When Only Diamonds Will Do by Lindsay Armstrong

her glass and took another sip of wine.
    And now Reith had laid down a gauntlet.
    Why hadn’t she seen it coming? Because she’d been too immersed in restoring Saldanha to its former glory? Too busy doing the same for Balthazar?
    Or
was
she a coward and had she been burying her head in the sand?
    What if she…acquiesced? she wondered. Or—what if she confessed to Reith that she was never sure whether she loved him to distraction or hated him like poison?
    There were certainly times when just to look at him or hear his voice brought on a deluge of anger as she recalled how beholden she was to him.
    Equally certainly, though, there were times when she couldn’t deny the potent physical effect he had on her. The times when—out of the blue, usually—she’d look at his hands and suffer the acute desire to have them running up and down her body. Times when she wanted to laugh with him and go into his arms to be held in affection and companionship and love.
    Times when she longed to be in his bed, being made love to until she was sated and exhausted and slippery with sweat and …
    She broke off those thoughts with a snap as something alerted her to the fact Reith was staring at her with a question mark in his eyes.
    Oh, God, don’t let me blush, she prayed, and was saved by Molly rising and gesturing towards the lounge, where the coffee tray was awaiting them. She rose swiftly and followed their hostess into the lounge.
    It was midnight when the car turned into the long Saldanha driveway.
    ‘Pleasant evening,’ Reith murmured.
    ‘Y…yes,’ Kim agreed and could have shot herself for the slight quiver of nerves her voice betrayed.
    He glanced at her and grimaced. ‘You don’t sound too sure.’
    ‘I…What did you think of Chilli George?’ she countered.
    Reith pulled the car up opposite the back door and shrugged. ‘Exotic—like her name, but then I suppose fashion designers need to be.’ He paused, then he went on, ‘Is that to be the extent of our conversation tonight, Kim? A dissection of Molly’s guest list?’
    Kim clasped her hands, then unclasped them as she struggled to find something to say, something that wasn’t inane, that wasn’t designed to ignore the situation between them, but no inspiration came. ‘It’s late,’ she said. ‘I…And …’ She trailed off.
    ‘Not the right time or place?’ he suggested, his voice hardening.
    She stayed silent.
    ‘All right. Out you get,’ he ordered.
    ‘You could leave the car here, under the portico,’ she said without thinking.
    ‘I’m not taking it to the garage, I’m taking it to Perth.’
    Kim jumped. ‘At this time of night? Why?’ She stared at him, wide-eyed.
    Their gazes clashed. ‘You’re not really that naïve, are you?’ he said with soft but patently lethal sarcasm.
    ‘I…I…When will you be back?’
    ‘No idea.’ He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.
    ‘Reith!’
    ‘Kimberley?’ he replied politely, but with a world of contempt in his dark eyes.
    She bit her lip, then got angry although she tried to rein it in. ‘Suit yourself,’ she told him coolly and got out but anger got the better of her and she slammed the car door.
    It didn’t help her state of mind to hear him laugh softly before he gunned the motor and drove off, sputtering gravel beneath his tyres.
    The next morning, after what had felt like a sleepless night, Kim saddled her mare Matilda, affectionately known as Mattie, and went for a ride. Sunny Bob went with them and they headed for Balthazar and its Cellar Door, run on the estate and visited by wine-lovers from all over the world.
    It was one thing she had always taken a special interest in, the Balthazar Cellar Door. Most wineries offered wine-tastings and sold their wines from their ‘Cellar Doors’ and many had restaurants as well as offering conducted tours through the winery itself. The Balthazar Cellar Door was housed in a stone and thatch building set in surroundings that were