Beau led me to one end of the logs before sitting to my side so that I wasn’t faced with sitting next to someone I didn’t know. Angel was already seated in one of the host chairs that sat on one side of the fire between the two logs used by the guests.
Mitch and Joe handed out the food as they had the last few times I’d been around one of these bonfires. Joe lingered to one side of Beau for a moment as Mitch gave food to Beau and me. He slipped Beau a bottle of beer before offering me a Coke.
“Lovely seein’ ya ag’in, Phoebe,” Mitch said as he handed me a tortilla. He’d been in the kitchen when we’d eaten earlier that day, but this was the first chance we’d had to say hello properly. “I’m glad ya let us arrange your weddin’ for ya. We can’t wait to show ya what we’ve arranged.”
“I’m sure I’m going to love it.”
“The person you’re marryin’ will help I’m sure.”
“That’s definitely the most important thing for me,” I agreed.
“Sorry we couldn’t get ya the honeymoon suite for after. The couple that’s in there booked a few weeks after we started everythin’ and Beau refused to let us give up a payin’ customer. Said the house would be fine.”
“It’s perfect. There are more memories there anyway.”
“You’ve got another set of newlyweds?” Angel asked, catching the end of the conversation.
“Heh, yeah, but they ain’t surfaced in a while. We ain’t seen ’em since the li’l woman checked ’em both in.” Mitch chuckled.
Taking a draw from his bottle of beer, Beau turned away from me to greet whoever had sat beside him. A moment later, he leant back so the new arrival could say hello to me too and I saw Cassidee smiling at me.
“Nice to see ya ag’in, Phoebe,” she said.
I nodded to acknowledge her, but couldn’t engage in a conversation. I was already near my limit for human interaction and ready to retreat back to the house. Seeming to read my concern, Beau held his hand out for me, palm up like the very first time we’d reconnected at Queensland Raceway. Changing my food so I was holding it one-handed, I slipped my hand into his.
“Are ya okay?”
I nodded. “It’s real close, but yeah.”
Drawing into myself, I watched as Mitch and Joe kept things jumping with the other guests. Beau stayed firmly by my side, not allowing himself to get drawn into the conversations. His head swivelled between each group though, as if he was desperate to join but stuck to my side by loyalty.
“Go talk to everyone,” I said after a moment. When he didn’t move, I added, “Go on; enjoy yourself.”
“I ain’t gonna leave ya alone.”
“I’m fine. Go. We’re here so you can catch up with your friends before you sell this place, so go catch up.”
“I’ve got her,” Angel said, reaching out to pat my leg.
“See,” I said, trying to convince him to have some fun. “I’m in good hands.”
Beau stood and walked to talk to Cassidee, Mitch, and Joe, after a few steps, he twisted back to check on me, and I nodded to let him know I was okay. It wasn’t long before Cassidee pulled out her phone and started showing Beau something—I was certain it was video or photos of Hope. Joe stood to Beau’s side, grinning almost as widely as Cassidee was.
“So Beau said something about you being a starring attraction tonight,” I said to Angel to distract me from the twisting in my stomach.
She grinned. “Apparently. Beau suggested it to Mitch and Joe because he thinks my voice is ‘heavenly.’” She poked her tongue out to show what she thought of that. She’d been far more comfortable in front of a still camera than anything to do with her voice, despite being told all her life that she was a natural.
“What are you going to sing?”
“You’ll find out before too long.”
“Is Beau singing too?” He hadn’t mentioned it, and I hadn’t thought to ask.
“I don’t think so. At least, no one has told me if he is.”
We’d barely started to change the subject when the proceedings shifted, and Mitch and Joe called everyone back to sit. Joe started off with some camp songs as Mitch served s’mores for dessert.
After a couple of camp songs, Mitch took a seat next to Beau as Angel was invited to start her performance.
Joe strummed the tune while Angel straightened in her seat to sing. It’d been so long since I’d heard her voice; it was almost like a doorway into the past. I closed my eyes and let her words wash over me. She sang lyrics about being an anchor for someone and about always being there for them. Whether her song choice was directed at Beau or at me, I wouldn’t know, but it didn’t matter. The lyrics wrapped around my heart regardless.
Opening my eyes, I found her gaze on me. When our eyes locked, she closed hers and focused on hitting the notes. My heart fluttered. The new knowledge I had over the way she really felt changed every glance I gave her, and every one she gave me in return—every one she’d ever given me.
I leant forward and sat with rapt attention as she let her passion flow through the melody. Not for the first time in our history, but for the first time in a long time, I wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that passion for real. To kiss her again like we had before.
My gaze was drawn to her lips, and to the way she rocked in place on her chair as the lyrics went through her. Something stirred deep within me; an ache I wasn’t used to associating with anyone but Beau. Our time apart had left me with fresh eyes to view her with.
Angel reached for my hand, and I clasped her fingers.
“Looks like ya mighta found some competition,” Mitch teased Beau. I wasn’t sure whether he’d caught the way Angel’s words affected me, the way she held my hand tightly as she sang, or whether his words were solely about the music and her melodic tones, but I ignored them either way.
Angel could never compete with Beau, and he knew that. It was why he hadn’t tried to remove her from my life despite knowing the way she felt. Equally, he could never compete with her. They each owned pieces of me, and I just had to figure out some way to make those pieces work so that no one got hurt.
The instant Angel finished one song, Joe started playing another. It was a song from our childhood, and I smiled at the nostalgia.
As soon as she finished, she nodded to Joe, and they shared a silent communication. When he started the next song, I recognised it as the one Angel and Beau had sung together in the car on the way to Bathurst. Angel nudged Beau who lifted his hands to protest, but then Mitch and Joe got the rest of the guests excited about Beau joining in and left him with little choice.
He glanced at me, and I nodded in encouragement. It’d been so long since I’d seen him singing in this sort of situation and I’d missed it.
“Okay, okay,” Beau held his hands up in surrender before downing the last of his beer.
Joe cycled the song around to start again now that Beau was ready to join in. The song was upbeat and familiar, so a few people were singing and clapping along by the time Angel and Beau hit the call and response chorus. As Beau sang each line promising he’d never let someone down, he stared at me and sang the lines straight to me. Even though they were just song lyrics and not something he’d written, I believed every line as if it was a sincere promise. He’d proven it often enough.
Without breaking his rhythm, Joe grinned at the two of them before his gaze travelled to another place to another guest and his eyes softened. Who was he looking at?
When the song finished, Beau’s smile was huge, and he looked so carefree. I was positive my grin told him how impressed I was. It was nice seeing him properly relaxed again. By the time the campfire songs started up once more, he had found his way back into a conversation with Cassidee.
“How are you holding up?” Angel asked. “Are you having fun?”
“Yeah, but I think I’m just about done.” I glanced over to where Beau stood, just a few metres away, laughing as he caught up with his friends. “I
t doesn’t look like Beau is though.”
“Why don’t we sneak off together?” she joked.
“I couldn’t do that to Beau. He’d panic. I think he’d be okay with you and me going to the house to catch up alone though.”
She brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “That sounds nice.”
I hopped up and went to Beau’s side. He had a fresh drink in hand and was laughing with everyone else.
“Howdy, darlin’, are ya havin’ fun?”
“Are you?” It seemed like he was, but I wanted to find out from the source.
“I can leave if ya wanna.”
I nudged his shoulder. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I’m havin’ a good time, but that don’t change what I said.”
“Angel and I were thinking about heading up to the house to watch a movie.”
“Give me a minute.”
“No, stay. Spend your time catching up while you can. It’ll be nice having some one on one time with her.”
He glanced towards Cassidee and Joe and then back to me. “I ain’t gonna let ya go walkin’ ’round alone.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Angel.”
“That ain’t good enough, darlin’. I don’t want either of ya gettin’ hurt.”
I frowned at him and put my hands on my hips. “I’m not going to drag you away from your friends just to walk me no more than a few hundred metres to the safety of your house.”
“Darlin’—” The word was almost growled.
I lifted one brow and responded with a similar tone. “Beau.”
He reached for me, wrapping his hand around my arm and drawing me closer. “What about . . . the gifts?”
“I’ve already told you, I’ve got Angel to protect me. And she’s got me.”
He watched me carefully and then frowned. In his eyes, I saw a reflection of the stress he’d been through while I was being held captive. He wasn’t trying to force me to do something I didn’t want to do, he was just worried about me.
“I get why you’re worried,” I said. “I’m worried too, but I really want you to spend some time with your friends, and I want to catch up with Angel some more.”
“How ’bout a compromise?” He offered me a wry smile. “Why don’t ya head on up together, and I’ll follow ya until I know you’re in the house?”
“I think I can agree with that.” I wrapped my arms around him, taking a moment to hold him tight. “Then you’ll come back here with your friends?”
He nodded and kissed my forehead. “Have fun catchin’ up with Angel.”
“I will.” I turned and walked back to Angel. I offered her my hand, and we headed through the darkness in the direction of the house. A shiver ran down my spine again as the feeling of being watched crept over me. Surely it was just Beau’s gaze trailing my steps into the dark as he followed behind us.
MY HAND SQUEEZED Angel’s as I caught sight of another dead rose on the stoop. “Fuck.”
“What is it?” Her gaze swung to me.
“Just keep walking.” Although part of me wanted to let Beau know, I didn’t want his night to be ruined. Once Angel and I were inside the house, we’d be safe.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Someone has been leaving gifts for me.” Tears flooded into my eyes. “Like Bee used to.”
“Is this what you asked me about?”
I pulled her onto the patio and waved at Beau who was waiting in the distance for us to arrive. When he saw the wave, he gave his own in return and blew a kiss. He didn’t turn to go yet though. “I thought maybe it was just a joke. A stupid one, but just a joke.”
“Pheebs, I wouldn’t joke about anything that would cause you pain or make you think of that damn arsehole at all. I’m hurt that you’d—”
I spun to face her and grabbed her hand. “I didn’t think you were trying to hurt me. I just . . . I almost wanted it to be you because if it’s not you, or Beau, who could be leaving these things? Who even knew about them?”
“Maybe it’s a coincidence?”
I dragged her into the house and closed the door behind us before rushing to the window to see if Beau was still outside. When Angel came to stand beside me, I told her more about the gifts. “The one this morning was the exact same brand of chocolate I’d had delivered, but it was filled with cockroaches.”
“Whoever the arsehole is that’s doing this, we’ll find them. If they want to get to you, they’ll have to come through me, and they’ll have to come through Beau.”
After Beau had disappeared back towards the party, I took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?”
“Can you please just get rid of it for me? I-I can’t touch it, but I don’t want Beau to see it tonight, he’ll flip out. He was angry enough this morning.”
She didn’t even question, just ducked outside of the door and grabbed the rose. After dropping it into the gardens, she came back into the house. “He’s just watching out for you.”
“I know. You don’t need to protect him. I—” I tried to think of the best way to explain it to her. “Well, things have changed since you’ve been gone. I think I’m stronger now, and I think I’m ready to be loved the way he wants to love me without it becoming an issue for me. I’m ready to let everyone love me the way they want to without fighting it.”
She reached for me and rubbed her hand over my arm.
“I guess losing almost everything and facing your own mortality adds perspective.”
Despite being anxious to get back to the way things used to be between Angel and me, it was a little different once the expectations of being alone—of returning to our past—weighed on us. With no view to distract us and no one else between us, there was nothing to hide behind. A lot of what we’d needed to say since the day she’d left had been said and the new information all seemed too inconsequential to discuss yet. The air between us grew thick and awkward.
“This feels more awkward than I thought it would be.” Angel focused on her fingers as they twirled around the ends of her hair when she spoke. “Maybe I should just go back to my room for now.”
“Stay,” I said, not willing to let her walk away yet.
“I don’t know if that would be a good idea. Maybe we need some space to process the day a little more.”
I wanted to reach for her and pin her to my side. After so many months without her in my life, I wasn’t ready to let go so soon. “Please? We’ll put on a movie.”
It didn’t take much to get her to agree to stay a little longer. We took some time to select a movie on cable and before long had settled into our usual position on the couch.
Only now, I was hyper-aware of her body behind mine. Her breath tickled against my nape and sent tingles all the way down my spine. Where her hand rested on my hip—like it had a thousand times before—a new sensation burned, like pins and needles but so much more. I put it all out of my head as best as I could, attempting to relish in the fact that I had Angel back in my life rather than focusing on the memory of the kiss we’d shared as she’d said goodbye.
Despite that, a startling discovery grew within me. One I could barely admit to myself. One I shouldn’t have wanted to reveal to Angel, but that burned my tongue with a desire to escape. Something that had started with her song, and ended with her touch.
She wasn’t like a sister to me at all.
I twisted my head to say something to her and caught the direction of her focus. With soft eyes full of desire, she stared at me and not the TV. When our eyes met, she shifted her gaze back to the movie. How often had she done the same thing and I hadn’t realised? Was that why she fancied this position?
As if sensing she was still the subject of my attention—or perhaps thinking she no longer was—her gaze flicked back to my face. As I caught her out, her breath grew short, and mine sped.
Our eyes locked and an understanding passed between us. It was clear in her gaze that she knew I’d not only caught her, b
ut had already realised it wasn’t a once off. Her eyes shone like emeralds, and my stomach fluttered at the emotions burning within. How had I missed it for so long? The same questions that had run through me a hundred times since she’d admitted how she felt raced through me all over again.
“I-I should go,” she stammered but didn’t make a move to leave.
I twisted further, rolling onto my back so I could free my hand that had been pinned by my body. Without thinking through the consequences, I lifted it to trace through her hair.
“Stay,” I whispered as I ran my fingers through her blonde waves.
My stomach clenched, and my body ached with a familiar burn—one I’d thought only Beau could ignite.
“I should—”
“Stay,” I breathed, cutting off her protests. I guided her head closer to mine until our lips were inches apart.
“Pheebs, I—”
“Please?” I asked an instant before arching forward to claim her lips.
Just like the last time, her kisses were soft and so different to Beau’s. Our lips brushed against each other in a series of gentle strokes. Each one sent a new wave of desire through me.
She was never just a sister to me.
She was more—always more. I’d just been too stupid to see it.
“Phoebe.” My name was still a half-hearted protest on her lips when we broke apart, a warning to stop before it was too late.
It was already far too late. The months without her, the first time we’d kissed, all of our teasing over the years, it all rushed through me so fast—dragging need behind—that I had no choice but to add my tongue the next time our lips met.
It was sensual. Restrained. Not the sometimes near-violent need that filled the kisses I shared with Beau, but rather a physical manifestation of the way things had always been between Angel and me. Equals. The constant push and pull that embodied our friendship.
When she said my name again, it was moaned with a need that wiped all protests away. Her breath was choppy, and one of her hands slipped behind my head, supporting me but also holding me open to the love she poured into me.
Phantom (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #5) Page 20