One Distant Summer

by Serena Clarke

  “He’s cool,” Sam said as they went inside. “He’s got a computer. And tattoos.”

  Between the guitar, the technology, and the ink, Liam had obviously made an impression. She wondered if he’d finally taken Ethan’s guitar from its stand, for Sam.

  “Did he let you play the guitar?” she asked.

  “Yep, yesterday and today.” He scrunched up his freckled nose. “But we didn’t have time to finish today. I had to come back here.” He sent his mother a reproachful glare.

  “Come on, let’s get ready to go,” Danielle said, ignoring it. “But no more disappearing. Okay?”

  He exhaled a gust of frustration and resignation. “O-kay. But can I go over there again?”

  “Maybe. But I want to meet him first, and make sure you’re not bothering him. Little pest.”

  She grabbed him and rumpled his hair, and he shrieked and ducked out of her embrace. As he scampered off, Danielle shook her head. “Poor kid. He needs some friends.”

  “He’ll meet some other kids before long,” Kerry said. “They’re all out and about this time of year. And you should come to the night markets. Everyone’s friendly.”

  “Yes,” Riley agreed, with exaggerated enthusiasm. “We’re very friendly here.” She gave Jacinda a tiny, surreptitious pinch, making her jump.

  “Ahh!” she exclaimed. When the others looked at her, curious, she said, “I mean, ah, yes, that’s so true. And once he starts school he’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so,” Danielle said. “Anyway, we’d better get going. It was nice to meet you all.”

  After they said their goodbyes, Jacinda whispered to Riley, “Thanks a lot.”

  She just laughed. “It was too good. But your secret’s safe with me.”

  Thank God she didn’t know there was even more to the secret now, Jacinda thought. And she herded them all out the door before Riley was tempted to say anything else.

  * * *

  It was nice to go down the alley in a gang of girls. The chat and laughter seemed to form a defensive bubble as they went past Liam’s gate and onto the sand. Riley gave her a curious look, but she shrugged. It wasn’t like she was expecting him to rush out and…whatever. After their last encounter, she had even less clue what was going on in his head. Well, apart from the dirty stuff. And what was wrong with her? The way her resolve had instantly disintegrated, leaving her standing in his living room, her panties on the floor, breathless and senseless as he…

  She cut the thought off. None of it was doing them any good. Better to leave the mess where it was, tangled and grubby, and walk away—which she’d do as soon as Danielle was ready. She was applying for jobs already, so it wouldn’t be long. It was already Wednesday, and if they’d been able to avoid each other since Sunday night, there was no reason that couldn’t continue until she left. Even if Sam was visiting him.

  They turned left and went along the beach to a spot where the spreading branches of a pohutukawa tree reached out from someone’s front yard, casting dappled shade on the hot sand. They spread blankets half in and half out of the shade—catering for the sun lovers and the shade shelterers—and settled in.

  “No Jess today?” Jacinda asked.

  Kerry shook her head. “No, she said she was busy.”

  Jacinda hadn’t seen Jess since the night she’d blurted out what everyone was thinking. What would she say if she knew what had happened between her and Liam since then? Well, she wouldn’t be finding out, anyway.

  She pulled a twig out from under her beach towel and lay down again. “I thought you’d all be at work.”

  “It’s January,” Tina said. “Everyone’s on holiday.”

  “Not me,” Riley said. “I have to be back at Clarion Call by four. But I’m not letting this day go to waste.” She waved an arm at the blue, blue sky. “Stephanie’s going to meet us here.”

  After half an hour or so Stephanie found them there, still lazing and chatting.

  “Is no one swimming?” she asked, plunking down her beach bag. She was wearing an athletic-looking swimsuit, black and sleek and sporty, and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

  Tina lifted her head from her arms. “We only just got here.”

  “Come on. The water’s so warm.”

  Riley sighed. “I’ll go. And you can come too.” She poked Tina, who protested and inched away. “We’ve been here ages. And you said you wanted to do more swimming this summer.”

  “Oh, fine.” She got up, brushing sand off her elbows. “Come on, Jacinda. If I have to, you do too.”

  They left Kerry reading her book, and headed toward the water. Stephanie ran ahead, looking ready for an Olympic outing, and was in the water and away before they reached the foamy edge.

  Then Riley nudged Jacinda. “Look,” she whispered.

  Jacinda looked. Three figures were coming out of the water a little way along. Three tall, buff, masculine figures. She quickly looked away, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw them starting to come nearer, Liam lagging behind.

  “Oh, God.” She walked faster, splashing through the shallows. “Let’s just swim.”

  But Tina had stopped to watch them coming. “That’s him, right?” she stage-whispered. “And he has friends.”

  It was no good—Riley had come to a halt now. With a sigh, Jacinda stopped and waited too.

  The men reached them, and they stood in two clusters, boys and girls, two teams of three facing off.

  Well, one on each team was determinedly not facing off—she and Liam, making sure their eyes didn’t meet. But the others were smiling at each other, Connor and Dane surreptitiously taking in the girls in their bikinis, Riley and Tina ever-so-slightly flushed as they looked at the muscular, swim-trunk clad men in front of them. The water rose and fell around their strong thighs, and salty droplets glistened on their tanned skin. Jacinda tried not to look too, but she couldn’t deny it—the three of them were ridiculously hot.

  “Hi ladies,” Connor said, straight into charm mode.

  They all knew Riley, from years before, and they exchanged hellos, duly remarking on how long it had been. But Tina was a Sweet Breeze Bay newbie.

  “Hey,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Connor grinned. “I’m Connor,” he said, putting a hand on his broad chest. “And this is Dane, and Liam.”

  “Great to meet you.” Tina took her time shaking hands, sweeping her gaze over each guy as he had his turn. “What are you guys doing?”

  Dane swiped a hand through his dripping hair. “Swimming.”

  Tina sent him a dimpled smile. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  Liam had been quiet, but now he cleared his throat. The other two looked at him, and Jacinda could see the silent message he was sending—let’s go.

  Dane turned to the girls. “We’d better keep moving. It was nice to see you.”

  “It was,” Tina said.

  “See you around,” Connor replied.

  The women all said goodbye. Liam said nothing, only made a noncommittal sound, and started wading in to shore. Connor and Dane followed.

  Jacinda immediately turned and set off into deeper water. The top half of her body had soaked up the heat of the sun, and chills went through her as she edged into the ocean, slightly sideways. Hot and cold…just like Liam.

  Tina was inching in beside her, holding her arms high, but still watching over her shoulder as the men headed away up the beach. “Holy hell,” she said. “Hot in triplicate. And your Liam is even better close up.”

  “He’s not my Liam. But…yeah. I know.”

  She knew it all too well, because she’d been way too close.

  Sucking in a huge breath, she dived under. Her body reacted with instant, global goose bumps, but she stayed under, letting the shock clear her senses and her head. Why should she be surprised that he wouldn’t look at her? Two nights before, she’d been on the verge of going way too far again. Correction, she had gone way too far. And when she’d pushed him aw
ay, and he’d looked up at her with those dark eyes, his desire had shot through her like an arrow. But desire was its own animal, wild and unthinking, and they didn’t have to let it loose. They shouldn’t let it loose.

  Then something brushed against her leg and she freaked out, struggling upward, twisting as she tried to get away. Surfacing, she dragged in a breath and grabbed at her ankle, scrabbling to get rid of whatever it was. And her hand closed on a tangled, leathery length of seaweed, pushing against her on the incoming tide.

  Seaweed. Okay. All right. Just seaweed. Wiping seawater from her face, she made herself breathe more slowly as she paddled to stay at the surface. She focused on the shore, letting the squawking seagulls and warm breeze and laughing beachgoers gradually override the momentary panic.

  Then she noticed something. Connor and Dane were gone, but Liam had stopped by the alley and was looking back at her. For a moment they held each other’s gaze, across sea and sand. She squinted in the bright sunlight, trying to see more clearly…was that a smile that passed briefly over his face? Then he spun around and disappeared down the alley.

  She turned and tossed the seaweed into the air, watching as it settled back down into the water, where it belonged.

  This ocean had secrets. And so did they. His careful, unexpected smile lingered in her mind, an offering from the shore to the ocean, where she was working to stay afloat.

  Maybe not everything dark and tangled was bad. Maybe, if you brought it into the light, it could look like a different kind of animal after all.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The pixels weren’t cooperating.

  Liam squinted at the screen, then pressed his hand to his eyes. Forget the website, he was brutally pixelated himself today. Last night’s session with Dane and Connor had snuck into the wee small hours. They’d come back from the beach, ordered pizza, and hung out, just talking and drinking, still making up for all the years apart. A light summer rain had started falling when the sun went down, so they’d shifted inside and got dangerously comfortable in the living room. They avoided the topics that had caused them trouble last time, and smashed through who knew how many beers, and the best part of a bottle of tequila. It had been a great night. And now…he was feeling downright shady. He hadn’t blown through this much alcohol in a week for years—maybe it was lucky they were only visiting.

  He leaned back in the chair and blew out a slow breath, trying not to aggravate the dull ache that sat deep between his temples. The clock in the top corner of his screen showed the time: ten fifteen. Jesus, why was he even up? Almost without realizing it, he’d started keeping more conventional hours over the last few days. Something about the sea air, maybe, more fresh and clear than the Australian atmosphere ever was. Or maybe, despite trying to keep his head down, he’d been forced into it by the interruptions to his routine. His non-routine, that is.

  The universe must have been listening in, because right then, the doorbell rang. He rolled his eyes as usual at the musical extravaganza, but it was accompanied by a hit of nostalgia. His mother had always loved this house, and it was full of little touches she’d added over the years. It had been weird spending time here without her—he kept expecting to hear her singing in the kitchen, or find her working in the garden, wearing one of her battered floppy hats. His father had always put in long hours at work as a career cop, eventually climbing in the ranks to district commander, and the garden was her distraction and her joy. But once they left New Zealand, after Ethan died, she never gardened again. Liam knew it wasn’t just because of the Australian snakes and spiders.

  He closed the HTML tag (not strictly necessary for that one, but the neatness satisfied him), saved his progress, and went to the front door. When he opened it, he found Sam, smiling on the doorstep with a tall, slender woman. Her eyes were the same wide blue as Sam’s, and they had matching freckles.

  “Hi, I’m Danielle,” she said. “Sam’s mother.”

  “Oh, hi.” He scratched his head, dragging his brain up out of the hangover swamp he’d been immersed in. Then he remembered his manners, and held out his hand.

  “I’m Liam.”

  She shook firmly, and smiled. “Yeah, I heard.”

  “Oh, right. Hi Sam,” he added.

  The kid grinned. “Hi.”

  “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said. “But Sam told us he’d visited with you, so I wanted to introduce myself.”

  He nodded. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Should he invite them in? He hesitated, thinking of the client in London who’d be waking up in a few hours, expecting to have a first look at his new website. It needed to be finished, hangover or not. Luckily, his hesitation seemed to be enough of a hint.

  “We won’t keep you,” she said. “But we did have something to ask. A favor.”

  “Okaaay…” He knew he should try to sound more encouraging, but agreeing to a favor in advance wasn’t going to happen.

  “It’s…” She stopped, then tried again. “Sam is so keen to play guitar. Would you be willing to teach him?”

  He frowned. He’d let Sam play the guitar that first time because he felt sorry for him. Then yesterday, there was no way to not let him—he’d turned up on the deck in the morning, bright-eyed and expectant, his face lit up like it was Christmas. But lessons? He hadn’t bargained on that development. And getting more involved with Jacinda’s family didn’t seem like a good idea. He remembered how he’d had to stop on the sand yesterday afternoon, for just one more look, and even though he tried to fight it, the sight of her in the water had made him smile in appreciation. With her hair slicked back and the salty water glistening on her skin, she looked incredible. But there was nothing encouraging about the way she’d frowned back at him.

  “Please?” Sam said, jolting him out of his thoughts.

  He looked at Danielle and shook his head. “I don’t really play these days, so…”

  “I’d pay you, of course,” she said quickly. “I wouldn’t ask you to give up your time for nothing.”

  Sam was pressing his lips together, obviously trying not to say anything, but his fingers on both hands were tightly crossed.

  “We’re new here, as you know, so Sam doesn’t have any friends yet,” she added, putting her hand on Sam’s head and smoothing his wayward hair. Her nails were bitten short. “His dad and I are separated, so…” Her voice tailed off.

  Ah, shit. How could he argue with that? He sighed.

  “I don’t want you to pay me.”

  Sam’s eyes widened. “So you’ll teach me?”

  “Okay. Sure.”

  “Can we have a lesson now?” Sam asked. “Please?”

  They were both looking at him so damn hopefully. His head ached.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “That’s fantastic!” Danielle said. “I’ll leave you to it. Just send him back when you’re done. And thank you.” Above Sam’s head, she sent him a look of such gratitude that he felt like a complete shit for even thinking about trying to get out of it.

  “No worries.”

  “I’ll see myself out,” she told them. “Have fun!”

  Sam was already taking Ethan’s guitar from the stand again, and getting settled on a chair. The instrument was almost as big as him, but he wrestled it into position. Then he looked up, and the pure joy in his face tweaked something in Liam’s heart.

  Maybe that client could wait after all.

  * * *

  Jacinda looked up from her spot on the floor, surrounded by kittens, as Danielle came into the living room. “Where’s Sam?” she asked, closing her laptop.

  “I left him there playing guitar with Liam. He’s going to give him some lessons. How nice is that?”

  “Very nice.” And surprising. From what she could tell, Ethan’s guitar never left its stand, and Liam wouldn’t play anything himself. But Sam had walked in and shaken things up, just like that. Interesting.

  Danielle sat down in the wingback chair, and reached down to t
ickle a wandering kitten. “I know Tina said he was hot, but wow.”

  “Oh, well…yeah.” She shrugged.

  “No, seriously though.” Danielle fanned herself. “He’s gorgeous.”

  Jacinda nodded. “Everyone thinks so.”

  “He’s single, right?”

  “Yup. Single.” She stroked one of the girl kittens.

  “Huh.” Danielle’s grin was wicked. “Interesting.”

  Jacinda forced herself to smile. That stirring pang of jealousy in her chest had no right to be there. Danielle had been through a miserable time. If she wanted to find love again, good luck to her. There was no reason she and Liam shouldn’t be perfect together. No reason at all.

  The smile made her face hurt.

  Then her phone rang from the table, making her jump.

  “I’ll go make coffee,” Danielle said, getting up. “Want one?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Something stronger would be even better. But she grabbed her phone, and smiled for real when she saw the name on the screen: Hannah.

  “Hey, you.”

  “Hey! How are you doing?” Her friend’s voice was an anchor on the line, a sweet reminder that even in a storm-tossed world, she always had something to hold on to.

  “I’m okay.”

  “How are you feeling about everything? Is it okay with Liam now?”

  Last time they talked, Jacinda remembered, she’d only just found out about Ethan. But that was before the recklessly sexy stuff that had complicated things even more. “Uh…it’s a bit up and down, I guess. But I’m not seeing much of him now.”

  She didn’t add that she’d previously seen a lot of him. Like, most of him, from up very close. And she’d liked it, way too much. She closed her eyes, remembering his hard body under her hands, the gravel in his voice when he said he wanted her, the unbearable bliss of feeling him slide inside her. Then she shook her head. Why was she so weak when it came to him, the one person who should be completely off limits, when she was so strong in other ways? Maybe it was the change from regular lanky teenager to full-grown hotness that had thrown her. Like they’d each just stepped out of the room, and stepped back in to see each other transformed.