by Iris Blobel
Turning towards her, he met her gaze dead-on. “Cupcake, I can look after myself.”
A sigh of despair came from deep within her. “Would you just leave your attitude in Sydney for a moment? She.Is.Not.Married.”
“Libby–”
“Remember what I said when you saw me in the hospital?”
He nodded. “Exact words were 'It involves a man she was with'.”
“And you didn’t ask.”
“None of my business.”
She let out an exasperated snort. “How can someone be so blithe about someone who’s obviously become important to you?”
“Blithe?” he asked with frown.
“Casual.”
Zach stepped to the bed and sat down. “Soph. You know I love you. I love you, love Mia, and will probably love the little Mark-spin-off called Hope as well. But my business is mine and not yours.”
With a few heavy steps she stood next to him, took the pillow, and whacked him a couple of times with it. “Will you wake up!”
Trying to grab her hand and holding his arm in front of him, he stood. “Will you stop it!”
Whack! Whack! “Not until you give this whole thing a chance.”
Zach caught her arm, grabbed the pillow, and threw it over onto the bed. She had gone mad. “If this is what happens when you have babies, let’s hope you’ll keep it at one.”
“Let go,” she shouted.
He sighed heavily. “Why is this so important to you?”
Sophie stilled and their eyes met. The expression on her face had changed, and he knew what she was about to say was important to her.
“When I heard about your job as an escort, I never wanted to see you again. I was angry with life for letting me cross paths with this super gorgeous guy–“
He smiled.
“Good grief! Anyway… I was angry and never wanted to see you again. Every day, I’m grateful you made the effort to explain to me what your job involves. You’re my best friend, and a very important part in not only my life, but also Mia's. And because I love you, and because I really like Natasha, I feel she deserves someone like you.”
He let go of her hands but with a gentle rise of the eyebrow told her not to hit him again. “Cupcake, she made it clear that my job’s not to her standard.”
Sophie made a small move to put some distance between them. “I talked to her,” she whispered.
Glaring at her, Zach took a moment to decide what to reply. Tell her thanks for helping out? Curse her for interfering? Deep down inside, he knew she’d meant well. Meant well for both, Natasha and him, but somehow it wasn’t in his nature to have people help him. He'd learned very early on to stand on his own two feet, and he wanted to keep it that way.
“Why did you have the need to whisper?”
She shrugged and looked away. “Probably wary of your reply.”
Placing a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “I should smack your cute little behind!”
Zach tried his hardest not to smirk, but when her mouth twisted into a grin, he gave in.
Then she moved closer, stood on the tip of her toes, and placed a kiss on his cheek and said, “Tomorrow, six o’clock, her place for dinner.” And without looking back she rushed out of the room and the house.
“I’ll get to the behind at the next opportunity,” he screamed after her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mia was pacing up and down the hall. Her little niece in her arms was not happy at all, and the rhythm also helped her try to settle her nerves. When Sophie stepped through the door, Mia stormed towards her sister and placed Hope into her arms.
“About time. She’s got her knickers in a twist. And she’s giving me a headache.”
Sophie smiled, and it took her only a gentle rock to soothe the youngest family member.
“Traitor,” Mia called as she walked towards her room. “Josh will be here soon. Did you tell Zach he’s got his house on his own tonight?”
When there was no reply, Mia peeked around the corner of her door and noticed that Soph had disappeared.
“Soph?”
“Yes, he knows.”
Mia continued the pacing routine, up and down and a quick look into the mirror, not to mention she'd changed her clothes for the hundredth time. Well, not quite that often, but nearly. By three o’clock she was almost ready for another shower. This had better be worth the effort! She had barely finished the thought when the bell chimed, and she near-enough jumped out of her skin. She heard Sophie opening the door and some muttered conversation. With a deep breath, she left her room and walked down the hall.
“Hi,” she said as she saw Josh.
Her visitor moved around awkwardly with his crutches under his arms. And once she met his eyes, she was rewarded with a big smile. She took a couple of soothing breaths as she walked down the hall.
“You must be Mia.” The deep voice from next to Sophie startled her.
“That’s my dad,” Josh explained.
Mia gave him a hesitant and shy wave. “Hello, Mr. Gillespie.”
Josh’s dad nodded and then turned to Sophie. “Would five o’clock suit for me to pick him up again?”
“That’d be fine.”
The scene in front of her felt bizarre. It was like she was looking in on a group she wasn’t part of. Then Josh’s dad left and he looked at her.
“C’mon over into the lounge.” Her voice was breaking, and she could feel her cheeks flush as well.
“I will just settle Hope for her afternoon nap. Would you like me to bring you the ice cream afterwards?”
Josh grinned at Mia and then placed his crutches near the single seater before he sat on the sofa.
The girls watched him helplessly before Mia replied, “Thanks, Soph.”
Her sister left, and with another deep inhale, Mia sat down as well. Looking down on her hands, her fingers fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. His chuckle surprised her.
“It’s just me, Mia.”
Three simple words, and yet they meant so much to her. A nervous smile tugged on her lips. “Look, I’m really sorry about last week. It’s just… it’s kinda–”
“Complicated,” he finished the sentence for her.
Finally looking up at him, she nodded. “Yup.”
“No disrespect, Mi, but your whole background is complicated.”
That stunned her. But he must have noticed by her reaction that his words were misunderstood. He stuttered, “I mean, you know, with you living with your sister and her husband and–”
She got it, all right, and smiled. “Yeah, I know. And the guy last week was my long lost father.”
There. She’d said it. And judging by his eyes wide open, it surprised him more than her. Not sure how to handle the new situation, she considered for a moment whether to back off and just brush aside the comment or explain the details. Pulling in his good leg, he stood, and Mia’s heart dropped. He came closer, or, more exactly, he hopped closer, and sat next to her.
“How long since you’d seen him?”
Did they write in those romance novels about eyes looking caring and understanding? She’d always giggled at those expressions, but seeing Josh’s eyes made her think it was actually true.
She bit her lip and hesitantly said, “I had no idea he existed.”
That caused a moment of silence, and as if a simple gaze could ignite a fire, she quickly had to turn her head, otherwise the room would have been alight soon.
“Actually, to be honest,” she said without looking at him, “I don’t think I’ve ever thought of him. Mark was a bit–” The picture on top of the fireplace of all three of them caught her attention. “Mark has been my dad. And will always will be,” she emphasised.
When she felt Josh's hand, she moved around and watched his fingers play with hers.
Sophie came back into the room with the ice cream, and they both startled.
“There you go.” She placed the two plates and spoons on the littl
e table. “Help yourself.”
And so they did. The initial heavy conversation was forgotten, and they talked about more recent events: Josh’s broken leg, little Hope coming home, music and movies. It was only when the doorbell rang that they noticed it was already five o’clock.
“Thanks for having me,” Josh said.
Mia cursed herself for blushing so much she could feel the heat, when she saw him grinning.
“Will you come and see me after school one day next week?”
She shrugged. “Let’s see.”
“Ouch! You could pretend you wanna see me again.”
A smile tugged at her lips, and then with little warning he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. “How about now?”
That brought a giggle from her. “I’ll try and find someone to give me a lift.”
“Great! I look forward to it.”
And with that, he turned and hopped out into the hall to greet his dad.
Five minutes later, Sophie came into her room. “We need to talk.”
****
Zach let out a litany of curses as he drove through Hobart’s traffic. It was only a short drive, but it was the weekend, and with the nice weather they’d had, people were out and about. The drive took about five minutes longer than usual. Five minutes' more reason to curse. He was nervous and couldn’t cope with it. His usual composure was gone, and so was his patience. If he had his chance, he would put Sophie over his knees and give her backside a good whack. That was what she needed. And deserved. Okay, she deserved thanks as well. After all, he was about to have dinner with Miss Peterson, the cute dragon, whose backside he’d like to have across his knees for a completely different reason.
Once he arrived at Natasha’s house, he parked in the driveway, took another deep breath, and got out of the car. It took him a few steps more to get to the door this time.
Zach walked to the terrace, climbed the steps, and stood in front of the door hesitating, not really sure whether this was what he wanted, uncertain of what of what to expect or how to react if the subject of his job came up again. Moving back a step, he thought about heading back home when his phone rang. He checked the number: Natasha. With a knot in his stomach he answered it.
“This is Natasha.”
Speechless, he looked around wondering whether she was watching him.
“Are you on your way?” she asked.
Obviously she wasn’t watching. “I’m actually right in front of your door,” he replied.
“Oh.”
The dial tone indicated she had hung up, but before he was able to think of why or even curse, she opened the door. He nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Hi,” she said with her very soft-spoken voice.
Fair dinkum, if he could only come up with something reasonable to say, but he couldn’t, so he just nodded.
She stepped back and held the door wide open. “Come in.”
He stepped inside, savouring the smell of a home-cooked dinner. Following her into the kitchen, he noticed a roast in the oven as well as a Pavlova on the bench. His stomach was dancing with excitement.
“I hope you like roast.”
Zach nodded as he walked over and dipped his finger into the Pavlova topping.
“Hey!”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but disappeared quickly when she came closer and slapped his hand.
“That’s dessert.”
“You’re a violent person,” he drawled.
“Well.” She let out a deep breath. “At least I don’t spit fire.”
That caused him to chuckle. But then silence surrounded them.
Without looking at him, she suddenly said, “I’m sorry about the other day.”
He shrugged and dipped his finger again into the topping.
“Will you stop that!”
Holding up his finger for her to lick the cream, he replied, “How much did Sophie twist your arm to have dinner with me tonight?”
She wiped his finger with a piece of paper towel, quite to his disappointment, and shrugged. “She didn’t.”
He watched her face, trying to read her thoughts, but it was blank. “So it was your idea?”
“Would you like a glass of red wine?”
One small step and he stood right in front of her. “This is not going to work if Sophie’s pulling the strings, Natasha.”
With a hesitant nod, she looked up at him. “I know.”
His gaze went over to the Pavlova again and then to the stack of plates on the shelf. “Where are you hiding your forks?”
“What?”
“Forks.”
She opened the top draw and handed him a fork. He helped himself to a plate and then scooped a piece of the dessert onto it.
“Hey!”
“You’ve said that before, but the way we’re going here, I’m not sure whether I’ll still be here for sweets, and I don’t really want it to go to waste.”
With hand on hips, she stood in front of him, and he cocked an eyebrow. Deflated, she helped herself to some of the Pav as well and switched on the kettle.
“Sophie’s not pulling my strings. Let’s say we had a nice chat amongst girls, and she told me what your job entails, is all.”
“So you like me?”
Eyes wide open, she stared at him, and because he couldn't help himself, he stroked her cheek. He placed his plate onto the bench and did the same with hers, before gently pulling her closer. Slowly, he leaned forward and touched her lips with his. The sweet taste still lingered on her lips.
“So she interfered?” he asked against her lips.
Natasha moved back. “I honestly don’t get you. She didn’t. Not as such, anyway. She… she–“ She drew in her lips and avoided his gaze. “Why is it so important to you? She helped. She made me understand.”
He nodded. The moment of silence seemed deafening as he stared at her. Every instinct in him told him to let it go. To sit down and enjoy dinner with her. Get to know her better, and… But his mind, his stubborn mind, told him he didn’t like help from others. He was well and truly able to charm a woman himself.
“I’d better go,” he murmured and headed for the door.
Chapter Twenty-Two
With frustration fuelling inside him, Zach drove back to his place. He'd known the whole thing had been a bad idea. A very bad idea. As soon as his lips had touched Natasha’s, he had been a goner. All he had wanted was to scoop her up and take her to bed. But she was not ready, and it was obvious. No doubt, she’d enjoyed the kiss as much as he had, but she was still holding back something from him. Something she wasn’t ready to let go of. Yet.
And then there was Sophie. How he wished to tell her off for interfering. But he knew he couldn’t. She had meant well. How could he be angry for that? How could he blame her for looking after him and having his best interests in mind? It still bugged him.
As soon as Zach got home, he threw a frozen dish in the microwave and poured himself a glass of wine. He wove his fingers through his hair and walked into the lounge room. Zapping through the channels, he dug the fork in his meal, but he wasn’t really hungry. The whole idea of finding the happy-ever-after was not really something that was something on his to-do-list. Quite the opposite, he’d avoided it like the plague. After all, he’d seen enough misery and broken marriages or relationships over the years as an escort. But it was different with Natasha. As much as that excited him, it scared the living daylights out of him as well. He hardly knew her. Of course, he’d known of her, the dragon from the school and Sophie’s cake friend. He smiled as he lounged back into the sofa.
Then there was little Hope. Holding her had sent a rush through his body which initially he couldn’t figure out, but it was clear to him now. It was a longing for a family of his own. After all those years, he was actually pining for a wife and children. Boys, he could take camping or fishing. And girls, he could send over to Mia to give her a ripper of a headache the same way she did to him. All those yea
rs he had been happy with his life. Happy with the occasional flirt. And content to be the babysitter for Mia. Emotions clogged his throat, and he took another sip of his wine when the doorbell rang. When the knocking at the door persisted, he stood and walked to the front of the house.
He opened the heavy door, and there stood Natasha. Her eyes looked tired, and she was pale. But the rest of her looked sexy as sexy could be. She’d changed her clothes and was now wearing a bright pink tank-top and cargo pants that hung below her navel.
“Can I come in?”
“Did you bring the Pav by any chance?” he asked, not holding back on that grin on his face.
A smile spread across her face, and he stepped aside to let her in.
“I owe you an apology,” she said after a moment of silence.
Shaking his head, he led her into the lounge room. “I don’t believe you do. You owe me this Pav, though.”
Drawing in her lips, she met his gaze. “This is important to me, Zach,” she whispered.
He nodded towards the sofa. “Have a seat.”
As she sat down, he moved his now cold meal and glass of wine. “Can I offer you a drink?”
“That’d be nice.”
Zach came back with another glass and sat next to her.
“Shoot.”
Natasha let out a nervous chuckle before she had a sip of her wine. “Soph told me that you saw me with Liam.”
He looked at her, and she added, “My ex-”
“Husband,” he helped her.
She shook her head. “There lies the problem. Liam and I’ve known each other since high school. You know, like school sweethearts.” Her chuckle sounded forced. “I went to Uni to get my teacher’s degree, and he joined the army. But we kept the relationship going.”
Zach waited for her to continue, and for a while no one spoke.
“Once I finished my degree, I just followed him wherever he had to go, until we settled just north of Melbourne. Liam asked me to marry him, and I was the happiest woman on this earth.”