by Vawn Cassidy
‘You scared the crap out of me, Nat.’ He winces. ‘I shouldn’t have yelled at you; it was a knee jerk reaction because my heart was still hammering in my chest.’
‘It’s fine.’ I smile. ‘It’s not the first dumb thing I’ve done, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but you saved my life, so you’re entitled to think I’m an idiot.’
‘I don’t think you’re an idiot.’ He frowns.
I shrug and turn toward the car, reaching for the door handle, but Beck lays his hand on the door to stop me.
‘Is that really how you see yourself?’
‘Some days.’ I glance at him. ‘...but I’m working on it,’ I add.
‘Nat…’
‘We should head back.’ I shake my head.
Beck stares at me, and for a moment, I think he’s going to say something else, but he obviously thinks better of it. Instead, he nods and let’s go of the door, edging around the car and climbing in the driver’s car.
We sit mostly in silence for the drive back, and I’m grateful for it. I’ve really enjoyed spending the day with Beck. I had so much fun, but it’s equally as exhausting trying to fight the insane attraction I feel for him. I know we agreed to be just friends but being around him lights me up like a bloody pinball machine, and I wonder if maybe we should take a step back and have a little breathing room.
I’m so lost in my own thoughts as we arrive back in the bay that I almost don’t register that Beck has completely by passed the B&B and is now pulling up to a really pretty two storey detached house with a wide drive.
‘Beck, you missed the B&B,’ I tell him.
‘I know.’ He parks the car and turns the engine off.
‘Where are we?’ I ask.
‘Mum’s place.’ He turns in his seat to look at me.
‘Oh, okay.’ I frown as I study the little lemon coloured house with white window trims. ‘I guess I’ll just walk back if you point me in the right direction.’
‘Sorry, no can do,’ he says with a smile. ‘It’s Sunday.’
‘I am aware.’ My eyes narrow.
‘You know what that means.’
‘That… its… Monday tomorrow?’ I answer slowly.
‘Yes,’ he chuckles. ‘But it also means Sunday dinner and you’re invited.’
‘What?’ I can feel the panic suddenly rising in my chest. ‘What? No.’ I shake my head. ‘It’s… that’s your family’s time. I’ll just be in the way.’
‘Nat.’ He tilts his head and studies me as if a thought has just occurred to him. ‘Have you ever had a family Sunday dinner before?’
‘We didn’t… that’s not.’ I shake my head.
‘Nat.’ He reaches out, and I feel his hand in mine, his thumb brushing lightly over my wrist soothingly. ‘Come home with me for dinner. Mum wants you here. She’s taken a real shine to you, and everyone else is curious to meet you.’
‘I don’t…’ I stare at the house uncertainly.
‘Please?’ He smiles slowly.
‘Stop it,’ I grumble.
‘Stop what?’
‘Flinging those dimples at me like Chinese throwing knives, they’re bloody lethal.’ I scowl.
‘Nat,’ he laughs softly. ‘Mum really isn’t taking no as an answer, but I promise that if it gets too hectic for you, I’ll take you back to the B&B.’
‘Hectic?’ I reply. ‘How many people are there going to be?’
‘It’s hard to say.’ Beck shrugs.
I sigh loudly. ‘Fine.’
‘There’s one thing though,’ Beck adds, and my heart kicks up a notch when I notice he still hasn’t pulled his hand from mine.
‘What?’
‘Would you mind not mentioning the whole gallery thing,’ he says quietly. ‘It’s just that I haven’t told anyone yet.’
‘Why did you tell me?’
‘I don’t know,’ he murmurs, his eyes locked on mine. ‘I guess I thought you might get it.’
‘I do,’ I answer, my voice barely a whisper. ‘I do understand.’
His gaze dips to my lips as he raises his other hand to my face, the soft pads of his fingers rasping along the dark stubble of my jaw line, leaving my skin tingling in their wake. I hold my breath, my heart pounding as those beautiful fingers graze my bottom lip.
‘Nat,’ he mutters, transfixed by my mouth.
‘Hey, fuckface! You coming in for dinner or what?’ a loud voice shouts through Beck’s open driver’s window.
‘Fuck,’ Beck growls in annoyance as he lets go of my face and throws himself back in his seat, turning to gaze at the wildly grinning face by the window.
I watch in fascinated horror as Beck hits the button on the door. We both sit staring as the window slowly and painstakingly rises. There’s a loud squeaking noise of flesh sliding against glass as the man’s face distorts and stretches as he presses it to the glass. Once the window is fully closed, he turns his face toward us.
‘This is my brother, Jesse,’ Beck states dryly staring as Jesse presses his mouth to the glass blowing a giant raspberry and inflating his mouth to comical proportions. ‘Apparently, he’s the well behaved one.’
Jesse pulls back and grins. I blink once, then twice as I take in his features. His blond hair is cut short, and his hazel eyes are more golden than green like Beck’s, but there is no mistaking that face. ‘Twins?’ I whisper. ‘You have a twin?’
‘Yeah,’ he sniggers as Jesse pulls another face. ‘You look like a dickhead,’ he calls through the glass to Jesse.
‘Come on, Rebecca.’ Jesse grins. ‘I’m starving, and dinner’s getting cold.’
‘Shut up,’ Beck laughs. ‘It’s not even ready yet and you know it.’
‘Rebecca?’ One of my brows raise questioningly.
‘Not my name, if you were wondering. It really is just Beck. This twat—’ He hikes a thumb over his shoulder at his twin. ‘Is just pissed because Mum gave him a girl’s NAME!’ he shouts the last part through the glass and chuckles as Jesse flips him the finger.
There’s a sudden bang, and the car rocks. My eyes widen as I turn to stare through the windscreen to see a younger version of Beck and Jesse climbing onto the bonnet of the car and pressing his face against the window grinning maniacally.
‘Quinn, you giant bell end,’ Beck growls. ‘Seriously, dude, you dent that, you’re paying for it. I don’t care if you’re only a student.’
‘Beck!’ Quinn laughs loudly. ‘Missed you, you giant twat face!’
Beck shakes his head slowly before flicking on the wiper blades. The rubber grinds loudly against the dry glass and begin to rhythmically thump against the side of Quinn’s head repeatedly.
‘Ow… ow… ow…’ Quinn grumbles with each thump.
‘Now, that’s an idiot.’ Beck sighs.
‘Hey, assholes!’ Another voice roars from the doorway. ‘Get off the damn car.’
I shift in my seat to see a huge guy standing propped against the doorway, and he’s mouth wateringly gorgeous. With long dark hair scraped off his face in a fairly sturdy top knot, giving the impression that his hair is quite long. He has a full beard and a wide grin. There are tattoo’s peeking out of the collar of his black Harley Davison t-shirt and crawling up his neck. He also has two full sleeves of colourful tattoos, and he’s wearing faded blue jeans and scuffed biker boots.
‘Who’s that?’ I clear my throat as I blink. ‘He doesn’t look like one of your brothers.’
‘He is.’ Beck sighs. ‘Just not by blood. That’s Ryan, and he’s one of my oldest friends. We’ve known each other since pre-school.’
‘Oh my God,’ I mutter. My eyes are probably huge, and I feel like I’ve stepped inside some weird reality show.
‘Nat, it looks like it’s your lucky day,’ he says almost apologetically. ‘You’ve got yourself a two for one.’
‘Huh?’ I glance at him in confusion.
‘Well, this morning you got to go to the aquarium,’ he laughs. ‘And now… welcome to the zoo.’
Chapter Eleven
Beck
I love my family, but they’re really temperamental. In fact, I’d say about thirty percent temper and seventy percent mental.
I manage to get my idiot brothers off my car long enough for Nat and me to climb out. Honestly, it’s like monkeys at a safari park, and I’m surprised they didn’t pull the wipers off and chew the wing mirrors.
I’m kidding. They’re actually not usually this bad. In fact, there’s only one reason they’d be winding me up with this much enthusiasm. I glance toward the window, and sure enough, I see Georgie, sipping casually from a tall glass as she sends me a mischievous wink and grins widely.
Shit, there’s no way she hasn’t told my brothers about Nat. Now, they’re going to be doubly curious, not just because mum hired him, completely out of the blue, to work in our dad’s restaurant, but because he’s the first guy I’ve ever brought home. Although, technically, I can pass that one off on Mum, she’s the one who actually invited Nat to our family Sunday dinner. No one needs to know that I was the one who planted the idea in the first place.
It’s not just the fact that I seem to be looking for any excuse to spend more time with him. There’s something about him, about the things he unconsciously let’s slip about his family. Throwaway comments that to him seem completely normal, but to me are beginning to form a picture of a childhood and family life that may have been privileged but was devoid of warmth and laughter. I still don’t know how he ended up in the bay, or just what it is he’s running from, but I’m determined to find out.
‘Hey, it’s Nat, right?’ Quinn grins as he reaches out and shakes Nat’s hand. ‘I’m Quinn, the youngest and most handsome brother.’
‘You wish,’ both Jesse and I say simultaneously.
‘They do that all the time.’ Quinn laughs when Nat stares at us curiously. ‘Joss and Juni do it too, it’s a twin thing.’ He shrugs. ‘I hear you’re working at the restaurant. Georgie’s been raving about the Crab and Avocado Tacos. I’m definitely going to have to swing by and check them out before I head back to Uni.’
‘Uh, thanks.’ Nat flushes under my brother’s praise.
‘I’m Jesse.’ My twin reaches for Nat, studying him with interest as he takes his hand. ‘Sorry about that.’ He waves absently in the direction of the car. ‘That was more for his benefit than yours. It’s our duty to piss him off at every available opportunity. It’s the rules.’
‘There are rules?’ Nat’s mouth quirks.
‘There are, and they are many and varied.’ Jesse nods sagely. ‘And can change at a moment’s notice. Keeps things fresh and interesting. You’re lucky Deak’s not here, otherwise things would really get out of hand.’
‘Deak?’ Nat’s brow raises questioningly.
‘Deacon James,’ I supply helpfully. ‘He’s Jesse’s best friend. We all went to school together. Me, Jess, Deak and Ryan, and we’ve been inseparable since.’
‘Not all of us,’ Jesse mutters under his breath.
‘Yes, all of us,’ I remind him softly. ‘Deak’s still on a piece of umbilical bungee, no matter how far he gets from home, it’ll only stretch so far then it catapults him back to the bay.’ To you… I almost add, then think better of it, knowing my brother won’t want to hear it. ‘Where is he at the moment anyway?’ I ask.
‘Saint Tropez.’ Jesse shrugs, although it’s not as casual a gesture as he might like, I know him too well. ‘They’re getting ready for the Giraglia Cup.’
‘He races?’ Nat asks curiously.
‘Boats.’ Jesse nods quietly. ‘He’s always loved living fast and loose. He only knows how to live his life at two speeds, a hundred knots and stop… and he doesn’t stop too often. He loves being on the water, and as far as he’s concerned, the faster the better.’
‘Sounds exciting,’ Nat murmurs as he studies Jesse, and I can tell he’s seeing what I do. Nat maybe quiet, but I’m beginning to realise he’s extremely astute.
There’s a loud, happy bark, and as we look up, Ursula comes bounding out of the house joyously, her golden fur glowing in the bright sunlight. Only, instead of heading for me, her actual owner, she hones straight in on Nat.
He grins widely, hunkering down and rubbing her coat until she collapses to the floor in hopeless delirium, wagging her tail ecstatically as he strokes her.
‘Hey, beautiful.’ He smiles as she leaps up smothering him with licks and kisses, not that I can blame her. I’d love to lick every available inch of that man.
I look up to find my twin watching me intently, and I turn away from his gaze. Other than Ryan, he’s the only other person who knows about Florence, and the last thing I need right now is their speculative glances and well-meaning interference.
‘Looks like you’ve stolen my brother’s dog.’ Jesse grins as he turns back to me. ‘See that, Beck, she prefers a complete stranger to you.’
‘He’s not a complete stranger, she’s met him before,’ I huff.
Jesse raises a brow sensing a story, so I quickly change the subject. ‘Thanks for taking her this morning.’
‘No problem.’ He shrugs. ‘She’s actually really good with the other animals. We’ve got a two-year-old lab recovering from surgery, and she just lay down with him to comfort him. I’ve never seen her so still before.’
‘You’re a vet?’ Nat glances up at Jesse pushing Ursula’s nose away from his face gently as my dog continues to try to maul him in hopeless adoration.
Jesse nods. ‘You’re good with her,’ he remarks. Urse is usually great with other animals, but people find her a bit much.
‘She’s gorgeous,’ Nat beams. ‘I always wanted a dog, but I wasn’t…’ he breaks off and shrugs.
I’d be prepared to bet the commission on my next sculpture that he wasn’t allowed one when he was younger. Reading between the lines, his dad sounds like a controlling prick and a complete snob. Anyone who’d rather take his eight-year-old kid to some crumbling old Babylonian clocktower rather than sea world is not someone who’d allow his kid to have a dog who’d probably chew on the furniture and shit on the rugs.
‘We should probably go in,’ Jesse suggests, whistling for Ursula. ‘Mum will be wondering where we’ve got to.’
Nat naturally gravitates toward me, and I try to ignore the low hum of awareness in the pit of my belly whenever he’s near. Without thinking, I reach for his hand, towing him toward the house and the bear of a man leaning comfortably against the doorframe, watching us as he sips slowly from a beer bottle.
Ryan’s gaze flicks to our joined hands, and my brain is telling me I should let go. As Ryan’s gaze trails lazily over Nat, his eyes flare in appreciation, and I find myself tightening my grip.
‘Hey.’ Ryan lifts his chin a fraction in greeting, and he smiles slowly at Nat, his voice a low inviting rumble that instantly pisses me off. ‘Ryan Callahan.’ He switches his beer to his other hand and reaches toward Nat.
‘Nat.’ He lets go of my hand to shake Ryan’s, and the sudden pang of jealously takes me by surprise.
Ryan is my oldest friend, and we’ve known each other since we were five years old. He’s been my best friend, my confidant and more often, along with Jess and Deak, my partner in crime, but seeing the way his eyes skim over Nat’s face and down his body has my jaw clenching so tightly, I’m surprised I don’t hear the bone crack.
‘Well, you’re just edible, aren’t you?’ Ryan grins, sending him his signature smile, leaving Nat looking a little dazed.
‘Alright, that’s enough.’ I roll my eyes, placing my hands on Nat’s hips as I steer him into the house, breaking Ryan’s grip on his hand and throwing a warning look in his direction as I pass, very clearly mouthing the word ‘No’.
Ignoring Ryan’s deep, amused chuckle, we step over the threshold into my childhood home, and it still gives me a slight twinge of pain. Although it’s been a year since my dad passed away, it’s still hard being here, and I often find myself wondering how my mum can bear it. I
suppose it helps that she still has Juni and Joss living at home, but I can’t help but wonder how she’ll feel once the girls move on and she’s all alone.
‘Hey?’ Nat’s soothing voice interrupts my thoughts. ‘You okay?’
I look up to find Nat watching me, those intense blue eyes of his filled with understanding.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ I exhale quietly. ‘It’s just… no matter how many times I’m here, it’s hard to get used to.’
He reaches once again for my hand and squeezes, and it’s surprisingly comforting.
‘Oh, good, you two are back.’ Mum wanders out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a tea cloth. ‘How was the market?’
Nat drops my hand quickly, his expression a little guilty, and I instantly feel the loss of warmth from his hand, and the disappointment takes me by surprise. I’m not in any way in the market for a relationship, but whenever he and I share the same space, I end up homing in on him, like he’s my own personal center of gravity.
‘We’ve found a couple of new suppliers who’re willing to send us samples,’ Nat tells her animatedly. ‘And we found this incredible vendor who makes cold pressed oils. I’ve got several to try, and I’ve got an idea percolating for a new dish I’d like to try out. It’s going to be difficult as I’m in the B&B and don’t have my own kitchen to experiment in, so would you mind if I used the restaurant?’
‘Not at all.’ Mum smiles at his enthusiasm. It’s obvious that cooking is his absolute passion, and I’m not surprised that Mum saw it and hired him on the spot. Of course it helps that he has the talent to back up the enthusiasm.
‘How did the deep clean go?’ Nat asks.
‘Oh god,’ Mum sighs. ‘Nat, sweetheart you have no idea.’ She links her arm companionably through his as she steers him toward the living room, continuing to speak. ‘That bloody Scott, firing the last cleaners. We’re lucky we didn’t get shut down.’ She frowns angrily. ‘Anyway, we’ve got the health and safety inspection the day after tomorrow. So, I’m going to keep the restaurant closed until after then, and I’m still going through the books. I’ve got some people lined up for interviews for more staff. It’s a mess. I think it’s best we take the time now to pause, assess the damage that man did and make a plan of action. As we head into the summer season it will start picking up, that’s what we need to be ready for.’