He remembered Lexie as well. She never would’ve thought they’d made an impression at school. Belle smiled and rolled her ‘amazing’ eyes.
‘What was that for?’ he asked, eyebrows disappearing under his curls.
‘My sister, but I’m surprised you remember either one of us.’
‘Are you kidding? How could we forget the Fabrini sisters? Besides, Mario’s very proud of you both.’
‘Who’s we?’ Belle asked, feeling a little nervous about their reputation.
‘Mostly Mum and me.’ Kabe scratched his jaw. ‘Were you on your way to visit Mario before the storm hit?’
‘Yes. Nan passed away six years ago. Then about two years ago, Pop decided to live on the island. He said people were depressing and elderly women kept hitting on him. He said, some weren’t even that elderly.’ Belle giggled. ‘He wanted to escape and fair enough too. Mum and Dad tried everything to get him to come home, but he won’t leave. He believes they’ll stick him in a retirement village where he’ll shrivel and die. If he wants to stay, then that’s what he should do, and we should support his decision.’
‘Yeah, Mario would be bloody-minded about staying put, he loves his island and boating.’
‘Yeah, Pop taught me how to sail, so did Dad. I just hope their boat survives the storm.’
‘As far as I could tell, you followed the correct procedures. I think she’ll be fine. But I know how difficult it was to watch her disappear from view.’ He took a sip of wine and asked, ‘What do you think happened out there?’
‘I’m not sure. Something hit the rudder, could’ve been a loggerhead turtle, or a shark.’ Belle shuddered. ‘I don’t know. I felt a hefty bump; it moved the yacht sideways and scared the crap out of me. Suddenly the tiller was useless. Other than that, the wind ate the sails. Luckily the boat righted herself to head before the wind, which stopped the waves smashing into me broadside.’
‘I’m just glad you placed your own safety first, for a moment there I thought you wanted to stay. You scared the crap out of me. I don’t think your family, or fiancé,’ he gave her a weird wink, ‘would’ve wanted that. Brace yourself, because the media are going to have a field day.’ He gave her a lopsided, wry grin, swung around and muttered, ‘Can’t stand them either.’
‘Fiancé!’ she yelled. ‘I’m not engaged—never was! It’s a rumour spread around town by a misogynistic prick. He never was—he never could be—ever!’ Belle started to tremble. Shit! She hated that. ‘The man’s a delusional, egocentric buffoon,’ she ground out through clenched teeth. The arsehole! Belle’s mouth trembled and tears trickled down her cheeks as she recalled the pain and tragedy she’d experienced at the hands of Greg Travers. She bit down on her lip, desperate to stop the flow.
‘Belle? What’s wrong?’ Concern creased Kabe’s face as he leaned over the table towards her.
Too emotional and embarrassed to answer, she shook her head, eyes fixed on the table. Kabe hauled her out of the bench seat, held her tightly, and waited. Her pulse quickened at the sudden feel of his hard chest. His strong arms around her so very comforting, she closed her eyes and let him hold her. Then he rested his jaw against her temple and stroked her hair; it was such a tender gesture, Belle melted against him.
She didn’t know how long she stood wrapped in his arms, but eventually she stirred. Kabe’s accelerating heart beat thumping in her ear might’ve had something to do with it. She pulled herself together as she’d done so many times before when that particular subject came up. ‘Thank you,’ she said, stepping back.
‘Belle?’
‘I’m okay.’ She nodded. ‘It’s disappointing, but it also feels like betrayal when friends, workmates decide to believe him,’ she told him pointedly.
‘I knew you weren’t with him. You’d have to be someone else, not the Belle I knew. Sorry my teasing hurt you like that.’ Kabe’s brow furrowed and his eyes were filled with regret; there was no doubt in Belle’s mind he wished he could take back his words. ‘You might want to get the local paper to retract his statement that the two of you are engaged, and you know, spread the word that he’s insane.’ Kabe chuckled.
Horrified by the news, her hands flew to her burning cheeks and, eyes growing big, she stared at him.
He shrugged. ‘It’s all over town and he’s hyping it up, big time.’
‘And no one thought to ask me if it was true!? What’s the matter with everyone? I’ll have to remind the locals of something Pop used to say: “You lookin’ for trouble? Gossip’ll get you there.” ’
‘This is not gossip, Belle, he’s got photos, the two of you together.’ Kabe’s brow furrowed, his expression scary. Emotions flitted across his face; in a blink the scary was gone. ‘I’m sorry.’ He gave her hand a squeeze. ‘I’ve been walking around with my head up my own arse. I should’ve done something about it.’
The sudden heavy atmosphere eased and Belle giggled. ‘At least your head wasn’t up someone else’s arse.’
He pulled a face, then roared with laughter.
She couldn’t remember ever seeing him laugh like that at school, but he’d had a lot going on then.
Kabe kissed the top of her head and moved back to the galley. He dipped his finger into the salad dressing and put it into his mouth to taste.
Belle’s eyes followed his finger dreamily, then head bent she massaged the back of her neck.
‘Headache? Need some aspirin?’ he asked.
‘No thank you,’ she replied.
He opened the oven door and checked the cooking. A delicious aroma wafted through the cabin. Kabe came back to the table and placed a plate of fragrant lasagne in front of Belle, followed by a bowl of crisp green salad and hot rolls for them to share. He sat on the bench opposite, his long legs closing the gap between them. His thighs brushed hers and, if she could interpret the look in his eyes, she’d say he was a seductive, teasing bad boy. He seemed to enjoy the physical contact that she suddenly found disturbing. She squirmed as far back into the bench seat as possible, but had to settle for having her knees between his open legs, which was, she supposed, better than the other way around.
He studied her with a questioning slant of his head and an intense gaze full of wicked promises that she liked way too much, then to top it off a sexy, lopsided grin eased into his face.
Mouth parted, Belle stared back, her pulse rate increased and heat fired every erogenous zone in her body. She gulped and, for her own sanity, forced her mind to take the conversation away from what was happening above and under the table. ‘I remember during high school your dad was very sick.’
‘My father left seventeen years ago, about the same time you had that crush on me.’ He continued as if his statement had meant very little, when it obviously did, for both of them. ‘Mum and I watched a strong, robust man waste away before our eyes.’
‘I’m so sorry. I saw your dad at school events; he seemed like a lovely, gentle man.’
‘He was, but everyone has another side to them and Dad was no exception. Diagnosed with cancer, he immediately had an affair.’ Kabe shook his head and chuckled. ‘Of course, Mum wasn’t happy and who could blame her. After a week or two of talking, she understood why. But the idiot didn’t stop there. After Mum nursed him through all the horrors of chemo and tests, the bastard got well and took off.’
Belle waited, but he said no more and forked lasagne into his mouth. She stared at him, eyes wide open in question.
He stopped chewing and asked, ‘What?’
‘Crikey, Kabe, you can’t just leave me hanging and not explain why he had the affair.’
‘It’s simple: he came face to face with his mortality. Get as much living done in the time you have left. His “bucket list” shouldn’t have included an affair. It wasn’t like that anyway, how can you have an affair with a hooker? Nevertheless, he took off with that hooker.’
Horrified, Belle gaped at Kabe. His eyebrows rose in a comical, I-don’t-get-his-behaviour-either expression, which made
her giggle. She raised her hands. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.’
‘Hey, I understand. I laughed when I heard them arguing. I walked in and told them to shut up and get on with it. Hell, the man was sick, dying … and then, a miracle, he got well.’
She swallowed a mouthful of lasagne she’d been chewing and said, ‘I heard you had a bad experience with Eagle Ray.’
‘Yeah. Eagle Ray—more like Greg Travers. Seems we both have history with that worthless piece … We beat them down in the end … It’s done,’ Kabe said with such force it was clear to Belle there would be no further explanation. He picked up his knife and fork and savagely cut into his lasagne.
Figuring he was going to find out eventually, Belle gathered her nerves and said, ‘I used to be Eagle Ray Resorts’ environmentalist.’ Back rigid and face like thunder, Kabe paused. Belle quickly added firmly, ‘I was the only one who could keep them in line.’
‘Fuck! You were with them?’ he asked, eyes sharp on hers. He took a big gulp of wine and growled, ‘How long?’
‘It was only eighteen months; why do you ask?’ She gave him a look, hoping he would offer more information.
‘Before your time. Let me just say, they are devious bastards. I hope you had plenty of influence … We’re not that vulnerable, but some folk are, and cheating them out of their property is a crime; developing sensitive areas should be as well.’
‘Of course it should. But when I worked for them I made sure they complied with environmental legislation.’
‘You think that worked?’
She paused. ‘Yes I do. I made sure Eagle Ray built their resorts with low environmental impact.’
‘Just walking through some areas disturbs the environment.’
‘I know, but once the government has approved the site and building plans, short of demonstrations and sabotage, there’s no stopping it. Someone has to be at the coalface to make sure they do it right.’
‘I see your point, and I do understand,’ he said, his tone earnest, contrite. ‘You would’ve had to duck the rotten tomatoes lobbed in your direction from well-meaning protestors. You didn’t deserve that.’
Belle shook her head, smiled and said, ‘Thank you, on both counts.’
*
The way she said, ‘Thank you,’ the soft look in her eyes, the tilt of her head, told Kabe that for him to understand the importance of her job meant something to her. She would’ve had to put up with a lot of shit working for those bastards. Mixed emotions clenched Kabe’s chest. He tried to get a handle on what they meant. Was it attraction, or lust? He stared at his hands, thinking.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked, carefully.
‘Yeah …’ he answered, slowly drawing out his reply as he realised, surprisingly, his teenage feelings, his old affection for Belle, ran deep, deeper than he expected. Nobody had made him feel like that, ever. In a couple of hours, she managed to disorganise his carefully organised mind. He needed space to think straight, and made a move to get up. To lighten the mood he gave her his friendliest smile and added, ‘Relax, have a good night’s sleep … I won’t bite.’ Much.
‘Pity …’ Eyes round, she stared at him and pulled her lips in between her teeth. Her expression said, Oops, did I just say that out loud?
‘Invitation?’ He stood and, hands flat on the table, leant into her sweet face. His eyes dropped to her mouth. ‘Breathe,’ he said.
With an exhale, she let herself relax.
Jesus, woman, he thought and bent his head down for a couple of seconds, then raised it and whispered, voice strained, ‘Goodnight, Belle. Get some sleep.’ He gathered the empty plates, took them to the galley, stepped into his cabin, closed the door and, leaning his back against it, whispered, ‘Fuck!’
Kabe lay naked on his bunk, hands behind his head, brain on a guilt trip. He should never have teased her about Travers. If Belle was wide awake, it was his fault for making her antsy. But unless he knocked on her door and apologised, there wasn’t a thing he could do about it now. Man, she’d intrigued him in high school and now, she was really getting under his skin.
He would make her smile again … really smile, and laugh the way she used to.
The last vision Kabe had before falling asleep was the raw pain he’d seen in Belle’s beautiful, honey-gold eyes.
Kabe woke with a gasp, his heart pounding, his body covered in a film of perspiration. He grappled with the remnants of his nightmarish dream. He’d been back in the storm, clasping Belle’s forearm as a gigantic, dark wave crashed over them. It pulled her from his grasp and took her away. He could see her head going under, her arms waving, grappling to stay afloat. He’d dived in after her and swam as hard as he could, but in the dream-state it felt as if he were swimming through molasses—getting nowhere. He called out to her again and again, but she slowly disappeared over the black horizon. His last sighting of her was her pale hand in the air, a silent plea to save her, but she was out of reach and there was nothing he could do … nothing.
His helplessness tore at him.
Not Belle … not his Belle. Shit! Old feelings he thought buried long ago exploded in his chest and robbed him of his breath.
Fists clenching, he sat up in bed and rubbed his face trying to wipe away the image burned in his mind. ‘It didn’t happen—it didn’t happen,’ he repeated. Despite the heat a cold shudder ripped through his body.
Bloody hell, Kabe thought, that was a bit rough, and wondered how vocal he’d been. He quietly made his way to the galley and poured himself a glass of water. On his way back to bed, he stopped by Belle’s cabin door, listening, but there wasn’t a sound. Hopefully she wasn’t curled up in a corner scared to death. Determined to get back to sleep, he stretched out on his bunk, calmed himself, and closed his eyes.
Chapter 4
Kabe woke with sunlight streaming in through the little cabin window hitting his eyelids. His groggy mind tried to come to grips with a strange cramped sensation. Legs tucked under his chin, he craned his head to survey his surroundings. ‘Bloody hell.’ He stretched the kinks out of his long limbs, grunting with the aches and stiffness of sleeping curled up like a pretzel. During the night, The Ondine had dipped stern down and listed sideways with the outgoing tide. ‘Shit!’ he growled. He needed to get on deck and check out his yacht. Movement was like trying to get up a slippery playground slide without using the ladder. He flung his legs over the bunk and promptly fell off. The thud of elbows, knees and hip hitting the deck boomed through the cabin.
He clung to the makeshift drying line, smiled at Belle’s underwear, unpegged his shorts and dragged them on, an interesting exercise at this crazy angle. He slapped on his favourite baseball cap to shade his eyes, gritted his teeth, let go of his support and slid through the cabin. He clambered up on deck; the sun’s glare bouncing off the water made his eyes ache, and he quickly shoved his cap’s peak further down. He peered over the side. More than half his boat was out of the water.
‘Well,’ he chuckled, idly scratching his stomach, ‘It’ll look better after breakfast.’ Using the handrails, he slid down the short steps into the main cabin.
Kabe eyed the angle of the kitchen and decided bacon and eggs on toast was a little foolhardy, so had cheese on rye instead. He took his sandwich to the cockpit, and radioed Marine Rescue.
‘Yeah we’re stuck, but no damage,’ he told them, ‘should be able to get The Ondine off at the next high tide.’
‘Don’t hurry unless you have to,’ the voice said. ‘The storm really ripped into Luna Bay, it’s a mess.’
He signed off and radioed his business partner. ‘G’day Dan, are you and the Geminis okay?’
‘Yeah, mate, all’s good. Hear you ran into Pop’s girl out on the wild seas. You’re a legend mate.’
Kabe laughed. ‘Nah, it’s my skill and accuracy. You just haven’t learnt enough from the master.’
‘Stop shittin’ me, I’m the master.’ Dan chuckled. ‘Just wasn’t out there. Don’t think
I’d be stuck on a sand bar, mate … then again, heard Pop’s girls are lookers, so I may have arranged that for a bit. Hope you’re dealing okay, cos one of these days we’re gonna meet a babe who’ll knock us sideways and we’ll be delirious mate. We won’t know what hit us.’
‘You’re not wrong.’
‘Need help gettin’ back? I can get the launch fired up. What d’ya reckon?’
‘Nah, don’t do that. We’ll be okay.’ Besides, he was looking forward to an uninterrupted day on the island with Belle.
‘Gotta go!’ Dan called out. ‘Hot chick headin’ this way, looks desperate.’
‘She would be desperate, heading your way.’
‘’Scuse me!’ Kabe could almost see him doing what he called the turkey head-wobble. ‘They’d go for me just on looks alone, mate.’ A full-bellied roaring laugh crackled from the speaker. ‘Christ, she’s hot!’ Kabe heard Dave whisper on a chuckle, and then he was gone.
Kabe looked at the mike and, shaking his head, hung it back on its holder. He heard movement below and excitement tightened his gut.
Belle was awake.
A cry of ‘Bugger!’ followed by thumping noises drifted up from below.
Kabe suppressed a grin as he peered down the companionway to see Belle slide into view.
‘Whoa!’ she cried out.
‘Good morning,’ he laughed.
‘Is it?’ she said sleepily, shading her eyes as she squinted up into the sunlight. Her other hand tugged at the sheet wrapped around her body, keeping it from slipping off her breasts as she tried to untangle it from around her legs.
‘The view sure is good from up here … looking down …’ Kabe trailed off and couldn’t keep the humour from making his voice wobble. He’d like to wake up to that view every morning. Fuck! Did he just think that?
‘I heard voices; is there another boat here to tow us out?’
Damn, she sounded hopeful, and he almost felt like a heel for wanting to stay—almost. ‘No one here but us. I contacted Marine Rescue; Luna Bay is a shambles and it’ll take some time to sort it. If we can’t get The Ondine off with the next tide we’ll send for help.’ He grinned down at her lovely face as steamy images of what they could do together bombarded his mind. ‘Help yourself to breakfast,’ he said, voice strained.
I'Ve Got You Page 4