LITMIR.BIZ

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ringing broke the compelling eye contact and it took a few seconds for Nat to realise it wasn’t the lift emergency phone but her mobile.

      She pulled it out of her pocket. ‘Huh, look at that,’ she mused. ‘Good reception. Go figure.’ She looked at the number on the screen and gave an inward groan. Great timing.

      It was difficult for Alessandro not to eavesdrop. It was impossible to even pretend he wasn’t. There was him and her in a tiny metal box, not much light and nothing else to do. He did try to feign disinterest, pulling his pager out and deleting the build-up of stored messages, but it was obvious she was having problems with her lease.

      When Nat pushed the ‘end’ button on her phone with a grimace he said, ‘Problemo?’

      Nat sighed and stuffed the phone back in her pocket. ‘You could say that.’

      ‘Sounds like you’re having trouble with your landlord.’

      Nat gave a derisive snort. ‘That’s an understatement. I’ve been given two weeks to move out.’

      Alessandro dropped both of his legs, stretching them out in front as he crossed his arms across his chest. ‘Let me guess. You have lots of loud parties and are behind on your rent?’

      Nat, aware that his legs were a good deal closer now, flicked him a funny ha-ha look. The fact that he was even attempting humour wasn’t enough to lift her out of the doldrums.

      Where the hell was she going to go? ‘The owners want to move back in.’

      ‘Can they do that?’

      Nat shrugged. ‘The lease is up.’

      ‘Ah.’

      She sighed. ‘Yes. Ah.’

      ‘Have you thought of buying? It’s a buyers’ market at the moment with the world economic situation and interest rates being at an all-time low. I bought my place in Paddington for a very good price.’

      ‘I have bought a place. A unit not far from St Auburn’s. I bought it off the plan. It was supposed to be finished two months ago but with all that winter rain we had it’s behind schedule.’

      ‘Ah.’

      Nat’s legs were starting to cramp in her cross-legged position so she also stretched her legs out, her modest uniform riding up a little and revealing two very welldefined kneecaps and a hint of thigh. ‘I only took a sixmonth lease because the project manager assured me the project would be on time. Damn man is as slippery as an oily snake.’

      Alessandro’s gaze dropped to the narrow strip of thigh visible between her knees and hemline before he realised what he was doing. He dragged his attention back to her frowning face. ‘Do you not have a man, a husband or boyfriend, who can deal with these things for you?’

      If she hadn’t already been annoyed at the world—heat wave, broken lift, difficult landlord—Nat might have laughed at his typical Italian male assumptions. But unfortunately for Alessandro, she was.

      ‘I don’t need a man to deal with stuff for me,’ she said sharply.

      Frankly she was sick of men. It was because of a bloody man she was in this pickle to start with. Eternal spinsterhood was looking like a damn fine alternative these days. Although the presence of a six-foot-nine Neanderthal next time she visited her half-complete unit did hold some appeal.

      Alessandro held up his hands in surrender, not wanting to get into a debate about gender roles with her already looking like she was spoiling for a fight. Things were different these days, which was a good thing. And this wasn’t Italy. Besides, they might well need to preserve oxygen.

      ‘Have you not got family here you can stay with?’

      She shook her head. ‘All my family live in Perth. In WesternAustralia. I’ve only been in Brisbane for six months.’

      ‘You are a long way from home, Nathalie.’

      His voice was low and it slithered across the floor of the lift like a serpent, inching up her leg, under her skirt, gliding across her belly and undulating up her spine, stroking every hot spot in between. She was one giant goose-bump in three seconds flat.

      The ease with which he accomplished it was shocking but she was damned if she was going to let her body do the talking. She raised an eyebrow, going for sardonic. ‘I’m a long way from home?’

      He chuckled. Well deflected. ‘Touché.’ There were a few moments of silence as they both contemplated the floor. Alessandro had the feeling there was more to the Nat Davies story. He checked his watch. Ten minutes. How much longer?

      It seemed stupid to sit in silence.

      ‘So why did you leave Perth? Was there a reason or did you have a crashing desire to see Queensland?’

      Nat gave a nonchalant shrug. ‘I had a fancy to see the sun rise over the ocean.’

      Alessandro smiled at her flippant reply. He was pretty sure it ran deeper than that. It took one damaged soul to recognise another. ‘I get the feeling there may have been a man involved?’

      Nat contemplated another snappy quip but she’d never been able to pull flippant off for very long. ‘There was.’

      ‘What happened?’

      Nat repeated her earlier eyebrow rise. ‘I think this is where I tell you it’s none of your business, isn’t it?’

      Alessandro nodded his head, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘I do believe so, yes.’ He shrugged. ‘Just trying to pass the time.’

      Nat regarded him for a few moments. Why did she feel so compelled to talk to him? One look at him and she lost her mind. She didn’t bother to point out they could pass it just as easily by talking about his stuff because frankly she was tired of listening to men talk about women who used to share their lives.

      ‘It became…untenable.’ She waited for the barb in her chest to twist again, like it always did when she thought about Rob and their crazy crowded relationship. Her, him and his ex-wife.

      Curiously it didn’t.

      Alessandro nodded. So they were both running away…

      ‘So I left. I didn’t plan to leave Perth but then I hadn’t planned on it being so hard to still move in the same circles.’

      She glanced at him, wondering what he was thinking, wondering if he empathised. Was that why he’d moved to the other side of the world? To escape the memories that were there, waiting around every corner? ‘When the property settlement came through I just…left. Took my half and relocated.’

      Alessandro nodded. ‘That took courage.’ He knew how hard it was to up sticks.

      ‘Yeah, well, it doesn’t seem so brave now, does it?’

      Alessandro crossed one outstretched leg over the other at the ankles. ‘Do you have a plan B?’

      ‘The rental market in Brisbane is tight. I only need a couple of months but no one’s going to be keen to rent to me for such a short time.’

      Alessandro nodded. He’d tried to get a short-term lease so he didn’t have to rush into buying but there’d been nothing available and he’d taken the plunge and bought instead.

      ‘I don’t really know anyone well enough to crash with them for long periods of time, apart from Paige who I went to school with in Perth. She works in Audiology and part time in the operating theatres at St Auburn’s. I stayed with her for a couple of weeks when I first arrived but her husband walked out over two years ago and she has a three-year-old with high needs. I can’t impose on them again.’ She shrugged. ‘The short answer is, I don’t know. But something will show up. It’ll work out, it always does.’

      As soon as the words were out the lights flickered on in the lift and the air-conditioning whirred to life. Nat laughed. ‘See?’

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