, Jessie Denton. You are mine. So get used to it.’
TEN o’clock Monday morning saw Kane sitting at Harry’s desk, feeling quite satisfied with the way his relationship with Jessie was going. Yesterday, he’d proved to her that they didn’t have to be making mad, passionate love to enjoy each other’s company. He’d also showed her—at least he hoped he had—that he had the makings of a good father for Emily.
On the Saturday, he’d bought a child car seat so there’d be no objections to his driving them out to the rural outskirts of Sydney on the Sunday. After an hour’s investigation on the internet, he’d found a horse-riding establishment that catered for children, and had other entertainment as well. Bouncy castles and the like.
Emily had enjoyed herself enormously, although by the time they arrived back home around six o’clock, she’d been very tired and a little out of sorts. She hadn’t eaten much of the take-away pizzas Jessie had allowed him to buy this time, which Jessie said wasn’t like her at all.
Kane had insisted on taking Emily’s temperature—he’d heard horror stories of children coming down with meningitis lately—but her temperature proved to be normal. Jessie had said she was probably over-tired. They’d done a lot that day. After a bath, Kane had read Emily a story till she dropped off.
Afterwards, even though Jessie had let him stay, Kane had made no attempt to make love to her. He’d watched the Sunday-night movie with her—a Harrison Ford action thriller which could bear reviewing—and chatted about various topics during the ads. Books. Movies. Music. Kane had discovered she had a wide taste and knowledge of all three, which didn’t really surprise him. She was a smart cookie. He’d known that from the first moment he looked into her eyes. She had intelligent eyes.
Although he’d been dying to make love to her, Kane had contented himself with a goodnight kiss. He suspected Jessie wouldn’t have objected too much if he had seduced her, but he hadn’t wanted to take the chance. She always seemed so quick to believe the worst of him.
By Friday, however, he wouldn’t be capable of being so noble. He wouldn’t be waiting till the party finished, either. Hell, no. Kane shuddered over the thought of how long this week would prove to be.
When the phone rang, he reached forward and snatched it up.
‘Kane Marshall.’
‘Kane, I have a problem.’
Kane snapped forward in his chair. It was Jessie, sounding worried.
‘What is it? I thought you were here, at work.’
‘I am. The day-care centre has just rung me. Emily has come down with conjunctivitis. Apparently, one of the other children had it on Friday. Anyway, because it’s so contagious, they want me to go and pick her up.’
‘That’s fine, Jessie. You go. No problem. I’ll square it with Michele.’
‘That’s just it. Michele’s not here. She had an appointment with her obstetrician this morning, and she’s relying on me to do this magazine layout by the time she gets back. I would really hate to let her down, Kane. I’ve tried to ring Dora but she’s out, too. Lord knows where. She’s usually home on a Monday. I can leave Emily at the centre but they’ll put her in a room on her own. It’s a kind of quarantine rule they have. They did this to her once before when I was working at the restaurant and she got very upset. She thought she was being punished. I…’
‘I’ll go get her, Jessie,’ Kane immediately offered. ‘Just ring them and let them know who I am and that you’re giving me permission to pick Emily up. I’ll take her to the doctor, too. Get her some drops for her eyes.’
‘Would you, Kane? Would you really?’
Kane was amazed at the surprise in her voice. ‘Yes, of course. It would be my pleasure. Poor Emily. There’s nothing worse than having sore eyes. Does she have a regular doctor you take her to?’
‘Not exactly. I always go to a nearby twenty-four-hour clinic. They bulk bill, but you have to be seen by whatever doctors are on call that day.’
Privately Kane resolved that little arrangement would change, once he was responsible for Jessie and Emily. And he aimed to be, one day. Still, that clinic would do for today.
‘Right. I’ll come and get her medicare card from you. Jot down the address of the clinic and I’ll be on my way.’
Kane jumped to his feet and reached for his suit jacket straight away. It could only have been thirty seconds before he’d made it to Jessie’s desk, where he was stunned to find her with tears running down her face.
‘Jessie. Darling. What’s up?’ he said as he hunched down beside her chair. ‘Why are you crying?’
She could not seem to speak, just buried her face in her hands.
‘Jessie, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.’ He took her hands in his and lifted them to his lips.
She stared at him through soggy lashes. ‘I’ve never known anyone like you,’ she choked out. ‘You can’t be real.’
Relief zoomed through Kane, as well as the most ego-boosting pleasure. She wasn’t unhappy. She was actually complimenting him with her tears.
But how sad that she would feel disbelief that a man would do something nice for her and her daughter.
‘I’m real, all right,’ he said with a soft smile. ‘Just ask my mum. Now, stop being a silly billy, give me what I came for, then get back to work. You don’t want everyone saying I hired a nincompoop just because I fancied her, do you?’
He liked it when a smile broke through her tears. God, but she was beautiful when she smiled. Her eyes glittered and her whole face came alive.
‘We couldn’t have that, could we?’ she said, dashing the tears away with her fingers.
‘Absolutely not.’
‘OK. Here’s the medicare card and the clinic’s address. Now, what are you going to do with Emily after you’ve been to the doctor? They didn’t say she was actually sick, but perhaps she should go home. I could give you the keys to the granny flat if you wouldn’t mind staying with her. There’s plenty of food in the fridge and the cupboards. She usually has a sleep after lunch. If she gets bored or stroppy, she likes to watch videos. She has a whole pile of them in the cabinet under the TV.’
‘Sounds good to me. I’ll give you a call when I get there, and I’ll wait with her till you come home.’
‘I don’t know what to say, Kane,’ she said as she drew her keys out of her handbag. ‘Are you sure you can manage? I mean…you haven’t much experience looking after kids on your own.’
‘I happen to be an extremely devoted uncle, so you’re wrong there. What do you think I did on Saturday night when you wouldn’t let me come over? I minded