The Trouble with Valentine’s (14 page)

N
ICK, JOHN AND KAI
returned just on two-thirty that afternoon. ‘We’re almost there,’ said Nick when Hallie dragged him into the garden to get the low-down on what had transpired throughout the day. ‘The lawyers are going through finalising the contracts tomorrow. All we have to do then is sign them.’

‘And you’re happy with the deal?’ she asked him.

‘It’s a little less than I was hoping for in some respects, a little more in others. I think John feels the same way.’ Nick shot her a weary smile. ‘I have a new appreciation for haggling as an art form but in the end we got there. It’s a fair deal. We both stand to make a lot of money.’

‘What about coming clean?’

‘Soon.’

‘When? Because I’m here all day with Jasmine, Nick. And I really like her and if ever there was a person who needed a friend …’

‘Softie,’ said Nick. ‘If it’s any defence for the mess I got myself into last time I was here, I thought that too.’

Hallie ran her palm along a fragrant, waxy-leaf hedge. ‘I like everyone here, Nick. I like John Tey and Kai, and in spite of the fact that you were the one who got me into this mess, I also like you. I’m in
like
and the being married to you lie is doing my head in.’

‘You planning to bail on me, Hallie?’ He looked good standing half in shadow and half framed by light.

‘No. But I’m struggling. Dirty conscience and all. Not that I’m harping.’

‘You are so harping.’

‘Wife,’ said Hallie by way of explanation. ‘Surely there are perks?’

‘What did you do today?’ Nick asked next.

‘We bought a ball gown for Jasmine.’

‘Should I be afraid?’

‘No, you’re not paying for it, luckily. Kai’s the one who should be afraid.’

‘Why Kai?’

‘Because Jasmine cares for him and she wants
his attention and she’s a very beautiful and thoughtful girl.’

‘He’s her bodyguard.’

‘Bonus points for him.’

‘Is this your doing?’ Nick asked suspiciously.

‘You give me far too much credit.’

‘I’m really not sure what to give you.’

‘Reassurance that everything is going to turn out just fine would be good. Because I need it.’ She really did. ‘Too Cinderella?’

‘Have you ever considered a future in computer game development?’ Nick asked with a wry grin as he drew her into his arms and let her rest there. ‘Because, seriously. Xia’s not nearly as interesting as you.’

‘Xia’s your fighter girl, right? The one with the—’

‘That’s the one,’ said Nick. ‘She could use your input.’

‘Geek.’

‘Guilty,’ he said. ‘When was I not?’

‘Oh, when you were charming and funny and convinced me that pretending to be your wife was a good idea. And there was
nothing
geeky about your performance the other morning in bed.’

‘Geeks are very thorough,’ he said with an engaging grin. ‘That performance was pure geek.’

‘And what was
my
performance?’

‘Memorable,’ he said with a sigh. ‘You want to know what I was thinking about during a heated discussion of clause thirty-six paragraph two today?’

‘Virgins?’

‘You. Who is now
not
a virgin. Because of me.’

‘Are you still on that guilt trip?’

‘Yes.’

‘It was a gift given freely, Nick. Let it go. And
don’t
try and give me more money.’

‘Got it. I am
still
sorry for that confusion. I will be forever haunted by that confusion.’

‘Truly, Nick. We’re good.’ But Nick still looked conflicted, and his eyes looked tired. ‘Why don’t you go upstairs and rest for a while? Take a nap.’

‘I would but the bed upstairs holds a few too many memories of you in it. I won’t rest if I go up there and I sure as hell won’t sleep.’

‘Are you flirting with me?’

‘Nope.’ He eyed her darkly and then looked away, looked out on that glorious view, and ran a hand through his hair. ‘And even if I am, I’m not.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Feel like coming into the city with me? Just you and me? Take a break from being here?’

‘Absolutely,’ said Hallie. ‘We can relax for a
while. Be tourists instead of fake man and wife. I can be me. You can be you. Press the pause button and get away from the game for a while. I do hope Xia and Shang have a pause button, by the way. Preferably connected to the online ordering options for the nearest food delivery service. I’m thinking that feature would win you many friends. Am I talking geeky enough for you?’

‘Keep talking,’ he murmured with a curve to his lips that Hallie found arresting. ‘It’s not geek-speak exactly, but I like it.’

Twenty minutes later they were standing on a chaotic sidewalk in downtown Hong Kong, Kai having dropped them off and Nick having assured him that they’d catch a taxi back. He was tired, he was irritable, and denying his fierce sexual attraction to Hallie really wasn’t working for him, but there was no denying that the suggestion they take a break was a good one.

‘Where to first?’ he asked, because in this he could indulge her. Whatever Hallie wanted to do this afternoon, he was of a mind to make it happen.

‘I have no fixed plans,’ she said, standing stock still on the busy Hong Kong sidewalk and staring up at the neon signs that flashed all around them.
‘Except if I see something we can get for Jasmine as a thank you for having us gift – at which point the plan is to get you to buy it for her.’

‘Do you have anything particular in mind?’

‘I’m sure I’ll know it when I see it,’ she said blithely.

Nick groaned. This was bad. This was going to take forever.

‘I am open to suggestions,’ she added.

There was a God.

‘Perfume,’ he said firmly, not two minutes later as they stood at a department store perfume counter. ‘We’ll get her some perfume.’

‘Predictable,’ said Hallie with a sigh.

‘Reliable,’ he corrected, and, staring at the dazzling selection of perfumes on offer, ‘You choose.’

‘I’ll have to smell them first and find the one that fits Jasmine best. Of course, I already know what half of them smell like so it shouldn’t take too long.’

Maybe perfume hadn’t been such a fast and easy solution to the gift-buying problem after all, thought Nick gloomily as Hallie picked up a nearby tester bottle and sniffed.

‘This one’s too overpowering. Jasmine’s far more delicate than that,’ she said with a grimace, hastily returning the bottle to the counter and picking
up another. ‘And this one’s too old-fashioned.’ She moved along the counter to the next cluster of little glass bottles, plucked one from the middle and handed it to him. ‘Try this one.’

He took it, sniffed it. ‘Nice.’ But Hallie rejected it.

‘It is nice, but it’s all top note, there’s no depth. It’s too chaste. Jasmine’s a woman not a girl.’

‘Maybe she could wear it in one of her more girlish moments,’ he suggested, and stifled a sigh at Hallie’s measured, ‘No’. This was going to take forever.

The next one was nice too. Hell, they were all nice but according to Hallie they just weren’t right. And then Hallie pointed towards a small vial high on a shelf and the salesgirl obligingly got it down for her. She lifted the stopper, took a deep sniff of the perfume and sighed happily. ‘This is it,’ she said. ‘This is Jasmine.’

Nick took it and smelled it. Nice. Why it was Jasmine and the others weren’t was beyond him but if Hallie was satisfied, so was he. ‘I see what you mean,’ he said, with a nod for good measure.

‘Liar!’ Her laughter was warm and spontaneous, a reflection of the woman. ‘Tell me why I chose it.’

‘Er, whim?’ Her eyes narrowed and her chin came up. He still loved that look.

‘I’ve just given you some huge hints on how to buy perfume for a woman. Huge! You could have at least paid attention.’

‘I did pay attention.’

‘Alrighty then.’ Her hands went to her hips. ‘Choose one for me.’

Nick stared at Hallie, stared at the perfumes, all two hundred odd bottles of the stuff, and nearly broke out in a cold sweat. ‘I could use a hint,’ he said.

Hallie moved down the counter again, to yet another cluster of bottles, her hand hovering over one particular bottle before finally picking it up. ‘Here. This is one my mother used to wear; it brings back some wonderful memories of her. It’s warm, elegant, beautiful. I love it, but I don’t wear it.’

‘You call that a hint?’

‘Big one.’ Her voice was grave but her eyes were laughing.

Nick sighed heavily, took the perfume her mother used to wear out of her hand and sniffed. He knew that smell, loved it of old for Clea wore it too. It wasn’t Hallie, she was right. But it was close.

He attacked the problem systematically; working his way through the entire cluster of perfumes in front of him and rejecting all but three bottles. He took his time with these, undecided, before making his final choice and handing it to her. ‘This one.’

‘Are you sure?’ she teased. ‘How do you know? Because I swear your nose went on strike ten bottles ago.’

‘Smell it,’ he urged.

She took a deep sniff. It had some of the same ingredients as her mother’s perfume, the same warmth in the base, but it was different too. More exotic and youthful. More vibrant.

‘Well?’ he asked gruffly.

‘I like it.’

‘How much do you like it?’

‘A lot.’

The approval in Hallie’s smile made Nick’s heart stutter. ‘Promise me you’ll wear it for me to the ball.’

‘You are bad news,’ she said as a shop assistant hovered in the background. Hallie held up the chosen perfumes for both her and Jasmine and the assistant ducked behind the counter to get them. ‘Smooth as silk one minute and sweet as Friday’s child the next.’

‘It’s a gift.’

‘It’s a weapon. Your mother should have warned me. Now I’m going to choose a fragrance for you.’

‘Don’t!’ he said hurriedly. ‘What if we clash? Besides, I already have perfume back at the Teys’. He had antiperspirant deodorant in his toiletries bag. Close enough. ‘Walk with me through the alleyways for half an hour. That’s all I want. Let me show you the Hong Kong I like best.’

She could do that.

Hallie loved doing just that, because it was here that she found what had been missing in the spotless airport and glittering department stores; here she found the hawker stalls and the food carts; the scent of yesteryear and the bustle of an exotic, vibrant culture.

This
was the Hong Kong Nick liked best? She should have guessed. Nick would always seek out the real, it was part of his charm.

What kind of woman would he choose when he finally
did
take a wife? Hallie wondered. Would she laugh with him and delight in the boy beneath the man? Would she be worldly and elegant? An asset to his business interests? Would he choose a
real
corporate wife? Hallie was so preoccupied with her thoughts she almost fell over Nick as he knelt down to examine a tiny street urchin’s meagre
fake watch selection that had been lined up with military precision on a dirty scrap of towel.

‘Cartier,’ he said, grinning up at her. ‘Bargain. You want one?’

Dammit, she knew this would happen. She was falling for him, heart over fist. ‘That one,’ she said, pointing towards a plain-faced gold watch in the middle of the row. ‘Does it work?’

‘The hands are moving. That’s always a good sign,’ he said as he handed over enough money to buy ten fake watches and waved away the change. ‘Where to now?’ he said, handing her the watch.

‘There’s a rollercoaster,’ she said, and watched Nick’s smile break out. ‘At Ocean Park. I read about it in your guidebook.’

‘Too far away for today. But I could definitely make it happen before we go.’

‘In that case, how about we find a bar with a view and just sit and watch the world turn for a while? I’ve already shopped today. I’m all shopped out.’

‘I know of a bar or two with a view,’ he said.

‘I do love a knowledgeable man.’

‘Are you flirting again?’

‘Not at all. I’m speaking. There’s a difference.’

‘You may have to point it out,’ he murmured, his attention fixed on the cars whooshing past them at
speed. ‘Because my body’s having trouble picking the difference.’

‘Can your brain pick the difference?’

‘My brain’s enchanted either way. I think it’s karma coming back to bite me for thinking this plan was ever likely to work in the first place.’

They were standing beside a busy road and a free taxi was heading their way in the centre lane. Nick saw it about the same time as she did and stepped to the side of the pavement and raised his hand. The taxi swerved abruptly and shoehorned itself into the side lane to the accompaniment of blaring horns and rude gestures.

‘I think he’s seen us,’ said Nick.

‘Yeah, but do we want to get in a car with him?’ she muttered. The taxi wasn’t slowing down. If anything, it was speeding up. ‘He’s not stopping,’ she said and stepped back from the kerb just as someone stumbled into Nick from behind, pushing him onto the road.

‘Nick!’

It all happened in a screaming blur. She lunged for his shirt, caught the very edge of it and heaved him backwards with all her strength as the taxi sped past, mere millimetres from the gutter. There was nothing to break her fall as they tumbled back in a heap, her elbow connecting painfully with the
cement, her head hitting it moments later, followed by Nick’s big body pushing every last ounce of breath from hers as he landed on top of her. Then he was on his hands and knees beside her and she was seeing double, triple even. Either that or the entire population of Hong Kong was staring down at her.

‘Hallie. Hallie! Can you hear me?’

Nick’s face loomed above her, a familiar face against a sea of oriental ones and she clung to it as a shipwrecked sailor clung to a beacon. ‘He wasn’t going to stop,’ she whispered.

‘No. He wasn’t.’ Nick looked almost as shaken as she felt as his hands carefully brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. ‘How do you feel? Where do you hurt?’

‘I scraped my elbow,’ she said. ‘I hit my head.’

‘How many fingers am I holding up?’

‘None. Your hands are in my hair.’