by Kris Pearson
He rolled his head on the snowy pillow so he faced her, and the sight of his dark, bed-mussed hair and his half-lidded gaze held her captive. “So glad you turned down my offer of an early flight home,” he said, pushing up onto one elbow so the sheet slipped down past his big shoulders and part way over his tanned chest. “How ya feeling after last night?”
Mei swallowed and licked her lips. “Thirsty.”
He reached over and smoothed her long hair back from her face before she could react. “You and all your earrings,” he murmured, touching each of the studs in turn. “I didn’t know if you slept in these or I should try and take them out for you, but it was fun nibbling my way around them before you dozed off, anyway.”
The tickling caress from his big hand was a total turn-on. Mei blinked woozily.
“I’ll get you some water,” he said, tossing the cover aside. “You drank a bit too much wine last night. Hangover, I guess.”
She blinked again as he rose from the tumbled bed. From her low vantage point he looked enormous. A huge, fit, aroused man – so different from the short, shy boy who’d first asked her out half a lifetime ago.
“You shouldn’t have let me,” she protested, clutching her head, but unable to look away from his spectacular body.
His lips quirked and he shrugged. “Hard to stop you. We only shared one bottle, but I reckon you had a lot more of it than I did. I was driving, and you were understandably shaken up after everything that’s happened. I’ll see if I can find you a couple of painkillers too.”
“Thanks,” she murmured, still trying to re-assemble the night before.
Flying from Scarlet Bay. Stowing all her belongings away. Dinner at one of the Courtney Place eateries after cocktails at a nearby bar. Being carried up Anna’s steep stairs as though she weighed nothing. The wine making her feel very turned-on – which Ollie hadn’t complained about in the least. And it looked like he hadn’t had enough of her yet.
She watched as his gorgeous naked butt and back disappeared from view down the stairs as she gnawed on her bottom lip. No, she hadn’t drunk more than her share of the wine because she was ‘shaken up after everything that had happened’. Plain and simple, she’d been relaxed and happy. At last able to spend time with Ollie and forget everything else before they went their separate ways.
If she hadn’t been reporting for her next shift today she’d be in real trouble, but hopefully some time apart would help her regain her perspective – and her determination to stay away from him.
When she heard the water running in the kitchen she pushed herself upright and turned a pillow vertically to rest against. Her thudding brain overflowed with X-rated pictures. Distracting washes of bliss buzzed and twitched between her thighs. Then she heard the soft tread of Ollie’s bare feet on the timber steps and watched as his tall frame reappeared in chunks.
His spiky hair and warm grin. His devastating shoulders and tattooed chest. His hard, bumpy abs. His near vertical cock – which appeared to have lost none of its former enthusiasm. His long, powerful thighs.
He sat on the bed, angled his body in her direction, and passed her a big drink of water.
Mei gulped it gratefully, ripping her gaze upward and fixing it on the tattoo spanning his chest. Those big letters must have really hurt. NO ESCAPE. And he’d been thinking of her when he had it done? If he was thinking at all…
When he saw where she was looking, he took her nearly empty tumbler and set it down before reaching for her hand. “You’re such a turn-on,” he whispered.
She smiled, despite her vow to discourage him. “You too. So I caused you hours of pain with your tatt, did I?”
“Yep, and hours of pain in other ways, too. Better keep making up for it.”
She let loose a snort of amusement before tilting her chin and looking at him very directly. “Wish I could do that,” she said. “Not so easy, though.”
“I’ll wait,” he said. “I’ve waited so long already that a while longer won’t hurt. And speaking of hurting, I didn’t find any pills in Anna’s bathroom. Sorry. Is your headache horrible?”
She closed her eyes to hide his hopeful face. “A real thumper. There might be a few in my bag. I’ll have a look in a moment.”
Ollie immediately rose from the bed and brought it back to her. “Do you need more water?”
She glanced across at the tumbler. “Enough left, I think.”
She saw him hesitate and then look away. “What?” she asked, busy searching.
He sat, but remained silent.
“What?” she repeated, finally finding the card of meds.
He shrugged, and then looked at her again. “Why him? What did Kieran have going for him? He can’t have been totally bad or you’d never have chosen him.”
It was the last thing she’d been expecting. She slid two tablets between her lips and washed them down, gaining what time she could. “He was different,” she finally said. “A charmer. A joker. Fun to be with.”
“Until he wasn’t.”
She nodded at Ollie’s flat assessment. “And he wasn’t with the airline,” she added. “I never wanted to mix my work life with my social life. Too tricky when it goes wrong. But Jason met him at the tavern and invited him to be part of the music group, and I saw him every now and then, and he…”
“Charmed you.”
“Yes, I guess.”
His chest rose and fell with a big breath. “Why not one of the others?”
She thought about that. “Never going to be Jason. Nice guy, but I knew him from when we were kids, and no magic. Never going to be Cam. Another one with too many women. Fun watching him fall for Jossy and finally grow up, though.” She grinned and took the last tiny sip of water. “Lockie was engaged to his girlfriend and almost married. Athol is such a great guy when you get to know him, but he’d been to prison, and was in a bad place, and he had Cath trying to straighten him out. Too old for me, anyway.”
“So that left Kieran?”
Mei pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and then released it. “It didn’t have to be one of the music guys, but seeing them regularly, and having fun…”
Ollie reached out and took the empty tumbler from her, setting it on the bedside chest and nodding. “He wasn’t Chinese.”
She heard the unspoken question. “No. Came here from Ireland a couple of years ago and only intended staying for a while. He was kind of a safe bet because he was always going to move on, but I didn’t think it would happen the way it did.”
“So you were expecting it to end before it ever started?”
She tipped a shoulder up. “Probably. Had to.”
Ollie closed his eyes. She could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain.
“Wasting your life,” he said. “You should be happier than this.”
“Treading a tightrope,” she murmured. “I’m happy, Oliver. Love my job. Love travelling. Love my family.” She shook her head. “I’ll miss my mother. She held us all together.”
He leaned forward and pressed his brow to hers for a few seconds. “Dragon Lady,” he whispered. Mei had no idea if he meant her mother or herself.
“Won’t be long now,” she said, deciding he probably meant Yu Yan.
“Not her,” Ollie whispered. “You. You’re my Dragon Lady.”
She drew away, shaking her head. “Not yours.”
“You’ve been mine forever, even if you didn’t know it.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Things in the way,” she insisted.
“Nothing we can’t get past.” He cupped her face up for a hungry kiss. “You’re not Chinese,” he added. “You’re a Kiwi girl, and we’re wasting so much time.”
A Kiwi girl. But was she really? She might have lived in New Zealand for her whole life, but her parents – and particularly her father – had influenced everything, insisting so strongly that their standards must be upheld and their heritage preserved.
She pulled back, and then laid her face against Ollie’s c
hest. His heart thumped steadily beneath her ear, an anchor and a reassurance. She raged to be with him. His taste and scent were the home she’d fantasized about and never thought possible. If they had only this last morning together she was determined to make the most of him, too much of a realist to expect more.
His family. Her family. The situation between their fathers.
Mei’s fingers moved against his chest, threading through the mesh of dark hair. When her nails dug in and his breath hitched, he kissed her again, fierce and feral, dominating and delicious. God, he’d be hard to give up.
*
She may as well have been a robot for the next few days. She smiled. She served tea and coffee and meals and wine with faultless manners and impeccable skill. She answered questions, opened overhead lockers and handed requested items to passengers. And all the time her heart was thousands of miles away, beating with a broken rhythm that would have drawn him close if only it could have. Oliver. Her secret long-time love. The man from whom her soul found no escape.
She was already on her way home to New Zealand when her brother Jiang sent a message through aircraft coms, requesting her to ring him when she could. Mei didn’t expect good news.
“Hate to be the one to have to tell you, but our mother is gone,” Jiang said.
So Yu Yan had finally slipped away.
“Small private funeral,” he continued after Mei’s anguished gasp. “Dad’s insisting family and close friends only. You know how he is.”
“Understandable,” Mei stammered, feeling sudden tears escaping down her cheeks. She wiped a forefinger under each eye and gave a deep sigh. “A long battle over,” she said, trying not to sob. “It was never going to turn out any differently, but she was such a fighter. I’m so glad I saw her before I came away.”
“You’re home Monday?” Jiang asked. “Funeral Tuesday? I’ll collect you from the airport, unless Kieran…?”
“It’s over with Kieran,” Mei snapped. “Time it was done.”
“Uh-huh,” Jiang said, caution in his tone. “You’re okay with that?”
She sniffed back tears. “More than okay.”
“I’ll tell them to go ahead then. Tuesday afternoon. I’ll let Dad know.”
“How’s he holding up?” Not that she expected anything except total stoicism from Zhang Wei. An impassive face and stiff demeanor would be the story.
“He… maybe got his grief out before he told us,” Jiang said. “Red eyes but very quiet when we went there. Married thirty-nine years. Long time. He’ll miss her more than he’s letting on.”
“Damn it!” Mei exclaimed as the sad news finally began to sink in. “I wanted peace for her, but I wanted her still to be alive, too.”
“Yeah,” her brother said, so like his father with his lack of visible emotion. “One other thing. Bill Hughes has arranged a separate memorial service for the people of Scarlet Bay to say their own goodbyes. You know – speeches and some music, maybe? Nice thought.”
Mei’s heart swelled at his kindness. “Dear old Bill,” she managed. “He misses being a cop. This way he can reclaim his patch for a while and have an excuse for lots of people contact.”
“Often on the beach with his dog,” Jiang said.
“Mmm – I suspect Thelma gets sick of him at home.” Mei couldn’t suppress a slight grin. Bill Hughes was a good man, fond of beef with black bean sauce, and a longtime friend of the whole family.
“He put a poster around,” Jiang added. “On the community noticeboard, and in the windows of the campground store, the tavern, the surf lifesaving hut, places like that.”
“So where and when?”
“Next Friday morning. Got a copy here. It sounds more like an order than an invitation, but Bill was always officious. Umm… yeah, Friday at ten. At the Wildwood place they’ve just done up.”
“I was there last week,” Mei said. “Not quite finished then, but close enough.”
“Hmmm… everyone welcome, food and a cuppa, let Bill know if they want to speak so he can arrange the program.”
“Program…” Mei repeated quietly. “Sounds like a concert. Speaking of which, I’d like to play something for her. Something traditional. Can you let Bill know?”
“Sure thing, sis. Message me your arrival time?”
They broke the connection. Mei wrapped her arms around her waist for comfort and bowed her head. Now she was one step more alone in the world. So kind of Bill, though. Surely people would attend if they’d known Yu Yan, because she’d been the cheery presence beside dour Zhang Wei for all the years the shop had been open.
And Cam and Jossy were making Wildwood available? There’d be people more interested to see what had taken place at the old plant nursery than in saying goodbye to her mother, but it kept things local, and the publicity would be good. It would give them a practice run for the gatherings that would follow, too, including their own wedding. She’d put money on Cam’s not-quite-stepmother Magdalena, and of course Jossy, turning on wonderful baking. And surely others would bring food to share as well? Essie’s famous cheese rolls… Thelma’s almond shortbread biscuits…
Chapter 15 – 100 Chairs
Ollie’s spirits plummeted as his father’s ringtone sounded. All those days gone by and still not Mei. He’d been waiting and hoping for her to make contact, despite her vow they could have no more to do with each other. He knew she’d be back home by now. Prayed she might think better of her firm request. And loved her enough to let some time pass before he tried ringing her again.
“Ollie,” James Wynn said. “Pleased you picked up. Are you busy tomorrow?”
He was fond of his father and enjoyed spending time with him, so he leaned back in his chair, ready for a chat. “Always busy, but generally flexible.”
“Can you be flexible tomorrow morning?”
There’d be no reason he couldn’t write up the current safety report a few hours later. “Possibly. What did you have in mind?”
James Wynn cleared his throat. “Your mum’s gone to Auckland with Ruth. Visiting a mutual friend who’s caught some sort of fish poisoning in Fiji. I was going to drive up to the Bay to show the family flag. Old Mrs Chan from the takeaway shop has died and there’s a memorial service at Cam and Jossy’s place.”
“Huh,” Ollie muttered as the air left his lungs. He slumped further into the chair. Mei would be destroyed. She’d sounded devastated after that last visit to her mother. Said it couldn’t be long now – but this meant it was less than a fortnight. And she hadn’t told him. Surely if he meant anything at all to her she would have. That really hurt.
Might be a chance to see her, though. His good intentions to give her some space warred with his desire to see her again, offer what comfort he could, and see where it led. “My car or yours? And what time?”
“Mine,” James said quickly. “There’s already been one death and we don’t want to double the body count. The way you drive, my boy, that’s entirely possible.”
Ollie was used to affectionate digs like this. His father wasn’t beyond borrowing the Alfa and taking it for an exhilarating spin along the Scarlet Bay beach road once civilization was well behind him. “Yes, your Lexus has the right dignified air, and mine’s sadly lacking in that,” he agreed with an unseen smirk that said the opposite.
“Nice woman. Good family. Clever sons.”
Ollie held his tongue for a couple of seconds. “And a younger daughter. That was her playing at Anna’s wedding.”
“Ah. Yes. Pretty girl,” James agreed. “I didn’t know that was Yu Yan’s daughter.”
How the hell had his dad known Mrs Chan’s first name? He thought about that as they confirmed next morning’s pickup time. It had always been the Wynn children who visited the shop and brought back the adored but not often allowed takeaways at holiday time. Was Mei right when she said there’d been something festering between their fathers?
“Is Beau coming?” Ollie asked. His much younger brother should be home from board
ing school by now.
“Staying with a mate on a farm. It’ll just be us.”
“See you then,” Ollie said, disconnecting.
He sat thinking for a few minutes and then phoned Anna. “Gidday cuz. You haven’t popped out your sprog yet?”
“No, Ollie,” she said with obvious amusement. “No baby yet, but it won’t be long now.”
“Dad’s just told me Mrs Chan died. Is Mei okay?” He closed his eyes. He hadn’t meant to ask so directly.
“Well, it was expected,” Anna said. “And no, she’s not okay, but she’ll get past it.”
It was too easy to picture the sad droop of Mei’s pretty lips, the defeated slump of her shoulders, the soft sag of her gorgeous breasts as she rested her head in her hands and gave in to her grief. He’d give anything to comfort her.
“Hell of a thing to go through,” he murmured. “She loves your apartment, by the way, but she’s been away most of the time she’s officially lived there.”
“You’ll see her again tomorrow?”
He breathed out, trying to sound calm. “Driving there with Dad. She doesn’t want to see me, though. She’s totally convinced it’ll never work between us. It’s bloody well killing me.”
“What the heck!” Anna exclaimed. “Why? You’ve been messing around avoiding each other for years. I thought it might finally be happening this time.”
“How many excuses do you want?” Ollie said morosely. “I’m not Chinese. She’s convinced that’s important. She won’t go against her family’s wishes. She gets very mysterious and says there are ‘reasons’, but won’t say what the reasons are…”
“You seemed so good together when you were here for dinner.”
He gave a frustrated sigh. “More than good. Great. Utterly fantastic. Never been so happy in my life – and never had the legs chopped out from under me so completely.”
“Ollie…”
“Yeah, sorry to pile it onto you, cuz. You’re the only one I can unload to.”