Shiver Sweet

by H Elliston

  "I'll get dressed." Sarah raced around the table to hug Brian who playfully returned her mock fighting moves. She giggled when he started tickling her, then bounded out of the room.

  "Have you been teaching her to fight?" I asked.

  "It's self-defence. She's got one hell of a stomp on that right foot of hers. Grinds my toes right down to Australia." Brian leaned into the table. “See, you were worrying about nothing. She's happy for us.”

  “Hmmm... I’m not sure happy is the word but at least she didn’t hate the idea. The thought of my mum being with my uncle makes me feel all... weird. It kinda blurs the lines of people’s relationships. But I guess I'm alone in my thinking. I’ll talk to her again about it later.” I glanced over my shoulder to check she wasn’t about to return. “What happened with your sister last night? Did she phone Claire?”

  “It was tricky, but I managed to persuade her to keep quiet.” He paused, stroked my leg under the table and lowered his voice. “It took all of my will power to tuck you into that spare bed last night instead of into mine.”

  A tingle fired straight to my heart. Smiling, I gazed down at my plate. “Back to Steph. How did you persuade her to keep quiet?”

  “I simply told her that if she really cared about her friend, she’d let me break up with her as nicely as I could and not upset her further by telling her about our... umm... kiss.”

  Yep, and some kiss it was. I frowned. “And that’s it?”

  He shrugged and chewed some bacon. “Pretty much. If you want my honest opinion, even though Steph’s angry with us, I don’t think she wants Claire to get hurt. After the way my sister reacted when I caught up with her last night, I’m starting to think she has a thing for Claire.”

  “A thing? As in...”

  He nodded.

  “But I thought Steph was dating someone a while back? A man.”

  He wrinkled his nose. How cute; I almost melted. “It’s just a hunch,” he said.

  This struck me as strange because then surely Steph would be pleased about Brian breaking up with Claire. “And what about Claire?”

  He shook his head. “Men only... well, as far as I know.”

  “But I thought you accused Steph of making Claire believe you were going to ask her to move in with you. If she likes Claire in that way, surely she’d try to split you apart not force you closer.”

  “Claire only came into Steph’s life through me. Perhaps Steph’s worried that our break-up will mean they’ll drift apart.” He shrugged. “It happens. But, who knows? I never quite have understood my sister. She always seems to be guarded.”

  I squashed some eggs onto my fork. “If you're right, however much I don't see eye to eye with your sister, I hope she doesn’t get her heart broken.”

  "I could be wrong."

  "And here's me worrying about mums getting it on with uncles when your sister might want to hop into bed with your ex."

  Brian let out a demented chuckle then grimaced at the ceiling. "Er... yeah. It would feel weird. I guess I now see your point."

  I ate my breakfast and washed it down with coffee. “I haven’t seen Steph in years. She was so great during my pregnancy. And then one day... boom. It was like as soon as Sarah took her first baby steps she turned cold on me. If she blamed me for her brother, she’d have cut me off straight away, not a year or so down the line.”

  “Whenever I asked her about it, she stormed off, but then we’ve never really gotten on.”

  “Yes. She always favoured your brother.”

  Brian sipped his coffee. "I'll drive you home as soon as the car arrives." He paused to wince at me. "Then I need to have a chat with Claire, and drop in on my parents before I get ready for the meeting at my office. I want us to be together properly, not sneak around."

  "Like Sarah does?"

  "Exactly."

  I gave him a sympathetic smile. "I hope Claire doesn’t go nuts at you."

  "She'd have to be blind to not know what's coming. But I do need to end things properly. She might have been a pain in the backside lately, but we have had some good times so I owe her that much."

  "Your entire family loathes me. They're only polite for Sarah's sake."

  He reached for my hand across the table and slotted his fingers between mine. "They'll just have to suck it up."

  Hopefully they wouldn’t make life miserable for us. “We’ll see. Finished eating?” I moved over to the sink to wash our dishes. "I'm going to phone John again when I get home. But I think I've made up my mind." I stared at him over my shoulder. "I'm going to sign the divorce papers. Give him the house and get it over with. It'll sting, but it's a small price to pay for him to keep his mouth shut and protect Sarah’s sanity. I'll just have to find a smaller place to live and somehow cram my office into it."

  "No, wait... I," Brian's voice throbbed with concern. He scraped his chair back across the tiles and came up behind me. He dumped his mug in the sink, gently slid his arms around my waist and locked his fingers above the waistband of my jeans, sending tingles through me. "What if you could keep the house?"

  "I'm ready." Sarah skipped into the kitchen in black leggings and a long glittery jumper, then jerked to a stop. "Oh... er... Let's go home to open your presents, mum."

  I smiled at Sarah, frowned at Brian. "I don't see how that's possible."

  "Later." He planted a quick kiss on my neck while Sarah grabbed a juice from the fridge before heading into the hall. "Just don't sign anything yet. I need a little time. There's always a way around, if not through a problem."

  I swallowed past the temptation for help, then dabbed soap bubbles on the tip of his nose. "Thank you. Really. But I told you before, no handouts.”

  “Who said anything about handouts?”

  “This is my problem, not yours. Whatever form your help comes in, it all boils down to a handout, like your offer to pull me in some new work contracts.”

  “Oh, that.”

  I leaned harder against the warmth of his chest. “This is just something I feel that I need to deal with on my own.”

  “If that’s what you want,” he replied.

  “It is. Now lose the frown and give me a kiss.”

  “That, I can manage.” He leaned in, let his lips graze mine in a soft tease, then swept the tip of his nose across to my ear and then down. “You smell divine.” He slid his arms around my waist again, wrapping me like a silk scarf while he nuzzled my neck, sending delicious shivers throughout my body. Jeez, I could get used to this.

  CHAPTER 16

  CHRISTA

  Once Brian took delivery of his courtesy car, he drove Sarah and me home. The snow was turning to dirty slush.

  Sarah slung her bag over her shoulder, left the car and raced to the house. As I reached to open my door, Brian touched my hand. “Hold on a sec.” He leaned across and gave me a delicious kiss on the lips. "God, I can't wait to get you alone to give you your birthday present and put a big smile on your beautiful face."

  I blushed, forcing back the urge to crawl across the console and straddle him. “I'll see you later then?”

  “I’ve got a meeting this afternoon. I wish I could reschedule but the guy’s driven a long way.”

  “Tonight then. We’ll order Chinese food and then talk once Sarah goes to bed.”

  His eyebrows hopped up. “Love to.”

  “That wasn’t code or anything. I did actually mean to talk.”

  "First, then I'll ravage you,” he said in a jovial growl.

  I laughed. “Can’t wait.” We kissed again and I left the car with my heart bouncing against my ribs, mentally tearing the clothes off his chiselled body.

  Brian beeped the horn and drove off.

  My stomach fluttered, then it faded.

  Poor bloke. Facing the wrath of Claire would not be easy. I just hoped that Steph had taken his advice and not spilled the beans already. Despite Claire’s bad attitude, I did feel sorry for her knowing that she was in love with Brian. I assumed heartache wa
s painful for even the spikiest of people.

  I unlocked and opened the front door. Immediately, the smell of bleach hit me. “Whoa!” We stepped into the hall and found Nicola dashing out of my office. She wore black jeans, a long-sleeved polo neck sweater and heavier than usual makeup.

  “Oh, er... Happy birthday,” she said.

  Sarah rushed past us into the kitchen.

  “Thanks.” I smiled then mouthed, ‘we need to chat in private.’

  Nicola’s eyes flickered around the hall.

  “Are you okay?” I hooked her elbow and leaned in to cup her face. “What’s up with your chin? It looks swollen.”

  “Oh, er... I had a reaction to that blasted face pack.” She turned away and walked toward the kitchen, enclosing her fist around something small. “And I overdid the wine last night, slipped and dropped my mobile. It’s broken.”

  I followed her. “Poor love. You should put ice on your face and throw the tube in the bin. I don't want Sarah using that face pack. You know what she’s like.” The smell of bleach intensified in the kitchen where Sarah was rummaging through the fridge. I wafted my hand about my face. “I tried to phone you so many times last night. Why wouldn’t the landline work?”

  “I think the weather knocked it out.”

  “Great. That’s all I needed.” I glanced around. “Have you spilled a bottle of bleach or something?”

  "Yeah," Sarah commented. "It stinks."

  “Thought I’d clean up a bit,” Nicola mumbled. “Can’t have you coming back to a dirty house on your birthday.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, but... very kind.” I sniffed the air. “Do I smell... smoke?”

  Nicola hunched. “I tried not to, but yes, I smoked a cigarette. Sorry.”

  “But you’ve been doing so well,” I said, sidestepping Sarah’s bag plonked on the floor.

  Nicola shrugged. She was acting weird. This was a different Nicola.

  Sarah grabbed a juice from the fridge. “Where are your cards and presents mum?”

  “Under my bed,” Nicola replied.

  Sarah started out of the room. “I’ll get them. You can open mine first. Nicola helped me make it.”

  “Oh, Sarah,” Nicola called. “Will you use your mum’s bathroom today? The bath’s leaking and the toilet’s not filling up right.”

  “Leaking?” I said.

  She nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve mopped up. I know a friend who can fix it, but he said that no one should use the bathroom at all until he mends it. All right?”

  “Sure,” Sarah said, then left the kitchen and I heard her bounding up the stairs.

  I flicked the kettle on. “This wretched house is falling down around us. Perhaps giving it up is for the best.” I spooned coffee granules in two mugs, turned around, and leaned against the bench crossing my legs at the ankles. “Come on. Out with it."

  Her eyes widened. "What?"

  "You had people round last night, some sort of party. It's written all over your face.”

  “I-I didn't. I drank a few more glasses of wine than I realised. That's all.”

  I gave a light chuckle. “Well, it’s your home too.” For now, at least. “So long as you didn’t let anyone in my office. Anyway, John didn’t turn up at Brian’s last night." I wiped my brow in a show of relief. "Thank goodness.”

  Nicola coughed out a cross between a hiccup and a choke. “J-John?”

  I patted her back. “We need to keep an eye out. Don’t let him in the house, okay?” I lowered my voice. “I’ve left a message asking him to phone me, but he hasn’t. I’m shocked that he’s playing this dirty, but really, I guess I knew it wasn’t a bluff. Thanks for the heads-up.”

  “Dirty?” Her voice shook.

  “Yes. Isn’t that what you were telling me on the phone last night? That John came round here to spill the beans to Sarah, to force me to give up the house?”

  Nicola plucked invisible fluff off her sweater, glanced up at a corner in the kitchen. “Y-yes. Sorry. I forgot. This damn hangover is torturous. What an asshole!”

  I flopped my head back and sighed. “I can’t magic up that amount of money to buy him out, so I’ll have to say goodbye to this place. He knows it’ll be a struggle to run my business without all that space. It’ll break Sarah’s little heart not to have all these spare rooms to play in, however battered and full of cobwebs they are. It would have been the most amazing home once I finish renovating.”

  "The perfect bed and breakfast place."

  "Ooh, a guest house? Not a bad idea, but... well, that’ll never happen now." Leaving this house would feel like a death had occurred. I nudged my depressing thoughts away, grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge and turned. “Oh, and guess what?”

  Her face blanched.

  "Don't look so worried, this is good news." Unable to contain my smile, I whispered. “Well, Brian and I abseiled down a cliff last night.”

  “Really?”

  “And when we got to his house, we kissed.”

  “You’re kidding me?” Something small fell out of her hand and skidded across the tiles.

  “It was amaaaazing.” I beamed, melting at the memory. “He’s going to talk to Claire today. End things properly. It was a bit awkward when his sister barged in and started screaming at us, so please don’t gossip about it until Brian's smoothed things over, all right?”

  Nicola nodded. She crouched down and scanned the floor.

  I stared down at her, confused. Why can’t she drum up any enthusiasm? “What’s up, hon?” Hadn’t she realised what I’d just said? And why hadn’t she asked me about Steph barging in on us? I felt like I was talking to a blank version of her in a parallel universe. “What did you drop? Want me to help you look?”

  “Nothing important.”

  “I thought you’d be whooping and doing a happy dance, throw a street party.” I cast my eyes across the floor. "Come out wherever you are. Where did the real Nicola go?"

  “I’m very happy,” her lacklustre voice floated up from the floor. “But I thought you said there wasn’t any chemistry.”

  My stomach fluttered and a smile came to my lips. “Chemistry? There were enough sparks to set his house on fire! God, he's a fantastic kisser. No wonder Claire’s so hooked on him. It was like... as soon as our lips met, the world didn’t seem such a grinding place. Know what I mean?" I nibbled my bottom lip through a wave of sweet shivers at the memory. "Your plan to get us alone last night obviously did the trick. Thanks. Really. You’re the best friend I could ever wish for. I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was. Why the hell didn't I realise what was staring me in the face all these years?" I snapped my mouth closed before I went overboard, gushing and swooning like a teenager.

  "Well in that case..."

  I waited through her pause.

  She smiled a little, then flung her arms out and pulled me into a hug.

  "That's more like the real Nicola," I muttered. Although...

  “I’m just shocked, I guess. I thought you two would never get it on. Wonderful news.”

  No. Her hug felt wrong. Cold and cautious, like she wasn’t really into it. I leaned out of her arms and smoothed her hair away from her face. “You really don’t look well. Wanna sit?” I motioned to her unusually high-necked top. “What’s with the new get-up?”

  She moved out of my arms and her hand flew up to clutch her throat. “I’m a bit fragile today. Hungover. Sorry.”

  “Well, your eyes do look red and you don't seem yourself. You know, you’re really beautiful. You don’t need to wear all that make-up.” My compliment didn’t even raise a smile.

  “I’ll be fine after another coffee,” she said in a mechanical voice. “But thanks.”

  “I’m sorry I left you alone last night,” I said, assuming that might be the reason for her cold front. The kettle boiled so I made the drinks. “Anyway, I need to change my clothes and then Sarah and I are going to watch a film. It might take my mind off waiting for the dreaded phone call from Jo
hn. How can I have such a high and a low in one day? Weird, huh? Anyway, I just have to accept it, no point hoping that some miracle might happen and I get to keep the house. Oh, John is such an arse.”

  “Christa, that’s a bit mean.”

  I frowned. “You’re sticking up for him?”

  “No... I’m just... never mind.”

  Weird. “Anyway, then I’ve got to perform surgery on a few computers before I get behind on things.”

  “Surgery?”

  “That’s what Sarah called it the other day. It requires patience – mine – running tests and then sometimes I have to open ‘em up and operate. Get it? Operating system?” I laughed at myself, but Nicola just frowned. “Okay, it’s lame. Anyway, Brian’s coming round for a takeaway later. I know it’s not glitz and glamour, but you’ll join us, right? Help me enjoy the last birthday I’ll have in this house?”

  Sarah bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen, her arms spilling with cards and presents. “Open mine first, mum.”

  I smiled. “Can’t wait.”

  Nicola picked up what looked like a flash drive off the floor, then grabbed her mug and started out of the room. “I need to go on the internet, Christa. Pay my catalogue bills ‘n’ stuff. Can I use your office while you watch the film?”

  I glanced at Sarah and winked. “You mean my operating theatre?” I laughed and tore the wrapping off Sarah’s present. Not much of a birthday celebration. “Don’t you want to watch me open my gifts?”

  CHAPTER 17

  CLAIRE

  Claire charged down the hall in her house after Brian. “No! No! You can’t do this.”

  He opened her front door to leave. “I’ve tried to be civil. I didn’t come here for a big argument. It’s best I go.”

  She tried to grab his coat, but only succeeded in clawing at his departing back. “Don’t you dare dump me then walk away, asshole!”

  He blocked her wrist and glared at her. “Insane.” Then shut the door in her face.

  Her heart in tiny pieces, Claire dived onto the sofa. Big, shuddering sobs racked her. She flung cushions into the hall while the love of her life drove off.