by Sonia Parin
“Are you trying to keep this in perspective?” Staying on track, not fooling herself into weaving a happy ending. Had she actually nominated him as her official heartbreaker?
“I’m trying to be a realist.”
“You’re not an afterthought, Eddie.”
“But I’m not your priority, either.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. I really don’t have a problem with that. You’re serving a purpose too.”
Only because she wanted to be hurt. As if that would wipe the slate and pave the way for better things to come...
“I really don’t mind that you came here looking for Claire because...” She lifted an eyebrow and nudged him.
“You want me to fill in the gap. Are you about to use your feminine wiles to get the truth out of me?”
“I’m giving you a chance to confide in me.” She turned and rested her back against his chest, snuggling against him. “We know Jon Kendrick is your father.”
It didn’t surprise him. However, he hoped they hadn’t made the connection between Claire and Jon. He didn’t think Claire would appreciate being the subject of gossip. Although, Claire was a single mom and he imagined that would have been enough to trigger a guessing game. “So, you know who I am. Now who’s been keeping secrets?” He chuckled.
“We figured you’d tell us eventually.”
“Or maybe you were giving me enough rope to hang myself. Waiting to see if I did or said something to give myself away.”
“You have no idea how impressed we are. You’re a celebrity—”
“No, I’m not. That’s my father.”
“Okay, you’re a celebrity by association. Anyway, we were expecting you to do something obnoxious. Something along the lines of ‘do you know who I am?’ or—”
“How dare you treat me like a nobody?” he laughed.
“You obviously value your privacy. And the fact I didn’t let on I knew about your father shows I can be trusted.”
“More champagne?” He topped up her glass.
“Fine. Just don’t expect me to share any secrets with you.”
“Let’s talk about the wedding.”
“Whoa. You’re changing the subject and jumping the gun. This was just sex, Theo. If you think I’m now going to propose—”
“Joyce told me about your friend’s upcoming nuptials.”
“Sounds like you and Joyce had a chat fest,” she said, her voice thickening as his fingers drew lazy circles along her neck.
“You only say that because you weren’t part of it.” He wouldn’t mention anything about Joyce warning him to stay away from Eddie and then suggesting he break her heart. Had he been that obvious about his attraction? Hell, even Eddie’s brothers had caught on to it.
Seeing her having dinner with another man had been like waving a flaming red flag in his face and daring him to stop dragging his feet and take action.
“If you offer yourself as my date for the wedding, I’m going to have to slice you open and see what’s inside. You can’t possibly be a human male. In my entire life I’ve never come across a man who would willingly volunteer to dress in a suit, sit through a ceremony and dance attendance—”
“Are you done?”
“Not quite. I only stopped because I had to take a breath. Now I need a refill.”
“I’m beginning to think the men around here need a swift kick.”
“So which planet do you come from?”
“Okay, so weddings are not a man’s favorite pastime, but some men are prepared to go the extra mile and endure the arduous task for the sake of pleasing the woman in their lives.”
“Did you have that memorized?”
“I have a few ready made responses to suit all occasions and I’m not prepared to admit that’s one of them. It would be giving too much away.”
* * *
Eddie decided she could spend hours talking with Theo and not be at a loss for words. She’d never get bored with him. Throw sex into the mix and—
Don’t get too comfortable, she told herself.
“So you’re offering to be my plus one for the wedding.”
“Only if you promise you won’t slice me open. Cross my heart, I will bleed.”
“Can I at least poke you?” He had to have a flaw.
“I suffered a bruised jaw for you. What more do you want?”
“Your parents must be wonderful people.” He was almost the perfect man.
“They trained me from an early age to be sink or swim self-sufficient.”
“Are you trying to say you had a lonely childhood?”
“No. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to experience peace and quiet. There were always too many people milling around for me to feel lonely. My parents are both in the business of collecting hangers-on.”
“Peace and quiet is overrated. I’ve tried it and it only leaves room for too much thinking. My grandmother lives alone and every time I visit I expect her to overwhelm me with conversation, instead she waits for me to talk. We’ve tried coaxing her to move back to town but she won’t hear of it. Which is a pity because she’s quite a character and fun to be with.”
“This is the Grandmother with the double barrel shotgun?”
She nodded. “Getting me to hunt the wild boar was her way of—” …Snapping her out of her self-absorption and self-pity after she’d broken up with Roy. “Never mind.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?”
“I’ll withhold all sexual favors until you open up to me,” he threatened.
“You wouldn’t last a day.” She laughed. “Now that you’ve had a taste of me, you’ll want to spend every last minute of your stay in Eden with me.”
He pressed his lips against her shoulder. “We already know you have no willpower to speak of. Out of the two of us, you’d be the first to break,” he murmured.
“I can be gritty when I set my mind to it. If I have to go without sex to preserve my dignity, I will.”
“It’d be easier if you opened up and shared all, but I’m happy to test your mettle.” He nibbled her neck and then closed in on her mouth.
Her toes curled until she thought they’d break. “I was coming out of a bad relationship and my grandmother thought I needed to feel empowered. Happy now?” There was no shame in giving in. None whatsoever. So long as he kept kissing her...
“I like her already.” He twirled his finger around a curl. “Was it a bad break-up?”
She hated to hear his voice softening. Pity never sat well with her. “My unofficial fiancé got another woman pregnant.” She felt more than heard the rumble in his chest, like a predatory animal ready to pounce.
“That’s enough to make anyone wary of relationships.”
“I’m optimistically cautious. There has to be a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, when I see it, I’ll make sure it’s not a train heading my way.” His silence put her on edge. She didn’t want him to feel he needed to make up for someone else’s sins. And he seemed to be the type who would.
“I’ll have to see about getting myself a suit for the wedding.”
Eddie decided she wouldn’t hold him to it. If he came with her, she’d enjoy every breath she drew in his company—
“When I came here tonight, I was thinking how gullible I’d been to believe you were not with Claire. People lie to get what they want.”
“Not everyone. Here, have some figs.” He teased her bottom lip until she took a bite.
“Okay, some people, I won’t name names, refrain from telling the truth and that tends to cast doubt...”
He brushed his lips against her neck. “If I’ve lied to you, then—”
“Then it would have to be the sweetest lie of all.” Right along with the fantasies flitting around her heart, celebrating a future she knew would never be hers. From the start, Theo had told her he had a return flight booked. Their time together came with an expiry date.
“Ready or not, Theo, I’
m going to try some of these strawberries.” This was a good place to be right now. Why spoil it?
Chapter Fifteen
“A cup of your happiest blend, please.” Eddie leaned over the counter and looked down at Joyce who was busy stacking a shelf.
Joyce peered at her, and then rose to her feet. “What’s come over you?”
Eddie grinned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll figure it out.” Joyce frowned. “Your face is brimming with… Oh, wow. You got some.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Sex. You had tons of it.”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Are you kidding me? Look at you. Your eyes are all shiny and your skin’s flushed and radiant. And you look… happy.”
Eddie couldn’t hold back her smile. “I popped into Rosie’s and bought this. Isn’t it pretty?” She twirled on the spot showing off her new halter neck dress in a light blue shade the shop owner had called cerulean. “Everything in her shop always looks so not me, but today, I couldn’t decide. I loved every single dress she has.”
“I never thought I’d witness a miracle.”
She twirled again and surprised herself by saying, “It’s a great feeling and I’m going to do everything I can to hold on to it for as long as possible.”
“And you want my coffee beans to aid and abet you.”
“And a blueberry muffin, please.”
“To go or to have here?”
“In the spirit of sharing my cheerful mood, I’ll have my happy coffee and muffin here.”
Joyce shook her head. “You have incentive to be good and gracious, yet you choose evil boasting.”
“Hey, I don’t complain when I hear birds singing in the morning. Now it’s my turn. Finally. Let me crow.” Eddie had woken up feeling bubbly and giddy. She hadn’t recognized herself. Even her toes had tingled.
“As your closest and oldest friend, I guess I’ll have to support you no matter what. And yes, I’ll be there if you fall.”
“I won’t think about that now.” She wouldn’t be able to find the words for it, let alone the thoughts. Her entire vocabulary had shifted. Everything looked brighter, even the icing on the cupcakes sitting on the counter seemed to be smiling up at her.
She drew in a deep breath and prodded her mind, looking for any residual thoughts about having a limited time with Theo, but they’d banished...
“Um… Before you suspend all reality, can I ask if you’re still going ahead with your madcap scheme to have a disastrous relationship?”
“I should never have made such a rash decision. I’ve taken a different direction. To quote my grandmother, keep a happy thought, and the rest will sort itself out.”
Joyce set the coffee cups and muffin on a tray and led the way to a table.
There was something slightly off with her. Eddie wondered if it had to do with the online date she’d been trying to organize. “What about you? Where are you at with your date for Sophie’s wedding?”
“It’s all good to go.”
“You went ahead with it,” Eddie said as they settled at a table.
Joyce shrugged. “I played it safe and was upfront with him. He knows I only want him as a one-off date. In fact, when I went through the selection process, I made sure to pick someone who came across as a commitment-phobe. He’s a serial dater. This year alone, he’s clocked up thirty-five dates with twenty different women. I contacted a few of them, and they gave him a glowing report. He is a genuinely nice guy, but...” She took a sip of her coffee. “But enough about me, I want to hear all the gruesome details about your sexual escapade.”
Everyone around them seemed to be engaged in their own private conversation, but Eddie still lowered her voice. “I jumped him. Hell, I would have wrestled him to the ground. I was that desperate to get inside his pants. At one point, I might have threatened him.”
“And?”
“You want details? As in, step by step with graphic descriptions and audio effects?”
“You could at least brag about how good it was.”
“Do you think anything short of well worth the wait would have put a smile on my face?”
“Okay, I get the picture. So, you had a memorable experience. But you know it’s my duty to ask. Now what? What are you going to do when he leaves?”
Eddie forced herself to smile. “Here today, gone tomorrow. And when the time comes, you can remind me.”
“I’ll be too busy picking up the pieces. I doubt I’ll be able to let him go so easily. I like Theo. He’s great to have around. He’s easy going. He doesn’t mind a bit of nonsense chatter. I don’t know any other man who can take our crap and still come back for more. And let’s not forget the obvious. He’s scrumptious looking and wears really nice clothes. Makes me want to primp. Do you think you can talk him into moving back to the pub? I miss seeing him jogging.”
“I’d never get anything done with Theo staying at the pub.” Setting her cup down, she felt her smile waver. She looked around the café again and saw the usual crowd but no sign of Theo. She’d become so accustomed to seeing him in the mornings...
“You’ve no idea how hard it is to ease back a little and stop feeling so good.” She shrugged. “I know I should try to keep it real, but last night was like a sugar rush and I’m still flying high on the after effects,” she said as she broke off a piece of her muffin and crumbled it.
Joyce looked down at her coffee. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to take it easy. Lower your expectations.”
“Play it safe?” That morning she’d woken up to happy tingles and smiles and lightness, so she’d gone along with the feeling and now...
Now, she wouldn’t say no to Joyce giving her a hearty dose of reality and good common sense. The pieces didn’t fit together. Her and Theo. Their lives were rooted in opposite sides of the world.
“Theo won’t hang around,” she reasoned, “He had some business to take care of, and now that’s all sorted out, he’s made some time for me. And soon, he’ll be on his way. I can’t expect more from him.” She pushed out a quivery breath. “I think I’m about to get the heartbreak I thought I wanted.”
“Is… is that good or bad?”
Joyce’s wariness set off alarm bells. What was up with her? “I don’t know. I’m swinging like a pendulum.” She chuckled. “One moment it’s all good, and now… Wow. I’m panicking. I don’t think I can handle this much uncertainty.” Eddie brushed her hands across her face. “What if, no matter what I do, the bad relationships keep coming my way?” Worse. What if Jimmy was right and her failed relationships had to do with ignoring her abandonment issues?
Did she even have any?
Sure, her mother had walked away only days after giving birth to her, but she’d had all the love she’d needed from her father and her brothers. By the time she’d been old enough to ask questions, it had made no sense to miss someone she’d never known.
As for her failed relationships with men...
Trial and error.
She would never have been happy if she’d moved to Melbourne with Derek. Roy had tried to win her back saying that sleeping with his ex-girlfriend had been a mistake, and that he wasn’t infallible, but he still loved her. Eddie hadn’t been willing to settle for second best and nothing could have bleached the infidelity from her memory.
She tried to look deeper, into her very own engine room, to see if she could find any residual feelings of insecurity or anything that could be labeled as unresolved issues of abandonment, but she couldn’t scrape up anything to justify thinking she’d fail, again.
Her emotions shifted away from uncertainty and back to feeling happy. But then she looked up and met Joyce’s concerned expression.
“That’s a serious frown.”
“Yes, well... You know how we’re always supposed to have each other’s back?” Joyce looked away, and then back at Eddie. “Um…”
“You’re about to tell me something I don’t want to hear.�
�
“Remember when I told you Theo wasn’t with Claire and he wasn’t Ben’s father. There was more...”
* * *
“A dozen yellow tulips, please.” The words tripped out of Theo’s mouth. The florist had given him some time to look over the display of flowers before offering her assistance, but he’d already known what he wanted.
“Who’s the lucky woman?”
It was a simple question. But did Eddie consider herself lucky to have spent time with him? She’d chosen him as her third strikeout. In a roundabout way, that meant she had struck it lucky.
“Make the card out to Eddie Faydon.”
The woman’s lips parted slightly. “Eddie, from The Gloriana?”
He nodded. “On second thought, I’ll write the card myself.” The florist watched him with interest and curiosity. Theo guessed this was the first time anyone had ordered flowers to be delivered to Eddie. “Do you know her?”
“Of course, everyone knows Eddie.”
He looked down at the neat stack of business cards on the counter. Blooming Buds was written in a florid script with the owner’s name directly below it. Grace Cossington. She knew Eddie. But were they close friends?
“Do you think she’ll enjoy the tulips?”
“She’ll be surprised to get flowers.”
It sounded like a diplomatic answer. “But will she like them?” It was the sort of inside information he would already have at his disposal if they’d managed to get around to having a sit down meal instead of jumping straight into the business of becoming intimately acquainted with each other. He didn’t even know if she enjoyed champagne or soufflés...
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say she’ll like them because they’re coming from you,” she said, her high cheekbones coloring slightly. “And, I’m going to assume she’ll be thrilled by the next bunch you send her, regardless of what you choose,” she added and arched her eyebrows in what Theo took to mean there had better be more flowers heading Eddie’s way or else.