“Mmm, this is a proper family home. We spent some weekends and holidays here. Dan and I used to hide from Pippa in the woods when she was being a pain,” she laughed.
“Very naughty, Natasha.” He laughed back, pushing her against a nearby tree. “I am glad you decided to wear a dress.” He smiled, already lifting the skirt of the tribal print maxi dress.
“I think you decided more than me.” She slipped her hands under his shirt where she gently stroked his skin and was rewarded with his muscles tensing beneath her touch.
“I love you, Natasha, especially when you’re naughty.” He rubbed her cheeks through her lace pants, abrading the skin beneath them making her wince.
“Maybe lace was not one of my better ideas.”
“Take them off then,” he suggested, smiling.
“I thought I was the naughty one?” She laughed again.
“You have no idea how naughty I can be, baby. Take them off, Tasha, let me touch you,” he told her, triumph and arousal rushing through his veins when he felt her hands brush his as she prepared to remove her underwear.
Suddenly, they both heard Pippa calling, “Tash, Banksy.”
Tasha shook her head at Jim’s look of disappointment and the knowledge that she was going to have to wait for Jim to touch her. “Do you see why Dan and I used to hide from her?”
“Tasha, old, rich guy.”
Jim frowned. “The smart mouth is definitely hereditary.” With his frown deepening he continued, “But that will piss me off Tasha, so maybe you could have a word, please.”
“No problem.” The last thing she wanted was for Pippa’s attempts at humour to be a bone of contention for Jim and it would be better for her to speak to her sister and prevent that happening than for Jim to take her to task directly. She kissed him gently on the lips as Pippa found them.
“Shit, Tash, get a room.”
“Pippa, don’t swear,” she said crossly, feeling Jim tensing beside her.
“Sorry,” said Pippa. “Gramps loves you,” she said to Jim. “He’d prefer you to be English, but he likes you anyway and I think Grandma swooned, either that or her vertigo has flared up.”
Tasha and Pippa laughed loudly at the idea of their grandmother swooning, although why wouldn’t she, Jim was the complete package and a very attractive package too. The two young women linked arms as they followed Banksy through the woods with Jim behind them.
****
When they returned to the house, Celia and Paul were sitting on the patio to the back of the house with tea, coffee, cold drinks and cake.
Banksy rushed over to his water bowl then lay under the table.
“Where’s Dan?” asked Tasha looking around.
Celia and Paul exchanged a glance.
“What?” asked Tasha.
“He’s gone to meet his girlfriend,” said Pippa, relishing the fact she was revealing a secret.
“Since when has Dan had a girlfriend?” asked Tasha with a grin.
“He has done a Gerry hasn’t he, Grandma?” said Pippa cryptically.
Jim frowned at Tasha who was equally as confused.
“Philippa, enough,” shouted Paul.
Pippa looked at Tasha and mouthed, “Sorry.”
“Can someone just tell me where Dan is?”
“He has been seeing Deborah,” Celia looked uncomfortable.
“Deborah?” asked Tasha.
“Deborah Kenner,” replied Celia.
“Why? Is he completely stupid? She’s a slapper, just like her sister and she will cheat on him or get pregnant and trap him, or both,” shouted Tasha, getting to her feet.
“Sit down, please,” said Celia calmly.
“Why? For you to tell me she’s a nice girl really or that he has to make his own mistakes,” she continued, still shouting.
“Tasha, please sit down,” said Celia, still sounding calm.
“She’s entitled to be upset,” interrupted Pippa. “After what Kara did.”
“Philippa you are not helping. Nat, calm down,” said Paul firmly.
Jim looked on and didn’t know what was going on, but knew if Tasha didn’t sit down and calm down soon, he would intervene. She was shouting and pouting like an adolescent and although Pippa was definitely winding her up with her contributions, neither Celia nor Paul warranted the shouting, foot stamping routine he was witnessing. He wondered briefly whether he could get away with Paul’s idea of putting her across his knee. Maybe not with an audience.
“It’s just taking the piss though now. I mean, for fuck’s sake.”
The swearing, especially directed at her grandparents was the final straw for Jim.
“Tasha, sit down and stop shouting. You’re being petulant,” he said quietly, but seriously.
She turned and looked at him and could see she had obviously overstepped one of his marks, but it didn’t matter, he didn’t know what was going on here. “Jim, just keep out of it, you don’t understand.” Her shouting and pouting was now aimed squarely at him.
She watched his expression change and realised the mark she had originally overstepped had just paled into total insignificance compare to the new one she’d leapt across.
“Natasha, sit down and calm down and then maybe you can explain what is happening here without being rude and childish.” His voice was low and apparently calm, but she knew better.
This time she complied with his request, if that’s what it was and looking around Jim could see they were clearly surprised by her compliance.
“Who is Deborah Kenner?” he asked.
“Kara’s sister,” replied Pippa. “Do you know about Kara?”
Jim nodded. “So, what’s wrong with her?”
“She’s Kara’s sister that is what’s wrong with her,” replied Tasha, her voice raised again.
“You can’t hold her family against her, Tasha.” Paul chided her slightly.
“Watch me.” She sunk back in her seat, sulking again.
Jim stood up and pulled her to her feet, aiming his words at her grandparents, “Sorry, I just need to steal Tasha away for a moment.”
He led her back up the lawn, far enough away that they could not be heard, but close enough so they didn’t look suspicious.
“I get you have an issue with Kara, but you can’t blame her sister for what happened between her and Gerry. Now you really need to calm down because the shouting, sulking, pouty routine is really beginning to piss me off and I do not expect to be shouted at by you in front of people, or told to butt out. Count to ten or take a deep breath or whatever you need to do to calm down, otherwise I may forget there are other people here and take things into my own hands. Do we understand one another?”
“Yes,” she muttered.
“Baby, that sounds very much like petulance.” He rested his hand on her ass and squeezed gently.
“I would just like my past to stay there. Why can’t Dan find himself a girlfriend who isn’t anything to do with Gerry or Kara?”
Jim shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s his choice not yours. Let’s go back to the table where you should start by apologising to your grandparents for your language at least.”
She nodded.
“And just remember she is not guilty for what her sister did. None of us get to choose our family, do we?”
Taking her hand in his, they returned to the table where Tasha immediately set about apologising. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, and I shouldn’t have sworn, but I didn’t even know Dan knew Deborah.”
“Nat, don’t worry about it. It was a shock,” said Paul, a little too forgiving too soon for Jim.
Dan appeared from the house a few seconds later, with Deborah.
“Fuck,” muttered Pippa.
“Pippa!” chided Tasha, feeling a little hypocritical after her own outburst.
Dan sat next to Celia leaving an empty chair for Deborah next to Tasha. After introducing them all Tasha tried to avoid all conversation with Deb, as she was now being c
alled. She didn’t want to risk saying something spank-worthy, plus, she knew she was being unfair to Deb by holding her sister’s actions against her, after all, she’d never want to be judged for her parent’s actions, as Jim had indirectly pointed out.
Conversation flowed around them and Jim asked all of the right questions to get the information Tasha wanted.
It turned out Deb went to the same college as Dan and was studying hair and beauty. They’d met in the canteen and got chatting and it had been a few weeks before they realised they had a connection when Deb had said which high school she had been to and Dan revealed his older sister had gone there and his younger sister was still there. Then, when she found out Tasha was his sister they made the connection with Kara and Gerry.
Tasha was warming to the younger woman, but she still didn’t like the idea of Kara having any connection to her.
Celia was pouring fresh drinks when Deb spoke directly to Tasha and addressed the elephant in the room. “Kara said you went to the exhibition the other night.”
Jim nodded. “Yes, we did.”
Tasha said nothing.
“I don’t really get art, but Kara says Gerry is very good,” she said nervously.
“I believe he is,” said Celia while Tasha had started a conversation with Pippa about the summer holidays, refusing to discuss Kara or Gerry.
“Lottie is already showing a flare for art. They say she is showing a real eye for detail at nursery,” said Deb proudly.
“Who is Lottie?” asked Celia curiously, but Tasha already knew the answer.
“My niece,” said Deb awkwardly.
Celia looked as uncomfortable as the younger woman when she replied with a single, “Oh.”
“Sorry,” said Deb, sensing everyone’s unease.
“Don’t be,” began Tasha, needing to end this conversation once and for all. “It’s not like you were my best friend who screwed my boyfriend, got knocked up and then had the audacity to give your child the name I’d chosen.”
Everyone was beyond embarrassed now, except for Jim who seemed cross again, but Tasha continued talking to Pippa across him. “I’m coming back here for the second week of July and bringing Lizzie with me, you should come and stay, you’ll like Lizzie,” she said and meant it.
“When do you break up for summer?” asked Jim.
“Middle of July,” replied Pippa.
“If it’s okay with you,” he said, gesturing to Celia and Paul, “Pippa could always fly back out with Tasha and Lizzie if she wanted to.”
Pippa clapped and pleaded with her grandparents, “Please, can I?”
“If it’s allowed, legally,” replied Paul, unsure if there’d be any legal implications of the residency order.
Tasha pulled out her phone and sent a text to Jerome Stewart.
She was rereading the text when Jim leaned over and whispered with irritation, “Mr Stewart and lose the kiss.”
She amended it accordingly. “Better?” she asked as she hit send.
“Much,” he replied then turned to Dan. “You’d be welcome too, Dan.”
“Thanks.” Dan looked at Deb.
Not on your bloody life thought Tasha who nipped her brother’s thoughts in the bud.
“Yeah, I’m sure Deb will manage to survive for a couple of weeks without you Dan.” She laughed, but was no way amused at the idea of Kara’s sister, who she really didn’t know spending any more time with her than was necessary. “I can let you have the dates and if they fit in with you, I’ll book the tickets,” she said as her phone beeped twice.
The first message was from Lucy.
Tasha smiled as Jim whispered, “Seriously hot, eh?”
She looked up at him to see him smiling back.
She checked her other message.
She closed her phone and put it away quickly.
“I will call with all the details Grandma, but we should probably be going, we’re going out with Lucy and Ryan tonight,” she explained.
Tasha promised to visit the following weekend and as they left Celia and Paul seemed to have genuinely warmed to Jim, which made her ridiculously happy. Pippa was on a high about a trip to L.A. and although she felt slightly mean for excluding Deb, she wasn’t family, but she was hopeful Dan would join them.
The journey home was almost silent and as she pulled into her parking bay her phone beeped again. She checked it quickly and saw a message from Lucy.
Chapter 46
Letting them into the flat, Tasha said, “Lucy and Ryan won’t be back for another hour.”
She stood in the kitchen resting her hands on the counter top while Jim stood behind her.
“Are you okay now? Deb seemed kinda nice.”
“Whatever. I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. “Thank you for inviting Dan and Pippa to stay,” she added, hoping to move on from all things Deb, Gerry and Kara.
“If you’re going to share my house you should have your family around too. What’s the story with Lottie? The name you had chosen?” He sounded confused and irritated and wasn’t ready to change topic, yet.
“Gerry and I talked, in theory, about having children, in the future and he had some weird suggestions for names, all very arty. I’m a bit more traditional with names and when I said I liked the name Charlotte, Lottie for short, he liked it too and it stuck. That was all it ever was though, talk.”
“But you told me you weren’t sure you wanted children, or is that just with me, the rich, old guy?” he asked, reusing Pippa’s phrase, but sounded sad, worried at the rehashed words.
“No. I still don’t know if I want kids, but I assumed I would and I assumed they’d be with Gerry as we were living together.”
“So, my age isn’t an issue for you?” he asked cautiously.
“No. In fact, forty is the new thirty and you are in better condition than a lot of twenties I know,” she said reassuringly as she turned to face him.
“Good, but Lottie doesn’t float my boat, baby. Can you imagine a Lizzie and a Lottie?” he asked, gently stroking her cheek, tracing a line along her jaw until he was cupping her face.
“Are you still pissed with me?” she asked bluntly, assuming after her tantrum and his chastisement of it he probably would be.
“A little. I understand your annoyance and frustration this afternoon, but you need to learn how to deal with situations like an adult rather than a sulky teenager,” he told her honestly and she couldn’t really disagree with him. “Otherwise you will very quickly get a reputation as a diva in Hollywood.”
She nodded. “Your charm offensive worked well.”
“On who?” he asked, massaging her shoulders.
“Everyone, and my grandparents don’t warm easily.” She moved back into his fingers manipulating her shoulders.
“What about you?”
“Your charm always works on me and as you know I warm very easily for you.”
“You are very tense, Tasha,” he said, working on a knot in her shoulder, making her cry out. “Are you warm for me now, honey?” He lowered his mouth to her shoulders he’d pushed her dress off.
“Maybe you should charm me out of my pants again and check,” she suggested. “It may relieve some of my tension.”
“Or not. You told me
to keep out of it this afternoon and pissed me off with your petulant teenager routine, and then you were going to send a kiss to your friend, Jerome. Maybe I will just keep you wanton.”
“I was upset and I send everyone a kiss.” It was the truth, she always ended messages and often emails with a kiss. Maybe it was a generation thing. She was so used to an age of messaging rather than speaking and liking and following in a way Jim and his generation probably weren’t.
“Not anymore you don’t. If you wouldn’t kiss them for real don’t put it on a text,” he said firmly. “And we keep coming back to appropriateness; Mr Stewart is your family’s legal representative and as such is a formal relationship. He is not your friend and you are not his.”
“And yet you insist on calling him my friend.” Tasha knew this would be viewed by Jim as further evidence of petulance and maybe it was, but he couldn’t have this both ways. He was or he wasn’t her friend and Jim needed to decide which he was.
“Really? You want to play it that way? Do you want him to be your friend, Tasha?”
He had removed contact from her shoulders and taken a step back but still observed her closely, maybe too close for comfort. She’d started this so she might as well air it aloud.
“No, I don’t, not like you infer when you refer to him or anyone else as my friend. However, I don’t see the need to keep everyone of the opposite sex in a secure box of friend, lover or necessary evil in my life.”
“I get what you’re saying, but you need lines drawn, everyone does, especially men. I am a man. I know how men think and most if not all get mixed signals when women treat them with warmth and fondness. Ultimately, all men think they’re irresistible and when women put kisses at the end of messages it confirms it.”
Tasha shook her head. She wasn’t sure he was right about the whole of the male population but could see he might have a point in some cases, but she wasn’t ready to admit that yet.
“You need to keep that formality in place to avoid confusion. He wants to be in your pants and when you call him Jerome and text him a kiss you are inviting him into them, and I am the only one who goes there.”
Lucky Seven Page 57