Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

He nodded slowly, looking straight at her. ‘Maybe I’ll do that.’

A tiny bit of panic pulsed through her. It was easy to talk to him when there was a distance between them, but the thought of having him here, in her home town, was a different matter. ‘But in the meantime, let’s finish this letter up and get it off,’ Lucy said, back to business. She lifted her arm, deliberately twisting her wrist so he could see her checking her watch. ‘It’s getting late here and I’m going out tonight. And I’m sure you’re very busy too.’

‘Are you doing anything nice?’

She swallowed, her mouth dry. ‘Just dinner with some friends.’ She caught a glimpse of the Pollock again, a shaft of sunlight suddenly illuminating that corner of his office. In her mind’s eye she could picture him trawling art galleries, admiring the displays, pulling his black Amex out of his wallet…

It was just a flight of fancy. He had people to do that for him. Interior designers, decorators, assistants. He probably didn’t even know what the painting was worth.

‘Okay then,’ she said, picking the paper up again. ‘Let’s go through this line by line, and I can get it sent off tomorrow. Who knows, maybe it will be enough to make your brother rescind his claim.’

For the next couple of minutes she was all business, her voice firm, her eyes carefully trained on the paper in front of her, and not the man on her laptop screen. And when the meeting finished and they said goodbye, she felt her body relax for the first time since she’d accepted that damn call.

When it came to client relationships, there were lines you didn’t cross. But with Lachlan MacLeish it felt as if they were everywhere, and when she opened her mouth she was stepping far too close to the edge.

She needed to be more careful. Otherwise it was only a matter of time before she fell right into the abyss.

7

Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour

– Richard II

‘Hey, you made it.’ Jenn opened the door with a beaming smile.

Lachlan leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek, before passing her the bottle of Caymus Special Selection. ‘I wasn’t sure what to bring, I hope this is okay.’

‘A cheap bottle of Cabernet would have been fine,’ she told him, raising her eyes at the expensive bottle of red. ‘Anyway, would you like a glass?’ She inclined her head and Lachlan followed her into the small apartment she shared with Grant. The two of them had moved there shortly before their wedding. Part of a block in the East Village, it felt warm and homely, stuffed with photographs and books, plump cushions and soft throws.

‘That would be great. Thank you.’

‘How’s the exciting world of research?’ Lachlan asked as she grabbed a glass from the kitchen shelf.

‘As exciting as the world of finance, I expect.’

‘I didn’t hear the door,’ Grant said, walking out of the bedroom. His hair was wet, as though he’d recently showered. ‘Thanks for making it, man. I know things were crazy at the office.’

‘Grant said you were still in meetings when he left. Who schedules meetings for seven on Fridays?’ Jenn asked.

‘I do.’ Lachlan had the good grace to look embarrassed. ‘But it was an emergency.’

‘All sorted now, I hope,’ Jenn said, passing him a glass of the red wine he’d brought. ‘I want you to kick back and relax, not be talking shop all night.’

‘We don’t always talk shop,’ Grant protested, taking the glass his wife offered. ‘Sometimes we talk about football.’

‘And baseball, hockey, not to mention basketball,’ Jenn teased, kissing her husband tenderly on the cheek. ‘I’d just like us to have a nice meal without talking about Lachlan’s plans for world domination.’

‘Don’t worry, Pinky,’ Grant whispered to Lachlan, a grin splitting his face. ‘We’ll take over the world tomorrow. Tonight we’ll just eat cheese.’

‘Or sushi,’ Jenn said, raising her eyebrows. ‘I’ve been slaving over a hot stove ever since I got home.’

‘I thought sushi was raw,’ Lachlan said, confused.

‘It is. I was speaking figuratively. Now stop bothering me and go and sit at the table.’

‘Whatever you say, sweetness.’

Since he’d first met Jenn, almost seven years earlier, Lachlan had liked her no-nonsense attitude, and the way she didn’t take any shit from Grant – or from Lachlan, for that matter. But tonight she seemed a little more edgy than usual.