THE REBEL AND THE RICH GIRL (11 page)

“I don’t believe this. I’m twenty-two, Dad, old enough to know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t think so. He works for Legal Aid. Did you know that?”

“Yes. He told me. But what’s that got to do with anything?”

“I should have looked further into his background. People don’t work for a government organization like that unless they can’t make it in private practice, which begs the question, what does he have to hide?”

“Philip has nothing to hide, and he likes what he does.”

“He likes pawing you too, and I want it to stop. He’s got no respect, no manners, and above all else not an ounce of class.” Nicole made to protest again, but her father went on. “Look, I can understand why you’d be taken with him. He’s a handsome devil, and no doubt can be charming when he wants to be, but I don’t trust him. He’s after something, but he won’t be getting it from us... I want you to stay away from him from now on.”

Nicole saw red, and it wasn’t the color of her hair. “You can’t make me,” she raged.

“But I can make things pretty damned difficult if you do.”

Nicole didn’t doubt he’d try. She almost hated him at that particular point in time, How dare he play God with her life? But when her father wanted things his way he could be a dangerous adversary. Now she understood the significance of Philip’s words when they’d first met. He’d known Peter would be against them forming a relationship from the start. Could the reason for him wanting it to remain merely a physical one be because he knew there was no hope for them? What man would want to wage a war against a prominent businessman simply to date his daughter? Particularly when the man was good-looking enough have any woman he wanted.

She should have known their liaison had been doomed from the start, but the regret she felt hurt far more than she ever thought it would. Nicole had come to feel something for Philip Pelayo, something more than desire, something so deep it touched the very core of her being.

Please let him still want me, she pleaded silently, as she turned abruptly away from her father. She didn’t want to listen to him anymore. All she wanted was to feel Philip’s strong arms around her, to see his golden brown eyes melting into her own as they did moments before he kissed her.

“Where are you going? I haven’t finished with you yet,” Peter bellowed.

“Well, I have,” she snapped back.

Suddenly there was a screech from above, followed by a loud thump.

“I told you the deck was wet,” a male voice reproved.

Nicole hurried top-side to see Trisha sprawled against the cabin, gripping her ankle. She moaned loudly, “God that hurts.”

Philip was beside her in an instant. “Let me have a look,” he commanded. “Can you move it?”

“Yes- yes- but it hurts- Owww!” she grimaced, as he proceeded to undo the strap of her sandal.

“What’s she done?” Peter asked. coming up behind Nicole. “That thump was loud enough to wake dead sea dogs.”

Nicole seethed. How dare he make light of the situation after the argument they’d just had.

“A bad sprain by the look of it. We had better get some ice onto it and have a doctor look at it,” Philip said without looking up.

“I’ll get it,” Jim offered, hurrying past Nicole and her father. The worried expression on his face was enough to confirm he’d grown quite fond of Trisha over the past few days.

Peter told Robert to hail a taxi. When they had one waiting, he urged Jim and Nicole to accompany her. Then he turned to Philip. “I want to talk to you.”

Philip glanced at Nicole. She stared back at him. This could be the last time she ever saw him, she thought sadly. She held no hope of a future for them. Her father would make sure of it. Philip smiled and blew her a kiss. Then he turned to follow Peter back to the yacht.

Nicole watched his departing back, feeling a sharp pain in her heart, as she realized she would probably never see him again. Any moment now her father would order him to stay away from her, possibly even threaten him. What man would want to take that kind of a risk?

It was a long wait for them at the doctor’s surgery. There were three people before Trisha, so it was close to an hour before she was called in.

“She’s been in there for ages. I sure hope Philip was right about it just being a sprain,” Jim remarked finally, breaking the endless silence between them. Nicole glanced up from the magazine article she’d been perusing.

“So do I,” she murmured.

“Even if it is, I doubt she’ll be able to go on your trip.”

Nicole hadn’t given their holiday an ounce of thought all afternoon, and wondered if she should just cancel it. It would mean her father would lose his money, which would serve him right, but then she’d miss out on seeing some of Australia’s most spectacular wilderness. Nicole wondered for a moment if he’d let her go on her own. She didn’t care if he objected. How dare he treat her like a child! She made her decision then and there. She’d go to spite him.

The surgery door opened, and Trisha emerged with a crutch under each arm and her ankle swathed in bandages.

“I’m going to have to get used to these,” she muttered, starting to make her way awkwardly across the waiting room floor. Jim got up to guide her into the seat beside his. “It’s a sprain all right, and bruised from where I hit it against the railing. He advised me to take plenty of pain killers and to stay off it for a least a week. I asked about the trip, Nicole, and he said under no circumstances was I to go traveling. I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted to do this.” Tears glistened in her eyes. Nicole knew they were probably more due to disappointment than pain.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided to go on my own,” she replied.

“But it wouldn’t be the same,” Trisha protested. “Do you think your father would let you?”

“I don’t care whether he does or not. I’m doing it anyway.” Now wasn’t the time to tell her about the argument they had over Philip. Trisha needed to rest, and the sooner they got her back to the hotel the better.

Nicole didn’t realize how tired she was until they arrived back at their room. When Trisha was lying on her bed with her foot up on several pillows, she decided to have a rest herself.

Unfortunately her mother wasn’t about to let her get out of the presentation dinner that evening. She suspected it was so she and Peter could keep an eye on her, to ensure she didn’t sneak off somewhere with Philip. She couldn’t understand why they were bothering to go.
Gail Warning
hadn’t secured a position.

She didn’t enjoy the dinner, and barely noticed the pomp and ceremony surrounding the prize-giving. Robert urged her to have a look at the trophies with him, which to her was the highlight of the evening, for they were spectacular works of art, some several feet tall. Of course, for such a prestigious race only the best would do.

After the presentations were over, her father came around to her side of the table and sat down beside her.

“So, did you get rid of him?” Nicole said sarcastically, once her brother was out of hearing range.

“That matter has been dealt with,” he replied tightly. “I have nothing further to say about it.”

“I take it that means he won’t be sailing back to Sydney with you.”

“I’m warning you, Nicole. Not another word. What I want to talk about is your holiday.”

“I know. You want to tell me I can’t go. I’ve already figured that out,” she snapped.

“Keep your voice down, I can’t see any other way around it. I asked your mother if she wanted to go, but we’ve both seen Tasmania, and –“

“Has it crossed you mind that I’m quite capable of driving around by myself. I do it in Sydney all the time, and Tasmania is safer then the mainland. Everyone says so.”

He stared at her for a moment. “How did I know you would say that? Why must you always fight your mother and I at every turn?”

“Has it ever occurred to you that it might be because I have my own life to lead, my own decisions to make. You might have managed to get rid of Philip, but I won’t let you ruin my holiday as well.”

Several people were watching them now, but Nicole didn’t care. She’d had enough. Abruptly she rose to her feet. “I’m going, and you can’t stop me. I’ll see you in Sydney when I get back.”

“Nicole!” he called after her.

She snuck a glance at him over her shoulder as she walked away. His eyes were bulging and his mouth hung open. No doubt he’d be pounding on her door once the function was over, but she was too angry to care. How dare he talk about Philip as though he was a ‘matter to be dealt with?’

She decided to find out what room he was in. The receptionist in the lobby told her, but when she rapped loudly on his door there was no answer. She had to see if there was any hope for them. Going away without knowing how he felt about her would be a torture she doubted she could endure, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it now, and reluctantly she headed for her own room.

Surprisingly her father didn’t come pounding on her door, and she finally fell into a restless sleep some time after midnight.

Nicole arrived at Philip’s door again early the next morning to find one of the housemaids cleaning the room. He can’t have already left, she thought in disbelief, but the proof was right there in front of her. He hadn’t cared about her after all. She shouldn’t really be surprised - but it still hurt. It hurt a lot.

The last thing she wanted to do was to home and continue living with her parents. Nicole made another decision as she walked sadly back to her own room. She
would
go on the tour, and the moment she got back to Sydney she’d move into a place of her own. It was long overdue.

Trisha was still in bed, but sitting up. She watched Nicole scurry around the room, throwing things into her travel bag.

“I’m glad you’re going ahead with it. If it means anything to you, I think your father behaved abominably,” her friend said empathically.

“Thanks Trish. I probably won’t enjoy it very much, but I really need to get away right now. One thing’s for sure. The moment I get back to Sydney I’m moving out.”

“Good for you. You could always come and live with Mum and I for a while. Now that I’m not studying anymore, the third room can be turned back into a bedroom.”

“Thanks. I’ll give it some thought while I’m away.” She bent to hug her friend.

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself,” Trisha called after her as she left the room. Nicole thought for a moment that she detected a strange, enigmatic note in her voice, but decided it was most likely her own anxiety getting the better of her. The last thing she wanted was to come across either of her parents and get into another argument.

She should have known her luck wouldn’t hold, because Peter was waiting for her in the lobby.

“You’ll have to physically stop me,” she asserted. “Right here in front of everybody, because I’ve made up my mind. I’m going.”

Peter sighed heavily. “I thought as much. No, I won’t try and stop you. There is only one thing I ask of you. I want you to leave your mobile on and ring your mother every night to tell her you’re all right. Promise me that much?”

She couldn’t believe it. He was letting her go. There wouldn’t be a scene, but of course that was something Peter Cameron would want to avoid at all costs.

“Yes, I’ll keep my phone charged and ring you,” she finally agreed.

“O.K. Be careful, and I’ll see you in a week.”

“Bye Dad.” She didn’t respond to his outstretched hands. There was no way she was hugging him after what he had done to Philip. Without a backward glance she left the building.

As they had arranged all their accommodation beforehand, Nicole was to stay in the city of Launceston on the first night. Once she left Hobart behind she began to enjoy the drive in the small hire car.

The countryside was lush and picturesque. Small yellow and white flowers dotted the roadside. Nicole passed through numerous townships, and stopped to take photographs, as well as browsing through a historical museum and several art galleries. She even treated herself to lunch at a country-style coffee shop in a sleepy little village the name of which she instantly forgot.

It was almost seven when she finally located her hotel. She contemplated buying something to eat at one of the take-away places she’d passed on the way, but wasn’t hungry enough to bother leaving her room again.

It felt strange being alone in an unfamiliar city. Nicole wasn’t afraid exactly, merely apprehensive. Ensuring the door was locked, she got ready for bed. There were two in the room; a double and a single. She decided on the larger, and changed into her night-shirt. Never having been one for filmy or enticing night attire, it was a rather chaste affair, but cool and comfortable.

After her lack of sleep the previous night due to her anxious tossing and turning, Nicole soon fell asleep.

The sound of insistent thumping woke her. When she opened her eyes she saw dusk had fallen, and, glancing at her travel clock, saw it was only nine-twenty.

Someone was knocking on her door, she realized. Wearily she slipped out of bed and trudged across the floor. She had unlocked and yanked the door open before realizing what she was doing. There could be an axe-wielding murderer on the other side, but when she peered around the edge she gasped out loud.

Standing there with hands thrust into pockets, wearing the tightest jeans, the trendiest black leather jacket, and the sexiest smile she’d ever seen, was the man of her dreams.

For a moment she merely gaped at him, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. He was the last person she had expected to come knocking on her door, but the only one she wanted to see.

“Surprised?” Philip mirrored her thoughts.

“Ho- how did you find me?” she stammered, suddenly conscious of the intimate way he was regarding her.