luxury hotel.
‘I’m not a trauma doctor like my brother,’ Aleksi had once said. ‘I don’t need to be three minutes’ drive away from work. An emergency for me can be dealt with online.’
And so he showed her around. It was an amazing home, sun-drenched and tastefully furnished. The jarrah floors echoed her steps as she walked around. Her eyes took in the huge white sofas and the modern artwork that hadn’t been purchased with a five-year-old in mind! Every room offered views of the bay, and it didn’t end there—there was a pool, tennis courts, a gym, and if that didn’t satisfy there was always the beach a mere step away.
‘This is us.’ He gave a tight smile as he indicated the master bedroom, and stood watching her cheeks burn as her eyes took in the bed that was centre stage. ‘There’s plenty of wardrobe space…’
Except she wasn’t really worried about that!
Kate peered into the en-suite bathroom, to the spa and double shower, and she caught a strong scent of his cologne and an intimate glimpse into the private world of Aleksi—glass bottles and heavy brushes lined up in the control room where he prepared himself for each day. She was almost dizzy with the thought that for now she would be sharing it with him. Rather than dwell on that, she walked back through the bedroom, stepped out of the French doors and onto the decking area.
‘The view’s amazing.’ Port Phillip Bay was a vast horseshoe that spread from Queenscliffe on one end to the sharp peaks of Melbourne’s city buildings on the other, and Alexi’s house sat in between, with each destination a possibility. She could see a pier nearby, and tried to hazard which one, but then she looked to the left and there was another. The water was so close she could hear it lap, lap, lap, and then swish as it pulled out.
‘Do you swim in the bay?’ He was standing beside her and she struggled to make light conversation.
‘I prefer the pool,’ he replied. He gave the view just a cursory glance. ‘I suppose it is nice when it storms.’
‘It’s wonderful now!’ Kate said, but Aleksi just shrugged.
‘You get used to it.’
She’d never get used to it.
Even after the weekend, even after Georgie had been enrolled in her new school, ready to start midweek, even after Kate had been back at her desk for a little while on the Tuesday afternoon, there was still no getting used to anything—and not just for her either.
‘Kate! Kate?’ She could hear the incredulity in Nina’s voice and then worse, far worse, the bitchy ring of her laughter. Aleksi’s office door was slightly open, but even had it been closed, the stench of her words would have seeped through. ‘Now I really have heard it all. Tell me, Aleksi, how is getting engaged to that bumbling whale with her illegitimate daughter supposed to convince the board you’re serious about preserving our elite name?’ Aleksi must have moved to close the door, but Nina halted him. ‘If she really is joining our family, Aleksi, she may as well hear it. You could have any woman and you chose her —are the doctors quite sure that there is no brain damage after your accident?’
He had hated his mother for decades.
Not a door-slamming, palpable hatred, more an apathetic one that simmered away silently.
He cared so little for Nina, and with such good reason, that perhaps it would have been wiser to walk away after his father’s death. Yet he had stayed and risen to the challenge of running the House of Kolovsky onthe death of his father. After Levander had had enough of it, and Iosef didn’t want it at all, Aleksi had stepped up and taken control.
He liked the power, the life, the buzz.
Or he had done.
If his brain had been damaged in the accident, Aleksi was almost grateful for it—for now he could almost see.
Almost.
The ring was on her finger, Kate’s possessions were in his home, she was picking up Georgie soon, and the little girl would start her new school tomorrow.
‘I’m not a trauma doctor like my brother,’ Aleksi had once said. ‘I don’t need to be three minutes’ drive away from work. An emergency for me can be dealt with online.’
And so he showed her around. It was an amazing home, sun-drenched and tastefully furnished. The jarrah floors echoed her steps as she walked around. Her eyes took in the huge white sofas and the modern artwork that hadn’t been purchased with a five-year-old in mind! Every room offered views of the bay, and it didn’t end there—there was a pool, tennis courts, a gym, and if that didn’t satisfy there was always the beach a mere step away.
‘This is us.’ He gave a tight smile as he indicated the master bedroom, and stood watching her cheeks burn as her eyes took in the bed that was centre stage. ‘There’s plenty of wardrobe space…’
Except she wasn’t really worried about that!
Kate peered into the en-suite bathroom, to the spa and double shower, and she caught a strong scent of his cologne and an intimate glimpse into the private world of Aleksi—glass bottles and heavy brushes lined up in the control room where he prepared himself for each day. She was almost dizzy with the thought that for now she would be sharing it with him. Rather than dwell on that, she walked back through the bedroom, stepped out of the French doors and onto the decking area.
‘The view’s amazing.’ Port Phillip Bay was a vast horseshoe that spread from Queenscliffe on one end to the sharp peaks of Melbourne’s city buildings on the other, and Alexi’s house sat in between, with each destination a possibility. She could see a pier nearby, and tried to hazard which one, but then she looked to the left and there was another. The water was so close she could hear it lap, lap, lap, and then swish as it pulled out.
‘Do you swim in the bay?’ He was standing beside her and she struggled to make light conversation.
‘I prefer the pool,’ he replied. He gave the view just a cursory glance. ‘I suppose it is nice when it storms.’
‘It’s wonderful now!’ Kate said, but Aleksi just shrugged.
‘You get used to it.’
She’d never get used to it.
Even after the weekend, even after Georgie had been enrolled in her new school, ready to start midweek, even after Kate had been back at her desk for a little while on the Tuesday afternoon, there was still no getting used to anything—and not just for her either.
‘Kate! Kate?’ She could hear the incredulity in Nina’s voice and then worse, far worse, the bitchy ring of her laughter. Aleksi’s office door was slightly open, but even had it been closed, the stench of her words would have seeped through. ‘Now I really have heard it all. Tell me, Aleksi, how is getting engaged to that bumbling whale with her illegitimate daughter supposed to convince the board you’re serious about preserving our elite name?’ Aleksi must have moved to close the door, but Nina halted him. ‘If she really is joining our family, Aleksi, she may as well hear it. You could have any woman and you chose her —are the doctors quite sure that there is no brain damage after your accident?’
He had hated his mother for decades.
Not a door-slamming, palpable hatred, more an apathetic one that simmered away silently.
He cared so little for Nina, and with such good reason, that perhaps it would have been wiser to walk away after his father’s death. Yet he had stayed and risen to the challenge of running the House of Kolovsky onthe death of his father. After Levander had had enough of it, and Iosef didn’t want it at all, Aleksi had stepped up and taken control.
He liked the power, the life, the buzz.
Or he had done.
If his brain had been damaged in the accident, Aleksi was almost grateful for it—for now he could almost see.
Almost.
The ring was on her finger, Kate’s possessions were in his home, she was picking up Georgie soon, and the little girl would start her new school tomorrow.
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