‘What happened?’ she burst out. ‘What did you say to him?’
He stared at her for a few excruciatingly long and tense moments, before answering, ‘That’s between Bud and me, Angie.’
‘But... but...’
‘Don’t try to pry it out of Bud, either,’ he interrupted curtly. ‘It’ll put him in a very awkward position. Look, I’ve decided to drive back to Sydney straight away, Angie. The sooner I get back to Melbourne, the better. That way I should be able to return to Sydney by next weekend. What are your plans regarding your mother? How long will you be staying up here?’
Angie’s head was whirling. She wasn’t at all sure what was going on. ‘I... I thought I’d stay at least a week.’
‘So you won’t be back in Sydney next weekend?’
‘No. I dare say Bud will have gone back by then, but I thought I’d take the Sunday night train back. I really will have to be back at school for the last week of the term. Lance, what’s going on?’
‘What do you mean? Are you still talking about what happened between Bud and me?’
‘No, I’m talking about you and me. What is it you want of me, Lance? What do you expect?’
‘Are you going back on what you agreed in the car on the way up here?’ he demanded, blue eyes immediately wary.
Her chin lifted even while her heart contracted. ‘No. I’m not.’
His triumphant expression unnerved her, as did the way his eyes slid down her body then up again. ‘You know what I want, Angie, but I’m not quite sure what to expect from you. Yet. Time will tell, though. I’m a patient man.’
‘Stop talking in riddles!’ she snapped. ‘You know I hate that kind of thing. Spell it out for me. Are you planning on flying up to Sydney for dirty weekends? Or do you expect me to resign and move to Melbourne? Don’t go thinking you’ll set me up in some sleazy flat somewhere. I won’t stand for that kind of hole-and-corner relationship. If I’m to be your girlfriend, it will be a normal man-woman relationship, nothing nasty. I pay my own way and you pay yours.’
He whistled at her tough stance. ‘That’s my Angie! All right, I’ll tell you all I can for now. I don’t expect you to resign and move to Melbourne. I’m going to move to Sydney, as soon as that can be arranged. You can stay living exactly where you are and working where you are... for the time being.’
Delight raced through Angie. And relief. Tears of happiness danced in her eyes. ‘I can? Oh, Lance, that’s wonderful! Oh, you’ve made me so happy.’
He said nothing for a moment, merely stared at her. Then he took her in his arms and kissed her with a passion that sent tremors rippling through both of them.
‘Tell me you love me,’ he rasped against her swollen quivering mouth.
There was no hesitation this time, no thoughts of self-protection. ‘I love you,’ she said, her voice shaking.
‘And you’ll never love anyone else?’
‘I never have and I never will.’
‘That’s all I need to know,’ he ground out. ‘What time will you get back to your flat after work on Monday week?’
‘Around four-thirty.’
‘I’ll be there,’ he said, and, whirling away from her, hurried down the steps and over to his car. He didn’t look back at her, didn’t say another word.
It wasn’t till the black car was speeding off down the valley road that Angie realised one crucial thing. Lance had not said he loved her back.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘LANCE gone, has he?’
Angie looked up from where she was sitting on the front steps, her eyes dull with depression. ‘Yes,’ was all she could manage without bursting into tears.
It was some seconds before she realised that Bud was staring at her, a most peculiar look on his face. He seemed both astonished and puzzled, as though he was trying to see into her soul but without much success.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Bud,’ she snapped. ‘You don’t understand. I love him. I’ve always loved him. Ever since that first summer. I know you don’t think he’s worthy of being loved like that, but he is. Down deep Lance is a fine man. You just don’t understand him.’