Her Aussie Holiday

by Stefanie London

  The car puttered along the main drag, and slowly Patterson’s Bluff bloomed before her. It was Saturday afternoon and the street was bustling—the weather was balmy and mild, marshmallow clouds dotting a vibrant blue sky. She pulled up in front of the White Crest pub and killed the engine of her rental car.

  Biting down on her lip, she grabbed her cross-body bag and slung it over her jeans and white T-shirt. She wore no makeup, and her suitcase was jammed into the trunk of the rental car. But Lord, did she need a break from driving. Inside, the pub was exactly as she remembered it—white paint and pale wood and those funky Edison bulbs they seemed to love in the eateries here.

  She scanned the room, clutching at her bag. Some silly part of her had hoped she might find Trent there, sitting at the bar and nursing a beer. Maybe looking a little lost and sad because he was missing her.

  “For all you know, he’s moved right on to someone else,” she muttered. After all, a man like Trent would make any woman happy, so perhaps he’d found someone smarter than Cora who wasn’t about to walk away so easily.

  She walked up to the bar, noting the curious stares of some of the patrons. They knew she wasn’t from around here.

  The bartender approached Cora. “Can I get you anything?”

  “A pint of pale ale, please. Whatever is on tap.” She smiled and settled into her position at the bar, dragging a book out of her bag and letting herself get lost in the story.

  She hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to contact Trent—she could call him. Maybe she should. Was it weird to show up in his hometown unannounced? Would that seem a bit…stalkerish? What if he didn’t want to see her?

  There was a tug of the old in her worries. Old Cora, who’d be insecure about Trent’s feelings toward her, was rearing her ugly head. But she had no place here anymore. Cora had changed, and New Cora wasn’t going to let fear dictate her actions. She would find Trent, tell him how she felt, and see where it went.

  As if conjured by her deepest desires, the very man in question walked through the pub’s door. He wore a pair of jeans that fit him perfectly, denim faded in patches where the fabric stretched across his muscular thighs. He had on a black T-shirt and work boots, and his face was covered in scruff like he hadn’t shaved in a while.

  Her heart thudded, bumping against her rib cage as she watched him, desperate desire filtering through her body. Only this time the wanting wasn’t just about his rock-hard body and panty-melting smile. It was about everything, the whole package.

  His life, his twinkling eyes, his giant, golden heart.

  The second his eyes landed on hers, he blinked. Then shook his head. Then blinked again. His confusion was adorable, and her heart swelled in her chest.

  “A wise man once told me if I was ever looking for anybody in town, I should come here,” she said.

  “Could you introduce me to this wise man?” he asked with a subtle lift of his lips. “I could do with some wisdom.”

  “Maybe I can help,” she said softly. “Can I buy you a beer?”

  He climbed onto the stool next to her, the scent of him twisting and turning inside her like a drug. He smelled like earth and the ocean and eucalyptus and man. He had dirt under his fingernails and his hair was askew, like he’d been working. Dust and mud caked his boots, and his skin was golden tan as ever. The T-shirt hugged his shoulders and biceps, outlining each and every muscle to fantasy-level perfection.

  “So you’re back,” he said. “For how long?”

  She lifted one shoulder into a shrug. “As long as it takes.”

  “For what?”

  “To earn your forgiveness.” She sucked on the inside of her cheek. “And to earn my own forgiveness.”

  His blue eyes pinned her to her seat, when all she wanted to do was throw her arms around him. But first she had to explain herself, say sorry. Let him know that walking away from him was the biggest mistake of her life.

  “I’ve done a lot of things wrong,” she said. “A lot of mistakes. Sometimes the same ones over and over.”

  “We all make mistakes,” he said quietly.

  “I made some of the biggest. Like walking out of here to go back to people who don’t give a shit about me when I had someone who cared standing right by my side.” She’d promised herself she wasn’t going to cry, because she didn’t want this to be a sad moment. This was a triumphant moment. A butterfly moment.

  And she wasn’t going to let a single tear fall.

  “I was chasing a lie, hoping for a different result even though I’d been doing the same damn thing over and over for years. Trying to force something that wasn’t going to happen.”

  “What happened when you went home?” he asked.

  “Nothing. Not a thing had changed, except me.” She looked into his eyes, hoping he could feel how sincere she was being. Hoping that those feelings he’d confessed to still existed. “I became a different person while I was here. I changed. I evolved. I finally started to figure out who I wanted to become, rather than only ever seeing the image my parents dangled in front of me.”

  “Good for you.” There was a hesitation to him, a distance. She couldn’t blame him for being that way, because she wasn’t about to walk out of here without telling him exactly how she felt.

  “I should be crediting you. I was in the deepest hole I’d ever been in my whole life, and you were the rope that helped me climb out.” She swallowed. Despite her determination not to cry, tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them into submission. “If it wasn’t for you, I probably would have gone home and buried my manuscript under my bed and gone back to my old life, telling myself I wasn’t good enough to chase that dream.”

  “That would have been a tragedy.”

  “Yeah, it would have. But when I got home, I saw…that life didn’t fit me anymore. I’d grown too much. And that’s because of you.”

  “You did the hard work, Cora. I only nudged you in the right direction.” His hand drifted to her hair, tugging softly at one springy curl. A dimple formed in his cheek as a smile emerged.

  “I’m sorry I left,” she said. “But I needed to go home and see it for myself, that Manhattan held nothing for me anymore.”

  Trent bobbed his head but said nothing. The bartender put a beer in front of him, without him having to ask.

  “I…uh, I’m not very good at this.” Cora reached for her drink and took a sip, but it tasted like sawdust. Nothing would be right until she got everything off her chest. “Usually I’m the one who gets dumped, so I’ve never had to try to fix things before. But I need to fix this. I came back here because I wanted to see you and tell you to your face that I messed up. I messed up so badly, and I’m so scared that you hate me for it.”

  “I don’t hate you, Cora.” He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “Trust me, I understand why you left.”

  He understood, but did he forgive her? That was the question she needed answered.

  Her fingers drifted to the necklace hanging around her neck, the one containing the pendant he’d hidden in her carry-on luggage. The fine gold ridges soothed her, as though each link was infused with his calming spirit.

  “You found it,” he said, nodding to the necklace.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “Perfect for a broken caterpillar?”

  “I know I’m not broken. In fact, I think I’m stronger than I ever thought I could be. I’d just never given myself a chance before.”

  “No, you hadn’t.” He bobbed his head, keeping one hand wrapped around his pint glass. The frosted edge was wearing off, melting under the warmth of his touch. Her body ached, remembering what it was like to melt under him. To transform.

  “And…I’m sorry for what I said before I left, too.” She traced a dent in the wood with her fingertip, remembering that first night in Australia when they’d eaten here together and how
it felt like a million years ago. “That comment about you living to earn the love of other people was way out of line. I was scared and I lashed out, but that’s no excuse—”

  He held up a hand to cut her off. “You were right, though. I didn’t want to hear it at the time, but you were absolutely right. I wasn’t living for me. I wasn’t putting my own goals as a priority. And the fact is…I changed, too.”

  …

  Trent almost couldn’t believe this was happening—he’d seen Cora’s face in his dreams almost every night since she left. Now she was here, in flesh and blood. He wanted to touch every part of her to make sure it was real and not the product of too many sleepless nights. Not a figment of his overly wild and ceaselessly active imagination.

  “I hope you didn’t change too much,” she said, with a breathless quality to her voice.

  She looked like a goddess who’d come to earth to mingle for the day, hair beautifully free and eyes sincere and wide. Though she was dressed simply, she glowed. And seeing the necklace he’d bought her hanging from her neck, it made something shift in his chest. He’d never thought for a second she’d return to Patterson’s Bluff. In fact, he’d put the whole experience with her down to a lesson—something he’d needed to learn about himself.

  But having her here, hearing her say she wanted to make amends… Could he trust that she was telling the truth? That she was all in?

  Because that’s what he wanted now—no half measures or fleeting whims or passing interests. He wanted a life that was all in. He wanted commitment to a future, like the one he was creating for himself brick by brick.

  “Did you come from work?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Actually, I’ve taken some time off work. I needed…a break.”

  Cora’s eyes frantically searched his face, as though looking for clues into how he was feeling. There was a twitchy energy to her, like she wanted to leap at him but was holding herself back. He was holding himself back a little, too. Because this felt big. Monumentally big.

  “Fancy taking a ride with me?” he asked.

  Cora didn’t even hesitate to slide off her stool and throw some money onto the bar, more than enough to pay for their drinks. “Lead the way.”

  He grabbed her hand, and feeling her fingers intertwined with his was the sweetest sensation in the world. They piled into his ute, and he promised they’d pick up her car later. But Cora didn’t seem to care—it was like she’d walked away from everything, even her luggage.

  The ute wound through the town, and it was like no time had passed since she left. His block came into view eventually, looking a little bit different than when she’d last seen it.

  “The murder hut is gone,” she gasped.

  The second he pulled to a stop, she leaped out of the car and raced up to where the driveway would be. The rundown building had been recently demolished, but Trent was saving some of the old stone and bricks for reuse in the garden. A pile had built up to one side. On the other side was a caravan.

  “I know where I’m sleeping now,” he said with a grin. “No more couch surfing.”

  Cora whirled around, her face aglow. “You’re really doing it. You’re building your dream house.”

  “Two stories, with a balcony facing the water. It’s going to bleed me dry, but I couldn’t be happier.” And he meant it, every word of it.

  “I’m so proud of you.” This time she didn’t hold back. She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. She smelled like a perfect summer’s day—sweet and comforting—and her hair tickled the side of his neck.

  Feeling her body next to his was like coming home, and he could see the future so clearly. The two of them, this perfect house, a magnificent view. Making a life together. But he had to make sure she was ready for forever, because even though he wanted them to continue to grow and evolve as people, he knew now that he wanted a life of certainty and commitment.

  Since telling his siblings the truth about his birth, he’d come to one conclusion: family was what you made of it. Having a different birth mother than his siblings didn’t necessarily mean they were any less bonded to him. In fact, Nick had given him carte blanche to use his firm’s suppliers to get the house built, and Liv had already started picking out things for him—tea towels and cutlery, despite the house being a good twelve months away. And Jace had written a comic about a dog who’d been adopted by another pack and came to find happiness in his differences.

  They loved him, regardless of his secret.

  Cora looked up at him, eyes shining and bright. God, he wanted to kiss her like nothing else. But he couldn’t mess this up now. He had to know.

  “I wasn’t joking when I said I’d changed,” he told her. “What I want now…it’s different than before.”

  She nodded, but her expression hinted at uncertainty. “Tell me.”

  “I want this.” He gestured around him. “I want the family life. I want to settle down and have kids and a wife and a home. I want to grow old like my parents and have a life that I’m proud of, not one that’s a collection of other people’s dreams.”

  “You deserve that, every bit of it.”

  He brushed her hair from her face, but the breeze whipped it right back into place. The twirling strands had shades of blond and brown and the barest hint of amber from the sun. “I know I deserve it. I’m out in the open now, with everything. I told my siblings about…you know.”

  She sucked in a breath. “And?”

  “The world didn’t end and I’m still part of the family.”

  “Of course you are.” Cora touched her fingertips to his jaw and traced his hard edges. “They’re lucky to have you.”

  Cora’s body was like a warm blanket around him, her fingers tangling in his hair. It felt so damn right to be holding her close, to be touching her, telling her what he wanted out of life.

  “I don’t want to compromise anymore,” he said. “Not on my future.”

  “Am I too late?” she whispered.

  “Too late for what?”

  “To be part of your future, and to have you as part of mine?” Her voice was tight, brittle. “Everything you can see, I want that, too. I want it with you, Trent. I…I love you.”

  His heart wanted to explode with joy. Hearing her say those words was a greater satisfaction than any he’d ever known.

  “I knew when I made it back to New York that I’d made a mistake. I wanted to come back to you.” She drew in a ragged breath. “I want to help you build this amazing life and keep growing with you.”

  “Are you sure it’s not a reaction to your father?” Because if she stayed here and then changed her mind…he wasn’t sure if he could survive it.

  “I cleared out my apartment and put it up for sale, I quit my job and…well, my ticket was one-way. So I’m really hoping you’ve got room for two in that little motor-home thing.” A hopeful smile lit her face.

  “You mean you came all this way without knowing where you were going to sleep?” He laughed. She really had changed.

  “It seemed to work for you, so I thought I’d give it a try,” she replied with a sheepish smile. “I’d rather be here without a plan, putting everything into a hope and a prayer that you still feel something for me. Because I want to stay this time. I want to choose love, and that means choosing you.”

  “I love you too, Cora.” The second the words left his mouth, it was like a weight was lifted off him. He bowed his head to meet hers, and the second their lips connected, she melted into him.

  Her kiss was heaven, sweet honeyed heaven. And all the sleepless nights and regrets and breakthroughs of the past six weeks swirled inside him, waking him up in a way he’d never known possible. Cora was the final piece of the puzzle, a woman who challenged him and pushed him and showed him all the good bits in life. A woman who made him see he was valued and loved.

&
nbsp; “Luckily for you, the caravan does have room for two,” he said, planting kisses along the edge of her jaw and finding the curve of her butt with his hands. “But I’ll warn you, it’s a little cramped in there.”

  “How about the plumbing?” she asked with a cheeky wink.

  “Perfect. But I think we should test it to be sure.” He hoisted her up into his arms and carried her across the block, past the pile of bricks and stones, past where the house would be built, and right up to the door of their temporary home. “Which means we’d better take a shower together.”

  “It’s a good thing you’re so dirty,” she whispered against his ear. “We’ll give it a thorough testing.”

  “And then what?” He opened the door and carried her across the threshold.

  “Everything. Absolutely everything.” Her lips found his for a deep and searching kiss that hinted at exactly what everything might include.

  Epilogue

  Two years later…

  The doorbell rang and Cora squealed, skipping across the tiled living room to answer it. Today was a big day. A very big day.

  She yanked the door open and was met with cheers and hellos and arms wrapping around her. Liv was first through the door, squeezing Cora so tight, she had genuine fears that her eyeballs might pop right out of her head.

  “We’re so proud of you, girl. So so proud.” Liv thrust a bottle of expensive champagne into her hands. “I hope you’ve got some ice for that because we are going to celebrate!”

  The rest of the Walters family—now her family—piled into Cora and Trent’s house. They were loud, like always, joking and affectionate. Her father-in-law, Frank, was the last in. He always let the kids and his wife go before him, happy to wait while his family got what they needed. He shut the door behind him and pulled Cora into a big bear hug.

  “I knew you had something special, Cora. We’re all so thrilled for you.” His bushy mustache brushed her cheek as he planted a kiss there, and Cora had to blink back tears.

  The warm, loving people had embraced her as one of them from the very moment she set foot in this town. They’d stood by her side while she and Trent built a house together, while she toiled over her novel, riding the ups and downs of publishing for the emotional roller coaster it was. Frank had come around to comfort her when the first rejection came from a publisher and he’d been the first person to put his name down for a preorder copy at Just One More Chapter when she’d finally gotten her release date.