Second Time Around (20 page)

Staring at the bottles lined up on her dresser, Halley didn’t know which one to choose. Although she was familiar with the names of most of them she hadn’t tried using any because her pregnancy had made her more sensitive to scents and she had found them overwhelming. Maybe she should just test them all out on her arm to ensure she selected the one she liked best.

Halley picked up the first one and sprayed it on the inside of her wrist. Giving it a tentative sniff she decided it was okay but she thought she could do better. She grabbed the next bottle and sprayed the inside of her other wrist.

By the time she reached the fifth bottle she was running out of places to test out the perfume without the scents of earlier tests interfering. Her nose now also seemed to be struggling to find much difference between them.

With the sleeves of her dressing gown sporting different scents, Halley picked up the seventh and final bottle.
Where to put it?

She aimed the bottle at her cleavage then changed her mind. It was too close to other perfumes she had already tried out. She would have to go lower; an ankle maybe. Halley laughed to herself. Who sprayed perfume on their ankles?

A thought came to her and feeling a little adventurous, Halley parted her dressing gown and sprayed a puff of perfume under her nightgown. It felt cold and as she set the bottle back on her dresser she bent over to see if she could smell it on her nightgown. Liking the scent, she straightened up to read the label on the bottle and felt a headache coming on.

Knowing it was due to too much perfume she went into the bathroom and started washing where she’d sprayed her skin. As the smell of perfume dissipated her headache eased a little but to ensure it went away completely she went back downstairs to get some paracetamol out of the medicine container in the kitchen. As she tossed them back with a glass of water her eye caught the time on the stove clock. She frowned. Alec was now late.

Thinking to phone him she went to closest handset but found the phone missing from its cradle. After a short search she found the phone on the floor by the couch. It had been left switched on and Halley guessed that Cassie had somehow got hold of it and had been playing with it.

With a sigh she returned the phone to the cradle to recharge and retrieved her cell phone. Alec had left her a message to say that he had tried to ring but the phone was always engaged and that his flight had been delayed so he expected to be home a couple of hours later.

Feeling a little disgruntled at the delay, Halley returned to Alec’s room. Two hours was longer than she thought she could stay awake for but she would do her best. She climbed into bed and started flipping through a magazine. As she sat there the combined scent of the perfumes began to overwhelm her so she unknotted the belt of her dressing gown and dumped it on the floor.

Halley felt instantly better but now began to feel chilled without the warmth of the dressing gown over her skimpy nightgown. She snuggled down under the covers, tugged the pillow under her head then returned her attention to the magazine, telling herself that it would be a while before Alec got home.

She came across an advertisement for mood lighting and it occurred to her that if she switched off the overhead light Alec wouldn’t be able to see her stretch marks. Halley crawled off the bed, turned off the light then returned to her spot.

Light from the hall spilled over the foot of the bed but she found it wasn’t bright enough to read by. She edged over to Alec’s side of the bed and turned on his bed light then spent some time angling it so the light would reach the magazine without shining in her eyes.

Finally satisfied, Halley returned to her spot and snuggled back under the covers. She was tired, cosy and warm and a few pages later… asleep.

Alec was relieved to be back after what had seemed an endless week. He had phoned every evening to say goodnight to the children and to speak with Halley but he hadn’t had the opportunity tonight because the phone had always been engaged. He knew that Halley had been to the doctor for her check-up today and wanted to know how her appointment had gone.

The house felt warm and welcoming after the brisk chill of the night air and he gladly shook off his coat when he reached the lounge.  The scent of whatever Halley had made for dinner lingered in the room along with the familiar scent of chocolate lava pudding. His stomach rumbled. Not liking the limited range of airport food on offer, he had gone without dinner and was now ravenous.

He followed the teasing scents to the spotless kitchen where he was pleased to discover a plate and a bowl covered with tin foil waiting for him. Halley spoiled him and he knew he would never take her for granted. When he had returned from the odd business trip during his first marriage he had usually been greeted with a few days of stony silence.

Miranda hadn’t liked him returning without gifts and had never seemed to understand that his trips were so packed with meetings he didn’t get the opportunity to get near any retail shops. Once he had bought her a cute stuffed koala at an airport gift shop and she had thrown it back at him because she had wanted an expensive charm to add to the bracelet her parents had bought her. Having to work extra hours to be able to afford Miranda’s extravagant spending as it was, Alec hadn’t bothered trying after that.

Once his dinner had been microwaved Alec ate at the breakfast bar and reviewed how well the trip had gone. No matter how he looked at it, the best part had been when Miranda’s father, his ex-boss, had turned up and offered to buy him and Rufus out. JB Recruitment’s reputation had preceded their presence in Melbourne and Miranda’s father had enough clients not wanting to renew contracts hiring exclusively through his company to worry about it.

He and Rufus had found it incredibly satisfying to tell him they weren’t interested.

After enjoying the chocolate lava pudding Alec cleaned up. He couldn’t get over how thoughtful it was of Halley to save some for him. He would like to thank her but a glance at the clock told him that it would be unlikely she would be up since she was in the habit of going to bed shortly after the children to compensate for getting up during the night to feed Lily. His appreciation would have to wait until morning.

As he climbed the stairs Alec wished that Halley was awake. He wanted to tell her how well the trip had gone and how much he had enjoyed showing his insufferable ex-father-in-law the door. He also wanted to know whether he would be able to finally make love to her. The past six weeks of foreplay had been slowly driving him insane.

Not wanting to disturb the children, he headed straight for his room but froze in the doorway at the sight that greeted him.

Alec swallowed, barely daring to believe his eyes.

Halley slept in his bed facing him like an x-rated Goldilocks; the bed light shining on lush cleavage barely confined by the skimpy lace bodice of her nightgown.

Coming to his senses, Alec realised that the doctor’s appointment must have gone well. He smiled. Widely. He listened to the silence for a moment then shut the door behind him. And locked it.

There were several magazines on the bed beside her and Alec brushed them onto the floor in his eagerness to finally enjoy his belated wedding night. He sat heavily on the end of the bed and enthusiastically stripped off his shoes, socks and shirt then turned to her.

“Halley?” he whispered.

She didn’t stir.

He reached out to touch her shoulder then thought better of it. It was going to be their first time together and he ought to clean himself up first.

Not wanting to waste a moment Alec quickly stripped off his remaining clothes and scrambled for the shower. Afterwards he hurriedly brushed his teeth and shaved. In his haste he cut himself a few times and had to tear off little pieces of toilet paper to blot the blood.

When he returned to the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his hips Alec recalled the little pieces of toilet paper stuck to his face. He pulled them off and dabbed at the spots with his finger which came away clean.

He was ready.

“Halley,” Alec crooned as he whipped the towel off, not bothering to see where it landed. He was a man on a mission and nothing was going to distract him from his goal.

Halley murmured something but her eyes did not open.

Alec pulled back the covers and slid into the bed. The sheets were cold on his side and he didn’t hesitate to sidle up against Halley. He turned on his side to face her and the glorious sight of her cleavage was thrown into shadow. It didn’t matter, he decided. He had a great memory.

Alec reached out and traced his finger against her cheek. Halley sighed and her eyes opened. She blinked.

“You’re home,” she said softly, a smile lighting up her face.

That was all the invitation he needed. He leaned forward and kissed her.

The next morning Alec readied the children for school with a spring in his step. After last night’s activity he should be worn out but he felt strangely rejuvenated. Halley on the other hand was worn out so he had wheeled Lily’s bassinette into their room and told her he’d take care of the others.

After dropping the children at school he returned home with Cassie in his arms pulling at his tie to find Halley making pancakes for breakfast. He set Cassie on the floor in front of a set of plastic stacker rings and left her to it.

“It’s not the weekend,” he remarked as he took a seat at the breakfast bar where he could keep an eye on Cassie.

“It’s a special occasion.” Halley set a plate in front of him then placed various toppings on the ledge separating the breakfast bar from the kitchen bench. She gave him a shy smile which he returned and as he ate Alec couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

“I told Leonora I’d be in a bit late today,” he said when Halley brought Lily in her bouncinette around to where he was then sat down beside him. He swivelled his seat to face her. “Would you believe she laughed and said about time?”

Alec gave his head a weary shake.

“It’s a sad day when your PA has no respect for you,” he complained mildly then added “She also asked if you were coming in today because she’s keen to have lunch with you.”

Halley thought of the all the housework she had planned to do and the lost time commuting to Sydney and back so she would be home in time to collect the children from school. Then she thought of sitting in the car with Alec for the ride in and smiled brightly.

“I would love to have lunch with Leonora as long as that won’t be an inconvenience.”

He leaned forward and gave her a maple syrup flavoured kiss.

“You could never be an inconvenience.”

An hour and a half later, Alec wrestled a pushchair through the door leading to his office with one hand while carrying Lily in her baby capsule in the other. Halley trailed behind them picking up toys that Cassie had tossed out on the way. The moment Alec set Lily down she woke and started crying.

“It’s time for her feed.” Halley dropped the toys on the edge of his desk and freed Lily from the harness.

“Take my chair. It’s the most comfortable one in the room.” Alec gave her a quick kiss. “While you’re doing that I’ll go look for my PA.”

He decided to try Rufus’ office first. Alec tapped the door lightly and let himself in to find Rufus leaning over Leonora who was sitting on the desk with her legs wrapped around his hips. Considering that their lips were locked together and one of Rufus’ hands was inside her blouse Alec decided they’d settled their differences.

“Ah geez,” he muttered and pulled the door shut.

Less than a minute later Leonora came scurrying out. She saw Alec and stopped in her tracks.

“The Succubus called in earlier to see you and said she’d be back,” she informed him in a professional tone as she tugged her skirt down. After seeing how Miranda had treated Alec and Em, Leonora had no interest in calling that woman by name.

Alec just looked at Leonora, barely registering the term she had used to identify his ex-wife as it was one of her politer ones. He absently took in the fact that her hair was a bluish shade of blonde today.

“We were having a meeting,” Leonora added pertly as she surreptitiously checked that her buttons were in the correct buttonholes with her fingers.

“Is that what it’s called now?” Alec said dryly and Leonora’s face reddened. Then he took pity on his personal assistant who up until that moment had always shown sound judgement. “Halley’s in my office feeding Lily. When she’s finished why don’t you two go and have an early lunch?”

Leonora forgot her embarrassment as she checked the time then smiled with satisfaction.

“That would be perfect.”

She strolled over to her desk and sat down. When Alec realised that she had no intention of explaining why the time should matter he shrugged and re-entered Rufus’ office.

“Don’t say it,” Rufus warned.

“Say what?” Alec asked mildly as he closed the door behind him.

Rufus dropped onto the edge of his desk where Leonora had been sitting minutes before and crossed his arms defensively.

“You’re going to tell me to not enter personal relationships with staff; keep it in my pants etcetera.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything of the sort,” Alec said. “Leonora knows what you’re like so she’s hardly blind to your faults. If you two have decided that you want to be more than friends, good luck to you I say. Just don’t carry on like you were in my office. I have to work in there.”

Rufus stood up and grabbed Alec by the shoulders playfully.

“Where’s Alec? What have you done with my stressed, workaholic, play-by-the-book friend?” he joked.

Alec brushed his arms away.

“I’m not that bad, am I?”

Rufus considered the question.

“No but you were heading that way,” he admitted. He dropped back onto the desk and casually examined Alec. “You look far more relaxed today than usual. Now why is that?”

Alec cleared his throat.

“I won’t be for much longer if we don’t get any work done.”

Rufus laughed.

* * *

“Where’s the fire?” Halley half demanded as she struggled to keep up with Leonora who was steering Cassie across the park at high speed. She adjusted her grip on Lily’s baby capsule which was becoming increasingly heavy with every step she took.

Leonora stopped and looked back at her.

“Was I going too quickly for you?” she asked innocently as Halley caught up. “I hadn’t realised.” She gave a shrug. “I guess I must naturally walk fast.”

Halley set the baby capsule on the ground and shook out her arm to relieve the ache.

“Are we nearly there yet?” she asked.

“We haven’t got too much further to go,” Leonora assured her. She eyed Lily sitting in her capsule gazing up at a squishy toy clipped to the hood. “Tell you what. If I carry Lily she’ll slow me down.”

She picked up the capsule and set off again, leaving Halley to push Cassie along.

“Where did you say we were going for lunch?” Halley asked as she caught up to Leonora again.

“It’s close by,” Leonora hedged. “I just can’t recall which side of the park it was on.” Leonora scanned the park as they walked then smiled with relief. “Here we go. This way,” she said briskly then turned onto a smaller path that bisected the one they were on.

They had only taken several steps when Leonora recognised a woman carrying boutique shopping bags in one hand heading towards them.

“Oh no,” Leonora muttered. “Don’t recognise me, don’t recognise me,” she chanted under her breath as she slowed her pace.

Halley glanced at her friend with concern then looked around to see who Leonora was referring to. She seemed to be studiously not looking at a slim blonde dressed in an expensive looking crimson dress and matching high heels who was heading in their direction.

“Leonora?”

Leonora swore under her breath and stopped walking as the woman reached them.

“I thought it was you,” the woman said with satisfaction. “Tell me, has Alec turned up for work yet?”

“I already explained to you that he was out at a meeting,” Leonora lied coolly. “I don’t know if he’s back yet.”

The woman started tapping the rim of one her purchases with her forefinger, the sound drawing Halley’s eyes to her perfect manicure. Halley tucked her fingers around the push chair handle so that they couldn’t be seen, feeling very frumpy in front of the elegant creature in front of them. The beautiful manicure she’d had for her wedding was long since gone and she was wearing her maternity pants because she was still unable to zip up her regular jeans.

The woman looked displeased with Leonora’s answer as she turned her attention to Halley then perused her appearance from head to toe. Halley fought the urge to take out her pony tail and suck in her stomach. It was too late to do anything without being obvious.

“I know you,” the woman said decisively, her eyes lingering on the rings on Halley’s left hand before returning to her face. “You’re Alec’s new wife.”

There was an element of glee in her voice and Halley decided right there that she didn’t like this woman.

“Halley, this is Miranda,” Leonora said quickly, hoping to move on without a scene like they’d had back at work. Miranda had got past the reception desk and had sat herself in Alec’s office. It had taken Rufus to move her. Leonora’s thanks afterwards had just turned into something more when Alec had walked in on them.

After Leonora made the introduction Miranda’s eyes briefly assessed Cassie and Lily’s faces while Halley looked on.

“Neither of them look much like Alec,” Miranda said with a sniff. “And having two of them so close together…” She shook her head then returned her gaze to Halley. “You’ll never get your figure back.” Her voice oozed with false sympathy.

Halley shot a look to Leonora that asked ‘can you believe how rude this woman is?’ but her friend’s attention was elsewhere. Following Leonora’s gaze Halley noticed a small crowd further down the footpath. One person ducked around the group with an impressive looking camera and she decided that a couple must be having their wedding photos taken.

Just as she was about to look away a few people moved to the side, revealing the person they had been surrounding. Halley’s jaw dropped in surprise. In the centre of the crowd was Riker Sell.

Halley recovered quickly but Miranda had already looked over her shoulder to see what had caught their attention. When she turned back Halley’s hair had been removed from her ponytail and she was running her fingers through it. Miranda also noticed that Halley’s posture had improved considerably. She no longer had a pot belly.

Annoyed that Halley had been more interested in primping for a movie star instead of listening to her, Miranda decided to take another dig.

“You don’t think that Riker Sell would give you the time of day?” she sneered. “You’re a nobody.”

“A hundred bucks says he will,” Halley retorted confidently, inside hoping it was true.

Glad to have a reason to walk away from the horrid woman Halley fished around in the nappy bag under the pushchair for her purse. Finding it she counted off notes that had been intended for groceries then stood up and handed them to Leonora.

“Two hundred,” Miranda challenged. She pulled out two crisp one hundred dollar notes from a thick wad in her purse and pushed them into Leonora’s hand.

Halley bit her bottom lip then pulled out the remaining forty dollars she had in her wallet. If she was wrong about Riker they would be eating a lot of things made from flour and water in the near future.

“Do you have sixty dollars I can borrow?” she asked Leonora in a low voice as she added the notes to the collection in her friend’s hand. “Alec will pay you back if I lose.”