by Dale, Lindy
“I don’t think so.” I’ve never heard of any relative called Archie Cooper and I don’t know that I want to. Plus, I don’t think the bay she’s referring to is the one with lines of fibro shacks and homemade Cray pots. “Thank you for inviting me. You have a lovely home.”
“Yes. Well, you’ll excuse us for a bit won’t you, dear? The photographer is waiting in the sitting room. Come along, Mason.”
Without a goodbye, Mason shuffles off behind his family. I’ve never felt so dismissed and insignificant in my life. Not to mention out of place. I summon a waiter and take two glasses of champagne from the tray. I down one, replace it and take a third. Who cares about manners and etiquette? Alcohol is the only way I’m going to get through this. I’m on my third glass — still no sign of Mason — when I hear a familiar voice.
“Drowning your sorrows?”
I turn and there he is, looking all dashing and swarthy in his white, open neck shirt and cream pants. His hair is unruly and the smattering of stubble on his chin displays his usual I don’t give a damn attitude but gosh, he looks hot. Really handsome.
“Hi Joel.” Seriously, I’ve never been so glad to see a friendly face in my life. Even if I would rather not talk to him. Why does he have to be everywhere I go?
“Friends with the bride or groom?” he asks.
“Neither. Mason is the groom’s brother.”
“Lucky him.”
I detect a hint of sarcasm. “I gather you know him?”
“Brock? Yep. Total knobhead. My life would be so much easier if I never had to deal with him.”
I look at Joel blankly.
“He’s on the city council. Head of the planning department. Loves to give Nick and I shit every time we stick a set of plans in for approval. He’s the main reason the Iris project took so long to get off the ground.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Networking. People like this don’t have friends, Sadie. They have contacts. This might look like an engagement party but it’s a P.R. exercise. Plus, I had the bad luck of hooking up with the bride once or twice but we won’t go there. It’s one of the main reasons Brock and I don’t see eye to eye. He feels threatened by my superior bedding skills.”
I choke on my wine a little. This night is getting weirder and weirder. “You are so full of yourself.”
“Hey, if that’s the one fault you can find with me, I’m happy. And I didn’t hear you complaining when we were in bed.”
“That’s because I didn’t know who was who, remember?”
“Would you like to? Know who’s who?”
“You know I would. But it’s not going to happen. For obvious reasons.” I indicate Mason, who is making his way towards me.
Joel puts the bar table between us. “Anyway, it’s nice to see you. You’re like a little breath of strawberry flavoured air in room full of ice queens. You look pretty in that dress. Beautiful actually.”
See, I think. Redheads can wear red.
“Thank you.”
“We didn’t get much of chance to talk last night.”
“Possibly because you were playing tonsil hockey for most of it.”
“See you haven’t lost any of that smart mouth in the last six months.”
“I’m trying to keep up with you.”
“What did you expect me to do? Stand around and watch you playing hands-y with Nick. I have to find my fun where I can. Can I help it if she was a hot model?”
“I was not playing hands-y.”
“I saw you. You want him. You want it in you.”
He’s teasing me now. Arse. “I think we’ve already established that fact.”
“Better be careful what you wish for, Little Mermaid.” He gives me a wink and takes a slug of his beer.
Oh I hate him. I hate him so much for making me jealous, because he knows he can.
It’s about now that Mason comes to stand beside me. His brother and sister-in-law are following behind and they gather round the bar table. Mason’s looking rather frazzled for someone who’s participated in a few family photos for the album. I wonder if his mother has said something about me to upset him. I don’t imagine I’m what she expected. “Did you save me a drink?” he asks.
I hand him a red wine and he introduces me to his brother and the fiancé, Bianca. She’s a thin thing, looks like she’d snap in half if you poked her and she has a look of privilege, a haughty set to her face that makes her appear hard. Which I have a feeling she might be. Our conversation begins quite generally but there’s an agenda. I can sense it as soon as the first question slips from her lips.
“So, you’ve been seeing Mason a few months,” Bianca says.
“Since March.”
“How did you meet?” Her voice is like saccharine laced with poison.
“We met in the library. I was trying to get a book and Mason helped me reach it.” I laugh a little. Bad idea. She looks dark.
“How convenient. I suppose there are not too many people in your course. You must all know each other.”
“I’d seen Mason around. I’d never met him before that day. He was very kind to me. Gentlemanly.”
“Funny. That you didn’t know of him, I mean. Are you positive you didn’t know of the family?”
This is awkward.
“Not until I got here twenty minutes ago. It was a bit of a shock. I thought Mason was like the rest of the guys who live in his house, studying for their degrees. I didn’t realise his family was well off. He has a job and a banged up old Toyota. Why would I think anything else?”
“Yes. The car’s been a bone of contention between him and the parents,” Brock chimes in. “Mason wanted to make his own way.”
“But isn’t that an admirable quality?” I ask.
Bianca frowns at me. She smiles. I think I’ve gotten over the first hurdle. Then she pounces and I’m unprepared for the onslaught.
“Why aren’t you wearing white? You look utterly out of place. All the girls are wearing white. I specifically requested it.”
“I didn’t know.”
Last time I’ll be accepting an invitation from my boyfriend without checking the dress code first.
“That’s because you weren’t actually invited. Your name wasn’t on the invitation.”
Okay, now she’s being a cow.
“But Mason invited me.”
If I’d known it was going to cause so much angst I would have stayed at home. I look to my boyfriend, who is watching the interplay with the animation of a stuffed toy. I can’t believe he’s standing there letting her speak to me so rudely, that he’s not telling her to back off. He should be defending me, not letting this bitch rip me apart. Is this some type of initiation thing? Is he looking to see if I can handle his family?
Bianca fires up again. “You know that Mason will never marry you, don’t you? You don’t belong. Brock and I have been together since high school. My parents are friends with his parents. My sister is marrying his cousin. You’ve been with Mason a week and you think you can swan into my engagement party and start chatting up the guests while your boyfriend is indisposed. It’s reprehensible.”
What is she on about now? This Bianca’s a mental case. “I wasn’t chatting anyone up. I’m standing here having a freakin’ drink until you came along.”
“You were flirting with Joel. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“That’s not true. We were talking about musicals.”
In a round about way.
“And how would someone like you know anything about what someone like Joel likes? You have nothing in common. Yet, we come back and here you are, all over a man you’ve never met like a slutty little rash. I’ve seen gold diggers like you before. We all have. You’re in it for what you can get.”
Tears well in my eyes. They’re stinging. My hands are shaking. I don’t know what to say, how to react. I look to Mason but he’s saying nothing, doing nothing. He’s about as useful as a worm on concrete.
“I… I…”
“Enough!” Joel slams his beer down on the table. “Bianca, cool it. Sadie wasn’t flirting with me. She and I know each other, okay? She’s a good kid, not one of your money hungry crowd.”
“And you know this how? Did you sleep with her, too?”
Cue steam spewing from brother Brock’s ears. He looks like he’s about to burst the blood vessels in his eyeballs with the realisation Joel has been intimate with his fiancée.
“We met over the summer. At the bay,” Joel says.
Oh. Shit.
Three faces swivel in my direction. How am I going to explain my way out of this? Joel could have said I was working at Hardwick & Lawson. Why did he have to blab about our past? This is so hectic.
“You know him?” Now, Mason is looking at me like I’ve told him I was responsible for the Snowtown massacre and they convicted the wrong person. “I tried since first year to get a spot at Hardwick & Lawson and got knocked back every time. Yet you manage to get one in a day. Even when Brock put in a good word, they said they didn’t take interns. Is that how you got a placement? Did you sleep with him?”
Joel puts up his hands. “The placement had nothing to do with me, man. I didn’t even know Sadie was coming to the office till the morning she arrived. You can’t insinuate she did anything untoward to get the spot. I met her at the beach. We had a bit of fun. End of story.”
Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.
“But you know each other. You’ve got to admit it seems sketchy.” Mason turns to me. His eyes probe mine. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
How can I tell him I didn’t want him to know because of this very reason? It looks bad and yet it wasn’t ever like that. I have no idea what to say but it seems I don’t need to bother. Bianca has that covered too.
“—Because she’s a lying little slut, Mason. That’s why. I bet she knew who you were all along. She’s probably slept with Nicholas Lawson as well. She looks like the type who wouldn’t mind sleeping her way to the top. I can’t believe you’d bring her to our party. I just can’t believe you.”
I’m crying now. The tears are streaming down my face. Why is she attacking me like this and more to the point why is Mason such a spineless wonder to let her do it?
Joel puts an arm around my shoulder, gathering me to him, protecting me from the tirade. His face is stony but not because of me. He’s angry at these people, that they could say such things — even if some of them are true in a round about fashion.
“Come on, Sadie. I’ll give you a lift home.”
I look to Mason. “Do you want me to go?”
Not that I’d stay after this. Even Jamie Dornan couldn’t convince me to endure more of this.
“I think it’s for the best,” Mason says. His eyes look sad, defeated, like he can’t believe a girl like me fooled him.
“Will I see you tomorrow?”
He shakes his head.
“Are you dumping me?” The words come out of my mouth between strangled sobs.
He doesn’t do a thing. He simply stands there.
I take my clutch and drain my glass. I pull a tissue from my bag, wipe my eyes and blow my nose. I’m stunned. I can’t believe that I came here with a boyfriend and am leaving without one.
“Are you okay, Sadie?” Joel asks, as we walk through the house and out to where the cars are parked. His arm is still around me, protecting me.
“Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“I think I created a bit more flack than I was intending to but I couldn’t stand there and let her attack you like that. Bianca’s a bitch. She’s always been a bitch. You didn’t deserve that.”
“But why did you tell them we slept together? It looks so bad, Joel. For both of us.”
He turns me to face him. His hands are on my shoulders. “I didn’t mean for that to happen but then a lot of things I don’t mean to happen seem to occur when I’m around you. You have that effect on me.” His smile is soft, gentle.
The car drives around and the valet hops out. Joel walks me to the passenger side and settles me in, even doing up my seatbelt for me. He’s being so kind, so loving it makes me sob even harder. Jogging to the other side of his sporty little car, Joel puts on his own seatbelt and turns off the radio. I think he senses music isn’t appropriate.
“Forget him, Sadie. Any man who can’t stand up for his girl in a situation like that isn’t a man. He should have defended you. And so what if we know each other? I don’t care who knows.”
“I think that was what made him the angriest. The fact that I’ve known you this entire time and never told him.” I sniff and wipe my eyes some more.
As we speed off down the road, Joel reaches over, putting his hand on my knee. It feels nice and somewhere inside me I think he may have moved the boundary from incredibly annoying to absolutely irresistible. He’s melting my heart.
“On the bright side, we can hook up now you’re single.” He gives me that wink and I groan.
Joel will be Joel.
CHAPTER NINE
It’s funny that nobody appears to be upset about the demise of my relationship with Mason. As soon as Emily figured out why I was bawling my eyes out — again — she declared she’d always known Mason was a gutless wonder and that the split was the best thing that could have happened. Then she bought home a bottle of champagne and we proceeded to get royally pissed to celebrate.
Joel has been acting oddly too. He hasn’t been calling or anything but every few hours I get these sweet little texts checking to see that I’m okay. He’s started making jokes about Mason and about sex but he hasn’t over stepped the line we agreed on. He’s keeping it in his pants. Even the posy of flowers that turned up on my doorstep didn’t seem like a come on. It was a thoughtful friend thing. There are so many nuances to Joel that he hides from the world. He’s nothing like the playboy he appears to be.
And Nicholas? I’m not sure he even knows about Mason, he’s so wrapped up in the new project. My second week at Hardwick & Lawson has started and I haven’t seen him at all, except for the thirty seconds he took to poke his head in earlier, saying he wants a catch up. He wants to see the progress I’ve made on my final assignment — perfectly understandable given his firm is the main topic of the paper. I’m crapping myself. Not about my work, I know that’s good. But we’ll be alone. I can’t be alone with Nicholas. It’s dangerous being alone. I want to kiss him then. And without Mason as a buffer I’m unprotected. If Nicholas wants more, I have no reason to object other than professionalism.
As I approach his office, I notice a streak of light filtering under the door. I clutch the sheath of assignment papers against my chest and knock, waiting for permission to enter. I wonder if he knows about Mason, if Joel told him about the other night? I wonder if what he said at the theatre was what he wanted — to simply hold my hand. Because it can never be that. The three of us left that on the beach six months back and though I’ve tried to put that time from my mind, I haven’t been able to forget.
“Come in, Sadie,” I hear Nicholas call.
I enter and shut the door.
He looks up from his work. He’s tired; there are deep circles under his eyes. And his hair is more mussed than I’m used to now. He’s been working hard. I approach his desk. I want to comfort him, to rub his shoulders and ease the tension I can see. He gives me a brief smile as I stand, like a fool, waiting for another crumb to take and add to my collection of images to be reviewed at a later time. He’s silent. Silent and brooding. God, I want that.
“Here’s what I’ve got so far,” I say, putting the papers on the desk. I place my phone on top of them.
“Great. Thanks.” He concentrates on the screen for a second longer, ignoring me.
I wait expectantly. Should I sit? Is he going to talk to me or keep staring at his computer? Maybe the signals I got in the past week were not what I thought. He wants to be my boss. No. A boss doesn’t hold your hand and kiss your cheek.
Nicholas sit
s straighter and stretches his long arms over his head, locking his fingers. He rubs his hands over the back of his neck, stretching the sinews from side to side. I can almost feel his hands on me, skittering over my body. Why is he ignoring me?
“Is there anything else, Nicholas? If not, I might head home. It’s well past six.”
Nicholas glances at his watch. He stands up from the desk and in three strides has rounded it to stop in front of me. His ,eyes lock on mine. It’s like he doesn’t know how to act with a woman anymore. Like he’s thirteen and awkward. “I think we need to talk.”
“Have I done something wrong?”
“Not about your work. You know your work is perfect, meticulous in fact. I want to talk about us. Joel told me about the weasel boyfriend.”
I smile a little at the way he says it.
“And?”
“I’ve tried. Joel’s tried. And I know you’ve given this professional relationship your best shot but you have to admit we can’t go on like this. I can’t stop thinking about you. I dream about you Sadie. It’s like torture being so close every day and not being able to touch you.”
I know. I know. “Are you asking me to leave? Is that what you want?”
“Yes.”
He’s sending me away? Now?
“I mean, no.” He shakes his head and pushes his hand through his hair in frustration.
Oh, to ease that angst, to make him feel good again.
“Is there something I can do?”
He gestures to the swathe of paper spread on the desk. “I’m tired and it needs fresh eyes. I’d like your opinion. You did a good job with the plans for the indoor garden at Iris.”
So we’re talking about work now. I can handle that.
“Okay. I’ll have a look.”
If that’s what you want me to do.
I walk around the desk, my hip grazing the side of the wood to avoid his body. I spread my hands on either side, flattening the documents in front of me. Nicholas moves to stand behind me. He bends his head over my shoulder and I’m reminded of the day on his boat last year. I wanted him to kiss me so badly. It seems his effect on me is as powerful as ever. The heat from his body is sending me into a spin. The quiet sound of his breathing makes me weak at the knees. He has no idea how much I want him, what I would do to have him again, how consuming the need has become over the past week. Actually, I don’t think I even did until this minute.