“Is it anyone’s style?” He wrinkled his nose in a way that was far too adorable to be sexy, and yet…
“Eugenie’s, clearly. I don’t understand why people always dress up little dogs in those ridiculous outfits. I lived in this place once where we had three Shih Tzus with glittery bows in their hair. One time, one of the dogs decided to eat the bows. I’m pretty sure it was a form of protest.”
“What happened?”
“The dog shat glitter for twenty-four hours, but he was fine otherwise.”
Jace snorted. “What did your mum think about you glitter bombing the dogs?”
Crap. She’d almost forgotten for a minute that Jace didn’t know she was a foster kid. When Angie had come to Patterson’s Bluff, six months into her Australian travels, she’d wanted to keep her backstory private. Vague. She came from a broken home, they moved around a lot, etc. People assumed she moved with her family, and when they asked more questions, well, the weather was an interesting topic.
“Oh, do you know what’s worse than a glitter-shitting dog? The time a kid I knew had an allergic reaction to a bird and his whole face swelled up to twice its normal size.” Distraction, that was her tactic. “Are you allergic to anything? Seems like everyone has some kind of allergy these days. Peanuts, animals, lactose. I even met a guy once who was allergic to orange foods. Couldn’t have carrots, sweet potato, or pumpkin. Might have been something to do with the enzymes? Or maybe it was a vitamin thing.”
Angie stopped suddenly; her motormouth was in fine form today. She peered up at Jace, who was staring straight ahead. Was that the beginnings of an amused smile on his lips? It was so hard to read him sometimes.
“Sorry, what was the question again?” he asked. Okay, yeah. He was definitely amused.
“Are you allergic to anything?”
“You mean other than my family?” he deadpanned. “Nah, I’m pretty much invincible. Basically a superhero.”
He turned his head and held her gaze for a beat, and she almost tripped over her own feet. Jace seemed to live in his own world. Maybe it was an artist thing. But when he did grace her with a sudden hard look, well, there was no other way to put it… Butterflies. He set a kaleidoscope of butterflies loose in her belly.
As quickly as it happened, he steadied her, then looked away.
They continued to walk in companionable silence along the road they lived on—which was leafy, with houses set back onto the blocks so they felt private and peaceful. It was the perfect place to live, with its rugged coastline views and incredible sunsets over the water. It had greenery everywhere and wildlife and heart. It had a unique smell of eucalyptus and briny air, and it felt so very much like home.
“It’s so beautiful here.” Angie trailed her hand along a big wattle tree as they passed, her fingers catching on the small yellow blossoms. “I wish I could stay forever.”
“Are you keeping the visa thing quiet?”
She bit down on her lip and sighed. “For the moment. Thanks for not spilling the beans to Trent earlier.”
“It’s okay. But if you want me to keep a secret, first I have to know it’s a secret.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I was going to tell him…” They turned a corner onto the main road that led to the beach where the twilight party was taking place. “And I was going to tell the people at the retirement home, too. But I chickened out. I need a little more time.”
The sun was still out, since it stayed light until well past nine p.m. in the height of summer. And it was gloriously warm, with a hint of cool ocean breeze. In fact, it was so perfect, it was almost like the universe was calling to her: Stay here. Stay forever.
But she could only do that if she fell in love.
Chapter Seven
By the time they made it down to the beach, the party was in full swing. Music floated on the breeze from a pair of portable speakers, drawing people to the action. Picnic blankets and brightly colored beach towels were spread around, containing food and drinks and clusters of friends deep in conversation. A game of beach cricket was in progress along the firmly packed sand at the water’s edge.
Angie paused to kick off her shoes before digging her toes into the sand. It was still warm, like it had trapped the day’s worth of sunshine beneath it, and the sensation immediately relaxed her muscles. The beach was magic here, she was sure of it.
The waves rolled in, lazy and slow, and the cracking sound of a bat hitting a tennis ball was followed by a chorus of both cheers and groans. Trent sprinted up the beach toward the “stumps”—which was actually a cooler, or an “Esky,” as they called it here. His strong legs pumped as he ran, his feet digging into the sand and kicking up particles with each stride. His hair flopped as he turned, and when he bolted back, his bat stretched out in time to beat the ball to raucous cheers from his teammates and he crowed with victory. Then he raked his hand through his hair and took a bow.
“What’s that?” Jace held a hand to his ear. “The sound of women’s undies dropping all over the country.”
Angie snorted. Tilly plodded along with them, while Truffle strained forward, his leash pulled to maximum tautness. The little guy was sniffing everything in the vicinity, distracted by each new person that cooed in his direction.
“You’re very different, you and Trent.” It wasn’t the first time Angie had observed it. “You don’t like being in the spotlight, do you?”
“Nope. I hate it.”
They found a spare patch of sandy ground to spread out their blanket. In addition to some snacks, Jace—ever the Boy Scout—had also come prepared with mosquito repellent, dog treats, bottled water, and two hoodies. Angie’s lips lifted in a smile. He’d worried about her getting cold.
“Which suits Trent fine,” he added. “He likes to hog the attention.”
Was it her imagination or was there an undercurrent of tension there?
“Did you and Trent have a fight or something?” she asked as she laid down her things and found a comfy spot to sit. Truffle immediately jumped into her lap.
“No.” He unclipped Tilly’s leash, and Angie immediately tensed up. But the older dog was content to head down to the water alone and get her paws wet. “Fighting with Trent is pointless because he never sees how he might be wrong.”
Yeah, there was definitely some tension. As much as Jace’s relatives frustrated him, he was totally a family guy. But since he was also a private person, she decided not to push it.
“Hey, you two!” Chloe Lee waved and headed over. Her long hair hung in a braid over one shoulder, and she wore a pretty floral dress that swirled mid-thigh. “Mr. Jace Walters, you have officially been summoned. Beach cricket and beers await.”
Jace wrinkled his nose. “I’ve been summoned?”
“By Trent. The team is down one, and your skills are required. Go!” She gave him a gentle shove. “Your country needs you!”
Rolling his eyes, Jace shot Angie a resigned look and then headed off toward the commotion farther down the beach. Angie tried not to stare at him as he walked away—she’d never really thought board shorts were an appealing piece of clothing, but you could literally put a potato sack on that ass and it would look good.
“Mind if I join?” Chloe plopped down without even waiting for Angie to respond. Those kinds of questions were rhetorical in this place, because making a spot for your neighbor was part of the DNA in Patterson’s Bluff.
“Is that some serious vibes between you two or am I misreading things?” She swung her head over to where Jace was jogging toward the game.
“You’re totally misreading things.” Angie tried to brush off the flutter in her stomach. “Unless you’re picking up on some very unreciprocated vibes.”
“You think?”
“I know.” He couldn’t have made it clearer the day of the storm—he wasn’t into relationships, and he wasn’t into her.
Chloe’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t know about that, Angie. He looked pretty interested to me. I could see him watching you while you spoke before, and he was the definition of riveted.”
“You’re seeing something that isn’t there, trust me.” He hadn’t even made butterfly-inducing eye contact, so how could he have been “riveted”?
Jace laughed as the cricket team cheered at his arrival. The sound carried across the beach as he whipped his T-shirt over his head. The sight was a shot straight to Angie’s gut, sizzling and simmering and making her feel all warm and gooey inside. How could a guy who claimed to want a lonesome, solitary life look totally perfect doing the opposite?
“You asked him?”
“In a roundabout kinda way… Well, I hinted at it,” Angie said. “Kind of.”
“You know guys are bloody useless when it comes to hints, right?” Chloe rolled her eyes dramatically. “They do not get subtlety.”
Angie chuckled. “Well, Jace isn’t like any other guy I’ve ever met, that’s for sure.”
He cared. He was honest…brutally so, at points. And sure, he probably wasn’t everyone’s cuppa—as the Aussies liked to say—but he was decent. Good, down to the marrow of his bones. A man nothing like the ones she’d known growing up. His only downside was that he wasn’t interested in her. Not like that anyway.
Plus, he most definitely was not interested in marriage and forever—and Angie didn’t have time to waste on a fling. She was fighting for her dream now.
“Anyway, it’s fine. I’ve got other things keeping me busy,” Angie said with a forced smile. She picked up one of the strawberries Jace had packed in a Tupperware container and took a bite.
“Yeah, I heard they knocked back your proposal for the nursing home.” Chloe wrinkled her nose. “That sucks. I was going to suggest we team up. Figured the residents might want a yoga class to stretch out after all that pole dancing.”
Chloe was one of the youngest business owners in Patterson’s Bluff. Her yoga and meditation studio, Unwind, had become something of a hot spot on the main strip. Known for her firm but kind approach to health and well-being, Chloe had people coming in from all over the peninsula to take her classes.
“That would have been great.” Angie sighed. “I know I feel like a million bucks after one of your yoga flow classes, so I’m sure the residents would have really benefitted from it.”
Chloe leaned back on her forearms and tipped her head up to the sky. Even lounging, she was the picture of effortless chic. She had on a fine silver anklet with an anchor charm dangling off it, matching the silver polish on her toes that would have looked cheesy as hell on anyone else. But Chloe could pull off the things that other mere mortals couldn’t.
“You know,” she said, “I’ve been trying to think about how I could do something more for the community here, but I’ve been struggling to find something to fit in with my schedule, since I’m so busy with the business. But maybe I could donate a class once a month to the retirement home? I’ll come in and do it for free, and that way you don’t need Glen bloody Powell to sign off on it because there’s no money involved.”
“You would do that?” Angie pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s so generous.”
“Of course. Business is booming, but I haven’t forgotten what helped me get started. People here came to my studio when I was still running it out of my mum’s garage. It’s only right to give something back.”
“You’re amazing,” Angie said. “Seriously, thank you.”
“Anytime. Just tell me what you need me to do.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud chorus of cheers, and Angie found herself laughing as she watched Tilly race off down the beach with the tennis ball. Jace, Trent, and three other guys were all shouting after her.
She might be old, but she could still run like the wind when she wanted to.
“Boys,” Chloe said with a grin. “Always making a commotion.”
“You went to school with the Walters, right?”
“Sure did. Pretty much everyone here went to Patterson’s Bluff High.” Chloe looked at Angie closely. “They’re a nice family. Good people. Why do you ask?”
Angie quickly shook her head. “No reason.”
She knew the denial was too swift the moment Chloe’s lips quirked up into an amused smile. “Bullshit.”
“Just curious, I guess. Jace is… He doesn’t talk too much about his family, but they’ve always struck me as being close. Although I get the impression he and Trent butt heads a bit.”
“I don’t know if I would say that. But they’re probably the most different of the bunch.” Chloe cocked her head. “Trent is as extroverted as Jace is introverted.”
“Know anyone in the middle of those two things?” she asked with a pointed look.
“Are you asking me to set you up with someone?” She clapped her hands together. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. If I didn’t have a yoga studio, I would totally be a matchmaker. I’m very good at figuring out what people like.”
“So we’re clear, I’m not looking for a one-night-stand kinda thing. Nothing against it, but I feel like I’m ready to…I don’t know, set down roots.” Saying the words filled her heart with warm, fuzzy hope. Roots. She’d never had them before. Never had a place that she could see herself growing old in, until now. “God, I haven’t had a boyfriend in years.”
The trial had shattered her privacy, attracting flocks of users and weirdos to her. She’d actually gone on a date with one guy who told her he’d been attracted to her because he liked to “fix” things, as if she was some shoddy fence work that needed redoing.
“I’m very out of practice.”
“Well, you’re a gorgeous person inside and out, and I won’t set you up with someone who’s going to treat you badly. So you have nothing to worry about.” Chloe tapped a finger to her chin, her gaze sweeping over the beach.
An excited fizzy feeling bubbled up in Angie’s stomach. Logically, she knew she was grasping at straws. Trying to fall in love in less than two months was ridiculous. Despite Jean’s story, Angie knew that kind of fast and true love was the exception. Not the rule.
But she couldn’t stop asking herself, what if she was one of the special few?
And the fact was, Angie knew how to fit in. It was her superpower, actually. Being carted around to home after home as a kid had helped her become a chameleon of sorts. In one house, she was quiet and thoughtful, and in another she was energetic and chatty. She knew how to make people like her. It wasn’t a skill for her…it was a survival mechanism.
And all of that meant she could expedite the process of building a bond with someone.
“Well, the Walters boys are an option. Not Adam, because he’s married. But Trent is hot and super fun. Jace was born serious, as you know. I can’t remember the last time he went on a date, though. And Nick is super ambitious and successful.” Chloe shook her head, a cute frustrated expression on her face. “The hotness genes run strong in that family.”
“And beyond the Walters family?”
“Theo Hasikos. Not sure if you’ve met him before, but he’s got some kind of tech start-up business. Nice guy. Cute, too. Oh, or maybe Elijah McCormack?”
“I know of Elijah.” Angie bobbed her head. He ran one of the hottest restaurants in Patterson’s Bluff. Range was a farm-to-table place that used only local ingredients, and he was a big advocate for supporting Australian farmers. He also totally had a lumbersexual vibe going on.
“Super hot, especially if you’re into beards and broody eyes. He’s a really decent guy…comes into the studio occasionally, too. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, he’s usually comes to our Monday morning class.” Chloe sat up, her eyes wide and mischievous. “You should join us.”
“What? And chat him up while I’m all sweaty and gross? No thanks.
” She rolled her eyes.
“While you’re glowing. Do it! Have a chat, ask if he wants to grab a coffee, and go from there. See if there’s any chemistry.”
Angie laughed, shaking her head. Could this crazy plan possibly work? Or was she unduly getting her hopes up?
You spent your whole life having your hopes dashed, and you’re still putting yourself out there. It’s a testament to your resilience.
Angie certainly hoped so. Because this conversation with Chloe—who was excitable and kind and giving—further proved that this was the kind of community she wanted to be part of. Where people put up their hands to help and volunteered their time.
Just as Angie was feeling totally relaxed and happy about her decision, she was suddenly thrust from her rose-colored-glasses mood when her dress became wet. “Truffle! Goddamn it, the dog freaking peed on me.”
…
After a few games of beach cricket, Jace had sand everywhere—in his shorts, in his hair, and under his fingernails—from a dive that was athletically impressive, if he did say so himself. Some of his tensions from earlier in the day had faded—which tended to happen when engaged in an activity that allowed him to focus. Sports had always had that effect on him, though he generally preferred more solitary pursuits like surfing or running along the beach.
“So how’s the dog-sitting going?” Nick cracked the tab on a can of beer and handed it over before grabbing one for Trent and then himself. “The little mutts crapped all over your house yet?”
“Little? Have you seen the size of the German shepherd?” Trent laughed. “I was going to ask if you wanted to rent her out for kiddie rides at the summer market. Much easier than getting a pony in.”
“One, she’s old and grumpy. Two, I’m pretty sure Eugenie didn’t ask me to dog-sit so I could figure out how to turn a profit from it.” Jace sipped his beer and turned to watch Angie jogging toward the water, holding the skirt portion of her dress out in front of her.
The Aussie Next Door Page 7