Esther walked in a hazy dream, thinking how exotic the palm trees looked outside the shops, and how lovely and warm it was, even at ten o’clock at night.
She rounded the corner, slightly ahead of the other girls, and stopped in her tracks at the sight of the guys milling about close to the wine bar.
She squealed and several of them turned, so she walked backward, bumping into Faith. “Groom alert!” she said hastily.
Faith woman-handled Eve into an alleyway. “What are they doing here?” she snapped. “I mapped out the route for Rusty, for God’s sake.”
“I’ll go see.” Esther, along with a couple of the other girls, walked unsteadily toward the men. One of them whistled, and several others cheered. The other girls giggled. Esther’s amusement fled at the thought of seeing Toby and her heart pounded. Where was he? She couldn’t see him.
She approached Dan, who grinned. His brown hair was ruffled, his eyes at half-mast, and he’d clearly had more than a few beers.
“What are you doing here?” she scolded him. “You’re supposed to be at the sports bar.”
“We had a detour,” he said, speaking very carefully as if he was worried he wouldn’t be able to pronounce the words. “How is my lovely wife-to-be?” He stared hopefully up the road.
“You’re not allowed to see her, Dan. It’s unlucky.”
“I miss her.” He looked forlorn.
She laughed and rubbed his arm. “Only a few more hours, then you’ll be stuck with her for life. Don’t stress.”
Rusty pushed through the guys and came up to her. “Hey, Esther.”
“Faith’s pissed with you,” she said. “You weren’t supposed to come this way.”
“We’ll be off in a minute. One of the guys needed some cash from the cashpoint.” Like Dan, his hair was ruffled and his eyes slightly feverish.
“Are you drunk?” she asked suspiciously, trying not to slur her words while accusing him. “I didn’t think you liked alcohol.”
“It seemed rude to let him drink on his own.” He blinked slowly.
“You’re with about ten other guys, Rusty.”
“Oh yeah.” He rubbed his nose. “I’ve only had a couple. Mind you, it only takes a couple for my hamster to break loose.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that prison slang? For God’s sake, don’t get your ‘hamster’ out in public or Faith’ll never hear the end of it.”
Behind her, someone snorted with laughter, and then a pair of warm arms slid around her and a nose bumped the back of her head. “Hello sweetheart.”
She turned with surprise, warmth stealing up through her body and into her face as she realised it was Toby. “Hello. I’m guessing you’re pretty plastered too.”
“Not at all. I’m the only sober one here.” He planted a kiss noisily on her cheek.
“Hmm.” She eyed him suspiciously.
He raised an eyebrow. “Hey. She who wears tiara and veil in public should not throw stones.” She’d forgotten about the veil. She snatched it off her head hurriedly, and he grinned. He pulled out his phone. “Don’t worry, I have a beautiful picture to remind me.” He clicked a few buttons and then turned it to show her the photo Faith had taken.
“She sent it to you?” Her voice rang with indignation.
“Yup.” He kissed the screen. “You look gorgeous.”
She couldn’t stop her lips curving. “Dear, oh dear. You are drunk. Lord, you’re clumsy enough when you’re sober.”
His eyes met hers. He slid his phone into his pocket, put his arms around her and pulled her up against him. “Not that drunk.”
“Toby…”
He took the tiara out of her hand and placed it back on her hair, then adjusted the veil around her face. “It suits you,” he mumbled when she protested. He studied her for a moment, face serious, his eyes clear.
Then he kissed her.
A series of wolf whistles arose from the men, along with cheers from the girls who’d spotted what they were up to.
“Put him down,” Rusty said. “You don’t know where he’s been.”
Her cheeks burned, but Toby tightened his arms around her, and in the end she gave in and kissed him back. She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth to his tongue as he kissed her deeply.
“Great.” Dan said to one side. “Now Toby’s getting some and I’ve got to sleep on my own tonight. How’s that fair?”
“It’s your last night alone,” came Rusty’s voice. “Think of it as a farewell party for your right hand.”
Esther couldn’t stifle a giggle and Toby pulled back, chuckling. “Sorry,” he whispered. “But you look so lovely.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
She shook her head, embarrassed, flustered and a tiny bit pleased. “For goodness’ sake. Now go on, all of you, off to the sports bar. The girls want a drink!”
Laughing, the guys headed off down the road, sending final catcalls along to the girls. Esther watched them go, lips curving. She touched the veil where it lay on her neck, the cheap lace stiff between her fingers. Would she ever get to wear one for real? She’d never thought about getting hitched before.
For a brief moment she entertained the notion that it was she who was getting married the next day, and it was her hen party they were out on. How exciting would that be? To know the next day she’d be going to the church to declare her intention to love her man forever. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. Her husband would be at her side every day. Every night. To support her and Charlie, to look after and love them both.
She bit her lip. It was a fine fantasy. Too bad fairy godmothers didn’t exist in real life.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Toby arrived at Rusty’s house at eleven the next morning to pick him up distinctly the worse for wear.
A bleary-eyed Rusty opened the door, confirming that Toby hadn’t been the only one to lose track of the number of whisky glasses on the table the night before.
Rusty winced as Charlie hollered from the bedroom. “I wish kids came with a mute button.” He stepped back to let Toby enter.
“You think this is bad?” Faith gave him a dark look as she passed with a basketful of washing. She wore a bathrobe and her hair was wrapped in a towel. “Wait until it’s an octave higher and twice the volume at two a.m.”
Rusty watched her disappear along the corridor and smiled sheepishly. “She’s mad at me.”
“Why? You throw up on the sofa or something?” Esther must be with Charlie in the bedroom, Toby thought.
“On the duvet. She had to change the entire bed at three in the morning. She wasn’t a happy bunny.”
Toby pulled a face and then smiled brightly as Faith came back along the corridor. “Morning.”
She glowered at him. “Don’t you start.”
“Me? I haven’t done anything.”
She stopped and stared at him. A thoughtful expression settled on her face. “Hmm.”
“What?” Unease settled over him. “What did I do?”
Her lips twitched and she shook her head. “I’ll tell Esther you’re here.” She went along to the bedroom, knocked and slipped inside.
Toby met Rusty’s bloodshot eyes. Rusty shrugged.
“Did I do something last night?” Panic rose inside Toby. “Shit, I can’t remember.”
“I have no idea. I can barely remember making it home.”
“We got Dan back to the house though, didn’t we?”
“Far as I remember.”
They both fell quiet for a moment.
“I seem to recall stopping by Eve’s parents’ house,” Toby said after a while.
“Yeah. Why did we do that again?”
“Dan wanted to see Eve.”
Rusty frowned. “Did her Dad come out and yell at us?”
“Um, yeah, for trampling his begonias.”
Toby scratched the back of his head. Rusty cleared his throat.
Toby sighed. His stomach roile
d uneasily. “Oh well, I guess we’ll find out what else we did soon enough.”
“Hmm.”
They both watched warily as Faith came out of the bedroom, followed by Esther. Toby’s heart swelled. She wore trackpants and a T-shirt. Her hair hung damply about her face, and she’d yet to put on her makeup.
She looked fresh as a glass of cold water, and he could have done her right there.
His head throbbed. Okay, maybe not. But she was beautiful. And he had to fight not to fold her in his arms.
He met her gaze warily, however, conscious that she’d carefully arranged her features into a blank, quizzical stare. “Morning,” she said. She folded her arms, her whole body tense.
“Morning.” He smiled hopefully. Her lips twitched but didn’t curve into the reciprocal smile he wanted. “Everything okay?” What the fuck had he done? He remembered meeting the girls outside the bank and kissing her. Had that pissed her off?
She exchanged a glance with Faith, who raised an eyebrow and shrugged as if to say, “Told you.” Her gaze slid back to him and she exhaled slowly, her mouth now curving into a welcoming, if rueful, smile.
“Daddy, Daddy!” Naked as the day he was born, Charlie shot out of the bedroom and ran like a bullet to wrap his arms around his father’s knees. “I’m going to a wedding.”
“Hey, buster.” Toby bent and lifted his son into his arms. “Are you going to church like this?”
Charlie giggled. “No, Daddy. I’ve got to get dressed.”
“Well, thank goodness. You’ll frighten all the bridesmaids.”
Esther rolled her eyes. “He’s pretty excited. I’ve been trying to get him into his clothes for the last half an hour.”
“I’ve got a tow bar,” Charlie said.
Esther laughed. “He means a bow tie.”
“Have you got one?” Charlie asked his dad.
“No—I’ve got an ordinary tie. A shiny silver one.”
“Where is it?”
“At Dan’s house. Rusty and I are going there to get dressed.”
“Can I come wiv you?”
Esther smiled and stroked his hair. “No, sweetie. Daddy has a special job to do, remember?”
“Yes.” Charlie beamed. “You’re going to be the brest man.”
They all burst out laughing at the look on Toby’s face. “How does he know?” he said.
“Why’s everybody laughing?” Charlie protested.
“It’s best man,” Esther told him, highly amused.
Toby grinned. At least she was smiling. “Okay. We’d better be off and make sure Dan’s up.”
Faith led Rusty off to give him instructions for the day. Toby put down the wriggling Charlie and watched, smiling, as his son ran down the corridor. Then he turned his attention to Esther.
Her eyes looked sad. Why was she sad? He cupped her face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She stood woodenly for a moment, and then visibly softened and nestled her cheek into his palm.
He leaned forward and kissed her. He’d only meant to make it a quick kiss, but his lips lingered, entranced by the softness of hers. In response, she slipped her arms around him and moulded her body to his. He sighed inwardly and threaded his hand through her damp hair, holding her as he deepened the kiss. She tasted of chocolate, and her skin smelled fresh, of oranges and strawberries.
When he lifted his head, she was smiling.
He brushed her lips with his thumb. “Still on for tonight?”
“Sure. Have you drawn the card?”
“Oh yes.” Desire curled through him at the thought of what awaited them that night. He glanced over his shoulder. Faith and Rusty had disappeared into the kitchen. He could hear her chewing him out again, poor guy. “You want to read it?” he asked, pulling the card out of his pocket.
She took it and read it quickly. He grinned as twin spots of colour appeared on her cheeks. Previously, they’d picked their cards at random, but he’d taken his time choosing their last Naughty Night. He could remember the wording. It’s the twenty-fourth century and the galaxy is in turmoil. Mutinous workers are threatening to overthrow the state. You’ve captured a protestor, and you’ve been instructed by your superiors to interrogate her for information. Feel free to restrain her, and use every skill at your disposal to extract the secrets she knows…
She raised her gaze to his. “Tying me up, huh?”
He pulled her closer and nuzzled her ear, breathing in the strawberry scent of her hair. “Any objections?”
“No,” she said, breathless. She played with his shirt. “I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Oh?” He pulled back.
“I’ve got an interview in Dunedin.”
His heart bumped unnaturally and then sank into his boots. But he forced a smile onto his face. “That’s great news. I’m really pleased for you.”
Her shoulders lost some of their tension and the frown between her eyes disappeared. “Oh, thanks. Yes, it is good news.”
“When is it?”
“Soon as I can make it. I was thinking maybe about flying down Monday, if you wouldn’t mind looking after Charlie? I know you’ve got to get back to work though.”
“I can take one more day. Of course I’ll look after him.”
She nodded. Their gazes locked for a moment, a thousand things unspoken. He was going to lose her, he thought miserably.
“Until later, then,” he said eventually.
She nodded. “Good luck.”
“Hopefully I won’t need it, but thanks.” He released her, his hand lingering on her hip as if it couldn’t bear to lose contact with her.
Rusty and Faith came out of the kitchen. Rusty looked smug and Faith’s cheeks were pink, so Toby guessed they’d made up. “Ready?”
“Yep.” Rusty lifted his suit from the hanger and grabbed his bag. He kissed Faith. “See you later, sexy.”
“Don’t push your luck.” But she smiled.
They headed out to the car, and waved to the girls as they drove away.
“You made up then?” Toby queried.
“Yeah. I grovelled. And made a few promises for later.” Rusty grinned.
“Faith being pregnant hasn’t damaged your sex life then,” Toby said, amused.
“Quite the opposite. She’s insatiable.” Rusty rolled his eyes. “I’m exhausted.”
“You’re really complaining about your wife’s increased sex drive? Dude, what’s wrong with you?”
Rusty laughed. “Point taken. I’m guessing there won’t be so much of it when the baby’s born, so I suppose I should make the most of it.” He sighed.
“Yeah, but the baby won’t stay a baby forever,” Toby said. “And you’ve got the rest of your life together.”
“True.” Rusty smiled.
Toby concentrated on the road. Rusty had a hell of a year ahead of him. All the troubles and worries of Faith’s pregnancy, the stress of the birth and getting screamed at in the delivery room, the sleepless night, the dirty nappies and vomit everywhere.
And Toby was green with envy. He should have had all that. It churned him up inside that he’d missed out on it. He hadn’t even seen any pictures of his son at birth, and probably never would, as Esther had told him her photos had been lost in the damage from the earthquake. He’d never get that time back again—those precious memories of Charlie having his first chocolate bar, saying his first word, sitting on a swing for the first time.
“Dude,” Rusty said. “You okay?”
Toby followed his gaze to see his hands gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white. He forced himself to loosen his grip and sighed. “Yeah.”
“You thinking about Esther?”
“How did you guess?” He smiled wryly.
“Been there, done that.”
“Yeah, I’d forgotten.”
It had been a peculiar couple of months when Rusty and Faith had got together, supposedly under the excuse of doing research for some articles Faith was writing, even though Tob
y knew Rusty had wanted to get her into bed for years. They’d not told anyone they were hooking up, but he’d known something was going on. There’d been an odd atmosphere in the group, and Rusty had been preoccupied and moody toward the end, although Toby had not been able to put his finger on why.
“What made you decide?” he asked.
“Decide what?”
“That you wanted to stay with her,” he said. Rusty had always been determined to stay single due to the severe alcoholism that the men in his family suffered from.
“I missed her,” Rusty said. “When I wasn’t with her. I couldn’t think about anything else.” He studied Toby thoughtfully. “Is that how you feel about Esther?”
Toby said nothing.
“Ah.”
Toby sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Even if she does feel the same way about me, she’s off to Christchurch soon, or maybe even Dunedin—she’s got an interview Monday. It wouldn’t make any difference what we feel. She’ll never forgive me for leaving her in Fiji.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He glanced at Rusty. “What do you mean?”
“I mean she’s crazy about you, man. It’s written all over her.”
He looked back at the road. “She thinks I’m all right in bed, if that’s what you mean.”
“That’s not what I mean. She watches you all the time, when she thinks you aren’t looking.”
A shiver descended from the roots of his hair across his shoulders and down his spine. “Stop shitting me.”
“I’m not shitting you. I swear. She’s nuts about you. God knows why. And maybe you should take the time to talk to her about the future, rather than assume you know what she’s thinking all the time.”
That made him think. Was there any possibility of a future for the two of them together? It was difficult to convince himself there was. Because her being crazy about him was one thing.
Her forgiving him for walking away from her was another.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
They arrived at Dan’s house, half-expecting to find him still in bed, but to their surprise he was up, showered and fresh as a daisy. The room smelled of bacon and eggs, and Toby’s stomach rumbled.
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