by Rhian Cahill
Cradled against Dayne’s chest with Grant massaging her calf muscles, Miki could easily believe she’d died and gone to heaven. In fact she’d be quite happy for them to kill her again and again. Just not yet, but definitely later.
“I checked the DVD’s while you were in the shower. We have No Strings Attached.”
“You do? Good.”
A clap of thunder shook the house and Miki’s eyes popped open. The room had darkened considerably and a flash of lightning was followed seconds later by another boom that made her jump. They turned to look out the windows. The sky was black and the trees were swaying violently in the wind which was picking up by the minute. Rain started in an avalanche. There was no sprinkle to downpour, just a deluge like a dam had burst.
“That’s one angry storm.”
“Good thing we made it home before it started,” Grant said.
“I think it’s our cue to get dinner happening.” Dayne stood, taking Miki with him.
“Hey.”
“Shush. What do you want on your pizza?”
“Do you have pepperoni?”
“Of course. What decent pizza parlour wouldn’t?” Dayne set her on her feet. “You can help Grant get the toppings ready while I make the dough.”
Miki followed Dayne into the kitchen and waited for them to tell her what to do. All three of them bumped shoulders as they washed their hands and playfully fought over the handtowel.
“Here.” Grant pulled out a stool at the island bench. “Sit here and I’ll get you a chopping board and knife.”
She studied them as they pulled ingredients from the fridge and pantry. Dayne cleared the counter next to the sink and took bowls, measuring cups and spoons from cupboards and drawers. He worked quickly, turning flour, water, salt and some other spices she couldn’t see the name of into a ball of dough.
“How long does that have to rise?” she asked.
“It doesn’t.” He smiled at her over his shoulder. “That’s the secret to my perfect thin crust.”
“Oh, I would never have thought to make a base like that.”
“Here. Don’t slice the pepperoni too thin.” Grant laid a long roll of processed meat on the board in front of her.
“Not a problem. I prefer it on the thick side too. Do you want the whole knob sliced?”
“Yeah, between the three of us we’ll need it.” Grant pulled out a food processor and started grating the three cheeses he’d pulled from the refrigerator.
“What’s with the different cheeses?”
“That’s another secret to the perfect pizza,” Grant said.
“It took years of experimenting to come up with the right combination,” Dayne added.
“Isn’t mozzarella the perfect pizza cheese?” She glanced between them.
Dayne turned to face her, his expression serious. “It is. But there is so much more to be added, and we would not be true pizza connoisseurs without searching out the right combination of taste, texture and smell.” He bowed low. “It’s our duty to discover the best.”
“I’m humbled by your sacrifice. It surely must have been a trial to eat all those pizzas.” She couldn’t stop the giggle breaking free. Dayne’s shenanigans got sillier the more time they spent together. But Miki wasn’t really surprised. He’d always been the one to make her laugh in high school. And him paired with Grant only made sure the good times were doubled.
“Do you mock us, woman?” Dayne took a step towards her.
“No, no, really. I appreciate all you’ve suffered.” Grinning, she ducked her head and got back to cutting the pepperoni.
“You’ll keep.” Miki peeked at Dayne through lowered lashes. “And when you least expect it…”
If it was anything like the last time they’d come after her, Miki was sure any punishment they dished out wouldn’t be too hard to take. She finished slicing the meat and curiosity got the better of her, she slipped off her seat and headed over to where Grant was mixing the grated cheeses in a large bowl.
“Are you going to tell me what types of cheese you use?”
“You’ve already guessed one.” His fingers worked through the shreds of yellow, tossing and mixing them together. “Mozzarella, tasty and parmesan. In equal portions.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had pizza with anything but mozzarella before.” She tried to sneak some cheese but he slapped her fingers away.
“Then you’re in for a treat. In fact, I’d bet money you won’t have tried anything better.” Grant smiled at her and Miki leaned up and kissed his cheek. “What was that for?”
She shrugged. “Just because.” Miki couldn’t even tell herself what had prompted the impulse.
“Hey, bring that ‘just because’ on over here,” Dayne called.
Smiling, Miki walked over and planted a kiss on Dayne’s bristly jaw. “Need help with anything else?”
“Sure, turn the oven on hot. I’ll grab the stone out in a second and you can put that in to heat.”
“Stone?”
“It’s a ceramic tile that you heat and cook your pizza on. It imitates a pizza oven,” Dayne explained.
“Oh, you mean like the wood-fire ones where the pizza is slid onto the bottom of the oven?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. I can’t wait to try this. I love wood-fire pizza.”
Dayne grabbed her chin with his hand. “Well, you’re going to be in love with me and my pizza before the night is out.” He pressed his lips to hers, in a hard smacking kiss.
She was sure his words were meant as a joke, but her stupid heart flipped in her chest and butterflies swarmed in her stomach. Miki didn’t want to fall for either of them, but it was hard not to. Both men appealed to her for different reasons as well as the same reasons. The boys she remembered with fondness had grown into men worth knowing. They were men who took life seriously while still being able to have fun, unlike her husband who’d never taken anything serious in his short life. In some ways David had reminded her of Dayne and Grant, which, Miki was ashamed to say, was probably part of the reason she’d been drawn to him in the first place.
Dayne studied her, stared into her eyes as though he could read her mind, and Miki quickly shut down her thoughts. When he finally let her go he gave her a pat on the arse.
“Go turn the oven on high.”
Miki walked on unsteady legs. Her insides a swirling mass of emotion she didn’t know how to untangle. She needed to talk to Frankie. It was strange of Frankie to not call her. At home earlier today, she’d rung her friend’s home and mobile numbers. Left messages on both voicemails for her to ring Grant’s number, but she still hadn’t heard from her. Miki cursed herself for leaving her phone in Frankie’s car last night.
“Grant, Frankie hasn’t rung has she?”
“No, but my phone is in the bedroom. We might not have heard it ring over the storm.”
“Can I go check?”
“Of course you can.” Grant’s brow creased. “I told you there was no need to ask me for my phone.”
“I know but…” She shrugged. “I feel funny not asking.”
He frowned at her. “Go get the phone and if she hasn’t rung give her a call. We’ve got dinner under control.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Miki strode down the hall. She couldn’t tell if the anxiety churning in her stomach was because she hadn’t heard from Frankie or because of the situation with Dayne and Grant. Either way, a few minutes conversation with her best friend would help right about now.
Grant turned on Dayne. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What?” Dayne’s ignorance just pissed him off more.
“Are you trying to scare her out the door?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“That ‘going to love me’ bullshit.”
The puzzled expression on his friend’s face managed to pull his anger back a notch. Did Dayne really have no clue about Miki’s reaction? “She froze up when you said that.”
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br /> “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Well, I did, but it wasn’t intentional. It just slipped out while we were mucking around.” Dayne shook his head. “I can’t censor my words or my feelings because Miki might freak out. It’s not natural and you know it.”
With a sigh, Grant leaned on the counter. “I know. I just don’t want to fuck it up, man.”
“And we won’t.” Dayne crossed his arms over his chest. “As much as I want to let the cards fall wherever, I can’t. If I’m not already in love with her I’m well on the way and I want to share that with her. I’m not asking for her to return my feelings, but I want Miki to know how I feel about her.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “But I still think you need to back the truck up a bit. Things are moving fast and they could easily spiral out of control if we’re not careful.”
“Dammit, Grant. You know I’m not one to hold back what I’m thinking or feeling.”
“Maybe just try to curb it a little for now?”
A muscle in the side of Dayne’s jaw twitched. For long seconds his friend didn’t say anything, and Grant thought they were about to have one of their rare fights. He held his breath, waiting for the explosion, but when it came it wasn’t what he’d expected.
“Fine.” Dayne threw his hands in the air and stalked off to the pantry. “I’ll keep my mouth shut from now on.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Grant followed him across the room. “Come on, Dayne, we can’t screw this up.”
The desperation in his voice pulled him up short. Whoa. Okay, so this was new. He’d never felt this clawing, urgent lash for anything—anyone—until now. No wonder he was striking out at Dayne. Like a cornered feral animal, he was swiping at the nearest thing. Grant prided himself on his control and right now he was as far from the steering wheel as he could get. Hell, he wasn’t even on the bus. Miki held the power. The question was whether she’d pull over and let them on or run them over at warp speed.
Dayne came out of the pantry and crashed into him. “Sorry.”
“No. I’m sorry. I took my frustration out on you and I shouldn’t have.”
His friend shrugged. “No biggie. We’re both tense at the moment.”
“I feel like I’ve been put through the wringer and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”
“Look, let’s not borrow trouble ahead of time. Like you said earlier today, one step at a time.”
Grant knew his own advice made sense, but that was before he’d found himself in deeper than he’d ever imagined being. It was easy to spout wisdom when you weren’t caught in the whirlwind of emotions of falling in love. He’d never dreamed it would happen this fast. He always pictured love to be slow, sure, comfortable. The emotions he was experiencing were fast, uncertain and so restrictive it was like having a ten tonne truck parked on his chest.
“Come on, let’s get these pizzas made and in the oven.” Dayne thumped him on the back as he walked past.
He tried to lasso in his emotions and make some logical thought patterns. Nothing would come together, but he didn’t have time to brood. Miki entered the kitchen with his phone to her ear. Her brow was creased and she’d caught her bottom lip between her teeth. The curve looked red and puffy from chewing and Grant walked over to remove that lush flesh from any further damage. With the tip of his finger, he tapped her mouth.
“Stop that. You’ll make your lip bleed if you’re not careful.”
She let go of her lip and mouthed sorry as she put her hand up in a stop signal.
“You still haven’t returned my calls. Where are you, Frankie? I’m starting to worry. Ring me on this number because you’ve got my phone. Bye.”
“Still can’t reach her?”
“No, and it’s not like her. I’m worried.”
“I wouldn’t be.” If what Grant suspected was true, Miki might not get hold of Frankie for a while yet.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He glanced at Dayne for help, but his friend held up his hands and took a step back. “You started this.”
“What? Started what?” Miki’s voice held a note of panic.
“Relax. I’m sure she’s fine.” Grant waited until her gaze locked with his. “She’s probably just hung over or something.”
“Or something.” Dayne’s comment drew Miki’s gaze again.
“What are you two talking about? Did something happen to Frankie at the party last night?”
“No, no. Nothing like that.” Grant threw a dirty look Dayne’s way. “I, well, it’s just…”
“What, what? It’s just what?” Her gaze swivelled between them.
Grant gripped Miki’s shoulders. “Stop it, there’s nothing to worry about. Frankie is fine as far as we know, it’s just that I don’t think she went home alone, that’s all.”
“What?” She stared at him as her knees buckled and she sat on the edge of a stool. “No way? Frankie picked someone up?”
Grant nodded as he took the chair next to her.
“She certainly did,” Dayne added.
Miki’s attention was drawn back to Dayne and Grant knew the grin on his friend’s face said they hadn’t revealed everything.
Her eyes narrowed. “Spill. Who’d she pick up?”
Dayne laughed. “You won’t believe us if we tell you.”
“Sure I will, why would either of you lie?”
“She left with Alec Harris,” Grant said.
“Alley Cat? Bullshit.” Miki jerked her head around and stared at him with her mouth open.
“Nope, no bull. As you said, why would we lie?” Dayne added.
“Hell. He’s the last guy Frankie would hook up with. She used to carry on about hating him, despising him, but every time she looked at him, well, I’ve never seen her look at anyone else that way.”
“Maybe it’s a case of protesting too much? Besides, we’re not in school anymore, Miki.” Grant asked.
“Maybe.” Miki chewed on her lip again as she sat in stunned silence. He could almost hear the gears in her mind turning.
“She’ll ring when she gets your messages. In the meantime, how about we go get the movie ready while Dayne finishes off the pizzas and puts them in the oven?” Grant got to his feet and pulled her with him.
“You said you had No Strings Attached, right?”
He laid his arm over her shoulders and hugged her close as he walked towards the media room. “Yep, we do. But we’ve got some others you might want to watch instead.”
“I’m not watching Saw.”
Grant laughed. “Don’t worry, we’re not watching that one. Don’t tell Dayne, but I’m with you when it comes to that franchise, way too much blood and guts for my liking.”
“Really? I thought all guys went for that type of thing.”
“I’m not against it in general, but those films just take it too far.”
“So what type of movie do you normally watch?”
“I don’t have one genre I prefer over another. As long as it’s entertaining I really don’t care.”
“So you’re good with watching this one?” Miki held up a DVD case.
“Miki, it’s about a guy who hooks up with his best girl friend for no-strings sex, what’s not to like?”
“Well, when you say it like that it’s got to be every guy’s fantasy movie.” She laughed as she took the disk out. “So where’s the player?”
Grant pushed on the wall panel next to the screen. “Here.”
“Holy shit.” Miki peered into the opening. “This is like mission control.”
“We’ve got the equipment to play any form of media in this little cupboard.”
“Is that a game console?”
“Yeah, we’ve got them all in here.”
“You play games on that screen?” Miki turned to stare at the wall on their right.
“It is a little excessive, but it’s a tax write-off, so why not?”
“A tax write-o
ff?”
“We have to test the stock that we sell at C.S. somewhere.” He grinned. This was definitely one perk of owning a business he loved.
“So what else does C.S. stock? Other than big boys’ toys?”
“We have a range of gadgets for women and kids as well, but our big sellers are the men’s items.” He took the disk from her and popped it into the DVD player. “Okay, now we’re ready whenever dinner is.”
“Do you have a computer around here somewhere? I’d like to check my emails if I can.”
“Sure, there’s one in the office.” Grant entwined their fingers and pulled her out of the room. Passing Dayne in the kitchen, he said, “How long?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, Miki wants to check her email while we wait.” He led her across the lounge room and into the home office they’d set up.
“Wow.” She stopped just inside the door. “You guys really do have all the latest technology don’t you?”
“Perks of the job.” He walked around his desk and jiggled his mouse. “Here, you can use my PC.” Grant indicated she sit in his chair.
“Thanks. It’ll only take me a few minutes. I just have to check how today went.”
“Today?”
She was tapping away at the keyboard. “Um, yeah, I help Frankie with Playgrounds for Hope. There was a gala day on out at Penrith. Barbara was going to email me the details.” Distracted, she didn’t even look at him as she clicked through screens. “Oh boy. Frankie is gonna love those numbers.”
“What numbers?” It fascinated him, witnessing her joy as she read through her mail.
“Uh.”
He smiled. She was kinda cute preoccupied. “What numbers, Miki?”
“Oh, right.” She tapped madly at the keyboard again. “Give me a sec.” The corners of her eyes crinkled and a smile stretched her lips as she answered Barbara. Finally, with a click of the mouse she sat back and looked at him. “There. All done.”
“So I take it the day went well?”
“Oh, yeah. It went brilliantly. We got another major benefactor out of it too. Frankie will be pleased.”