Switching Places (Escape Into Romance) (4 page)

"Angela…"

"Please don't." She took a shaky breath. She had been so stupid. Falling for a guy she barely knew. She should have listened to Jill. At least then she would never have offered to meet her online crush and never would have found out he wasn't real.

But he was real. Kind of. He was standing right there. He just wasn't the man she had met online. That had been his son. And then, when they had really met, he had tried to trick her. She was confused, and she felt somehow violated.

She felt Matthew put a hand on her shoulder. For just a moment she let his warm strength comfort her. But then she moved away. She couldn't let this happen. "I think I'd like to go back to my hotel now Matthew."

He swallowed back the lump in his throat. He figured that would happen. "I understand. Let me get my keys and I'll take you."

"I can call a taxi."

"No, really. It's fine. Let me take you. It's the least I can do." He tried a smile. "You know, after making such a great dinner for you, and all."

She didn't smile. And he didn't think that was a good sign.

Angela wanted to smile at his little attempt at humor. He was so cute, and he really was trying to do the right thing. But she just needed to get out of here. "Okay. I'll wait for you here."

Matthew went off to get his keys and Angela returned to staring out the window.

"Angela?" She turned to find Cody standing there, nervously wringing his hands. "Hey. Can I…can I talk to you?"

"Cody, now is really not the time."

He nodded. He looked so much like his father, and so serious. "I understand. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I heard my dad tell you what I did. I never meant to trick you, or to switch places with my father like I did. It was just that you were so great, you know? Online, I mean. I didn't want to lose that friendship you and I had."

"But Cody, it was a friendship based on a lie. You lied to me."

She thought he might cry. "I did. I know. And I'm sorry. So, so sorry. Look. I know that you're disappointed but I wanted you to know, all that stuff I said about me? It was about my dad. And my dad likes you. I can tell. I just wanted to ask you to give him a chance."

"Cody, it doesn't work that way. It's not…not that simple."

He nodded again, then flashed her a smile that was an exact copy of the one his dad had. Without another word he turned and walked away.

"Got the keys. Let's get you back." Matthew saw Cody leaving the room as he came in and wondered what he had just missed.

Matthew drove past the University of Sydney on King Street. Angela had been giving him directions to her hotel along the way but mostly she had been watching out the window, silently taking in the city scenery.

"I can't believe you've never been to Sydney." He watched her from the corner of his eye. This would be so much easier if she wasn't so damned pretty.

She shrugged now. "I never had a reason to come here. Turns out that I really didn't have a reason now, either. I can't get the story my boss wants. And the guy I came here to meet…well, that turned out to be your son."

Matthew didn't know what to say to that. It didn't seem like there was anything he could say.

"About the only reason I would have to come to Sydney anyway would have been to catch a Rugby game."

Matthew twisted his head to stare at her. "You're a Rugby fan?"

"Yes. I do love watching a good footy game. Like when the Wallabies pulled it out over the All Blacks in the…"

"…Greatest game of rugby ever played!" Matthew couldn't believe it. Everyone knew about that game but to find a woman like Angela who was into the sport like he was. Wow.

Angela saw the way his eyes lit up when she mentioned rugby. "Of course I only care for it with the Australian rules."

"That's the only way to play it." He was grinning from ear to ear. "Did you see the game televised? Did you see that final try?"

"I wish I could have seen it at the Stadium."

"I did."

She stared at him, trying to see if he was teasing her. "You did not."

"Yes I did. It was incredible. You know the national team drew England in the pool."

They talked about the game for the next twenty minutes or so and got so caught up in it that Angela didn't even realize they were nowhere near her hotel.

When she finally did notice the look of panic on her face made him realize that he probably should have said something sooner about what he had planned. He had just been so caught up in talking to her. It was like they were old friends and comfortable with each other in every way.

"Don't worry Angela, I'm just taking you to see a friend of mine. He knows about the black market dealings in the computer industry. Your story. The story you came to get? I thought you would like some help with it."

Angela relaxed a little once he explained what he was doing. But still. Could she trust him? Maybe she could. He was a rugby fan after all. Just like Cody had told her.

She thought back on all the things that Cody had told her about his life in their chats. All of it had been about his dad. His dad's likes, his dad's interests. Rugby was a part of it. But there were a lot of other things that they had talked about that had made her, well, interested in him. Were all of those true too?

Matthew drove them to a very nondescript apartment building of red bricks in a row of buildings just like it. Angela wasn't sure what to make of the place. It was clean and well maintained but at the same time had that slightly abandoned feel to it that so many low-income housing units had. They went up to an apartment on the fourth floor and Matthew knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" a man's rough voice called to them from inside.

"Jakers, open up. It's Matthew."

When the door opened to them an older man with a thick gray beard was standing there. He squinted at Angela a moment before smiling up at Matthew. "Well, don't just stand there my old friend. Get on in here."

On the way to her hotel again Angela flipped through her notes. She couldn't believe everything she had just been told. She had more than enough here for her story. And she never would have gotten this without Matthew.

"How do you know Jakers?"

Matthew changed lanes before he answered her. "He taught me everything I know about this business. Whatever wealth and success I have today I owe to Jakers."

"That man? He looked like he was dirt poor."

"Don't let appearances fool you. Jakers is a multi-millionaire. He just doesn't like to flaunt it."

Don't trust appearances he said to her. She studied Matthew's face as he drove. His appearance was one thing. But she was finding out that what Matthew had on the inside was just as fantastic. He was kind, and caring, and honest. Everything she had hoped to find when she came here to Sydney looking to meet him.

"I can't believe you did that for me. I never could have gotten all that on my own. I mean this stuff is amazing. I can write a whole series of articles with this."

"You are welcome. Just remember, you have to leave Jakers' name out of it. He values his anonymity." Matthew seemed so serious when he said it. She saw the resemblance between father and son again.

"I could probably just stick with his real name and he would be safer. Who would believe the man's name is really Jakers?"

"You really care about him, don't you? Jakers, I mean."

"Sure. He's a friend. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for a friend."

She digested that. "I am the same way. I value my friends."

Matthew nodded. "I could tell you were a good-hearted person."

They drove in silence after that. Angela tried to keep her mind on the article she needed to write and structuring the paragraphs and data and all of that. But she kept finding herself thinking about Matthew. The scent of his cologne, earthy and spiced, drifted over to her. Some very intriguing thoughts filled her head and she purposefully read through her notes again just for something to do.

It wasn't long before he had brought her to her hotel. Her boss had put her up at one of the nicer hotels in Sydney, close by the Computer Expo, and as it turned out close to where Matthew lived. When he parked in the lot she put her hand out to the door but then hesitated before getting out.

"I want to thank you again, Matthew. You've been wonderful. Really."

Matthew smirked and leaned back in his seat. She saw the way his chest and arms filled out his shirt. His smile sparked in his eyes.

He saw the way Angela was looking at him. He supposed he was looking at her the same way. He wished again that he could have met this woman under circumstances that weren't a lie. "I don't think I did that much for you, but you're welcome."

"You've helped me a lot actually. And I was pretty rude to you back at your apartment."

"You had a reason to. You were here because of a lie. Thanks to my son."

"Please stop that."

Matthew wasn't sure he had understood her. He was staring into her eyes and couldn't help himself. "Stop what?"

"Being so gracious. You are making it really hard to walk away from you."

The air buzzed between them with electrical current. Angela figured if she blinked she could actually be able to see it. But she had to make a decision here. And she should use her head and she should be smart about it and she should play it safe.

She just didn't want to.

Matthew saw Angela start to lean into him. He knew that he should be a gentleman and tell her goodnight and leave it at that. He knew that he should use his head.

Instead, as she leaned into him he felt his body move closer to hers. Her eyes flicked to his lips and back to his eyes several times making it very clear what she intended to do. Her mouth parted and he could feel her breath on his face as they closed the distance between them.

Her lips were soft and shy against his. Her hand gently touched his cheek. It was a magic, fragile moment, and Matthew was afraid to breathe in case he shattered it to pieces. He dared to press his lips against hers a little harder and was rewarded by Angela doing the same. He realized he was holding his breath and had to make his body relax. He eased into her touch as he gave himself completely into what they both wanted.

Angela knew there was no turning back now. She had opened up to this man, this glorious man who had turned out to be everything she had expected.

They stayed that way for longer than either of them realized. A tap at his window brought Matthew's attention back to the here and now. An employee of the hotel stood there, clearly embarrassed. "You need to move your car, sir."

"Oh, yes, sure. Sorry." He put the car into drive but looked over to Angela before moving. "We could take a drive around the city, you know? You haven't seen it yet and there's a lot you would love here, I know you would."

Angela smiled as a warm feeling settled around her heart. She nodded to Matthew, smiling as she leaned back in her seat again. Matthew drove them back out onto the street. She watched him, her lips still tingling where his tongue had gently tasted her. There were a lot of things in Sydney she could love. Maybe even starting with Matthew.

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Strongly influenced by authors like James Patterson, Dick Francis, and Nora Roberts, Kathrine Emrick is an up and coming talent in the writing world. She is a new Kindle author/publisher and brings a variety of experiences and observations to her writing.

Based in Australia, Kathrine has wanted to be an author for the majority of her life and can always be found jotting down daily notes in a journal. Like many authors, she loves to be surrounded by books and is a voracious reader.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at the local library.

Her goal is to become a best selling author, regularly producing noteworthy content and engaging in a community of readers and writers.

To find out more please visit the Kathrine's website at
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