Madeline’s coffee arrived and with her first sip she screwed up her face and summoned Rodney back with the crook of her finger.
“Something wrong, Miss Higgins?” he asked worriedly. The disappointment on his face when she scowled, made me want to hug the damn kid.
“This is cold. Fix it.”
Lifting the cup and saucer carefully, I watched as his hand shook before he walked away, his shoulders hunched in defeat.
“Did you need to be that harsh?” I asked, toning down what I wanted to really say.
Madeline didn’t answer. Instead she looked at Mum. “So, who’s this Emma?”
Mum looked to me and I shrugged. What the hell was I supposed to say? I wasn’t at all embarrassed by Emma being here. I wanted her here, which was more than I could say for the woman sitting beside me.
“She’s a friend of Bryce’s.”
“Really!” Wow! I think there were dogs four suburbs over who just cowered at the sound of her shrill.
“Yeah. She lives in Sydney and we caught up.” Even though I was happy to defend Emma there was no way I was going to be responsible for handing Madeline the ammunition she was searching for.
“So nice of you,” Madeline replied bitterly.
Ignoring her the best I could, I looked out the front at Seth and Emma. Thankfully, I think, he’d managed to put the smile back on her face and the two were laughing at something. When he wove his arm around her shoulders and began leading her down the boardwalk and out of sight, I stiffened in my seat. Where the fuck was he taking her? And why couldn’t it be me?
Rodney returned with Madeline’s coffee, setting it down on the table before scampering away like someone had lit his arse on fire. I guess Madeline’s disguise had slipped and he’d seen who she was under the mask. Rude. Condescending. And quite frankly, a bit of a bitch.
While Mum engaged Madeline in a conversation, something about the sappy soap opera she was in, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Seth: Taking Em to have some fun. Call when wicked witch has flown off on her broom.
I snorted.
I didn’t mean to, but Seth just had a way with words.
I might not like that he’d disappeared with Emma but at least I knew he was taking care of her while I couldn’t. But as soon as this was over, the moment I could make my escape, I was out of here.
Bryce: Thx.
I didn’t know what else to say to him, so I left it short and sweet. If I threatened him, something I was very tempted to do, it’d bite me in the arse. I’d learnt the hard way with Seth over the years. Say nothing in writing. He’d use it to incriminate me every time. Every. Single. Time. Little fucker.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mum, Dad did you guys want anything else? Another coffee or something? Or should I get the bill?” I asked politely, needing this shit show to be over.
Dad chuckled. He knew exactly what I was doing. “I’m fine, thanks, Bryce.”
“Me too. I’ll get another coffee after our walk,” Mum answered.
“Walk?”
“Your father and I are going to walk around the headlands and over to Circular Quay. It’s supposed to be lovely.”
“Sounds like fun,” I mocked.
“Can’t wait,” Dad conceded. He was used to Mum’s walking habits. And as much as he bitched and moaned about it, secretly he loved it.
“Walk? Why the hell would you walk over there. Just get an Uber. Or at worst use the trains,” Madeline scoffed, looking offended.
“It’s a beautiful day and I’d love to enjoy some sunshine before we head back to Melbourne this afternoon,” Mum defended politely.
Madeline may have had her head too far up her arse to notice, but I sure as shit didn’t. Mum was done. And as frustrating as today had been, I was glad Mum had been here to see it. Up until now I think she wanted to believe the best of Madeline, something I could understand, but the Maddy we once knew was long gone. The entitled little diva sitting at our table wasn’t the same girl she once was, and she definitely wasn’t for me.
“And what about you, Bryce? Got any exciting plans before you head home?” she asked, stroking my cheek with her nail. My skin crawled. It was the most awkward and uncomfortable feeling I could remember ever having to endure. I wanted to slap her hand away and run out the door. Instead, I kept my manners, barely, trapping her hand before setting it back on the table.
“Nah. Gotta head back to the hotel and grab my bag then go to the airport.” I tried to make my day sound as boring as possible, hoping she’d take the hint. “How ‘bout you? Anything exciting?”
“Want company?”
Wait!
What?
Did she just offer to come back to the hotel with me in front of my parents? Fuck me! This chick had more than a few screws loose.
“It’s all good. Surely you and your girlfriends,” I motioned to her forgotten barbie twins sitting at a nearby table, both so engrossed in their phones I’d bet if the world blew up around them they wouldn’t even notice, “have more exciting plans this morning?”
Looking taken aback, or constipated, I’m honestly not sure which, Madeline stuck her pointed nose in the air before answering. “Well actually we do have some place to be. We’re off looking for dresses to wear to a movie premiere next week.”
If that was supposed to impress me, then she was dealing with the wrong person. I didn’t give a flying fuck if she was attending some premiere or meeting the Queen. “Sounds great. I’m sure you’ll have a great time.”
“Oh, no doubt I will.”
Rodney appeared, handing me a black leather case with the bill tucked inside. Digging my credit card from my wallet, I handed it all back to him without even looking at the total and watched as he vanished as quickly as he’d appeared.
“Well, I think that’s us done,” Dad declared, standing up before helping Mum out of her chair, not that she needed a hand. That was just what Dad was like. He was a gentleman and treated Mum like she was a queen. To him, she was. All I could hope was one day, when I settled down, I wouldn’t forget the example he’d always shown me.
“Maddy, it was lovely to see you again,” Mum gushed politely as she swung her bag over her shoulder.
“It’s Madeline,” she spat back like the rude, insolent bitch she was.
Needing this to be over, I kissed Madeline quickly on the cheek and headed outside, pausing only to grab my card and the receipt from a nervous Rodney who was hovering by the door. The moment I stepped out in the sun, I wished I had my sunglasses with me. With the sun reflecting off the harbour, I was nearly blinded by the brightness of it all. Even the smell of salt on the air was refreshing after being almost overcome by Madeline’s sickeningly sweet, heavily applied perfume. Girl needed to learn that sometimes; less is more.
Mum and Dad followed me out a moment later. “Well that was fun,” Dad offered sarcastically.
Handing her bag to Dad, Mum started putting on her cardigan. “What happened to her? Maddy used to be so lovely. I can’t believe she’s turned into…well, that,” Mum said, the disappointment in her voice thick.
I wanted to say, ‘I told ya so,’ but I knew Mum wouldn’t hesitate to clip me around the ear whether we were in public or not. She didn’t care one bit at all that people knew who I was and my photo was in the papers every other week. To her, I was still her son and if I stepped out of line, then I was going to know about it.
“Fame,” I offered, pulling my phone out.
“It’s sad.”
“Well, enjoy your walk and your flight. Thanks for coming up and well, you know,” I shrugged, feeling embarrassed.
“Helping you get the girl? Fix your fuck up?” Dad offered helpfully.
“Yeah. That.”
“Emma’s a great girl, sweetheart. She suits you. And she’s not going to put up with any of your crap either.”
“What your mother is trying to say, Bryce, is… we like her. Don’t screw it up.”
Geez! Thanks for t
he vote of confidence. I wanted to protest but there was no point. They were right. I’d stuffed up once and nearly blown my chance before we’d even taken the first step, I couldn’t afford to fumble again. Emma wouldn’t tolerate that shit. And I didn’t expect her to.
“I’ll try,” was all I could offer.
Rising on her toes, Mum wrapped me in a hug before kissing my cheek. Squeezing her tight, I took a deep breath inhaling her perfume. For as long as I could remember she had the exact same scent. The smell of home. Even hundreds of kilometres away from her garden and kitchen and she still smelt like home. It was comforting and somehow what I needed.
“You’ll be fine. Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you too, Mum.”
“Go get your girl before your brother steals her,” Dad taunted, offering one of those manly bro hugs. It was awkward as fuck, but I didn’t care. If someone wanted to film this moment and put it online, they could go right ahead. This was real. This was family. And you did shit like weird hugs for family.
“Enjoy your walk. I’ll send Seth back in the direction of the hotel.”
“Thanks,” Mum said the same time Dad said, “Ask him not to hurry.” When Dad winked at me, I shuddered. That was the absolute last thing I wanted to think about right now. Actually, I never wanted to think about my parents doing the dirty. No. Just no.
I watched them head off, hand in hand, talking and laughing like they were still in love. It gave me hope. They’d been married almost thirty years, and not only could they still not keep their hands off each other, but they were still best friends. They had each other’s back and made each other laugh. They were certainly something to aspire to.
Dialling Emma’s number, because I sure as shit didn’t want to talk to my brother, I waited for her to pick up. Then, because I was absolutely shit out of luck, the moment she answered with a breathy hello, someone tapped me on the shoulder. Or should I say, someone stabbed me in the shoulder with her pointy, pink claws.
“Can I call you back in two seconds?” I pleaded to Emma.
“Sure.” She didn’t even wait for my reply, just hung up, leaving me staring at my silent phone like a loser.
“Bryce! Earth to Bryce!” Madeline stood waving her claws in my face trying to get my attention.
Now my parents were gone the gloves were off. I had two hours left to spend with Emma and every second I was stuck here with Madeline, was a second wasted. “What do you want now, Madeline?” I asked, sounding exasperated.
“So, about this movie premiere…”
“What about it?” I managed to blurt out rather than asking her to get to the point.
“Will you come with me?” she almost whispered.
“What?”
“Come with me. Be my date?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Did this chick live on planet earth? What gave her the impression I’d ever consider going to a movie with her? Clearly, she’d been sniffing way too much hairspray or injected one too many shots of Botox.
“Come on, Bryce. Even you can’t deny we’d look awesome on the red carpet together. The cameras love us. Just think about it.” She leaned forward, grabbing hold of my arm and resting her boobs on my chest before kissing me on the lips.
When she finally pulled back, I coughed. The smell of her heavily applied toxic perfume invading my senses had me sneezing. Was nothing about this chick real? Sadly, probably not. Taking a few steps back, Madeline gave me a small wave before calling out, loud enough for passers-by to hear, “Call me.”
Hope she didn’t hold her breath waiting for my call.
Shaking off the perfume fog, I dialled Seth’s number and started jogging towards where Emma and Seth were lined up for the dodgem cars.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
EMMA
Bryce was turning into a stalker. A cute stalker, but still.
When Sienna had called in tears in the middle of brunch, I’d never been so grateful for my friends’ fucked up love lives before. It wasn’t something I should celebrate, and it certainly wasn’t something I was about to admit to them, but she’d saved me from sitting there having to endure Madeline fucking Higgins. I’d never met someone who I’d so intently disliked as I did her. There was something about her which made me stabby. I don’t know if it was the outfit – who did she think she was? A damn Kardashian or something? Or the way she walked like she had a stick shoved so far up her arse it was rattling her teeth. Perhaps it was the way she looked at Bryce, like he was her next victim, that had my shackles rising.
Since Bryce had joined us at the dodgem cars, he’d been different. It was almost like he was trying to make up for something he hadn’t even done. Barely minutes after he’d arrived, he’d handed Seth some cash and sent him on his way. I didn’t need him to get rid of his brother, Seth was funny as hell and I really liked the kid, but I got it. We only had a couple of hours left together before he flew back halfway across the country again.
After he’d called and bribed one of his team mates to grab his bag from his room and get it to the airport, we’d walked around for a while. Bryce had bought me a slab of my favourite choc chip cookie dough fudge and I’d bought him one of those cheap ugly, I love Sydney t-shirts. But time was our enemy. Jumping in an Uber, we headed back to my place so he could drop me off safely. I wasn’t exactly sure what he thought I did when he was in Adelaide, but the feeling of being taken care of made me feel special.
The moment we got inside the privacy of my apartment, Bryce was on me, pinning me against the door, his hands on my boobs and his tongue halfway down my throat. Not that I minded at all.
“We don’t have time,” he growled against my neck before sucking on the skin there. I had no doubt he was leaving a mark and even less doubt that that was his intention.
Pushing him away, I shucked my blazer, letting it fall to the floor before popping the button on my jeans and sauntering over to the couch. When I bent over the arm, I heard the almost feral snarl rumble from him. Turning back, I caught his eyes which were blazing with hunger. “Well, you’re going to have to be quick then, aren’t you?”
Two days later and I was sitting on that same couch staring at the same arm he’d bent me over and ploughed into me again and again until I was screaming his name, with a smile on my face. Then almost as if he could read my mind, my phone chirped.
Giggling, I opened the message.
Bryce: Hey, gorgeous.
The butterflies in my stomach took flight. That’s all it took. I’d become one of those pathetic women I never wanted to become. All it took was seeing his name, or his face in the paper or on the news and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Emma: Hey, yourself.
The problem was, I was so not good at the flirting. Actually, that was an understatement. I was completely shithouse at it. I didn’t know how to flirt in person let alone over the phone. Sending sexy, suggestive messages was totally not my thing.
Bryce: How was your day?
What the? Why was Bryce asking about my day? It seemed so…so, I don’t know. Boring? Trivial? Normal?
Emma: Good. Yours?
Bryce: So so. Training. Weights. Grocery shopping.
Huh? I was so fucking confused right now. Bryce and I had hooked up twice. Twice. And now he was texting me about grocery shopping. What the hell was this? And more importantly, what the hell was I supposed to do with this?
Caught completely off guard, I screen shotted his messages and sent an SOS to Vanessa. I was lost and rather than look like the complete moron I was feeling like, I did what any self-respecting girl would do. I called in reinforcements.
Emma: HELP!!!! HELP!!! I NEED YOU.
I may have been being a drama llama, but I really liked this guy. I might not be ready to admit it to him, it was way too early for that, but I did. He was fun. He made me laugh. He seemed to be okay with me being me, as I am, flaws and all. And he was a master at making me come. No, Bryce Masters wasn’t something I wanted to give up willingl
y.
Vanessa: What’s up, buttercup?
Emma: Bryce.
Vanessa: Isn’t that a good thing
Emma:
Emma: Seriously, though…help. He sent me this and I have no idea what to say.
I inserted the screenshot of our texts and sent it to her then watched the three dots dance. They danced, then disappeared. Then danced again and disappeared. When they vanished for a third time, I was ready to climb through the phone and strangle her with her own hair tie.
Emma: Well?
Vanessa: WTF…are you an old married couple and next he’s going to ask if you need him to pick up milk on his way home?
That made me laugh. For a second.
While I waited, I jumped up and grabbed the carton of rocky road ice cream, threw a handful of mini marshmallows on top before adding a squirt of thick chocolate sauce. Tucking the can of whipped cream under my arm, I found a spoon and headed back to my spot on the couch.
Three mouthfuls in and I had sauce dripping off my chin and a smudge of ice cream on my shirt. There was a reason I lived alone. Sure, it might cost more to have to cover the rent, but I could sit here stewing over a boy, stuffing myself with ice cream without a bra on and wearing my saggy yoga pants.
Bryce: You still there???
Guess I’d taken too long to reply.
Emma: Sorry was just organising some dinner.
Bryce: Dinner? Isn’t it almost nine in Sydney?
Shit! Ah, well I didn’t exactly lie. This was my dinner.
Emma: Yeah.
Vanessa: You need to call him. FaceTime. Something. Texting isn’t your thing, sweetie.
Gee! Thanks for the insight, doctor. I could’ve told you that!
While I was pouting, my phone vibrated and started going ballistic. Dropping my spoon and flinging ice cream everywhere, I picked up my phone from the floor where it’d fallen and accepted the call without looking.
Played: A Second Chance Sports Romance (Playing Games Book 2) Page 14